Middle of Nowhere

Both Navya and I turned towards the entrance, the source of the voice and saw both Tom and Jerry standing there. Don't get confuse, Tom and Jerry is my beloved brother and his fighting partner Mukti.

Wait a minute, how does Mukti and Abi both standing together? Their combined arrival is accident or they both came together?

If they both came together, how come they know each other?

Two months back, when I met Mukti and Fab5, I just told about our meeting to Abi and I didn't give intro to each other (though both know each other very well, as they have not seen each other more than 15 years,' intro is needed). I turned to Navya but the scene I am seeing is completely opposite than the Navya who was decided to fulfil our flat's water scarcity by her tears sometimes back is folded her hands above her chest and giving some mischievous smile in direction of Abi and Mukti. Definitely she is a full pack!

Abi explained everything happened in his life in this one month to say preciously one month and 2 weeks. We know that Abi got call from wrong number and both used to fight. At first I though it would be some dangerous person calling Abi, but his face said different when he narrates their fights to me and Navya, when we caught him shouting at his phone one month back. He told that he got a call from unknown person, lady in precise and they have their routine fight which helps Abi to distract from his work pressure. Only the special person can make to forgot our stress even with their fights.

But seriously I don't know their fight started again after 15 years also because of me.

When Manik forcefully pick me up from my office and dropped me at my home, I forgot my mobile in car at night later next day Manik himself came and gave his mobile to me. But in between I got Mukti's number for Navya and called Mukti but she didn't pick up at that time. In this process I used Abi's mobile to call Mukti and forgot to inform the same to Abi. So Mukti thought Abi as some random guy who is trying to woo her and Abi thought Mukti as some random girl like Mukti thought about Abi. But at last their fight ends when Abi accidently saw Navya's message sending Mukti's number in his mobile.

"So you are Abi's cute idiot girl?" Navya asked Mukti. Though Mukti don't know the story behind the name cute idiot girl, Mukti blushed and I am sure Abi wanted to jump down through our window (even though our flat is in 7th floor) to escape from our current interrogation. Mukti composed and asked "What is cute idiot girl"

"That was you name given by our very own doctor India" Navya answered but her dramatic way never downgrades.

"What is doctor India?" Abi asked now.

"Haven't you heard captain America, likewise you are doctor and in India so Doctor India"

************************************

"You miss him?" Mukti asked abruptly.

Abi got call from his hospital regarding some critical case that he is currently dealing and Navya is currently resuming her experiment to prepare Choco lava popcorn that was stopped due to our so call fight because of some reason that I can't remember for which we started to fight.

You may wonder what is Choco lava popcorn, that was new dish Navya currently experimenting and of course I am her rat to test whether her experiment is succeeded or not and now I am having company in my rat mission, that is our well known member of Fab5 'The Mukti'.

"No, I saw him two weeks before and he used to call me almost daily. Then why should miss him?" Mukti gave some alien reaction which I can't decipher.

"I asked about Kavin" Mukti deadpanned.

Aiyappa, of course she will be asking about Kavin. Why on the world I thought it would be about Manik.

Nandhini, you are lost your sanity.

"And about whom you talked? Who is calling you daily and though you miss him so badly?"

"Mukti, I told clearly that I am not missing him as he used to call daily. Which part of sentence you don't understand?"

"My poor Nandhu, you had a great fight with that scientist who is currently doing research in Kitchen about your best friend..."

"Ex-best friend" I corrected Mukti.

"Ok, ex-best friend and if one normal person would have understood that I was asking about Kavin. But instead you told about someone, so obviously that person was full on your mind and you miss him badly"

Do I seriously miss Manik?

But why?

"Stop your theory Mukti, it is nothing like you are thinking?" I stammered not convince with my own words.

"oh my god, is that true? That she mentioned your feelings for Manik" She was excited at the beginning but at the end of her own statement, her disappointment replaces the excitement.

"That is some random words by Navya, I started to share a kind of friendly bond with Manik that's it. We still fight but at the end of day he understands me and vice versa. But why were you so excited at first but sad at the end"

"I don't know whether you know or not that Manik's father died..."

"Yes, Manik himself told me once" The word surprised cannot describe the exact reaction on Mukti's face. It is kind of she is stupefied.

"I really cannot believe what you said. Seriously Manik himself admitted to you?" I nodded my head positively and told about our little vacation to his guest house.

Surprising I didn't feel weird when I told everything to Mukti. Even though Mukti and I know from childhood, we didn't share a bond now same as that of our childhood. Whenever I meet her, she will be with Fab5 gang up with Cabir and prank others, and we never meet in private and have one to one conversation like we have now. Though it is first time, I never hesitated while narrating whole guest house scenes. She was laughing like Manic when I mentioned about our food fight and other fights and concerned when I told about my Appa and my equation with him.

Till now whatever I observed, Mukti is the most innocent child of Fab5. She has the heart of seven-year kid who won't think twice before speaking never hesitate to behave what she feel not bothering about other's impression on her but in the mask of strong tomboy character.

"I am happy if Manik gets back to his carefreeness" Mukti expressed at end my story.

"What is that mean" I sounded my doubt.

"Now you can see Manik as a calculative business man and a famous singer with full of attitude but this is not his originality. He was the most carefree person of Fab5. He never cares about tomorrow and throw unwanted past memories from his mind. He was the same talented Manik Malhotra but never you could have seen him serious. He was original Cabir's evil twin in pranking people. Cabir and Manik both are famous for their ragging style. It is like it would never hurt the juniors but also fun for the observers. He was an open book, never hide anything from us and always expressive till his father's dead"

Though I have not seen his original self, still I could imagine his past as a carefree student, fun loving friend and talented singer. Even though I can say I could understand how hurted he would be when his father died, the only person (a 19-year-old teenage boy rely fully on his father ) who can fully understand what he really went through, he himself.

"Our old Manik died along with his father that he changed into whole new person that we could not recognise him post funeral of his father. He was changed on whole. One can literally count the number of words he would speak in one whole week and I bet the count will be less than 20. He stopped speaking. Imagine a person to whom other beg to close his mouth will speak only yes or no. Cabir and Dhruv did a good job to bring back old Manik but not the whole."

" He stopped sharing his feeling but not caring his friends. Though he won't let us know what is going in his mind, he can easily guess what is going in our mind. Outside person will think him as hypocrite when he won't let us take care of him but he will be the first one taking care of Fab5 . But we know our old Manik and what his originality is."

I think Manik is more stronger than I think. As Mukti told and I too had noticed him as too calculative and understand our current feeling without expressing and I have also doubted him as Edward Cullen from twilight, who have supernatural powers to read others mind.

But on serious note, if he lost his originality after his father dead and still didn't get back to it, it means, he is still grieving for his father's dead and not yet moved on? I didn't voice out my fear and Mukti continued.

"That's why I was surprised when you told Manik himself admitted, in this case we can hope"

"Hope for?"

"Hope you can bring back whole old Manik back"

"Mukti, you seriously think so? Cabir and Dhruv tried a lot and they cannot and how come I could. If you are thinking me as some magician who can do wonders, then stop that hope here. I am not the one."

"Exactly Nandhu, Cabir and Dhruv tried a lot but you did nothing except you walked away from him and he followed you to your room and told everything. But nothing like that happened with Cabir or Dhruv. You may think I am exaggerating but seriously Cabir did every possible to bring back Manik even Dhruv back out, but that stone didn't melt"

I felt uncomfortable with current look o Mukti, like she was trying to imply that finally she saw their saviour who could only help her and her friend to escape from a monster they are struggling with.

"But Manik lost hope on love"