Part 2: Joys A
Part/ Joy's Apart**
Geet sat in the plane,
her thoughts drifting to the events of the day. She had fled away from the
scene hoping to ease the aching pain in her heart. When he had proposed, she
wasn't really prepared for it. She had clearly stated she would never commit
for a relationship and he was completely okay with it although she knew he
loved her dearly and dreamed of a wedding with her. She was and will never be
ready for a committed relationship and marriage was never in her books. But
when Maan had gone on his knees for her today, something in her heart had
stirred; yet her fear of long committed relationships overrode causing her to
flee from him. She decided that would be the best thing for both of them. Her
stay with him would prompt him to dream about a hopeful wedding with her. She
didn't want to give him hopes by staying with him and hurt him with her denial
for marriage. So the only option was to keep herself away from him, so that he
would be happy.
The captain of the
flight announced the arrival and welcomed everyone to Mumbai. She took a taxi
straight to her mother's house in Bandra. Other than Maan, her mother was her only
refuge. Right now she just wanted to run into her mother's arms and lie on her
lap like when she was young to assure her everything would be okay.
"Geet, tum?" her
mother asked puzzled at her sudden appearance. Geet ran to her mother's embrace
and held onto her tightly.
"I missed you ma," she
managed to say. Her mother knew something was wrong, for Geet never visited her
without informing. Her tear-stricken face and her deep sunken eyes said a
different story altogether. And if she did, then that meant there was something
serious going on. Not wanting to pester her further, her mother simply led her
in and told that she would make something for her. Geet refused to let her go
and held her wrist solemnly. Mrinalini led her to the nearest couch and gesture
her to sit down beside her. Geet slumped beside her and placed her head on her
mother's lap. Her mother bent and kissed her darling daughter on her forehead
and gently caressed her hair. Silent tears rolled down from Geet's eyes.
"What happened darling?"
Mrinalini asked, knotting her eyebrows. Geet shook her head vigorously and
turned and hugged her mother and burst into tears. She continuously bawled like
a child while her mother constantly rubbed her thumb on her arms and combed her
hair, asking her to calm down. Mrinalini's doubts of something was wrong was
confirmed with Geet's incessant crying. The last time she saw Geet crying was
when she had learned about Rajveer's second marriage, after that she had always
faced everything in her life with a determined mind. Emotions didn't have a
place in her life. She took life as it came to her with no expectations or
wants. Her decisions were rational and her thinking was too practical. But
today to see her breaking down was something very unusual and Mrinalini
wondered the root cause of her daughter's disturbance. She didn't want to
insist Geet about what was bothering her and waited for her to compose herself
before she brought the issue. Slowly her continuous crying came down and alternated
from sniffs and sobs. Finally her tears died down and she stared blankly at the
ceiling above.
"Geetu, remember I am
always here. Whenever you are ready you can always talk to me. Teekhai?"
Mrinalini smiled softly. Geet nodded, biting her lip from breaking down again. She
caressed her forehead once again, "Maan kahaan hai?" she asked wondering he
would always accompany her if he knew Geet was to visit her. She loved him like
her own son and he took care of her darling daughter very well. She would have
been more than happy to welcome him as her son-in-law but the pagal daughter of
hers would never even step near the word marriage.
Geet's eyes widened at
her mother's mention of that name, Maan. Unable to contain her emotions, she
abruptly got up and wiped her tears away, "Ma mujhe bahut neend aarahi hai, can
we sleep. Mujhe aapke paas sona hai," she said. Her mother was confused at her
sudden change at the mention of his name. She curious as to what had really
brought her here and why she fled hearing his name. She let her go hoping to
piece the puzzle together on her own.
"Teekhai tum change
karlo, I shall wrap up everything and be there in ten minutes."
Geet changed into a
pair of pajamas, washed her face to rid of black stains on her face due to the
dried tears on her face. She wore her hair in a ponytail and kneeled on the bed
adjusting the pillows and blankets when her mom walked in. Geet saw her mother
from the corner of her eyes and quickly snapped her fingers near her mouth, as
though she was yawning continuously. Mrinalini didn't fail to notice her
feigning a yawn and smiled, "Nautanki," she muttered under her breath at her
childish act to keep her mother from asking again. Both slipped into the bed
without further conversation. Geet closed her eyes tightly hoping to shun away
her thoughts about Maan.
