Paarijat- A Tale of Desideratum Final & Epilogue 88, Feb 13, 2016 - Page 47

me too waiting nisha 😃

Paarijat- A tale Of Desideratum

Fifth Shot

The Kiss

Lips' language to lips' ears.

Two drinking each other's heart, it seems.

Two roving loves who have left home,

pilgrims to the confluence of lips.

Two waves rise by the law of love

to break and die on two sets of lips.

Two wild desires craving each other

meet at last at the body's limits.

Love's writing a song in dainty letters,

layers of kiss-calligraphy on lips.

Plucking flowers from two sets of lips

perhaps to thread them into a chain later.

This sweet union of lips

is the red marriage-bed of a pair of smiles.

-Rabindranath Tagore-

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Maan pushed open the door to his room with his foot, walked inside with his precious bundle and then set her gently on the floor before him. He did not know how long they had been lying underneath the Paarijat tree in each other's arms, the stormy weather forming a cocoon around them. He had eventually gotten aware of the slight shivers that were racing down Geet's back, so he had picked her up and brought her back here to his room.

She had not been inside this room in five long years, since the day she had run out after reading his diary. It had been right here that she'd believed that she had lost him forever. She kept her eyes shut tightly, nervously expecting the memory from that last time to take over if she opened them.

"Trust me Geet and open your eyes." He understood her so well.

She took a deep breath and open them slowly, only to stand stock still, her feet rooted to the ground, as her gaze darted all over the room in complete shock.

"When?...How?" She breathed in amazement.

She walked over in a trance to the big beautiful desk occupying the corner of the room. She had seen it in some furniture store about a month ago when she had gone shopping with Shefali. She had absently mentioned that it was just the kind that Maan would absolutely love. Placed before the desk was an intricately carved wooden chair that she had last seen in her own room. The expensive Tiffany lamp on the desk was the one she had admired for years and told Maan she was going to buy it when she started earning on her own. The huge teak bed in the room was the one she had seen Shefali buy at her suggestion, the bright floral bedding almost a replica of the one onher bed. The walls were a pale eggshell, a neutral color that Maan loved, whereas the curtains were a soft cream with splashes of bright red that she had chosen for her room. She slowly walked over the room, skimming her fingers lovingly over every flawlessly executed detail.

It was a perfect blend of his and her tastes.

All the conversations she'd had with Shefali over the past three months had been manifested into a reality in the room.

As she walked towards the bed she saw something was placed in the center. It was the saree Maan had gifted her. He had thrown it on her when he had carried her down the stairs; however it had probably fallen off her when she had run out of the house. She reached out and stroked it lovingly. A piece of paper that had been hidden under the folds fell out at her caress. She recognized Shefali's handwriting and picked it up.

Di right now you are with Maan na. I have wanted to apologize a million times in the past five years for my role in keeping you apart. This room is my apology to both of you. I do not understand everything that has gone on between you two, but all I know is that you are so right together. You are branded on his soul. He understands every little thing about you...Your likes, dislikes, your dreams, your desires, your aspirations just about everything Di. But then you are no different from him. I know he is the only sun under which you bloom so very beautifully. I came to understand the depths of your feelings for each other as I put this room together, while listening to both of you stating each other's preferences so perfectly.

So let go off the past Di. Now that you have finally found each other, please be happy together. You both deserve it.

You are my sister, the sister of my soul and my heart. You are the oldest Handa daughter loved and adored by your parents and hero worshipped by your younger sister. We love you Di, you belong with the Handas.

"Oh one last thing. Found the saree lying on the living room floor. This is the same saree isn't it? Maan's gift for you wasn't it? You should have hit me over the head Di when I asked to wear it. Oh well let all the bygones be bygones and let's look forward to the wonderful times ahead."

Geet hugged the note to herself and blinked the tears away. A sigh of deep satisfaction escaped her and a smile lit her face. Her sister had done all of this for her and Maan. Why had it been so confusing for so long. She had a family that loved her and whom she loved just as fervently. She folded the note neatly and just as she was about to put it away she saw something scrawled on the back.

P.S. Wear this and seduce him Di. As it is I don't think that desperate man will need much convincing at all. In fact, I think it is you who is going to find yourself in big trouble.

Maan looked on as she read the note. It was probably from Shef he guessed. He watched in fascination at the rapidly changing expressions on her face. Just as she was about to put the note away, she gasped and a hectic flush covered her cheeks. She looked up at him and her blush intensified to a fiery red.

