hey...guys...im back...sorry for the delay but got busy with school and work...lots of family things this weekend..but here is the next part...😳😳😳....enjoy...looking forward to comments 😳😳...and bare with me guys...things do get better...after all...im not a premeer phdian for nothing 😆😆😆
Part 7
Mausam
Zindagi ne zindagi bhar gham diyeh
Jitne bhi mausam diyeh, saab naam diyeh.
Jaab tarapta hai khabi, aapna koi
Khun ke asoon, rulade bebasi
Jee ke phir kaarna kya, mujhko aaisi zindagi
Jisne zakhmoon ko nahin marham diyeh
Zindagi ne zindagi bhar gham diyeh
Jitne bhi mausam diyeh, saab naam diyeh
Aapne bhi pesh aaye, humse ajnaabi
Waqt ki sazish, koi samja nahin
Be irada kuch khataien humse hogayi
Rah mein pathar meri har dum diyeh
Zindagi ne zindagi bhar gham diyeh
Jitne bhi mausam diyeh, saab naam diyeh
Ek mukammal kash-ma-kash hai zindagi
Ussne hume ki khabi naa dosti
Jaab milli mujhko asoon ki woh taufe degayi
Haasn sake aaise mauke kaam diyeh
Zindagi ne zindagi bhar gham diyeh
Jitne bhi mausam diyeh, saab naam diyeh
Encino, Ca. – Nancy's Residence 9:30am (next morning)
She could feel the glass slashing her cheek, she could feel the pebbles poking at the delicate skin on the soles of her feet, she could feel the coldness of the concrete pavement under herself; she could hear herself screaming at Manmeet to stop, she could hear the sounds of glass shattering, she could hear the car horns honking, she could hear the waves crashing onto the beach; she could hear a voice calling out to her in concern and love…she could hear Prem.
Heer woke up with a start in a cold sweat, nearly gasping for air. After a second she realized that it was all a dream, no…it was a nightmare. She looked around trying to orient herself but found that the more she saw, the more disoriented she became. Trying to figure out where she was, why she was there and what happened last night was making her mind spin. It wasn't until she finally saw Nancy come out of the bathroom, drying her hair that it hit Heer about where she was…in Nancy's studio apartment.
"Hey you, how are you feeling?" Nancy asked as she took a seat next to Heer on the bed.
"Umm…I don't know. I have a head ache and I am sore all over." Heer looked down at herself and saw that she was in a white and pink knee length night-tee from Victoria's Secret; she was covered from the thighs down by a blue blanket. Heer began fixing her messed up hair, "Nancy, how did I end up here?" she asked. Nancy remained silent. "What's up? Why are your so quite? In all the years that I have known y…" Heer's sentence died half way out as she let out a small gasp; her fingers had come in contact with the half fresh wound on her cheek.
Nancy looked up at Heer the second that she had stopped talking and gasped. When her eyes met with Heer's eyes she could already see the fear in them. Heer ran her fingers delicately across the length of the cut on her cheek, feeling the inflammation and dry blood around it. Her mouth formed the shape of an 'O', which she tried to cover with a trembling hand.
The look in Heer's eyes told Nancy what she was thinking; realization finally dawned on Heer about what had happened last night between her and Manmeet. Tears came to here eyes, ready to fall at any second. She pulled her knees up to her chest and held them together with her arms; her body rocked back and forth almost at its own will.
The scenes from last night played in Heer's mind like a Technicolor movie, complete with sound and effects; it all came rushing back with the speed of a freight train. She remembered coming home to a dark house, she remembered Manmeet throwing the glass liquor bottle at her and the bottle shattering and cutting her cheek, she remembered her screams and protests as she pleaded with Manmeet to let her go, she remembered Manmeet tearing at her clothes, biting and scratching her as he forced himself on her, she remembered lying on the floor of her living room, barely dressed, as Manmeet stood up, zipped his pants, took his keys and slammed the door as he left; but that was all she remembered…it was more then enough as far as she was concerned.
Nancy was at Heer's side in a second after she had heard her gasp. Nancy took Heer's rocking body into her arms and just hugged her. Heer fell into Nancy comforting arms, after a while, and let her tears fall, there was no holding them back. Nancy could do nothing but try and sooth her by holding her and stroking her hair.
