Manik drove back to Nandini’s house and applied the brake. “Manik, you made me happy, you are the best, I love you,” she said kissed his cheek. He smiled at her. “Aao chalo mumma papa se toh milo (come meet mumma papa),” she said and stepped down the car, he too stepped out and they went inside. In the back garden, wind started blowing fast, the dead leaves on the floor rustled as if someone was walking upon them, but that someone was invisible. Varshini and Nandkishore were sitting waiting for Manik and Nandini. They entered and took their blessings.
Nandini hugged them and Manik assured them by their eyes. Someone walked to Nandini’s room really fast and Nandini noticed it. “Mumma, Anjali,” she said parting away. “She’s not here,” Varshini said. Her gaze was fixated at her room. “Mumma, I saw her going inside our room, I told you she will come,” she said and ran upstairs followed by Manik. She entered the room. “Anjali!,” she called out. “Nandini, if she was here, we would’ve seen her,” he said. “Arey main keh rahi hoon na vo yahan aai thi matlab vo yahan aai thi (I am saying she came here means she came here),” she said.
“Look it’s night, you sleep,” he said. “Manik ab main bachi nahi rahi ke 9 bajay so jaun (Now I am not a kid to sleep at 9),” she said. “No arguments, sleep,” he said pushing her slowly backwards to the bed making her sit. “But I don’t want to,” she argued. “Why?,” he asked. “I won’t sleep, I m not sleepy,” she said and looked out of the window. He went and stood behind her holding her shoulders. “Nandini, look your parents are worried for you, take care of yourself,” he said.
“Nahi horaha mujhse Manik, aaj hi gai hai vo, itna aasan nahi hai (I can’t Manik, she went today only, it’s not that easy),” she said and sat on the canopy curtained bed and laid on Anjali’s side of bed hugging the pillow she used to sleep on and looked at their photos on the wall. Tears streamed down her face. “Anjali tum kyun chali gai? (Anjali why you went?),” she said and started crying. Manik made her sleep by difficulty. He sat by her side for some hours and went to his house. In the midnight, she woke up to drink water but the bottle was empty.
She sat up and got off the bed along with the bottle and went downstairs. She came back with another bottle and sat on the bed. On seeing the other end of the bed empty, she got sad again and caressed that side. She got tears in her eyes and got off the bed again. She went to her parents room and they were sleeping. She slowly went inside and took her mothers sleeping pills. She went to kitchen and made herself a juice mixing one sleeping pill in it and drank it in one gulp.
She kept the medicines back and went to her bed and sat resting her back on the bedboard. She slept in the same position. Her head slid down sideways but a girl’s hand stopped it from falling and took her head on her shoulder. Nandini’s hands wrapped around her in her sleep. The girl’s hand had a promise bracelet same as it was in Nandini’s hand. The girl put her left hand on her face as Nandini’s head also rested on her left shoulder. “Anjali, I love you my angel,” Nandini murmured in her sleep smilingly.
At 6 in the morning, Varshini entered Nandini’s room and found her sleeping in an uncomfortable position. “Nandini,” she said shaking her. She got annoyed in her sleep. “What mom?,” she asked. “Sleep properly,” she said and she slept. She went from there. Nandini felt someone hold her hand. She opened her eyes but saw no one and slept. Soft breathing sound disturbed her sleep again. “Uhm,” she got irritated and put the pillow on her ear. “Tum mere jaanay ke baad itni aaram ki neend soi ho na? Main tumhare saath hoon (you’re sleeping so peacefully? I am with you),” said a dry voice.
Nandini got up with a jerk. “What was that?,” she said fully irritated and pulled the curtains of her bed from all four sides as it was a canopy bed. She was about to lay down, she saw shadow of two hands outside the curtain going down. She hugged her blanket and the curtain fell on her. She got scared and tried moving it. She felt someone else sitting under the curtain with her and lifted her head. She saw Anjali. “You?,” she said smilingly and tried to hug her but her hands passed through her.
“Anjali you promised you won’t go leaving me, how can you go?,” she asked. ” Those we love don’t go away, they walk beside us everyday, unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed and very dear,” Anjali said and disappeared. Nandini started crying the next moment not caring about the curtain on her. She realized and got the curtain off her and stood up fixing the curtain back on it’s place. She laid on her place again trying to sleep. At 1 in the afternoon, her mother came to wake her up. “Nandini, please eat something,” she said.
“No mom I want to be in the bed the whole day,” she replied and Varshini walked away helplessly. From the day Anjali died, she wasn’t getting out of her bed, she wasn’t eating anything, she kept on sleeping the whole day, even Manik tried the same thing her mother did but got helpless. One day, Nandini realized that she’s gone and won’t come back only when Manik took her to the Spiritual Healing Centre but she couldn’t ever tell the whole thing. Life became complicated for her when her sister went until her alliance got fixed with Manik.