It was the last week of June 08. It was a pleasant evening with gentle breeze caressing the hearts and minds of nearly everyone.

Oblivious to all these, Mano was waiting anxiously in a restaurant. He had been waiting for more than fifteen minutes. Would she come or would she not? He did not even know her mobile number or else he could have called her.

And suddenly the girl appeared in front of Mano. Mano was speecless as the girl mildly said "hi anna". She could barely hear him say "hi Nancy". She said "sorry anna. Got a bit late in traffic".

It had been nearly two years. Two long years.

Nancy started "Anna. Let us have a heart to heart chat now. I feel you cannot get certain things out of your mind. I hope this last meeting helps you in some ways". Mano nodded his head in agreement even as he did not miss Nancy mentioning this meeting as the last one.

Both did not talk anything for the next five minutes. Luckily the waiter came and broke the silence. Mano and Nancy absent mindedly placed the orders.

Left to themselves again, Nancy asked "can you not understand why I had to walk out of our relationship?".

Mano said "In the last two years, I have understood how pathetic my guesses can be. Now that you are here, I would prefer knowing it from you than guessing".

Nancy said "well. Let me be frank. I wanted to end the excess emotional attachment between us".

Mano said "I can not understand. Can you please elaborate".

Nancy said "anna. I want you to understand that I am a product of a mistake and I dont want you to be associated with this mistake in anyways".

Mano said "I had no idea about your background when I accepeted you as my sister. It does not change even when those things come to light today. No matter what you feel about those things, I will always feel that you are my sister and nothing could change that".

Nancy said "I am helpless. I dont know how to explain things to you".

Mano said "it is pointless denying yourself the joy being with your brother and his family. You are also denying myself the pleasures of being with my sister".

Nancy said " you are right. I am denying happiness to everyone. But I am doing it for a reason".

Mano asked "what reason can it be?"

Nancy paused for a while and then said "my mother got emotionally involved with a married man and that resulted in my birth, which is a mistake. I dont want our relationship to be ridiculed by anyone because of our emotional bond".

Mano said "how can you compare the two things that cannot be compared?"

Nancy said "anna. I know both of us are clear in our conscience and all the people who mattered to us have so far supported our relationship. But things may not remain the same way for ever. I fear someone could possibly say nasty things about us".

Mano said "why bother about others and not live for the ones who you love?"

Nancy said "anna. It would not appear right to this society that a single woman who does not like to get married at all stays emotionally attached to one married man, no matter how the two feel about each other".

Mano said "till now noone had said anything about us. I dont see why things should change".

Nancy said "things would change because I am not as young as I used to be when I met you. A spinster having such a close emotional bond with a married man is juicy enough for some jobless people to tarnish our reputation".

Mano asked "has anything like that happened till now without my knowledge at your end?".

Nancy said "fortunately no anna. But I dont want this to happen for ever. That is why I had decided to move away from you".

Mano asked "If nothing of this sort had already happened, what makes you think it would happen in future".

Nancy said "anna. May be it is illogical fear. Since I was born as a result of a mistake, my whole life would come a lot under societal scanner. I dont want you to be a part of it. Trust me, I love you lots. You mean the world to me. All the more reason I wanted to stay away from you".

Mano started saying "Remove fear from your mind..."

Nancy interrupted "anna...no advise pls...". She paused for a moment and then continued "IT IS EASY FOR ANYONE TO ADVISE WHAT NANCY SHOULD DO OR HOW SHE SHOULD FEEL. NOONE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE NANCY EXCEPT MYSELF".

Mano was silent for a while. Then he said softly "I understand. So what are you planning to do about our relationship".

Nancy said "it is all over, as I said earlier. I am sorry I have put your feelings aside and have taken a unilateral decision on this"

Mano said softly "I understand how you feel. I accept your decision though I cannot exactly agree with you".

"Thanks anna. I am very sorry".

They quietly completed the food.

Mano slowly asked "I know you have taken a firm decision. But would my feelings matter to you?"

Nancy said "yes. it does. That is why I am crying everyday".

Mano asked "why did you not say these things openly two years back?"

Nancy said "If I had done that, you would try to convince me otherwise. It would lead to long debates and fights. I also understood how much you needed me then. So despite feeling the need to stay away from you, a part of me wanted to offer support to you too. I was fighting an internal battle that was hard to explain".

Mano said "I understand. Did you come to know of the secret regarding your birth only recently?".

Nancy said "I knew it long back. But it came back to haunt me once the discussion of my marriage started. It was then I understood I had to risk losing my self-respect in marriage because of my background. So marriage had become a certain no-no for me. It suits me to tell the world that I hate men and like leading a single life. But I know our relationship could stick out like a sour thumb. So I had to end it".

Mano asked "why did you not tell me about the secret regarding your birth soon after you called me anna the first time?"

Nancy said "i was not supposed to...". She paused and added "I had a reason for not sharing. The intention was not to hide anything from you. Please do not ask me anything more".

They quietly finished everything they ordered.

Mano asked "dont mind me asking this. Were you really happy during the period of togetherness?"

