Maan...Maan...Maan! Geet finally screamed when the previous two
times his mind didn't seem to process her voice. She had come to check up on
Piyu but decided to swing by Maan's study before doing so to tell him dinner
was ready. A simple task she thought at first.
Maan jerked out of his trance and saw an inquisitive Geet hovering over him. He
didn't know how long she had been standing there but from the look she was
giving he could sense it must have been a while. "Maan, what's bothering you?
I've seen you so preoccupied these last few days."
Maan knew she was an excellent observer so it wasn't a surprise to him that she
had picked up on his weird behavior. He sat for a while wondering how to answer
her question. Apart of him wanted to lay out all his sorrows but he didn't know
with what right he could burden an already disturbed soul with his problems.
"Nothing Geet, I'm just stressed about work."
Geet saw the change in his eyes and realized he was lying. She stood there all
the while watching the turmoil speak through his eyes yet not a word of the
same came from this mouth. Realizing he probably didn't want to talk about it
with her she told him dinner was ready and proceeded to walk out. But after
taking a few steps Geet slowly walked back to where he was seated put a hand on
his shoulder and earnestly looked into his deep brown eyes. "In case you
ever need it...I'm a good listener." Immediately afterwards she walked out not
knowing Maan watched her retreating back with a little smile.
The following day Meera filled Dadi in on what had happened in terms of the
case and sought advice on how to break the news to Geet. Dadi was clueless
herself on how to tackle the situation and suggested she just wait a few days
until they figured something out. In the meantime Dadi insisted her and Geet
spend time together. The only problem with that idea was Geet herself. Although
Piyu was back to normal Geet didn't have the heart to leave her so Dadi
practically forced her out of the house.
Both of them spent the morning roaming the little boutiques then decided to go
have lunch at a nearby cafe. Shopping was a good distraction from a real
conversation but now that they were alone Meera hoped Geet wouldn't start again
with her questions like she had the previous night. So Meera started talking
about the most mundane things under the sun which was not a usual trait for her.
Geet listened to Meera patiently but was reaching her breaking point. All day
she had been acting weird and now was talking about the most ridiculous things.
On top of everything Meera gave her nothing but unsatisfactory answers about all
questions especially the whole New York trip. This behavior change caused Geet
to suspect something was definitely not right. "Okay Meera, if you are done
talking about how much you hate that lady's hat can you tell me what's really
bothering you?"
Meera gave a nervous laugh and tried to again divert. "Geet, you're imagining
things. There is nothing bothering me."
"Meera, please I know you like you know me. Hiding is not a thing we are good
at with each other. Now tell me the truth."
After a long silence and a heavy sigh Meera threw her napkin on the table. She
didn't want to tell her. Especially not this way but Geet was Geet. When she
was adamant about something there was no going back. "Geet, I don't know
how to say this..."
From the change in her tone Geet sensed it was something
really serious. She was getting scared now. Meera glanced at Geet to capture
her reaction and noticed it had already started to have a look of worry. Her
voice went down a few octaves, "...the long story short is that the Walters
have filed the papers."
The color from Geet's face started to drain. Even though she knew this was
going to come about the fact that it was actually happening so fast and already
in the works left her mind spinning. A part of her hoped that this wouldn't
proceed further. That it was all just an empty threat the Walters family made
under anxiety and emotional distress. But those had always been false hopes made
by the optimistic part of her. However, there was no turning back now she knew.
Feeling the water beginning to sting in her eyes she fluttered her lashes to
stop them from pouring out but it was useless. They started to escape anyways.
Realizing she wasn't doing a great job at composing herself Geet quickly got up
and headed towards the exit.
The blurring of her eyes and fast pace didn't aid in her ability to walk hence
leading her to running into a very familiar chiseled chest. The strong arms
instinctively wrapped around her thin waist to impend the hard fall. After
steadying her up both of them realized in whose arms each of them were.
The bloodshot eyes and moist cheeks with hair strewn all over them caused Maan's
eyebrows to furrow in concern. He saw something in Geet he hadn't seen since
their first meeting. Her eyes were filled with emptiness and misery. He felt
his heart prick seeing her like but why it hurt was unknown to him. Had it not
been for Geet jerking his hands off her waist and rushing out Maan would've
continued to stare at her face.
Meera immediately rushed after Geet when she left the table but stopped once
she saw both of them together. From the looks of it she could tell Geet was
about to fall and Maan had saved her. But that wasn't what intrigued her. It
was the look Geet had in her eyes while she stood so calmly in his arms. Even
more interesting was the concern she saw in Maan, something she didn't expect
from him. The sudden push by Geet also brought her back to reality. She quickly
made her way to Maan and stopped him from rushing behind her. "It's okay let
her be alone for a while." Maan quickly turned to Meera with questioning eyes
looking for answers. Meera would have normally been apprehensive about telling him
everything but after seeing the genuine concern in his eyes for Geet she felt
she could trust him.
