Besabriyaan

Chapter 47

M A N I K

I don't remember what time it was early in the morning but I was driving my Rolls Royce mad breaking every hindrance occasionally hitting the steering wheel in lack of patience. The streets erased from my memory like a blurred scene and the only sound reaching my ears was the sound of my ferocious tyres against the metallic road and one thing in mind that I couldn't stop until reaching the Juhu bungalow.

Knocking on the door, I waited patiently with a throbbing chest till one house staff opened and I rushed inside searching everywhere in vain until my feet halted at the living room across one huge couch finding the one I came looking for. With bated breaths, I stepped near and he removed the magazine covering his face confirming my sources to be true.

"Cabir..." I sighed and he stood up with a faint-barely-there smile on his face as if he too awaited my arrival; at least that's what his body language in a silken gown screamed.

My spirit knows there were so many things I chalked up in my mind to tell him when I hug and apologise to him for over a billion times but seeing him now is blanking my mind and I don't know where to start from. He was there for me when nobody else was - my true brother but the way he left in silence without hinting me, I won't admit publicly but it devastated me to great extent. I can never be the whole Manik Malhotra without Cabir Dhawan playing his part in my life. But how do I start talking when I know I am the one who tormented his life, I am the one who caused him the greatest misery.

"Are you gonna stand there like a statue?" He uttered in gentle tone.

"Thanks for not kicking me out already." He shook his head tossing the magazine on the coffee table.

"I heard about your accident.." he spoke taking a step or two towards me. "I'm glad that you defeated death. Not everybody can."

That made me want to dissolve into the ground as thoughts of him losing his lover in the hands of death haunted mr. "I'm glad you're back." I smiled vaguely.

"And, I'm glad you came to visit. Come, have a seat." Clearing my throat, I looked around vaguely nodding my head.

It was not like I have come to this house twice or thrice but almost every drunken night of my life since teenage was spent here yet the denseness in the air, this morning, was difficult for the sharpest knife to cut through but it was a good thing that he at least was talking.

When he offered me some coffee, in order to avoid what to say next I sipped on it shortly hissing to myself feeling my burnt tongue, all thanks to Murthy. All along I drank it in silence stealing my eyes from him like a thief whilst he studied me like I was an interesting article.

"Rough night?" He questioned and damn, it was taking me a light year to answer a bloody simple question maybe because I was weighing my words before letting them out.

Usually in the earlier times whenever he got to know I spent the night sacrificing sleep, he'd generally welcome me with a coffee that had alcohol in it but time changed like the Mumbai rains. But I really shouldn't be expecting things to go back to normal at the speed of lightning. Cabir lost too many things and time is the only medicine I could offer. Hell, I didn't even know whether my presence was pricking his eyes.

"So you," I cleared my voice. "plan to stay here for sometime?"

He nodded, much to my relief. "...yeah. I don't know for how long but for now I am."

I gulped, "Good." Rubbing my thighs, I looked around clearly at loss of words.

"Okay then, I should be leaving now." He stood up right after me not even bothering to stop. I guess, it's good for both of us at this point of time.