M A N I K

The world is wrong. No one knows what pain is, what darkness is until they find themselves there. But once they do, they believe some non-existent love will bring light to their dark hearts and wipe away the pain. But they're wrong, all of them are. Because what they forget is, just like our eyes, our hearts have a way of adjusting to the darkness too. And those who're used to the darkness can never accept light, and that's not because they're used to staying in the darkness, it's because the darkness is used to staying in them.

"Excuse me, sir?" A small voice in the dark room brought me out of my own thoughts as I turned behind to see the servant standing with his head bowed low. Sometimes, when I ask a person to look up, and what I only see is fear in their their eyes when they look at me, it brings me a lot of weird comfort and cold blood to know that not everyone themselves choose to be evil, there are some souls who still fear the demons too.

"Sir, someone stands for you downstairs," he whispered but the silence in the room was strong enough to carry his low voice to my ears as my teeth unknowingly gritted as my mind wondered why people like digging their own graves by my hand and then playing the victim, they blame me to be the monster.

"Who?" I demanded, and just as much as I loved this, my voice echoed around the room and back to me, making the poor man shiver. "He calls himself to be Zubin sir, Zu-ubi-n Singh-ani-y-a," His teeth clattered and all the anger in my veins suddenly disappeared and the corner of my lips lifted.

Snatching the overcoat lying on the side table and draping it above, I descended downstairs and I'm sure I looked proud and devil enough in all black clothes, with the smirk on my lips and the cigarette in my right hand, my mind flinching at what brought one devil into another's dome.

"Malhotra!" He gritted just as he caught sight of me as he almost jumped upon me, catching my collars while I tuned a bored laugh, checking the time by my watch. 8:00 AM. "Well, good morning to you too, Mr. Singhaniya!" I lashed my eyelashes innocently.

"Hadn't I warned you to stay away from Nandini?" His eyes were ferociously piercing into mine as if his gaze could ever scare me. His eyes could scare the entire world except me because the devil doesn't fit into it.

"You had!" I relied casually as I threw myself back to the couch which just made him angrier as his eyes followed my every move.

"Malhotra, listen to me carefully. The games you play, the things you plot, and the empty promises you make-, keep them away from Nandini. You involve her in these stupid games of yours and I wouldn't regret cutting your face off," his eyes narrowed at me and I stared back at him, unaltered.

"Why?," I raised my eyebrows casually. "Can you stop shouting at me as if you're her father, and come on, I am not going to kill your Nandini!" I tilted my face and he laughed dryly.

"Who knows, you might as well kill her, you murdere-...," before he could complete his statement, I plunged upon him holding his collars like an angry lion as I punched his lips, not allowing him to complete those fucked up words.

"Hitting me wouldn't change the fact, you douche!" He shouted and I punched him once more. Don't do this Zubin, don't. I'm sure you don't want to exit from here dead, I can kill the entire world but I don't want you to die from my hands atleast.

"Malhotra, I know you don't fear God, because you don't believe in it, because if you would have, you wouldn't have changed yourself into a black human with a dead heart, ruling over this dark valley of yours. Stop being inspired by the devil Malhotra, fear it," he pushed me away and I let him complete his statement and when he did, I laughed dryly removing my over coat again.

"Devil?," I laughed louder. "You're wrong Zubin, I am not inspired by the devil,", my voice faded into the silence as it slowly turned cold and dangerous, making him flinch. "I am the devil myself".

"And I'm not really that bad as you're making me seem, come on. If I would have been, I would have never called you myself in the middle of the night and informed you that your Nandini is sleeping on a bench because of her low stats and desperately needs your help though she wouldn't accept, isn't it?," I raised my eyebrows moving around him while he fisted his palm.

"But as much as I remember, you did nothing of that sort. You did call me up, but to inform me that I might lose the most important person of my life left with me too, to death, all thanks to your grace, just like you've killed my everyone," his voice was slow and I wouldn't disagree, that was true to.

But that's the good part, isn't it? I informed him that princess might die if she continues living on the streets because she was too arrogant to take up my offer for the job or to shift into the servants quarter, and she has no money left or any shelter, so she might as well starve or some calamity could have hit her or she could have got kidnapped or some stranger might-.......... I am not thinking ahead.

"Come on Singhaniya, the purpose was solved though. Indirectly, I did tell you that Nandini is going to be on the streets, technically three days before I took away her everything so that it even gives you enough time to wind up your everything in London and come back to India. See, I am not that bad!" I smiled to myself proudly since this must be the first good work I might have done in the previous half decade I suppose.

He laughed and I stared at his face in amusement. "Whom are you trying to satisfy by giving these shit explanations, Manik? We all know, you're no hero, you're a villain, remember?" He raised his eyebrows as if tying to remind me the reality of my life.

"I know what I am and you don't need to remind me, boy!" My eyes danced. "And oh, by the way, princess loves my eyes, she's so attracted towards it, like I can tell that just by the way she looks at them as if she sees rainbows in my eyes admist a storm, staring into them as if I carry the entire galaxy of stars in them," I informed. One of the things I love the most in this world is playing innocent, and gladly, I'm just doing that now.

"She's naïve," he argued. I wouldn't say no to that, of course, because she was innocent, and that's why she kept seeing the fire in my eyes yet never understood how dangerous it is, so she liked playing with them recklessly, and unknowingly, she always got played without even wanting to.

"She is, and that's what I can appreciate because she's real, and real is rare these days," I confessed in a slow voice. It must have been years since I praised someone but when I do, I say what I feel and I don't hesitate, even if that means appreciating my enemy.

