FF: Humesha Saath 1 - Link to 2 pg150 - Page 93

Geet woke up to the soft, yet distinct tapping of a tree branch up against her window. Turning her face towards where the noise was coming from she saw that there was still light out, though it was quickly diminishing. Sitting up she felt a very slight throbbing in her head. She glanced at the clock to see that it was half past five.

"Oh my God, maine Pinky ki pooja miss kardi!" Geet yelled as she scrambled to her feet. "Lekin…main yahaan kaise?"

The last thing Geet remembered was telling Pinky she had a gift for her, then she went upstairs to get it. After that she couldn't remember anything. Geet stared out the window for a few seconds when suddenly, like a ton of bricks, her memory cleared up.

"Maan," she whispered.

Now Geet remembered what had happened. She had gone upstairs to get the earrings that she had bought for her sister. While she was looking in her drawer she heard Pinky suddenly call for her. Geet figured that it was just Pinky being Pinky – impatient. As Geet headed back she heard Pinky call out for her again and something shatter. Not knowing what was going on, she panicked and raced downstairs. As she descended the stairs she didn't bother looking up until halfway down. When she finally did, she was stunned. It was like time had unexpectedly stopped, her heart stopped beating and she stopped breathing.

There he was – after seven long years – he was back.

Slowly she walked towards him, analyzing him from head to toe. He was more built and healthy looking than he had been at 20, filling out the black suit he wore. He had a ragged scar on his cheek that looked angry and red. His hair was a bit shorter and set back giving him an air of authority. His face was now covered in facial hair, a beard of sorts. However, it was him, it was her Maan. There was no mistaking it. His identity was in his eyes. Geet had seen into those eyes a million times, she had seen into his soul through his eyes. She knew these eyes. The eyes were the same as they had been for years. The eyes were filled with joy. The eyes were filled with love – for her.

Geet remembered trailing her fingers gently along the scar on his face, calling his name and then she remembered darkness consuming her. Without realizing it, her hand flew up to her mouth to cover her shock.

Was Maan really back? How could that be? Had it all been real or a dream?

Geet raced out of her room and down the stairs to the main family room. "Maan?! Maan?!" she called out as she went.

There was no one in sight, not one single person. Geet ran looking for her Maan but she couldn't find him. She then thought about going to the mandir where she had seen him, maybe he was there. When she reached the mandir it was empty, like the rest of the house. Only the diya's illuminated the little room. Geet leaned against one of the pillars and fell to the floor as tears over took her emotions. She sat with her knees drawn up to her body and her head resting on her arms.

She had been wrong. Maan wasn't back. It must have been another one of her hallucinations or something. Why was her mind and heart playing tricks on her like that? Not like it wasn't hard enough to get past every minute without Maan, but to see him and think that he is real. Then only to find out he was still gone – it was heart breaking.

Suddenly Geet heard some noise. When Geet had lifted her head to see where the sound was coming from her eyes fell on a red stain on her dupatta. It was an odd place for any stain. Her head and just been resting there, how could it now be red? Was she bleeding? Slowly Geet raised her hand to her head, by the parting. When she brought it down her fingers were colored red, but it wasn't blood. It looked like…sindoor. Sindoor on her forehead, how? Before any other question could form in her mind, she got her answer.

"Geet," someone called.

Looking up Geet saw the door to the family room open and a tall figure step out. It was somewhat dark so she couldn't see who it was. As the figure raced towards her Geet felt like she knew who it was. She felt like she knew who the man was. When the man finally stood in front of her, Geet was left speechless. She climbed to her feet and came face to face with the man who had lived in her dreams and nightmares for seven years. Geet's mouth was left gaping open with one hand over it, as the tears once again collected in her eyes.

"Geet," he said again, "Main aagaya hoon. Tumhara Maan laut aaya hai."

"Maan?" Geet chocked between tears and sobs. "Tum saach ho, ya phirse main koi saapna dekh rahi hoon?"

