Great Expectations-Part XXXI- Pg 202 (23/5) - Page 111

Originally posted by: MichiDespo

Any chances of update opti.

yeap i love MICHI one to one scenes...i love them more than any other couple butting in between MICHI.

Originally posted by: $ara_$hachi

opti akka ....... another fantastic part👏Thanks
👏
you seems to be in love with the gazals darling ...... Yes, i love them me very poor in understanding them ...... but love the soft music ........ milsi used to call it as funeral songs😲😆 ........ Milind did not like them before but loves them now opti darling again a detail version of food😃😃 ...... you seems to be a great cook too😳 No exact opposite....... ali & his watering mouth😆😆 ........ thank god that michi has something common between them ....... Yes, both love children glad to see milsi effort to make their marriage work ...... gazal literature was intersting huh ........ very long & detailed part on gazals😛😛 ........... Had to do some search.thanks sweetie for the traslations ..... lot of searching akka ??? .........Yes. milsi mini heart attcks😉 ........ jagjit singh seems to be your fav sweetie ??? .......I love his voice anyways loved the whole FF as i got to know a new thing about michi that they can romance in such a way also😊😊Yes, they can!

plz continue soon

Hey Opti..good part. So Milind used to dislike these 'Funeral' songs once upon a time..😆😆. Thanks to your research and inclusion of the Ghazals in this chapter, got to learn or two things about the origins of Ghazals. I admire Milind's patience and perserverence in learning about Ghazals, it can be hard learning new things, especially since he first had this negative notion that they are like 'funeral' songs. Also both Milind and Prachi are fond of children, perhaps you could build on this if Ali and his family come to stay Milind's house again, with perhaps Michi (in the past) babysitting Aasiya and the other child (forgot the name). Wonderful chapter, I think you;ve written Milind's gradual appreciation and getting to know his wife very well in the chapter.

Originally posted by: $weet Ema

Hey Opti..good part. So Milind used to dislike these 'Funeral' songs once upon a time..😆😆. Yes, he did.Thanks to your research and inclusion of the Ghazals in this chapter, got to learn or two things about the origins of Ghazals. This was what I was researching yesterday. I thought I'll post this part before the last one but realised it would be better if said from Milind's point of view rather than Prachi's.

I admire Milind's patience and perserverence in learning about Ghazals, it can be hard learning new things, especially since he first had this negative notion that they are like 'funeral' songs. Yes, it was tough. Wanted to show how much he was willing to go to make his marriage work. Prachi appreciates his every effort.

Also both Milind and Prachi are fond of children, perhaps you could build on this if Ali and his family come to stay Milind's house again, with perhaps Michi (in the past) babysitting Aasiya and the other child (forgot the name). Not a bad idea. Let me see how I can incorporate this.

Wonderful chapter, I think you;ve written Milind's gradual appreciation and getting to know his wife very well in the chapter. That was the idea.

Originally posted by: jyothi_cool

any more updates today

Part XXVI

Present

Milind asked Ali if he will join them on a trip to Kerala. Ali sounded interested and looked at his wife for approval. Rehana gladly nodded her head. During the rest of the day, the three families excitedly planned their trip to Kerala. Sahana had no problem joining her family because she had her vacation. Ishan was allowed to take a week off from work by his father to join them on the trip. Milind called his CEO, Mr.Vinod Malhotra, to inform him that both Ishan and he will be on a week long holiday and asked him to get in touch with him if anything urgent cropped up in the meantime, which would require his intervention.

That night after dinner, they packed up their suitcases and flew out the next morning to Trivandrum. After checking into Milind's hotel there, they took a Honda CRV to the Kovalam beach. The men went into the sea in their swimming trunks almost immediately. Sahana asked her Badi ma, her Mama and Rehana Aunty whether they will join her as she too wanted to go into the waters. Prachi nodded her head but Ayesha looked at her worriedly.

"Prachi, are you sure that you won't have a problem going into the water?" She had heard that Prachi had been cured of her aquaphobia problem but was not very sure how close to normalcy she was. Prachi assured her that she was perfectly fine going into the water. She can swim like the fish, thanks to Milind. Milind called out to his wife from the water. Seeing him, Ali and Neev too called to their wives to join them. The three women followed Sahana into the sea. As Ayesha and Prachi approached Milind, he understood the questions in Ayesha's eyes and said, " Don't worry, Ayesha. Prachi has absolutely no fear of water. She can even out beat you in swimming!"

"Really? Maybe we should have a swimming race someday in your pool then," laughed Ayesha. The water was cool as they stepped into the sea and bathed to their hearts' content. The women stayed closer to the shore as they were inappropriately dressed to swim in the sea but the men swam deep into the sea. Prachi was immersed in thoughts of how she had gotten over her fear of water so that she could also have fun like the rest.

As she came closer to the pool she caught sight of Milind leisurely swimming in the pool. He reached the front end of the pool and stopped to look up at his wife. Smiling at her, he asked her to join him in the pool. She trembled like a leaf and shook her head in refusal, standing rooted to the spot.

"Come on Prachi, there is nothing to fear. Am I not here for you? If you don't come on your own, I will come up and drag you in," he mildly threatened.

