||ManYa FF - Against all odds|| Epilogue Pg 45 Updated-12.10.15 - Page 11

Neet awesome update.update soon really excited for next part .waiting for your update eagerly

Hello everyone!

I apologize for the delay in the update. The news of Dhruv quitting and then of his father's demise (May his soul rest in peace and may God grant Dhruv and all his near and dear ones the strength to bear this loss) just had me so shaken up, I couldn't get myself to write or post. But since I won't get around to writing anything till Tuesday at least, I figured I owed you guys an update today at least. So here it is. Like I said I don't think I'll be able to post another update till Tuesday so bear with me. I'm super tired now so I'm skipping out sending PMs. Will do that later. Sorry.

Neet

Chapter 12

The sound of the temple bells chiming woke Amaya up in the morning just as the alarm she'd set on default on her phone rang as well. She tried to turn over to switch her alarm off but realized that an arm on her waist was making it difficult for her to move. Had Jazz snuck in to her bed at some point at night? Or was she in Rachi di's bed? But neither of them were cuddlers. Was it mom? Amaya opened her eyes slowly. The sunlight streaming in seemed blinding to her sleepy eyes so she shut her eyes again. But her alarm would not let her slip back into the peaceful oblivion of sleep cuddling with the warmth next to her. Amaya forced her eyes open and tried to sit up. She tried to move the arm around her waist when she realized it wasn't Rachi di's or Jazz's or mom's. It was Mantu's!

Her first reaction was panic! What was she doing in bed with Mantu? And then the events of the previous day rushed back and along with them the realization that this would be the norm from now on. She would have the joy of seeing Mantu right before she went to bed and the first thing in the morning when she woke up. She shifted around trying her best not to wake Mantu up so that she could reach for her phone and turn off her alarm. Then she lay back in bed and watched Mantu as he slept. He had such an innocent, boyish charm about him as he slept with his mouth slightly parted. She tried to close his mouth but it was open again a second later and she chuckled. It should've felt so awkward and embarrassing, to be sharing a bed with Mantu, waking up next to him - but she had to admit to herself, it felt so right. She lay for long moments, simply watching Mantu sleep and feeling herself fall in love with him more and more with each passing second.

She saw him stir in his sleep and not wanting to be caught staring at him, she immediately closed her eyes. Mantu woke up to the most beautiful sight in his life ever - Amaya. The early morning rays of the sun peaking in through the closed windows cast shadows on the almost porcelain smoothness of her face. He became aware of the fact that his arm lay over her waist in a rather possessive hold. He should get up but it felt so good to just lie here next to her, holding her close that he made no move to get up. Amaya had slept in her lehenga choli last night, that must have been uncomfortable but she hadn't brought any of her belongings with her. He cast a quick glance at the clock on the wall. It was 7 in the morning. The stores wouldn't have opened yet. Maybe he could go over to Rama's and buy her a toothbrush at least. That way, he could also check on Rama and Rachita. She could change into that dress she'd worn to the reception that night and then he'd take her shopping for clothes and everything else that she'd need. With that thought, rather reluctantly, he moved his hand off of her waist and hurried to freshen up.

When Amaya opened her eyes a few minutes later, Mantu was nowhere to be seen. She worried her lower lip as she wondered where he could have disappeared.

***

"Uncleji, is Rama awake yet?" Mantu asked Rama's dad. "Yes beta. I will call him. Will you have tea?," Rama's dad asked. "No uncle. I am in a bit of a hurry," Mantu explained. Rama's dad called for Rama.

"Mantu! How come you are here so early?" Rama asked. "I needed some help Rama. Will you come with me please?" Mantu said as he took Rama outside. "What's the matter?" Rama asked. "Rama, I need a toothbrush. Its urgent," Mantu said. "What?" Rama asked. "Arey you know how Amaya and I got married. She didn't bring any of her belongings with her. I can take her shopping for whatever she needs but she'll need a toothbrush na first thing in the morning?" Mantu explained. "Oh.. I see.. Come. Let me get you one from the shop," Rama said as he got the keys for the shop and went to open the shop.

"Rama.. How is Rachita?" Mantu asked as he helped Rama open the shutters to the shop. "She is okay. Hasn't woken up yet. She was crying late into the night. I managed to get her to eat a little somehow. Its not an easy situation to be in. It will take her time to come to terms with everything," Rama said as he handed Mantu the toothbrush. "Hmmm.. Amaya was worried about Rachita and Sneha Aunty," Mantu said. "Please tell my saali saheba that she need not worry about her dearest Rachi di, I promise to take good care of her," Rama said. Mantu smiled at that, "I will."

