Hey everyone,
I've been writing for years now and have written some short stories... I've been following Geet for so long and this idea just came to my mind and so I wrote this one-shot. Thought of sharing with you all. Hope you like it. And because my Hindi skills are somewhat limited, I've written it mostly in English.. -Mahi
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Maaneet One-Shot: Zindagi Dhoop Tum Ghanna Saaya
"Help!! Please someone save me! Please Veerji.. please don't' Someone help!!" Maan Singh Khurana woke up from a horrible nightmare. Geet's distressed voice was still echoing in his mind, her helpless face smeared with pain was flashing in front of his eyes. He sat up panting. It was only a nightmare for him, he didn't remember anything like that ever happening to Geet, but then again, he didn't remember anything' Not even Geet. Yet the nightmare made him feel horrible, as if something shook inside him. He couldn't quite place the feeling, but he was scared. He was scared ever having to see Geet like that. He was scared ever having to see so much pain on her face. He wouldn't admit it, not even to himself, but he was scared.
Slowly, he put his feet on the ground and a shiver ran through his entire body. It was a nightmare' that's it. Nothing more' it can't be. Maan kept saying the same thing over and over to himself, to assure himself that whatever he saw' whatever he dreamed about was not ever going to come true. He grabbed the bottle on the side table to get himself some water, but it was empty. Mildly cursing the servants for never doing their jobs well, Maan grabbed the bottle and headed towards the kitchen in his typical angry young man mode. It was only a nightmare. He was about to enter the kitchen when he saw Geet working there. Wearing a maroon shalwar kamiz, her hair in a braid lying on her right shoulder as usual, and her dupatta neatly kept around her neck, Geet looked like an angel, the most beautiful, the most perfect fairy. She was cutting some vegetables as well as doing a million other things at the same time from making coffee to making pancakes, pasta, and omelets. Maan couldn't keep his eyes off of her. For that moment, he completely forgot about the nightmare. He forgot what he was there for, or what anyone else was doing, for that matter, for a moment he even forgot himself. He kept glancing at Geet, and there was a slight hint of a smile on his face.
"I tell you, Babaji, whenever we have to work, everyone disappears. Here we have to prepare the breakfast and I have no idea where Nakul, Hari, and anyone is. Kaam chor hain sab ke sab." Right then a few strands of hair landed right on Geet's nose, and she was frustrated. In a careless way, she turned her head quickly to get the hair off her face. "Babaji, aap bhi? Here I'm trying to make a good breakfast for everyone, no one is helping, and you too are trying to make it harder for me." A complete smile broke on Maan's face. He couldn't help admiring her, even in her frustrated moods, she looked so angelic, so purely innocent, so cute. In that moment, he knew one thing; he could never ever see that face in pain. He could never see tears in those beautiful eyes that deserved to always keep smiling.
Arrey aankh se boondh gira koi, chingari ka tukda jala koi
Umeed ko aag laga zara, sehra ki pyaas buja zara
Umeed ko aag laga zara, sehra ki pyaas buja zara
Gan itna baras ke galne lagun main paani ke upar tarne lagun
Behene de mujhe behene de mujhe behene de mujhe behene de
Ohooo.. behene de mujhe behene de mujhe behene de mujhe behene de
Behenede ghangor ghata, behene de paani ki tara
Sagar mein ja girna hai, behene de nadiyan ki tara
All of a sudden, Geet screamed bringing Maan out of his trance. "OUCH!" She had cut her finger, which was now bleeding. Not only Maan came out of his trance, but the nightmare, Geet's painful screams, and scared-to-death face came back to him. He ran towards Geet and grabbed her hand. He quickly picked up a glass of water from the shelf and slowly dropped some water on her finger and started cleaning it with a napkin.
Dil ko mere hua yakeen hum pehle bhi mile kahin
Silsila yeh saidyon ka koi aaj ki baat nahin
"Geet! Geet, nothing will happen to you. I will never let anything happen to you. I will'" He was very restless. Geet was surprised to see him like that. She had rarely ever seen him in so much discomfort and so jumpy.
"Maan' Maan' relax. I'm fine. It's a small cut. There isn't even much bleeding' see?" Geet slowly brought her finger up to show him. It was a regular kitchen cut, nothing big.
Maan relaxed, let go of her hand slowly, and stepped back. There was still a frown on his face. He couldn't understand what was happening to him. Never before had a nightmare affected him so badly. Never before was he so frustrated and so' helpless. "Maan, are you ok? Is anything wrong?" Geet asked sensing his discomfort.
"Ah.. no.. I' I'm fine. I just need some water," Maan said showing her the empty bottle. Geet took it from him.
"Maan, please go to your room, and I'll fill up the bottle and bring it to you," Geet said knowing he needed to relax.
"No, no, it's ok, Geet, I'll take it myself," Maan said trying to sound as calm and reasonable as he possibly could fake.
"Maan, it really is alright. Please go ahead. I'll bring it." Knowing he won't now get his way, he quietly retraced his steps back to his room.
"What happened to Maan? Babaji, everything ok na?" Geet continued her chat with Babaji while filling up the bottle.
