~Karma is one such tough word, for it can always come back to hit you in the back~

At MruNi's

"Whoa! What am I seeing?!" Nandini stared at The Murthys in astonishment. Her parents had a similar expression on their faces.

"Hey Bhagwan! Papa ji Yaha Kya kar rahe hai?" Shamishti held onto her head, before looking at her husband, almost in disbelief. "Aapne invite Kiya? Shekhar! You could have informed me. Ye Kaisa welcome diya humne unko?!"

She was about to move towards the Murthy men, when Shekhar held her hand. "Shona ne invite Kiya. Mein Kyu invite Karun inko? Kya lagtha hai Mera?"

Shamishti stared at her husband helplessly, before tightening her hold on his hand.

"Ye Tum dono keliye hain." Yashjeet took a box from Dharmendr to hand it over to Manik. "Hamare taraf se."

Manik smiled and accepted the gift, before bending down to touch Yashjeet's and his sons' feet to get blessings.

"I thought you wouldn't come." Manik said while staring at Nandini and then at Yashjeet. "I wouldn't have. If not for the voicemail invitation."

Nandini crooked her eyebrows at Yashjeet, who took a box from his pocket and forwarded it to her.

"This belongs to my Manji." Yashjeet said, hoping Nandini would accept it. "Oh you mean my Daadi." And she took it from him, nodding her head in approval.

"You won't open the box?" Yashjeet questioned, and Nandini only stared at him. "This belongs to my Daadi?" She questioned, and he nodded in affirmative. "So you accept me as your granddaughter?" Her next question left him blank faced.

"Kya? Jab mene Daadi kaha tho aapne mana nahi Kiya, tho Socha shaayad aapne accept Kiya mujhko." Nandini shrugged her shoulders, and Yashjeet stared on. "Tch, I forgot. Daadi ko apne kehne keliye mujhe Aapke acceptance ke zarurath thodi hai. Manjeet Murthy kisiko kaha koi bhav dethe hain!"

The youngsters let out soft chuckles hearing her, and Yashjeet stared at the younger version of his wife, in amusement.

"I do accept you as my granddaughter...now." Yashjeet said, earning gasps from people around. Shamishti's hold on Shekhar got tightened in anticipation of Yashjeet's behavior.

Nandini chuckled lightly. "Apna khoon tho apna hi hai. Kyu?" She stared at him and then at Shamishti who just knew what her daughter meant. She nodded in negative, asking her daughter to keep quiet. "Isiliye tho aap aaj thak Meri Ma ko accept nahi Kiya."

Shamishti shut her eyes tight and looked down. She knew her daughter wouldn't have a cordial relationship with her grandfather anytime soon, if she doesn't keep a check on her tongue.

"Ye taufa mene accept Kiya, kyunki Meri Daadi ke hain." Nandini stepped ahead to stand in front of Yashjeet. "Aur Mera Appa ne ye sikhaya ki I need to respect my elders. And my Ma taught me to forgive and forget. Mene tho aapko maaf zarur Kiya Lekin bhulna? Hmph! That's impossible, right?" She shook her head, before walking towards the small prayer area nearby where portraits of Gods were hung on the wall.

"Iske jagah Yaha hain." She kept the box near the large portrait of her grandmother, who was smiling widely in the picture. " Bohath izzat ke hakdhaar hona hai, to be in this place. And I respect your gift a lot. I realized that keeping grudges would only give you pain. Ye bohath der se hi Sahi Lekin Meri samaj mein aayi. And that's why..." She looked back at her grandfather, "I forgive you for hurting my Ma. I forgive you for hurting my family. But I will always remember that you don't want to accept my Ma."

Moving towards the tray of juice glasses, she took hold of it and walked towards the Murthy men. "Meri shadi ke date fix Karne ke baad aapko bhi invitation milega. Aaj Yaha aanekeliye a big thank you. I appreciate your presence." She left the place once the men accepted juice from her.

Shekhar followed her path.

Shamishti wiped her tears away and moved towards the men.

"Namaste!" She smiled at the men, and turned towards a table which was ready with workers arranging food for the same. "It's lunch time. Aayiye aur beitiye. We're not going to let you wait anymore. Sorry for the delay." She looked around for Nyonika, who nodded at her and ushered others to the mini tables kept around, for lunch.

