FF: New York times Thread 5 Completed 10/03 - Page 15

Amazing update! I can't wait to read more! Off to read the
addition...

Okay, so I accidently skipped the Hangover update and was totally confused by the last update. Now I understand. Haha. Dang. Can't wait to read more!

🤣...as much as i loved the hangover part...🤪they called home saying maan is lost...🤣...😡.. i hate these two drunkards for putting Maan into more problem...poor baby..😆...first geet went out of control and then these two nuts of rishab and yash...😒 🤣
on a serious note the fight has escalated...😭...please resolve this in the next update...😛...i think both maan and geet are right from their perspective...😳..but please we need more fun, maahiness, celebrations and you know what...☺️ 😆
awesome job as usual...👏

Part 110: Amor fati Update 1

"My formula for greatness in a human being is amor fati: that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it...all idealism is mendaciousness in the face of what is necessary...but love it"

Two days had already gone by and she didn't know how they had reached the impasse they were at. She was crying over the phone now, all shields down as the situations had reversed entirely. The last meeting of the day loomed close and she didn't have it in her to sit in a roomful of people staring at her tear drenched face. She undeniably hated him for doing this to her.

"May be you are right...I did rush into marriage without giving a thought about our compatibility issues. We fought in the beginning and we are doing it now..." Maan spoke on the other end of the line, breaking her heart into pieces. She'd somehow hoped he'd never give words to the fear she'd sensed off late. She was determined to keep her silence, despite the wrenching agony that coursed her nerves.

He'd called her the first thing on Monday morning, giving everything a rest for one whole night. She'd picked up the phone but had refused to talk, unless he was willing to 'talk' to her before he always took things into his own hands or jump to conclusions. At first it had seemed bearable when only he addressed her, enquiring about mundane routine things like nothing had happened the previous week or even day. And it seemed to her like he was adding fuel to the fire, purposely avoided broaching the subject. He'd even dared asking about her return flight for Meera and Yash's wedding the coming week, but it entirely drove her crazy when he showed such indifference towards them and tended to bush fires when the forests burned raging mad. That was when she'd decided he'd pushed her buttons for far too long and she held her ground staunchly, vowing not to speak until he would do the right thing. It had been a whole day and half ago and now the next day was also coming to a close.

"You know what Geet...You can decide when to break that mouna vrath of yours at your own leisure. I have a fire drill starting in a few hours and I have wasted enough time with you already..." He waited for to her respond, but she didn't and he cussed. It was uncharacteristic of him do so, she thought.

"Once I get inside the war room, I know it's going to be an all nighter and you please...don't...bother...calling" His words split venom. "Why just be stubborn about speaking...you can stay back there as long as you want. We will manage here at the wedding" He knew he was falling for the same trap every couple did at times like this, trying to slap mud at her breaking point in hopes she'd open up at least to retaliate at being provoked; proving he was no more above the average joe.

"I'm going now...don't call me, not today, not tomorrow...I'm not picking up...ever..." He'd stressed more than enough on the last word before he hung up, making sure he drove the message home. She didn't believe he would hang up on her, only to hear the electronic tones buzzing in her ear like dead flies and it broke her like nothing had ever done to her.

***

She walked two blocks back to her apartment, dragging a part of her that seemed dead. It was dusk and the yellow orange rays kissed her eyes and it snapped away from the soft glowing sun like it was playfully mimicking her life. She threw herself in bed and stared blank at the pale white ceiling, unable to cry or contain all those tears. They remained frozen just behind her eyes, constantly reminding her of the reticence and helplessness she was living with. What was more pathetic was the fact, that she no longer remembered what had started it all...and led them down this path.

2.5 hrs later.

It was 8.45 PM and she'd already bit her nails to the quick, running away from the phone that she'd thrown atop the coffee table. She rounded it waiting for a sign. Perhaps it would move and she could catch...and her finger might call him by mistake and she would get to hear his voice again. How dare he tell her what she can and cannot do? Stretching her legs over the armrest, as it dangled with anxiety, she felt a wrenching...a knotting in her stomach that tightened by the minute. When the tense volatile feeling rose as nausea in her throat, she gave up and called him.

There had been times she'd not heard from him after 25 missed calls, but this time around she was so jumpy that she bolted with her purse and her laptop that was exactly where she'd left upon entering the apartment only after two calls. It felt like history was repeating itself and indeed she had some karma associated with airports for she found herself perpetually racing through security checkpoints and running like a deranged woman across terminals.