Maan smiled, is eyes too wet from tears. "Chuke dekhlo," he said as he held his hand out to her.

Reluctantly and very carefully Geet reached out to him. What if he disappeared? What if he wasn't real? Slowly she brushed her finger tips to his palm and was amazed when she felt his warmth and strength.

"Maan, tum saach mein yahaan ho?" Geet asked as her eyes filled with tears and a smile began to play on her lips.

"Haan, main saach mein yahaan hoon," Maan said.

He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her forehead – he didn't care that her entire family was gathered behind them by this time. As soon as his lips touched her skin Geet felt her body, her heart and her soul come back to life. It was almost magical.

"Kaise? Tum…" Geet's voice trailed off as she felt a bit light headed.

From the corner of her eye she saw all three of her brothers rush forward to help her but before they could get anywhere near her, Maan had managed to get a hold of her. With one arm around Geet's waist, the other was held out to stop her brothers from advancing.

"Nahin! Koi aage nahin aayega!" Maan yelled. "Aap mein se koi Geet ko haat nahin lagayenge!"

"Magar…" Adi began to say.

"Baas!" Maan roared. "Saath saal pehle hi aap logoon ne bohot kuch kiya tha, aab aur nahin."

Geet understood Maan's anger towards her brothers, but she had to explain. "Maan…" she tried to talk. However, she was weak.

"Lucky, doctor ko phone kaar. Jaldi," Maan ordered as he scooped Geet up into his arms and raced towards her room.

"Ji Veerji," Lucky said as he pulled out his cell phone.

Everyone stood stunned and shocked into disbelief at what Lucky had just said.

"'Veerji'?" Brij asked.

"Woh…" Lucky was tongue tied.

"Lucky! Phone," Maan reminded him from half way up the stairs.

"Nahin," Geet managed to say as she gently pushed against Maan. "Doctor ko phone maat karo. Main tik hoon."

"Magar Geet…" Maan began to say as he put her down on her feet, but still held onto her.

"Saach mein, main tik hoon," Geet said. From the look in Maan's eyes she knew he didn't believe it. "Please," she pleaded.

Geet gave him 'the' look. A look that he hadn't been able to resist seven years ago, it was a look he couldn't resist today.

"Tik hai. Lucky, phone maat kar," Maan said turning to Lucky.

"Mujhe neeche lekar chalo," Geet said.

"Nahin tum uppar jao," Maan said.

"Magar kyun?" Geet asked. "Main tik hoon."

"Shayad tum tik ho, lekin main tik nahin hoon. Main tumhe inn kapdon mein nahin dekh sakta," Maan said. There was a pain in his voice that was unmistakable.

Geet looked down to see herself draped in a white saree – looking just like a widow. Only problem was, she no longer was a widow.

"Kuch bhi pehen ke aao, lekin yeh nahin. Tumhe inn safed kapdo mein dekh kar mujhe taqlif hota hai. Tum meri vidva nahin ho, meri biwi ho," he said as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

Geet nodded her head in agreement but was reluctant to leave him.

"Main kahin nahin jaunga, promise." He turned and called, "Pinky…Geet ke saath jaao please."

"Haan Jiju," Pinky said as she approached Geet. "Chaliyeh Didi."

Geet still didn't want to leave but finally did when Maan said, "Aab main aagaya hoon naa toh tumhe khabi chodke nahin jaunga. Khabi nahin."

Pinky walked upstairs with Geet. As they ascended the stairs, not once did Geet take her eyes off of Maan. Once she was in her room she went straight for her cupboard and pulled out a saree that was hidden in the back behind all of her white clothing. She went into the bathroom to get changed as quickly as possible. When she returned she was ready to do back down but remembered something. She went to her dresser to pull out a box. Opening the box she took its contents out when suddenly there was a lot of commotion coming from downstairs. Above everyone else's voice she could hear Maan's.

"Maan," she said in a whisper as she raced out of the door.

Pinky called behind her but Geet didn't stop. She ran down the stairs calling Maan's name.

