A biiig thank u for all the lovely comments...😊 it really helps to know that my work is appreciated...😳
Ok...so here's chapter one...hope you like it... oh and btw... maan and geet were just friends before they moved apart. Whether or not they harboured any feelings for eachother is for me to know and you to figure out😉...so here's chapter one! hope you like it!!!
Chapter 1
Geet hung up the picture of her mother above her bed and lay spread eagled looking up at it. She couldn't remember much about her mother. She had darted about here and there unwrapping boxes taking off dust-sheets from furniture and rearranging it, putting up posters and pictures, flower vases and show-pieces.
Geet's mother had died of cancer when Geet was little more than five years old. Her father had brought her up since then.It was hard on him,she knew,doing everything alone.Of course Maan's parents had always been there to help.'Maan',she wished that he had understood why she had to leave,she wished he hadn't shut her out,she wished...oh! she wished'
With a frustrated sigh, she got up. Wishful thinking never got one anywhere. It was time for action.
"If that IDIOT thinks he can ignore me now that I'm here, he's in for a BIG shock," she muttered to herself, picking up her purse and cell-phone from the bed-side table where she had dropped them.
Then she looked out the window.
"Eh? When did it get dark?"
Looking at the clock she realized it was already 9:30 at night. Setting things in order had taken longer than she had expected.
"Ok.😔Maybe tomorrow."
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Geet hurried out of the taxi and paid the fare. She turned and broke into a sprint, not even bothering to wait for the change. She was SO late! WHY did they have to assign so many patients on her very first day of work? She had thought she would take off from work early. After all, how much work could they possibly give her on the first day? But as her WONDERFUL luck would have it, it was seven when she could finally get out of that stinking rehab,where she had joined as a psychologist.
It was eight now as she walked up the lane to Khurana Manor. Not bothering to look around her,she rushed in through the gates, making a beeline for the house.she was halfway up the drive before she noticed that something was amiss.
"Why are all the lights switched off?" she wondered, slowing her pace. "Even the servants quarters seem so desolate' Where is everyone? They can't have gone out for dinner or something,cause the servants would still-"
A menacing growl from behind her broke through her contemplations. She turned around slowly on the spot. What she saw made her throat go dry and her palms sweat. Standing about 20 yards away, with its hackles standing on end and drool dripping from its sharp canines onto the ground was a HUMONGOUS Alsatian.
"He he he " Geet laughed nervously, trying to soothe the beast. " N-n-n-nice doggy, sw-sweet d-d-d-doggy. D-do you want a b-b-bone?"
A ferocious bark answered her question as the dog leaped into action, running towards her.
"AAAHHH!! I GUESS NOT!"
She ran faster than she had ever run, probably faster than an Olympic runner,a part of her mind mused.Even so, it was gaining on her. Vicious barks made her almost jump out of her skin, even while running.
"Pleeeaaassseee stop chasing meee!" she wailed.
Then she saw something that filled her with hope and relief. A tree with low-hanging branches. She scrambled up the tree, clumsy with panic. Just when she reached a high enough branch'SNAP! It gave way under her foot. Somehow, she managed to latch on to a lower branch with her arms and hung on for dear life. The dog tried to jump up and catch her feet, snapping and growling. She swung them out of the way each time.
If it were not so deadly dangerous, it would have been screamingly funny. She reminded herself of Tom from 'Tom and Jerry' with Spike the bulldog trying to snap off her tail. Highly-strung as she was, the thought brought on a bout of hysterical laughter. But when "Spike" caught one of her shoe-laces which had come undone from their knot, it suddenly wasn't so funny anymore.
"Help!" she screamed "someone help meee! Anyone? PLEAASEEE!!"
"OEE!" a gruff, hoarse voice answered her after what seemed like an eternity of screaming, " what the hell are you doing on this property?"
Looking down, she saw a guard standing at the base of the tree. He STILL had not called off the dog! UNBELIEVABLE!
"Look mister! I can answer all your questions as soon as you get that dog AWAY FROM ME!" she replied with as much authority as she could master while hanging from a tree. Her arms were burning in protest by now.
"Mujhe kya gadhe samaj rakhe hai? Pehele bol! Kaun hai tu?"
"Dekhie bhaiya-"Geet began indignantly, but caught herself. There was no time to argue. "I'm a friend of Maan Singh KHurana. He lives here."