He quirked at a brow at her in inquiry, but she shook her head negatively and quickly pushed her hands behind her, along with the letter.

He approached her slowly and she stepped back nervously. His voice had a gruff edge as he spoke out.

"Last night before coming to Shef's room I came up here. I entered and there you were. Along with the fragrance of the blooming Paarijats, mixed in with the paint smell, my room was completely covered in your essence and your presence was in every nook and cranny of this room. It soothed me, seeing all your things blended with mine. It felt right...perfect and yet it rankled that even with your presence everywhere, you were not there in this room with me where you belonged. Finally you are here, yet I am still not satisfied. I could not bear it when there were thousands of miles between us, yet this distance of two feet between us is far worse Geet. But you know what Geet, these final few steps, you will have to take them towards me."

He reached behind her and grasped her hands, waiting patiently for her to relinquish the note, but not forcing it in any way. It was her decision, but he did not want any more secrets between them. She was enfolded in his arms and her wet cork screw curls were springing all over her face in defiance of their usually tightly pleated discipline. He desperately wanted to feel the texture of those locks, but not unless she wanted it.

He felt her hesitate for a moment and sighed. She was dripping wet and would probably catch a cold if she did not change immediately. He relinquished the note and stepped back.

"Geet I am assuming the note and saree were left here by Shef. Since you have a change of clothes why don't you go change into the saree and we can continue this conversation after that."

She gasped and looked up at him with huge eyes and the blush on her cheeks that had only just begun to fade was back with a vengeance.

"Geet just what has Shef..."

Before he could say anything further Geet thrust the note at him, picked up the saree and the other clothes Shefali had left with it, raced into the bathroom and slammed it shut.

Her heart was beating a crazy tattoo and she pressed her hand against it in an effort to calm it down. She cocked her head to hear, but there was absolutely no sound from the other side of the door. She moved closer to door and pressed her ear against it and jumped back violently when she heard a very husky, "Geet."

He was standing very close to the door.

"Geet." he called out again.

"I always thought Shef was an immature brat, but perhaps she is catching up to her age after all. Are you going to follow her advice?"

Geet started discarding her wet clothes.

"Shef is right you know, about me being desperate that is. Every night Geet, every goddamned night for these past five years, I couldn't wait to close my eyes coz there you refused to stay outside the mental barriers I set up against you during the day. And what dreams they were Geet, the more I barred you in the day the more uninhibited you were in my dreams. You drove me wild all through the night. Your smell, your taste I have imagined it a million times. I can't bear this distance between us anymore. The slope of your shoulder, the nape of your neck, the curve of your waist and the dimples behind your knees. In my imagination my lips have glided over them over and over again, yet I am so hungry Geet. I have craved nothing in my life as badly as I crave you in this moment."

She trembled violently as his words hit her bare skin. The mundane process of pulling on clothes turned into a sensuous torture as his voice rasped over every part of her. She somehow managed to tuck in the final pleat of her saree and covered her face with trembling fingers, overwhelmed with the currents racing across her whole being. She finger combed her wet curls and gathered them into a loose ponytail at the back as her nerveless fingers refused to cooperate with anything more complicated. She had always hated her hair. It was too wild and completely unmanageable.

"Geet say something before I go completely stark raving mad waiting here endlessly."

She struggled with finding the right words and he mistook her silence for rejection.

"Alright then I am leaving. You can take your own time."

"No Maan wait... I don't want you to..." She fumbled with the door latch and hastily stepped outside. She trailed off as she saw him standing still right outside the door. He had discarded his shirt and a black vest was molded to his sculpted chest and shoulders. He took her in with a glance and then sagged against the wall, a languorous smile curving his lips.

"You tempt me to cross all boundaries. I am holding on to my control by the skin of my teeth. Someday this dam of patience is going to break and at that time nobody, neither God, nor parents, nor siblings...nor you yourself... absolutely no one, will be able to stop me from making you mine."

Her eyes widened to their fullest extent as he recited the exact words from the diary he had written down.

He straightened up slowly but did not make any attempt to cover the distance between them.

"Today is that day Geet, but only if you want it to be so. I have waited an eternity for you and I can wait even longer if that is what you want. We have always belonged to each other, bound by a love that is not obligated to any norms of the society."
If you want me to stop I will, right this moment, however, what we feel Geet is beyond what is right and what is wrong and the good and the bad. Customs and traditions can neither define nor confine what we feel within their norms. You are not just the person who is going to be my wife, you are the person that breathes life into my soul."