Maan was pacing back and forth in his room as restless as ever, and even more frustrated because he couldn't understand why he was so restless. Geet knocked on the door, and Maan turned around to look at her. She smiled and placed the bottle on the side table. Turning around, she looked in his eyes and said, "Maan, is everything alright? I have never seen you so restless' Is something bothering you?" Maan looked in her eyes. They were so beautiful, as if an entirely different world was hidden behind them. He couldn't comprehend in that moment how he never saw the depth in those eyes all this time. How he kept denying there was something so special and strong that tied them together. Even now he couldn't really name what it was, but he knew for sure that there was something' something that held them together, something that just never let them stay away from each other. "Maan' MAAN! Are you alright?" Maan actually smiled inside at how Geet always came to know what he was going through without him even saying a word. But he didn't feel like he should say anything to her at the moment. After all, it was only a nightmare. Or was it?
"Yeah' umm' I'm fine, Geet. Just had a little trouble sleeping. But I'm fine," Maan finally found the right words to lie. It was always impossible for him to lie convincingly especially because he hated lying. Geet kept looking in his eyes as if indicating that she knew he was lying. Maan couldn't convincingly look into her eyes so he turned around pretending to look at the files on his desk.
"Maan, if there's something that's bothering you, you can tell me. But I can't and won't force you. Breakfast is ready, please freshen up and come downstairs," Geet said turning around to leave. Maan kept thinking about what he should do. Should he ask Geet? Should he not ask Geet? Should he forget it? He knew he had a choice about the first two, but not the last one. He won't ever be able to forget it. Geet was almost exiting through the door when he turned around and called her name, "Geet!"
Geet turned around looking at him. She slight bent her head towards right to indicate that she's listening. "Ah.. I have to' I don't know why I'm even thinking about it, but I have to ask you something." Geet took a few steps to get closer to him. He looked towards her and said, "I had a terrible dream. I' ah'" He didn't know how to mention what he saw. It was so unlike Maan to behave this way, to get so frazzled up over a stupid dream. But he knew it was related to Geet, and in order to completely let it go, he had to ask her. "I had a dream, Geet, and you were screaming." Maan turned around unable to look at her. He kept going on and on in his distress. "You were screaming and asking for help. You kept saying Veerji, please don't. Help! I don't know Geet, I know it was just a dream, but I don't know why it left me so restless' so distressed." Maan sighed and turned around.
Those were painful memories for Geet, and she had gotten over them only because of Maan and his love. Now the pain was nothing as compared to the happiness she felt within her. Maan had finally remembered something from the past he shared with her. If only a small part of it, if only that one moment, if only as a dream, but a moment they had shared together flashed back in his mind. Geet was extremely happy, and tears automatically came in her eyes. Maan looked at her even more puzzled. Until now he was sure that it was only a nightmare. Now he wasn't so sure. He looked at Geet with confused, questioning eyes.
Geet smiled and said, "What you saw was not only a dream, Maan. It was a moment of our past. A past that you shared with me, but have no recollection of."
"You are saying that actually happened? It was not only a nightmare? But'" Maan was frowning. He had remembered one thing, just one thing related to Geet, and this was it? He mind was spinning. So this is true. Geet has gone through so much! But what? Why? How?
Geet read the questions on his face, and without him needing to gather the right words to ask her what happened, Geet started narrating their story since Day 1, since the magical morning they first met, when neither of them had any idea of how important they will become for each other one day and forever.
How Maan saved her from drowning'
The beginning of clashes...
How their fight started and continued...
How he wanted her to sign the papers, which she won't.
Some more arguments...
The trip to Amritsar'
How he saved her once again from her very own brother'
How he took care of her'
She was lost in her own story, in the past she shared with Maan. She was so lost in narrating the story that she wasn't even looking at Maan anymore, and Maan was completely lost in the memories he had no recollection of. Everything seemed like a story only, but a story that was so familiar, like the story you had been hearing for so many years that it almost became a part of your life.
"A bond was made between us right then, Maan. And sometimes when I think about it, I think we were connected even before that. Babaji had destined for us to be together, which is why even after so much happened, even when we were going apart, we were always together. We are always together." Geet turned around and saw a completely mesmerized Maan staring at her. He saw a teardrop almost leaving the corner of his eyes. He blinked, and there was the teardrop' on his right cheek. Maan was completely unaware of the fact that Geet had stopped talking; furthermore, he was totally oblivious to even the fact that he had tears in his eyes. He was still lost in each and every word Geet had said.
"Maan' Maan!" Maan looked into her eyes. "Maan'" Geet smiled and stepped forward to wipe the tear off his cheek. At that point Geet didn't know if Maan remembered anything, but she did know he felt each and everything moment yet again. She smiled and started bringing her hand back when Maan grabbed it and pulled her in his arms. It was the first time since Maan's accident and partial amnesia that he had made such a gesture. It was the first time he had pulled Geet in his arms with so much longing, yearning, and love. Geet lost herself in his arms. She longed to hug him and never let go. With tears in his eyes and Geet in his arms, Maan promised himself to never let her get hurt. He promised himself that he will never let anything, anyone hurt her ever again. He will make sure that her entire life is full of laughs and smiles and so many of them.
Being in Maan's arms after so many days which seemed like years to her, Geet felt a serene sensation. She felt protected in his arms. She felt loved' She had always been very sure of the fact that Babaji will one day make everything right. That her Babaji will make sure that her Maan is always with her, that Geet and Maan would never be separated. But in this moment, in Maan's arms, Geet had never been surer that Maan and Geet are made for each other. That Maan and Geet are meant for each other. And regardless of whether or not Maan recovers his memories of Geet, they will always be together. Always.
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