He reached into his pocket to pay for the toothbrush but Rama stopped him, "You are married to my saali sahiba now and you really think I will take money from you?" "She might be your saali sahiba but she is my wife and this is the first thing I am buying her after our marriage, so please let me pay for it," Mantu said. "Okay. If you insist. But, take some chocolates for her from her jiju. Sweets to celebrate your wedding," Rama said taking candy out from the candy jar and handing them to Mantu. "Buttering your saali sahiba eh?" Mantu asked. "Of course!" Rama replied and the two of them laughed. "Okay Rama. Thank you for the toothbrush. I'll see you later. Say hi to Rachita and feel free to drop by whenever Rachita is up for it," Mantu bid Rama good bye and headed back home.

On his way home, Mantu stopped by the flower shop and bought a bunch of roses for Amaya. He opened the doors to their house as quietly as possible not wanting to wake Amaya up if she were still sleeping. He tiptoed in and peeked into the bedroom but she wasn't there. He heard the noise of water running in the bathroom. "Amaya!" he called out. "Yes Mantu?" she answered. "Amaya! I've got a toothbrush for you. Take it," he said, standing outside the bathroom. A slender hand, covered in water droplets appeared from behind the door and Mantu placed the toothbrush in her hand. "Thank you!" she said. "You are welcome. Once the shops open, we'll go out and buy all the stuff you need, okay?" he asked her. "Okay," Amaya replied. "I'll get tea going while you freshen up," Mantu said as he headed to the kitchen.

It was right after he'd poured the tea into tea cups that he remembered that he hadn't given Amaya the dress she'd worn the night of the reception. Worried that she'd end up wearing the same lehenga choli from last night, Mantu set the tea cups aside and hurried to get her the dress before she left the bathroom, but the vision before him made him stop right in his tracks. Amaya had lit the diya in the small mandir on the wall and was praying earnestly. She was wearing his white kurta which was a couple of sizes too big for her and ended above her knees. But with her freshly washed damp hair clinging to her face and her face glowing clear and bright, he thought she looked more beautiful than ever.

Amaya finished her prayer and turned to find Mantu watching her mesmerized. She smiled a tad bit shyly at him. Mantu wanted to walk up to her and hug her tight, just so - a feeling he was having very, very frequently these days. How was it that every little thing she did touch his heart? "I don't think you've ever looked as gorgeous as you look now wearing my clothes," Mantu said. Amaya bit her lower lip nervously, "I didn't have any other clothes so.." The right thing would have been to remind her about that dress she'd worn the night of the reception but she looked so absolutely adorable wearing his kurta, he stalled on telling her about the dress. "Come have tea," he said as he went back in the kitchen and brought her tea.

"I don't mind you wearing my kurta but since we have to go shopping, let me get you that salwar you wore on the night of the reception. The one you so unceremoniously returned to me," Mantu said when they were done drinking tea. Amaya's face fell at that. "I was just joking.. Come with me.." Mantu said as he headed towards the bedroom. "You were the one who asked me to return it or else I would've never returned it," Amaya complained. "I asked you to return the watch. Not the dress!" Mantu replied. "Oh hello! You texted me to return Baba's watch and then sent a second text asking for the dress," Amaya retorted. "Amaya, I am telling you that I never sent you any text asking you to return the dress. In fact I was surprised and hurt when you returned the dress along with the watch," Mantu explained. "Wait. I still have that text you sent me," Amaya said as she scrolled through her phone looking for the message. When she found the one she was looking for, she held it up for Mantu to see, "See! This one! Right after the one asking for the watch back." Mantu took the phone from Amaya and read the message.

"I swear on Mahadev, Amaya! I did not send you this message!" "If you didn't, then who.." Amaya didn't even finish her question as both of them realized that it had to be Uma. Amaya worried her lower lip as she wondered how to broach Uma's topic with Mantu. Had he found out the whole truth? Did he know about the Panditji? Did he know about the oath Uma had taken from her? Before she could ask anything though, Mantu cut her off, "What had to happen, happened. Now its time to return the dress to the one it was always meant for" and led Amaya into the room.