Nancy said "that was undoubtedly the best period of my life. For the first time in my life, I had hopes, expectations and started relishing the feel of life. I am glad I met you in my life. But I am feeling miserable for putting you through so much of suffering. I wish I had not called you anna at all". Nancy's voice was too emotional.

Mano said "Dont feel so. Actually I am glad you came to my life. I certainly would have preferred if the misunderstandings did not happen. But now I have no regrets. There is nothing to match the purity of your heart and your love. There is one thing I wanted to say. If ever you have a change of heart, please remember that your anna would be waiting eagerly for you".

Nancy said "sure. Thanks anna. But please dont carry any hopes. I am firm on my decision". Mano said "fine".

Nancy added "besides I dont want to bring discredit in anyway to my mom".

Mano was mildly surprised with her statement. What a pity that a wonderful person like Nancy could think that she could bring discredit to anyone? Mano was also amazed at the respect and love Nancy had for her mom even after all these things.

After a while, Nancy said "how is anni and kids?".

Mano said "they are doing fine. I am sure when I tell your anni about our discussions, she would consider you stupid for taking this decision."

Nancy smiled for the first time and said "if anni says so, she would be right. Dont argue with her for my sake".

Mano said "no, I wont. Because even i feel you are being stupid".

Nancy laughed merrily for sometime and said "I will miss you all". Mano said "me too".

They both left the reastaurant together. They bid farewell to each other outside the restaurant. Mano watched her crossing the road. His eyes were rivetted on her. She took an auto and Mano was watching the auto till it went out of sight. Nancy did not turn back once to look at her brother. Mano knew why. She had become too emotional and could break into tears anytime.

Mano still could not understand Nancy fully. But his heart felt lighter after the meeting. He understood his mistakes too clearly. He unnecessarily tried understanding Nancy and her love during the period of misunderstanding. Noone can understand music, art or beauty. We can only wonder but not understand. Nancy's love is one such.

Mano felt a bit of pain when he felt that he might not meet his sister again. But this pain did not hurt him. It was a pain that helped him remember the good times they had. He slowly got into his car and turned on the ignition. He had to move on.

________the end________

On the other hand, Nancy found Mano becoming too emotionally dependent on her cramping her for space. She felt that Mano was becoming too possessive about her. Within months after she moved to chennai, the fights had reached astronomical proportions. Nancy finally stopped speaking to Mano from September 06. No matter how much Mano tried, Nancy would never speak to him. Nancy stopped answering his calls, never bothered to reply to his messages or mails.

There was very little others could do when Nancy was so sure about her decision of breaking her ties with her brother, a man she once held in high esteem.

*******

Mano was thoroughly confused and depressed after the fights. He did not mind accepting the full blame for the fights but he did not know where and how exactly things went wrong. He requested his wife Priya to speak to Nancy. Nancy would not answer Priya's calls too. Mano spoke to Nancy's mom twice in next one and a half years but even her mom said she was helpless.

*****

In Jan 08, nearly one and a half years after the fight, Mano came to know of a secret surrounding Nancy's birth. Nancy's mom first got married to a wealthy and influential man who was already married. But the marriage did not last long as the man's family ensured that he reunited with his first wife. Nancy was born through this first marriage. It was then that Nancy's mom married Abraham and Nancy's sister Mary was born out of this second marriage. So, Abraham was her step father and Mary was his half sister.

Mano felt sad for what Nancy had to undergo in her life. Mano thought he clearly understood what went wrong. So, Nancy's mail had been miserable right from the start. The secret regarding her birth and the child abuse must have shattered Nancy's hearts to pieces. It was amazing that she presented such a confident and positive side of her to Mano and his family for over three and a half years. Mano still had confidence that Mano would regain her confidence and old self back.

He wrote a very emotional mail to Nancy hoping to end the misunderstanding. It received no response from Nancy.

Mano was getting increasingly worried as to whether Nancy was suffering from a psychological disorder. He had no trust that her family - her mom and step dad - would do what was right for her in such a scenario. So he tried his level best to reach out to her. All his efforts to reach her failed. She had changed her mobile number and Mano had no idea if she was checking her mails. He was feeling increasingly miserable as he was deeply concerned about Nancy's well being.

So, in the month of June 08, he went out on a fact finding mission. He spoke to several of Nancy's friends and past colleagues with whom she was still in touch. He was relieved to know that Nancy had not displayed any signs of psychological problem. This gave him some peace but he still could not understand why she left him. He felt that he would never understand this in his lifetime.

Mano was wrong again. He was going to find out what went wrong very soon.

_________to be concluded in next chapter____________

I am feeling miserable, low and depressed. I wonder why I had become so vulnerable offlate. Frankly, I dont want to continue this life.

Life is happier when you spread the wings of love. Mano and Nancy realized it in their second year of relationship. The second year of their relationship was probably one of their best years even bettering the first year.

She visited her Brother's home twice during that year and stayed the complete weekend on both the times. It was a fun filled occasion for Mano and his family, that now included Nancy. Nancy had become close to each one in the family. She usually ganged up with Priya to pull his leg. Mano, in his customary style, acts helpless and sad but received little sympathy from the other two. But when none of his tricks worked, he always leaned on Madhu, his little daughter, who would support him blindly on any given occasion.

