Virman SS-Second Chance (Thank you Note/pg21)

Chapter 1

Virat walked down the dimly lit street as he kicked the little stone imagining it as his football, he missed his fun filled days at college, he missed those days where his gang used to dump classes and go for football practices, mostly he missed his best buddy, life was hectic now… he could hardly remember a day where he laughed and enjoyed living… he was living for the sake of it, he didn't know… he never thought that he would live a life like this… 'where did that fun loving prankster disappear… what changed that he did no more believe in living life to the fullest…? Surprisingly, he knew the answer for each and every question… It was him… he was the sole reason for the loneliness he was feeling right now… he…' Virat jerked out from his thoughts as he heard a muffled sob, he could hear someone crying,

Virat turned and tried to spot someone close by, but the surrounding was too lonely that he couldn't decide the direction of the intruder, Virat shrugged his shoulder and moved two steps ahead and heard the sobs again, he couldn't move further, he wanted to know who it is as the voice looked too familiar and he hoped that it was just his imagination, Virat after few minutes of peeping and strolling found a girl crouched in the bench behind the huge tree which separated the small park from the street, he knew that he might scare her by talking but his heart didn't let him move away, so he silently moved few steps closer to her and saw the girl jerk away to the sound of the crushing leaves under his foot,

"Sorry… I didn't mean to scare you…" He spoke softly trying to make the girl who looked like a runaway bride comfortable, Virat thought that she would turn and face him but she stood still and unaffected,

"Dekhiye…I can help…" He started but then words refused to leave his mouth as soon as the girl turned to face him, he never even in his dream's thought that he would see her again, but here she was standing in front of him dressed like a bride, not the perfect bride he wanted her to be… her face was stained with tears, her hair all messed up and framing her puffy face, Virat was lost… lost in the same innocence her eyes portrayed, just the way it was before two years, he didn't want to move closer to her… she was a fantasy, he has yet again started to hallucinate her presence, But could he move closer to her even if she was for real? He didn't know, 'did he have the right?' He didn't know,

Virat blinked his eyes and stared at her confusingly as she started to move towards him, she looked as if she was in a trance, her bangles jingling with her every movement,

"Virat…" She whispered softly,

"Manvi…" And he couldn't stay silent, Virat saw her lips curve and the tears pooled in her eyes run through her cheeks, she struggled to say something and Virat kept on drinking her sight, he couldn't believe that she was for real but the flowing tears somehow told him that it was not his hallucination, Virat raised his hand to wipe her tears but she pushed his hand away with an angry face,

"Nahi…" she shook her head vigorously as more tears escaped her beautiful hazel orbs,

"Man…"

"No… Don't… just go away… just leave me alone…" She screamed and Virat stood surprised by her high tone, he couldn't believe that his best friend, his Manvi who was a timid and reserved girl was shouting so much that too in the middle of the night on a street,

Virat tried to speak but she raised her hands as if asking him to stop, "Jao na… Jao chod kar… Jaise you left me two years ago… Jao… I don't need your help…" she uttered with a quivering voice and Virat knew that she needed him, she needed him more than anything and he would never leave her abandoned,

……………………..

Virat thanked God inwardly for not letting anyone see him forcefully drag Manvi into his apartment,

"Virat… mujhe jaane do…" she tried to push him away from the door trying to go out and he held her tight with her shoulders having enough of her rude behavior, he agrees that he was not noble, he did a mistake but that didn't mean that she would keep on ordering him to leave her alone,

"Stop it Manvi…" he wanted to sound stern but his voice gave his guilt away, "Stop it… please… I agree khi that I left you but baar baar keh kar dil mat dukhao please…" he pleaded and saw her eyes burn with anger she pushed him away from her with all the strength she had in her,

"Mein tumhe dukh dhe rahi hun… wah… mein?" she asked and Virat hung his head dejectedly,

"You left me Virat... your three year long best friend… that too when I needed you the most… I wanted you to stay next to me… aur tumne kya kiya…? You ran away… kisi koh kuch bataya nahi… you left everything and ran away…" she blamed him pointing her finger right to his face,

