"So how's it going?" Asked Mrs Singh serving Manik another Parantha. 

Colonel Singh raised his eyes to glare Manik and Manik gulped the half chewed morsel unable to handle the situation. 

"What's going?" He asked lowly. 

"Your training and exams," Mrs Singh explained and Manik sighed in relief. 

His life recently had been nothing more than huffs and puffs. He has started to believe that his heart might over-speed and crash if he doesn't quit taking anxiety. 

"It's going too well for him to stay focused,"  Colonel Singh taunted and Manik closed his eyes. 

"There's nothing like that, sir," Manik tried to explain but Colonel Singh closed the case banging spoon on table. 

"Don't mind him. He is annoying when he doesn't get to sleep," Mrs Singh said patting Manik's back. 

"He has shooed away my sleep, Sahiba," Colonel said aloud. 

"Do you love her?" He asked cutting the chase. Both Manik and Mrs Singh sighed aloud at audacity. 

 "Sardar ji," Mrs Singh tried to intervene. 

"No. Let him face it, Sahiba," Colonel said sincerely. 

"Speak up, boy," Colonel yelled and Manik put the morsel in his hand down. 

"I don't know yet," Manik murmured and Colonel mumbled some curses unable to believe. 

"He doesn't know, Sahiba," He said dramatically. 

"And he made girl's father so offended that he had to call me," Colonel said furiously. 

"Calm down, Singh," Sahiba yelled to control a shouting Colonel. Manik pushed the chair behind and walked out of room as fast as he could. There was too much blood rushing into his system and before he blanks out, he needed some fresh air. 

"What's wrong with you?" Asked a baffled Mrs Singh. 

"How can you yell at poor boy for not figuring his feelings?" She asked sternly.

"When you were his age, you didn't even dare to look my way," She taunted and Colonel gazed the plate on table. 

"Madhav is my friend, Sahiba. Nandini is his daughter," Colonel said calmly after a needed pause.  

"And we both know Manik is a good boy," Mrs Singh retorted, still angry. 

"Go talk to him," Mrs Singh said giving Colonel no other choice and walked inside the kitchen. 

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Manik strode towards nowhere trying to get away from gush of anxiety. Entering the stable without even caring about timing and he finally halted beside a horse. Caressing its muzzle, he breathed deep to be in control of his mind. It was not the moment to run away but it was the moment to face it. Putting his head on horse's muzzle, he closed his eyes. First face which flashed in front of his eyes was of hers. She was giggling looking at him and he felt his lips making a curve. 

"What's it?" He mumbled, his eyes still closed. 

Horse neighed a bit and nuzzled into Manik's neck. Manik patted it thoroughly hearing horse's plead. 

"She loves you," He whispered to Horse. 

"Seems like she was right in doing so. You calmed me down," He said holding horse's chin. 

He neighed further and Manik stroked him thoroughly.

Standing there for minutes, he didn't feel need to be agitated anymore. He was calm being in embrace of her thoughts. 

Her smile, that evil grin; Her frown, those death-glares; her eyes, thousand of unsaid there; Manik didn't know from where he had started and where he was heading. 

"You have ruined me, Nandini," He mumbled to himself with a chuckle. 

"There is no way I can go back from here," He said and he heard someone calling his name. 

He turned around to see Harshad running towards him. 

"This is where you chose to sulk?" Harshad taunted panting hard. 

Manik pursed his lips annoyed. 

"What was the emergency?" He asked bidding bye to horse. 

"Your aunt is on phone. Peon came to inform," Harshad shared the most valuable piece of information and Manik's face lit up like a kid. 

He didn't wait and ran towards the admin office without caring about anything. 

"Though he never told me that he has an aunt who is so dear," Harshad said to horse as he saw Manik disappearing with wind. 

______________

 "Hello," She said as soon as she heard him breathing heavily on phone. 

"Nandini," He sighed and that for sure sounded different. Nandini felt her eyes going moist again and that was so damn annoying. She hadn't called him to cry. She was feeling much better but why such reaction, she wondered.

"Why are you panting?" She asked burning in unknown heat. She checked her forehead to find it blazing hot but then her cheeks were no less. She was on fire.

"Because....Because I ran all the way to receive the call," He admitted and she smiled. 

"Meet me in an hour," She demanded but it came across more like a plead. 

He just kept catching his breaths. 

"Riverside," She revealed the meeting point and he nodded as if she could see him doing that. 

Phone kept beeping as she hung up and Manik didn't feel like putting the receiver down. 

He just kept smiling listening to nothings which meant everything. 

______________________________

"I am going. Don't shout," Colonel tried to calm down his angry wife. 

Putting his coat on, he started to walk towards door. Before he could take another step ahead, he saw Manik storming in. He was looking fine. Colonel sighed in relief. 

"Here he is," He informed a miffed Sahiba. 

Mrs Singh at once looked up and saw Manik reaching them with a wide smile. 

"She means which nobody ever meant to me," He informed excitedly and then stood there broadening his chest. It was like he could now walk proudly. 

"Wow," colonel exclaimed hearing the charged man standing in front of him. No matter how stupid he sounded but at least he had spoken. 

"That's great," He added uncertain. It was a twisted answer if he was asked. 

"And what are you going to do about it?" He asked baffled. 

Manik bit his lip preparing an answer but glow on face made Mrs Singh smile. He wasn't confused but was trying to come up with a good answer to shut her husband up. 

"I am never gonna let her go," He said proudly and then looked at Sahiba. 

She smiled brightly to him making him even more confident about his words. His legs were trembling but he wasn't afraid. Maybe that was how confessions make you feel. 

