Kindle to Rekindle

50. Her Confession

You are my definition of comfort

Nimrit jerked with the sudden buzzing of the intercom of her room and she realised that her brain had replayed a horrid memory in the past. With wobbly steps, she picked up the phone and said, "H- H- Hello," Nimrit couldn't frame the word without fumbling because of the terror she felt.

"Nimrit are you alright?" Nandini asked with concern and Nimrit took a deep breath, but she couldn't reply. "Umm... Nimrit there is a situation at the NGO which requires my presence, I am sorry, but I will get more late than usual. Don't wait for me and have your dinner. I am sorry darling, but this is important."

Nimrit didn't reply and just hummed in response. The Singhs were already doing a lot for her, and she didn't want to burden them with anything more. Nandini could feel Nimrit's low spirits, so she called up Nivedya and asked him to check on Nimrit. He refused saying he wasn't her caretaker, but mothers always had their way out to get work done for their children and Nandini was a pro at it.

Nivedya was angry because he had to forgo his self-esteem and talk to Nimrit so, he didn't knock at her door and barged in. What he saw made him melt like ice cream. Nimrit was standing on the balcony in grey shorts and a black sleeveless top with her hair flying in the evening breeze and her face shimmering with the light of the rising moon.

He tip-toed and went near her to observe her closely. She was looking somewhere undefined with a longing in her eyes and Nivedya wanted to hear that she longed for him, for his love because he certainly felt miserable without her. He wanted to jerk her hard and scold her for breaking their beautiful bond.

"You really know how to get your work done without putting in effort. Don't you?" Nimrit was startled to hear Nivedya's voice. She couldn't infer the meaning of his taunts and puckered her brows with confusion.

Nivedya scoffed and held Nimrit by her shoulders. "You dramatised in front of Mom that you were lost and unhappy so, she ordered me to stick around you. Check whether you are fine or not. I see you are alright, breathing and enjoying the beautiful... Sky." He took a pause before saying the sky because his heart wanted to tell her she was more beautiful than the gorgeous heavenly bodies, but he said otherwise.

Nivedya was prepared for a verbal argument, and he wanted to put an end to the fight. But Nimrit suddenly hugged him tightly as if he was the last straw who would save her from drowning. He balanced himself and took a step back. He hated the hug as much as he loved it.

"These tricks won't work on me. You aren't my girlfriend any more and I don't accept such intimate hugs from random people. Leave me." Nivedya was certain his nose would grow like Pinocchio's because of the number of lies he said in a single sentence.

"Mumma has developed seizures... Again. I am so scared." Nimrit spoke so softly that Nivedya wasn't sure he heard correctly. But his shirt felt wet and that was when he realised Nimrit was crying. "I am not playing any tricks, Nivi. I am just so scared. I do not want her to suffer. I..."

"Shhh! It's okay. It's okay. I am here. Nothing is gonna happen to your mother. Just relax." Nivedya cursed himself for his insensitive behaviour and was sad to know about Reet's condition. He had never seen his tigress so weak. He rubbed her back to calm her down, but Nimrit's emotions were uncontrollable.

She never had anyone to pacify her or lend her a shoulder to cry on. Her biological father used to hit her whenever she cried and by the age of five, her tears had dried. She accepted physical and mental abuse by her father without questioning him. Today, she found solace in Nivedya's arms. He let her cry and didn't mind his shirt getting wet. Nimrit cried her heart out and only when her nose was clogged with mucus, she came out of the hug to blow her nose and enable breathing.