I am still not a Rocker ! 😭 😆
Enjoy and Sorry for any mistakes ! 😊
Best Friends
Four
He stayed with her for two weeks, but she was changed. She talked less, she worked much. She was completely lost, all she was doing was avoiding everything even Maan. She forcefully sent him home as she could not take it anymore. On the other hand, Maan was worried for her as he knew she was acting like everything was just fine but he knew she was not well, she was ignoring the reality, she was still in past and coping with it and all he wanted to do was to help her, to wake her up from the illusion. She behaved like she had moved on but the fact was that she did not. She tried to move on but she failed miserably, the home, the place keep reminding her about her lost husband and his memories. She fought with herself everyday that she would survive this but even in front of mirror she could see it in her eyes, the hidden pain and tears she blocked. She literally avoided talking with her soul, even. She was living very normal life in most abnormal way. On the surface, everything looked fine, even her brother and Aditi was confirmed that she was fine and moved on but no one could see the fight within herself to survive this. But as it was always usual, Maan knew it, he felt it, he could see it in her eyes and he could not force her. He decided to give her more time, and all he could saw was his friend behaving perfectly when she was not. It was impossible for her to hide anything from Maan and she tried million times to assure him that she was fine, and even Maan always agreed but they both knew, it was not true. They both knew that she was not fine but she successfully avoided it which he could not see.
He could not make out whether it was fate, destiny or coincidence or just reality, but his new plan for properties and hotel passed in Mumbai only, and he had to stay there for at least six months. Sometimes he thought each fiber of the universe connecting him with her to ease her pain and sometimes he thought it was just a plain business and coincidence. But whatever it was, he was happy that he could be with her even though she did not like it, and she talked less about it but he was happy. He wanted her Geet back, his friend who was lost in the middle of her life, who lost hope and who was constantly fighting for survival. He wanted to help but she denied. She literally threw him out from her house when he tried to talk about it. All that she wanted was a normal response which she did not get from her friend even.
'Just go. Leave me alone, Maan. Get the hell out from here. I thought you were my friend and you would understand me, you would support me but see here you are…I told you, I am fine. For god sake, I am not the first one on the earth who lost her hubby…I am fine. I don't want your sympathy, I am not paralyzed. I am just a widow. Okay? Now go…' she shouted on the top of her lungs.
'Geet…Trust me, I am not giving you sympathy because I know you are strong, you will survive this. I am just being with you. That's all…but if you think I should go, fine. I will go. Okay? Just relax. I am going.' He said it peacefully, as he knew it was of no use, it was better to leave her at that time.
He spent few more weeks by not calling her at all, he would just call her brother and ask for her wellness, he called her sometimes only to say hi and he tried to ask her for little fun but she was always ready with excuses, she never denied but she never came too. Maan was getting angry by then, he had had enough of this Geet who he did not knew. It was late in the night, he was working and he looked at the wall clock to check the time, it was just a glance, and after few second, he looked back on the wall for few more seconds and he smiled. He knew exactly what he wanted to do. He picked up the phone and called her, even though it was 2 am in the night. She was widely awake in her bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about nothing just trying to get some sleep. And her phone rang, she was surprised once who would call her at this hour, but after first few seconds of wonder, she knew it must be Maan. She avoided, but phone rang again and again. After all, she had to get up and pick up the phone and heard his exciting voice,
'Hey…I need your help, I am in crisis and I just need your help right now.'
'What? Maan…I am sleeping.'
'That's a lie. I know. Please help me…Please…'
'What is it?' she said, complete tired.
'Come and see it yourself.'
'NOW?'
'Of course, now…You have to, Geet. Please don't say no. I did so much for you and now its turn to help me…Will you?'
'Okay…I will try.'
'No…No…No try. You have to.'
'Kay.' She said. She got up and drove herself to his rented apartment in the same cloths.
When she entered his apartment, all she could see was mess. There were papers all around the floor, splattered coffee on them, flowers from the vase were scattered on the floor, there were cloths on the couch, TV was on, Laptop was on, and there were boxes which were packed which she thought was not even unpacked by him when he moved in. And he was sitting in the corner of the floor, completely lost in the plain white canvas board and there were too many colors and paint brushes around it, he was holding a brush and another brush was in his mouth, his hands were red from the paint color and forehead and face were spoiled with marks of blue and green paint colors. When she moved ahead with struggle in that mess, he looked at her, throw the paintbrushes and colors on the other side and sighed of a relief,
'Thank god, you came…Look at this. I am in a mess, and I don't know what to do.'