They also met thrice in Mumbai when Mano visited Mumbai on work. By then, she had moved to a working woman's hostel. She was lot more comfortable in her new place of stay and she had lot more free time. Their meeting usually lasted a couple of hours and their favourite meeting spot was Juhu beach. It allowed them the space to feel one with nature in right company. They usually had dinner in the small joints irrespective of how the food tasted.

During one of his trips to Mumbai, Mano volunteered to drop Nancy in her hostel as it was little late in the night. When she was about to enter hostel, the hostel receptionist was coming out and met both of them. Nancy introduced him as her brother (how proud he was). The receptionist asked her "which college is he studying?" (now his pride shot through the roof). Nancy protested and told her that her brother had finished college ten years back. After reaching his hotel room, Mano did not forget to call her and tell her "see Nancy. Never introduce me as just a brother to anyone. Anyone would think that I am your younger brother seeing the way we both look. It is better that you introduce me always as your anna or big brother". She said "our receptionist has a serious eye sight problem. What can I do if she was not wearing her glasses?". But Mano told this story one hundred times later to his wife, Nancy's mother and Nancy herself. Everytime Nancy would dismiss this happily and she would not forget to admire the kid in her brother.

There was a time when Mano and Nancy tried cracking Hindu crossword over SMS. He would send the words he could not crack and she would offer her help. They came close to cracking it in full but fell short of three words. Nevertheless, they enjoyed the experience.

They were also in constant touch through SMS, mails and calls. Whenever Mano sensed a bit of dullness in her voice, it would always end up as the same reason. Her father would be involved with a new woman and she would have no clue about how to help her mother.

Nancy's health suffered a lot in this period. She had a serious hormonal imbalance that had led to lots of problems during her periods. The medication she took has serious side effects and she had to stop it. Finally she told her mom firmly that she would not continue her medication. This could possibly mean that her chances of conception post marriage were slim. She also used her hormonal problems as an additional reason to avoid marriage. She was anyhow convinced that she would never marry for the kind of men she had to deal with in her life. It was not just her father but other men in her family had other negative traits. Finally she came to the conclusion that a life without a man in her life would be lot more peaceful. Her mom tried to convince her otherwise but could not succeed. Mano too tried speaking to her about marriage once or twice but without any luck. Once she told him that the only reason she entertained such discussions was because of seeing a happy couple in her anna and anni. This gave Mano some hope that he could change her stance some time later.

*******

Nancy gifted Mano an old time classic book "Atlas shrugged" a book he would not have considered reading on his own.

Mano found the book very absorbing and interesting. It was a bit philosophical with very advanced and modern views on creating wealth, love and life. Mano and Nancy used to discuss about each and every character in the book as if they were friends to them.

She also recommended Da Vinci Code, a book that was beginning to capture the imagination of the world. They both loved the book very much and discussed at length the issues discussed in this book as well.

Mano was an agnostic. Nancy was a firm believer. Her belief in God was not confined to the boundaries of any religion. One could call her spiritual and not exactly religious. They discussed about God at length. Mano tried understanding what her understanding of God was. But he never could. Nancy used to tell him "you need to feel God. You need to feel God within yourself. Noone can show you what or where God is". Mano made several attempts to understand what she said but never could. Nevertheless, they both enjoyed the discussions immensely.

On Jan 22nd of 2005, Nancy had sent a long & sweet mail to Mano on the completion of second year of their relationship. Mano had replied with an equally sweet mail. They both chatted for half an hour or so in the evening over phone.

It appeared that this brother and sister would be happy for ever.

________to be continued _________________

Chapter 12 Wonder year 3

This year had seen the further strengthening of bond between Mano and Nancy. Nancy made her visits to Mano's house thrice that year and Mano had met her in Mumbai equal number of times when he visited Mumbai on work. Mano always flooded Nancy with many little gifts whether they met in Chennai or in Mumbai. Mano would keep telling his sister to be demanding with her brother. But she would never seek anything from her brother but would gladly accept whatever brother gave. Only once, she specifically asked her to get newspaper cuttings of Hindu Crossword. When Mano actually handed over twenty such paper cuttings to her in Mumbai, she was overjoyed as if her brother had got the moon for her. Nancy also flooded gifts to Mano's entire family Madhu & Hari, Priya anni and her brother, Mano, everytime she visited his house.

By this time, Nancy had moved to a rented apartment and had the pleasure of hosting a dinner for Mano during his second visit to Mumbai that year. Mano noted with pride that her culinary skills were excellent and her house was too orderly and neat for a person who worked long hours and found little time to spend at home.

