Hamesha, Yours!

-4-

"Ae Manik! Hi, bruh!" Cabir chirped and welcomed Manik in his house.

"Cabs, why are you still in your pajama? We have to go!" Manik flapped his hands in the air.

"Kya yaar, Manik! Chill na, why are you so hyper? We'll go na, waise bhi Madhubala kept me awake all night!"

"Oho!" Manik teased lightly and the vessels whistle blew off from the kitchen and so did the coffee boiler's ping.

"Zyada bhav mat kha! Jaise tera one track mind hi na, it's nothing like that! We were watching Gunday all night." Cabir dismissed his tease and walked towards the kitchen to bring his coffee to life.

"Hi Manik!" Navya welcomed him as he entered the kitchen following Cabir.

Manik grabbed an apple from the basket and greeted her with his salute. "Yaar Cabs, make it quick! We have to go to the studio too!"

Cabir turned towards him and sighed while leaning against the counter,

"I'm not late, you are late and well, lost since yesterday night. Manik! Chord usko- leave it. Leave her, leave yourself. Woh nahi aai gi until you let go of this chase."

"I can't give up. She can but I can't," Manik said.

"Then bhul ja ki milegi woh tujhe! Move on, that's what she wanted, move on and find yourself. Let yourself fall and rise. Heer-ranjhe kahinyoon mein the. This ain't a film jahan kisi mord par woh tumhe mil jayegi phir se!"

"Phir se dhoondh toh sakta hu. Koshish toh kar sakta hoon."

"You can. But, she didn't want a phir se. Don't you see, she hated "phir se". Repetition scares her, Manik- she wanted you to redefine."

"Cabir, I know nothing. I have to look for her. I have to. I have so much to say. Don't you see I'm changed. Don't you see- Nyonika doesn't matter to us, Harshad doesn't effect us, I don't linger on to what was said, I don't linger on to anything."

"That's the problem, my friend." Cabir abruptly kept his coffee mug on the table. "That's the problem, Manik. You don't choose."

"Cabir.." Manik said deadpanned only to be soon cut short.

"No, Manik. Not an excuse, yet again. I know you see it, and yet ignore it. Agar mohabat karte ho uss se, appni galati jante ho, then why do you want to stay best friends with denial? Why? You claim to love her, you claim to run in her hunt, you claim to have everything with her from a fling to first- sight love to bepannah mohabatt to aashiqui but then why do you disagree to see and not see the point. You fucking don't choose. You never chose her, you never chose yourself, you never chose us it was always a choice for someone that you made. It's not all your fault, but still it was your fault. Choose, you idiot."

"You would have known, Cabir Dhawan if you were in my shoes- how difficult the choice is." Manik muttered lowly, his vision tunneling into the ground. "And I am a fool in the game of choices that is why we stand here. Like this."

Manik looked up to meet Cabir's watery eyes. Their story had diverged. Choices had been tough and easy to make from different perspectives. They were tough wasn't the debate. But the quest for the right one was quenching none.

An utter silence followed soon after, the smell of burnt hearts, friendships and food took over the grimace and the vessel's whistle puffed out itself, exhaustively. The hot droplets covered the counter in its color. Manik let out a scoff at the sudden discoloration of the table.

"Just like us", he muttered and turned on his feet and made his way out of the door.

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