"Some people look for the obvious and make decisions based on that. However, sensitive people look for the subtle things in life. They observe what is missed, overlooked and rarely observed by others. They dwell at a deeper level of perception that clings to signs, body language and what is left unspoken. They are observers that will trust their instinct first over any fact or well-delivered speech."

Shannon L. Alder

* * * * *

When she had heard Manik addressing his mother by her name and not how every other child addressed his mother - Ma, Mom, Amma, or Ammi - Nandini had been shocked and somewhat disgusted by the distant and rude attitude of the creature - whom she had thought as a monster - towards his mother. She had thought that something must have been really wrong with him if he couldn't even respect and care about his own mother.

But as time went by, she got to know the real Nyonika Malhotra, and then she understood the reason why her own son disowned her and never acknowledged her as his mother. But even then she never had she thought Nyonika could stoop this low, that any mother could ever do what she had done by demanding the court to give her the death certificate of her one and only child.

While any mother at her place would have felt shattered, mourning for the lost son, Nyonika wanted to claim the wealth owned by the Malhotra's one and only heir. It's wasn't just her who was disgusted, heartbroken and so horrified, each one of them was.

When she had come to know, thanks to Inspector Rajiv - who was still in contact with her - about the case being closed because of the demand made by the mourning father, Mr Malhotra, Nandini had tried to contact him but that had been an unsuccessful attempt. And when Nyonika had let them know what she intended to do, Nandini had been sure that at least then Mr Malhotra would make an appearance and stop what was happening. But he didn't...

Mr Malhotra had only sent his advocate and his PA to deal with Nyonika Malhotra in from of a settlement outside of the court. With a demand to not drag the case in the media, Mr Malhotra had promised Nyonika that the shares that were meant to be Manik's would be divided between them equally. Nyonika had whined by the unfairness of it, claiming mothers had more rights, making Nandini loathe the duo like she never had anyone.

She had been disgusted by how easily they were discussing the death of the Malhotras' only son, only child. Both of them were more interested in making his death into something that benefits them as much as it could. Seeing them barging over petty shares, money, and property, Nandini felt as if her heart would explode with all the pain and rage she was feeling. She felt dizzy with the cruelty she was witnessing.

How cruel a mother could be? And how disinterested the father was? Was Manik really their son? Their child? The only child? What kind of parents were they? Fighting over the material possession while the one who should have been their only and most prized possession was lost somewhere, alone...

When angry and disheartened, she had yelled at both parties for being insane - the advocate of Mr Malhotra had dared to ask who she was?

"Who are you?" A simple question.

"Nandini, Nandini Murthy," had been her answer.

"I meant, how are you related to Manik Malhotra? Who are you to him?" He had asked her specifically.

"I am...I-I am his girlfriend," Nandini had answered, after a lot of hesitation.

There has never been any need to define their relationship, to anyone. Never before she had to explain to someone what she was to him or what he was for her. Everyone around them had known what they were with a glance in their direction, whenever they stood together. There has never been any need to give their relationship a tag, a name.

Words were insufficient to describe their relationship. They were each other's best friend, guide, role model, well-wishers and lovers, all rolled in one. They were each other's everything - cheesy as it was for others; it was the only truth for them. They have always picked only one word to express what they were for and to each other; 'Hamesha', forever...

Manik was her 'Hamesha', just as she was his...

"I am very sorry, Miss, but this new generation's girlfriend - boyfriend legally has no importance. It means nothing. You are not his next of kin nor have any blood relation with him that means you have no say in this matter." The advocate firmly told her as he pushed up his glasses from the edge of his nose while glaring at her.

"How can you say that? If anyone has a say in this matter it's her. Nandini is his family more than anyone ever could be," Cabir shouted out as he indicated a smirking Nyonika with a jerk of his hand.

Ignoring what he said, both parties moved on to find a middle ground and signed the papers which said they agree to let the matter be, but at the same time, both parents of Manik Malhotra acknowledged their son as dead in front of them.

As per the agreement, the death won't be acknowledged publicly, no one apart from they knew what happened, nor any of the two parties could raise the topic again till the next six years; the period required to declare the missing one dead. Officially!

