Chapter 5 Flashbacks

Arjun and Ishaan both freaked out, seeing Manya- their Manya, fainting. Arjun didn't know what had just happened.

What had he mentioned that had made Manya faint...? Is she really sick....What has happened to her..how could this happen to her so suddenly? The thoughts in Arjun's head were making him go insane; while panicking, he barely managed to shout for somebody to call an ambulance.

Hearing Arjun calling for an ambulance, Ishaan was spurred into action and commanded his assistant, "Chiama il dottore, fretta!!" ["Call the doctor, hurry!"]

Feeling a cocktail of emotions with anger, helplessness and fear all mixed in, he adjusted Manya in his arms, holding her more carefully so that she wouldn't fall; embracing her tighter, as if somebody was going to snatch her. He was about to leave, when Arjun stopped him- "Where do you think you are taking her? I am not letting you take Minni anywhere!"

"Listen Mr. Chauhan, I am not sure who your Minni is- but one thing I am very sure of, is that I'm taking Manya with me. What do you know about her life? Nothing, right? So please step aside." He was speaking his heart out, partly out of anger,and partly out of fear; because it was true- he had also been unaware of Manya's childhood. Before he could state any more facts, Arjun really snatched Manya from his hands and walked away.

For a moment, he was dumbfounded by what had just happened and by the time he found himself standing,he saw Arjun turn a corner. He rushed towards him but God only knew where he had just disappeared to. Was it even possible for a human to disappear like this?! Where had he gone..?

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Arjun hadn't even thought twice before snatching an unconscious Manya from Ishaan's arms- not about his image, his business, nothing.

The only thought that was continuously haunting his mind was if he was gonna lose her again..his best friend, his only childhood friend, the love of his life...love? Yes, love! He loved her, he loved her unconditionally... He loved her for who she was, he loved her for who she had been... He loved the caring Manya, he loved the annoyingly arrogant Manya, he loved her with all of his heart...and there was no escape from these feelings.

All those years, he had kept questioning himself about him still looking for her. why he had compared every girl with her; today he had finally gotten his answer- he had been in love with her, he was madly in love with her, and deep down little did he know he was going to be in love with her all his life. His heart was in so much pain, seeing her in this condition- he resolved he would find all possible ways to cure her.

Thinking about the details of his past and the determinations for his future, he had taken Manya to the secret room attached to his office- It was Manya's idea that he had kept in mind all these years- she had been fascinated by secret passages, cabinets and rooms and such. Before the arrival of the doctor, he tried to wake her up by patting her face gently, wiping her face with his handkerchief soaked in water, but all his attempts were in vain.

As he was placing the soaked cloth on her forehead, he noticed the faded scar near her eyebrows, and his mind managed to pull him back into the memory lane..

"Minni wait! You will fall!"

The boy ran towards his friend, panicking with fear for her safety. "No, I won't," the girl yelled back without breaking a step.

Arjun, desperate to stop her, reluctantly decided to appeal to his authority, "Minni, listen to me, I am older than you!" Manya didn't stop but finally turned her head to retort, "No, I don't take orders from anyone! And you will be listening to me for the rest of your life!"

"Minni-", before he could have finished the sentence, he heard a loud noise and saw that Minni had fallen from the ladder.

He rushed towards her, checking to see if she's okay, she was still smiling; but then he noticed she was bleeding.

He got worked up and started shouting at her, "I told you na, not to climb the ladder! You never listen, Minni! And now you have gotten hurt! Do you realise what else could have happened? What if-"

"Oh Juno! You can never stop overthinking na, can you? It's just a scratch, it will be alright. Come on, let's go- we have to get first aid or otherwise Massi is gonna kill both of us.... Hey, stop it! I am the one who is hurt, why the hell are you crying?"

Arjun felt tears threatening to spill from his eyes again, and heard a knock on the door. He quickly composed himself and stood up to let the doctor in.

After briefing the doctor on the situation, he watched, impatiently, as he examined Manya. After a while, the doctor addressed Arjun, "Mr. Chauhan, I don't think she has fainted because of the long journey or low blood pressure, but I'm afraid it seems it may have to do something with psychological trauma. If you allow me, I shall call my friend, Dr. Acharya- luckily he is in town right now, he is a great psychiatrist."

Arjun nodded faintly, barely listening at this point. "Just wait till he arrives, there is no need to panic; I have given her a shot and she might wake up in some time. Please excuse me while I make a call."

Arjun stood there, rooted in place from shock. Psychological trauma?! What on the earth had happened to her, that had led her into this state? She was one of the strongest people he had known in his life, what incident could have given her such trauma? And what had he spoken about, that had elevated her pain, causing her to black out! He had only mentioned her childhood, which both of them had shared; why then, couldn't he recall any scars from her childhood? What was he missing?

What was that- he would find the root of this, he would fix this- he resolved to himself, as the doctor stepped into the room and told him that Dr. Acharya would be there in the next half hour.

"Thank you, Doctor. Sushant, could you please show Dr. Awasthi out?"

"Don't thank me, Mr. Chauhan, it's my job. Please say hello to your Mom and Dad from my side."

"I will! I really appreciate you turning up at such short notice."

"Sir! This way please," Sushant led him out of Arjun's office.

After they left the room, he was alone with Manya, his memories and his emotions once again. And the worst part of going through old memories is that you can't stop at one particular memory if it's linked to other emotions, it will lead to another, which further leads to another- it's a never ending chain; a loop which you are unable to exit without any external force. And in this case, the external force was a faint murmur from Manya, Arjun brought his ear close to her mouth and heard,

"Massi... Massi..."

He quickly grabbed her hands between his palms, "Yes Manya, I am here! Your Juno is here...please wake up-", when he saw that her eyes were still shut- she had lost consciousness once again.

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