The beautiful morning
dawned bringing a new beginning and new hope to many yet two people in the
world dreaded its arrival. Maan, unable to sleep all night, had tossed
restlessly on his bed, ashamed of his proposal that ruined her night. He paced
around the room, every minute wishing he could take back what he said. He
finally managed doze off on his couch. Geet had similarly tossed around, her
thoughts delving back into Maan, his pain washed face when she called his
proposal stupid. She couldn't forgive herself for behaving so immaturely at his
proposal. She could have definitely sat down and talked to him about her
reluctance but she had to blurt 'stupid'. But her mind had reasoned he very
well knew about her and her thoughts about marriage, yet he managed to propose
to her; that had infuriated her causing her to lose it. She slept off hoping
she would wake up in his arms and all that happened would just be part of a
huge nightmare.
The early morning rays
of the sun shone brightly through Maan's window, illuminating his room. He woke
up to find her absence and last night's events came crashing back to him. He
groaned at the thought and banged his head back onto the couch in frustration. On
the other side Geet groped around the bed for his presence but only to feel the
coldness of the morning air surrounding her. She opened her eyes and frowned
for she badly missed his warm embrace and his good morning kiss. She got up,
clearly in a bad mood and stomped to the bathroom, muttering curses at him for
causing her to miss her morning routines.
Geet ate her breakfast
in silence while her mom observed her aloof musings and frequent mutterings
under her breath. She chuckled at her daughter's absurd behavior. To confirm
her suspicions she cleared her throat, "Geet, I miss Maan a lot, you should
have brought him here too," she said keenly looking at Geet's face.
"Ma, I am going to visit the beach, I
need to clear my mind of some things," she said conveniently ignoring the question
at hand.
Her sudden declaration
to get out of the house without bothering to answer about the question had
confirmed her suspicions. Mrinalini knew some things could only be sorted
without her interference. She didn't want to poke her nose and let Geet decide
her feelings by herself.
Geet reached the
beach; it was quite empty except for a bunch of people here and there. She was
walking on the sand when she saw a young girl about six or seven years of age
building a sandcastle or something of that sort. Geet, immersed in her own
thoughts, walked past her without even looking at her.
"Hello!" young girl
squeaked, looking up at Geet. Geet broke away from her thoughts to see a young
girl, her eyes shining like the stars. Geet curtly nodded her head, not really
wanting the attention of that young child. She tried to walk again when the
little girl said, "Guess, what? I am building something," her chest swelling
with pride.
"Oh that's very nice,"
Geet replied nonchalantly. "What are you building?"
"I am trying my hand
at building a small canal around my little palace for my gudiya," she said
pointing to her little doll. "Aapko pata hai, us mahal mein meri guidya
rajkumar ke saat bahut khush rahegi," she said her eyes sparkling like the
clear blue sea.
"Hmm," Geet managed to
say hoping her less talk would stop that little kid from talking to her.
"That's a talking
shell," the girl said pointing to something that lay a near the shore, a few
feet away from where they stood.
"A what?"
"It's a talking shell,
my dadda used to say it can solve any problem. It comes to bring us joy,"
saying so the little girl ran towards it. But the upcoming wave engulfed the
shell and before they knew it was gone with the water. The girl stopped in her
tracks seeing the disappearance of the shell and waved, "Goodbye joy!" She
looked back at Geet, "Aapko pata hai when you are sad just keep the talking
shell near your ears and it will talk to you and help you solve your problems,"
she said amused.
Geet scoffed at the little
girl's enthusiasm, "Welcome sorrow," she said in a sardonic tone and started to
walk away. Her main purpose of coming to the beach to clear her mind off of the
things that was bothering her actually took a turn for the worse with the
annoying girl's presence. As she couldn't scorn at the little one for being so
excited about a shell on the beach, she wanted to go away before she lost her
patience. Geet was definitely not happy of the things that were happening in
her life. It almost seemed out of balance. And if one thing she hated was a
life that wasn't under her control. She had always kept everything under control;
even her emotions were always kept under check. But his proposal had evoked
chaos in her mind and stirred unwanted emotions in her heart. And the fact that
she didn't want to come face to face with the problem that caused a wreck in
her irritated her more. She had never let her problems rule her but today she
had let it take complete control over her actions causing her to end up in
hiding her mother's home. She wondered how she turned into such a coward.
"You never told me
your name?" the girl asked innocently. Geet wondered if the girl would ever
give up.
"Geet," she replied,
concluding the girl would nag her to no end if ignored. "My name is Geetanjali
Handa."
"Mine's Radhika." "Aur
aapko pata hai, I am going to turn seven two weeks from now," with her hands on
her hips.
"Accha? That's very
nice."
Radhika giggled at her
reply. "You are funny," she said showing her two missing teeth. In spite of her
gloom, Geet joined her in laughing and walked away.
