Hold on...Please.

Magic Lake.

"Do you seriously believe I did that? Sandy?" Manny yelped. She removed the high heels from her feet and kept them aside.  Now that the club was so silent, the inside of me was fighting a storm. I knew life back here would be hard but it was getting worse with each passing day.

 "Manny..." I dragged himself closer to Manny. "Can we visit our place now? I want to breathe...please!"

 Manny held my face in between her palms and touched my lips with her thumb, "Does it hurt?", she whispered, "Of course we can go now...Are you okay?"

 " No. Not really. I am really tired." I sobbed and rested my head on Manny's shoulders. "Please take me to the lake!"

 Manny nodded and helped me get up. We got into Manny's car. Manny told the driver about the location and sat beside me on the backseat. After driving through the city road for an hour, the car entered a less crowded area where the roads were a little bumpy. We had a jump on our seats every now and then. I loved how the city had developed  but somehow this part of the city remained the same. The broken roads, no fancy billboards, less people and more trees.  The car soon entered an area with wired boundaries. The place  was actually an abandoned factory with half destroyed building and rusted machines. Manny and I got out of the car. Manny switched on her phone flashlight and held my hand. We slowly walk past the buildings and wild grasses. The sound of crickets and flowing water could be heard. We went deeper into the grass to arrive at a lake.

 The air seemed so fresh. I took a deep breath, "Ah...our magic lake!". I opened my arms and stood like that for a minute with my eyes closed. The sound of water and the cool breeze put a lovely smile on my face. "The city has changed...become more congested and crowded but this place has not...the charm is still the same!"

 "Dad wanted to sell this place..." Manny casually said and sat on the broken bench near the broken pole.

 "What? Why? Didn't he know what this place means to me...to us?"

 Manny tied her open hair to a bun. The wind was making her hair messy. "May be that's the reason he wanted to sell this place at the first place...Mom...she loved this place so much. Remember that time when you were bullied at school, you had a cut on your knee and you wouldn't stop crying?" Manny sighed. "The moment she brought you here you stopped crying!"

 "Yeah...this place smells like her! Ten  years...I missed this place...I miss Mom...I miss you Manny. I missed growing up with you and that all these years I thought that when I return back...you would be as happy as I was seeing you for real...and not through messages or chats!"

 "You thought of returning? Who are you kidding brother!", Manny taunted. "And why did you leave me alone Sandy? Mom left, then you went away...I was alone...all alone. Dad expected me to learn the business, to deal with the stuff I was clearly too young for.  I had to grow cold and tough. I didn't have any choice. And now you too don't have any!"

 "I am so sorry Manny, you had to suffer so much alone. I had no idea. I was too selfish to think about..." I couldn't control my tears any longer. "Why couldn't we have a normal childhood? A normal life?"

 "Destiny!" Manny uttered looking up to the night sky, "You cannot run from it Sandy...whatever you do...it would lead you closer to your destiny..." 

 "It feels so peaceful here. the starry night and the darkness... who needs drugs to get high!" I  sat on the broken bench beside Manny. "I hope Mum is safe. Dad told me not to contact her. I hope she is fine."

 "She is fine." Manny uttered confidently.

 "How are you so sure?"

"I mean...she must be fine. She has managed all these years alone. Don't worry. Dad wouldn't do anything to her."

  "You don't take drugs now? And you didn't tell me about your partner back in London. I stopped getting your updates after you two got together."

 "I don't...Jeff and I broke up two years back. Something was not right between us. Don't ask what because we too didn't get it. I started doing drugs with Jeff but eventually I realized they were triggering the attacks."

 "And what about the nightmares?" Manny got up and strolled through the grasses. Bare feet she roamed in the wet ground. It was really long that my feet had touched the soil. I too took off my shoes and my feet finally touched the ground. It felt like therapy. I wanted to dip my feet into the water but was scared of the water. Mom had once told me a story about water monsters. She was a really good story teller. That kind of stayed with me. I had ever since feared large water bodies.