After hearing the whole story from Meera he was left dumbstruck. It was the
first time he had heard every detail. He could only imagine what Geet was going
through now. The first time hearing about Geet's professional problems he was
busy evaluating Dadi's intentions. But only now after listening to the full
story did he realize the depth of the situation. He didn't have words to
express the amount of anguish he felt for Geet. No one knew better than him how
important one's career is. After everything that was important to Maan had
disappeared it was his career that took its place. For some time it had become
his sole companion and comfort. He felt fulfilled and useful when he was
working so he couldn't imagine what he would do if that was taken away. He knew
there wasn't much he would be able to do but decided to at least talk to Geet
later. After telling Meera the same he walked towards his table while Meera made
her way out towards Geet.
Once they reached home Geet demanded Meera tell her the remaining facts. She
was hesitant at first but knew this wasn't the time to mess with Geet so she told
her everything. Geet became numb all over. The only question running through
her constantly was why me. Seeing the state she was in Meera called Dadi notifying
her Geet wouldn't come by the rest of the day.
Meera then went to her room when Geet asked to be left alone. She collapsed into the sofa and stared out the glass walls at the water. All she could think of was what had she done to deserve this. The day passed with steady sobs as did the night for Geet. Undoubtedly she hadn't been able sleep all night so she took a stroll by the beach then settled down in the sand to watch the sun rise. It was still pretty dark but with the moon slowly making its way west each passing minute it gave rise to the gradual morning glow. She was oblivious to nature's beauty with her mind preoccupied aimlessly making patterns in the sand while listening to the waves crash.
He had been jogging along the beach when he noticed a familiar figure. Despite all the stress he carried Maan was usually able to sleep at least a few hours but tonight it had been impossible. Geet's troubles had been on his mind all day. He wanted to help but didn't know how to. After much tossing and turning he decided to bail on sleep and vent his frustrations by going for a run. As he made it back to the house Maan saw her sitting there with her arms around her knees and chin buried between them. He slowly walked over next to her and sat down. She was so deep into her thoughts she didn't notice until he spoke.
"The sun always rises after the darkest night." Maan said while looking against the dark sky cracking with hues of orange and yellows.
She was startled by his voice and quickly wiped away the tears. "How
cliched Maan."
"Cliche as it may be it's the truth. Geet it's not the end...you will get through
it."
Her voice started to crack as new flow of tears started to emerge. "How can you
say that? How do you know that it's not the end? Had the pain I suffered all these
years by living in solitude without the love of my family not been enough? Was
the torment I went through as a child not enough that God had decided to punish
me more by taking the one and only thing I had left?" She started to weep
uncontrollably. "There is only so much I can take. Do you know what it feels
like to be constantly beat up emotionally Maan? It hurts so much."
Watching the state she was in caused a piercing feeling within his heart. Maan
stared helplessly at her since he knew what she was going through. And he knew
there wasn't an easy fix because had there been he would've been a healed man
by now. It took time and there were many ups and downs. Maan suffered for so
long in the same state she was in and he couldn't watch her go through it.
"Geet, look at me."
She wouldn't budge and continued to cry with her head bent down. Realizing she
wasn't going to move he shifted closer and put his left hand on her shoulder
and the other made its way under her chin to pull it up. His voice was throaty
and laced with sorrow. "I do know what it feels like to lose everything you
love. It feels like the end of the world. It feels like nothing will ever be
the same again. You feel like giving up'but Geet you can't. You have to fight through
it."
"Maan I don't think I have anymore fight left in me. That's all I've been doing
all my life, fighting against all odds thrown at me. I just don't know if there
is a part of that can continue."
"That's not true Geet we all have a part of us that wants to continue. There is
always something that needs us to continue. For me it was Piyu and for you it's
your passion for helping people."
She continued to cry through her words. "I don't know...if the passion is strong enough
to get me through it Maan...I just don't know."
He couldn't see her break like that. Maan knew it was the emotionally side of
her talking like that. "It is strong enough Geet. I can see it in your eyes.
You'll get through this and I'll make sure you do."
Geet was so overwhelmed emotionally she didn't realize she had swung her arms
around his neck and hugged him. She continued to cry and the tears began to
soak Maan's neck. Realizing she needed nothing but consolation now Maan too
wrapped his arms around her tightly. Geet felt nothing but hopelessness and agonizing
pain since she found out the unbearable news. But Maan's words gave her the
support she needed to realize that it wasn't the end but the beginning. He gave
her the strength to continue with not just mere words but with the sentiments
and understanding that was laced within the words.
Thank you all for the wonderful comments I'm sorry I wasn't able to get back to each of you individually this time but I really do appreciate them all. Please, please, please leave your comments & likes they mean a lot and are wonderful feedback! 😊