TARA (ON HOLD)

Chapter 25

SORRY FOR THE DELAY.

BUT HAPPY SILVER JUBLIEE TO US?
NO! TOO CHEESY..!

HAPPY READING.

Walking to Tara's room Manik thought, the sound of vigourous thunders might have scared her. But as he switched on the room lights, he found Tara dripped in sweat and thrusting against the bed. Crying loudly in her sleep, she was trying to call someone.

"Tara!!" Nearing the bed, he rapidly tried to wake her up somehow. But instead, her cries intensified and she refused to open her eyes. Tapping on her cheeks and shaking her a bit worked and her eyes opened. Only to pour out streams of tears.

"Papaaa" Tara threw herself at him and sobbed loudly. Manik's mind was panicking watching her but he strived to keep his sane and tried to handle her calmly. So he let her cry and held her tighter. "It's okay love. I've got you shhh..." Gently rocking her back and forth, he tenderly rubbed her back and whispered sweet nothings to assure her. "F-fire pa-papaa. There was." Tara's cries escalated as she kept ranting his name in help.

Nandini certainly couldn't just sleep off while her baby was crying her lungs out. She followed behind Manik and reached out to her. She watched Tara still clinging to Manik, crying herself blind and Manik failing at his attempts to quiet her down.

Settling on a stool next to the bed, she gavr Manik a grim look. She obviously hated when Tara had nightmares but she also knew how much pain it caused Manik to feel her hugging him like that. So tight as if her entire life depended on him. It always reminded him of the dreadful night a few years ago, when she was left all alone in the buring house. They probably thought that the bad dreams were about the same incidient and so did Tara's doctor. Manik sighed at her and kept rubbing Tara's back trying in vain.

"Hey baccha, come here meri jaan." Nandini detangled her from Manik and shifted the little girl into her lap. Tara instantly snuggled up to her, finding the motherly warmth and comfort.

Manik slouched his shoulders in defeat and watched his daughter. Still shaking from the cries, she seemed so fragile amd tired. Nandini parted her sweaty hair out of her face and wiped out the blobs of tears around her eyes.
"It's okay sweetie. Look there's no fire." She tried to maintain a converstaion to distract her. "It's just papa and mumma here, right? It was only a bad dream baby." Rubbing her arms and kissing her head, Nandini managed to calm her down, still hicupping from time to time.

"I d- don't wike it mama." A faint whisper echoed in the quiet room and that was enough to break the parents' hearts.

"I know love. I know." Hugging her closer Nandini held her and Manik stood up from his place barely able to control his emotions.

"Come on do you want Papa to sing you that song you like? You know on the guitar thing?" Tara looked up interested. "Yeah, so how about Tara sleeps with mumma papa today just how she likes it, in the middle?" She nodded her head tiredly.

Manik immediately grabbed his guitar from the storage while Nandini carried Tara in her arms to their bedroom. Settling her down in the middle of the bed, Nandini covered her with a warm blanket and laid down beside her, cuddling. Manik came back with the guitar and smiled at them and sat beside Tara.

"Ready princess." He asked in his softest voice and Tara replied with a gentle nod of head and bat of eyes. Tuning the guitar, he smoothly began humming a soft melody which, as anticipated, calmed the little girl to a great extent. She soon fell asleep nuzzled in her mother's chest. Exhaustion got the better of Nandini, and she too fell asleep unkowingly to Manik's voice.

Noticing them softly snoring, Manik set down the guitar on the floor and adjusted himself on the other sode of the bed, being careful not to wake them up, and tried to let sleep take over his thoughts.