I continuously roam my eyes on Navya's stone still orbs and my shirt which is lying on the ground.

"Psychology says, smells often evoke strong memories."

My calculative mind reaches to a conclusion. The perfume in my shirt has opened the door of her memories.

"But I had applied her familiar perfume and she never reacted like this."

I contradict my mind. Suddenly a thought lightens up in my mind. Cabir hugged me. His perfume is lingering on my shirt. His perfume was...

"Dolce & Gabbana..."

My smart mind fills the blank. And Navya's lover used to wear...

"Dolce & Gabbana..."

He again completes the puzzle. Does that mean Cabir was Navya's ex-lover? The father of her unborn child? The ultimate reason for her all suffering? My jaws tighten.

"Hold on...how can you come to a conclusion so quickly? Does only Cabir use this international brand? There are so many people who use the same perfume brands. It can't be solid proof."

My logical mind pulls my horse. I turn at my sister to ask something but before that, she rushes towards the shirt and picks it up as it is the most precious thing of her life. Before I can say anything she bails out from my room and I hear the sound of her door closing with a thud. With a confused mind, I sink in the chair. I can't blame anybody on the basis of this small clue. I have to be sure. And for this, I have to talk to Navya. I have to ask her if Cabir was the guy she loved.

"But what if this affects her health adversely?"

My mind again becomes sceptic. Then I have to bring out the truth indirectly. I rapidly plan my next step. I glance at my mobile and pick it up. There is a missed call of Nandini. Due to the silent mode and the past few minutes of scenarios, I haven't noticed. But right now, I am not in a mood to talk to her. I type in a hurry:-

"Going to sleep. Talk to you tomorrow."

For a moment I keep on staring on the ticks in a wait of turning it to blue but it seems that Nandini is sleeping. I change and place myself on the bed. My body is tired but my mind is alert. I have to solve this puzzle. With a determination, I shut my dropping eyes.

...................................................

Since he has put out the light to finally end the day Cabir can't close his eyes for a moment. A plethora of thoughts is clouding his mind since he met Manik in the evening. And the irony is he can't even find out what this the reason of this agitation. Although he assured Nandini with his positive opinion about Manik something is still bothering him deep inside. After some minutes of tossing and turning Cabir eventually leaves his bed to come in the balcony. The crescent moon is gleaming amidst the scattered stars. It looks like being a part of this starry sky the Moon is still solitary. How metaphoric it is to his life. A sullen grin peeks on his lips. Manik seems a good guy. A balanced person with a sense of humour and maturity which is needed to handle his obstinate sister. Cabir curves his lips in an affectionate smile. But why did he feel that connection and tranquillity when he hugged Manik? And that is maybe the reason for his uneasiness. He only used to feel this connection and peace when he was with HER. Cabir's breath spikes. As much as he tries to forget HER as much as SHE runs in his mind. Cabir lights a cigarette and puffs some rings of smoke.

"Should I snoop about Manik more before Nandi takes any strong decision about him?"

His mind thinks like a typical brother.

"But what if Nandi gets hurt?"

His suspicion counters.

"Whatever, I can't ignore my brotherly intuition."

He eventually sets a treaty with his sceptic mind and decides to know more about Manik before any further conclusion. Cabir looks at the moon. Now, it is enshrouded with a tiny piece of cloud. It may remove after a certain time but what about his veiled fate? Will it ever shine like this moon? A bitter grin appears on his lips. Some clouds don't have the silver lining.

..............................................................

I was lost on my laptop screen when my mobile vibrates. This is the fifth time that Ms Boss is calling me. Every time she is asking me about my discomfort whether I am being troubled by any employee or client and every time I am assuring her that, troubling Mr Manik Malhotra is not an easy job. After all, I am the ultimate trouble maker. A grin of smug touches my lips. My mobile again vibrates.

"This girl is bigger trouble maker than me."

I utter with vexation and pulls out my mobile. However, my brows furrow to see the caller name. It is not Nandini rather the shopkeeper's number where I have given the broken photo-frame to mend. He told me to call him if the frame is ready or not but as usual, I forgot.

"Hello..."

I immediately pick up the call. The shopkeeper tells me that his shop will be closed for the upcoming week. Nonetheless,the frame is almost ready and if I want he can deliver it in my place in the evening. For a moment I calculate speedily.