As she heard everything that was said and done, Nandini felt as if it was her who was being acknowledged as the dead one. A consuming darkness settled down on her being which slowly devoured every ounce of light she had in her. The pain in her chest made it difficult for her to breath, the sobs she was holding back to not appear weak, were suffocating her. She felt as if she had nowhere to go, no one to reach out to help her in finding him. On one side, it was her; begging and pleading for one glimpse of him and then on the other side were his parents who were fighting over who would have more shares which belonged to the Malhotra's only heir. Was Manik so unimportant for them? Did that amazing person she had come to love in less than two years meant nothing for the people who had him for almost two decades?

Sitting on cold stairs outside the court premises with only Cabir and Navya at her side, Nandini felt as if someone had immersed her in the deepest coldest water of the sea with only darkness surrounding her. She couldn't breathe, nor could she hear what Cabir was saying in his rage. She was unable to feel the warmth of Navya's arms wrapped around in the act of consolation. All she could hear was white noise, so loud that she felt that her ears would start to bleed, only if her heart didn't give up first. Tears had long back dried, she just sat there and gazed in front of her until Cabir and Navya drag her to her home.

That day she lost all of the respect that she could ever have for Manik's parents, both of them. That night she had lost her hope in the darkness that surrounded her. That night as she gazed at the stars, she felt there was no hope within her. She tried to convince herself that one day Manik will come back to her, but she couldn't. That night while hiding herself in Chachi's motherly warmth, she had cried till darkness had pulled her in, comforting her for the first time with its absence of light.

When she woke up in the morning, her mind was clearer, more present. She told herself; so what of that evil witch didn't want to find Manik, she would. And if Mr Malhotra was too busy playing the famous businessman, fine by her. She didn't need their help in finding him, she would do it all by herself. She told herself that it would take a lot of time, the progress would be very slow, but time didn't matter when it came to him, all she needed was a plan.

And a plan came her way when she was offered a job by her grandmother's oldest student. She had been wary at first - What happened with Pandit still fresh in her mind - but as her grandmother kept insisting, she gave it a try, finding it a perfect job for her. A job which required her to go places all over India to hunt young talent. While her family thought it would keep her mind away from Manik, keep her sane, they didn't know the reason why she had accepted it was him only. Not only she would get to travel different places - expense covered - she didn't even have to ask her family gave the permission as she had before while she had been away from her home to search for Manik.

The job had solved many of her problems and it also gave people around her the illusion that she was moving on from the loss of Manik, which made them give her space and privacy to take her plan to the next level; to find him...

The fact that Cabir soon became her partner in both job and plan only increased her confidence. He had jokingly told her that he had only been there because he had to verify if at least one student of her grandmother was sane because he had promised Manik that he would take care of her until he came back. It had made me smile and feel grateful, more because he gave value to the promise he had made Manik than having him be her side.

That gave her one more reason why she had to make sure Manik come back; he had to know his devotion to people was mutual, at least in Cabir's case. She had promised herself then; no matter how long it would take, no matter what it would cost her, she was going to make sure Manik Malhotra knew he was loved the way he deserved to be...

* * * * * *

'Here goes nothing,' Dr Miller thought as entered in Manik's room.

It has been a week to the day when Manik was discharged from the hospital and ever since then Dr Miller had known this day would come. He and Dr Waltz had requested Mr Malhotra to let him be there for Manik till he settled down in his new environment. Reasoning with him that too many changes would only disturb him more. But the week has ended and now as Dr Shah walked beside him, he could only look at the old man with envy.

To say he was disappointed would be an understatement; the reality was that he was heartbroken. The case was getting interesting and the past history of his now-former patient made him even more into the case. He would have loved to work on it, but alas...

Dr Miller told himself that he would get much more interesting cases in the future, but he was unsuccessful in consoling himself. A frown always accompanied by the reality whenever he wondered; how many cases there have been where the patient had imagined and created a whole new imaginary person after waking up from a coma? None. The answer was none!

And even if that wasn't the case, his young patient and his brain fascinated him. Manik Malhotra sure was an interesting creature, the way he behaved to the situation made everyone curious about him. Dr Miller wanted to discover more about him, his persona, his past trauma and the way his mind worked. But as soon as he had succeeded in making the patient comfortable and open up to him a little bit, the big famous doctor Shah made his entry, all ready to take the case away from him.

'This is so wrong,' Dr Miller thought as he glared at the person - Dr Shah - walking next to him.

Once inside the room, after the pleasantries, he with a deep sign introduced the old man standing next to him to the patient.

"This is Dr Jahangir Shah, the best psychiatrist we have in London. He is going to take over your case from now on," Dr Miller informed his former patient with a heavy heart.