"Shh…it's going to be ok." Nancy whispered after some time.
"Why me? Why do these things keep happening to me? Why does he hate me so much? What did I ever do to him?" All Heer could do was ask these questions over and over again as she wept in Nancy's arms.
After some time Heer's heart wrenching sobs and died down to sniffles, and she pulled away from Nancy. Heer glanced at the time and saw that both she and Nancy should have been at work nearly an hour ago.
"Oh my God! We have to get to work!" Heer said as she attempted to pull back the covers and get out of bed.
"Hell no we don't! Have you seen yourself? You cannot go into work like this," Nancy yelled back, causing Heer to stop herself. "Besides, I already called Mr. Randal and told him that neither of us would be in due to an emergency, which I couldn't specify."
"You must really be worried about me, you just called Mr. Randal, 'Mr. Randal' and not 'Mr. Stick Up His Ass'" Heer said.
"Well…" Nancy didn't really have an answer because Heer was right. In all the years she worked for Mr. Randal, she had always referred to him as Mr. SUHA.
This was just the kind of thing that Heer needed to take her mind off of the Manmeet situation. The girls looked at each other and fell into a fit of laughter as they remembered the annoying boss. They laughed for a while, but soon the laughter subsided and each girl was left catching her breath. They both ended up with smiles on their faces, but that didn't last long. Heer's eyes soon filled with tears once again and she began sobbing, and Nancy took Heer into her arms as held her; it was all she could do, although she wished to do more…much more.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hollywood CA. Angels Hotel – (same time frame)
The night that Prem thought was never going to pass, had finally passed and the new day was christened with the sun's rays illuminating the world. What seemed like countless hours had passed since Prem had left his Heera with Nancy and driven himself back to the hotel. Prem slowly looked around the room and noticed just what kind of havoc he had created. After his encounter with Heer at the beach, and after hearing the revelations that Nancy had made to him, Prem could take it no longer.
Prem had been seething with anger while he was driving home; if he had the power he would have punched his steering wheel right through to the engine. When he finally reached the hotel he nearly ran up the stairs because he didn't have the patience to wait for the elevator. He had barely heard the hotel staff greet him as he brushed past each and every person. He whipped out his hotel key-card and opened his door, and not a moment too soon; as soon as he was inside he closed the door with force and bolted it shut.
For a minute or two Prem just paced back and forth in his room; his breathing was getting more and more ragged as the seconds passed and the nights events really seeped into his body. He let out a frustrated groan and wanted to pull his hair out because there was nothing he could do to help Heer until she asked for it. Not knowing what to do, and in need to venting his anger Prem grabbed the first thing that came within his reach…a crystal vase. Taking the vase he hurled it at the wall against which it shattered. That was it, that one action started him on his rampage. He had pulled off the bed sheets, thrown the flowers and vases all over the room, event the furniture was a mess. Nothing in the room was in its place like it was when he entered the room, nothing…except for him.
After his rampage Prem fell dejectedly into an arm chair near the window; that is exactly where he still was this morning. There were a few differences, like his clothes being wrinkled, the sun was now out, there were empty liquor bottles resting on the table in front of him. However, there was one small difference that even he hadn't noticed, that difference…trails of dry tears on his face, tears he didn't know he had shed in the night.
Prem had spent the entire night going in and out of a restless sleep. He couldn't sleep for the most part because his mind was so preoccupied with thoughts of Heer and what he had witnessed, but some how sleep had found him. Every time he went into even the lightest sleep, he was awoken by horrible dreams of Heer yelling out the window of a car driven by Manmeet, calling out to Prem to save, but as hard as he tired and as fast as he ran, he never reached her. It was so infuriating and frustrating that he wanted to pull his hair out!
He sat in the same chair, in the same position all night long; he didn't know what else to do. Now it was time to begin the new day, a new beginning, a fresh start; only problem was…he didn't know how; how was he supposed to put last night behind him?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Encino, Ca. – Nancy's Residence 12:00pm
"Yes, I will, don't worry. Yes, yes; if Heer needs anything I will call you first," Nancy spoke into the phone, as she heard the bathroom door creak behind her, "Ok, now I have to go, she is out. Bye." She had managed to cut the call before Heer heard any of the conversation.
"Who was that?" Heer asked as she used a towel to dry her wet face.
