《Manan - Entangled》Part 17
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It was night time and Manik was trying to sleep, but his mind was wavering. Both Mukti and Nandini's words were playing on his mind.
"I want a closure and if this revenge can make me feel better and help me to move on, I want to continue with it."
"If I end up falling in love, I am doomed for sure."
"I thought you can do anything for me.."
"A savior can't destroy someone's life."
He was in a dilemma and he couldn't arrive at a conclusion even after a long time. He put on some music. Music always calmed his mind and helped him find a solution most of the time. When it didn't it at least took of his mind from things which he couldn't change like his parents' never ending arguments. He fell asleep listening to the music.
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In spite of his turmoil, Manik decided to go ahead with their plan for Mukti's sake. It was a difficult task, but he succeeded and Nandini fell for him. He then dumped her as intended. Nandini who was already depressed couldn't bear it, and she committed suicide. Her blood was on his hands.
This woke up Manik, and he realized that he was just having a bad dream.
Manik (to himself) : "I couldn't sleep in peace just thinking about the consequence. If the dream turns into reality .. no .. I can't take someone's life in the name of revenge."
Manik wasn't able to go back to sleep. He went out of his room and went downstairs. He found his mom sitting alone lost in thoughts and went to her.
Nyonika : "Weren't you able to go to sleep too?"
Manik : "I slept, but a bad dream woke me up. What kept you awake for so long Mom?"
Nyonika : "I was thinking about something that happened at work today."
Manik : "What happened?"
Nyonika : "An important document was leaked and your dad fired an employee because others testified against her."
Manik : "Dad did the right thing, then why are you thinking about it?"
Nyonika : "I feel that she isn't the culprit."
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Manik : "How can she not be the culprit when there are people testifying against her?"
Nyonika : "She has been working for us from a long time and she has always been loyal to us. I feel that things are not as it appears to be. Someone has tried to frame her deliberately or put blame on her to save themselves from getting caught."
Nyonika : "I am not able to figure out who it is or why they targeted her? It isn't fair to punish someone who is innocent."
Raj also came downstairs. When he found that Nyonika hadn't returned from a long time, he came to check on her. He heard what Nyonika said.
Raj : "She is no innocent, and she deserved the punishment."
Nyonika : "She didn't. You went by what others told you. You didn't see her taking the document. You saw her there around that time and assumed that she is the culprit. Sometimes even our eyes can deceive us. If you would have listened to your heart, you would have been considerate towards her .. It is of no use talking to you, you think that everything I say or do is wrong."
Raj : "I listened to my heart and failed terribly. I won't repeat that mistake ever again. I was considerate that's why I didn't file a police complaint against her. .. You don't tell me what I have to do. Don't preach what you don't follow. Those words lose their meaning when it comes from you."
Nyonika realized that they were arguing in front of Manik, so she didn't continue with their argument.
Nyonika : "It is very late in the night. We should all go to sleep."
They returned to their rooms.
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Manik still couldn't go to sleep. He was thinking over what his mom said and also about the situation he was stuck in.
Manik : "I disliked Nandini because she messed up with my things. When Mukti told me that she cheated her, I started hating her, and tried to find faults in everything she did."
Manik's anger on Nandini for messing up with his things had faded away completely and his opinion about her also had changed to a certain extent. The only thing he had against her was that she had cheated Mukti.
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Manik : "Mukti believed that Nandini couldn't do anything wrong till the day she came to know that she was cheated. She came to know about it through her friend. Based on what she heard from her friend, Mukti came to the conclusion that they were having an affair when she saw them together."
Manik : "Is there a possibility that Nandini could be innocent? .. She does look more like a victim than a culprit."
Manik : "But why would Mukti's friend lie to her or frame Nandini? She has been friends with her from a long time. .. Mukti's boyfriend hated Nandini, could he have framed her? .. But why would he deliberately put his reputation at stake and severe his ties with Mukti? .. Could he have tried to use Nandini as a means to break up with Mukti?"
Manik only had questions but no answers to it.
Manik : "It wouldn't be right to go ahead with any kind of revenge plan without confirming if she is innocent or not. But how do I get it confirmed? .. Mukti isn't ready to talk to Nandini. If I try to convince her, she will feel that I am not supporting her and I am taking Nandini's side."
Manik : "If I have to ask her directly, I will have to tell her how I know about the incident and that I am related to Mukti. Also if she isn't innocent, then there is no guarantee that she will tell me the truth."
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Next when Manik met Nandini, after talking about how the girl was coping up, he brought up the topic indirectly.
Manik : "How can one deceive the other so easily?"
Nandini : "Not everyone is considerate towards others. There are people who think only about their welfare and when they find people who trust them blindly, it makes it easier for them to deceive."
Manik : "Have you had such an experience? Has anyone deceived you or have you deceived anyone?"
Nandini : I haven't deceived anyone knowingly."
Manik : "Has anyone deceived you?"
Nandini : "Life deceived me."
Manik had started the discussion to clarify his doubt, but it took a different direction.
Manik : "What happened to you to say so?"
Nandini : "I don't want to talk about it."
Manik : "That's the reason you are like this."
Nandini : "What do you mean by that?"
Manik : "You look depressed.. and weak. You seem to be stuck in the past."
Nandini was silent and Manik took it as an yes.
Manik : "You were advising that girl to focus on her dreams and move on from the incident. Can't you do the same?"
Nandini : "I focused on everything that I thought would serve as a means to achieve my goal, but I was pursuing the wrong goal. When I realized that my goal was wrong, the means lost their importance."
Manik : "How do you plan to move on then?"
Nandini : "By keeping myself occupied."
Manik : "Does that work?"
Nandini : "It hasn't helped me move on, but it keeps me distracted for a while."
Manik felt that probably she was trying to stay away from her problem instead of addressing it. So he advised her what he followed. He had advised Mukti the same too.
Manik : "I have no idea what your issue is, but as far as I know there are two ways to deal with any issue. One is to focus on finding a solution to your problem and that will automatically change your situation. The other is to accept it if it is something that can't be changed, then it won't bother you as much. Thinking about things that can't be changed over and over again won't help in moving on. If the current distraction isn't helping then shift to a more positive distraction. Changing your environment also might help."
Manik was there to make Mukti's life better, not Nandini's. But he felt that Nandini was more depressed than Mukti, that was the reason he advised her.
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