Colonel Singh curved his lips to show how impressed he was when actually he was filled with sudden happiness about Manik's little promise. 

"Okay then," Colonel said awkwardly. 

Manik who was tapping his feet looked at Mrs Singh again and she gestured him to leave. He walked out hurriedly smiling more and more to himself. 

"Boys will be boys," Mrs Singh chuckled. 

"He won't say he loves her," She explained to a questioning Colonel Singh. Colonel smiled at last seeing no other option but to accept the things the way they were. 

__________________________

Playing with hem of her overcoat, Nandini saw river-water twinkling under sunshine. She could feel storm in her heart taking a break as sound of water soothed her turmoil. It was beyond sanity how she was craving to be around him. She could sleep at night but morning brought this invalid urge to meet him.. She kicked the thoughts out. Her mind wasn't the room they could be in. Wind made her wisps flow and she looked around. 

"No bird to kill," She murmured looking towards winter trees. 

"Glad they aren't going to be here," She added letting out a sad chuckle. 

Her parents were planning to chop her wings and that made her so damn agitated that she had started to think how she would lose her mind. 

"Hey," She heard him calling and she turned around only to propel herself into his arms. 

"Glad you are here," She whispered. 

"I hated listening to my mind," She confessed tightening her grip around his neck. 

She hadn't even seen his face. His presence was more important at that time to feel fine. 

Manik had to fight with rush of blood in his veins as she hugged him as first thing. 

It wasn't easy to balance his urge to feel her that close and handle the girl in his arm. He was on page 177 and he doubted if she had even started to read the book. 

____________________

Sitting on rock in middle of gentle water, she said nothing and he didn't feel like talking. It was comfortable silence where he lived his little heaven and she survived her little hell. 

"What if I feel like having you around all the time?" She asked and he skipped a beat. It was like his heart was playing hopscotch.  

"Except for academy hours, I can be around," He answered as straight as he was. Nandini pursed her lips in disbelief. 

"Why you are like this?" She asked bewildered. 

 "Like what?" He asked confused but she didn't answer. 

Another five minutes of sweet silence and she again asked, "Why would I want to be around you?" Her tone helpless. He wanted her to figure out. She had started to read the book. 

"Maybe...because I am your entertainment package," He answered modestly trying to sound so sane. 

"Manik, you are not helping," She complained listening to his replies. 

"Here I am literally having a war inside my head and you are not helping a single percent," SHe turned a bit impatient. 

"My parents aren't helping. You aren't helping. Daadu isn't helping, nothing is helping," She kept talking while he watched her with a smile. 

"This is not done," She said and clutched his arm to lean on. 

Manik sighed unable to cope up with her mood. This was getting messy. This wasn't how you supposed to feel when you are in love. He shook his head for naming it so grand. He didn't mean to call it love. He argued to himself only. 

"You are talking to yourself?" She asked and he came out of his little courtroom. She laughed and he got confused whether he was thinking aloud. 

"Was I thinking aloud?" He asked terrified. 

"Your expressions are enough to tell," She explained and he sighed in relief. 

Another ten minutes and she was comfortably leaning on his shoulder with her eyes closed. 

"Nandini," He called and she just hummed. 

"What do you think about me?" He asked nervously. 

"You are my clown," She answered within seconds. 

"That's it?" He asked terrified. 

"No," She answered 

"You are my favorite clown and Nobody..mind it, nobody can ever put their hands on you," She said looking dead serious. 

"Huh?" He asked baffled. 

"Recently you are my favorite scent too. Then my favorite teddy bear as well. I start to feel restless when you are not around," She kept talking vaguely, "Then I hate to think about it but I love to be this close to you." She clutched his arm more tightly. 

"Nandini," He whispered her name in daze of her words. 

"What if I tell you something and you don't like it?" He asked nervously on verge of talking about his feelings. 

She lifted her head off his shoulder and looked at him. 

"I would slit your throat and dump your body in this river," She answered plainly. 

Manik gaped her in horror. 

"What kind of question was that?" She asked sternly. 

"We don't talk things which anyway are good. We are nonsense people, Manik," She reminded and he nodded buying her crazy theory. 

"Then what if I tell you that I have started to like you...a lot which is not normal because it isn't the kind of like people do..it's something different and I feel very deep about it," He said in a breath in smug of her words. 

"Has anybody ever told you how twisted you talk?" She asked trying to solve his words. 

"I talk very straight," He objected. 

"I like you," He blurted out plainly and she gaped him. She didn't smile, didn't even frown but kept looking at him. 

"That's a good," She mumbled after a good long silence. 

She noticed each of his feature while he felt so much shy. Her words weren't something soothing. They were like this automated response from system which meant nothing. 

"I think we should leave," He said getting up. 

It was wrong idea to talk about it to her. Maybe that's not how you tell a girl. He was constantly blabbering in his head. He made a note in his mind about never talking about it again. He didn't even know how she felt. Her face was illegible. He suspected if she would ever see his face again. He doubted what if she ran away. Blabbering was silent but endless. 

Dropping a wet kiss on his cheek, she stopped the brake-less brain of his. His breath got stuck in his throat owing to sensation. 

 "You are cute," She complimented and then looked down. Was she blushing? Manik slapped himself for daring to think that way. He sighed thinking how she wasn't mad at least. 

"Let's drop you home," She said jumping off the rock. She headed towards her jeep while he touched his cheek. Her touch was still there. He blushed and he didn't even know how it looked. Following her, he smiled endlessly and thanked his stars that she wasn't mad at him.

______________________________

Unedited*