As soon as Chirant held her hand, Meera stood still for a moment, then quickly pulled it away.
“Leave my hand,” she said.
“What is your problem? Didn’t I tell you not to keep trying to talk to me again and again?” Meera snapped angrily.
“I came with so much hope that you would forget everything and talk to me like before, Meera,” Chirant said softly.
“Please, Chiru… don’t dream like that. If something else had hurt me, I would have talked to you. But when trust breaks, how can I talk? That’s not possible for me. Please… just leave,” Meera said.
“I also came believing you would talk to me like before, Meera. Now even my belief is broken. I’ll go… what else can I do?” he said, placing the money Prakash had given into her hands.
“Dad gave this for your expenses,” he added and walked away.
Manya felt confused. She couldn’t understand why the two of them were arguing like this. She decided to ask Meera later and stayed silent.
Meanwhile, Nakul grew curious about who this Chiru was. Though Pranav and Nidhi also felt curious, they didn’t bother much. But Nakul’s mind filled with questions—
Who is he?
How close is he to Meera that he can hold her hand?
If Meera doesn’t want to talk to him, why did he come all the way here just for her?
Hundreds of such questions troubled him.
When Nakul saw Chirant hold Meera’s hand, jealousy rose inside him. Even though Meera was just a friend like Manya and Nidhi, he cared for her more. When he thought about it, he quickly realized—he loved her. He had told only Pranav about this.
Just like Nakul, Meera also loved Nakul. She had shared this only with Manya. Nidhi knew about both their feelings but acted as if she didn’t.
After Chirant left, Meera felt a little relieved. She went to Manya and said,
“Manya, I’m going to the PG. I’m not feeling well.”
“Okay, then I’ll come too. Let’s go together,” Manya said.
“Please, Manya. You go to your class. I’m fine. Come in the evening after class—I’ll wait,” Meera said, taking the room key.
Meanwhile, Nakul wanted to clear his doubts, so he asked Manya,
“Manya, who is this Chiru? What’s his relation with Meera?”
“He’s Chirant, her friend. When Meera’s parents passed away in her childhood, Prakash uncle—Chiru’s father and her father’s friend—raised her. As per her father’s last wish, they grew up as friends. They were best friends. They cared deeply for each other and never let go. Their friendship became very famous in our PUC college,” Manya explained.
“But then why doesn’t Meera want to talk to him? She treats him like a stranger,” Nakul asked.
“That’s what even I don’t understand. Back in PUC, she hardly spoke to us, and even when she did, she always spoke about him. But it’s been almost four months here, and she hasn’t mentioned him even once. Maybe they fought. I’ll clear all my doubts this evening and tell you tomorrow. For now, let’s go to class,” Manya said.
“Hmm, okay,” Nakul said and left for class with Nidhi, Manya, and Pranav.
During class, Manya felt a strange emptiness without Meera beside her. She kept waiting eagerly for evening.
As soon as class ended, she went straight to their room. Seeing her, Meera asked,
“Hi Manya, how was class?”
“It feels empty without you. I can’t even focus,” Manya said.
“Oh, you silly girl… what will happen to you if I’m not there?” Meera teased.
“Leave all that. Tell me—why did you and Chiru fight?” Manya asked.
“Why now? Just leave it,” Meera replied.
“Will you tell me or not? You may not need to, but I do,” Manya said, slightly annoyed.
“Okay, don’t get angry. We didn’t fight… I just stopped talking to him,” Meera said and explained everything.
“Even after all this, didn’t you feel like telling me even once?” Manya asked.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you. I came this far to forget some things. I didn’t want to feel sad thinking about him again. That’s why I stayed quiet. Anyway, leave it. In a couple of days, it’s Nidhi’s birthday, right? Let’s go out and buy a gift. Get ready,” Meera said.
“Hmm, okay,” Manya said and went to get ready.
Just then, Nidhi called. Meera picked up,
“What’s this, Madam Nidhi? Calling at this time—what’s the matter?”
On the other side, Nidhi cried uncontrollably. Hearing her, Meera grew anxious,
“Nidhi, what happened? Why are you crying?”
“Mom… mom…” Nidhi cried.
“What happened to your mom?” Meera asked quickly.
“Please come to the hospital immediately—you and Manya,” Nidhi said and cut the call.
Meera and Manya rushed to the hospital. By then, Nakul and Pranav had already arrived. Nidhi sat there crying. When Meera and Manya saw Tulasi safe beside her, they felt relieved.
“You scared us! You said something happened and cut the call,” Meera said.
“If something had really happened, I wouldn’t even be here to call… I would have gone with her,” Nidhi cried.
“Hey, don’t talk like that. Nothing has happened now. Stop crying,” Manya said gently.
“I’ve been telling her the same thing, but she doesn’t listen,” Tulasi said.
“That’s fine, aunty… what actually happened?” Nakul asked.
“Well… this afternoon, while I was going home, four goons came to kill me,” Tulasi said.
“Goons?! Why would they want to kill you?” Pranav asked.
“A couple of days ago, a man came asking me to write a fake post-mortem report. I scolded him and sent him away. Most likely, he sent them,” Tulasi explained.
“If you had just written it, they wouldn’t have come today,” Nidhi cried again.
“How can I do that? Just because someone threatens me, I can’t betray the profession I chose with love,” Tulasi said, gently stroking her head.
Just then, a nurse came and handed Tulasi an X-ray report.
“Madam, your report has arrived.”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you… a young man saved me from those goons,” Tulasi said.
“Really?!” everyone asked in surprise.
“Where is he now?” Nidhi asked.
“He got a slight head injury during the fight. I treated him immediately. This report is his. He’s resting in the treatment room. Come, I’ll show you,” Tulasi said.
As they all walked towards the treatment room, a surprise awaited them…
To be continued…
You can also read this story in Kannada.
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