Nancy's health stayed as it was in the previous year. She certainly got used to her hormonal problems and learnt to cope up with the pain she had to undergo. Her mother had started pestering her for marriage and she would flatly refuse everytime the subject came up. When Mano tried too, the response was negative. Not the one to give up so easily, he kept talking to Nancy about the positive side of marriage. Even after his long, untiring efforts, she finally told him one day "anna. I told you about so many bad men that I had seen in my life. After seeing all this, I don't want to get married. Why don't you understand?". Mano replied "Do you mean to say all women are good? Or do we conclude all women are bad just because few women are bad? The same way, we have good men and bad men. You have met bad men but you had also met a not-so-bad man who went on to become your anna. I can assure you that your anna is hardly the best man you would find in this world. There are lots of men who are better than your anna and I have met so many of them. I am sure you can and will find one of those as your life partner and lead a very happy life. It is upto you to decide". The discussion ended there.

A week later, when Mano called up Nancy's mother (who continued to work in TN) over phone, she told him that his sister had finally agreed for marriage. Immediately Mano and Priya called up Nancy to express their happiness. Nancy was not as excited but she admitted that she had become open to marriage though she was initially dead against marriage. She also thanked Mano for making her look at men and marriage in a different light.

Things cannot always remain the same way for ever. Change is a part of life but none of us are prepared to accept change. Mano too refused to accept change when he faced two big challenges towards the end of 2005. One was professional. He had received some very unfair treatment from his boss despite his good performance in the previous year. This affected him badly. Two, Mano had a personal problem that affected him & his family badly too.

Mano broke this news to Nancy in person in her new Mumbai apartment in December of 2005. Before he could finish, he was in tears. She held his hands and tried comforting him. For once, none of this care and affection seemed to be enough for Mano as he was deeply wounded. Much later after he left, he told himself that he was atleast blessed with well wishers like Nancy for emotional support.

On Jan 22, 2006, Mano and Nancy spoke at length over phone and Priya too joined their long conversation. Priya was becoming too stressed because of the problems at home and she felt relieved talking to Nancy.

The wonder year 3 was as good as the previous years for the brother and sister bond. But they were also getting exposed to certain harsh and inescapable realities of life.

________to be continued_________________________

Nancy also completed her project and returned home for a brief while before planning her trip to Mumbai for a job hunt. Mano had a chance to visit her hometown and he visited her home. He met her parents and her younger sister as Nancy handled the introductions. He liked her mom and younger sister instantly. He carried no grudge against her dad too as this visit happened nearly six months after Nancy's mail. So Mano behaved normally with her dad too. Mano realized that the other three of them looked like a family as far as looks went. They were all on the bulkier side with dark complexion. Only Nancy had a slim build with a very fair complexion. As if reading his mind, Nancy told him how her grandma used to pull her leg that she was not really born to her mother but was obtained in a barter deal for exchange of some food grains. This meet was also full of joy with Mano carrying a huge bag of fruits and sweets back home.

*****

The new baby turned out to be a boy and Mano and Priya named him Hari as per her wish. A dozen new baby dresses were couriered by Nancy and Mano was overwhelmed. More importantly, the dresses were so carefully selected so as to be soft and caring for the baby's soft skin. Priya always preferred Nancy's dresses for her new born.

Alongwith the dresses, Nancy had also sent a hand written letter to Priya, her anni. In that letter, she had covered the unpleasant incidents that happened in her childhood and why she considered her fortunate to have a brother like Mano and anni like Priya. Mano decided not to show this letter to Priya. She had just delivered a baby and this is not the time to expose her to such unpleasant things.

He also called Nancy and told her how upset he was upset about the timing of this letter since Priya had just delivered. Such unpleasant details should not be shared with a new mother, Mano thought. Nancy apologised for her mistake.

****

Nancy visited Chennai once to see the baby before moving to Mumbai in Priya's parents house. She was accompanied by Shreya who decided to stay in Chennai to do her job hunt. Mano dropped both the girls at their respective places after their visit. Nancy was the last to be dropped and he enquired about her stay arrangements in Mumbai. She had an uncle with whom she would stay till she found herself a job. He checked her about the financial position and she said she had taken enough money to last for two months. He insisted and thrust some money on her hand. As expected, she protested. He asked if he could not have this small pleasure of doing this little thing for his sister. She protested that he had done already enough. He did not think so and finally his wish prevailed. She accepted the money from him. He wished her well.

________to be continued_________________

Chapter 10 First job

Nancy had just moved to Mumbai in search of her fist job. It was not easy for her initially as she had to stay in a small apartment with her uncle, aunt and their fifteen year old son. Her aunt welcomed Nancy as her own daughter but then she had a poky nose and was always curious to know what Nancy was doing. Her uncle was always sweet with her. To her surprise, Nancy also realized that her uncle and her mom once had a liking towards each other initially. The family was against it due to some reasons and her mom went a step further by marrying a person from another religion.

Nancy had hardly any privacy in her uncle's house. The Aunt was increasingly poking her nose on everything and Nancy felt constrained and struggled to find her space in that house. Once a while, she could speak to her mother or brother, which came as a huge relief to her.

