" What! How! When!!?? OMG! I am reaching there as soon as possible...! Don't worry...! Your parents are horrible yaar...! Ohk..ohk..they are my soon to be in laws..i know...! I am coming ok...text me the venue..! Love you..!"

I spoke to my love whose parents were getting her married to a boy of their choice.. And that too so suddenly...probably they got to know about me...but what's the problem with me...Myself, Manik Malhotra..a newbie to singing...though i have not got that much contracts.. But i am sure i will get as time will progress and people will notice me..! And now i am getting late ...if i don't reach Pune before marriage..then Alya will get married to someone else..whom she doesn't loves...and i will have no option other than to stay single...! No! Manik Malhotra and single...impossible..! I have to hurry...! Baaki ka introduction baad mein...!

I took my phone and wallet...and called the taxi to my home...and packed some essential things that i will need while travelling...and finally the call of the driver who will be taking me to Pune came..and i ran out taking all my things..and saw a beautiful girl pestering the driver...

" Oh bhaiya..Pls na...that customer will not get to know...it's too urgent..! Pls..Pls..Pls..!"
I went up to them and the driver greeted me..and that girl seemed embarrassed...And i enquired
" Kya hua Bhaiya?"

" Sahab..Yeh ladki mujhe aapko chod isse Pune le jaane ko keh rahi hai..! Bol rahi hai..aapko dhoka doon amd isse le jaun....!"
The taxi driver explained with full on expressions...and i looked at that girl who looked down..for a minute and two....she was really very beautiful...more beautiful than Alya ....she was wearing blue jeans a white and blue floral top..wore silver danglers and high heels...she had big doe eyes..and her hairs..were super silky...they were covering her angelic face and i hate them for doing this...wait..wait ..wait...I am thinking about a unknown girl whom i have just seen...no..this can't happen..!
I brushed all my thoughts about her..and looked at her coldly
" See Miss...This is my taxi...i will go in it...u find some other...and i have to reach Pune urgently...so pls..!"

" Oye hello..! See i don't like to take some other's taxi..but this was the demand of the situation....I also need to reach Pune as soon as possible...and was getting late...i saw this taxi so tried to convince him but this bloody moron was not ready to listen...! And sorry if u felt bad...and don't worry..this driver doesn't understands english abuses...so chill...!"
She stated herself...and i was just looking at her all the while..she was so gorgeous... Her voice was sweet as honey..but right now it was being used in the wrong sense...and the words that escaped from my mouth were " It's ok!" And she gave a small smile..and came up with a request
" Umm...if u don't mind...can u drop me to the taxi stand...i don't think i will get the taxi here...so if u could...."
She spoke with pleading eyes and i couldn't refused and finally said a " Yes" and she smiled widely..and i also felt good seeing her happy...she sat inside the taxi and i also smiled and sat inside...
" Ermm..if u don't mind can i know your name?" I spoke with shyness and little uneasiness... As asking a stranger a name...so early..and that too a girl was weird.....actually super weird..but i still gathered courage and asked...
" Nandini..Nandini Murthy..! Yours?"
She said with a small smile as she forwarded her hand for a friendly handshake and i smiled and held her hand
" Manik Malhotra...!" Ouch..her hand gave me vibrations...i don't know something happened which has not happened when i met Alya for the first time...and i actually felt good..we both were lost in each other's eyes and our hands were still entwined...when the driver yelled
" Madam...Aapka taxi stand aa gaya..!" Damn it...! Driver was indeed a bloody moron...he spoiled such a beautiful moment...and ohhno..! She is gonna leave now...and i can't do anything...She looked to the other side as our hands and eyes drifted apart...after few seconds..she smiled at me and spoke " Thank You Manik...it was nice meeting you..!"
I smiled back and she got out of the car..and started searching for a taxi that would take her to Pune...I was worried for her..don't know why...and that's why when my driver asked me " Shall we proceed Sir?" I nodded in a no and asked him to wait here for some time...he gave me a confused look and looked at Nandini who was talking to drivers but was facing rejection for some or the other reason...i was pretty furious at them for not taking her to her destination..and finally one of the driver approached her ..but he had something evil in his mind...his eyes had a evil spark....and i didn't wanted Nandini to go with him at any cost...I was acting all possessive for a random girl i know..but i cannot help it..so i did what my heart said... I got out of my car and shouted " Nandini...!!"
She was going to sit inside that taxi when she heard me shout and turned to look at me " Manik...u r still here? What happened?!" She screamed to make her voice reach to me as we had 4-5 taxis between us and i replied
" Yaar...2-3 hours ka distance hai Mumbai to Pune...akela nahi nikaal sakunga...I need a company... Saath chalogi?" I shouted again and all the drivers were looking at me and her..i looked at her for reply..and she smiled
" Ok..!! Company toh mujhe bhi chahiye...!2-3 ghante akele kaise nikaloongi...!"
She shouted from that side and said sorry to the driver and came towards me...the face of the driver became pale...and i smirked seeing him...and muttered "Good For You !!" Which my driver heard and gave me weird expressions...and i just wanted to hide somewhere escaping from his glares and expressions...but thankfully Nandini came towards me...with a wide smile...i guess she was also happy with this decision...

