Essence Of Love - A MaNan FF [Completed]

Chapter 1 - Of Peace & Insecurities

4.00 am - Murthy Mansion

The alarm clock in Nandini's room rang loud and clear but she was already awake - she hadn't been able to sleep a wink last night. She quickly turned off the alarm so the others sleeping in the house wouldn't wake up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she sighed. It had been just half a day since she left Mangalore and came to Mumbai, but she missed her home-town a lot.When she had learned that Chacha had got a better job offer in Mumbai at a well-established company Malhotras Inc., she hadn't been happy.

She had a lot of beautiful memories with Amma and Appa there, and didn't want to leave those cherished memories behind. But, being the mature and practical-thinking girl that she was, she knew Chacha-Chachi had taken care of her and Rishabh just like their own parents (They didn't have any children of their own), and the least she could do for them is be happy with their decisions. So she had put on a mask of happiness, and left with them for Mumbai.

She quickly freshened up, laid out a mat and placed her Veena on it. Music was what always helped her to calm her worries and her wracked nerves. Her Amma had been very adamant on Morning practise (Riyaaz) and so Nandini had the habit of doing it in a routinely fashion.

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Meanwhile, in the house next to hers -

21 year old Manik Malhotra had just finished a late-night house-warming party with his best friends, his band - Fab 5. Manik looked around - Beer bottles, empty pizza boxes and party streamers littered his new apartment. He sighed. During this sudden shifting process, he hadn't bought along a help with him which meant he had to clean up himself. Everyone had left except Cabir.

''Cabir, tu aaj yahin rahega?..Chal acha hai, meri madad ke liye koyi toh ruka!'' Manik chuckled at his own joke.

Cabir turned to him and raised an eyebrow ''Tujhse akele me baat karni thi. Sab ko toh tune convince karliya ki tere yahan shift hone ka reason bas yeh tha ki tu roz roz Nyonika ka sada huwa chehra nahi dekhna chahta tha. Par main jaanta hu, aur bhi kuch hai jo tu nahi bata raha.. Bol, Kya baat hai?''.

Manik shook his head - Typical Cabir.

Cabir Dhawan, the drummer of Fab 5 was a total prankster and loved cracking jokes at any given time. Everyone in college was scared of his pranks. But Cabir had another lesser known side to him - He was very good at reading people's minds and was almost always the first one to know if his friends were hiding something. He lived with his Mom and a Dad, who was never around because he worked in the army.

''Tujhse kuch nahi chupta na Cabir? '' Manik questioned, shaking his head at him.

''Ab bolega ki nahi'' Cabir glared at Manik.

''Arre yaar,woh bas Harshad..'' Manik trailed off, not able to complete the sentence.

''Harshad kya?''

''Maine phir se Nyonika ko Harshad ke saath pakda'' Manik sat and buried his face in his hands, ashamed to explain further.

Harshad Saxena was Alya's brother,who herself was a part of Fab 5. Two years ago Manik had found his mother in a compromising position with Harshad which had given him the shock of a lifetime, and he whole-heartedly hated Harshad since then. Finding them together again, was something Manik hadn't been able to bear. He couldn't stay in the same place again. He couldn't see the hateful face of Nyonika again.

He broke down , even as Cabir placed an arm around him and gave him an understanding hug. Manik hated showing his vulnerable side to anyone, but now with his trusted friend beside him, he let down his guard, allowing himself to be comforted.

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Manik went up to his bedroom at 4:30, after convincing Cabir that he would be okay alone and Cabir had finally left. He was about to collapse on the bed, exhaustion hitting him, when faint notes of classical music hit his ears.

'Iss time pe classical music koun baja raha hai' .. He went up to the window. His window was very large, and covered up 2/3rds of the wall, overlooking the window of the house besides his own, where he noticed the curtains were drawn open, and the lights were switched on. Through the window, he saw a girl dressed simply in a pink kurti lost in her music, a smile playing at her lips and eyes shut peacefully.

A large Veena placed in front of her tiny frame - she painted such a picture of peace and beauty , that Manik couldn't take his eyes off her. Somehow, the site of her playing with such concentration and focus calmed the cloud of restlessness that had been brewing in him for so long. How he wished he could hear more of her music, instead of very faint notes. He kept staring at the girl for a couple more minutes before he felt tiredness capturing him, and he collapsed on the bed.
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Nandini finished her Riyaaz and felt a sense of calm in her. She no longer felt as bad about leaving Mangalore,and felt a tiny hint of excitement that her college year at the prestigious S.P.A.C.E music academy was starting in a few days. But her excitement was short-lived, and her insecurities pushed her down again.

'What if I make no friends there because I don't look good, and have such low confidence?'  She went up to her dresser and looked into the mirror unapprovingly, turning side to side.

'I have puffy cheeks,and I hate the bags under my eyes. And my style statement can best be described as a joke'.

Thus, lost in her depressing thoughts,  she went downstairs , to help Chachi in preparing breakfast.

''Chachi,main beautiful nahi hoon na?'' She suddenly asked Chachi, who was already in the kitchen, slipping on her apron. Chachi gave a confused look, wondering what had gotten into her this early in the morning, then smiled and came up to her ''Kisne Kaha tu beautiful nahi hai? Tu toh duniya ki sabse beautiful beti hai, aur tere ye aankhein dekh kar Shahrukh Khan bhi tujhse pyaar kar baithega, Samjhi?'' She then hugged Nandini assuringly who still looked unconvinced.

'She's only saying so,because she's my Chachi. Nobody can love me..'