Sorry for the delay...

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Man: mom holds me responsible for spoiling someone's life...

Nan (shocked): what?

Manik leaves her n turns around to face the scenery ahead..showing high buildings with lots of hustle bustle..

Man: u knw Nandini..i was never like this. My life was always full of fun..pranks..smiles..laughter. Ye sadu banna..udaas rehna..i never knew what it all meant (chuckling sadly). I was my mom's favorite. .her RAJA BETA.. i had full freedom to do whatever i wished..because mom n dad both knew..i wont cross my limits..n i always stood by their this faith. Me n my friends..fab4..we were mom's favourite. Every sunday we made it a point to celebrate family day. I would go for shopping wd mom..select her dresses..her jewelry. .then have lunch in her favorite restaurant..watch a movie n then come back home. All in all i had a perfect family. Perfect in all sense.

All this while Manik had a beautiful smile playing on his lips..n was directly reflecting on Nandini's face too..making her smile as well.

Man: all was goin on well..till that day..that one day n all got ruined..

Nandini observed his changed behavior. .his changed expression..just a second ago..he was all smiling..n now..all his face has is anger n hurt. She approaches him n keeps a hand on his shoulder n gives a little squeeze..an indication to continue..

Man: it all happened 3 years ago..

Flashback (in Manik's pov)

Mom had a sister who was always jealous of her..coz mom was far better than maasi..be it in terms of morals..values..academics or upbringing. Maasi always used to create troubles for mom..in school as well as at home. But since everyone knew mom n maasi personally..they never believed maasi. Then mom got married to dad..even at tht time maasi created lots of problems..cause she wanted to get married in a rich family..but dad had chosen mom already..so even that dream of maasi came shattering down. She eventually got married to a Delhi based middle class man who had a business of his own. She even gave birth to a son..Akshat..who is elder to me by 2 years. Maasi was very happy that atleast she could defeat mom in one field of life..even if it was in giving birth to a baby. I was born after 3 years of mom dad's wedding..n so i was pampered to no extent. Every year we used to visit my nani's place in summers..n maasi too used to come there..with her son. But me n her son never got along..he always used to bully me..trouble me..create troubles at home n them blame me for doing tht. Since i was a prankster since childhood. .at times they used to believe that whatever Akshat is saying is the truth..initially  i used to answer back..n lose my temper..which eventually used to make the matter worse. But as i grew up..i understood that all this while Akshat deliberately used to instigate me so that i spoil my image in front of my grandparents n he becomes their favorite. Eventually. .i stopped going there.. then 3 years ago.. we got a news that maasi n her husband met with an accident and they died on the spot..leaving behind Akshat. Mom was hurt..though maasi never behaved like a sister should do..but for mom..she was always her choti. We went to Delhi to attend their funeral. At that time Akshat was all lonely n depressed..so Nani suggested mom that we bring Akshat along with us to Mumbai. I was totally against the idea..but seeing the situation. .i couldnt say anything. I thought may b a change of place would help him come out of his depression..losing both parents at this age was indeed a very difficult truth to live with. We came back to Mumbai..that nyt..mom came to me..

Nyeo: mannu..beta come here..i want to talk to u.

Man: yes mom..say na.

Nyeo: beta..i knw that u n Akshat dont get along well since childhood..but beta u urself have seen what tragedy has befallen on him. He is completely broken. Plz beta..for my sake..would u befriend him? Would u help me in getting him out of this trauma?

Man: come on mom..u dont have to say please..of course i will help u.. infact we all will support Akshat n get him out of this trauma.

Nyeo: i knew my Raja beta will never say no to me. God bless u.

I tried my best to befriend him..initially even he used to behave as if he too is interested in my friendship..i even introduced him to fab5. But somewhere deep down..i never used to feel comfortable around him..i always felt some negativity while being with him. Slowly..he started coming close to mom.. even mom used to pamper him alot..i used to get jealous seeing him taking my place..but later on i chucked it thinking mayb mom is trying to give him the warmth of a mother. But slowly slowly..i was drifting apart from my mother. Every morning when she used to come to wake me up..i used to have a good time with her..time reserved only for us..mother-son time..but gradually..that too began to get reduced..as Akshat used to shout from down for breakfast..gaining mom's attention..slowly but steadily..he took over everything that once belonged only n only to me.. he even asked me to shift to another room as he found my room more beautiful..n he asked my mom for the same..mom thought tht he was still in his trauma n he will b leaving soon so she asked me to shift.. n that was it..i couldnt take it anymore..n i confronted him..

Man: Akshat..i knw what u r trying to do..dont u think u have stayed back enough now..i mean 1 year is quite a long time..n u should b get going from here?

Ak: tch tch..kaa huwa Manik baby? Dargaya? Kahi me tujhse sab kuch cheen na loo?

