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Maan looked at the curtained window one last time and sighed before turning on his heels, his coat held onto his shoulder as he walked back to his car, dejected after one more failed attempt. As he turned the ignition, he caught the sight of light projection across the road and he looked in time to see the curtain being pulled back in place on the window.
He threw his coat on the love-seat and sagged on the bed with his face in his hands. Another day had passed without her, another long night awaited him without her warmth, without her perfume in the air, without her soothing hands massaging through his hair which took his day's exhaustion away. Rubbing his face to hold his raging emotions, his eyes fell on the framed picture on the side table and he picked it up. They both looked so content in the picture, their faces beaming with radiant smiles. It reminded him of the memorable day the picture was taken on.
They had started off as friends, mutually agreeing on getting to know each other more before they took their relationship forward. It had been a sweet journey; he had discovered a lot about her, he had felt comfort around her and he had fallen in love with her much before he had realised. She was a mystery which he wanted to keep on solving even as he enjoyed his days with her. He had confessed his heart to her on her first birthday after marriage when his Dadi had planned a surprise party for her, much against his mother's wishes. He had taken her out in the afternoon. Dadi had just asked him to take her shopping but he had other plans.
He had earlier found out that she was a romantic soul, the one who had once dreamt of a prince coming for her riding a white horse. He was no prince nor had he come into her life heroically riding a white horse but he could certainly be the romantic and loving husband she must have wished for. He had arranged for a lunch date on a private yacht. She had been surprised as well as elated to see the arrangements he'd made with a small decorated canopy fixed on the yacht and a table for two set in it. Throughout lunch, she had kept on going on and on about how it was the best birthday she'd ever had but he'd given her another pleasant shock when he'd pulled her up into his arms for a dance. He wasn't a man to shy away from confessing what he felt and so he'd said it, with his arms around her waist, hers around his neck and their eyes boring into each other's. The joy he'd seen in her soulful eyes then had been like no other as she had tightened her hold around his neck, pulling him into a choking hug, and professed her own love for him. He had hauled her even closer and twirled her around as they both laughed merrily.
Their date was interrupted when Dadi had called him to bring her back. They'd entered the house hand in hand and she'd been excited as a child when she'd found out the surprise. Her ringing laughter had made him feel content, like a man who'd won everything. After the cake cutting ceremony, his sister had teasingly asked him what gift he'd given to his wife and only then he had pulled the velvet box from his jacket, which he'd been carrying with him since morning. Pulling the diamond ring out of its soft bed, he had gotten down on one knee placed it in its rightful place; on Geet's finger. The precious moment was captured in reel by his sister and they had placed the picture on their bedside table to always cherish the memory.
Everything had been heavenly for them until the day he had answered that call. He had rushed to the hospital to find his Geet lying almost lifelessly in the bed with bandages covering her face. She had been in an accident which had almost taken her life away. He had cringed as he hugged his weeping grandmother, trying to be strong as he heard his sister narrate what exactly had happened. She had pushed his sister away from the road as an out of control car had approached them in high speed, but she couldn't save herself when the car hit her and threw her on the road with her face scratching on the concrete of the sidewalk. He hadn't made an effort to hide his tears then. He had always known his Geet was altruistic but the extent to which she could go to protect her loved ones had cleared to him now as he saw her hanging between life and death.
Maan shuddered as he woke up from the nightmare which had haunted him for quite a long time now. It was the nightmare of his life. He calmed his squeezing heart as he got ready for the day; his morning as chaotic as it had been since his Geet had left him, five days. He ignored his mother as she waited for him at the breakfast table, and headed straight out. He was still too angry on her for what she'd done.
Geet's bandages were taken off a few days later and even though the family had been informed by the doctor about her condition, they still couldn't stop themselves from reacting to what they saw. The left side of her face had been scratched bad enough for the skin to be peeled off and her flesh to be seen. Maan had sat by her side as her bandages had been removed, her hand held tightly in his. Even when the others had reacted with gasps, Maan had been quiet, the only evidence of the pain he felt at seeing his love in this condition were the tears that sprang to his eyes and which he resolutely held inside, not letting them spill over. Geet had seen her face in the mirror and let out a painful yelp, she had cried as Maan had held her in his arms, murmuring soothing words to her, telling her everything would be fine.
