Part 1:
"She is my fiancee!" his voice echoed through the empty
halls of the corridor. She instantly looked aghast at him, her cheeks drained
of color. The girl beside him clung to him as he had held her dangerously close
to him. His eyes spat fire while she stood numb in front of him wishing the
ground below swallowed her. She closed her mouth from sobbing loudly and ran
away before her heart betrayed her in front of him.
"Geet!" she heard somebody call her but the voice seemed distant.
Her legs refused to stop while she ran into what seemed like never-ending
darkness. "Geet!" she heard her name again; this time the source seemed closer
while she felt somebody shaking her.
"Geet utho or you shall be late for warm-up," Ramya said shaking
her once again. "Uff! Yeh ladki bhi na," she said her hands on her hips. She
looked around to find another way to wake her best friend and the sleeping
queen, Geet Handa. The only other option was of course the age-old method of
waking the kumbakarni, water! She brought a jug full of water and without
second thought poured the whole thing her face. The cold water caused Geet to
instantly jerk up. She saw a fuzzy image of her friend, Ramya Krishnan,
smirking at her with an empty water jug.
Geet wiped her wet face, "Pagal, couldn't you wake me
without pouring that water?" she asked annoyed.
"Geet, agar tum meri sundar si awaaz se uth jati toh main
pani use nahi karti," Ramya said. "Okay now get ready, we have warm up practice
in half hour," she said pulling the blanket off of Geet and walking out of the
room.
Geet looked around trying to remember what happened last
night at the party. The picture near her dressing table caught her attention
and the events of last night came crashing to her. After he had declared that
obnoxious woman as his fiance, she had ran home and crashed on it while his
declaration continuously played in front of her eyes. She forgot when she fell
asleep but the events of last evening had been replaying so many times that she
had even come to dream of it. She quickly wiped away the lone tear that
streamed down her cheek. Today, she wouldn't let his thoughts overpower her.
She had dreamed of today's swimming meet ever since she was a child and she had
worked too hard for it. And she wouldn't let her emotions rule her that may
cause her dreams to go down the drain. And certainly not for a guy who had even refused to
acknowledge her presence.
Ramya and Geet reached the swimming pool and walked into the
huge center. At the entrance the sign read, "Basavanagudi Aquatic Center,
Bangalore" and right below it there was a cloth banner that read, "Welcome to Nationals".
The friendly watchman, "Good morning amma", greeted them.
"Namaskara Ravi anna (brother)," Geet smiled back at him.
She just walked past him with her bag on the side when she
heard him again. "All the best
Geet!" he said showing his thumbs up.
"Thanks anna," she called back before walking into the huge pentagon
shaped glass house from where the huge fifty meter pool could be viewed. She
saw people diving into the pool for a short warm-up before the big event. On
the other side few were doing light land exercises and stretching. She searched
through crowd to find a glimpse of him to calm her anxious heart. There he
stood amongst the other coaches, his height towering all the people surrounding
him with his hands crossed on his broad chest. He wore a white plain t-shirt and
held a sheet, which she knew it was event list, and his stopwatch hung around
his neck and clung to his well-toned body. He nodded nonchalantly and smiled
occasionally as they stood talking around him. His eyes seemed to be searching
for something yet his arrogant look on his face didn't give anything away.
Involuntarily her hands held the glass and her fingers slid along it as though
she was touching his flawless face. He turned away from her to instruct a bunch
of kids who were practicing by the end of the pool. The t-shirt on the back
read, Head Coach Khurana in bold blue letters. She scoffed at the sight, "Maan,
Maan Singh Khurana," she said imitating his trademark commanding voice. He was
the man who had taught her to fight, who had guided her through her dark and
depressed times, taught her to live, made her discover the meaning of love. It
had taken a lot of courage and determination on her part to come out of the
dark stages of her life yet it had seemed so easy when he came into her life. It
had taken a lot of time for her to come out of the wall she had built around
herself after her parent's death. But he had penetrated through it and brought
her out, breaking all the barriers. The reason she stood here to compete in her
dream meet, nationals was because of the confidence he had in her. But now
everything seemed bizarre; in the process of breaking her wall, it seemed he
had built one himself preventing her from accessing him. The day she opened her
heart to reveal her feeling to the man she loved, he had closed his heart.
