Here is an abridged and rehashed version of my first Michi fic "Destiny's Children". The original version was a mammoth fic of around 350 pages. I am not planning to convert the entire fic but only those portions which I thought can gel with my vision for Maaneet and other associated characters. Sameera makes an appearance in this fic of mine and is being played by Mouni Roy.
Part I
His visits were more frequent since then and the boy spent most of his waking hours out of school at their place. While his boisterous needs were met by Arjun, the sensitive streak in him sought her company more often. He loved pulling her leg and watch her face turn crimson. Initially she used to take him way too seriously and tears would wait to spill over but his nickname for her, "cry baby", soon put a stop to that. She learnt to take the jokes in her stride and laugh them off. She confided in him all her innermost feelings. This was quite extraordinary since she was the archetypical introvert. Over the years, apart from her father whom she held in the highest of regards, the only other person whose judgment she relied upon was him. He always seemed to have a solution to all her innumerable problems, such as, what dress to wear for the school annual day, what excuses to give her math teacher for not completing her homework, what gift to buy her dad for his birthday etc, etc.
Although it was six years ago, it seemed like only yesterday that she stood at the airport bidding him good bye as he boarded his plane to the U.K. to pursue his college education there. Since then he had briefly visited India on three occasions but unluckily for her she never got to meet him on any of them. On all three occasions she was out of town, once on a college tour around the country, once on a family trip abroad and the third, on a field trip for her project in her graduate course. They always kept in touch, though, through e-mails and phone calls. While he was a charmer and had a way with words, he was not much into written communication. His messages were more one liners seeking news from her rather than give much details of his life. She continued to seek his counsel on various matters. Their phone calls extended into the wee hours of the morning and more often than not she ended up hurting her sides, laughing through most of their conversations.
Her carefree existence had come to a grinding halt when Mohinder had a sudden heart attack soon after he returned from a business tour. Although he recovered from it soon enough, he was worried about the future of his daughter. He wanted to settle her down in life as early as possible. After discussing the matter with his wife, Rano, he asked his daughter's opinion. After all she was the apple of his eye. He cannot take a decision without the consent of his little princess. Geet was not one to question her father's wisdom. She had implicit faith in his decision making abilities and, moreover, the man he had chosen for her was her best friend. What more could she have asked for? She shyly nodded her approval of his proposal for her.
Mohinder soon met his friend and former business partner, Mr.Vinod Singh and fixed up the wedding of their children by the end of the month when his son was expected to return from the U.K. As the time was short, Mohinder almost immediately set in motion all the arrangements for a grand wedding of his only daughter. Geet had thought of calling up her friend cum husband to be but somehow couldn't do so. All of a sudden she felt too shy to even speak to him. Now that he will be her future husband, she felt that her equation with him has undergone a subtle change. He will soon be more than just a friend to her. So she awaited the day he will return to India, the day they will get engaged, to look him in the eye and convey all that her heart was longing to say.
Geet asked her college friend Sameera to help with the wedding planning. Sameera was a vivacious, independent girl with a "Devil may care" attitude to life, a striking contrast to Geet. Life had dealt her the worst hand of cards. Her parents had separated after she was born. Her mother, who was emotionally weak, couldn't bear the parting and became mentally deranged after that. Her maternal grandmother who took care of her while she was young passed away in the year she joined college. She has faced life practically all alone since then, coping with taking care of a sick mother and finishing her education, working part time. She now worked in a garment export company as a supervisor. Geet tried to help her monetarily on several occasions but she was too self respecting to accept money or pity from any one. She always asked Geet to be more independent minded but Geet was happy being who she was.
Although the two of them were as different from each other as chalk from cheese, they got on like a house on fire. Sameera filled the vacuum that her childhood friend left in her and Geet was able to share with her things she could not share with a guy. She told her of the new feelings she seemed to have realised for her childhood buddy after their marriage was finalised. Sameera was amused to see a girl of the twenty first century act more prudish than a nineteenth century one. Despite her urgings, Geet just wouldn't convey her feelings to her man. Sameera knew that one look at a blushing Geet will convey to him what a thousand words cannot. So she did not push the matter too hard.
On the day of the engagement, Sameera was delayed at work. Prying herself away with great difficulty she rushed to the Handa House where Rano was overseeing the catering arrangements. She motioned to Sameera that Geet was in her room, getting ready for the occasion and Sameera rushed to her friend's aid.
Seeing Sameera, Geet was ecstatic. She caught her arms and spun her around gushing of all the things she was dying to tell her would be fiance.
Sameera calmed her friend down.
"Now, now Geet. slow down. I have to catch my breath," Sameera laughed, pulling Geet's hand and slowing her down.Part VIII: Page 62
Part X: Page 79
Part XI: Page 79
Part XIV: Page 109
Part XV: Page 118
Part XVI: Page 128
Part XVII:Page 136
Part XVIII: Page 144
Book Talk
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