Cordially, Yours!

-57-

The cars honked, the air tightened. A cold hand touched her somewhere. A soft voice called her , but it was all too far to decipher. It was all so gone. Very much gone. The car. The thunder. The silence. His glassy eyes. The shatter. He was gone.

Nandini twinged inside and even though she heard many voices around, she failed miserably at making any sense of them. Her feet barely got her up and she stumbled her way out. The cool breeze blew by and the open space relieved her. Slowly, her heart paced itself and her breaths caught up to her. She dropped to the ground and looked up to the sky absorbing the cold dew and wind. 

"It's okay", she breathed. 

"It's not", a manly hoarse voice shuddered from behind. She had barely escaped his clutches when his voice jumbled her again. She turned around, his gaze pierced back - red, raw, fierce. 

"Manik, please", she squeaked still boring into him. His eyes softened a bit at her plead but, he wasn't letting this go. 

"Then just answer."

Her faced drooped at his question. She was tired. She wanted to give up. She was done fighting- fighting with him was fighting herself, fighting Fab 5 was like fighting with her family. Didn't he knew that well, it was tough for her too, to deal with his bursts and anger? Did he really want her to succumb to him?

"Say, Nandini Murthy, why? It's one question, one answer- just give it and that would be it." Manik closed in their distance and dropped down on his knees in front of her. They both were exhausted, may be it took away from both of them. Equally, could be debated but the fight had sucked their lives out of them to the extent that  they just withered here and there for answers. 

"It's not easy!"

"It's wasn't for me, but it always came to an end!"

"But, this doesn't seem to! I don't know, honestly, it's not easy."

"It can't be more difficult than what we went through together, Nandini!", Manik exhaustively said and pressed his head against her forehead. 

She closed her eyes gathering her courage and words and whispered, "I can't tell you and neither can I lie to you!" A sob escaped, and her tears rolled down his face. " What are you? Who are you? Why are you? Why are you, here?"

"That is it- you know the why and there's just one answer to it, you know it, love."

"Do I?" a hint of sarcasm came through her sobs. "Do you?" she questioned back at looked into his deep brown orbs. 

"I do. But, you were suppose to be there. Hamesha, was our promise." Manik said reassuringly with a slight flickering confidence in his voice. He had chosen to focus on her why while she turned to his why . The same question but two different perspective, two drastically different answers.  

"Was it?" She questioned back and titled her head innocently.

"Nandini!" He was taken aback. Was she disregarding all those moments they spent? Was she conveniently trashing all their promises for what she had now, for where she stood now? The question stumbled him, his thoughts threw him miles back. "Are you.. Are you bloody dumping me, huh" he rolled his eyes in amazement, "Throwing all we had! Uh, do you imply you bloody took advantage of me and my bruises?" He grabbed her shoulders with a jerk and held her tight. "Do you imply that I am trash for you have found two new ones to stay with?", he stealthily said and clicked tongue in his cheek. 

His false allegations stupefied her. Did he really think that low of her? Would all her love translate to this? Is where she stand right now bigger than her respect? Is where she stand right now blind him of all nights she had spent lulling him to sleep even when Rishabh suffered panic attacks back then?  Did her love really fail to show him the light?