"No one, just some stupid telemarketer; they were trying to sell me a subscription to the Los Angeles Times."
"Oh I hate when they call!" Heer said.
"Yeah, well…Hey, I was thinking why don't you grab something from my closet and head on in to take a shower. Since I am already done, you might as well get it done too. As soon as you are out we can order in some Thai delivery and eat, ok?"
"Ok."
Heer headed off into the bathroom a minute later after she had picked out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from Nancy's closet. As soon as the door closed and locked, Nancy let out a breath of relief. Nancy knew that Heer hadn't heard her phone conversation, but she still thought that she may have in the back of her mind. Nancy had been talking to Prem about Heer. He had called numerous times since Heer woke up. It took a while for Nancy to calm Heer down and get her to relax. There was no way that Nancy could talk to Prem with Heer in the same room.
As soon as Heer got up to go to the bathroom, Nancy snatched up her phone and called Prem. Nancy got an ear-full from Prem about how inconsiderate, irresponsible, and selfish she was being by not answering. Nancy had to bite her tongue to keep from yelling back at him. She understood what he was going through after last night; anyone would be worried about a person they found in Heer's state, and he wasn't just anyone, he was the man that loved her.
Nancy gave him and update on Heer's condition, how she had been during the night, her reaction this morning when she remembered what had happened. From the tone of Prem's voice she could tell he was half relieved and half disappointed that she didn't remember it was he who had rescued her. Lastly, Nancy told him that she and Heer would not be going to work for the next two days. She knew that Prem wanted to see Heer, and the hotel was the only way for him to do that, but right now they had to consider only what Heer wanted, and unfortunately she didn't want to see Prem.
Right now Nancy couldn't be thinking about Prem and Heer's bitter sweet love story, she had something to do. Nancy picked up her cell phone and dialed a number and prayed that it was answered. When she heard 'Hello' on the other end of the line, she let out a silent prayer.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Angels Hotel CA. - 10:00am (two days later)
Prem was going out of his mind waiting to get a glimpse of Heer; he knew that Nancy and Heer had returned to work that morning. Their shift had started over three hours ago and still he had no sight of Heer, hell, he was so frustrated, he would take a glimpse of Nancy at this point. He was pacing back and forth in the main lobby waiting to see someone. He knew that Nancy and Heer rotated desk duty with a middle-aged man who also worked at the hotel. Prem glanced at his watch in frustration once again waiting for the change, because he knew that either Heer or Nancy would be covering next. He watched as the door to the office behind the front desk opened and a female figure stepped out…it was Nancy.
It wasn't who he had hoped it would be, but at this point…beggars couldn't be choosers. As soon as the other man left and the other staff members began their work, Prem made is way towards the desk, trying to be as casual and nonchalant as possible.
"So?" he said.
"So?" replied Nancy, who was busy working.
"Don't mock me! You know what I want!" he nearly yelled.
"Yes Mr. Jhuneja I do know what you want and I have already helped you in your quest. I told you this morning before coming in that she was fine, as well as can be expected."
Prem calmed down and blushed like a little kid being scolded by his mother. "So…no change?" he dared to ask.
"Oh yes there has been. Heer is now on the way to dye her hair pink, get her lip and eyebrow pierced, get a tattoo saying 'Die Manmeet Die' on her back and she is thinking about joining a convent," Nancy replied.
"What?! Really?" Prem asked as he became highly confused.
"Oh God, no! Not really!" Nancy yelled, almost wanting to bang her head into the wall, "I was being sarcastic!"
"Oh, so…no change?" he asked again.
"In the past three hours or so, no, no change at all."
A moment of silence passed between them before Prem spoke again, "Where is the bas***d?" he asked, his anger rising just at the thought of that man.
"Passed out drunk in some cheap motel in Vegas."
"Vegas?" Prem questioned, not sure what Nancy was talking about.
"Yes, gambling capitol of the world, Las Vegas."
"Oh," he said, "How do you know that? How can you be sure that he isn't here in Los Angeles, looking for her right now?"
"Because I just am," Nancy said, still typing away on her keyboard, not once looking up to meet Prem's eyes.
"But how?!" Prem asked, he couldn't fathom how Nancy could be so sure that Manmeet was hundreds of miles away, and not in this very hotel waiting for Heer in some vacant room.
