Cabir:- ( suspiciously ) Nandini, are you hiding something from me?
Nandini huffed tiredly and said dramatically.
Nandini:- This is a very old question, Bhaiyu. Instead of this, ask “What more are you hiding from me, Nandini?” ( With a grin ) This sounds Macho…
Cabir gives her a lip-tight smile and crosses his arms around his chest, giving her a stern look, but who cares, because Nandini doesn’t!
Cabir:- Seeing your broad and toothy smile, I can bet that you are up to something big. And your every big step causes me trouble.
Nandini:- ( Accusingly ) Bhai, you are doubting me unnecessarily.
He let out a dry chuckle, still not believing in her words. He can die a merciless death, but will never trust his naughty sister.
Nandini:- By the way… Bhai, the trustee, wanted to meet you to discuss something important.
Cabir became alert, and without giving much importance to her words, he asked, confused.
Cabir:- Why?
She shrugged her shoulders while Cabir ran towards the trustee’s cabin, but on his way, he bumped into his assistant. The assistant calms him down and asks a genuine question, seeing his raging breath.
Assistant:- Sir, where are you going?
Cabir:- The trustee is calling me for some work.
Hearing him, the assistant laughs loudly, making him furious.
Cabir:- What happened?
The assistant composes himself and speaks, keeping his giggles under control.
Assistant:- Sir, I think Nandini Ma'am fooled you again because YOU ARE THE ONLY TRUSTEE OF THE COLLEGE, so how can any other trustee call you for a meeting?
Now the realization drew upon Cabir, making him angry.
Cabir:- ( Shouts ) Nandini… ( exhausted ) One day I will become psycho and this girl will make me beg on the streets.
On the other hand, Nandini smiles cutely while looking at the car keys in her hand, which belong to her one and only brother.
Nandini:- aww… my poor brother is so innocent. ( Scolds herself dramatically ) Nandini, you are turning naughtier day by day. You should stop fooling around with your brother, or else he will throw you out of the house. ( After a brief pause ) But for now, focused on the mission “LET’S BREAK SHY BOY’S LEG”. Nandini, you can do it!
Saying this, she wrote a note for her brother and zoomed out from the premises before anyone caught her stealing the car.
After a moment, Cabir comes into the parking lot in a disheveled state to scold his sister, but she is nowhere to see as well as his car. Suddenly, his eyes fell on the note which was resting on the floor just at the exact place where his car was parked in the morning.
Stuffing his giggles, the assistant picks up the note and reads it aloud, only to burst into a laugh at the end.
Hey Bhaiyu,
Just borrowed your car for an emergency.
It’s going to rain heavily according to the current weather forecast, and I don’t want to fall ill by getting wet while riding my scooter.
Thank you for lending your car to me…
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
One and only naive sister
Aapki aankhon ka taara… Nandini ( Apple of your eye)
The moment the assistant ends reading the note, the rain starts heavily, making the atmosphere dark and romantic. Cabir hissed angrily and repeated the few words, gritting his teeth.
Cabir:- ( Annoyed ) When did she borrow the car?
When did I lend her the car?
Naive!...Nandini?
Aankhon ka taara!...... Stupid Headache!
The assistant:- Sir, from where did ma’am get the car keys? And, where are the scooter’s keys?
Without a word, Cabir checked all his pockets, and there!... The keys are in his jeans pocket just as he expected. His sister would be a magician or a burglar in her previous birth. Nevertheless, he is relaxed that she won’t get wet in the rain and will safely reach home.
Nandini checked every possible place she knew her shy boy would go, but ended up with no clue. It’s almost 8 at night, and there is no knowledge about Manik’s whereabouts. She double-checked with Ritu aunty too, but he didn’t reach home yet. As the night gets darker and darker, the rain also gets heavier, making the visibility zero to drive the car further. Her heart is also sinking after not finding him after 4 hours of driving. She covered almost half the city just to find her shy boy, but it seems like he is not ready to come out in front of her.
After driving for half an hour more, she pressed the brake and looked at the temple in front of her that she had visited early in the morning to wish for her shy boy’s success. Don’t know why, but she felt like thanking god for making his concert hit and making a wish again to find her shy boy as soon as possible.
She parked the car aside and climbed the stairs, not caring about getting wet in the rain, which she hates the most. The temple was empty, which gave her enough time to sit in front of the god’s idol and pray for her Shy boy’s well-being.
Under the silence, she heard a sob which she ignored at first, but for the third time, she wouldn’t stop herself from going to look for the source of the voice. She finds a similar-looking man sitting behind the temple on the railing and getting wet in the rain. She won’t take a second to realize that the man is none other than HER MAN, HER SHY BOY.
A sudden warmth filled her heart seeing him alright, but she got worried after realizing that he was crying in the dark, stormy night, which she never wanted to see. And without caring about herself, she goes near him and settles beside him on the same railing, getting wet with him in the rain.
Manik is so indulged in his thought that he didn’t feel her presence, and Nandini couldn’t even try to take his attention.
After what felt like an eternity, she interlinked her fingers with his to bring him back to land and make him aware of her presence.
Manik takes a back, finding her so near to him, but tightens his hold around her fingers as if scared to let her go. She understood his inner turmoil and let him do anything he wanted to do for peace. Another sob left his mouth, making her alert. She raised a little to reach his height and rubbed his tears away. In the heavy rain that is pouring mercilessly on them, she sees his tears and pecks his cheek to soothe his heart.
After another 10 minutes, no one speaks anything but gathering all the courage, Manik asks a question in a whisper.
Manik:- What are you doing here, Nandini?
First of all, it sounds weird hearing her name from his mouth because she used to hear Fireball, which she loves. Secondly, is it not clear why she is here on a stormy night? But who can stop her, shy boy, from asking weird questions, and who can stop her from giving an even weirder answer?
Nandini:- ( With an annoyed face ) Oh… going to have s*x with my boyfriend, so I thought to take a blessing from god so that everything goes well. The c*ndom does its work… we both climax in every round…
She stops abruptly, seeing his expression, which says that he would cry any moment again if she continues saying that.
Manik:- ( Innocently ) You had a boyfriend?
His mind was stuck on the boyfriend only. He didn’t hear anything more or less than that, whereas Nandini smirks naughtily.
Nandini:- What if I say that I had a boyfriend?
Manik kept quiet and turned his gaze to the front.
Manik:- You were joking, right?
Nandini:- ( Calmly ) If I had a boyfriend, then I wouldn’t be sitting beside you here at 9 o’clock leaving the opportunity of sleeping in my boyfriend’s arms.
The silence fell again in between them, but the silence was prettier than anything else.
Once again, Manik breaks the silence.
Manik:- Won’t you ask why I am here? Why did I leave the college in a hurry?
Nandini:- ( genuinely ) I would definitely ask if you find me worthy of telling your side of the story.
Manik:- ( Lovingly ) If you are not worthy, then who are?
Nandini smiles and raises their intertwined hand, kissing their hand without losing hold. In return, Manik tightens his hold and pulls her closer, unknowingly.
To be continued…