Malhotra weds Murthy Revisit to GolMal

Chapter 14 - "Thief hunting..."

Murthy House: Nandini's bedroom: 1:30 am

The knock and the voice make Nandini palm her mouth while her eyes almost come out of their sockets. On the other hand, Manik is shuttling his eyes between the closed door and Nandini's worth watching expression.

Manik: (Confused) "Who sneaked inside again? Real thief?"

Nandini almost pounces on him and palms his mouth.

Nandini: (Whispers in a tensed tone) "Shhhhh....that's not important. Count yourself in that category too. Keep quiet."

In reply, Manik only can blink. Only then, another voice comes into life from the outside.

The voice: "Nandu, open the door. Let me check your room too."

Nandini covers her gaped mouth with another hand. Manik raises his brows at her in confusion.

Nandini: (Stammering) "Yeah, yes Appa...Amma I...I am coming."

Saying this she immediately gets off the bed and pulls down Manik too like a naughty kid who does mischief in the classroom and needs punishment. She pushes him towards the cupboard and opens its door.

Nandini: (In a suppressed commanding tone) "Get inside and don't come out until I signal to do so. Go...hurry up!"

She removes some clothes from a shelf and pushes Manik to occupy the empty place.

Manik: "But...how can I?...Let me go from there..."

Manik gestures to the balcony. Nandini gets confused for a moment. Will it be wise to let Manik go from that side where he came from? Just then, a frantic knock on the door startles both of them.

Vimesh: (In a restless voice) "Are you opening the door, Nandini? Rama said your balcony door is open. How can you be so callous? That thief might come inside from that way."

Manik widens his eyes and immediately adjusts himself to the tiny shelf. Nandini closes the cupboard door and almost rushes at the door to open it. Otherwise, her impatient father can even call the police to get open it. As she opens it, both her exasperated parents barge inside.

Rituja: (Restlessly) "Kanna...you are okay, right? Rama said he saw someone in the kitchen. A thief has come inside, Kanna."

She takes Nandini in her protective arms.

Vimesh: (Sternly) "Rama is an idiot. He said that someone was searching for something in the fridge. Now, which thief does this?"

He walks towards the balcony and slides the glass door to close it. Until now, Nandini was sure that Rama saw Manik intruding and guessed him as a thief. But as per her knowledge, Manik has come from the balcony side. Then how did Rama see him in the kitchen? But this boy can do anything. Monkey Malhotra. Her calculative mind gets distracted by Rituja's words.

Rituja: "If that thief is hungry. In which book it is written that a thief can't eat food during his job? We all need tiffin break."

Vimesh: (With round eyes) "Job? Really Ritu? You are telling that a thief also should have his tiffin break."

Nandini giggles out from her mother's embrace. Suddenly the cupboard also shakes a bit with a rattling sound. It's evident that even Manik couldn't control his bout of laughter to hear the logic.

Vimesh: (With a frown) "Have you heard something? Ritu, I think we are going out of the track. Let's check Nandu's room. I told Rama to close all the entrances. We already have checked Amma and Harshad's rooms. Thank God, they are not at home. Otherwise, it would have been chaos. Nandu, check the backside of your bed. Ritu, check the bathroom."

Nandini: (Carefully) "And you Appa?"

Vimesh: (With smugness) "I will check the backside of the cupboard. That is a very good place to hide."

Rituja: (With a distorted face) "Is it? Have you tried ever?"

Again, the cupboard shakes a bit. Vimesh approaches the closet with a deep frown. However, Nandini almost jumps in front of her determined father.

Nandini: "Appa...let me check it. You check the balcony. He can be there too."

Vimesh halts for a second, however, it couldn't disarm him fully.

Vimesh: "Okay, but let me move it a bit. Then we can take a full view of its backside."

Before Nandini could refrain him from his gallant act, Vimesh reaches the cupboard and tries to pull it so that its backside can detach from the wall. But it doesn't move an inch. He tries again but the result remains the same. Sweat beads form on his forehead. Vimesh frowns at his daughter.

Vimesh: "Nandu, how many times have I told you to not buy unnecessary clothes? You have made your cupboard a junk store."

Saying this he was about to open the closet door when Nandini screams.

Nandini: "Appaaaaaa......Stop!"

Simultaneously, all the lights in the Murthy house get off. In the next few minutes, a pandemonium occurs. All of the members of the Murthy family start running here and there while shouting,

Vimesh: "Kalla....kalla (Thief...thief)

Rituja: "Nanna maneyinda horage hogu (Get out of my house)

Nandini: "Ador elliddane, Amma?" (Where is Ador, Mom?)

Suddenly, the sound of something heavy falling on the ground is heard.

Vimesh: (Yelps) "Kalla...kalla...I caught him."

Rama: (Screams) "Kalla...kalla...Nanu avanannu hidide (I also caught him)

Only then, all the lights of the Murthy house flicker into life and Rituja and Nandini's wide eyes catch the most unusual sight. Vimesh and Rama are loitering on the floor while both are grappling each other like two professional wrestlers. Nandini looks at her mother who looks double shocked. In reply to her daughter's quizzical eyes, Rituja touches her cheek.

Rituja: (Almost in tears) "The thief ran away...he...he kissed meeeeeee....ewwwww..."

.............................................

Malhotra house: Dhruv's room: 9 am:

Dhruv comes out of the bathroom, drying his wet hair with a towel. Manik is pacing in the room like an excited monkey. Dhruv observes his agitation and saunters at the almirah to take out his clothes.

Manik: (In annoyance) "You take time as a girl. Anyway, here is the application form. Nandini has signed it."

He forwards an envelope.

Dhruv: (Squints at his brother) "How did you get it. Wait! Did you go to her house? When? How?"

Manik sits on the bed holding the envelope. His eyes are beaming with jest.

Manik: (Chuckles) "Yes, I went. But I went like a Romeo and came back like a thief. Shit! Perhaps I also kissed the wrong person before running away. What could I do? These Murthys are like income tax officers. They were searching their own house like it's a raid. Moreover, that servant saw me in the kitchen. Ha...ha...I am sure even Nandu is confused about how did I get into the kitchen or were there indeed two thieves? What can I do? You know since my childhood whenever I play hide and seek, I feel hungry. So, I saw the fridge and lost my control."

Until now, Dhruv was listening to his big brother with a wide-open mouth. Manik shrugs at him and winks.

Manik: "Love is nothing without a little spice and fun. If love is the cake...secret romance is the icing. Kalla...kalla...ha...ha...ha..."

Author's note: Hope you enjoyed the update. Sorry for not giving regular updates as Covid has made me fatigued. Thank you all for your wishes and love. Love you guys. 😘😘