And it had happened just then, without her knowledge. Her feet was kicking through the dusty red carpet for no reason at all and she loved the cool air from the air conditioners that blew through her face as she ran, determined to catch the flight that was leaving to NY in another 16 mts and she hadn't even got through the security clearance yet.

"But lady...you might not make it...This gate is two terminals down" The TSA officer called out examining her license and boarding pass.

She snatched the documents and ran backwards to rationalize it all to the officer who thought, she'd lost it "Yes...I know..." She cried laughing at the top of her voice "But I have to tell him something important and I have to do in person" She said, snapping her belt and shoes off to dump them into the plastic tray.

"What's so important?" The officer swiveled in her chair to face her.

"Oh!...that he is the biggest dumb ass in the world and that we are a screwed up couple despite what he thinks" She yelled and the entire security arena broke into a laughter. It'd been a spontaneous remark, than a calculated one and she smiled at her sudden impulse to call him that.

"Tell me about it honey!" the office muttered to herself and got back to her daily humdrum.

She'd taken Naini's way of expressing her feelings about him, but the simplest, rather colloquial choice of words had cast a new light on the situation. It was coming to her from a profound place and she found it rather interesting than amusing that moment, that it was all suddenly making sense. How or why she didn't understand. And she wasn't even sure any longer why she was making the trip unplanned, when she'd been as stubborn as a rock only until a few hours ago.

She was certain something had changed inside her, although she couldn't quite put a finger on it. The only thing she was confident about was that she was ready to beat the crap out of him if need be, but he was going to listen to her and she wouldn't mind if he could do some talking himself, however, that she decided would be optional for him. They had to end this drama nice and clean now. It didn't matter anymore (not knowing what didn't matter); she told herself and sprinted through the mounds of people who crowded her way with a rising euphoria that gave her wings. She was smiling as her heels cut through the floor and every fiber of her being told her that something good and big was coming her way...

***

It was 7.20 AM EST and she shot through the elevator closing doors like a bullet and ached for them to go faster. Once at the door, she began pounding at it without a care and barged in without greeting a surprised Naini who opened it for her.

"Where's Maan?" She asked as Naini looked as confused as she could ever be.

The excitement in her bhabhi's voice and the abrupt trip didn't add up to Naini given the fact they were still fighting. She'd still been sleeping when she'd heard the banging from the entrance. And she was rather slow that morning owing to the bad morning sickness she'd faced in the early hours. To add to that she was grumpy too that Rishabh didn't want to stay with her in the same room and continued going back downstairs giving her the vaguest of reasons she'd didn't ever understand.

She yawned and finally answered "I think he is still in the..."

Naini couldn't finish as a huge shock wave ran through the walls of the building. It can't be an earthquake for she was assured NY was not on a fault line like SF was. The confirmation reverberated in her ears as a loud booming sound came into the room from all directions. Geet felt an eerie foreboding wash over her.

The women grew wary and held onto the door while the tremors stabilized and sound went low. Daadima came speeding from the room, with a hand on her chest and was relieved to see Naini still standing at the door. Her brows furrowed into a question upon seeing Geet and then turned into an unsure smile.

It all happened so fast that she was still shaking from the aftereffects that had hit her. She turned as she heard footsteps in the hallway and saw Rishabh and Yash running towards them.

"Where is Maan?" Yash asked catching his breath. Rishabh looked at him curiously and took in a deep breath himself. He had shuffled out so quick out of the house that he hadn't had time to catch up with Yash to see if anything was amiss.

"I saw him in office last night around 11.00...Is he home yet?" Yash asked swallowing more air as he rushed the words out.

He didn't wait for an answer and instead hurried to switch on the television in the living room. Geet slowly caught on to what he was implying and paced herself inside.

"All cell phones are out. I think they have cut wireless..." Yash added. As he addressed the family that was gathered there, the picture in the television came alive, launching a living terror in their faces. And they stood still as the burning images took shape in their mind's eyes.

"We have just received confirmed reports from our floor reporter James Moskowich, informing us of the second terrorist attack of the morning in the heart of Manhattan. More on that as we wait for the live feed. James, can you tell us where this new target is?" said the studio reporter, holding her ear piece.

Geet's heart leaped to her mouth as they continued showing images of a collapsing NYSE building bringing down the adjacent buildings along with it.

"While we wait for that, for the viewers who have just joined us, the first target site had been the New York stock exchange right next to Ground zero that took hit only a few minutes ago, the former site of the 9/11 attacks from the year 2001. It is reported 50 early office goers, walking down the street have been injured. The numbers are on the rise by the minute as we wait for firefighters to clear the area and start looking for survivors. A devastating morning for NY indeed..."