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In the midst of arguing with Geet's pompous brothers, Maan head a voice calling to him. The voice wasn't loud and almost drowned out in the commotion that was going on in front of him. However, this was voice that he heard from his heart. No matter where he was, if he heard that voice he was immediately at full attention. Looking towards the stairs to his right he saw Geet coming down the stairs.

Seeing her brought a smile to his face. She was wearing a saree that he recognized. It was a very pretty shade of pink with black sequins running all along the border. It was a very old saree, it had already been used when he had given it to her – but it was a special saree. This saree had belonged to his mother. It was one of his favorite sarees not because it belonged to his mother, but because this was the first gift given to his mother by his father. Maan had given her the saree on their one year anniversary. Geet had been extremely excited about it, but only accepted it once she had his mothers blessing.

Today was the first time Maan was seeing Geet wearing the saree. A calm settled over his heart. He was finally with Geet – after all these years, the moment had finally come.

"Kya ho raha hai?" Geet asked.

"Woh Maan…" Adi began to say.

"Baas!" Maan growled. "Baas!"

"Maan…" Geet began to say but was cut off.

"Maa ki saree hai naa. Tumpar bohot khubsuart lag raha hai," he said.

Geet blushed and Maan's heart did a flip. He watched as she shyly met his eyes again, this time holding out her right fist to him. As she slowly opened her fist he saw something black cradled within it.

"Isse pehnadoge please. Saath saloon mein isse pehene ke liyeh main taras gayi thi," Geet said.

Maan took the object from her hand and asked, "Yeh kya hai?"

He didn't need an answer to his question. He knew what it was – it was Geet's mangalsutra. It was the same simple black and gold necklace that he had bought for her seven years ago.

As Maan put the mangalsutra on Geet, it was like the rest of the room disappeared. It was just them two and no one else. Maan could envision Geet in her red shaadi-ka-joda on the day of their wedding. He could hear the pundit chanting the sacred hymns as they walked around the holy fire. He could remember the blush on Geet's face when he filled her mang. He could remember the happiness in her eyes when they were finally married in the eyes of God. It was like they were transported to the small mandir where they had been married years ago.

He saw Geet place a hand over her mangalsutra and heard her whisper a thanks to God for returning to Maan to her.

Maan cupped her face and leaned in close to her face.

"Ahem…Veerji," Lucky called out.

Maan was about to kiss Geet, everyone knew it. Lucky just did that to remind him that he was in a room full of people. Geet blushed and looked down as Maan smiled.

He used his finger to tilt her face back to so that she was looking at him. Then, he leaned in and kissed her. As their lips met they both felt like they were in heaven. The kiss was soft, gentle and tender. The kiss was pure and sacred. The kiss was theirs and it was long over due. Maan didn't care who saw, he didn't care about what they had to say. This was his Geet and no one could stop him from kissing her. Maybe it wasn't proper, but Maan didn't care.

Maan took Geet's hand and guided her to the main hall. Once they reached the couches in the main hall, he helped her sit and then sat next to her. No one knows for how long they sat just staring at each other. It was like after seven long years their eyes were finally rewarded. It was like they had been surviving in a drought and only now they have found an oasis.

Slowly Geet raised her hands up to cup Maan's face. It was as if she still couldn't believe that he was sitting in front of her – alive and breathing.

"Kahaan the? Itne din tum kahaan the?" Geet asked. Geet couldn't take it any more. Not caring that her family was present, she threw herself at him and held on to him as if her life depended on it. "Tum pehle kyun nahin aaye? Pehle kyun nahin aaye?" she cried.

"Pani…" Maan said as he searched for a glass of water.

"Abhi laayi Jiju," Pinky said as she got up and rushed into the kitchen. She came back just moments later and handed the glass to Maan.

"Pani pi loh," Maan insisted as he held the glass to Geet's lips. Geet hesitated at first. "Pi loh phir main saab kuch batadunga tumhe."