****
Within one and a half months after she moved to Mumbai, she found herself a good job that her mom and brother was proud of. A month later, she also moved to a paying guest accommodation. Her brother visited Mumbai once and they met up. She was happy seeing him and savoured every moment she could spend with him as much as Mano did. They could barely manage dinner outside in a small restaurant and he volunteered to drop her home. They traveled together in Mumbai train, a thing Mano was not used to before especially since he feared Mumbai crowd. But he liked this journey as he was accompanied by his favourite sister. She told him about the problems she had been facing in the PG accommodation. The aunt's daughter who is in tenth standard was supposed to stay in the same room as Nancy, as per their arrangement. Nancy started noticing that money was missing frequently from her purse. Once, she caught the little girl taking money and warned her. But, it continued and later she had to tell the girl's mother. The aunt scolded her daughter badly and Nancy did not like the scenes that followed. The mood in the house was terrible after that. Mano listened to her patiently but could not say much. Finally her station came and they both got down. They both felt the pain of leaving. For her, it was more because of the hell she had to return to. Mano instinctively held her hand for few moments and said "don't worry. Everything will be fine". She looked at him and said "Thanks anna".

She sent a mail later that she could not have asked for a better brother in her life. He replied saying the feeling was mutual.

*******

On 22nd of Jan, 2004, Mano called her up when she had just reached office. They both greeted each other. Nancy said "I was about to call you anna. Thanks for remembering this day". Mano said "I would never forget this day till I have the ability to think". They both chatted a little longer about how closer they had become and how fortunate they both were to meet each other in life. He sent her an sms later in the evening that read "sleep well on the day you gifted me a sister". She replied with an sms that read "Thanks for being so sweet. Love u lots mad bro".

________to be continued _____________

Intense love is something not restricted to romantic relationships alone. The feeling of flying high or feeling weightless can happen in any loving relationship. It usually happens even when a newborn enters a family. In some ways, the brother and sister were grown-up new borns to each other.

Mano and Nancy were in different world and the joy was evident in their face for the next one week after they gave a new name to their relationship. Both had a sense of achievement and pride whenever they thought or mentioned about the relationship. Only Mano's wife and Nancy's parents (who stayed in another town) knew about their new relationship. Somehow, the newly related bro-sis neither felt comfortable nor the necessity to tell their colleagues about their relationship.

Their time in office was real funny after their new relationship. Whenever Mano called her to his desk, he noticed that she had difficulty looking at his face. She was far too emotional and she could not even see his face. She was sure she would cry in joy if she looked at his face. Mano wanted her to address him 'anna". But she had trouble addressing him "anna" suddenly in front of her colleagues. So, she continued to address him Sir.

One of those days, he offered to drop her in her hostel. Her hostel was not exactly on the way to his house. During the whole drive, he kept on asking her to call him anna. She could not as she felt choked with emotions everytime she looked at him. Her hostel came finally. Mano told her "You are not going inside until you call me anna". Nancy said "I cant. I will do it soon". "You called me anna through an SMS. Now just say it" he said.

Nancy replied "sending an sms was easy. Now to say it looking into your eyes is difficult". Mano was adamant "you wont go till you say it". Nancy finally composed herself and looked into his eyes and called him "an.naa",

Mano took a chocolate from dash board and gave it to her. She laughed and said "are you bribing me for calling you anna?'. Mano said "Nope. I want you to realize how sweet that word was to me. Hence I am giving this small chocolate which cannot be as sweet as my sister".

She said "thanks anna" happily and left. While walking into the hostel, she never even looked back once.

She sent him an sms later that night that read "thanks for the wonderful drive anna. U have such soulful eyes that they seemed to radiate your love and care. Bye. Good night".

Mano replied "I am not sure if I have soulful eyes. My love for dear sis very intense and I am glad u cud sense it. Good night".

***
Nancy also made Mano get used to the concept of personal mails. They exchanged a few mails in their personal id and Mano realized that mailing could be fun. The new brother and sister were getting very close.

As time was running out, Mano's relieving date was getting nearer. With just a week left, Nancy was beginning to realize how much she would miss her boss - now a wonderful brother. Mano actually felt good with his decision to quit. He knew that he got very close with his sister only because of his decision to quit. Else, they both probably would have never realized what they were destined to be.

****

_______________to be continued____________________

Chapter 8 Mysteries

Mano continued to be in touch with Shreya by giving her a call once a while. Shreya and Mano usually gang up to tease Nancy and Nancy would effortlessly handle the dual challenge. Once Shreya gave Mano the tip that a person called Shankar from Nancy's native place had come to Chennai and had been trying to contact Nancy but she had been avoiding his calls both in her mobile as well as office number. Shreya told Mano playfully that they should investigate the matter further as this Shankar could be her ex-boy friend. Mano then spoke to Nancy playfully asking her about this Shankar. She said that her mom had unnecessarily given her contact number to this guy and she never wanted to be in touch with that guy.

Mano playfully asked her if she never had any boy friends. She replied "who said so sir? (she continued to address him sir in presence of Shreya) I have one b/f per alphabet. So I have 26 of them". Mano asked "my god. Why do you need so many of them?". Nancy said mischievously "Sir. You are too old to understand. Don't you know variety is the spice of life?". They both laughed. Mano was glad that this wonderful girl was full of joy and seemed unaffected by her early problems.