Man: tu chah k bhi kuch cheen nahi sakta Akshat..coz ye sab meri koi jeeti huwi trophy nahi jo aaj mene jeet li to kal haar jaaunga.. ye sab mene kamaaya hai..mere apne hai ye ..aur me inhe kabhi nahi khounga.

Ak: well..in that case...mujhe tera ye bubble phodne me bohot mazaa aayega..coz me tujhse tera sab kuch cheen lunga..aur tu dekhte reh jaayga. Aur shuruwaat to mene ker hee li..tere is kamre se.. ab aage aage dekh me kya kya karta hu.

I tried ignoring him after that..by composing myself n repeating for about 100 times that very soon he will leave..but deep down i was hurt to see mom supporting him..she never shouted at him..never stopped him..i started spending my time wd fab5 in college...coming late at home just to avoid Akshat.. all those sundays when i was supposed to accompany mom..Akshat used to take her n leave before i even wake up..all this was bringing gap between my mom n me..dad tried many times to bridge that gap between me n mom..but then something or the other used to go wrong..eventually leading to a fight between me n Akshat..further souring our relation..then One day..i saw him in my jam room..playing with my guitar..n i lost it..no one had ever touched my guitar..even mom knew that i m obsessed with it..i went n snatched it away from him..warning him to stay away from my things..

Man: Akshat!!! How dare u come to my jam room? How dare u touch MY guitar? Dekh Akshat..aakhri baar bol rha hu..mehmaan hai..mehmaan ban k reh..zyada haq jataane ki koshish mat kar.

Ak: m sorry Manik..i ddnt have any idea that u dont like my coming to ur jam room or touching ur guitar. Trust me..had i knwn this..i would have never stepped here. N dont wry..i knw m only a guest here..aakhir hu to me ek anaat hee na..ek na ek din i have to leave..bas maasi maa se itna pyaar mila k me ye bhool hee gaya k me ek anaat hu.

I was all the time confused to see such changed behavior of Akshat. But then i realised y he was saying all this when i heard mom from behind.

Nyeo: tum anaat nahi ho Akshat. Me hu na tumhare liye.. n Manik..ye kaisi badtameezi hai? Akshat ne jaan booj ker tumhare guitar ko haath nahi lagaaya..n naahi mene use bataaya k tumhe nahi pasand koi tumhare guitar ko chuye..wo to Akshat aise hee ghoom rha tha n he came across ur room..u dnt need to make a fuss out of it.

Man: i m making a fuss? Mom u very well knw i dnt like anyone touching my guitar..mene aaj tak fab5 ko touch kerne nahi diya. To how can he?

Nyeo: i knw that Manik. N trust me..if i had told Askhat abt it..he wouldnt have touched it..me khud b use touch kerne nahi deti. But now relax. Akshat..chalo yaha se.

I was shocked seeing all this. Mom was just supporting him. She wasnt able to see the hidden intentions of Akshat. The next week was friendship day..n as usual..we fab5 were partying at the terrace at home..n since we had college the nxt day..our first of 2nd year..we decided to have non alcoholic drinks.. it was very late when we decided to call it a day..fab4 left n i was still on the terrace.. suddenly i heard someone strumming my guitar violently. I turned around only to find Akshat holding my guitar..again.. n strumming it violently. I lost all my calm n went to snatch my guitar. That led to a fight between us. I gave him a final punch n he fell down on the ground. I took my guitar n was checking the strings when i saw him approaching me with a rod to hit me. I was standing close to the fence..n as i saw him approaching to hit me..i just bent down to save myself..but Akshat was running with such a speed that he couldnt stop at the right time and he slipped n fell from the terrace..i tried holding him but all i could get hold of was the rod that was in his hand. I was shocked at the moment. I ddnt knw how to react. Mom n dad had gone to a party n were supposed to come late. I immediately ran down n rushed him to the hospital..calling mom dad n fab5 on my way to hospital.

We were waiting in front of ICU for 5 hours..mom was continuously crying n praying for him when the doctor came n said that Akshat was calling mom inside. Mom went inside n came out after 10 mins..when the doctor said that due to falling from a height..he has got a deep injury making him paralysed. But what caught our attention was mom's condition. She wasnt saying anything. She just left the hospital n we followed her. On reaching home..she immediately rushed towards the terrace as if searching for something. When we reached there..i saw her holding my guitar with anger n pain in her eyes.

Man: mom..whats wrong?

Nyeo: this is the root cause of everything..this bloody guitar..just coz of this guitar m standing here..y Manik..y so much of obsession??yyyy?

With that she broke my guitar in front of my eyes. I was hell shocked to see my mom..my Mother breaking my most favorite possession..that too in front of me. Dad came n held mom..

