In His Custody ✎ (MaNan)

✰ 41 - layered sides

It's a 3900 word update, woohoo!

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Nandini

An SUV was parked along the side of the road, its lights dipped as it cast a warm amber glow into the distance. Seated cross-legged on its bonnet, I shuffled the large frozen tub into the crevice of my lap, deftly slipped a finger under the pink seal and cracked it open. As the pink lid came off, a sharp, icy fragrance escaped, mingling with the salt-kissed breeze. My companion clapped her hands in delight, the sound slightly muffled by the distant roar of the ocean.

We were far from the water's edge, observing the waves from a safe distance. The ocean appeared to stretch infinitely, its dark expanse shimmering under the moonlight. From that vantage point, it was a breathtaking spectacle of nature's power and beauty... absolutely spectacular to witness from this distance but incredibly unforgiving in its powers up close.

A lot like lovers are.

Brushing my free-flowing hair behind my ear, I eyed my companion whose backdrop was the shore, "Thank you for picking me up," I shifted my gaze to the sea. "I didn't know whom else to call."

Navya's eyes sparkled with familiarity as she tossed her dupatta over her shoulder in an exaggerated, old-school fashion, a gesture that instantly brought back memories of their school days. "Are you crazy, Nandini? Friends hote kis liye?" she quipped, her voice brimming with playful warmth.

Her features were remarkably similar to the schoolgirl I remembered, though now Navya's smile was framed by braces that had once been absent.

My pink plastic spoon dipped into the slab of cream, punctuating the night's stillness, as Navya paused, eyeing the unopened tub between us feeling irrationally guilty. "Sorry... it's out of habit and –"

"Hey! Don't be," I interrupted with a pressed grin. "I actually might have picked up on a few Hindi phrases here and there."

"Really?" Navya's eyes widened in mock astonishment. "Wow, I tried for a whole year and couldn't teach you. I should fall at their feet and praise them to the heavens!"

I chuckled, the sound rich with a mixture of nostalgia and genuine amusement, a sound I had almost forgotten I could make. It had been too long since I'd felt this lighthearted, and much of the credit for my uplifted mood went to the unexpected reconnection.

Approximately forty minutes ago, we had flagged down a makeshift icecream cart by the Bay. I had been contemplating simple Cornetto cones – one for each of us, but Navya, in her eccentric enthusiasm, had other plans, and had posed the order for a tub of icecream. It shocked the vendor, who did not have the budget to stock on such enormous quantities. He labelled us 'pagal' by the end of the haggling sessions and hurried from our vicinity, pushing his creaky cart as fast as he possibly could.

We had broken into fits of laughter as our spontaneous mission had turned into a delightful adventure. We had waded through a string of bustling ice cream carts, each offering a variety of flavors and options, but none quite met our cravings. Our quest had been to find a tub that weighed at least 750 grams. Resolute in our determination, we joked that if we didn't find the perfect tub, we would spend all night searching for it... no problem!

After what felt like an eternity of digging through their stashes and negotiating with various vendors, we had finally stumbled upon a cart that had exactly what we were looking for: a one-kilogram tub of butterscotch ice cream, of which we were each taking a lumpful, moaning at its taste.

In the past hour, we had shared updates about our careers and the reasons behind my visit to Mumbai, skirting around the deeper, more personal topics. I had not wanted to appear pathetically immersed in a past relationship that ended several years ago, but I felt at home when she avoided those questions herself... as if she understood, without me explaining my side.