V-Day Special : FF and GOTW Winners !

The rain had its own bidding to do and despite his insistence, the rain didn't listen and a soft pattering could be heard as the rain drops fell from the sky and splashed across his skin. Jagdish looked begrudgingly up at the sky but then couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips. His eyes were forced shut by the rain but he had heard the unmistakable sound her feet made as she walked; her anklets tinkling with the rain.

She laughed and ran towards where he was standing, soaking wet and alone. "Jagdish, aap kya kar rahe hain?"  When had she gone from Jagya and Jagdishya to Jagdish? He liked it, it made him feel grown up and respected. It made him feel, finally like her husband.

Jagdish turned to her with happiness in his eyes and replied "Tumhara intazaar..." She looks back at him, amazement clearly shining through her eyes, "Aap pagal hain...jaante haina?"

Was he, he hadn't realised, he only knew that his wife loved, more than anything were the first rains of the monsoon and he wanted; as he had from that first time, that by falling in love with what she had, he was showing her how much he had grown to love her too. When had he come to this realisation, he couldn't pinpoint exactly but somewhere, he had his sister to thank.

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He could still recall that day, at least parts of it, the day his sister had uttered those words that changed the course of his life forever. He was young and ignorant and often arrogant too but those words seemed to have stuck and helped him when he needed it the most.

Jagdish and Suguna walked companionably down the dusty track towards home. They had just returned from watching a film, the only one playing at the cinema hall some miles from their home; it was an odd sort of film according to Jagdish, it had neither any action nor trills but instead it was a love story. It wasn't as though Jagdish had never heard of love but one particular scene in the film puzzled him.

That one scene depicted the hero celebrating Valentine's Day with the heroine and Jagdish wondered what that was; he had not yet heard about it at school.

"Jiji..."Jagdish started, "Yeh Valentine's Day kya hota hain?" The question prompted a fit of laughter from Suguna but then she said wistfully as if recalling a rather pleasant experience, "Arre Buddhu, is din par har Beendh apni Beendhni Ko yeh Dekhane khi koshish kartha hai keh woh apni Beendhni ko kithan chatha hai" Suguna then proceeded to playfully ruffle Jagdish's hair and chuckle to herself as her brother stared out in front of him, pondering over the words.

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He didn't even know what day Valentine's fell on and Jagdish was young then, soon other things occupied his mind. As Anandi and Jagdish grew older together, they became drawn to each other.

Neither had ever spoken the words but there seemed to be this unspoken knowledge that there was something between them, they just had to give it a name. Jagdish had never had the opportunity to celebrate Valentine's with her and over time, what mostly stayed with him rather than the day itself was the message that, if he loved her, he would have to show her by his actions.

He was given the opportunity not long after his resolution. "Arre, ke keh rahi hain chori?! Agge padne ki koi zaroorat naahi hain tereko...ab ghar sambhal, tare Beendh ki seeva kar...ke karegi aage padh ke tu?" Dadisa asked as Anandi sought permission from her to attend college. So far Jagdish had tutored her and Dadisa could not object but Anandi hoped that seeing her progress, Dadisa would relent and let her attend a real college to study further.

Jagdish watched the conversation from afar and noted how Anandi's face darkened with disappointment as Dadisa refused her. This was his moment, to make her smile and he knew what had to be done. He strode purposefully towards the two women and held out a piece of paper towards Anandi who looked rather quizzically back at him. "Tumhare college ke enrolment papers hain..." he stated. He watched as Anandi face transformed in disbelief and then as she read the paper, she beamed so brightly up at Jagdish that he thought his heart might burst of happiness.

Jagdish tried to ignore the look of disapproval Dadisa shot him, "Ke kar raha hain chore? Moue, teri akaal kaha gai? Kitna samjaya tujhe maine, taareko  kuch samaj nahin aaya? Sar pe chad jaayegi taari yeh beendhani!" She warned and Jagdish drew in a deep breath and said very gently, "Wohi tou mein chahata hoon..." Dadisa's face contorted in confusion and she opened her mouth to say something else but Jagdish grabbed Anandi's hand, causing Dadisa to seethe in anger and Anandi to stare down in surprise at their hands as he led her away.

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He had led her up to the terrace that day and listened quietly as she yammered on in excitement. It had rained unexpectedly as if the sky was adding to her happiness and she ran with arms wide open, accepting the gift.

Suddenly as if remembering, she looked towards him, standing with hands in pockets, shying away from the rain. She grabbed his arm, pulling him under the rain and he found himself standing in front of her, fingers entwined with hers as she stood shaking. "Tumne mere liye itna sab kuch kiya...maange bina..." she said as a statement rather than a question and Jagdish looked down humbly.

He quickly looked up again when she reached her hand up to the nape of his neck, without a second thought, he bent his head to kiss her. The rain fell on both of them, causing them to shiver and move closer in their embrace. They stayed like that for hours, unsure what would happen if either moved away.

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From then on; years later, till this very evening, even though there was no weather forecast, he just knew, in his bones when the first rains would come and he could celebrate his love with Anandi. It didn't matter that it didn't fall on any one day or even Valentine's Day (the date of which he later found out) but what mattered was that he remembered this and she would always know that he loved her.

Congratulations !!! You  totally deserved the winner's tag for this awesome , fabulous FF --- its the kind for which adjectives fall short : D

Here is your winner's sig...made by the awesomesauce  Kajal a.k.a *::.K a j u.::*

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Alright so we're done for this time , please leave your congratulatory messages for the winners here

And until next time , goodbye !!!