12. The Tough game
She looks at the ringing phone displaying the name "Mr. LaZeeBoy"😳 and immediately picks it up
"I'm sorry" She says
"I need to talk to you" He replies in an expressionless tone🤔
"Sure. We can meet tomorrow"😊
"No. Now" He couldn't believe himself but many things that he does in the recent days are unbelievable to his own
"Oookkk.." She checks the time. It's 11.10. She's quickly thinking of any public place that would be open at this hour.
"Some Midnight food joint?" While she's trying to recollect some place he couldn't help but smile even in his foul mood. 😃
He knows she's the daring one and not worried about her safety but he has this sudden urge to scold her for being so careless about the city.😉
"Open the door and come down" is all he says
She's confused now and looks out through her bedroom window and sees him on the road, sitting on his bike, talking on the phone. As if he knows what she's doing he looks at her window.
She quickly closes the curtain and hides behind like someone caught her at action😆. She checks her dress and is satisfied for being presentable. She runs to the door. And the next minute she's there near his bike, looking at him in wonder. At the same time she's guilty that she said too much in their previous meeting.
"I'm very sorry. I don't know what got into me and I said too many things. I don't have any rights to accuse you like that" She just pours down like a rainfall
"Shall we go inside?" His question surprises and shuts her down😆
She invites him in. He walks inside the neatly maintained single bedroom apartment. She doesn't have much furnitures in the living room that opens up to her dining attached to open kitchen. Just a low height coffee table.
He looks around not knowing where to sit when she pulls out one of the cushioned stools under the coffee table. He sits on it. Though it's too low for him but he finds it comfortable. She sits choosing the seat directly opposite to him. Maybe it's easy to see him in front of her.😃
"I'm sorry that I came in just like that, and this late in the night" It's too late a realization🤪
"No problem. I am myself was thinking of calling you.."
He is very glad to hear that.
"Can I have some water?"
She gets it for him and asks
"You look tired. Will you eat something?"
He is really hungry as he hasn't eaten anything at all after the last coffee with Satya. She takes his silence as acceptance and goes inside.
He follows her to the kitchen and watches her preparing dosa for him.
"I wanted to say something to you" He begins
"Hmm.." She listens
"I never have thought anything low about girls.."
She gives a soft look at him, feeling guilty of her own words
"And I definitely don't think that girls are stupid either"
She smiles at his timing as she places the dosa plate on the kitchen platform cum dining table. Pulls out a chair and makes him sit on it. He starts eating and appears to be liking it. And she appears to be liking having him in her house. She feels at peace.
But Satya has to know whether it's only a normal moody thing that Prasanna goes through on and off or there is something more to it. She cannot afford to lose her peace if she's finding herself caught between him and his mood swings.
"I don't know how to prove but I am definitely not selfish. I am really very happy to know that Malavika has bigger dreams in the sport"👍🏼
Satya regrets for her harsh words against him.
"I'm really sorry again. I went overboard and crossed my limits. Without knowing anything about you.."
"I killed a girl and her dreams.." She is shocked but waiting to hear the story without jumping into conclusions
Flashback:
During his active coaching stint, eight years ago, Prasanna met a smart and beautiful girl, Pranitha. She was a student at the sports academy where he was coaching private students who pay hefty price to claim fame and success.
He saw that the girl was very much passionate about doing something big in her life. That was the first time he took a girl student under him. He thought it would be a challenge for his proficiency and wanted to prove something to the world.
Pranitha too was enjoying the wins and the attention that she was getting, being at her best in the team. She enjoyed is too much that slowly she got deviated by the recognition. And her love for being in the limelight overtook her love for the sport.
Prasanna could see that and he couldn't help but put more pressure on her to focus on the games. She slowly drifted away from him and the sport. But she was getting other offers through her achievements.
And she continued to do whatever she wanted to do - something big in life. She got into the show business and thought the basketball as a sport had lesser reach than the glamour world. Modelling, Brand ambassador and then a movie offer, her path deviated from its origin. That took her far away from him and what he wanted her to be. Yes, the clich here was he had put his own emotions into her wants and when her wants changed he found it difficult to change his emotions to align to that.
He got angry, annoyed and disappointed. He never felt that he had so many emotions inside him that came out in different forms but all ended up creating negative impacts. It came down hard on the sports academy where everyone ridiculed him for his anger issues. It also affected Pranitha in her new role as an actor where his drama was used for their own publicity. Anyway she was in her own new world using it all in her favour.
Everything was out of his control and it took a while again for him to get back to his normalcy. By then Pranitha's movie released which didn't do well. Her career was mocked and she was made into a laughing stock by the very people who took her to her new world. She didn't take it too well. She was not cut out for such humiliation. She felt very ashamed and dishonoured. The insult and loss of pride killed her from inside.
Pranitha visited Prasanna and she cried a lot. She told that she lost her reputation because of her mistakes. She was too weak and emotional and he pitied her state very much. He tried to console her. He asked her not to give up and do what she was always best at. He also told her that he would help her pick up from where she left to get what she wanted. She was kinda consoled and convinced when he dropped her at home.
But the next day he received the message that Pranitha committed suicide. And he was too shocked to even react. He felt he failed a little girl who relied on him and blamed himself for her death. He couldn't contain himself whenever he remembered her crying face which came haunting him very often. That showed up in his moods and an avalanche effect following it.
Flashback End
Satya had thought that there could be something majorly different between them and it can't be just a difference of opinion but difference of values in their lives. Which could shake their life's basis completely. And she was hoping that the shake would decide whether to part ways or cross their path. Now after knowing how Prasanna has taken the incident too personally, she could only feel very strongly for him and his emotional attachment to his values in life. And how both of their core values are very much connected. She's now determined to stay in his life for good or bad, whatever it is going to be.
They both are sitting at the coffee table now facing each other. He is covering his face with both of his hands, not wanting to show his terrible face to her. She reaches out to him, removes his hands from his face. Holds them in hers, very tenderly.
"I'm sorry that she died. And you should know that you did whatever you could"👍🏼
Her voice is very soothing to him
He dips his face into her hands and sobs uncontrollably.
"She trusted me" He says in between his sob
"Yes, she did" She releases one of her hands from his and smoothly moves it on his hair
"And why didn't she give it a second chance"
"Maybe she couldn't handle it anymore"
"Yes, I failed to give her the confidence"
"Nooo.. Prasanna.. Why do you think she came to you?"
"To seek some support and prove herself again"
"No.. I don't think so."
He's confused
"She was guilty for hurting you and wanted to clear it with you."
"But why?"
"Because she knew you are a good man and you intended only good for her"
"Then?"
"I think even before meeting you she had made up her decision. She only wanted to get rid of the heaviness, from her heart before leaving the world"
"I don't know but I can't be myself whenever I think about it"
Satya holds his face in her hands and looks at his childlike innocent face. She thinks to herself 'How am I gonna explain to this kid that it's not his fault?'
"I don't know what you think of me. But will you trust me?"
"I have never told this incident to anyone else"
That says it all and she feels a lump in her throat. She herself is overwhelmed with emotions and she is struggling hard to not to make it worse for him.
She wipes the tears from his eyes.
"I will get you some water" She goes inside. He doesn't like being left alone and follows her like a kid.
She gives the water and he drinks.
She's looking at him deeply and she looks so vulnerable herself with him.😳
Edited by Push-pull - 8 years ago
Anupamaa
MasterChef India Season 9
Indian Mythology
Hollywood
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