Nancy took a deep breath before answering Prem's question. "Relax; you don't have to worry about Manmeet, not now any way."
"But…" Prem question died half way out as Nancy cut him off.
"My brother, Marco, works for the LAPD. I asked him for a favor. I told him about what had happened and he was able to trace Manmeet's car to a motel in Vegas away from the main strip. As of twenty minutes ago, the car is still parked in the parking lot of the motel."
"How did your brother…I mean, how did he manage…" Prem couldn't seem to put his thoughts together at the moment.
"He has a couple of buddies on the squad, so they helped. It's like a brother hood, so when my brother needed help, they all joined in. One of his fellow police officers knows someone on the Vegas PD, so they have been keeping him informed."
Prem let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "Then…" Again, Prem's sentence was cut off, but not because of Nancy, this time it was Heer. He saw her coming out of the far hall, near the staff lounge. She was buttoning up her coat and was holding on to her purse. Prem quickly moved to the end of the desk, turned his back to Heer, and grabbed a newspaper and looked like he was reading it. When Heer and Nancy began talking, Prem was thankful that was within ear-shot.
"I'm not feeling up for it today Nancy, I already talked to Mr. Randal and have taken the rest of the day off."
"Are you ok?" asked Nancy, her voice laced with concern and worry, "Wait for a minute, I'll come take the day off too and come with you."
"No, no you don't have to do that." Heer insisted, "I…I actually needed some time to myself, so I'm going over down to Reseda."
"Oh, ok." Once Nancy heard where Heer was going, she relaxed a bit. "Now look, I don't want you going to your house after that, come here or go to my place."
"But…"
"No 'buts'. Chose one of the two, or else I'm not letting you go at all."
"Ok, fine, I'll go to your place."
"Good, you do have the key right?" Nancy asked.
"Yes"
"Ok, be safe. Call me if you need anything."
"I will thanks."
With that, Prem and Nancy watched Heer walk away towards the main entrance.
As soon as Heer was away from them, Prem approached the desk and Nancy again.
"Where is she going?! How can you let her go off by herself like this?!" Prem was on the verge of yelling, he didn't know how much more he could take.
"She is just going to see her parents."
"Oh," Prem said, "Do they know about Manmeet, maybe they can talk some sense into her so she will finally get the help she needs."
Nancy finally looked up at him from her work, "She is going to Woodland Care Center in the city of Reseda, it's a nursing home; her parents are quadriplegics, they are patients at that facility."
Prem stood rooted on the spot; Heer's parents were in a nursing home and both were quadriplegics. Dear Lord, how much had she been through in these past four years? He didn't know what to say or what to do.
"What is the address?"
"I'm sorry I don't know. Heer never talks about them much and I have never been there myself."
"Damn it!" Prem cursed his fate.
"She is going to take a taxi, if you hurry up, you can probably follow her," Nancy said. "Oh and next time you want to be all nonchalant and pretend like you are reading the paper, make sure it isn't upside down…it will give you away."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Woodland Care Center – 1:20pm
Nearly an hour later Prem pulled into the parking lot of Woodland Care Center, just a few cars behind the taxi that had Heer in it. When Prem had gotten a car from the hotel, he had been afraid that he was going to lose the taxi, but luckily that didn't happen. This had to be the one and only time that he thanked God for the traffic on the 101 freeway; the bumper to bumper jam at all times of the day/night used to piss him off to no extent, but now, it had made keeping a close eye on the taxi a piece of cake. Due to the traffic on the freeway, the drive that should have only taken 15 minutes, took one hour.
Prem gave his car for the valet to park as he watched Heer go in; he didn't want her to see him, so he kept his distance. Heer went in and disappeared before Prem could even get to the entrance. He walked up to the front desk hoping that they would help, even though he had no idea what the patient's names were.
"Good afternoon, I'm here with the girl…" for the third time that day, Prem was cut off by someone.
"Oh, you must be here with the Maan family. They are the only Indian family in our facility." Prem was greeted by a peppy and happy looking receptionist, who couldn't be a day over 18.
"Yes, yes, the Maan family. What room would that be?" he asked.
"Mr. and Mrs. Maan are in room 319; just go straight down the hall, make a right, and it's just past the third nurse's station. I think their daughter just got here as well, maybe you will run into her."
"Not if I can help it," Prem whispered. "Thank you," he said to the receptionist, who flashed him a cheeky smile.