******

Her first visit to his home was very special. Mano was little uneasy about how his wife would accept Nancy as her sister-in-law. Even Nancy was a bit uneasy and Priya too had no idea how she would take the new person. As it turned out, Priya and Nancy liked each other very much from the start and for his daughter, Madhu, Nancy aunty had become the most favourite person outside her home. Nancy was presented a new dress and a cake was cut. It was her birthday. She spent the entire weekend with Mano's family in his home.

Nancy wrote a short mail to Mano after the first visit.

"Dear Anna,

The last two days were the best days of my life. I have never been showered with so much love and affection in my life. Million thanks to you, anni and Madhu kutty. It was a new experience for me to see my anna in the role of a loving father and a caring husband. I am proud of mad bro (don't bulb anna. MAD is short for my adorable darling)

Love,

Nancy"

****

Once during April 03, Nancy sent him a long mail that surprised him again. It was a very long mail. The gist of it is as given below.

Dear Anna,

I know you love me as your dear sister and you know how much I respect, adore and love my brother. When we are feeling this great about each other, I feel we must split. There is a reason why I am saying this. You know my only one side. There is a darker side to me and I don't want you to be hurt because of this. I tend to come in between two very close people and they end up fighting. It has already happened twice in college.

Please don't get upset reading this.

Ur loving sis,

Nancy

Mano did not get upset reading this. Her called Nancy and told her what he felt about her mail. He told her that she was being stupid thinking like that. he lovingly ordered her not to repeat anything like this. Her explanation about her darker side appeared silly and incomprehensible to Mano.

Finally, Nancy apologised for her mail and promised not to repeat such things.

________to be continued ____________

The lunch meeting turned out to be such a happy occasion. Mano actually came to know more about Nancy only then. They knew that her father was a Christian but her mother a hindu brahmin. She was brought up as a true hybrid with exposure to both religions. She told about how emotional their whole family was, while watching Bombay. She had an younger sister by name Mary.

Nancy said that her dad ran an automobile shop and her mom worked in a bank. When her parents married, they had to face huge resistance from both sides. Her mother's side had accepted them slowly. Nancy grew up in her grandma's place for first three years. She was brought up like a typical Brahmin girl in many ways by her grandma. Her grandma usually called her by a second name, understandably a Hindu name. Because of this, Nancy had always been very dear to both her grandparents.

After finishing the lunch and returning home, Priya told Mano "I wish Madhu would grow up smartly like Nancy. She is so pleasant and likeable". Mano smiled and agreed.

******

A week later, Mano and Nancy were participating in a dumb-C competition in office. They were in same team and their team won with a huge margin. Their ability to connect with each other helped them win the dumb-C competition easily.

*******

One day, they were travelling together on work in Mano's old 800. Mano casually said "Nancy. I need to give a small feedback to you. It is at a personal level. May i?". She replied "Pls go ahead sir. I always respect your feedback". He said "you are a black and white person. You dont believe in grey's. Either you like a person or you dont. If you like a person, he or she can get away with murder. Similarly if you dont like one, you will never care about them whatever they do". Nancy said "very true sir. But i prefer to be so". Mano asked "why?'. Nancy said "i dont know sir. Frankly you are the first man in my life i have got this close. I stay away from men normally. Even with most women, i prefer to stay at an arm's distance".

Mano too liked her. He could not clearly explain why.

**********

Next day, Mano asked Nancy a feedback about him as a boss. She said "I may be biased. But I think you are the best. Just be the way you are". Mano laughed and said "I cant agree more". Nancy said "Good. Finally you agreed what I have been saying. You are too good". Mano said "I did not agree to that. I agreed to the fact that you are biased". A smile crossed her lips as she said, "you fight for what you belive in, you fight for your team. You are sincere, honest and committed. You have a great sense of humour and you light up any environment. You are a good family man. What more should one need sir?". It was Mano's turn to smile now.

********

There was a time when the girls were chatting when Mano walked in. Smitha asked some doubt to Mano and Mano explained to her patiently.

Mano later received a SMS from Nancy that said "wow. You have an amazing style sir. The way you explained complex concepts to Smitha, I am amazed".

Mano did not know what to say but he was extremely happy.

***********

Another time, the girls were having a private joke which they refused to share with Mano. He tried his level best but could not get them to share the joke.

Nancy sent him an SMS that read "Poor you sir. But the way you sulked when we refused to share the joke...It was so cute sir".

Mano would never know what the joke was about. He was anyhow happy to receive the compliment.

********

Mano knew that they (Nancy and him) both liked each other very well. This was the first time Mano was getting so close to a girl outside any known relationship. He had other good female friends, none of them this close or this young.

_________to be continued____________

Chapter 6 Sharma

Sharma and Mano had different styles that complemented well initially. But offlate, Sharma had too many personal issues because of which his concentration on job suffered. Because of this, Sharma and Mano had many fights and top management too started noticing Sharma's shortcomings. Sharma's fights with Mano did not help Sharma's cause either. At this stage, Mano got a call from his ex-employer if he would be open to coming back. When Mano expressed willingness, they readily agreed to take him back at a good package. Mano also knew that he would get lot more free time while working for his ex-employer and he looked forward to it since Priya was carrying. He also did not want to continue fighting with Sharma, a man he truly liked and respected once.