"Chalein?" Ramya asked tapping her shoulder. Geet broke out
of her stream of thoughts and nodded her head in the positive. They got out of
the glass house and headed towards the girls locker room to leave their bags. As she walked to the locker room she
felt she was being watched by a set piercing eyes she jerked her head up hoping
for that deep chestnut brown eyes that always made her heart flip looking at
her. But she was dejected to find him looking elsewhere, deeply engrossed in
his conversation. She proceeded to walk without giving him a second look
causing her to miss his intense gaze that followed her until she disappeared
into the locker room.
Geet practiced a few flips and did a few sprints, the usual
routine for warm-up in 25-meter pool, that was a little away from the main
50-meter pool so that she didn't have to face him. Satisfied the warm-up had
loosened her body she changed into her competition swimsuit and wore a loose
pair of sweatpants. She headed out of the locker room with her iPod, swim cap
and goggles to the announcement area.
Everyone had cleared the pool and officially the National
Competition had started with the commencement of the welcome speech, welcoming
of the swimmers from all over the country and wishing them all the best. The
first event for Group III individual medley had begun with their name-calling.
Children between the ages of nine and twelve gathered by the seating area for
the swimmers and assistants began arranging them according to their heats.
Geet sat down, hugging her knees with her head bent on them
near the water fountain. She had turned on the iPod on full volume to keep her
mind from wandering to his thoughts. She occasionally drank sips of elctroplus
water, an energy drink and went back to listening to some songs that soothed
her nerves so that she could concentrate on her two best events, 200M
Individual Medley (IM) and 200M Fly.
The last heats of Group II IM was going on when Geet decided
to walk by the announcement shed so she could stretch and loosen up before her
call. Usually Maan would give her a small prep talk before her every event and
help in stretching, but after last night's incident she knew her relationship
with him had been severed. Yet her heart yearned for his company. She shook her
arms and legs a few times, loosening up her muscles and looked from the corner
of her eyes. There, by the pillar, he stood leaning on it with his legs
crossed. Their eyes met for a second portraying a thousand emotions before
looking away. She was about to stretch her folded arms when she felt someone
stretching them for her. She looked behind to see it was one of her favorite
coaches, Bhaskar sir. He had known since the day she had started swimming at
the age of 7. And through all these 13 years he had become like a father figure
for her.
"Sir neeva
(you)?" she asked surprised by his arrival.
"Haan putta, yaake? (Yes baby, why?)" he asked smiling back
at her. She let him do the routine stretch while her eyes trailed back the
figure behind the pillar.
Bhaskar sir saw her anxiousness and smiled at Geet. The
little girl, Geeta Lakshmi Rao who had come to this pool 13 years ago, her
features sharp and bright with a long ponytail that waved with her chirpy walk,
now stood in front of him. He had seen her grow in front of him from the
curious little girl to suave and elegant young woman yet her heart remained the
same seven-year-old girl whom he had met for the first time. But something deep
had changed when she lost her parents two years ago.
The memory was quite fresh in his mind. Her competition was
going on when he got the news of the fatal car accident that had taken away her
only beloved ones once for all. He had made sure to keep the news under wraps
until all her events finished but she had somehow found out about it,
shattering her. She had refused to come to the pool for it reminded of the day
they had died and she had gone into severe depression. Swimming had lost one of
the best athletes due to her trauma. But the man behind her change now stood
behind the pillar, Maan.
Maan had joined the Basavanagudi Aquatic Center a year ago
as the head coach. He was one of the youngest men to be named the best coach of
the year at the age of 25. Generally known for his extreme workout session and
stern personality was not particularly a favorite among his students. He was a
man who believed in hard work and the word quit never existed in his
dictionary. Once he had come to know about Geet and her potential, he was
particular to get her back into competitive swimming. Slowly but steadily he
had taught her to fight and overcome her fears. Although she had hated his guts
and stubborn nature in the beginning, eventually she started to fall for him.