If NYSE was the first one, then it left all the mid-town and uptown where the second site could be. "Babaji..." She stumbled and fell on her knees, sighting which Naini and Yash came to hold her up.

The frame of the newscast cut to a reporter on the street and the field reporter was haphazardly dashing across the street with his microphone, a few hundred people being ushered to safety by the police who were already there. It was chaos all around and in the grainy live image, she saw a 'Peet's' coffee board barely visible in the thick white dust swirling in the wind. The building continued to collapse and the camera zoomed out. Slowly the cross-streets came into view and only then it struck her it was Broadway and 5^th....Empire state...the light dimmed in her eyes and her body grew chill. Her fingers trembled as the only tiny light coming into her iris shut out before blackness took her.

"Geet...Geet...Wake up" Something sharp hit her face and her cheeks burned followed by drops of something chill; perhaps water. Her eyes took in the blurry image of Naini's face and her stomach ached. Holding onto her belly she was sobbing now with her head on Naini's lap.

"Don't beta" Daadima was crying too "Nothing can happen to him..."

"No...No...Don't...No..." Was all she could manage in-between her wails. She wanted to draw on something...anything to get to her feet but she felt paralyzed from the waist down. Her feet didn't move to her brains instructions and the chillness in her body made her give out a shiver. He needed her and she couldn't afford to be here wasting time.

"His laptop is here...Are you sure he didn't come home?" Yash came out of the hallway with her husband's mac in hand. Geet looked at Naini, looking at her with raw anticipation and her one answer had the power to make it all better.

"I don't think he took his laptop bag today" Naini said, launching a fresh course of pain to start in her chest.

"Can you login to his network? May be signed out early from the building" Yash said.

What did he mean by adding the word 'May be'? Maan must have signed out of the building and he was on his way home. She wanted to wring something and scream at him for preposterously speculating Maan's whereabouts. He could be opening the door right that minute and for all she knew, he might not be informed of the terrible attacks...he was perched on loose soil, somewhere safe in the mountains in her thoughts. Yes, he must have gone for a drive and there couldn't have been a better time for him to do so. She wanted him anywhere but mid-town.

While she was still lying on Naini's lap, she took the laptop from him and struggled to remember anything at all to type in there. Her fingers worked mindlessly, as tears poured through her eyes and she strained to see if she was successful in her attempt. When the wallpaper came into view, Yash yanked the laptop back from her after she connected to his remote desktop. Rishabh kept trying on the landline to reach Maan, but it was a vain effort as all cell phones had zero reception due to a cell blackout and the desk phone was already toast...lying in the rubble...

No...The scandalous thought made her get to her feet and she swaggered her way to Yash. Quickly wiping her eyes, she moved a few windows and got to his Inbox. The last email he'd sent was around 4.47 AM that morning. This was definitely good news, although it didn't give her the confirmation she needed that he'd been out of the building on time. She saw there were few drafts sitting in the sidebar and opened the folder to see the last one saved at 6.53 AM. By mistake, her finger tapped on the trackpad and the window popped in front of her. Without her knowledge, her eyes focused on the few lines that were noted there. She saw that there was no subject and as her gaze shifted downwards, her eyes widened and she wanted to hurl herself out the window at what she see. What had she done to her Maan? Her mind bellowed as she took in the message line after line.

"What happened?" Meera came from the hallway as she glanced at the shocked, glum and anxious faces that met her scattered in the living room. Yash walk towards Meera and Naini's attention snapped to alert her.

"His mobile is still not reachable" Rishabh informed them.

That was all she'd to hear and she took off out the door in a frenzied dash. The sudden movement had made the laptop crash to the floor and Naini caught sight of Geet in the outside corridor.

She didn't believe in the power of love or in all those sixth sense theories that people talked about at times like these. Their life wasn't going to end like this. Not when they had so much to talk and when she had so much to tell. Her heart pounded in her chest, but it didn't matter when her feet had permanently disconnected from her body for good. It was going to take her wherever he was. It didn't seem one bit illogical to her when knew nothing about where he was that moment. She was going to run all the way down to Broadway if necessary, but she was going to find him...and that was the end of it all.

To be continued...

My tiny efforts to dedicate this update to all those who ache for the love they lost on 09/11...

Love the latin phrase

Pls Maan be safe.. I am so shocked with this update..

Amazing updates Hasini. Waiting for the next one. Hope we will get it today 😉

Hope maan is alright,fab prt

Looks like it's headed for a nail biting roller coaster ride to the finish! Waiting for the next part :)