" Thanks...but we will pay the fare half half.... Ok?"

She said sternly...and i nodded...

" I won't let you go that easily Miss Murthy....U have to pay...!"

I mocked and she made a frown to which i let out a chuckle and she glared at me...to which i stopped...and now she started laughing...and at the end we both ended up laughing earning weird expressions from the drivers nearby and we finally sat inside the taxi...

And finally our journey from Mumbai To Pune started....!!
We both kept quiet for sometime...but when our driver got out to buy himself a water bottle we couldn't control ourselves..and started chatting..

"Umm...so why are you going to Pune?"

Nandini asked with a little uneasiness....but with keen eyes..

" Actually the person whom i love is getting married today...so probably to break the marriage and save our relationship...!"

I spoke calmly but Nandini looked shocked at my reason and just looked at me with big black eyed...! Her eyes could pop out any moment...and i was feeling awkward ....

"Umm...woh bhi usse pyaar nahi karti hai...don't get me wrong.. Main usse bhaga nahi raha hoon..!"

I spoke to clear her misunderstanding but she gave me a confused look..

"Toh maine kab kaha ki tum usse bhaga rahe ho?"

She asked with confused eyes..and her question confused me more....

"Tumhaari aankhein kaafi hai...sab kuch kehne ke liye..! Aise ghoor ghoor ke kyun dekh rahi thi..??!!"

Nandini seemed to understand the situation...and slapped her for head...

"Arre Woh actually jis reason se tum Pune jaa rahe ho...wahi mera...hai...! And i was shocked to know such a big coincidence....tabhi..!!"

She bit her lips....as she spoke...did i tell mention how cute she looked while doing that ...aww...she is such a cutiepie...! But i though to tease her...

" Haaww..! Nandini...tumhaari bhi girlfriend matlab tum woh ho...! Tch tch...sorry haan....!"

I spoke dramatically and she raised her eyebrows and playfully slapped me...

"Chee...! U r such a jerk Manik...!! Eehh...yuck...so mean..!!"

She spoke angrily but cutely....and i held my ears...and made a puppy face..and i knew this would work...coz this worked on Alya ...but i was wrong... She just shook her head in a "No" sternly..

"So what do you want?!"

I asked with confused look on my face and her eyes turned mischievous... A childlike joy was visible on her face...as she told me her wish which was "Dairy Milk Silk Chocolate..!"

I agreed and got out of the car to bring her the choc where i saw my driver chit chatting with the shopkeeper and i glared at him...

" Driver Bhaisaab...Pune aaj hi pahochna hai woh bhi 6 baje ke pehle..!"

He hung his head and went towards the car while i got Dairy Milk Silk for Nandini.....she was so happy just like a child and took the chocolate from window only..and i was happy to see her happy.. As i sat inside the taxi and the driver started driving...

She was looking so cute while eating it...she took one piece and forwarded to me..and I ....lost in her beauty ate it from her hands making her blush while i was still lost in her...but when i started chewing it..i realized what i did..and looked to the other side to escape the awkwardness of the situation....

" Madam....chocolate seat par mat girana...nayi seat hai...!"

The driver warned making both of us frown...

" Haan..bhaiya...Seat ko chodkar chocolate har kahin girayenge..! Happy?!"

Nandini mocked while i smiled...

" Bloody moron..does he think i am a child?! Aur tum kya has rahe ho????"

She spoke and i still smiled...

" From the way u r eating chocolate...it is clearly visible u r a child..!"

I spoke calmly as i wiped the corner of her lips which were covered with chocolate... And she blushed again...

We both kept quiet for sometime....but later i spoke as i wanted to know more about her...

"Ummm....so where u have to reach in Pune?"

"It's some Golden Roses Hotel....i don't know the address exactly but my boyfriend has sent me through sms...wait let me show you...! "
She took out her phone from her bag and showed me the address...