 "They were gone but..."

 "But what?"

 "They come back from time to time after I came here, I recently got one...when I was at the NCB quarters. Stress induced I guess."

 Manny nodded. "Are you taking your pills properly? Can't you just forget what happened in the past!"

 "Can you? I forgot some part of it but the parts I remember are enough to shake me up! I still have marks of the burning cigar all over my body Manny! Numerous tattoos to hide those but still when I touch them it burns like fresh." I tried hard not to revisit those horrible days. The flashbacks were hazy but they came whenever I closed my eyes. It was becoming difficult to breathe.

 Manny came near me and hugged me tightly. She brushed my back with her hands. "Relax. I am here... look! He wouldn't do any such thing to you...I have some drinks in the car." She wiped my tears and pulled out her phone.

 "Manny...but you have to get to the NCB tomorrow. I don't think drinking is a good option." I looked at my wrist watch, "It's already one...correction...you have to get to the NCB today...in a few hours."

 "Relax, I didn't say we'll have alcohol... it is just Soda." Manny smiled, "Sandy do you believe in me?"

 "Manny, I know you are upset about dad giving me the deal but I also know you would never do anything to harm me. You have always protected me after mom."

 "Thank you." Manny hugged me and sighed. She then called her driver and asked him to bring the drinks. After  a while the driver brought two bottles and went back. "Here, take it." Manny passed a bottle to me. "So what's up with you and that Ansh? You know he is dangerous."

 I took a sip and turned to Manny, "Nothing...What do you mean?"

 "I have seen you grow up. I was not there for a long time with you but still I know you better than you...at least when it comes to your love life...I predicted very long ago that you and Jeff won't last and see what happened..."

 "What if I told you that I do feel something special about that man?" I shrugged, " What do you predict?"

 "I don't have to predict anything .You are smart enough to know it yourself. Dad has already noticed him ruining our deals. Last month the firearm deal almost got cancelled because of that moron. And now this happened." Manny chugged the whole drink, "You should not get involved with Ansh. He's gonna die for sure. I don't want you to suffer too. Understand?"

 "Yeah...but Manny can I ask you for one favor?" I said softly.

 "What?"

 "Don't hurt him ...please!"

 "And even  if I don't do anything...Are you sure dad will let him go?" Manny lifted her eyebrows. "Don't go any further and hurt yourself. Trust me. I have been there. And..."

 "Are you sure Dad killed Nav? It actually could be an accident."

 "Nav had a fight with dad that night. Dad clearly stated he would kill him and that very night that car just flipped on an empty road. Do you think this is an accident? Does it look like one?" 

 "We both hate dad for what he has done...Why don't we get away from all this? We would survive  without dad I promise! We will take Mum with us and just hide from dad!"

 "And dad would let us get away that easily? He has invested on us. He wants our lives in return! Running is not the solution Sandy...didn't you learn! Dad is the Pankaj Dwivedi...he will find us from hell or heaven." Manny laughed but it had a touch of helplessness to it. "I love this anyways more than anything."

 "Love what?"

 "This sense of power. It's fun when you have the power to control lives. It's fun when you get a taste of this grandeur. Live life like a f*****g queen!"

 "Manny have you taken lives?" I feared for an affirmation.

 "Yes...many...And you will start taking too!" Her answer made my chest heavier suddenly. "I had to kill ,Sandy...To survive among murderers like dad, you have to become one.  But I do not kill without reason...that produces a lot of noise and that is harmful for business." Manny smirked and stared at me, "I will take revenge from him to all that he has done after I reach his level."

 "So you want to become the next Pankaj Dwivedi and that's your revenge?'

 "I want to become the first Mandira Dwivedi...up and above Pankaj Dwivedi!" Manny winked. I knew it was coming and I just hoped that I do not become one of them. The lake, The air. The sound of water and crickets were not so peaceful anymore. The magic in the lake had started to fade!