"Please be comfortable. Agar koi zarurath ho tho aap bathayiye." Shamishti smiled at them and turned around to move once the Murthy men got settled down. "Mrs. Murthy!"

Shamishti got halted, before she turned around to face Yashjeet. The Younger Murthys got alerted and started to move towards their mother, to shield her from the possible wrath of Yashjeet Murthy.

"Ji?" She smiled at them again, and Yashjeet looked up at her. "Ache parwarish di hai apne. Aapki bachi ko. Sadha Khush rahe."

Shamishti's eyes welled up. Every emotion that rushed through her veins could be found in her eyes as well. Smiling to her fullest, she nodded her head. "Thank you!"

And she too left the place!

***

"You did well!" Shekhar settled beside Nandini, who was busy staring at the sky. The blue canvas sheet that was filled with shaped clouds stared back at her motion less.

"Really? You don't behave like a typical father, Appa. I mean, I kind of insulted your family. Yeah?" She looked at her father, who smiled at her. "Meri jaan!" He held her close to him, before looking up at the sky. "You were very polite. What you expressed out there wasn't anything disrespectful but your love for your mother. You did not reject their gift but gave a respectful place to it. I'm proud of my daughter."

Nandini smiled at her father, before shrugging. "See! This is the reason why I tell that my Ma is one lucky woman. Ithna handsome and understanding husband aur kaha milega?"

Shekhar chuckled hearing her.

"Manik Malhotra jaisa ek hain." Nandini turned towards her father with her eyebrows raised in surprise. "He asked his mother not to get any colorful jewelleries as your gift. He asked his father to get dark chocolates and bitter flavored ice creams. He also made sure none of the dresses are heavy weighted because you cannot handle such clothes."

Nandini bit onto her lips and grinned sheepishly.

"I've started to like him." Shekhar said earning a surprise filled gasp from his daughter. "Yeah but not completely. He needs to earn more."

She let out a chuckle and nodded, "Tabhi mein soch rahi hun ye kaisa dream jee Rahi Hun mein."

"I know right!" Shekhar too laughed along before kissing her forehead. "Stay happy and always, always let me know if you ever get into anything discomfort. I'm here. Always for my Shona."

Nandini smiled and nodded at her father, who returned the smile.

***

At night...

"Fluffy! Jaldhi aaja!" Mrunal whisper yelled, and Nandini pulled her best friend's arm so tight that it might have gotten ripped apart. "Ouch! Kameeniii!" Mrunal slapped Nandini's arms lightly as she still needs time to get recovered.

"So you mean you'll walk like a tortoise but scream loud that even the neighbors wake up and not just Appa and Ma, and I'll have to just stand idle and watch? Not happening!" Nandini retorted, before settling on the chair placed in the kitchen.

"Yeah, thanks for the paragraph!" Mrunal smiled sarcastically, before opening the refrigerator and started to rake through the boxes kept inside.

"Mruno! Jaldhi yaar. I'm in need of that sweet and dark thing." Nandini cribbed, and Mrunal let out a sigh. "Bad luck! Out of stock!"

"Whaaaat?" Nandini heaved a distress filled sigh with before looking up at her best friend. "Let's refill."

"At this hour of night?" Mrunal raised her eyebrows questioningly but Nandini was already out of kitchen.

"Fluffy, yarr!" Mrunal stomped her feet before catching up with Nandini. "I'll get it for you tomorrow."

"I've got that cravings, yaar!" Nandini babbled and Mrunal groaned in distress before muttering curses out loud. "Fine!" Nandini beamed joyfully on hearing Mrunal.

***

"Okay, we're getting back home. Aur kuch nahi chaahiye na?" Mrunal was about to make the payment when she turned around to see Nandini with a cake in her hand which had a lighted candle on it.

"What even?" Mrunal looked confused, before her eyes went wide in realisation. "It's my birthday, already?"

"Happy Birthday Khooniii!" Nandini sang with people singing along with her and Mrunal laughed out on hearing everybody singing 'khooni' as they're not aware of her name.

"Thank you, witch!" And they cut the cake in the middle of a supermarket with complete strangers clapping around in the background.