That did it. Geet took three quick sips of water before Maan placed the glass on a table next to him. By this time, all the family members had gathered around them – only Mohinder was missing.

"Tum zinda ho?" Geet asked as she placed a hand on top of Maan's. It was like she still couldn't believe that Maan was sitting in front of her alive and well. She had a feeling that if she pinched herself she would wake up from the wonderful dream that she was having. "Mujhe laga tha ke tum mujhe humesha ke liyeh chodke chale gaye ho."

Maan gently pushed back a few strands of hair that fell on Geet's face. He cupped her face and smiled at her.

"Jis duniya mein Geet zinda hai, uss duniya ko chodkar Maan kaise jaa sakta hai?" he asked.

"Phir tum kahaan the? Itne dehr kyun lagadiya aane mein?" Geet demanded as her eyes filled with tears again.

"Pehle toh mujeh paata hi nahin tha ke kahin pe tum mera intezaar kaar rahi ho," Maan said.

"Kya matlab?" Geet asked.

"Abhi batata hoon."

*~* Flash Back *~*

(7 years ago)

(Maan = 20)

"Jaldi aao! Jaldi aao!" someone yelled. "Bohot khun beh raha hai. Isse abhi hospital leke jaana hoga!"

Maan couldn't open his eyes, move any muscle of his body but he could hear everything. He heard people gather around him and murmur about how he was bleeding and that they needed to get him to the hospital right away. He felt many hands on him as the people tried to lift him.

"G…Geet…" he called, or so he thought. He needed to make sure that she was ok. He needed to make sure that she would be alright, no matter what happened to him.

They people that were helping him loaded him onto a truck that was passing by. The entire ride Maan fought against the dark fog that was settling in and clouding his memory. He tried with all his might to open his eyes long enough to have someone notice, he prayed that he could just get one sentence out so that he could tell someone about Geet. Maan tried and tried to move his body but every time he tried he failed. Once they reached the hospital he was lowered onto a stretcher as doctors and nursed came rushing.

"Isse kya hua?" a female voice asked.

"Paata nahin nurse. Hum toh baas uss jaga se guzaar rahe the jahaan yeh pada tha. Kuch awaz suni aur jaab dekha toh yeh admi mila, iss halat mein," someone said.

"Bohot khoon behraha hai, lagta hai ke isse OT mein leke jaana hoga," called another voice. "Dr. Singh ko page karo, jaldi!"

As they rushed him off to the OT Maan heard them list off his injuries. Among other things he had severe head trauma, a deep laceration on his face that would need stitches and of course, the stab wound in his abdomen which was the most worrisome at the moment. They had to open him up to check whether or not he had internal injuries. Maan winced at the smell he encountered as he entered the operation theater, it was so sterile. Suddenly, darkness closed in all around him. Maan tried to fight it but he couldn't. He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs but he couldn't.

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Opening his eyes, Maan was greeted by the blinding brightness of the sun. He tried to lift his left arm to shield his eyes but to his shock, he couldn't move a single muscle. His entire body felt stiff and rigid. An unexpected groan escaped his lips and suddenly the brightness of the sun was replaced by the face of a smiling female.

"Toh aap finally jag gaye? Welcome back Mr. Maan," she said.

"M…main kahaan hoon?" Maan asked as he tried to look around. It surprised him how scratchy and soft his voice was.

"App St. Josephs Hospital mein hai. Main abhi doctor ko bulati hoon. Aapke saab sawaloon ka jawab doctor saab hi denge. Main abhi aayi," she said as she left.

When she returned a minute later, Maan was in the process of sitting up – well, he was attempting to sit up. The nurse came over and helped him get propped up on his bed and placed two pillows behind him. As she finally got him settled him, two doctors in white lab coats walked in.

"Good afternoon," said the one whose coat read 'Dr. Garewal'. "Good to see you awake."

"Matlab?" Maan asked. This was the second time in less than five minutes someone had said it was good to see him awake. What had happened?

"Main hoon Dr. Singh aur yeh mera colleague hai, Dr. Garewal," said the second doctor.