Alas..! OMG..!! It is the same address!! Does this mean that our loves are getting married to each other! This is
such a big coincidence!! Can't believe it..!!

"Nandini!! This is the same address which my girlfriend gave me!! " I yelled looking at her with a horrifying expression to which she responded with another horrifying expression as asked me to give the address which Alya gave me....

She started matching the addresses word to word or should i say alphabet to alphabet...and after she was done she looked at me with shock...

"Does that mean.....that my boyfriend and your girlfriend...." She spoke softly...and i looked in her eyes and nodded...

"Yes...they both are getting married to each other...!!" I completed the sentence looking straight into deep black eyes...

"Wow..!! That's great...matlab yeh Shaadi Roko Abhiyaan toh 100% successful hoga....!! "
She almost shouted with childlike gleam in her eyes as her lips gave the most beautiful smile ever...while i looked at her lovingly but later got a little confused hearing "Shaadi Roko Abhiyaan!"

"Matlab?" I asked raising my eyebrows while she pulled my cheeks and shouted "Buddhu..!!" And i smiled....did i mention...she looks so cute while doing it...! She is a treasure of cuteness...i must say...i can adore her all my life without getting tired...

"Manik..! Hum dono ko shaadi rokni hai...toh hogaya na yeh Shaadi Roko Abhiyaan...samjhe?!!" She spoke cheerily ....while i just hummed and looked at her angelic face...

We both chatted for half an hour or so...and i got to know...she was an orphan....she was brought up by her grandmother..or should i say her Amms...she stayed with her grandmother till her 12th ...and then came to Mumbai to become a doctor..She successfully got her degree and is now working in a hospital...I told her about myself..and we started chatting about her boyfriend and my girlfriend...

"So what's his name?!" I enquired looking at her..

"Dhruv Vedant( A/N Pls don't kill me for this!😭😭) ..And her name?" She spoke softly ...

"Alya Saxena...!By the way...Dhruv could cancel the marriage...why he didn't do it?" I answered...and questioned at the same time..

"He said...he was forced into it by his parents...they were forcing him for marriage and all from the beginning..but after they met me...they got more forceful..." She spoke playing with the strap of her handbag...

"So u have met them....and why more forceful after meeting you? They didn't like you?!" I was a bit amazed... I mean..who will not like such a beautiful girl...beautiful from both outside and inside...

"Who would like to have an orphan as their daughter in law?! " She chuckled...and bit her lip...coz she knew that i identified it fake..and looked down...

"People have such sick mentality....! This is so sad to hear...! And your Dhruv? He didn't said anything?" I spoke giving abuses to his family mentally...

"Nope...who will go against the family dude? And also for an orphan?" She spoke calmly with a slight smile...

"What do you mean by an orphan ? Haan? Love is love....there is no orphan theory in it...! Agar main tumhaare Dhruv ki jagah hota na...toh apne parents ko chod deta...tumse shaadi karne ke liye..!And... Sirf bol nahi raha hoon...karke dikha sakta hoon...!" I spoke sternly looking straight into her eyes...It was clearly evident from her eyes..that she was touched.....and her eyes moistened... I got worried and wiped the lone tear by my thumb before it could fall on the cheek....

"Sahab...Lunch karna hai kya? Yeh bahot acha punjabi dhaba hai...!" Our ever disturbing driver again disturbed our precious special moment..which none of us wanted to end....but it had to....

"Huh? Haan....kar lete hai...Waise bhi Shaadi 3 baje ki hai...aur kuch taakat bhi toh honi chahiye na..."Yeh Shaadi Nahi Ho Sakti !" Bolne ke liye!"
I spoke to lighten the atmosphere and most importantly to make Nandini laugh....
She giggled and got out of the car followed by me....

We sat at a table and ordered a typical Punjabi meal followed by lassi...though Nandini was from Mangalore...and was a tamilian...but still she agreed to share the punjabi meal with me...! Yeah..we were sharing...as we both were not that hungry but because of our driver's insistence coz he himself wanted to eat there...and it would have been weird if he ate alone..he convinced us also to join him ....

After some time...2 kulchas.. ( a type of indian bread) and chole ( bengal gram) and two glasses of lassi...
We both decided to have one kulcha and started eating...it was indeed tasty.... And after such a meal...we both said "Cheers" and drank Lassi...
Awww...how cute she looked while drinking Lassii....and that white moustache above her lips...was like cherry on the cake...
Unknowingly my hand moved towards her face..and my thumb caressed her lips...as it wiped that white moustache that was formed...and she just stared at me until i felt her thumb caressing my face as she also wiped my white moustache... That was also formed when i drank Lassi...