The little one's
musical laughter followed her. "Come again Geet didi. We shall have another
happy day."
Geet reached home by
late evening appearing tired and distant to the curious eyes of her mother. "You
love him don't you?" her mother asked out of the blue.
Geet's eye shot up at
her mother. "What nonsense," she said irritated. "The word love doesn't exist
in my dictionary."
"The word love doesn't
exist in my dictionary," Mrinalini imitated Geet and shook her head. "Pagli, it
doesn't exist in your dictionary but it does in your eyes."
"Whatever ma, I don't
know from where you come up with these things, I don't love that idiot Maan,"
she said crossing her arms on her chest.
"Maine kab kaha voh
Maan hai, oh achha voh Maan hai?" her mother asked surprised.
Geet bit her tongue; "Oh
Mom please, mujhe bhook lag rahi hai, what's cooking?" she said hurriedly changing
the topic. Mrinalini's heart danced with joy; her dream of Maan becoming her
son-in-law would at last come true. She just hoped her buddhu daughter of hers
realizes her love for him so that she could see them marry before her time
ends.
The days that followed
belonged to others; case readings for Geet decided to keep herself busy with
her work, a silent rift with her Maan, and the discovery of her mother's
deteriorating health.
Geet was enraged to
find out about her mother's deteriorating health issues through the mistaken
call from the doctor. Since she and her mother had a very similar voice when
talking on phone the doctor managed to blurt out all the tests results to the
shock of Geet. She had continuously fought with her mother for hiding from her
but had to finally give up when her mother became emotional.
One morning while Geet
was busy trying to cook something at the instructions of her mom, took her
hands off stirring the soup, "I shall visit the beach today," she instructed
herself. As she had been overwhelmed with the current issues at hand she never
bothered to visit the beach to calm her nerves. Today, she felt she needed to
spend some time alone.
The never changing
seashore awaited Geet's arrival by late afternoon. She had completely forgotten
about the encounter with the child and was startled appeared in front of her
smiling her toothy grin.
"Aap aagayi Geet
didi," she said animatedly. "Aap mujhse khelogi?" she asked eagerly.
Geet, "What do you
want to play?" she said, her mind pre-occupied with things other than playing.
"Jo bhi aap kahengi."
"How about chupa
chupi?" Geet asked, her tone hinting sarcasm.
Radhika burst out
laughing loudly. "Magar didi, in this huge wide beach hum kahan chup saktein
hain?"
"Haina? So why don't
we just walk for sometime?" she asked looking at the little girl's bright features
yet her face reflected a delicate fairness. They walked by the shore, the water
hitting their bare feet periodically. "Where do you live?" Geet asked, curious
why she found that little girl often by the shore.
"Vahan," she said
pointing to a row of houses on the other side of the road.
They continued to walk
while Radhika happily chatted away about the things she did when Geet wasn't
visiting the beach. Geet nodded absent-mindedly as her thoughts went back to
Maan. She wondered if he really missed her all these days she was out. He
didn't make an attempt to reach her nor did he call her mother like he usually
did. It was unusual of him to stay quiet especially after a fight she had with
him. He always made it up within a few hours or maximum a day but he would
never ignore her. She fretted whether she took him granted causing him to find
another girl for himself. She despised at the thought of another girl beside
him but quickly brushed it off thinking he would never think of another girl
beside her. 'He loved her too much didn't he?' she thought but her mind
hesitated to accept it. How could he still love her when she had repeatedly
shunned his advances of marriage and commitment? She had always overstepped her
rights and took his care and love for granted. She knew he had always dreamt of
a family, a life in which he wanted to grow old with her beside him. But the
thought of commitment itself freaked her out. Somewhere in her heart she feared
that getting attached him in life, she might also be left alone just like her
mother. This prevented her from getting too attached to the things around her.
Geet headed towards
home after sometime when Radhika commented it had been a happy day. Geet felt
surprisingly better at her declaration and smiled back genuinely at Radhika.
"Indeed it has."
A week passed and Geet
again met the little girl Radhika on the beach. She beamed at Geet's arrival
but Geet was in no mood to even smile back at her.
"Hi Geet didi, aa'"
she began only to be cut off by Geet.
"Look, I seriously am
in no mood to talk today. If you don't mind could you please leave me alone?"
Geet said sternly. She looked at the little one and her face seemed a little
pale than usual and she was breathing hard as though she had problems breathing
normal.
"Why didi? Is
everything okay?" Radhika asked with concern.
