Part 24
‘Geet’
She hears her name
She starts to step into the cold rain towards the voice but is surprised to find herself not being strangulated by the icy drops
She looks up to find Maan holding an umbrella over her head, protecting her from the harsh rain drops
A smile of assurance and relief appears on her lips looking at him
Her cold hand feels the warmth of his hand as he softly holds her hand to guide her towards the car
She did not expect he would come
She did not expect he would come and rescue her like a real husband would do for his real wife
+++++++
Geet was visibly shaken, hence silent during the whole journey while Maan was also silently driving
Maan stops the car as they reach home
The whole area is engulfed in darkness due to power outage
Maan turns on the flashlight of the phone to help Geet climb the stairs
Geet is relieved to finally be back home
Maan gets her a towel to dry herself up
M- Tum nahaalo, baarish ke paani se thand lag jaati hai
He says as he goes to the kitchen and puts a cauldron of water to heat so that Geet could take a shower
Geet looks at him while drying her hair with the towel
She walks towards her cupboard to fetch her dry clothes and goes to step into the bathroom
M- Ruko! Paani garam ho raha hai. Garam paani se nahao
She didn’t realize he was heating the water for her
G- emm….nahi…theek hai
M- Thande paani se nahaayogi toh thand lag jaayegi
Maan fetches a bucket from the bathroom and pours hot water onto it and then lifts the bucket of water into the bathroom for her
She follows his words and goes into the bathroom
+++++
Maan changes his clothes while Geet takes a shower
Jab tak Geet nahaake bahar aati hai she finds that Maan has prepared hot tea for her
As she gets out of shower, she almost collides with Maan
G-Oh!
M-Oh!
Both of them retrieve back
M- Chai?
He puts the tray with the tea and some snacks on her bed where she usually sits
Geet comes and sits on the bed looking around and the ongoing rain outside
Maan sits at his usual place, foot of her bed
She looks
‘Upar baith jao’
Maan hears her say
He is little taken aback hearing it
But pulls himself up
Geet moves a little to make space for him to sit
She is sitting hugging her knees, warming her cold hands on the teacup
She could see Maan’s profile in the darkness
G- Thanks
She utters quietly but her voice had sincerity
Maan doesn’t say anything just looks down
They are sipping the tea in silence but still there is a presence of an unspoken assurance
Geet realizes Maan has his gaze on her
G- Kya dekh rahe ho?
She asks softly
M- Tum theek ho yaa nahi
He also answers with softness in his deep voice
G- Main bohot…darr gai thi
She looks down and confesses
G- Darna nahi chahiye tha
M- Kyun? Darr sabhi ko lagta hai
G- Tumhe lagta hai?
M- Bohot
G- Kis se?
He sighs
M- Waqt se
There is another moment of lull
Geet again hugs her knees to herself
G- Mujhe laga tha tum nahi aaoge
M- Kyun?
G- Pata nahi
Both are again silent and looking outside the window
Few moments pass by like this, in comfortable silence
G- Woh car…jismein tumne mujhe pick kiya woh…
She is thinking aloud to herself
G- Who toh uss creepo ki hai naa?
Geet says referring to her creepy landlord and turning her head to look at Maan for an answer
M- Haan
G- Tumhe woh car kaise mili?
M- I borrowed it from him
G- Aur usne de di?
Maan sighs
** Flashback
After the call from Geet, Maan was struggling to find a taxi to reach Geet. He couldn’t force an innocent man’s life in the dangerous storm to reach Geet. He needed a vehicle that he could drive
He barges in the landlord’s home in haste
M- Gaadi chahiye
Maan demands
Landlord- Kya?? Kyun??
M- Geet musibat mein hai usko pick karna hai
Landlord- Toh humne kya yahan pe charity khol rakhi hai. Mooh uthaake aa jaate hain! Arre apni gaadi….----
Before the landlord could complete, he finds himself in death choke
M- Keys
Maan repeats calmly
Landlord hands over the keys
G- Huh?
Maan comes back to present with Geet’s voice
M- Haan
Geet is shocked
G- Kaise?
M- Maine kaha ki tum musibat mein ho. Mujhe zarurat hai
G- Kya zarurat thi uske saamne gidgidhaane ki? Ab uska aur attitude badh jayega
M- Aisa kuch nahi hoga
He says calmly
G- Usse madat maangne ki zarurat hi kya thi
M- Aur koi raasta nahi tha uss waqt
G- Ugh! You are too soft. Aise logon ke toh main mooh hi naa lagun
She gets up in frustration while picking up the teacups
While Maan sits their slouching
G- Notice kiya, Creepo (landlord) ki car mein kitni cigarette ki smell aa rahi thi? Itna smoke karta hai, uff! Car mein itni badbu bhari hai ki koi aur bhi baithe to uss par buu lag jati hai
Geet continues the conversation from the kitchen
G- Tumhare kapdon pe bhi lag gai thi, mere pe bhi lag gai hogi
Maan is silent
** Flashback
Maan hastily gets in the landlord’s car after borrowing it.
He doesn’t want to admit but he is feeling a paralyzing sense of worry
He starts driving to Geet’s location while being on call with her, so he knows that she is safe
Achanak Geet ka phone bhi switch off hua hai due to low battery
Maan’s body gets engulfed with that jarring fear of unknown
He spots a pack of cigarette in the car...
Cigarettes are his poison; he had been trying to quit. He even punishes himself by doing inhuman number of push-ups when he loses his control
Paani ka level bhi badh raha hai and the anxiety to quickly gets to Geet gets the better of him
He knows the Landlord won’t dare mention how Maan borrowed his car or the pack of cigarette missing from the car
M- Waise tum xyz place mein kya kar rahi thi? Tumhara office toh woh side nahi hai
Maan says to change the topic
G- emm ....woh...woh ..kuch kaam tha
She doesn’t want to divulge that she went to the forensic lab after work
Maan’s eyes sharpen as he realizes the hesitation in Geet’s voice
1.1k