Cordially, Yours!

-To The End-

-Chapter 66 and countless-

Manik knocked on her room's reddish, royal brown mahogany door once and waited for her footsteps to allow him in.

He waited for a minute when he knocked again- twice this time.

He pressed his ear against cold surface in a hope to hear her back. "She hadn't been out, she ought to be here. She hadn't been in the house, she ought to be in there", he thought to himself and reassured his thumping heart.

"Another try, Manik", he whispered to himself, fixed his coat's collar, knocked and waited- Again.

Thrice.

His impatience was getting the best of him and though his mind wanted to call out to her in demand, he held himself back and knocked again.

Forth time? he furrowed his eyes and rolled them staring at the roof in his utter dreadful await when he went down their memory lane.

"Nandini, look we are in a relation and I don't want to be like the others!"

"You'll never be Manik! Akhir, You are the Manik Malhotra!"

"Oho, suno, Murthy! I don't want us to childishly fight on petty stuff and thus, you have to tell me what all I should fix! Tumhara thik hi, I love you just like you are- perfect. But, you ought to tell me." Manik made pouted and fluttered his eyelashes in the hope of a similar sweet response from his sweet Nandini.

"Manik, you -- and--  fix! Umm, haan, first you loose patience real fast. Woh theek karo! And then, tum yeh mat ...." Nandini widened her eyes while naughtily complaining.

This girl had gotten the best and worst out him and when his politeness, a thing he actually check-marked from her crazy list of redundant "fixes for Manik Malhotra", reached its max, he gently pushed the door, only to be let it automatically.

He stumbled into the lightly closed room, a room he had been waiting to be opened since long. He looked around to find it utterly clean, as she would like it. He walked around admiring the white walls, the open-wide white windows, the white desk, plain white bedspread. He had never been here till now, and as much as he tried to deny that this new Nandini, this room  was only the testimony. This room only confirmed the roots of it. It had no color expect the pop of sky blue in the sofa, or the green from the plants, but that was it. This new Nandini, unlike his, loved serenity instead of childish play, loved grounded plants instead of the high-up floating stars, loved diaries instead of music- a thing he saw no trace of. But like the old one, she still didn't like black or red for herself, and she still... that was it? That was the only thing that hadn't changed and the only thing that still didn't match.

His heart shrunk at the realization but his head lifted himself abruptly to search for her. But, she was no where to be found. Manik was about to leave when his gaze fell on her white table decorated by a camouflaging white paper- crisp, neatly folded.

He unfolded the paper to find her in her lettering, once again.

"Manik,

I know tum yahan kyu aye ho. Dhundhane- kuch khawab, kuch sachai, koi reason. Bohot questions hein tumhare paas mere liye, bohot reasons honge tumhare paas yahan ane ke liye. 

But, Manik, this will only hurt. You'll only realize that tumhari shinning star-- she gave up on you. You are right, Manik, I have become someone else. I have become you, I have become Nyonika.

I'm a bit selfish for us, Manik. For you, for Fab 5.

Manik- you always went away. First, for Dhruv -you left. Then, to save me from Nyonika -you left. When Soha came, you came to protect me and Fab 5's career, and you left.