"I won't be in the office after 3 pm as there is a client meeting. So he won't get me here in the evening. I don't want him to handover it to any other person."

I frown in dilemma. Suddenly I come up with a smart conclusion. The shop is quite close to my house.

"Why don't I ask him to deliver it to my house? I will tell Navya to get the packet and give him the rest amount. Tomorrow I will bring the frame in the office."

This seems the best option for me. I instruct the shopkeeper according and get him noted down my address. After cutting the call I put Navya in the line and tell her the same as I thought. All is settled. I sigh and again get engrossed in the design flashing on the laptop screen.

..........................................................

The entire day was fast and furious. The time went fast and I was quite furious as I am fade up of pampering these client's tantrums. It's 10 pm now and I am finally on the way to my home, knackered. It was so madding that I couldn't even take my calls. I pull out my mobile from the pocket and open the call details. My eyes pop out. There are 20 missed calls of Ms Nandini Boss and 2 from Navya.

"Shit..."

My obvious frustration comes out. I totally forgot about the photo frame. Navya must have called me regarding this. I connect the call at home. Her mobile rings. I wait but she doesn't pick it up. After a few moments, the usual announcement of not responding comes. I tap the call button again.

"Cu..cu...cu...cu.."

Her mobile keeps on ringing but the result is the same. Some lines of worry form on my forehead.

"She must be in the washroom."

My optimistic mind tries to convince me. The way back home seems like a never-ending journey for me. During this time I haven't tried Navya's number anymore as I don't want to assume any negative for her. It's better to be sanguine after my physical presence. The cab stops in front of my house and I almost rush out without even getting the fare balance. I am about to press the doorbell when I realize that the front door is ajar and the inside is dark. Only a faint light is coming from my room. I follow the source of the light at a scared pace. As I step into my room the sight is quite enough to hitch my breath for a second. Navya is sitting in a corner in a fetus position. Her hands shackle her both knees as tightly as she is trying to withstand any ambush. Her eyes are almost out from their sockets in surprise or maybe in fear. The upper teeth are pressing her lower lips in such intensity that they may cut it if persist longer. I baby step to her with hesitation and quandary.

"Navu..."

I don't even recognize my voice as it is so shaky. Navya doesn't react. In fact, I doubt she even realizes that someone is standing in front of her. With a sinking heart, I kneel down and place my palm on her shoulder.

"NO....."

With a scream, she shoves away from me.

"I...I won't try to meet him. Please...Please don't kill my brother. I will...I will leave him...Please save my child...Please..."

She keeps on chanting. Her all words are not clearly audible but I can feel how vulnerably she is pleading to someone. Her helpless eyes are moving on every nook and corner of the room as some invisible person is trying to attack her. I lose my patience and again near to her. By grabbing her both elbows I jerk her couple of times. Along with this, I vent out my frustration,

"It's me Navu...it's me. Your brother, Manik. No one is going to kill me. Get a grip on yourself. Whom are you talking to? Whom are you scared of? There is no one in the room. Only you and me. I am here with you. No one will dare to harm you. Come to your sense, Sis."

Navya vaguely looks at me and in no second springs on me to hold my upper body in a clenched hug.

"Ajja... will kill... you...he ki..killed my baby...let's...let's.. get out of... here, Bhai...Or else he...he will find us..."

She pants out while tries to hide her trembling body in my hold. My whole frame stiffens to hear the name again from her mouth...AJAA.

"Who is this Ajja, Navu? And how could this Ajja come here? Look at me...there is no one..Come down."

I fondle her back and try to simmer down her anxiety. Till now, I have no clue about her panic attack but right now, it is more important to get her out of this fear before I get my answer.

"He...is...here...He won't leave us..."

She whispers in my ears. Her voice is panic-stricken.

"Where? Where is he? I can't see anyone."

I murmur with a similar concern. In reply, her hand raises and it points out toward my study table. Her face is still dug in the crook of my neck. I follow her index finger and my eyes catch a sight. A square flat thing wrapped in a brown paper is lying on my table. A corner of the packet is torn and a pointed portion of a photo-frame is visible. The Photo-frame shop has delivered the frame on time. Navya's last feeble word invades my ear,

"Ajja..."

Author's note: The lines in Italic and bold are the thoughts of the characters. Sorry for the late update as you all know I injured my hand. ❤❤❤