On the other hand, Maan seemed unaffected by her presence yet his eyes spoke a
different story and so did his actions. Bhaskar realized he had always kept her
at bay for some unknown reason causing Geet to take a bold step to confess her
feelings for him. But after coming to know about last night through Ramya, he
was afraid things had gone out of hand causing a huge rift between them. He
hoped whatever it was stopping Maan from letting her know of his love for her
would soon be removed.
"Aune barakke heliddhu (He only told me to come)," Bhaskar
sir said out of the blue.
"Huh?" Geet looked quizzically at first but as the words
sank in, her puzzled look became normal before becoming furious. "If he wanted
he could have came. Why does he have to send a messenger in the middle," she
spat looking directly at Maan. "Anyway, why do I care," she scoffed.
"Geetu," Bhaskar sir began only to be stopped by Geet.
"Bidi sir, (leave it) I don't want to talk about anything
else now," she said with a wave of her hand. "If he is such a coward to even
face me, he doesn't have to come," she sneered and walked away avoiding the
piercing pain in her heart. As she was about to walk past the pillar, she was
forcefully tugged only to fall on a hard chest.
His hold was strong and secure causing her to tighten her
hold on him. His warm embrace brought nostalgic feelings and forgetting her
resolve to keep away from him she closed her eyes reveling in the ethereal
bliss. He held her close to him, not wanting to let this moment to end. The new
announcement brought him back to reality; he looked down at his little mermaid
still holding on to him tightly. A satisfied smile crept through his lips at
her position. It had taken a lot of efforts to take her sweet lips into his
when she saw her cutely pouting at Bhaskar sir but he knew it was in her best
interest for him to keep away from her. But the pain in her face had killed him
a thousand deaths to see thus, he wanted to erase it through his embrace. Seeing
that his effort to ease her had succeeded so he decided to tease her a bit
before her big event. He let go of her and cleared her throat to gain her
attention. Geet opened her eyes to find herself tightly holding on to the man
she had come to loathe. She jerked off his chest and looked down fidgeting her
goggles unable to look into his eyes.
"Kyun Geet, it seems you were so comfortable in my embrace. Ab
kya hua?" he asked with a lop-sided smile teasing his lips.
"Oh please, stop with your nonsense Maan," she bit back,
anger evident in her eyes.
He jerked her once again to him and before she could protest
crashed his lips on her soft and tender ones. His forceful entry caused her to
seal her lips tighter, preventing him from entering. Fury raged in his insides
as she shut away from his kiss and he probed further, forcing her to open up.
She struggled to get off his grip and aimlessly whacked his chest but all her
attempts were futile as he tightened his grip on her and lifted her up a little
so she matched his height. She finally gave up at his continuous nibbling and
sucking and parts her lips for him to invade her territory. As soon as got the
sign of her giving up he instantly pushed her mouth open and slid his tongue
exploring, assuring, and sucking. Just as she was about to drown herself in his
deep and passionate kiss, he suddenly pulled away from her, his eyes spitting
fire. She felt something missing.
"How many times have I told you not to chew gum before your
event," he said chewing away the gum he had just scooped away from her mouth. A
slight hue crept through her cheeks at the thought of the way he took away the
gum but she regained herself and looked away in anger from him.
"It's my mouth and my wish," she said, holding her head
high.
"Then its my wish to invade your mouth," he whispered
huskily against her ear.
Geet cringed as she felt his hot breath against her skin and
tried to inhale his musky cologne. She looked at him, "Is it your wish to hurt
my feelings also?" she asked, her voice reflecting a deep pain emanating from
within. Her question had pierced his heart like a thousand arrows and the pain
in her eyes was so unbearable that even a thousand deaths wouldn't suffice it. He
stepped back from her and looked down guiltily. Concluding his silence was a
yes to her question she turned slowly trying to rub away the sudden heartburn
that erupted in her chest.
Seeing her walk away in pain and the fact that he couldn't
do anything to ease it away he closed his eyes tightly cursing himself. "Geet,"
he called, his voice strained. She stopped but didn't turn to face him. "Good
luck."