"Can you tell me why this is really necessary? I didn't even need you, and now you have brought another one of your kind for me to tolerate. Great!" Manik scoffed as he too glared at the new addition.

He was confused over why all of sudden he was being treated as a person who has lost his mind? He may have needed Dr Miller to know how to deal with the after-effects of the accident and the coma, and they were doing fine, so why the change? He asked himself. Why did his father have to go and appoint an old and expensive psychiatrist? Who, without a doubt, was going to be as arrogant about his success as his own father was.

With a deep sigh, he tried to come up with something to get out of this situation. There had to be a way...

'This is getting messier day by day,' he thought as he glared at the wall in front of him while leaning his back against the chair. As the two psychiatrists kept talking in medical terms, he paid no attention to them.

"I am going to take my leave now. Goodbye, Manik. All the very best," Dr Miller wished him as he reached out to shake his hand.

"Thank you, for everything," he muttered as he nodded at his former psychiatrist. Why keep any hard feelings for someone who had only wanted to help? And the truth was that Dr Miller had been a great help to him in understanding the damaged his brain had suffered during the accident.

"So, how are you feeling?" Dr Shah asked him as soon as he heard the door close behind him.

"I was doing fine till you came in," Manik snapped and subjected him with a furious glare of his.

"Okay, let me start by telling you that we are going to spend the next hour together, either you talk or not, I am going to be paid, but I suggest you to talk with me because you need my help," Dr Shah said in a very passive tone.

"And how did you come to this amazing conclusion that I need you?" Manik asked as he sarcastic smiled at him. "I need no one, just enough time to heal, that's it. So, I suggest you; walk out and do not waste my time," he said with a hard tone in his voice.

'This sure is going to be interesting.' Dr Shah thought with a sigh as he kept looking at the patient.

He was out of practice, Dr Shah realized soon enough. From the past two decades, he had only worked as a professor at the university, nothing more. Sure, he was the owner of a leading private clinic, but he hadn't personally interacted with a patient from the past ten years.

'It's normal. It will only take some time,' he assured himself.

He would have let any other younger, but experienced psychiatrist handle the case, but the father of the patient had insisted for him to be the one who helped his only son. Mr Malhotra was an old associate, other than that, he had also hired his clinic for the mental health care of his employees and in exchange of that, he had only asked him to be the psychiatrist of his son. The deal was way too good to let go of, so he had agreed.

"Let's start all over again, shall we?" Dr Shah told him as friendly as he could.

"I honestly don't need you, so don't waste my time or your energies. You can sit here for the hour and walk out with whatever pay that Mr Malhotra has offered you. Just don't disturb me," Manik told him after letting out a deep sigh. Slowly the painkillers were wearing off and he was becoming conscious of the throbbing and aching limbs of his.

"Okay," Dr Shah agreed calmly but he pushed himself to find a way to break the ice.

"So, I heard you were waiting for a girl," he casually said as he looked out for a reaction as he talked about the topic which would make the patient talk with him.

"What did you just say?" Manik asked with a hard tone in his voice as he glared at the old man in front of him.

"Nandini Murthy, isn't she?" Dr Shah asked with a smug smile.

"How do you know?" Manik asked him as he narrowed his eyes at him.

If it was any other day, any other time, he would have never given the old man time of his day, but it wasn't any other day nor was it any other time. Now more than ever, he needed to find what was going on in his father's mind and for that, he realized, he needed to interact with the Doctor.

"Dr Waltz was asking about her, but your father told him he couldn't find her. If you tell me about her, maybe I can help you. You see, I am an Indian too," Dr Shah gently persuaded the patient.

"What about her?" Manik asked as he looked at the psychiatrist with hesitation in his eyes.

"Everything, anything, really...I don't mind," Dr Shah smiled kindly.

"Well, I do mind. There is no way I am going to give you any kind of information that my father can use against me," he told the old man with a flat tone in his voice. As if he was dismissing him, he turned around once again to glare at the wall in front of him.

"I am at your side, not anyone else's. I am here so I can help you out, Manik. I do not have any ill intention towards you, let me assure you," Shah told the patient as gently as he could.

But he got no answer, after a few minutes of silence, he tried once again.

"So, what is she like?" Dr Shah asked.