"I'm sorry…. I'm really sorry… mein… mein…" He stuttered and Manvi moved closer to him,

"Tum kya Virat…? Tumhe patha hai how I felt when I came to know that you were missing… missing right from the next day of our college farewell… meri shaadi hone waali thi aur tum mujhe chod kar chale gaye… Do you know how much I needed you at that time…? You promised me Virat… remember? You promised to stand by me… and you broke your promise…" she cried hard as she tried to vent her anger and hurt,

"Hone wali thi matlab…?" he asked and Manvi turned away from him, but Virat made her face him with a jerk, "Manvi… hone wali thi ka kya matlab hain Manvi…? Why are you dressed like this and what are doing here in Mumbai?" He asked looking at her bent head,

"Mujhe jaane doh Virat…" she whispered and sat down on the couch as Virat kept on staring at her, he couldn't understand anything, he could still remember her falling in love with Ansh, one of their senior at college, Virat always thought that Manvi would get over him but her love for him only grew deeper and Virat couldn't bare to see his best friend getting closer to another man but tried his best to stay ignorant, finally Virat lost all his patience when Ansh proposed Manvi in front everyone after their farewell party and felt his heart break into zillions of pieces realizing his love for his best friend, he left Chandigarh without letting anyone know as he himself couldn't accept the fact of him falling in love with her, falling in love with his best friend who already was in love with another man, he felt guilty and heartbroken… He knew that he'll never be able to live his life as the way he did having Manvi next to him… So he came back to his family in Delhi and moved to Mumbai after six months of time to help his dad with their family business, his life was not still the same… he missed her, missed her with every breath he inhaled but couldn't built courage to face her again,

'Not anymore,' Virat decided and knelt in front of a sobbing Manvi, he has never seen her cry so much… he felt his heart contract with pain seeing her state,

"Manvi… look at me please…" he requested softly and she raised her wet lashes to meet his gaze, Virat hesitated but took her hands into his,

"I know that I have never been a good friend, from the beginning… I agree… But won't you give me another chance… Another chance to fulfill my promise to you…?" he asked and Manvi shook her head denying,

"Please…" Virat didn't want to give up and let her go… "I won't ask anything…You don't have to tell me anything… but please stay…"

Manvi blinked and slid down the couch sitting on the floor next to Virat, now holding back his hand tightly and Virat knew that she would stay when she let him remove the tear stains away from her face,

"Thank you," he whispered and caressed her head which was covered by the goongat lovingly,

The clock ticked away as Manvi kept on staring at the wall in front of them, Virat stole few glances of her occasionally, he didn't know what he was supposed to say or do but she was not showing any sign of leaving his hand, he remembered how much she hated being touched during their college days, she cared for him, supported him but always maintained a distance and he respected her values, Virat sighed as he recalled how their friendship bloomed, there were no particular or special incidence as such but it all started when they were assigned for a group presentation together, he would always dump all the work on her and go for dates with various girls and she would silently do all his work not having the courage to face him or oppose him, but Virat finally understood the pressure he was putting on her the day she blasted on him for not putting his part of effort into the project, he was surprised to see the calm, quiet and composed girl confront him in such a manner but gradually understood her nature and enjoyed working with her more than going on dates with various fussy girls.

Virat blinked and turned towards Manvi and decided to ask her to get some sleep,

"Manvi…"

"Hmm…" she sat up straight and looked at him questioningly,

"I think you should get some sleep… It's quite late…" Virat replied indicating the clock and Manvi stared wide eyed at the clock which showed the time as 2am in the morning,

"I'm so sorry Virat… mujhe pata hi nahi chala…" she apologized guiltily and Virat shook his head and stood up pulling her along with him,

"Don't make me feel like a stranger by saying sorry Manvi… Hum dost thei aur abh bhi dost hei remember?" he asked,

"Kya hum dost thei Virat?" She asked back and he ignored her question tenaciously as he dragged her into a bedroom which was arranged neatly,

"You can have this room…" he paused and looked at her from top to bottom then scratched his temple, "What about your clothes… Hmm… Ruko... I'll be back in a jiffy…" he spoke out as he released her hand and moved out of the room swiftly,