When he broke the news to Nancy after putting his papers, she expressed mixed feelings. She was happy for him. She said she would miss him badly in the last few months of her project. She had just got an extension of three months for her project. Had she known Mano would leave, she would have left earlier too, she said.

A week later, on a January 03 weekend, he took out all the girls in his team for an outing. Nancy wanted his family to join. He told her that his wife could not join since she was carrying. He picked up all the three girls from a common spot on a Sunday morning. Only Nancy, Shreya and Gowri could join. Mahesh and Smitha were not in station. Interestingly, Nancy wanted to sit in front seat next to him but Gowri insisted on sitting in the front and she got her way through. The bird sanctuary they went to, had no birds, except for a few crows. This was due to failure of rains that year. The absence of birds also meant absence of crowd. So, the team had only nature as company and they had a great time. The one day picnic was pure fun and they sang, played and enjoyed like kids. During return trip, Gowri again took the front seat when Mano was about to start the car. Nancy literally pulled Gowri and threw her out of seat to sit next to Mano. Mano was pleasantly surprised with this attention.

*****

A week later Nancy sent a mail to Mano's personal id. It was shocking and painful. Nancy's mail read

"Dear Sir,

I used to be a very reserved person earlier and I normally don't trust people that easily, especially men. You are the first man I have got this close. I think I have told you this several times earlier. You have brought a major positive change in me by being a wonderful boss, caring mentor and understanding friend.

Sir, I thought I need to tell you something about my background which you should know. You know I hate men. There is a reason for this. My dad has been a womanizer for long and I know how much my mom has suffered because of this. He could not even spare his daughter (me). When I was in seventh standard, he started misbehaving with me. It all stopped when I took a firm stand one year later but not before leaving a deep wound in my heart.

After this, I have got into a shell and it is only recently that I am slowly coming out of my shell. Much of the credit should go to you for this. I never realised that there could be men like you. You are honest, straight forward, sincere, humourous and what not. Above all, you are such a wonderful family man. Your wife and daughter are fortunate to have you around.

I don't know why I wanted to share some unpleasant things that happened in my life. But I wanted to. Please forgive me in case I have upset you with this mail.

Regards,

Nancy"

Mano remembered Nancy telling him once that she was against marriage. He did not take her seriously as he took it as a routine statement of any unmarried girl. Now he understood that she actually meant it.

Mano spoke to Nancy briefly over phone about this mail once. He understood that her dad started misbehaving and when she complained to her mom, he gave a vague explanation that she mistook his affection. But Nancy had no doubts about her dad's intentions but could not convince her mom. The abuse continued for some more time and finally Nancy mustered the necessary courage to put an end to it. He told himself that he should slap her dad the day he would see him.

*******

With few weeks left for his exit from current job, he returned home early on a Wednesday evening. He was spending time with his family in a relaxed state of mind. He forwarded some sms joke to many and Nancy responded with her usual witty remark. They exchanged a few sms's when one of her sms's read "Ok anna. Tell me what are you going to have for dinner". He replied "Did I read correct?". She sent an sms saying "yup. U did". He asked "was that a convenient way of addressing me or u meant it?". She replied "I am never casual about such things. I meant it. I am not sure how u feel".

Mano did not reply as he could not. He lost his thinking ability for a while and so did not know what to reply. Happy tears started rolling down his cheeks as he read the sms again and again. Priya noticed this and asked what happened. He said in an emotional voice "Nancy is asking me if I can be her anna". Sensing how happy he looked, she said "I am so happy for u. She is a fantastic girl. I would like to speak to her straightaway". Mano dialed the number and gave it to priya.

Nancy was surprised hearing from Priya. Priya pulled her leg by saying "How dare you make my hubby cry? I have never seen him shed tears ever in his life. I forgive you only because he seems so happy". Their chat was long and later Madhu too spoke to her Nancy aunty. Mano and Nancy spoke to each other finally but both their voices were choked with emotion. It did not matter they did not speak much. They both realized that they could not have asked for more from life.

It is always difficult to quantify happiness. If there is anyway one had measured happiness of all human beings on the day Nancy called Mano her anna, the two happiest people on that day would have been undoubtedly Mano and Nancy.

________to be continued _____________

A week later, the other three summer trainees joined. Smitha was the ultra modern girl in the group. She dressed real well and with lots of originality. The other girl, Shreya, was a shy, withdrawn girl. But she had a pleasing side to her. The lone guy, Mahesh, was a bit funny. He was too studious, very serious and he interacted with people only on work. He ran away miles at the sight of women and yet no women could hate him. He was the Jughead of the team minus his insatiable hunger.

Mano surprisingly picked Nancy Abraham as his direct reportee and the rest of the gang had to report to Ram, the assistant manager. Gowri, the Management Trainee, was also reporting to Ram. But, within weeks after the summer trainees entry, Ram resigned after four long years of service. This meant that all the summer trainees and Gowri had to report directly to Mano.