She was shocked, completely shocked looking at him and the mess he created.
'What the hell is this and what in the name of god are you doing there?' she shouted which was the voice like original Geet. He has forbidden a smile of satisfaction.
'I want this painting in my Mumbai office but my decorator could not bring it here, and I thought I would create a unique one, which…I could not.' He smiled.
And she burst into laugh.
'O.M.G. Maan…This is unique. I mean…plain white. What more unique you want?' she teased him.
'Fine. I can do it and I will do it. You see.' He said with fake anger and tried to paint again but failed. Painting was not his subject at all.
She laughed standing behind him, and he forbid a smile, and showed the fake anger.
'Okay…Okay. Accept it Maan. You may be the best businessman but you are a loser when it comes to painting. Let me do it. Now, move. Get up. I am doing it meanwhile you will clean this sticky apartment and make coffee. What are you doing? Are you living like animal? You have not even unpacked half of your luggage? How are you managing?'
'Oh…I had no time for unpacking. You did not help me and I am quite busy. And, by the way, all the necessary things for living are here and available, okay? So don't be my momma. I am doing work. And, the worst part is…there is no maid here. I can't find one maid yaar. And, I am literally sick of eating outside food; I am starving for home made food. Aditi is not in town, my cook has been sick for last three months and all I am doing is messing around here…Geet…you know how hard it is to establish…'
'…okay, okay, okay... I understood. No more lectures. I got it! Let me do my work now.'
And she lost herself in the painting completely, he watched her painting for him, and he was pleased beyond happiness, it gave him immense pleasure to see herself lost in something she loved. Painting was her gift, her talent, and she loved it. Almost after four years she was painting, after her marriage she stopped doing what she loved and again, she was doing it but she did not lose touch, she was the same magical artist who ruled colors and it was a gift. She just improved without even doing it for four years. Maan loved it. He thanked god for bringing his friend back. She completed the sketch and showed it to Maan, he loved it.
'It's amazing. I swear if I'd do that, I would ruin it.' He smiled.
She did not say anything. She just looked at the painting with a strange look as if the mere one painting was helping her, guiding her and giving her strength to cope up. She knew she was coming back, for the first time after month, she felt like herself more and more; it was something which gave her peace, utmost peace to the soul.
'But something is missing. This one needs more color.'
'But dark shade is fine, Maan.' She was still looking at the picture, it was like her life. There were no colors except, black, white and grey. She completed the way her life was.
'No. This needs colors. Life is nothing without colors. I hate black and white pictures.'
As if he was saying her for her life, he looked at her and continued,
'It's okay to have colors in life. It's okay! Geet, it's temporary.'
And they both knew that the painting was out of the picture now, they both knew the implied meaning of it. He left soon to make coffee and she started painting it once again with colors, and when he came back after few minutes, he saw her crying on the floor, painting was undone but there were colors in it, her hands were messy with colors and she was crying bitterly. He came and sat beside her,
'I loved him…And he left me. He promised me, he promised me to be with me. He promised. How I am supposed to live now? What I am going to do without him, Maan?'
That was it. The minute she cried and asked, Maan knew the same second that she was fine, she was alright and she was back.
'I know. If your love is enough then you will know it. You will move on because life that is, what moves on. He watches you and he hates this coward wife who can not move on. He loves his wife when she is strong, and he knows that nothing can keep them apart. It's okay, Geet. It's alright.'
'I was afraid. I was so scared being alone…' she sobbed.
'…I know…I know. You are not alone. I am here. And, he is watching you. You are not alone.'
And she sobbed more and rested her head on his wide chest.
'Shhh…it's okay. It's fine. You are fine now, you are alright. You survived this. It's alright.' He said rubbing her back and soothing her. She cried for sometime and looked up to him,
'Thank you.' She said lovingly.
'Shut up and clean this room, arrange my closet and please make some delicious food for me. I am starving.' He said with a straight face.