He devoured her with his eyes even as he spoke words that she was unsure he was expressing, were to reassure himself or her. She needed absolutely no convincing at all. She had never been so sure of anything in her life as she was of the here and the now with him. Any place that he was in and anytime she was with him it was the right place and the right time. They had already lost so many precious years together. She needed to surrender herself in his keeping, just as she needed to claim him for herself.

She walked the final few steps until she was standing toe to toe with him and put her hand on his cheek.

Maan sucked in a breath and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Are you sure Geet? There is no going back from this point." He forced out the words even as his mind and body protested, agonizing over her reply.

The joyful storm that was raging inside her made speech impossible so she did the only thing she could do to convince him of her complete faith and trust in him. She went straight into his arms and quietly rested her head on his chest. She closed her eyes in bliss at the rightness of the moment. She had to give him the words she understood. She had to tell him clearly that this moment was as much her decision as it was his. She drew in a deep breath and even if she did not have the courage to yet to look him in the eyes and say the words she spoke them softly and clearly from the safe haven of his arms.

"There is nothing... absolutely nothing in this world for which I would walk away from you at anytime. I am yours Maan in every way that a man and woman can belong to each other. Make me yours Maan."

"Thank God Geet. I was not sure how I was going to let you go if you wanted to go back today." He pulled her into him arms tightly and then lifted her high of the ground.

She stood in his arms looking down at his joyful face and before she could control it a tear drop fell from her eye onto his cheek and trailed down. She lifted her hand to wipe it away, but he stopped her.

"Oh Paarijat, you are my joy and my agony. I am nothing but an extension of your laughter and your tears. If you laugh, I laugh...If you cry, I cry." He lips followed the tear, kissing away the moisture causing her cheeks to flush hectically yet once again. He let her slide down his body in an agonizingly slow motion, hard planes rubbing against soft curves making them both moan simultaneously.

"Geet you remember the thing I said last night? About not having tasted a new dish in all these years? Although, perhaps the fates pitied me and yesterday when I broke my five year long fast, they let me taste the most delicious dish of my life. However it left me burning with hunger, as I barely got to taste what I have craved for almost my entire adult life." He rubbed his thumb slowly against her bottom lip, till it trembled and parted just like it had parted for his mouth the night before.
"I am desperate for another taste Geet, but it has always been you who brought me new dishes to taste. Won't you feed me what I am craving so desperately Paarijat. "
"Put us out of our misery. Kiss me Geet, kiss me."

She wanted to. She craved to touch him so very desperately, she could almost taste it, but life-long habits were not so easily discarded. The intensity of her craving automatically made her clench her fingers tightly by her side.

He noticed the fisted hands that she was rigidly holding at her side, lifted them and placed them on his vested chest.

"Uh uh. Not today Geet. Today you are not hiding anything behind those clenched fingers. I want to know everything you feel. I want to hear it. I want to feel it deep inside me. Every moan, every scream, every sigh, every whisper, I want to feel all of it. Today all the barriers come down. All that passion that you keep deep in your core give it to me Paarijat"

A wicked smile slashed his lips and he tugged her hard. She landed tight against his chest and her hand automatically clutched the bands of his vest for support. Her breath caught in her throat at the blazing beauty of that smile and her nails unconsciously dug into the firm muscles of his chest.

His mouth was a hair's breadth away, his hot breath fanning her cheeks and singeing her lips. He was so close, she parted her lips unconsciously waiting with bated breath to feel that perfectly curved masculine mouth on her trembling one.

Instead he bent his head and trailed his nose down the side of her neck barely nuzzling her.

"Maan" she moaned out his name in frustrated agony as the sense of urgency inside her climbed a little higher, her nails clawing yet again at the chest beneath her palms. He hissed at the burning pleasure those nails delivered to his inflamed senses. Then reached up and slowly unclenched the fingers from around his vest, tightly interlacing his fingers with hers.

"Look Geet. Look how perfectly our hands blend together. I never knew hands could kiss Geet, until now, seeing mine cling to yours just as warmly and desperately as two pairs of lips. Imagine Geet how much more perfection there would be if you let your lips claim mine."

She felt she was poised on the edge of a precipice. She just had to take his hand, lean forward and jump off and she'd soar to the skies forever.

Part 6 and Epilogue