"No nothing is okay
damn it!" Geet shouted harshly at her. "How would it be okay, my mother died!"
she screamed in agony shaking Radhika's shoulder furiously. Then she suddenly
realized why was she talking all this to this strange little girl?
"Oh I see," Radhika
whispered quietly, "then it is definitely a very bad day."
"Yes, today is a bad
day, so was yesterday, and the day before," Geet said angry tears rolling down.
"Oh just go away," she groaned before she completely lost her sanity in front
of the girl.
"Did that hurt?"
"Kya?" Geet snapped.
"When she died, did it
hurt?"
"Of course it hurt!
What do you think?" she yelled and strode of in anger. She wondered if that
girl would shut her annoying mouth. She was already drowning in sorrow and
cursed that her Maan was not even there by her side to soothe her pain. On top
of that this girl was asking if death would hurt? She wondered if she was so
innocent to unaware or was she acting too smart.
It had been exactly a
week when Geet again visited the beach as she her mother's thoughts haunted her
as she stayed in that house. Geet remembered the last rough encounter with that
little girl Radhika and felt very guilty of her behavior towards that innocent
one. She admitted to herself that she did miss the little one's chirpy company.
Figuring she would pay a visit to her, she went to the house Radhika pointed as
hers. A young woman greeted her in her early thirties at the door.
"Namaste," Geet said
hesitantly. "Main Geetanjali Handa. I was wondering where your little girl,
Radhika is. I was actually missing her."
"Oh haan, Geetji
please andar aayigeyega," the lady smiled, her smile not reaching her eyes. "Radhika used to talk a lot about you. I
hope she didn't trouble you much with her non-stop talking."
"Bilkul nahi'she was
indeed a darling and delightful child," Geet said suddenly her words seeping into
her. "Voh kahan hai?"
"Radhika died
yesterday. She had severe case of heart murmur. I don't think she mentioned it
to you," she said solemnly, her eyes filled with tears.
Geet couldn't believe
her ears and the ground seemed to disappear for and she tried to grab the
nearest chair as the news hit her hard. She slumped on the chair dumbfounded at
the sudden news that swept her off her feet. She had never seen this coming;
the girl whom she had known only for a very few days was no more.
"Radhika loved this
beach a lot, thus I always let her come and play here. It always brought a smile
in her lips and she cherished each day on the beach as a happy day. But in the
last few days her health deteriorated rapidly," she said her voice in a deadly
whisper. "But even in those days she used to talk about you, wishing you would
visit her again for she felt bad for upsetting you. Actually she left something
for you' ek minute main abhi aayi," the woman said disappearing in the nearby
room.
Geet nodded foolishly,
her mind was scrambling to say something soothing but her mind was completely
blank for words. The woman came back with a big neatly wrapped gift box. On the
top of the box it read "Geet didi' that seemed to be carefully written in
childish letters. Geet carefully opened the box as though it was a delicately
precious thing.
Inside the box was a
huge conch shell; Geet remembered the mention of a similar shell on the day
they met. She smiled through her tears as she slowly lifted the conch shell and
leaned on it a little while her tears freely flowed down her cheeks. few
seconds later she sniffed back her tears and looked into the box to find a brightly
colored drawing of the sea along with two people building for what seemed like
a canal around the sandcastle. Under one drawing the name Geet didi was written
and the other Radhika in childish scribble. Geet instantly hugged the drawing
that was now dearer than her life. The closed doors of her heart that had
forgotten the word love opened wide.
Geet ran to Radhika's
mother and took her in her arms. "I'm sorry, really sorry" she burst into tears
but continuing to apologize in the midst of her sobbing. Both wept together
having no words to soothe each other.
**************************************************************************************
Geet stood staring at
the moon from the Khurana mansion in her dark green and golden lehgha choli,
her ghungat clearly hiding her pretty face. The room was beautifully decorated
with all types of flowers that hung around the king-sized bed. The door creaked
slightly indicating her love's arrival. He entered into the room and gently
latched the door. He searched through the dimly lit room for his lovely bride,
the love of his life, his jaan, Geet. She stood near the window, facing away
from him.
He strode towards her
silently and came to stand behind her. Geet felt his presence and turned to
face him with her head down. He put his thin long fingers under her chin and
slowly lifted her to get a glimpse of her flawless and elegant beauty. To his
shock her eyes were brimmed with tears that threatened to fall any second. She
looked at him, her eyes reflecting her inner turmoil.