Manvi nodded at nothing in front of her and sat on the bed with a thud lost in thoughts, she didn't know why God had brought her to this point of life… but she was glad about seeing Virat here… she agrees that she was being selfish and dependent on him but she didn't have any other option… she had no one to look up for, everyone she loved and trusted has abandoned her, first Ansh left her for the sake of his family… she felt distraught but somehow managed to overcome the pain with her nanu's support, but things started to change as soon as nanu started to get sick and bedridden, her maternal uncle and aunty took over the household and started to control her life along with nanu's too, it was all fine until her nanu breathed his last, Manvi released a deep breath as she recalled the incidents which took place after that, she didn't know what made her take the decision of running away, she couldn't even decide to which city she should head to, but she had no other option than to get into the Mumbai bus from Chandighar as there were no other buses which took off at the earliest, she didn't want to take the risk of staying there even for few minutes,

Manvi removed the jewels she was wearing, those were the only things she had for herself other than her savings which Nanu had made thinking about her future, she felt her eyes fill up at the thought of him… why did he have to leave her? How was she going to manage this cruel world around her? She raised her gaze to look at Virat who was now standing closer to her with a worried face, she tried to assure him by nodding her head but she could feel her inside squirm out of pain, she couldn't bare this loneliness anymore… she didn't want to live a life without any reason… she had managed to survive for her nanu after Ansh left but why did she have to go through so much when he was not there with her, her Nanu who had been her everything since her birth had left her to live her life on her own, will she be able to or more precisely did she want to?

"Manvi…" Virat called out to her but she stayed unmoved, he was having a hard time controlling his urge to know the reason behind her distraught presence and her numb form was doing no help,

"I can't do this Virat… Mujse nahi hoga…" Manvi yet again found her resolve break, she couldn't pretend any more, she just couldn't live even a minute having this burden in her,

"What are you saying Manvi…" Virat didn't know how he should be managing the situation, having no idea about her problems were making it all worse,

"I want nanu back… I want him Virat… Why did he leave me? Kya woh mujse pyaar nahi karte? He said that he'll be fine and I shouldn't worry… then why didn't he come back from the hospital… why did he leave me all alone? Kya mein itni buri hun…?"

Virat shook his head as he softly engulfed her in a hug, he could still remember those days when he hangs out at Manvi's place, her Nanu would always side up with him and tease Manvi, he was the only family Manvi had, he loved her so much that Manvi never felt the void of not having her parents,

"There was no one Virat… koi nahi tha mere liye… not to even say that things will be fine… ab bhi nahi… I don't want to live Virat…" she moved away from his soft clutch, Virat could see that she was not in her senses,

"Manvi aisa nahi hai…" he tried to explain but she was not ready to listen, all her pent up hurt was making her uncontrollable,

"Aisa hi hai Virat…I don't have anyone…Why should I live, for whom?"

"For your Nanu Manvi… For your Nanu… you should live for him… he brought you up with so much love because he wanted you to be happy… he wanted you to lead a happy life…"

"Then why did he leave me Virat…? Kyun?"

"Everyone has to leave Manvi… Kabhi na kabhi sab ko jana pad tha hai…" Virat tried to move closer to her as she tried to take in his words, "he is here Manvi… He will be always here…" Virat took her hand into his as he made her sit on the bed,

"Where?" she asked and his heart melted at her innocent nature,

"In your heart… woh tum hare dil mein humesha rahenge hai na?" she nodded and he cleared her tear strained face,

"And do you think that he will be happy to see you like this… ye mote mote tears ke saath haan? She shook her head and he cupped her cheeks,

"And never say that you are alone… Mein hun tumhe aur mujhe tumhari zarurat hein… I need that friend who always shows me the right path, who always saves me from trouble and who will even laugh to my lamest jokes, you will be here right… With me?" she nodded yet again as she rested her head on his shoulder, he kept on patting her hands not wanting to leave her alone in this fragile state…

...

I wanted this SS to be a light one... but that idea didn't work... Hope you all are fine with this emotional chapter 😳

Do please like and comment 😊