When he opened the cupboard, a pile of clothes and other stuff tumbled out. Oh! So this is how the room looked so neat and clean last night, Mantu realized as he embarrassedly tried to gather up the mess from the floor. Amaya chuckled as she kneeled down next to him and started to help him. From between the pile of clothes, Mantu managed to find the dress and handed it to Amaya, "Here, go change while I tidy this up." "I'll help you put this away," Amaya said as she started folding the clothes. "No! It's okay. I'll do it. Go change quickly and we'll do your Rasoi rasam, okay?" Mantu said. Amaya nodded and just as she got up to leave, her eyes fell on something. In a corner of the cupboard, tucked away safely was a dried up flower garland. She reached for it and took it out. She looked at Mantu and smiled. She didn't have to ask him what it was or where it was from or why he had kept it in the cupboard safely. It was the garland that had fallen on them that day at the temple. "You were right," Amaya said. "About what?" Mantu asked. "Destiny.. Fate.. We always get what's written in our destiny.. What's meant for us.. We were meant to be Mantu," she replied, her heart filling up with love and pride. "Yes.. We are meant to be.." he replied.

****

"How do I know when the sooji is roasted?" Amaya asked as she stirred the sooji around in the wok worried. "From it's smell, Amaya. It has a wonderful roasted sooji smell," Mantu replied. "But I don't know how roasted sooji smells!" Amaya replied getting just a little hyper. "Calm down Amaya! I'm right here. I'll help you," Mantu said. "You can only give me instructions. This is my first Rasoi so I'm going to do it all by myself and I want it to turn out perfect," Amaya said, not taking her eyes off the wok for even a second. "See.. That smell? That's the one I'm talking about.." Mantu said when the sooji was roasted. "That's such a nice, comforting smell," Amaya said as she sniffed the air. She looked so adorable that Mantu had to chuckle. "What are you laughing at?" Amaya asked. "You make such adorable faces," Mantu replied. "Are you saying I look funny?" Amaya asked crossly. "Arey meri maa.. You girls! Always looking to read between the lines even when you shouldn't!" Mantu said. "Now let's put the roasted sooji into this plate. Here," he said as he held out the plate. "The wok is hot so be careful. Hold it with that dishcloth. Be very careful. Don't burn your hand," Mantu doled out instructions. Amaya smiled at him. "Now what are you smiling at?" He asked her. "You are so adorable when you fuss over me like this," she replied. Mantu smiled and said, "Now hurry up. We have more to do."

*****

"The first serving goes to God," Mantu said, after they'd made the sooji halwa and Amaya wanted to feed him some to know if it was any good. "But what if it isn't any good? What if it's like the kheer I burnt?" Amaya asked worried. "You've made it sincerely with you best intentions at heart. It'll be the best ever. Trust me!" Mantu said as he spooned some halwa into a bowl and asked her to take it to the little puja ghar in their house.

"How is it?" Amaya asked, a tad bit too tensed as Mantu took the first bite of the halwa. "Its really good Amaya!" Mantu said and his face genuinely lit up as he took another spoonful of the halwa and another. Amaya grinned ear to ear at that. "Are you going to eat all of it or are you going to feed me some too?" Amaya asked when Mantu went on eating. Mantu looked at her at that and looked like a kid caught stealing candy from the candy jar. "Sorry.. Here," he said he held out a spoonful for her to eat. "Its actually good!" Amaya squealed in delight that her first rasoi had been successful. "Wait right here," Mantu told her as he placed the bowl and went inside the room. "This is for you," Mantu said, coming back with a jewelry box in hand. "What's this?" Amaya asked. "It's a shagun. When the new bride does her first rasoi, she is given a gift. So this is yours. These are my mother's bangles. One of the few things I have left of hers," Mantu said opening the box and handing the bangles to her. They were simple, delicate gold bangles and Amaya loved them. She tried them on and they fit her just right. "Thank you Mantu," she said and Mantu hugged her.

"Mantu bhaiyya!" the whirlwind named Chiklu burst in through the doors and Mantu jumped away from Amaya like he'd touched a live wire. Amaya couldn't help but chuckle at how embarrassed Mantu was that his younger brother might see him hugging his own wife. "Chiklu.. You are here!" Mantu exclaimed. "You thought I wouldn't come? Where else will I go? Sometimes Mantu Bhaiyya, you ask the silliest questions," Chiklu replied cheekily. "No.. I wasn't asking.. I was.." before Mantu could complete his sentence, Chiklu yelled, "The smell of roasted sooji! Have you made sooji halwa?" Chiklu asked all excited. "Not me, your Amaya Bhabhi made sooji halwa," Mantu said. "Can I have some please please please?" Chiklu asked getting all excited. "Go freshen up and get ready for school and I'll bring you your share," Amaya said as she sent him off.

