Like A Love Song

4. Moments

(A/N: Thanks for all your patience. Broken Hearts has ended and it was so emotional, I just wanted to write another part for this story to relive MaNan's bliss. Hope you like it. Vote and comment. Thanks.)

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We were having breakfast and for some reason, Nandini offered to join me that morning. We had some cornflakes, and she told me a bit of her college life. We cracked a few jokes, to keep the conversation light and after we were done, I accompanied her back to her room. According to the itinerary, we were due on a lot of visits in the next 4 days. Basically, Nandini and I got closer over the days but nevertheless, I still hated it when Aryamann was with her.

On the third day, the first place we had to go to was a little church there. As far as I knew, women who came along with us, were to wear just light colored salwars. Unfortunately, we men had to go in a separate jeep as the women were there before we were. We quickly boarded and headed off.

We reached after a long 40-minute journey through the mist of Kodaikanal. It was a lovely place for photography and nature lovers. I was impatient to see her. As soon as we halted, I hurried down to look for them, or precisely, her. Just then I heard a loud voice call her name and I turned behind to see her.

She was dressed in a beautifully simple yellow salwar with her long white dupatta  gently resting over one of her shoulders while the other end brushed against the floor gracefully. She was smiling and talking to her best friend and every time she spoke, the way her long curls bounced over her shoulder, made me fall for her all over again.

Now, I wouldn't deny it was love at first sight, yet the moment I met eyes with her, I could literally read her soul. I could feel that connection, something I didn't feel with any other girl I'd ever even talked to. Her face reflected purity. She has an innocent soul and I could tell the first time I saw her, just how beautiful she was, inside and out.

She walked towards me, making eye contact, gazing at me as she crossed by. It felt like she'd snatched a piece of me as she paced by my side. She looked ethereally beautiful. I blinked hazily and a little smile played over my lips. I didn't realize until Cabir nudged me to bring me out of my lovestruck world, consisting of only her and I. Nandini and Manik.

After we gathered, we walked into the church together. Nandini was standing there, in the second row in the crowd, with a candle in her hands. I quickly scooted out of the gathering and found myself heading towards her, to have a proper look at her, to be with her. She kneeled down along with the crowd. The people there recited a few prayers, along with the priest, while I quietly stood in one corner of the room, admiring my woman.

After they were done, they all sat down on the tables in the church and I scooted beside Nandini. She smiled warmly when she saw me and slipped my hand into hers. It was overwhelmingly a wonderful feeling, even if it was just holding hands. Her eyes locked with mine and they looked more beautiful than ever before.

"Nandini... You are beautiful." I murmured as I brushed her hair away from her face with my other hand. She flushed and turned away, smiling. Navya was sitting on the other side of Nandini and was giving me gentle smirks. Ahh, this feeling.

The priest told us a bit about the church and its history and I couldn't help but yawn. Several times I'd accidentally fallen on Nandini which made her pass a few glares and pass some comments on how important it is to be a good listener. I frowned and impatiently waited for the priest to complete his lecture.

Later that evening, we went to a little lake there, close to our hotel and watched the sunset and clicked a few pictures. Though Nandini protested, I ensured to not let her go. After a couple of pictures, she began to enjoy the moment and the pictures too. If at all, I don't get to see her again, this will bring me back to her. Though I don't plan on returning unless I get her along. We spent our evening in bliss, cherishing the memories, for they would mean so much later on.

***

"Guys, just two more days for this expedition to end. So we'll do something interesting today. I am sure many of you have already made close friends. We're a total of 8 men and 6 women. So the game goes like, each of you choose a partner. Once you do that, you and your partner will be tied. Whoever either one of you touch will be frozen. The others should try melting them again by touching them. If a pair gets frozen three times in a row, they're out. When a pair is frozen, touching them again will melt them. The objective of the game is to freeze as many people as possible within two minutes. The winning team will get a gift. What say?" Aryamann announced and I looked at Nandini. She seemed a little happy about the game. Perhaps another moment to cherish with her.

"We're in." A huge number of us said in chorus and we began choosing our partners. Cabir chose Navya, Aisha chose Rehan, and I chose Nandini. The others paired up randomly and got a hand and a leg tied up. After we were tied, I looked at Nandini.

"Nandini, aaramse okay? Don't get hyped and hurt yourself, samjhi?" She nodded and entwined our fingers together.

"Tum ho na mere saath..." She said softly and it felt like it carried so much meaning. I smiled and kissed her head quickly and gently.

"Humesha..." I whispered against her hair and we began to play. Cabir ran behind one pair so ridiculously, that Navya had almost tripped twice and he just lifted her along with him. It looked amusingly funny and Nandini and I fell to the floor laughing. As a consequence, we were frozen first. A few people tried to save us too. We had pretty good cooperation, if not perfect, and we managed to get to the final three. Cabir and Navya froze us again and we struggled to save ourselves. Cabir and Navya won unfortunately and Nandini and I were giggling.

"Well played, partner." She gleamed in happiness and for the first time, losing didn't matter to me. I held her hand.

"Mere saath chalogi?" I requested as I gently tugged on her hand, to pull her up. She obliged and gave me a smile. We walked together to the other side of the camp.

"Nandini, tumhe pata hai... My life... It's so deranged. Like, I don't know what to do with it and what not. I'm 19 now and by now, every person has an idea of what to do. I'm just... confused." I said as I turned towards her and she looked at me.

"Why don't you have a discussion with your family then?" She suggested, flapping her hands in understanding. I heaved a sigh.

"I don't have one. They're just parents for the sake of it. They don't care about my existence. Both of them have their own business to handle and I'm nowhere in their priorities." I smiled sarcastically to myself and Nandini pulled my arm gently to stop me.

"Manik, don't say that. You know, maybe they're busy. They still love you. You're their son." She said with a little smile.

"Nandini, aisa nahi hai ki duniya ki saari relationships pure rahe. Sometimes, people escape from responsibilities. It's just like that. It happens." She shrugged and her voice cracked.

"Mujhe kaunsa pata hai, main toh unki yaadon ko bhi yaad nahi kar paa rahi hu." She said without meeting my eyes and I grabbed her into my arms.

"Nandini, shh... I'm sorry." I rubbed her back gently, trying to comfort her in my arms and she placed her arms around my waist ever so slowly, grasping me tight. It was a thing for me... The cutest thing a girl could do, apart from smiling, was hugging a guy around his waist. I placed my hand over her head and she hugged me tighter, dampening my shirt with her tears.

Suddenly, music played in the camp and it was so loud, we just had to pay attention. We broke apart and walked together inside the hall.

"So, this is another event for you all. I'm sure everyone loves dancing. The stage is yours guys." Aryamann shouted and Nandini and I made contact as soft music played in the background.

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(Eeks! One. Last. Update. and this story will also be over! Damn! I'm speechless RN. I don't know what to even say! Love you all so much. Keep voting and supporting. Thank you so much. Love, Sahana.)