39. PIHU & NANDINI

After cutting the call, Navya dialed her husband’s number immediately to inform him about Nandini’s condition but unfortunately, his phone is going unreachable. So, not having any other option she leaves the voice note and walks out to reach the hospital after collecting Nandini’s old reports. 

Seeing her Mumma going somewhere, Pihu runs behind her before she sits in the car and pouts sadly. 

Pihu:- Were you going to have ice cream leaving your cute daughter alone? 

Navya:- ( with a lip-tight smile ) I don’t have a cute daughter. 

Pihu:- ( dramatically ) People say that kids forget their parents when they become adults but here ( Looks at her mother with narrowed eyes ) my mother forgot that she has a CUTE DAUGHTER. 

Navya:- ( while making a bad face ) Oh… Mini Nandini, sit in the car your DEAR BUI is in the hospital. 

Pihu looks at her mother with wide eyes and next second palms her ears dramatically and cries hard. 

Pihu:- Why didn’t I die before hearing this? Why god, why?…. What is my fault? 

Navya looks at her drama package and curses Nandini for spoiling her. Her little daughter is becoming a MINI VERSION OF NANDINI because she stays with her almost all the time. She banged her head on the steering wheel and glanced at her daughter who became angry all of a sudden.

Pihu:- Bui beat a boy again? Why does she beat every other boy who proposes to her? ( Cries ) If she keeps doing that then, there won’t be a single boy to marry me. The world will see a shortage of boys. At least Bui should also think about my future. 

Navya looks at her daughter with a gasp. She shoots daggers at her and pulls her inside the car and starts driving. 

Navya:- Your Bui is admitted to the hospital. 

Pihu:- ( horrific expressions ) Who has the guts to harm my Bui which leads her to the hospital? 

Navya:- No one harmed your Bui. She had a little accident but now she is stable. 

Navya didn’t tell her the truth because she won’t understand it. But she doesn’t know Pihu is a little version of Nandini who is ahead of her true age. She is sensible, mature, and naughty at the same time. Pihu understood that her mother was lying but she didn’t say anything. Her eyes filled with tears and her lips wobbled knowing that her DEAR BUI had an accident. She is attached to Nandini since birth who is like her first mother. 

Seeing her tears, Navya rubs Pihu’s back and passes her a comforting smile. She knows what place Nandini holds in her daughter’s life and she cherishes their bond. Both were always ready to die for each other but will not leave each other under any circumstances. 

Navya:- Don’t cry… If your Bui will see you cry then, she won’t see a second before killing me. 

Pihu laughs with tears and why not, this is the truth, her Bui is the best. She can beat anyone who will try to harm her. A memory rolls down bringing a smile back to her lips. 

A few months ago, The sports Day celebration in Sant. Merry School. All the kids participated while their families were sitting and enjoying seeing their kids winning the junior games. Nandini, Cabir, and Navya were one of them. 

Being an over-excited Bui, Nandini bought some popcorn and beverages to enjoy her Pihu’s basketball game. She even wore the pom poms to dance every time her Pihu basket the goal. She is cheering for Pihu the loudest among all the parents and sometimes Cabir has to apologize to everyone for her behavior but he can’t control her. 

The match was going well and Pihu was the happiest girl seeing her Bui cheering for her the loudest. She felt immense happiness when she saw her Bui dancing for her in the crowd. She is feeling motivated. All her teammates are bad-mouthing her Bui but she doesn’t care.

One of the girls from the opposition team pushed Pihu when she was about to basket one more time and little Pihu got bruised on her arm. Cabir and Navya panic seeing their daughter in pain, whereas Nandini is murdering the girl’s parents through her eyes who were laughing at their daughter’s acts. 

Pihu doesn’t stop the game because she wants to win the medal for her Bui and continues to play with good sportsmanship. On the other hand, Nandini marches toward the girl’s parents and starts fighting with them, and blames them for their wrong upbringing. The argument turned hotter with the passing second and then the security had to intervene to stop them. As a result, both have to leave the ground and for the rest of the match, Nandini just hears the commentary while Cabir is shooting daggers at her. 