Prem walked down the corridor and noticed that all the residents there were in their late 70's at least, it sent a shudder down his spine to think that Heer's parents were in a facility like this, at their age. Prem had passed the nurses station and kept a watch out for room 319. When he finally came to it, he slowly crept up and saw Heer.
Heer was bent over her father's bed, as she kissed him on his forehead and greeted him; she then did the same with her mother. She found a chair and sat between the beds, one hand on each parent's hand. For a long while, she was quite, but then she spoke…her voice cracked and shaking.
"I don't know what to do; I am so lost without you guys, I need you. Where are you, Mamma, Papa…I really need you, now more then ever."
Prem saw the tears spill over, and it was at that moment that Heer shot to her feet and nearly bolted out the room nearly running into him, but not noticing him at all. Prem hastily followed her out towards the main entrance. He found her sitting on the little wooden bench right outside of the door. Her elbows rested on her knees, and her face hidden in her hands as she wept. Prem couldn't hold back any more, he had seen her in pain since the night he had come back to L.A., enough was enough.
Prem went and sat silently next to her in the empty spot. "Heera" he called out to her, as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
Heer whipped her face toward him, and stared at the man in front of her. As realization hit her as to who he was, her eyes once again filled with tears as she threw herself to him and clung to him, whispering his name as he held her.
"Why Prem, why did it happen? They were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary, and then some drunk driver…the accident…the phone call. Why me Prem, why does God hate me so much to give me so much pain? Why, why, why?" Heer asked, as if Prem had all the answers.
Prem held onto Heer silently, stroked her hair and just let her weep. The circumstances were horrid, but having her in his arms felt right; he finally felt like he was doing something for his Heera.
"All you have to do is ask Heera. Just tell me once about your pain, and watch how fast I take you away from ALL of it. Just once, just ask me once," Prem said, in a near whisper.
Just as suddenly as Heer had thrown herself onto him, she had pulled back. "I…I'm sorry…I…" Heer tried to talk as she wiped her tears and tried to compose herself. "I shouldn't have done that."
"Heera, what happened…?"
As if finally realizing where they were she spoke again, "You shouldn't be here Prem? Why did you come here?"
"I saw you leaving the hotel upset, I just wanted to make sure you were ok."
"So you followed me to Reseda."
"Yes"
"Why?"
"I can't see you in pain Heera. I won't see you in pain. I lo…"
"Don't say it, just don't say it Prem."
"Not saying it won't make it go away, and it won't change the fact that I do either."
"It has to…it just has to. I'm married Prem."
Prem's blood boiled at the thought that she had to gall to boast about that jerk in front of him.
"He is a son-of-a-bi…"
"No Prem, stop," Heer ordered.
"Heer how can I stop? You and me, we go back…we…" Prem tried to reason, as Heer stood up to leave.
"That is the past Prem; you have to forget the past. You have to forget the pier, you have to forget that night, you have to forget the memories…you have to forget…ME," Heer whispered.
Prem was stupefied as he stood there like a statue. He watched as Heer got into the waiting taxi and soon drove off.
He didn't know what hurt him the most, the fact that his Heera had just told him to forget the one thing that meant the world to him, or the fact that she actually thought that he could ever let her go…how could she even imagine that he could forget her…how could she imagine that he could forget his Heera.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tu Yaad Naa Aaye…
Tujhe bhool jaana, jana mumkin nahin
Tu yaad naa aaye aaisa koi din nahin
Tera jaadu aaisa chaaya
Haar zarein mein, tujhko paaya
Chahe mahol ho shoor-o-gul ka
Chahe ho veerana alam
Haar pal hai maujudgi teri
Haar mausam hai tera mausam
Tujhe bhool jaana, jana mumkin nahin
Tu yaad naa aaye aaisa koi din nahin
Main karta hoon, lakh bahane
Par bin tere, dil naa mane.
Jitna tujhko main bhulna chahoon
Utna hi tujhe paas main paoon
Tu naa jaane, oh mehbooba
Main tere ishq mein kitna dooba
Tujhe bhool jaana, jana mumkin nahin
Tu yaad naa aaye aaisa koi din nahin
…Tu yaad naa aaye, aaisa koi din nahin…
JAZ
Cricket
Anupamaa