Dad: nyeo..whats wrong? Y r u behaving like this? N wht dd Akshat tell u?

Nyeo: he told me that he had got Manik's guitar for him to play..but when Manik saw his guitar with him...he lost his temper n started fighting n pushed him from here.

That was it! I felt as if the earth beneath my feet has slipped..i couldnt believe my ears..my mom..the one who carried me in her womb..who gave me birth..who raised me with her upbringing..chose to believe some outsider rather than talking to me.. this mere thought stopped my heart.. i slowly gathered my strength n left the terrace. Fab5 were all the time with me..supporting me. I was in no condition to hear or talk. Akshat's condition needed highly specialized treatment..so dad arranged that in Germany. .he even asked fab5 to convince me to go out of India for a change..n i decided to take a break from everything..fab5 never left me alone. They too dropped an academic year to b by my side.. we then went to US for a year..leaving behind my studies..my carrier..my mom..my MUSIC..
And after that..i never played Music.

Nandini was brought to tears on listening to the pain that he was concealing from so long..now she understood y she was able to relate herself to Manik. The pain of not being trusted by ur own people is the worst.. n who could knw this better than her. But here in Manik's situation..there was a difference. N she wanted Manik to see that point of difference.. she wiped her tears n saw Manik..whose face was expressionless. She just kept quite to give Manik his required time to come out of his shell. After what seemed an eternity..Manik turned around to check if Nandini was still there or she too left after listening to his story.

Man: do u believe in whatever i said?

Nan (looking into his eyes): yes..i do

Man: y? I could b lying?

Nan: but u r not. Itna to me jaan gai hu.

This brings a satisfactory feeling in Manik's heart. He turns again to look ahead.

Man: mayb i knew u would believe me..n thts y i shared it with u.

Nan: strange na.. we met just an year ago..n we started at a very bad note..that freshers incident..then other pranks..then tutor n challenges..yet u believed that i would understand n believe u..
But the woman who carried u in her womb..who nurtured u with her blood..who gave u birth..who was with u with ur every step..who held u high when u couldnt walk..who put u to sleep when u couldnt..whom u call ur Mom...u ddnt find it necessary enough to share or discuss ur side of story with her.

Manik turns n looks at her with a confused expression.

Nan: aapne jo b kaha..mene sab suna..ache se suna..lekin mujhe kahi b yeh nahi mila jaha aapne apni feelings..apni baat aapki mom se ki ho. Did u ever tell her what actually happened that night on the terrace?

Manik just nods his head in a no.

Nan: is it because u ddnt want to give an explanation?

Manik was just looking at Nandini without blinking his eyes.. he nods his head in a yes.

Nan: Manik..explanation tab hota jab aap pe koi ilzaam lagta. Us waqt aapko mom ne bas wo bola jo Akshat ne unse kaha. She was narrating what Akshat had told her..not what she believed in. N without talking to her once..nor showing her ur side of story..u decided to walk out..isnt that a little unfair?

Manik just keeps looking at her.

Nan: kaha tha na mene Manik k aap bohot lucky hai..
U decided to shut urself from ur mom..but she never did that. Taane k zariye hee sahi..but she tried talking to u..mayb she had a tiny hope in her heart that some day..u would revolt n say her the truth. The truth which mayb she believes in but wants to hear it from u.

Man: kya karu me?

Nan: ab bhi late nahi huwa hai. U just need to talk..need to keep ur heart open in front of her..just like u used to do earlier.

Man: what if she doesn't believe me?

Nan: mujh jaisi stranger pe believe ker sakte ho..who is a nobody in ur life..but not on ur mother??
She will trust u. Just talk to her.

Saying so she was about to leave when Manik pulls her with a jerk that her front bangs with his chest..

Nandini got confused with his behavior n looks into his eyes to question him but seeing some strange strong feelings in his eyes..she couldnt utter a word.

Man: U.R.NOT.A.NOBODY.IN.MY.LIFE.. Always remember that..

Nandini felt a strange feeling that was being conveyed to her thru Manik's eyes. The authority that his voice n eyes held while talking was something she never experienced in her life. Their trance was broken by Manik's phone. Nandini moves from him a little away n looks here n there to avoid his gaze. Manik answers the call which was of Cabir asking him to come soon as the test was about to start.

Man: i think we should leave. Its time for the test.

Nan: ah..yes..n i think its the best opportunity u can get to talk to ur mom..to show her the 80% that u scored in ur test.

Man: n how do u knw i will score 80%?

Nan: well..it takes a lot of effort n smartness to score an exact 33% in all papers in every semester..n m sure..scoring 80% wud b easier than that..dont u think so?

Saying so..she leaves with a smirk. .leaving behind a baffled Manik.

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I hope Manik's past was good enough to keep u guys glued..