She slowly removed her bathrobe and threw it aside on the nearby plastic chair. She was suddenly very conscious of herself in the swimsuit. Her bare thighs were covered in goose bumps as a result of both the morning chillness and her own nervousness. She bent down her head and took baby steps towards the pool, acutely conscious of her skinny legs. She came to the edge of the pool and tentatively put her big toe in, but immediately dragged it back, as soon as it made contact with the water.

He then turned over on his stomach with his face down in the water and his arms hanging by side, his feet and legs dangling down. Holding his breath, he relaxed his body, going completely still and demonstrated to her how to float.

"See, I did not do anything. I just let my body float in a suspended position and the water allowed me to. You must have learnt about the Archimedes Principle in school, haven't you? For an object to float in a liquid medium such as water, the weight of the displaced volume of the water must be equal to the weight of the object. When we jump in, or drop ourselves into the water either intentionally or accidentally, water will always push and lift us upward toward the surface, provided we stay relaxed and perform lazy and gentle limb movements. See me now."

He hauled himself out of the pool and dived back in. He then let his body go loose. His body first sank in a little and then started to float.

"Did you see that?" he asked her excitedly. "Come let us see you do it." She looked at him uncertainly but still stayed away. He heaved himself out and dived back in to again demonstrate how to float.

"Unless we have tied our feet to a concrete block we cannot drown as long as we are willing to let ourselves float. So come on Prachi. You can float if only you allow yourself to," he urged her and tugged her gently back into the pool. This time she did not struggle as much, but she was still tensed. He slowly turned her on her stomach and asked her to leave her arms lose by her side and hold her breath with her face down. She looked alarmed, "Milind, I can't hold my breath. I will suffocate if I do," she pleaded.

He smiled and shook his head. "When human beings are in a completely relaxed state, they can stay underwater without taking any breath for approximately 160 to 180 seconds. So, holding your breath while face down or head under the water for 5-10 seconds is child's play. It's a fun and a cool thing to do, as you will see! Come on, now," he gently turned her face in the water and asked her to hold her breath. She took some time to ease up but eventually she let herself relax and held her breath. He kept his palm on her stomach for support. She managed to float a bit but soon came up for air and panted.

"Now that wasn't so difficult, was it?" he asked her.

He turned her on her stomach again and asked her to hold her breath for a little longer. This time she was able to hold her breath a little longer than before. The next one hour went in repeating the floating exercise, with Milind asking her to prolong her breath-holding spells. As she floated in the water, he slowly withdrew the supporting palm from her stomach. Since she was concentrating on the floating, she did not realise that he had removed his support. He then asked her to go to the side of the pool. When she did, he asked her to stretch her hands forward, kick her feet against the wall and float with her head down. The kick will propel her forward he explained. He stood at a distance and asked her to come to him. She kicked her feet hard against the wall and floated towards him. As she approached him, he slowly took his steps backwards. When she saw him move away from her she panicked and immediately started struggling. She opened her mouth wide and gulped a lot of water. Milind hurried to her side and held her tight. She flung her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly and started sobbing.

"Don't leave me, Milind. Please don't leave me," she cried.

"Prachi, I have not left you. I am right here. Sh.....baby. Don't cry. I am sorry I moved away. I was only trying to make you float in the water for a little longer."

Prachi was not convinced and kept whimpering.

"OK. I think we have done enough exercises for the day," he said and helped her out of the pool.

She started shivering as soon as the cool breeze hit her wet body. Milind quickly wrapped the bathrobe around her and made her sit on the plastic chair. He took a towel and quickly wiped her dry. He then removed her cap to free her long hair. She heard him take in his breath sharply as he stared at her. Just then she let out a loud belch and quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment.

Milind laughed at her and said, "Prachi, half the swimming pool water must be in your stomach. How are you going to have your breakfast?" She turned red and bent her head shyly. He then proceeded to dry himself up. From the corner of her eyes she caught sight of his well toned body and secretly admired him.

"So shall we go in?" he asked turning towards her after he was done with the drying. She quickly averted her gaze and nodded. Holding her hand, he led her back to their room.

After a shower, they both sat down for breakfast. As Prachi had gobbled up a lot of water she could hardly eat anything. Milind, on the other hand, had worked up a healthy appetite with all the swimming. So he had a hearty breakfast.

Over the next four weeks Milind diligently helped his wife overcome her 'water-blues.' Once she was confident about floating in the shallow water, he took her to the deep end of the pool. He made her perform relaxed, lazy and gentle movements, while she held on the pool edge with one hand. He then slowly made her let go of this hold and float on her own in the deep water, assuring her that he was very close at hand. Slowly but surely Prachi was gaining confidence in staying in the pool.

"Now let us see you jump into the deep water and float on your own," he said encouragingly.

She got out of the pool and jumped into his waiting arms but immediately turned on her stomach and started to float on her own.

"See, Prachi. All the time your fear for water was all in your mind. You are like anyone of us. You can do it. Now you can bid goodbye to water blues forever," he cheered her up. She smiled at him and thanked him for getting her out of the fear that had plagued her all her life.