"I had forgotten about it." Mrunal winced on realising that this is the first time she's forgotten about her birthday. "I'm turning old like my mom, fluffy. Usko bhi apna birthday yaad nahi aathi."

Nandini rolled her eyes, before dragging Mrunal along with her. The leftover cake was packed into a box and Mrunal held onto it.

"See? I was telling you to start searching for your prince charming before you get old. Ab iss budhi keliye prince nahi king charming aayega." Nandini stated, and Mrunal glared at her. "What? You're in your that time of month? Why are you acting like an oldie kid?"

"A kid is different from an oldie, witch." Mrunal retorted and Nandini shrugged while placing Mrunal's cake at the backseat of their car, before taking another pack from it. "Haven't you heard about the phrase that oldies are just like kids? Suits you well! Ab ye pakad."

"You got the gift too?" Mrunal exclaimed before snatching the box from Nandini and started to unwrap. "Ohh!" Mrunal stared at the photo frame puzzled. "You know as much as I love us, I was expecting something different. You could have gotten me a Lamborghini. I have something similar hanging on my bedroom's wall."

Nandini shrugged before looking down at the portrait. "I received a portrait gift from grumpy coffee on our roka day." Mrunal stared on listening to her. "I understood that there's something good about portraits because sanskaari coffee made me feel good with that gift. Oh by the way, this is the first picture we took."

It was a picture of Nandini and Mrunal smiling gleefully at the camera person. They were kids in that picture.

"I'm getting into a new phase of life. Yaar, hamare jaise nahi but grumpy coffee has a lot of people in his life. Haan but nobody over there matches with his importance in my life though. Lekin baath yeh hai ki..." She held Mrunal and got settled on the car's hood. "Jaise meri zindagi mein tu hai waise koi nahi bann saktha. Jaise tu mere liye hamesha se mujhe prioritise ki hai waise koi nahi kar saktha. Isiliye mere liye tere jaise koi aur kabhi nahi hai. It's always going to be my best friend first and then comes grumpy coffee and his family."

Mrunal stared at Nandini, before looking down.

"I was kinda jealous. I mean, you're going to have so many sisters-in-law. Was that so obvious?" She asked looking up at Nandini who shrugged. "I would get it even if you feel Iike you wanna use washroom now."

Mrunal groaned in distaste.

"Hotha hai kabhi kabhi. I mean, I'm gonna feel the same when you going to get married. Yeah, that would be happening an eternity later though." She joked at the end making Mrunal to smack in her head. "Ey! I'm still recovering!"

"Yeah, right. Witch!" Mrunal snorted before hugging the portrait close to her heart. "Hey!" Nandini looked at Mrunal and nodded to continue. "I'll miss you!"

Nandini hugged her and smiled.

"You finally said it. Damn, I'm so special." Nandini squeaked like a kid and Mrunal made a bad face. "Yeah, gonna miss you too. But Manjeet Lifecare is our place na."

Mrunal grinned on hearing her.

"I know right!"

The girls chuckled and got down to get back to their car and zoom off to their place.

"Isn't that your grumpy coffee?" Nandini squinted her eyes at Manik, who was looking at something in his hand. "Damn, yeah. Chal."

"I'm sorry!" Manik was about to throw the thing in his hand to the waste bin. "Wo kya hai?"

He got halted and looked back to see Nandini staring at him questioningly.

"Marr Gaye, Bhai!" And that's when they noticed the boys were also around Manik.

"Lilliput, what are you doing here?" Manik moved towards the girls, and Nandini looked at Mrunal. "It's the day khooni decided to spoil my life."

The boys stared at her confusedly.

"She meant my birthday." Mrunal said rolling her eyes and Nandini nodded in affirmative.

"Oh!" The boys palmed their face in realisation. "Happy Birthday!!" They wished her who just smiled back at them. "But why didn't you tell us before? We could have celebrated together."

"This is just the night celebration and we prefer to be just us." Nandini said and Manik stared at her and Mrunal, who nodded in supportive to Nandini's statement. "Yeah, sometimes I think it's Mrunal your fiance."

"Honestly speaking, if she were a guy, we would have gotten married. I mean who better than your best friend can be loyal and understanding?" Manik stared at her and then rolled his eyes. "A guy like me, maybe? Or better, Me."