Geet knew her question had hurt him but what about the
declaration about his fiance yesterday when she had gone to confess her
feelings for him? She wanted answers. Their first hug near the fountain, first
kiss in the pool, and first date on the mountain; every single moment with him
felt out of the world. The love in his eyes, the care in his actions for her was
something she could see exclusively for her yet when she had gone to claim that
exclusivity, he had rejected her without a second thought. She walked back to
the place where all the swimmers were gathering before wiping away her tears.
She plastered a fake smile when she saw Ramya and Bhaskar sir looking at her
with concern. Before they began questioning her, she hurried to the chairs
where the assistants were calling the names of the participants according to
the heats.
Geet walked to her lane, number three. She took a deep long
breath and jumped up and down a few times to get rid of her nervousness. She
wore her goggles and removed her sweatpants while the announcer whistled for
the first time, signaling the swimmers to take their positions. She touched the
diving board, praying to her Krishna, to help her win this event and then took
position. She tightened her grip on the diving board at the second whistle and
heard the announcer's final whistle that was the commencement of the race.
Forgetting everything she smoothly dived into the cool water before gliding up
to start swimming.
Geet got a nice head start lead from the other swimmers as
her best stroke was butterfly and the first stroke of IM was butterfly. She
kept her pace at medium so that she wouldn't tire out by the last lap. She saw
Bhaskar sir at one end of the pool shouting her name and gesturing her to swim
faster and on the other end she saw Ramya cheering for her. Her eyes
desperately searched for Maan's presence near the end of her lane, like he
always did. But he wasn't on the either side of the pool. She began breathing
more frequently, putting her head up for every stroke of fly instead of the 3
strokes per breath and 2 strokes per breath regime that would increase her
speed. This caused her to slow down, allowing others to catch up with her. She
began backstroke yet her eyes still looked for her Maan causing her to turn her
head unnecessarily, again slowing her speed. Bhaskar sir saw her slowing down
and panicked and each time she came near the end he shouted to concentrate and
speed up. But his shouts had no effect on her deaf ears; she continued to tilt
her head around looking around for him even at the end of breaststroke.
Just as she was about to start her final stroke, freestyle,
she got a glimpse of him running towards the end furiously shouting at her to
move faster. His presence revived her dry soul and as if she was refueled
suddenly she picked up speed, catching up with the others. It was the last lap
of freestyle and she could feel Maan running on the deck as she moved in the
water screaming to go faster. It was the last 15 meters and Geet sprinted
towards the end and hit the wall sealing the end of her event. She looked
around to see people cheering and a small smile crept up her face as she
realized she had finished first. She dipped her head and removed her cap,
letting her hair loose. Bhaskar sir and Ramya came running down to her end
congratulating her on her win. She smiled and thanked them but wanted him to
congratulate her. She got out of the pool to see him standing on the other
side, his face grim and his eyes narrow as though he was displeased with
something. She slowly walked towards him and seeing her come towards him, he
moved to a secluded spot near the baby pool.
Geet followed him, her body dripping of the pool chlorine
water and in one hand her sweatpants and in the other her goggles and cap. He
saw him stand with his hands crossed as though he was waiting for her. She
hurried to his side, eager for him to congratulate her, and stood right in
front of him.
"What the hell was that Ms Rao?" he barked, his eyes dancing
in fury. She was taken aback by his sudden anger and looked at him her mouth
agape and her eyes almost ready to fall out.
"Kkkya hua Maan?" she managed to blurt out.
"Sir, Maan sir kaho!" he said narrowing his eyes.
"Sorry sir," she said surprised by his demand. He had
allowed her to call him Maan when they were alone but now he ordered her to
call him sir, she knew something was seriously wrong. She nervously looked at
him.
"Damn it! Do you call that a race? Pura ka pura 3 seconds
more than your best time! What the hell were you thinking?" he blasted at her.
"Kyun? Did you think that you were too good for everyone causing you to slow
down?"
