3 days passed but neither of the two contacted each other. Nandini was hopeful that manik would give in but he didn't!

Today the school reopened for the new session. Nandini entered the classroom hoping to see manik at last. But her hopes shattered when she didn't find him in the new classroom. She straight walked upto cabir and asked him about manik. cabir was surprised at first that nandini was not aware of manik's whereabouts but then he told her "nandini, manik is down with dengue"

"what??" nandini exclaimed in apprehension "wo thk toh h??"

"yeah yeah he is fine...blood test mein uske platelet count thora low show kiya tha toh doctor ne bola hai to give him diet rich in iron...so he is at home, resting" cabir pacified her by giving the details. Nandini closed her eyes in silent prayer to god.

Soon the classes for the day began, but nandini was restless all the while. She had to see him somehow , only then this anxiety would go, but she didn't know how! After the classes got over she again went to cabir.

"cabir, i want to meet manik. tum mujhe uske ghar le chaloge please??"

"nandini dekho main samjhta hun ki tum manik se milna chahti ho...but uske ghar jana.. trust me,its not a good idea"

"cabir please" nandini requested and her eyes turned moist , which was noticed by cabir, but he was helpless.

Abhi and Dhruv too joined them and came to know the issue.

"cabir, dekh nandini ghar ni jaa sakti but manik toh bahar aaskta hai?? May be we can do something..."Dhruv suggested.

"but..." cabir tried to protest but one look at nandini's sad face and he had to give in "ok thk h..chalo 4 baje k around i will pick you guys up from that common spot fir waha se manik k ghar chalenge and let's see what we can do"

"thank you thank you! Thank you so much cabir!" nandini was elated.
......
"ok guys we are here..we boys will go inside and nandini you will wait here..when we are able to manage something we will call you in. Ok??" cabir asked and nandini nodded.

"hello aunty hum manik se milne aye the" Dhruv said politely when manik's mom opened the door.

"ha ao ao...andar ao beta. Acha hua tumlog agye warna manik toh bore ho gya tha" she said ushering them in.

"ji ab wo kesa hai?? Kab tak theek hoga??" cabir asked.

"kal firse blood test hoga beta...agar platelet count normal ho gya hoga toh 2-3 din mein school start kar dega...wse v iss year boards hain...jyada class miss karna thk ni hoga....manik..! beta , dekho tumhre friends aye hain" she announced to a sleeping manik while removing the mosquito net.

Manik got up quickly, relieved as well as happy that now he won't waste away in the confines of the room. they sat down on his bed and began talking.

"tumlog baatein karo main kuch snacks lati hun" his mother said and left the room.

Dhruv was biting his nails, abhi was constantly looking here and there, cabir too was not focussed. This was noticed by manik.

"tumlog itne ajib tarah se q behave kar rahe ho...maa chali gyi hain ab stop acting like innocent kids" manik said and laughed on his own joke but the rest of them looked at him with a we-are-in-a-trouble-and-you-are-enjoying-look.

"kya??" manik asked not getting the point.

"teri girlfriend bahar car mein baithi hai" cabir hissed and manik froze.
"what??" he whispered.

"haan...what...!! what now?? She is stubborn as hell...usey tujhse milna hai...but mujhe samajh ni araha how to make it possible!" cabir said.

"i can help!" came the voice of manik's sister. Rest of them looked at her in horror.

"what ?? bhaiyu ase kyu dekh rahe ho?? I know you have a girlfriend...aur main 21st century ki larki hun...not like mom..orthodox soch wali...so daro mat main kisi ko ni btaungi" she said.

"but arzoo ...this is bad habit ...eavesdropping!" manik chided her.

"bhaiyu sorry! but main bas ari thi room mein toh sun liya" arzoo said sadly.

"arzoo relax...tera bhaiyu kharus h we all know...but tum ye btao how were you going to help us??" abhi said and arzoo beamed at him.

"with the help of my assistant!" she concluded.

"assistant??" manik asked in confusion.

"arisha!!!!!!!!!!" arzoo shouted from the room and arisha was there in a minute "haan di...kya hua??"