Manik was firm on his stand, he refused to answer the old man, but the question had triggered something in his mind. He had not seen her from the past seven months; sometimes it felt as if the more time passed by, the more the memory of the time he had spent with her was getting evolved into a thick fog, making everything about her hazy. It scared him; the possibility of forgetting the time he had spent with her.

As the minutes passed by, his mind tried to find an answer: how was Nandini like? Which were the best words to describe her? With a frown, he kept trying to come with the answer, for himself, not to answer the Doctor.

"Well?" Dr Shah asked once again after waiting for a few minutes.

"I guess I can give a description as I have already given the others, countless times," Manik said after a deep sigh, knowing he wouldn't be left alone for at least the next hour.

It felt ridiculous to even attempt to describe her to someone who didn't know her. How could anyone understand whom he was talking about when they haven't seen and known Nandini as he had? She was just Nandini for him, his shining star, but he couldn't tell that to anyone, could he? It was something only he and Nandini knew of, something only theirs. He didn't even want to tell anything about her to anyone, as she was, after all, the more personal and intimate part of his life, of his being. She was someone that he didn't want to share with anyone. But alas, desperate times call for desperate measures.

"She is short, 5 feet 5 or 6, has long black hair. Dark brown eyes and the most beautiful smile," he described her, and despite all, his voice took a soft tone in the end.

He missed that beautiful smile the most, he realized. After all, that was one of the things he loved the most about her. She smiled so beautifully, so kindly, so friendly at everyone, but whenever she smiled at him, her eyes had so much warmth in them, and love. So much care. He missed how she used to fuss over him when he was hurt, and knowing her, she would have done the same if she would have been here.

If she would have been here...

All of sudden he felt tired, as if every ounce of energy he had, was consumed by the helplessness he was surrounded by. Was there any way to get out of it? He asked himself, knowing very well that there wasn't any, until the day he would be able to walk on his own and run back to his home, to her, he was stuck, trapped in the cage his father had built around him.

"What are you thinking about?" Dr Shah asked, breaking the silence around them.

"None of your business," Manik snapped at him with his face hardening and his eyes more focused.

"Interesting," Dr Shah commented as he kept observing the changing expressions of the patient's face.

"I am sure you find what is happening here very amusing, but you have chosen the wrong person for the entertainment. Don't mess with me," Manik told him as he glared at him.

"I am not. Manik, just think once; talking with me is going to be the best way for you to prove she is a real person because your father has told me otherwise," Dr Shah said as he kept looking into Manik's eyes to find if he was considering what was being said.

"I don't need you to prove that she is real. I don't need to prove anything to anyone," Manik yelled at him with his fist clenched in anger.

"Yes, you do. I am the only one who can help you," Dr Shah insisted.

"Get out!" He ordered as he kept subjecting him with a glare hard enough to inflict panic in any person.

"Can't handle the truth, can you?" Dr Shah asked with an arrogant smirk.

"I said get out!" He yelled, making John, who had been waiting around the corner, come running into the room.

"Take this man out of here, John," Manik ordered as he kept glaring at the old man who in return just waved his hand in a gesture of dismissal.

As John kept looking between Manik and him, Dr Shah took pity on him and told him what he had to do.

"Mr Malhotra had ordered you to make sure that no one enters in the room till the hour is ended," he reminded with a calm voice.

Hearing that, John only looked at Manik to know what was that he wanted him to do. He was after all there for the patient, not for anyone else. Manik's comfort came first.

"You will be removed from the duty if you keep interrupting my time with my patient," Dr Shah said with authority seeing the nurse not moving from his place.

"You are crossing your line," Manik warned him with a glare.

"Oh, I am not," Dr Shah simply stated.

He had found the way to make his patient talk; He has to provoke him, challenge him, push him till he gave in and started to talk with him. Telling the patient too soon that something was wrong with him wasn't a good way to move forward. But after years, Dr Shah knew that every patient was to be dealt with differently. And the one sitting in front of him was one of those who had to acknowledge the problem, only then they would start working on finding a way to solve it.

Nodding to himself, Dr Shah smiled with satisfaction when he found his patient looking at him with a challenge in his eyes.

'We are on the right way!' Dr Shah assured himself as he smirked at Manik.

* * * 

A/N:- And that's how the chapter ends, I hope you all liked it... :)

Please let me know your thoughts and feelings on the characters, on the chapter and the story so far in the comment section... :)

Thank you for your kind words, support and encouragement, for waiting and for motivating me... :)

Thank you! :)

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