We both were drowned in each other's eyes....when our driver started the car and was applying horns...maybe he noticed us ....but no doubt..he is the one who disturbs us everytime..and we both drifted apart...and sat inside the car...
We got to know that Pune was almost half an hour from there...and the wedding was going to take place after 2 hours...we had a lot of time..to stop the wedding but very less to spend with each other..! No..! Why can't the time stop here??!!

Finally the time came which we both didn't wanted to come...atleast i didn't wanted...i don't know about her...we both got out of the car...and looked each other nervously...

"So....Shaadi Roko Abhiyaan ki shuruaat ki jaaye?!" I asked her and she smiled and nodded in a yes...as we started going inside...and...

Alas..!!!

We saw Dhruv and Alya taking blessings from elders...and the surprising thing was they both looked quite happy... None of them had any sign of regret or sadness in them...

"Shaadi Roko Abhiyaan toh shuru hone se pehle hi khatam ho gaya..! Inki toh shaadi ho gayi..!" Nandini spoke with shock..while i was trying to register what is happening!

And when we both were totally confused... Dhruv and Alya saw us..and bowed their face down...and slowly came towards us...I was gonna speak when Alya and Dhruv spoke
"Sorry!!"

And that's when the whole matter was cleared...Alya and Dhruv fell in love...after they met each other...they told their whole love story to us..where we were least interested but still were nodding our head...and then there was sorry sorry session....and a secret was revealed...Alya told me the wrong timing...so that i don't reach their on time and they get married...and that's what happened.. While Dhruv only told Nandini that the wedding was supposed to happen at afternoon...not the correct time...so mean of them...they could have told us the truth..! We wouldn't have killed them...Atleast time and money would have been saved but anyways...jo hogaya so hogaya...! But wait a min...i should have been felt bad coz Alya left me but i have no sign of regret or sadness in me... Surprisingly!! One more thing that happened was amazing...i met Nandini..the precious moments we shared....everything was magical...i wish those moments happen everyday...i really like her...No..! I don't like her...i liked Alya also...but something was different with Nandini....Maybe.....
Is it love?? I guess it is...but what if Nandini doesn't feels this for me??!

Snap..!!

Nandini snapped her fingers in front of me...and make me come out of my thoughts..

"Woh dono chale gaye....ab hum bhi chalte hai....hum kya karenge ruk ke?
She asked looking at me..while i just hummed..and started following her but something inside me stopped..me...and i held Nandini's hand.. she looked at me...in surprise as i bent down on my knees...

"Kya hua Manik? Neeche kyun baith gaye? Get up..! " She asked me in surprise...

"Why does a boy bend down in front of a beautiful girl Nandini?" I replied with a smile on my face as she looked at me a little confused...

"When a boy confesses his love to a girl he loves....?" Nandini spoke softly and shrugged her shoulders..

"Exactly.... That's what i am going to do now....!" I spoke in a soft tone...and her reaction changed hearing me...

"Manik??!!" She asked looking shock...

"I can understand your reaction Nandini.....it would be a shock for every girl...but Nandini ...one thing i have realized...that love doesn't requires a lot of time to happen..it can and it happens in a jiffy of a second..
When a new born sees his or her mother the first time...love happens...and everyone knows this feeling....and also knows how strong this relation of a mother and child is but people don't understand this...they don't realize it as love until they have crossed couple of years , months or days together.. And i want to prove all of them wrong with our example....Our love which just happened in a couple of hours....I Love You Nandini....i really really do......will u help me in proving them wrong?" I finally confessed all my feelings to her...and it felt so good...but still my heartbeats were waiting for her answer as she came closed to him and made me get up...

"I never thought something of this sort will happen in my life but u made it happen....i fell in love with a stranger and that too in a couple of hours....I Love You Too Manik....and i will help u to prove them wrong ... we both will ...!!" She spoke and i took her in a loving hug which was much needed as expressed all our feelings which didn't came in our confession.... And we together hand in hand walked to our taxi and our driver looked a bit confused...coz he thought we will take some time..but we were back soon..

"Sir kaam ho gaya?!" Driver spoke looking at us while we just chuckled..

"Haan bhaiya...ho gaya...Ishq in Taxi..!" I spoke " Ishq in Taxi" little silently only for Nandini to hear and she smiled and kept her head on my shoulder while the driver smiled looking at us...

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A small surprise gift to all lovely people who were waiting for my comeback....and specially dedicated to 10Imaginationalppl