As things turned out, they formed a cracker of a team. Mano seemed to have lost his age by working with such a young team. There was always fun at the marketing department. They enjoyed pulling each other's legs, playing pranks, carrying on long discussions on current affairs etc.. In the midst of all this fun, work never suffered. This team soon became the pride and talking point of the organization for its youthful exuberance and vibrance. Mano was extremely at ease with everyone in the team and he was always at the centre of any major prank.

Mano was particularly impressed with the way Nancy had settled in. He had started hearing lots of positive comments about her work and conduct from not just colleagues in his own department but from even other functions. He felt a certain pride for her. Nancy was not just good at work but she was always the one who matched Mano in his wits and humour. Mano also liked Nancy because she was very liberal in her views. She often quoted verses from Gita or Quran apart from her own bible. Mano was an agnostic and they could never meet eye-to-eye on discussions relating to god. The main reason he liked her was because she was everything he wanted to be in his first job. He remembered how clumsy and unsure he used to be in his first job.

Nancy was clearly the most beautiful girl of the four in his team and yet Mano did not notice this till recently. Nancy always carried a mystical quality that made her very special. She was very beautiful but not everyone would say it when they saw her the first time. She was great fun to be with yet she would take time to mingle with people, Mano thought.

*********

Two weeks later, Mano was briefing Nancy on some work. After the briefing was over, Mano asked "what is your plan after summer training? Will you try through campus placement?". Nancy said "I dont think I have time for campaus placement. I would try for job once i finish the course."

Mano said "let me see what i can do. I had already spoken to Sharma about you. He said he wanted to have a long discussion with you first". She said "ok sir".

Mano said "I am glad you are making a great first impression with everyone. Even Preetha and Ramya are talking high about you". Nancy said "I care a damn about what they feel. I dont like them".

Mano asked "why say so?"

Nancy said, "I never liked them. They appear too artificial to me". Mano did not ask why but found this strange. Preetha and Ramya were both popular personalities within the company and Mano could not understand why Nancy had responded nastily to their positive comment. He wondered what she would feel about him.

_________to be continued _____________
---------------------

Chapter 4 - Madhu

Mano's daughter, Madhu, was the centre of attraction wherever she went. She was three and a half years old. She was very cute and pretty. One girl from their neighbourhood once asked her "where is your dad?". She replied "Office". The neighbour asked "what is he doing in office?". This had taken Madhu by surprise. She had never though about what her dad did in office. So, after thinking deeply, she said "he keeps drinking water". The neighbour laughed and asked "is that all he does?". Madhu replied "No. He sleeps too". Needless to say, this neighbour ragged Mano heavily about the nature of his work.

Mano decided to take his daughter Madhu alone for shopping on a Sunday. They accidentally bumped into Smitha, Nancy and Gowri who were also doing some shopping. The girls insisted that Madhu be left with them when the father was doing shopping. Though Madhu hardly knew any of them, she too liked the attention she received from three new aunties. After Mano finished his shopping, the girls brought back his daughter. Madhu had immensely enjoyed the shopping experience and she had specifically developed a soft corner for Nancy aunty. Like father, like daughter.

**********

Next Monday, Mano and Nancy were together in his cubicle discussing some work. After the discussions, Mano said "Nancy. I must say you are a charmer with kids. Madhu keeps talking about you all the time at home". Nancy said "I am surprised. Normally, kids run miles away at the sight of me and I have never been this comfortable with kids". Mano thought that she was being modest. In this situation, most people would have thought the same way as Mano. Mano did not consider the possibility that she probably meant it when she said Kids would not be usually comfortable with her.

Then Mano said "hey. One important thing. Sharma will have a discussion with you at 3 pm today. Hope you are ready". She said "yes sir".

Sharma and Mano met Nancy in the conference room at 3 PM sharp. Sharma asked all the questions and he was unimpressed with her answers. Mano knew that Nancy was lackluster and hardly displayed the energy and passion she had displayed otherwise. After she left, Sharma told Mano "Do you know what I think?". Mano said "I do. I wont press her case further at this stage as I am also not satisfied with this discussion".

Later Mano called Nancy and briefed her about how he felt about the discussion. He understood that the conceptual depth needed in Marketing was missing in her. This seemed to be their business school's fault as not much focus was given to case studies and marketing assignments. From then on, Mano started giving case studies every week to her. She would spend time on it during weekends and present her analysis on the next Monday. Her conceptual depth improved with this guru-sishyai sessions and it brought them even closer. She became even more confident as a professional.

One of these days, Mano and Nancy cracked the Hindu crossword in full. Hindu crossword was considered the most difficult of all crosswords. Neither Mano nor Nancy could believe they were capable of doing it. So, it gave tremendous joy to both of them that they could solve it together.

Mano asked her "When will you give me treat for solving crossword". Nancy said "sir. You are the senior and you should give the treat". Mano said "sure". Later in the evening he messaged her if she would be ok for a Sunday lunch with his family joining. She replied happily saying she would be honoured. When Mano told Priya, she was also happy about meeting his colleague, who he liked so much. She was curious to see her.

__________________to be continued___________