The next few days had been difficult for Maan. After he had brought Geet home, he took care of her, he tried every possible way to lighten her mood, to lift her spirits but it had not been very successful for him. Geet had lost the light in her eyes, she had become distant, detached. As the wounds healed slowly, they began to leave scars on her face, scars which made her feel ugly to her own eyes. Earlier when she had admitted to feeling a mismatch to Maan since she felt she was very ordinary as compared to his handsome form, Maan had always assured her, told her she was beautiful for him. With the scars of the accident being left behind, she had started to drift away from Maan even when he repeatedly told her that she was still beautiful for him. Her belief of being lesser than what he deserved had started to take a stronger root and any of the pampering Maan did, any of his words, any of his praises did not reach to her.
The tight rein he had kept on his own emotions was loosening and her constant detachment was something he couldn't bear. The kitty friends of his mother had started to criticise Geet for her scars and it had done Maan no good as she went a step farther away from him. After his continuous efforts to bring his wife back to normal, and her drifting even farther away from him, his tightly leashed emotions had snapped and he had cried with his head in his Dadi's lap. He had cried at the injustice meted out by fate to him, to her. He had cried as his Dadi had let him pour his pain out. He had not seen Geet watching him cry and walking away without knowing the whole truth. She had not heard what he was saying to his Dadi, she had not heard his Dadi console him and convince him to give his wife some time to cope with everything.
She had seen him come to their room with red eyes which he had tried to hide. His subdued voice had made her decide on what she had to do now, what she thought to be the best for him. She had begun to pick up small fights with him, she had begun to throw acidic words at him and they had argued at times. She had rebuked his attempts at making peace and he still had been kind and caring towards her. Two months had passed after her accident and the distances she put between them had only increased. It wasn't his fault but she had stepped away from him... for him. He was still stubborn to set everything straight between them. As Maan's mother increased her insults for Geet, as she showed her down due to her scars, it became too much for Geet to bear, and one fine day she walked out of his house, leaving behind everything, his house, his family, his love... him. Maan had been angry on his mother when he'd found out how she'd insulted Geet and ordered her to leave the house while Maan was away.
Even when he had promised to give her the time that she needed, he couldn't stop himself from driving to her parents' house every evening, standing there with his eyes trained on her closed window, just to get a glimpse of her and she never came to the window. The only thing which proved to him that she was aware of him being there was the thin line of light being projected on the road everyday, which gave her away when she peeked at him as he started his car to drive back home. He smiled tiredly as he wished she would come out of the house and meet him when he visited her this evening. He wished she would come and ask him to take her home. He had just parked his car outside her house when the slight drizzle which had been pouring since morning turned to a heavier downpour. Nevertheless, he stepped out of the car with his coat hooked on his finger which held it to his shoulder.
He hadn't cared for the rain which drenched him through and through as he stood in front of the house, hoping for a glimpse of her which might never come. He had closed his eyes when he felt the curtain pulled away and light coming through. He opened his eyes to see his wish fulfilled as Geet stood there with worry on her face as she watched him get wet in the rain. She stood there for a while before the curtains fell back in place, hiding her from him. Half of what he had wished for was granted to him but he had gotten greedier. He stood his ground for a longer time than he had previously done, to see her one more time. She didn't come. She didn't open the curtains to look at him with her worried eyes. She didn't let the thirst of his eyes be quenched by gracing him with her sight once again. With a defeated sigh, he had turned around to walk back to his car when he heard the door squeak open and a few moments later, as the splashing footsteps got closer, he felt her hands hugging him from the back. He didn't move, he just let it sink in when he heard her sobs which made him turn around and hug her tightly to himself. She apologised between her sobs, admitting she couldn't live without him as he hushed her and smoothed her hair. When she had quietened, he pulled away from her, rested his forehead against hers and told her he would never give up on her... on them.
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