And they both smiled a little and she went into the kitchen to make his food. He watched her trailing away in the kitchen and smiled. He was fine. She was fine. They were fine; both the great friends are back.
***
In order to keep herself busy in what she loved, she started painting again. It gave her peace, she loved it and she was happy. She knew what she wanted, she knew she was still loved and she is being watched. It helped her in moving on, accepting the reality and the meaning of consequences, questions and answers. Aditya's death changed her, she was more mature, steady and grown up. At first it was all negative for her, she hated god, her life, even Maan, but now she understood, she was not angry anymore; she was once again Geet, the same Geet, Maan wanted back. She joined Maan's company as interior designer, she had a gift and she was ready to accept the gift and respect the talent within herself. She painted for herself, for him and for Maan. Her life which fell apart into million pieces were coming back together and fixing her, the pieces of the picture of her life was once again, getting back together. And she knew to whom she was thankful more than god, it was Maan.
She called Maan one fine Sunday and she ordered Maan to reach there at her home quickly, it scared Maan since only he knew how much effort he had put in to bring her back, to give her strength to enliven herself once again and suddenly call from her like this scared him, he did not wanted to lose his friend once again. He went there with frightful mind about what would come out now but he was relieved when he saw her in her room, sitting in between the piles of the cloths. It was all Aditya's cloths. He wondered and did not say anything, she understood from his facial expressions that he was confused and she stated,
'All his things are going for charity.'
'WHAT?'
'You heard it right. Charity. I am giving his cloths and his useful things to orphanage.'
'But why? Are you mad?'
'No. I am not mad. You know Maan? Aditya was fun loving guy, he was kind, helping, charming. He loved to help people. The only way to give him piece is helping the people, what he loved.'
'Some of them are your memories, Geet.'
'Well…I have thought this, for traditions and all…I know it's between me and my husband, it's a private affair and I know me and Aditya never cared for world's fake traditions and society, so I know its fine and for the memories part, I know I will never forget it, I do not need a thing to remind him, its still in heart. All I want to do is help him getting piece. He needs to go; I want to free both of us. It's a kind of spiritual thing, peace…' She said with tears in her eyes.
'Okay. So why did you call me?'
'Since you are going to help me. You idiot!' She smiled.
They arranged all his cloths and his things. While they were packing all the things, suddenly he heard her saying,
'This is the mysterious mirror I really don't understand why he kept it with himself? Look…It's just a mirror, that too small, delicate and old.'
He suddenly turned around and looked at it, she passed it on to him and continued,
'I asked him once but he did not tell me. He just said it was important and he kept it with himself always, even on our honeymoon. I teased him a lot but he did not tell me. And what made me more suspicious that he told me once when he met with a small accident and I was really scared…I cried and later at night, he told me if anything would happen to him anytime; I would have to give this mirror to you. It was not his. It belongs to you. Isn't it strange? I asked but he did not, so I left it. I never ask and I will never ask anymore…'
And Maan was in awe. He was shocked and motionless. What she just said made him numb, he could not find perfect reaction to it; he did not know whether to cry or laugh or what to do. He opened the mirror and turned around once again, and looked the image in the mirror, the reflection of the lady sitting behind him, he could feel the tears in his eyes but he had to control, he made quick excuse and went to the washroom and looked at himself in the mirror for minutes. For the first time in his life, he was naive, he did not know what to do, he surely understood what that implicated but he controlled himself. He promised himself that he would never think the same thing again what he thought before just few minutes. He could not; he was not allowed to love her. She was his friend, she loved her husband, and he was not authorized to love her. He made a determination not to involve with her, not to love her, not to like her, not to hurt her. He looked himself in the mirror and tried to convince him again and again, and finally when he could not see it in his eyes, he turned around and closed his eyes. He was angry on himself, he was shivering from pain and anger, he splashed cool water on his warm face to ease his pain, but it did not help and he saw himself once again,
'You are not…Maan. No. You can't do this. You don't love her. She is just a friend. She loves her husband. You don't love her. Maan can't love Geet. We are friends. That's it.'
He kept saying it to him again and again until she knocked the door to remind him that they were getting late. He mentally determined that it was last day in Mumbai. He had to leave.
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