Manik smiled at his two adorable sisters. Arzoo whispered something in arisha's ear and arisha nodded and then left the room but not before showing her 32 teeth to manik!

"bhaiyu we are going to keep mumma busy for a while till then atleast you can see her from the balcony" arzoo suggested and left the room.

Cabir was amazed by the turn of events. Before anyone could move, manik was on his feet and then out the room's door to balcony. He had a sense of exhilaration because he would see her after 3 days and 12 hours. She had come to see him which means she had chosen him over her ego which also means that she values him and most importantly, she loves him. The boys shook their heads in disbelief but followed manik.

Nandini was restless. Will she meet him?? How is he?? Is he still angry?? Should she just let her ego go for this one time?? While thinking all this, she looked around in the area. It is so different from her locality. The houses here are a little shabby and in need of reconstruction. Drains are open and filthy. No wonder he has caught dengue!! This evoked a sense of pity in her heart but she quickly pushed that thought away. Manik will never like her sympathy and she knows now why he is so keen on being economically sound in his life. He definitely wants to rise above in his life and she knows he will! But how is he now??

Being impatient she came out of the car and started pacing. She didn't know which was manik's home out of the four blocks in front of her. She just scanned all the windows and balcony time to time hoping for some familiar face to pop up from any one of them.

Manik came out in the balcony and saw her pacing. His lips lifted up in a smile, on their own accord. Just then she looked up , her eyes scanning the place, and he knew she was searching him, so he raised his hands in the air in the semblem of a wave and that instantly caught her eye and her eyes flashed to his. She jumped a little in excitement, just like a kid, and returned his wave. He was far, so she used sign language to communicate. She gestured, asking him how he is? And he signalled that he is fine. She heaved a sigh and then held both her ears to say sorry. he melted and he couldn't resist and held his own ear , to show that he was sorry too.

While the love birds were busy sign talking, the gang was on its mission 'distract mommy'. Arisha went in the kitchen.

"mom kya kar rahi hain??" she asked innocently.

"bhaiya k friends ae h na beta , unhi k liye snacks le jaa rahi hun" her mother explained.

"mom mujhe v chahye"

"jo chahye khud le lo. Don't disturb me!" her mom said strictly.

"ok" arisha said and turned towards the shelf. She knew in which can sugar is kept, so she deliberately took it and opened its lid and then acted as if the can slipped off her hands.

Whole of the contents of the can was now on the floor.

Arisha knew that she will now have to face her mother's wrath but it would definitely help her brother, so anything for him! And as expected her mother turned to glare at her.

"arisha iss box mein snacks ni the...you know that!!" she whisper yelled aware of the guests.

"mom main bas dekh rahi thi...sorry"
"what sorry!! pura sugar spill ho gya...mera kaam badha diya tumne!"

"mom sorry" arisha was now in tears.

She knew this would happen yet she couldn't stop herself from crying. Arzoo came to her rescue.

"mom kya hua??" arzoo asked , then saw the sugar on the floor "oh...its ok mom relax..main snacks de kar ati hun fir ye utha dungi" she said hoping that her mother would counter her and thankfully she did "ni arzoo tum jao snacks do ..main ye uthati hun tab tak"

"mom apko bhaiyu k lye fruits lane v jana tha na?? Abhi chale jao..humsab tab tak bhaiyu k sath hain hi!" arzoo threw another bait. And it worked, as her mother became thoughtful, "hmmm..theek hai . ye bhi sahi rahega" her mother said and both the sisters hi-fived each other in their minds.
......
"manik you have got really smart sisters yaar!" cabir praised genuinely as soon as manik's mother was out of the main door. Arzoo had gone to fetch nandini. Arzoo had informed them that they have less than 25 minutes according to her estimated time of her mother's return. But manik felt guilty. He was hiding things from his mother, which he had never done before. Was this right? But when nandini entered shyly through the door, he forgot everything else, it was replaced by just his happiness of seeing her after so many days!
......
Next update will be of arranged marriage. This piece of information is for all those people who are asking me about the same!

#OKTHANKSBYE