《Manan - Entangled》Part 18
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Manik had already made up his mind that he wouldn't go ahead with that particular revenge plan irrespective of whether Nandini was the culprit or not. He didn't want to be responsible for someone's death. Slowly, he had begun to feel that Nandini is genuine, and not pretending to be good as he had heard from Mukti and Alya, so he felt that there were chances that Nandini could be innocent.
When Manik was with his friends,
Manik : "Mukti, mom says that sometimes things aren't as they appear to be. So I think that you should talk to Nandini once before we proceed with any kind of revenge plan. There are chances that you could have come to conclusions hastily without considering all the possibilities."
Mukti : "That's true, Nandini isn't as she appears to be. I don't want to see her face, let alone talk to her. I didn't come to conclusions as soon as I heard about it. I followed them and confirmed it myself. There is nothing left to consider."
Manik : "If you don't want to talk to her, I or anyone of us can talk to her on your behalf."
Mukti : "Neither are you going to talk to her nor anyone else."
Alya : "She is right. It will alert that girl and she will escape unscathed. All our efforts will go waste. There is no doubt that that girl is at fault, and she needs to suffer the consequences."
Cabir : "Manik, girls can understand the mentality of other girls better. Why are you stressing yourself considering other alternatives when they are so sure?"
Manik : "How can they be so sure? Alya hasn't even interacted with Nandini to know her, and Mukti went by what she heard from her friend. What if something drastic happens to her as a result of our actions, and later we come to know that she is innocent? We won't be able to undo it later."
Alya : "She is no innocent, she is only pretending to be one. You are getting distracted unnecessarily and it is delaying our plan."
Mukti : "I assure you that I haven't made a mistake in judging her. My friend had nothing against her to condemn her. I know Samaira way longer than I know Nandini, and I can trust her blindly. She has seen what they were doing in a hotel room, there can be no other possibility when it comes to such matters."
If it was earlier, may be Manik could have convinced Mukti, but by now Alya had fueled Mukti's hatred towards Nandini to such an extent that she wasn't even ready to consider other possibilities.
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Manik's friends tried their best to convince him that they were on the right path, but Manik was determined not to go ahead with any kind of revenge plan till he gets a confirmation. Since they weren't even trying to consider his point of view, he felt that that wasn't the right time to tell them that he had already backed out of their plan.
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A few days passed. Manik was standing under a tree outside the orphanage. He had plugged in air pods to listen to music, but his mind was busy thinking.
Manik's thoughts : "There is no point in me coming here anymore. I won't be able to get any confirmation unless I ask her directly. I have already gone against Mukti by backing out, I can't go against her once again by talking to Nandini about it."
Manik's thoughts : "I can't keep Mukti in the dark for long, I will have to tell her about my decision. How is she going to take it? .. She is definitely going to be furious at me. How am I going to pacify her? .. Will she understand my reasoning behind my decision? How am I going to convince her that I am not taking anyone's side, but I am doing so for my peace of mind. I told her that I can even give up my life for her if necessary, but I can't end up taking someone's life and be at peace."
Manik was so immersed in his thoughts that he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings.
Nandini came out to check on him since he was taking longer than usual to return. She had observed a change in Manik since he had saved the girl. Before that he seemed to be uncomfortable being there, but from that moment he seemed to be stressed.
Nandini saw a truck entering the orphanage premises at a distance. She was looking at it and didn't move from where she was for a while. Then she remembered that she had come out looking for Manik, but she had got distracted. Nandini looked around and found him under the tree. She was going to go back when her eyes fell on the truck again which appeared to be speeding and it was headed in the direction where Manik was standing.
Nandini tried calling him, but there was no response from Manik. She rushed to him as fast as she could, and managed to reach him just in time to push him, and get her out of the way of the truck. It was all of a sudden for Manik, so he couldn't stand upright, and he fell on the ground with Nandini over him.
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The truck's brakes had failed and it crashed into the tree with a loud bang. It took a while for Manik to figure out what had happened. In the meantime, others who saw the crash also reached there, but there was no response from Nandini yet. The mental and physical exertion had taken a toll on her, and her weak body couldn't withstand it, as a result she had lost conscious.
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When Nandini didn't gain conscious even after sprinkling water on her, Manik remembered her caretaker's words that stress wasn't good for her health. He rushed her to the doctor as early as possible and the doctor treated her.
Manik was worried for Nandini and stayed beside her. He was in a similar situation earlier too, but this time it pricked his heart to see her in that condition, and she was in that condition because she had saved him.
Nandini gained conscious after sometime, and she remembered what had happened.
Nandini : "Are you alright?"
Manik : "I should be the one asking you that question. You were the one who has been unconscious for so long."
Nandini saw a little blood on his sleeve.
Nandini : "You are hurt."
Manik hadn't realized that he was hurt until she pointed it out to him.
Manik : "It's just a small cut. .. What has happened to you? You aren't well .. "
Nandini didn't want to go into details, so she changed the topic.
Nandini : "I am fine. The stress exhausted me. What is it with you? You didn't respond though I called you so many times. You didn't seem to have noticed such a big truck heading towards you. Are you stressed about something?"
Manik couldn't tell her the actual reason and he knew she wouldn't question further if it is related to music.
Manik : "Nothing like that, I was trying to come up with the lyrics and music for a new song."
Manik : "Why did you risk your life to save me? What if something would have happened to you?"
Manik valued others' lives but he wouldn't risk his life to save someone other than his family and friends. He wasn't someone who would make his life uncomfortable and empathize with others other than his family and friends, let alone others' families. So far Nandini had been the only one he was a little concerned for. Unlike him, Nandini empathized with everyone, even if it was someone she hadn't met, and she could go to any extent for others.
Nandini : "What else could I have done when you weren't responding? I couldn't just stand there and watch you getting hit."
Nandini : "Be more careful in the future. You are the only beloved son of your parents. They wouldn't have been able to bear it if something would have happened to you."
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On his way back home,
Manik's thoughts : "I was thinking that I should stop volunteering, but if I stop now when the charity event is very close, it will put more pressure on Nandini. She may have to handle it on her own and that might stress her."
Manik's thoughts : "She saved me and the least I could do to return her favor is to stay back and share the responsibilities of the event. I have already been here for so long, I should be able to manage for a few more days."
Manik was as firm in returning a favor as he was with mistreating someone who messed up with him. So far Nandini was the only one he had let off the hook in spite of the repeated mishaps.
When Manik reached home and his mom saw his blood stained sleeve,
Nyonika : "What happened to you?"
She saw the cut on his hand and immediately got the first aid kit to treat it.
Raj : "I don't want you to help others and get hurt in the process. You should stop going there, there is no need to prove anything to anyone."
Seeing how his parents were worried for a small cut, he didn't tell them what had happened actually. Nandini had not only saved him from landing in the hospital, but also his parents from bearing the pain that would have resulted out of it.
Manik's thoughts : "What else can I do for her in return? .. I know she is depressed, though I don't know the reason behind it. May be I can try to help her get out of her depression during the time I am there."
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