"But what she doesn't know is- behind the most beautiful eyes, lie secrets deeper and darker than the mysterious sea," I folded the collars of my shirt while my eye slowly looked into his and I could already say he was planning how to keep Princess away from me.

"Manik, you-.....," his voice slowly faded as we heard foot steps echoing in my dark mansion, and we looked around to find the source, and both our eyes stopped on the same person looking at me and then at him, and then again at me.

"Princess?" I barely whispered but I knew she heard it since her eyes broke away from Zubin and locked with mine. "What are you doing here?" Zubin questioned before I could.

"Following you!" She answered and at some point I would have believed it was her innocence that lead her to say this but I won't, because she deliberately answered it and her eyes told that. They were shocked, to find both of us together, holding each other's collar and her mouth a bit open as her eyes moved from me to him and then back to me. I tried saying something but I closed my mouth again. It was better not to say anything, I rather sit quiet and watch the show.

"Nandini, let's leave!" He ordered in a low voice as he walked towards her, holding her hand but she didn't look away from my eyes and neither did I. Her eyes seemed curious, as if trying to read everything through my eyes, nor caring that he was dragging her away.

I could see him hold her wrist tightly as he literally dragged her away from me and in that very moment, I felt something. I don't know what it was or why was it, but I felt a knot in my stomach as if her eyes begged me to stop her.

"Wait!" I finally almost screamed, still not taking my eyes off hers and her feet involuntarily stopped, hope glittering her eyes. "Nandini lets go, please!" Zubin insisted but she remained black, still looking at me.

"Zubin, please go! I'd be back," she barely whispered and he looked at her with a helpless look before gritting his teeth at me and leaving. I would have preferred smirking at him but I didn't, her eyes spoke what they never did and they were too intense to look away from.

Moving away  from his clutches as he left, she took fast steps towards me until she reached so close to me that our bodies were just a feet apart, her head tilted up looking at my beautiful face while I tried reading her eyes but for the first time, I failed.

"Who are you?" She whispered as if she was tired of everything happening around her and i don't blame her because if I was her, I would have been tired of all the darkness and shade people have been throwing at her too.

"An angel to some, devil to others," I lifted one corner of my lip into a half smile while she looked away from me, yet not agreeing to cry. Just looking at the girl, in front of me, my mind spoke a million things but what I knew was- she was strong and she was brave and she was broken and all at once, and yet she smiled.

"Can we just walk?", I asked slowly and she nodded as I lead her into the outer portion of my house that had a small part of the forest turned into a garden in silence and she looked around, her eyes adoring every single detail.

No, I wasn't looking at her all this while yet I know it because I believe I have known her this much atleast, to know that she loves the things that she should hate also, because she carried this spark in her eyes to spread love and happiness wherever she goes and ironically enough, just like love doesn't have any place in my world, so doesn't she.

"I really don't know what to believe and what not to. Different people tell me different things about you and I have believed none because everyone tells what they know, no one tells what you actually are. And admist having trust on you while not trusting you at all and fighting with the world for a man who doesn't even know how to acknowledge me, I have no idea what to do. I feel torn into two parts, one who believes you blindly, and the other who hates the first to do so," she whispered looking away and I licked my lips.

"Have I ever given you a reason to trust me?" I asked and she slowly nodded negatively. "Then why?" My tone was soft unlike my usual self,maybe it was the silent surroundings or maybe it was the early morning or maybe it was her, but whatever it was, it made me unacceptably calm and peaceful.

She chose to be quiet, ignoring my question so I didn't even want to poke her again. If she wishes to tell me, well and good, but if she doesn't, I know other ways as well.

"So you wouldn't tell me?" I asked raising my eyebrows as I stopped making her stop as well and I crossed my arms against my chest. She looked down and then at every possible plant in the garden, testing my patience before slowly nodding into a no.

"Okay," I smiled moving ahead while she just gawked at me, shocked of course because I smiled and didn't push her ahead to tell it to me as she jogged from behind to keep her pace with me.

"Okay?" She repeated in shock squeezing her eyebrows and nose together while I took my hand to my mouth because if I would have removed it, I would have laughed out loud for sure. Controlling my laughter and rolling my eyes very innocently, "okay," I repeated casually.

"Come on princess, don't tell me you're one of those girls who need attention to tell me the answer to what I asked. You don't want to tell, okay!" I innocently replied with a casual tone and she opened her mouth in irritation but closed it again.

"You know, it was useless waiting here, sir. Thanks for the hospitality, but I'd like to leave now!" She gritted in irritation looking like a potato and I pointed at the small exit from the garden. Huffing in anger and now becoming a red potato, she moved-.. or actually ran to the exit, taking bigger steps then she usually does and only I know how miserably did I want to burst out laughing at her.

"Princess!" I called and she halted, but didn't turn behind and she half tilted her face. Her father was so right, she's still a two year old child in the body of a twelve year old who pretends to be twenty.

"How about we go out tonight?" I asked slowly and then smirked because she didn't have to turn to show me her face as I could already visualise the red potato getting redder. Because of course, Manik Malhotra asking a girl out wasn't a casual thing. Or was it?

"Did you just ask me for a date?" She shouted back and though she tried, I could already hear the excitement in her voice. I really wanted to laugh at the small desperate kid inside her.

"I asked you for a dinner, I never said date!" I teased more and only I knew how I stopped from laughing out loud. Irritated more, she turned more but unable to say anything, she stomped out leaving me laughing out to myself.

"Pick me up at 8!" She shouted from outside and I laughed more. "....for the dinner!", she added and I held my hands on my mouth. If any servant sees their boss laughing this way, they might die out of shock as well.

But... the day was still young and the night still remained.

Dinner, not a date princess- an official welcome to the devil's world.

~ and even their stars smiled at each other. ~

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