Tears streamed down her cheeks and in spite of the water on
her face, her salty tears left behind a trail. She had wanted him to cheer for
her but not finding him there made her lose hopes causing her to slow down. But
she had managed to catch up once she saw him. Would he even understand he was
the cause of her restlessness? She stood numb without speaking another word and
looked down at her hands, unable to face his wrath.
"Speak up Ms Rao!" he roared. "I am not paid to pamper you
here," he said callously.
She shot her head up at his statement. Was this all about
his job? She thought painfully. A fresh set of tears rolled down her cheeks and
her lips quivered, preventing her to stand mum to his accusations.
"Stop that silly crying," he said pointing at her. "Its simply
a shame to have a swimmer like you," he scoffed and walked away.
As soon as he left her, she completely broke down and fell
to the ground. He had called her a shameful swimmer despite the fact that she
managed to beat every single person in the last lap. Of course, she didn't give
her best but that didn't mean she had brought him shame. His callous remarks
had hurt her beyond return; she had never seen Maan behave so rudely with her
even when they had hit off on the wrong chords initially. He would always tease
her, mock her, but never hurt her like this. She closed her face and sobbed
endlessly when she felt a hand on her shoulders. She looked up to see Ramya.
Geet instantly wiped her tears away and sniffed. "Kuch nahi, it's the chlorine
water," Geet lied.
"Geetu, I really can see when you lie. Please don't cry. He
actually doesn't mean anything he says," Ramya tried to reason.
"Ramya please, that man coldheartedly walked away from
here," Geet began then realized why she was crying over spilt milk. She rubbed
clear of the tears and got up with a serious face. "You know what, I was not
born on this earth to please him. But since he has called me a shameful swimmer
I shall show him who I am," she determined. She walked away in a huff, her ego
hurt deeply from the pain inflicted by Maan Singh Khurana.
Geet pushed away all other thoughts and was determined to
break her records for 200M and 100M fly. She concentrated and focused on the
next event, 200M butterfly. She got a head start with a nice long dive and she
was unstoppable for the rest of the race, causing her to break her own record
and again earning her a gold for 200M fly. She walked back after that event and
on the way saw Maan, who stood with no emotion in his face. She scoffed at him
and walked right past him. Next the 100M butterfly was also another gold for
her as she easily beat her opponents and at the same time breaking her record. Bhaskar
sir and Ramya were really proud of her achievements. Finally the events of the
day ended with the medal ceremony and Geet was the proud achiever of 3 gold
medals and breaking two records. Everyone in the pool was proud of her and had
congratulated her for her win except one man who maintained his grim face
throughout the day.
Geet changed into her track pants and a shirt and hauled her
bag on her shoulder. She had asked Ramya to start early and she would catch up
with her in the apartment. She walked out of the pool saying bye to the
watchman, Ravi Anna, into the deserted street. She slowly walked to the nearby
large playground, went and sat on the side bench, her mind blank. She opened
her bag, found the three gold medals that were now shining under the sodium
street lamp and looked at them as though they could magically soothe her.
Unknown to her tears rolled down her cheek. These medals
were supposed to give her sweet joy as she had worked all her life for these
yet seeing them only gave her more pain. She looked up at the sky bedecked with
tiny stars shining down at her hoping to see her parents through one of them.
"Mamma yeh dekho I won," she said holding her medals high. "Appa
nodithiya? (Dad did you see?) I did it!" she said smiling through her tears. "Now
aren't you proud of your little girl?" she asked as though she would expect an
answer. She kept her medals back and all of sudden she started to cry out
loudly, unable to mouth her emotions. She sobbed continuously; her mind tried
to reason the cause of these tears. She had won, hadn't she? It was her dream
and here she was holding three gold medals from nationals yet her heart told
her she was not happy. Her loud wailing slowly turned into periodic sobs and
hiccups. She finally sniffed back her tears when she felt someone touch her.
alright me hunny bunzzz how was it?? this is part one of two parts. i shall soon post the second part before going on my vacation. i know a lot of people are cursing me about not updating karmas of love i am in a serious writer's block for that n also a lot of personal problems in the home-front have been keeping me busy i hope to clear those up before i can give a justifiable update... please hang on there π
Edited by Maaneet_09 - 12 years ago
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