After an hour, they saw Pihu running towards them with a medal around her neck while her lips were just on the verge of wobbling seeing her Bui. Cabir and Navya expected that she would hug them first but much to their shock she jumped in Nandini’s arms and sticks to her like a monkey, making her giggle. Both the girls ignored them like they never exist on Earth. 

The next second, Pihu starts crying in Nandini’s arms and complains to her about the girl who pushed her. 

Pihu:- ( Showing her bruise to Nandini ) Bui… see I got a bruise here and it’s paining a lot. That girl pushed me so hard and I fell. 

Nandini looks at her wound which is not that serious but she knows it will surely pain her a lot tomorrow. She dusts her arms and kisses the place where Pihu got hurt, making her giggle. 

Nandini:- ( Cutely ) Is it ok now? 

Pihu:- ( With a broad smile ) A little better but if you kiss like this every day then it will not hurt me a lot. 

Nandini:- oh… Then I will kiss my little Pihu every day so that she will not feel any pain. 

Pihu smiles but pouts sadly at the same time. 

Pihu:- Bui, will you teach that girl a good lesson because she hurt me? 

Nandini:- Pihu, taking revenge is not good. Just forgive her as she is a little girl like you and little girls do make mistakes, it’s common. 

Pihu nods in understanding while Cabir and Navya look at her with a face that screams “HYPOCRITE”, “DOUBLE-FACED” and whatnot. 

Cabir:- ( Whispers to Navya ) We are standing here because she fought with that girl’s parents taking Pihu’s revenge and here she is teaching her to forgive her.  

Navya:- Mr husband, If you want a happy and long life then, stop bothering them. 

Cabir:- I am feeling like we are Pihu’s step-parents while Nandini is her biological mother because she is attached to her more than us. 

Navya laughs because he is indeed right. In front of Nandini, her daughter forgot about her parents. If Pihu needs anything then, she demands it from Nandini, if she wants to play then she wants Nandini, if she gets hurt then also she wants Nandini all the time besides her to treat her. Only Nandini matters to her in every situation but they are not complaining about it. 

Pihu comes out from her memory lane when Navya parked the car In front of the hospital. 

Pihu:- ( Scaredly ) Mumma, Bui is okay na? 

Navya smiles hearing her innocent question and prays while looking at the sky before walking inside the hospital, “Please, keep her safe and give her Shy Boy courage to bear MY HANDLE WITH CARE NOTORIOUS PACKAGE.” 

Well, praying for Manik’s safety is a must because he is going to bear Nandini for a lifetime. Here Manik is talking with Nandini’s sleeping figure and complaining to her about everything like a toddler. 

Manik:- ( With a bad face ) Why didn’t you tell me that you belong to the vampire family who was ready to drink my blood like orange juice? I am scared of them even before meeting them in person and only god knows what they will do to me. ( With terrified ) I hope they won’t rip me apart as most vampires do to their prey. 

He didn’t realize what he just said out of emotions but it is his good fortune that Nandini is not in her senses to add one more punch to her punch list. He passes her a cute smile while hiding his giggles. 

Manik:- I can’t believe that you belong to the BLOOD SUCKING VAMPIRES FAMILY. ( Looks at her facial expressions very keenly and gets lost in her ) You have a cute nose, Fireball. It’s perfect just like you and your ears are also cute, small-small but it suits you. 

His hand automatically reached her face and his fingers itched to caress her face. His thumb pad rubs her fluffy cheeks. 

Manik:- Your cheeks are so soft that I fear that my touch will hurt you. 

In her daze, he leans and rubs his nose on her cheeks taking her fragrance to keep his heart alive. His eyes landed on her closed once and he couldn’t keep his fingers away from caressing them. 

Manik:- You look serene in your sleep but I don’t want you to sleep because of any medicine dose. I prefer gazing into your eyes which shows your love for me. 

Out of a sudden, his eyes land on her lips and his heart stops beating. His fingers automatically start rubbing her luscious lips which were dry now because of her current situation. But he felt, even more, attracted to her. If Nandini would be in her senses then he wouldn’t be doing this but somewhere this is needed to let his feelings out. 

Manik:- Today when you initiated the kiss I felt out of the world. I want many more kisses with you but… 

To be continued…