"Maan," she said
softly. "Mujhe galat mat samajho. I need you to know, I have never taken
advantage of your love and care for me. I shall never take your emotions
granted and I promise to never take them for granted in the future too. You
have meant everything in my life to me. I was a fool, buddhu, pagal, idiot,
stupid, ugh I am running out of bad words here," she whined before continuing
her rant. "It was silly of me to conclude you would leave me too like that stupid
man who left his wife and kid for another woman," she said contorting her face.
"I want to be loved Maan," she finished looking hopefully at him.
Maan just stared back
her and before she began again he bent down and took her lips by surprise. He
softly kissed her luscious lips before invading her mouth with a dash of his
tongue. The kiss that had started as an assurance turned into something more
demanding and hot. He explored the contours and the crevices of her mouth
sensuously while she slipped her hands around his neck and finally caught his
hair, bringing him closer to her. He deepened his kiss and tightened his grip
on her petite waist and freely explored the bare skin that was exposed. She
moaned against his mouth increasing his urge to kiss her as if there was no
tomorrow.
Once Geet came back
with the gift pack from Radhika's house, she rushed to pack her things and took
the next flight to Bangalore, fearing she would lose him too if she delayed
more. He had always stood by her and for her, so it was silly of her to fear he
would leave her in any point of her life.
They let go of each
other and gasped for breath. This man who stood in front of her, never failed
to surprise her with his love for her. "Maan," she said cupping his cheeks, her
breath still rugged. "I love you," pecking his lips and smiling through her
tears.
"Do you have any idea
how many years I have waited to hear these three words from you?" he asked looking
at her lovingly. "Iska treat toh banta hai Geetanjali Maan Singh Khurana," he
said his eyes glinting mischief. He lifted her and purposefully walked slowly
towards their bed, savoring every moment with his beloved wife.
**************************************************************************************
"Radhika!" Geet yelled
on top of her lungs. The gentle sea breeze hit her as she inhaled the salty air
before yelling, "Radhika don't go too near the water!"
"Mamma don't worry,
dadda is there always with me," the six-year-old squeaked. Geet smiled at her
daughter's declaration; of course her Maan would always be there she thought
looking at her handsome husband who was holding Radhika's hand tightly and
walking back and forth as the cold waves hit their feet. She was admiring him
when she heard Radhika jump up excitedly, "Mamma voh dekho it's a talking
shell!"
"Haan shona, it's the
talking shell, and it brings us—"
"Joy!" Radhika
completed proudly.
Maan and Radhika
walked back Geet who was lying down on the sand under a huge beach umbrella.
Radhika went back to building her sandcastle while Maan bent down to kiss her
lips softly before settling down beside her. He shook his wet hair purposefully
causing huge drops of water to fall on her face. "Maan!" she said feigning
anger.
"Kya hua jaan?" he
asked with a lop-sided smile.
"Behave Maan, we are
at a public place," she said whacking his arm.
"Acchaji?" he asked
tickling her.
"Maan please, chodo mujhe,"
she giggled trying hard to keep his hands off her. Unable to take his continuous
tickling she abruptly got up and tried running away from him. He also got up
with her and continued to assault her. She pried his hands off her and started
running warning him to keep his hands to himself.
Ignoring her order he
ran behind her, "Geet come back warna."
"Maan you are such an
evil man, tumhari pregnant wife ko aise daudate hain kya?"
"What?" he asked his
eyes widened. "Tum? Main?" he said running out of words. He brought her close
to him and hugged her tightly before kissing her forehead tenderly. "Thank you
jaan. I'" he began.
"I love you Maan," she said sealing her declaration
with a deep kiss.alright here is the next and last part... please ignore my mistakes as i hvnt had the time to edit it this part is reaaalllyyy serisously longgg i better get long comments if u want a WK update 😈 (i know i am such an evil girl magar mere long part keliye treat banta haina?😉)
**: the name of this chapter could be read in two ways --> as joys apart as in happiness is separated. or joy is a part of life.
PLEASE NOTE: ONLY GEET'S ENCOUNTER WITH RADHIKA N HER MOM IS THE SEEN THAT ACTUALLY TAKES PLACE IN THE SHORT STORY THAT I READ. IN FACT THAT IS THE WHOLE SHORT STORY ITSELF. THE PROTAGONIST STARTS WITH HER FIRST ENCOUNTER N ENDS WITH THE SAD NOTE OF THE LITTLE GIRLS DEATH. I HAVE USED THAT SIMILAR CONCEPT AND WOVEN A MAANEET STORY OUT OF IT. NOTHING HAS BEEN COPIED OR PLAGIARIZED!
hope its to ur liking... hit the LIKE button 😊
Edited by Maaneet_09 - 12 years ago
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