"Amaya Bhabhi, this is for you," Chiklu held out a sheet of paper folded in half after gobbling up three bowls of halwa. The toast that Amaya made for breakfast lay untouched and cold as both Mantu and Chiklu feasted on the halwa instead. "What is this Chiklu?" Amaya asked as she took the paper from him. "I made you a card. Manohar Bhaiyya's daughter, Radhika, told me that I should give you a present to welcome you. My piggy bank was here so I decided to make you this card instead," Chiklu explained beaming. The front of the card had a crayon drawing of a man, a woman and a young boy standing in front of a house. The woman held something in her hand. Up in the sky, there were two stars. "Its such a pretty picture Chiklu! Did you draw this?" Amaya asked, crouching to Chiklu's level. Mantu stood up to take a look at the card too. "Yes. Look, this is Mantu bhaiyya," he said pointing to the figure of the man, "That's you and that's me" Chiklu explained pointing to the figure of the woman and the little boy. "That's our house and those two stars are Amma and Babuji," he said beaming proudly. Amaya opened the card and Welcome Amaya Bhabhi was written in the typical messy writing of a child. Amaya was so touched by Chiklu's gesture, she hugged him tight and said, "Thank you Chiklu! That's so sweet of you. And I must meet this Radhika friend of yours. She seems very nice."

"Chiklu, what's that thing in Amaya's hand in the picture?" Mantu asked as he looked at the drawing curiously. "Oh that? That's not a thing Mantu bhaiyya. It's a baby!" Chiklu said and Mantu and Amaya looked at each other surprised. "Baby? What baby?" Amaya asked Chiklu. "The baby isn't here yet but will be here soon. Radhika told me that people get married so that they can have babies. That's why we invoke God during the wedding. God sees that two people got married so he sends them babies. Now that you two are married, Radhika says you'll have a baby soon too," Chiklu explained seriously. Both Mantu and Amaya blushed profusely as they looked at each other. "Chiklu.. You are getting late for school. Come on.. Lets get going.." Mantu said embarrassedly as he picked up Chiklu's backpack. "We'll drop Chiklu at school and we'll go shopping from there. Come on Amaya," Mantu said as he chased Chiklu who'd already sprinted out the door.

***

"Panditji, we want to do a Pooja for a long and happy married life," Amaya said as she handed the thaali with the items for the Pooja to the Panditji. She'd asked to come to the temple after they dropped Chiklu off at school. After all, it was only right that she begin her new life with Mantu with the blessings of Mahadev. "Mahadev! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much for giving me Mantu. No matter how our marriage happened, but please bless us so that we are able to build a happy, successful married life together filled with love," Amaya prayed. "Mahadev, give me the strength to keep Amaya happy and give her all the love, joy and happiness she deserves," Mantu sent a prayer to Mahadev. "Here's your Prasad," the Panditji brought back the thaali and handed it to Amaya. "Beta, you are married and not wearing sindoor? The sindoor is part of a bride's shringar, especially that of a newly wedded bride. Here beta," he turned to Mantu and handed him the small box of vermilion, "put sindoor on her." Mantu took some sindoor and filled into the parting of Amaya's hair and she closed her eyes feeling as though her heart, mind and soul had been filled, filled with Mantu's love.

They bent to take blessings from the Panditji and as they were leaving the temple, Amaya threaded her hand through Mantu's arm and leaned onto him. Mantu looked at her and smiled as he covered her hand with his.When Amaya looked away from Mantu, her gaze immediately fell on someone standing at the steps of the temple, watching them.

Oh my gosh!!!!!

It was so adorable Neet... Everything was so cute... From Amaya waking up and her reactions it pleased me a lot. Chiklu is so cute 😆 People marry to have babies 🤣 And the temple scene was just perfect... Though you left the update with a suspense... I am wondering who is is? GC? Uma? Sneha? Rachita? It has to be one of these... I can't think of anyone else... I am waiting for your next update 😊

Originally posted by: Fanfictious_KJ

It was so adorable Neet... Everything was so cute... From Amaya waking up and her reactions it pleased me a lot. Chiklu is so cute 😆 People marry to have babies 🤣 And the temple scene was just perfect... Though you left the update with a suspense... I am wondering who is is? GC? Uma? Sneha? Rachita? It has to be one of these... I can't think of anyone else... I am waiting for your next update 😊

I think its uma .but still waiting for the suspense to open.

You have compelled me to comment now Neet!

neet great chapter .Update soon

Update soon.really excited for it neet.

Hey neet...plz update soon and plz pm me

Neet when will you update yr .really eager and excited.plz update soon