"heh! Jhoot mat bol ladki. Everyone knows that the Khuranas don't live here anymore."
"wh-what do you-" she started to ask but was stopped by the dog taking another snap at her leg." Look Mr. If you don't control that animal RIGHT NOW, I will report you to the police for harassment!"
He looked a bit doubtful for a moment then sighed and complied.
"Fluffy!" he commanded, "heel!"
The name surprised Geet so much that her grip finally slipped and she fell to the ground with a crash.
FLUFFY? WHO had named that-that thing FLUFFY?!
It wasn't a hard fall as the dried leaves made a blanket at the bottom. She got up and dusted herself, wincing as she realized she had hurt her right wrist.
"Now," said the guard, one hand on Fluffy's collar, "tell me. Who are you?"
"My name is Geet Handa," said Geet with composure, as though she had not just been chased up a tree by a vicious Alsatian named Fluffy. "I'm a friend of Mr. Khurana."
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" the guard barked " do you have id proof?"
"Yes actually I do" Geet shrugged off her backpack, silently thankingGod that she had not used her side bag today. She fished out her id card for the rehab centre.
The guard squinted at it carefully. In the next instant, his whole demeanour changed.
"Sorry madam ji, he said, smiling apologetically, "who kya hai aaj kal ke zamaane
mein-"
"haan haan. Who sab chorie," geet cut across him before he could finish, "what did you mean when you said the Khuranas don't live here?"
"I don't know the details madam ji. I'm new at my job. But I do know that Maan sir doesn't live here anymore. He moved out soon after the tragedy. This house is now vacant. No one lives here."
"B-but then'where does he live?" she asked him, not quite able to hide the frantic edge in her voice.
"I don't know madam ji" the guard answered uncomfortably as her face crumpled. It was obvious he was not good when it came to talking to emotional females. He shifted from one foot to the other, looking at the ground.
Just as Geet was about to turn away, his face lit up. "Haan!" he exclaimed. "Mujhe nahi pata ki who kahan hai lekin shayad aapko unki dadi bata sakti hai. I get my salary from her you see."
She felt as if the weight of the blow she had just been dealt become ten times lighter. OF COURSE Dadima would know. She MUST know! She HAD to!
"Can you give me her address?" she asked in an eager rush.
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Geet sighed in contentment as Dadima hugged her. It had been much too long since they had last met' more than two years. They settled down cosily on the couch, ready for a long chat.
They talked about Geet's job, how Dadima was coping with work at Khurana Construction.Geet couldn't hold back her question any longer. She was burning to know. So she asked in a roundabout way.
"Dadima, why do you have to cope with all the work at KC alone? Doesn't Maan help you?"
Savitri Devi's dace saddened at the mention of her grandson. For the first time that evening, Geet fully appreciated how much older Dadima looked since she had seen her last.
"Maan" she sighed "I don't know what he does these days. Ever since his parents - "
Her voice faltered. She cleared her throat and continued,"well since then, he's gone into a shell. It seems as though no one can reach him now."
Her lip trembled. Tears trickled down her cheeks.
Geet pulled her into a hug. She couldn't say "It'll be ok". The words would have no meaning. She was a world-class psychologist yet now she was at a total loss for anything to say.
Dadima, however seemed to find comfort in the empathy-filled silence. Eventually she pulled away from the hug and wiped her eyes. Then she looked down at ther sari which was covered with dirt now from hugging Geet.
"Geet, how did your clothes get so dirty beta? I didn't notice before ,I was just too happy to see you."
"It's a long story Dadima," she replied "sorry about your sari.
Not really wanting to tell dadima about the whole fluffy episode, she quickly changed the subject.
"Anyway,you were saying something about Maan?"
"Maan hardly ever comes home," dadima complained, diving right back into topic as she let her pent up worries out at last. " I have no idea WHAT he does all the time."
"Wait" Geet gasped "do you mean that he lives-"
"Dadima?" a deep voice called from the hall. "I'm back."
Geet sat like a statue as the man she had been searching for all evening'the man she had longed to see for the last two years came into the room.
Maan Singh Khurana stood before her at last.
whew! well there you have it!! chapter one...all done...comments and likes are as appreciated as a sight of Maan after two years😊...
precap: maneet moments
Edited by fourleafclover - 14 years ago
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