24. Hauntingly Beautiful Memories

                                    

                                          
Iss safar mei, neend aisi kho gayi;
Hum na soye,raat thak kar so gayi
Sleep was lost in this journey in such a way that;
I couldn't sleep even though the night got tired and slept.
It's the eternal law of life that what cannot be forgotten, haunts us for life. No matter how hard you try to come above such things, you're always drawn back to them like a moth is drawn towards a flame. The harder you try, the deeper you get stuck. It's like a maze of thoughts that engulf you deeper and deeper in it, to an extent that you can't find your way out of it. That's when the horror begins; you try to run out in need of escape but your thoughts, your brain, keeps pulling you back, deeper than you ever were. That's how it functions. That's the tragedy of life.
Manik was not able to digest the fact that it had always been his parents in between his way of happiness. He couldn't believe that it was them because of whom he lost the person he was totally dependent on for his survival. He couldn't make peace with the fact that it was on account of his parents' betrayal that he lost two precious years of his life; wasting himself, torturing himself, hating the wrong person and drowning himself in the past, never coming out of that zone. His parents didn't do anything to make him feel better. They left him all alone when he needed them the most. Hadn't his mother promised to make everything alright when Nandini was being taken away? Hadn't his father vowed to bring Nandini back in his life? Hadn't his parents made him believe that it was all momentary and his life would come back to normal once things fall back in place? Where were all these promises now? Were they all false? Was he once again living his life in lies? Was nothing ever really was true? What was he reduced to now? What was his fault after all? Trusting his own parents? But isn't it done by everyone? Nandini also trusted her parents. Everyone does. Then why him? Why was he being punished for trusting his own parents?
So many questions were on his mind whose answers were demanded by his heart but Manik didn't have it in him to speak out. He was afraid that everyone will witness the broken him. They'll use him, laugh on his vulnerability and make fun of his emotions. His parents did exactly that. They made a business deal out of his love life. Then what was the  guarantee that others won't hurt him? There was only person who he could truly call his, on whom he could really rely, and who really understood him like no-one else—Nandini.
She was always there to support him and stood by all his decisions, giving him a moral support and strength to fight it all. He couldn't ask for more since the day he met her. Theirs wasn't a fancy or classic meet, the ones that happen in films. They always had an idea about each other, after all theirs families were friends since their college times. So it was natural that they met each other occasionally; on festivals, during family functions and get-togethers; after that they were in the same college and that's how sparks turned into a full fledged fire and love happened. The whole family was extremely happy or so it seemed and they even considered their relationship as a half marriage which was apparent in the way Manik used to show his possession and rights on Nandini.
It was one such day and as usual Manik and Nandini were bickering over something, when Smita Murthy barged inside her daughter's room and witnessed the war scene. She sighed and sat between them on the bed.
Smita: Ab kyu lad rahe ho dono?
Nandini: Mumma dekho na Manik ko. He's not letting me hang out with my group.
Manik: Areyyyyy what dekho? Smita maa mai batata hoon aapko. Yeh jo aapki beti hai naa, she's very careless. Inn madam ke group mei ek ladka hai Ronit. He's. . . He's having bad eyes for her.
Nandini: Mumma aisa kuch nahi hai. . .
Smita immediately kept her hand on Nandini's, halting her in the middle.