"Doctor, saab yeh kyun keh rahe hai ke finally main jag gaya?" Maan asked.

"Main saab sawaloon ka jawab dunga lekin pehle tumko mere kuch sawaloon ka jawab dena padega. Tik hai?"

"Ji."

"Tumhara naam kya hai?" he asked.

"Maan."

"Last name?" the doctor asked.

Suddenly Maan fell silent. What was his last name? Was Maan really his first name? The only reason he was able to answer that was because that is what the nurse had called him when he woke up.

"Tumhara last name kya hai?" the doctor asked again.

"Paata nahin," Maan answered. He began looking frantically around the room.

"Kahana ke rehne wale ho?" Dr. Garewal asked.

"Paata nahin," Maan answered.

"Aapne baare mein kuch yaad hai tumhe? Maa ka naam, baap ka naam…kuch bhi?" Dr. Singh asked.

"Nahin!" Maan yelled. "Mujhe kuch yaad nahin. Mujhe kuch yaad kyun nahin?" he asked as he looked helplessly at the doctors. "Main yahaan, iss hospital mein kaise?"

The look on the doctors faces told Maan that he wasn't going to get good news. The doctors explained to him that a few villagers had found him dumped behind the forest next to a road here in Amritsar. He had suffered major abdominal wounds including internal injuries, a facial laceration and severe head trauma from what seemed to have been a physical attack on him. They explained to him that during surgery his vital signs had dropped and he had gone into a coma. He had been unconscious for the past five weeks. It was due to the immobility caused by the coma that he was unable to move without difficulty at this point. The doctors assured him that with physical therapy he'd be as good as new.

They had been waiting for him to wake up so that they could assess his mental capacity as well as figure out where he came from and who he was. After talking to him the doctors diagnosed him with post traumatic retrograde amnesia which is when a patient cannot remember his past. They also felt that maybe his mind was repressing the memories that were tied to the incident that left him in this condition. The doctors said that he could possibly regain full memory or even part of his memory. However, there were no guarantees. This was a situation that they were going to have to take one day at a time. They also warned him that if he focused too much on remembering his past, that it could cause more harm.

"Lekin mera naam? Aap logon ko mera naam kaise paata hai?" Maan asked.

"Tumhare haath mein ek bracelet tha jispe tumhara naam likha tha. Nurse, zaara woh bracelet lekar aana," Dr. Singh asked. "Aab tum aram karo, main thodi dehr mein aaunga check up karne."

And so began the first day of many where Maan woke up knowing nothing more about himself other than his name. He hoped that the bracelet would jog his memory but it did nothing. Day turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. He was receiving physical therapy at the hospital and was nearly fully recovered from the atrophy his muscles experienced when he was lying in bed due to the coma.

Through out his two month stay at the hospital he had come to know and respect Dr. Singh more than anyone else. Dr. Singh, one of the top neurologist/neurosurgeon of the country, was at the hospital consulting on a new neurological research lab that was being set up. He must have told his wife about Maan because it was only a few days after he woke up that Mrs. Singh, an OB/GYN by profession, had started bringing him home cooked meals and stopped by to visit him every now and then.

Since both Mr. & Mrs. Singh were working at the hospital, often times Maan found himself interacting with their two children, Lucky and Anne. Lucky was a boy of fifteen who had really become attached to Maan. Any help Lucky needed, be it with homework or life in general, he came and talked to Maan. They had a brother bond which is why Lucky addressed Maan as Veerji. Even Anne, twelve at that time, called Maan Veerji. She wasn't as close to Maan like Lucky was, but Maan found her extremely adorable and fierce. It got to the point where both Lucky and Anne would come straight to the hospital after school, hang out with Maan until their parents finished their shift and went home after. Inadvertently, through this mess Maan had found himself a family. He had began calling Mr. & Mrs. Singh, uncle and aunty, Lucky garnered the nickname of Lakku and Anne was simply knows as Sweetie.