"Yeah, that's why I chose you." Nandini said and Cabir let out a snort. "For the first time you're somebody's second choice, Bhai."

Manik glared at Cabir while others nodded and laughed along.

"Waise you didn't tell. Hai kya wo?" Nandini looked at Manik's palm where he was holding onto something so tight, that she couldn't even peek. "Its-its nothing." Manik started to look here and there.

Nandini looked up at him, who stared back at her before showing it to her. He did not want to lie.

"I was about to throw it away." Nandini stared at the thing in his hand, with her eyebrows frowned. "I used to have this ring on my finger for a while now. It's been fifteen years. Sho--She and I had rings exchanged when we were kids. It was my idea, though. I just didn't want her to forget me."

Manik held onto Nandini's hands on seeing her unresponsive and just staring at the ring wordlessly. "I'm sorry, Lilliput. I just wanted to get rid of this before our engagement. It's just you and me now and forever. So I wanted to get rid of everything that belonged to her."

Nandini could only stare at Manik.

"You're leaving?"

"Yeah!"

"Will you come back?"

"I will come back for you. But don't forget me."

"Yai Daadu is waiting in the car."

"I'll keep it."

"I'll keep it too, my little friend."

Nandini had her mouth wide open. She felt like she couldn't even breathe due to the shock she was going through. She had the scenes unfolding in front of her eyes, but not in reality.

"Oh my God!" She breathed out and Mrunal got worried that her health might deteriorate. "Fluffy, it's fine. God, Manik Bhai. Should have hidden that thing and the story." Mrunal kept rubbing at Nandini's hands but she was also confused because Nandini wasn't the kind of person who could affected with an ex girlfriend's ring.

"Lilliput, please don't get worried. It's just you for me." Manik started to panic and Nandini just started to slap at Mrunal's and Manik's hands. "For hell's sake, I'm not getting any attacks."

They breathed sigh of relief, while others too heaved sighs.

"Phir wo sab kya tha?" Manik questioned and Nandini dragged him and Mrunal along. "Follow me!" She commanded, hinting at others too.

***

"Bhabi, hum kya doond Raha hain?" Sharavan asked for the second time, and Nandini shot a glare towards him before starting to ransack her wardrobe. "That guy needs to know the meaning of patience and not just patients."

Mrunal agreed along while Arijit smacked in his brother's head.

"Yes, got it." She finally found a box and took something out. "Kya mill Gaya?" Manik questioned sighing heavily. "Ye mill Gaya, Mano!" She answered smilingly.

Mrunal's eyes widened on hearing the nickname.

"What? Aisa ky-" Manik's eyes suddenly got widened when he realised what endearment she used for him, before his gaze went up to the thing in her hand. "Th-this this r-ring?"

He stared at it in shock while Nandini shrugged.

"I thought the phrase The world is such a small place is absurd. Of course this world is too huge, lekin kuch logon ko bas milthe rahenge bewajah."

Manik stared at her dumbfounded.

"Sh-Shona?" Nandini smiled hearing him. "That's the nickname your Appa and Ma gave you." She nodded and his eyes just widened. "That's not even your real name, because it's Nandini."

She chuckled hearing him. "Happy realisation! Actually, I used to go by that endearment when I was a kid. Shona and fluffy used to be my real names for me. I started to use Nandini when I got into teenage. I liked the name Shona."

"Oh God!" Manik held onto his head before he looked at Nandini, who was grinning. "Didn't know you were in love with a kid." Manik groaned hearing her. "I was a kid too."

"Yeah, but you still fell in love." She shrugged and he nodded agreeing to her.

"Koi bathayega baath kya hai? Ya phir hum pagal hai kya?" Cabir questioned annoyingly.

"Just that Shona met her Mano!" Mrunal answered instead of Nandini and Manik who were smiling at them. "Huh?" Shravan and Abhi questioned.

"Guys! Shona! My childhood love? That's Lilliput!" Manik cleared the confusion and soon enough there were gasps filled with surprise.

"What?!!"

"Yeah, the world is weirdly small, I guess?" Nandini retorted while shrugging.

Indeed, the World is just a small place

Just kidding!

It's large enough to fit millions and millions of people!!!

***
Hey guys!

How was the chapter?

We're getting close to the epilogue!

With love,
Affu.