It broke Maan's heart the day he found out that he was going to be discharged from the hospital. For one thing, he didn't know where go to. Secondly, it was the same day he found out that the neurological research lab was complete so the Singh's would be returning to Mumbai, their home, within the week.

"Nahin!" Lucky said, "Main Veerji ko chodkar nahin jaunga!"

"Magar beta, hume Mumbai vapsa jaana hoga," Mr. Singh argued.

"Aap log jaao, main yahaan rahunga…Veerji ke saath!"

"Lakku," Maan said, "zidd maat karo. Tum mere saath kaise rahoge. Mera khud ka koi ghar ya thikana nahin hai, main tumhe kaise sambhalunga?"

"Lekin mujhe vapas nahin jaana. Ghaar pe sirf Anne hogi. Eeks…nahin, main Anne ke saath nahin rehsakta!" Lucky said.

"Hey, meri Sweetie mein kya kharabi hai. World ki saabse pyaari ladki hai meri Sweetie," Maan said as he patted Anne on the head.

"Thank you Veerji!" Anne said as she stuck her tongue out at Lucky.

"Suniyeh ji," Mrs. Singh called. "Main sooch rahi thi ke Maan humara parivaar ka ek hissa bangaya hai. Aur uppar se woh kahaan jayega? Kyun naa hum usse aapne saat Mumbai lekar chale?"

Maan was shocked at the suggestion. He was just about to decline the offer when Mr. Singh spoke up.

"Excellent idea!" he said.

"Yay!" Lucky and Anne yelled simultaneously.

"Lekin uncle main kaise…" Maan began to argue.

"Nahin, mujhe koi bahana nahin chahiyeh Maan. Tum saach mein iss praivaar ka hissa ho, humara bada beta jaisa. Tumhe hum akele chodke nahin jaa sakte," Mr. Singh said.

"Lekin uncle kyun? Naa mujeh aapne bare mein kuch paata hai, naa aapne parivaar ke bare mein kuch paata hai. Yahaan tak, mujhe aapna pura naam bhi nahin paata," Maan said.

"Aaj se tum Maan Singh kehlaoge aur hum tumhara parivaar hai," Mrs. Singh said.

"Lekin…" Maan began to say.

"Kya Veerji, baar baar aap inkar kyun kaar rahe ho?" Lucky asked.

"Kya hum aapko pasand nahin?" Anne asked.

"Aaisi koi baath toh nahin hai…" Maan began.

"Phir?" Anne asked.

Maan was tongue tied. What was he supposed to say? He didn't have anywhere to go, he didn't have anyone to call his family or anything like that.

"Baas, tay hogaya hai. Maan humare saat Mumbai chalega," Mr. Singh announced.

"Thank you. Thank you so much sir," Maan said as he held his hand together in front of Mr. Singh.

"Ek aur baath," Mrs. Singh began, "tum iss ghaar ka bada beta ho issi liyeh aajse no more Uncle, Aunty or Sir. Aajse tum hume Maa aur Papa bulaoge. Tik hai?"

Maan was numb with all the emotions going through him. All he could do was shake his head in agreement as the children danced around the room in their excitement. Mr. & Mrs. Singh left the room to go finalize his discharge plans and to hand over their patient loads other doctors.

The next day, Maan was discharged from the hospital. He went home to Mumbai with the Singh's and began a whole new life there. At the insistence of his new found parents, he had joined one of the top colleges in town where he placed first in anything and everything he did. By the time he graduated with his MBA four years later, he was already running the Singh family business. It was a business left to Mr. Singh by his father who had been a very big business tycoon. Until Maan came into the picture, it was run by a board of trustees since Mr. Singh was a doctor and not a businessman. He was only too happy to have the newest member of the family run the family business, which Maan did perfectly. In a short time he was able to take the business to new heights.

Seeing the success and respect that Maan was receiving, Lucky too followed in his big brothers foot steps and joined business school while he was working side by side with Maan at their offices. Singh Industries was a force to be reckoned with.