Eternal Return: Ch 9-16 summary; 26/July/2015; pg 101 - Page 45

Originally posted by: kunataanya

interesting... who's dr vandana... dr handa's colleague? was she ever geet's therapist?

very well written, keep going.

And some more questions:

• Is Aunt Gaargi still alive?
• Was Dr Handa's body found and identified?

• She has picked up her father's practice of writing notes by hand (which, according to him, it helped him compartmentalise information and also gave him a better overview of the bigger picture). [Yes, I like characters who put pen / pencil to paper:-)]
• She doesn't drive a car herself and perhaps does not even own a car (the latter is pure conjecture). It appears to be by choice. She either hails a cab or gets a lift from Maan. [If it is because she is environmentally conscious, she goes a step up in my estimation.]

I did warn you that they were random observations:-)

Originally posted by: hegdemedha

Sookie, blame the bookmarks for it. I don't always go to the first page to read the updates.

Well, actually, I can't blame the bookmarks. You posted this in Chapter 11 too. And, honestly, I just didn't read it what was written on it. I will now think that one over:-) Or, was this a clever way of getting us to inquire if Aaron will enter the story too?:-)

Chapter 17 – Part 1

Geet sat back and watched Dr. Vandana from under her eyelashes. Whatever the predicament was, Dr. Vandana was good at her job and always picked up on nuances by miniscule facial expression. It hadn't taken her too much time to get teenagers opening up to her and talking about their most private secrets.

"Is something bothering you Geet?" The older woman asked noting how Geet had gone stiff for several moments. Geet's curls covered most of her face thus shielding her expression from Vandana. She knew it was one of Geet's favorite defense mechanism to not allow people figure out what she was thinking. From experience she could deduce that it was something very personal and very important to Geet.

"I am working on a case these days and sometimes it hits me when I am taking a shower or watering plants or even doing my job," Geet shrugged. She threw her head back and shook it till no hair fell on her face. She met Dr. Vandana's eyes calmly, mask in place once she reaffirmed her defenses. The next line of question and answers would require all of her training and concentration to extract information from the older woman and not give away any information about the current case.

"I didn't know you were interested in gardening Geet. Since when do you water plants?" Dr. Vandana's voice wasn't accusative – merely questioning. Geet didn't miss the slight raise in her eyebrow. No, the question was not academic. It was personal. It was intriguing that Vandana had picked up on it.

"I have few potted plants in balcony – some with bright sunny flowers and some herbs," Geet shrugged in nonchalance. Dr. Vandana's imaginary pen moved.

The last time they gave her a plastic pen without nib and ink, Vandana had tried to cut her wrists by cutting the pen body and using the sharp jagged edges as blade. She was under constant supervision when she went to take bath or eat.

Geet sighed deeply. Vandana looked up from table and searched the young woman's face. Residue of inner turmoil was evident.

"I can help you Geet. You can talk to me," she said softening her voice. Geet took a deep breath and nodded.

"It's just that…this time of the year…I start losing focus. You know?" She asked tapping a finger on table. She took another deep breath. "The case I am working on is basic consulting and there is nothing in it for me to invest my time but I had hoped that it would take my mind off things, you know?" The tapping increased. Nervousness laced her voice and she looked at the older woman with an expression of hopelessness.

"You are working on an unimportant case to escape the grief that would hit you when your father's death anniversary arrives, isn't it?" Dr. Vandana surmised.

Geet nodded and said, "And I am also unable to get a break through in the case." Dr. Vandana didn't respond but merely wrote in her book. Geet waited.

"Dr. Vandana, may I ask you something?" She asked biting her nails. Vandana looked up from her book and nodded.

"You worked with my father, right?" She asked adding emotions to her voice. Vandana nodded again. "How did he feel when he couldn't solve a case? How did he cope with failure?" Geet asked.

Dr. Vandana stilled for a moment. She recovered after few seconds and composed herself. If she knew Geet had caught on it, she didn't show.

"We all meet adversaries in our career with who we would not be able to confront or unable to provide a solution to bring them to justice. It's a part of our life," she said.

"But there must have been some failures that didn't let go of him, right? Cases that affected him for a long time," Geet asked probing into her father's past.

"Geet…" Dr. Vandana started but Geet cut her off.

"Have you found him hitting dead ends over and over again when you were working with him Dr. Vandana? Any specific cases?" She asked smoothly. The older woman stared at her.

"It's just that…" Geet said and sighed. She stood up and started pacing the room. Vandana narrowed her eyes. It was more than a decade since she had seen an agitated Geet. It was as if she was seeing seventeen year old Geet all over again. It was little odd though. But she didn't intervene and continued to watch a pacing Geet.

"I just wish he was alive you know?" Geet said stopping her pacing for a moment and dropping her chin enough to touch the chest. Her curls curtained her face from Vandana making the older doctor squint her eyes and look at Geet. Geet continued. "I wish he would just tell me how to fix it. I wish he could explain to me about the cases where he couldn't come up with any rational explanation. I wish he and I would work on those old cases together again now – as a team," Geet said, her voice watery and cheeks flushed.

Vandana didn't respond. She simply looked at the woman in front of her with who she played when she was a little girl visiting her daddy and treated her for the severe loss of her father and finally becoming an impromptu therapist whenever life bogged her down.

However it was very odd for a woman and a professional like Geet to react in a way she was right now. It didn't fit Geet's profile. There was something off about the whole thing and before she could think the whole thing through and analyze, she was distracted from her thoughts by Geet's words.

"Please tell me," Geet said sitting down in the chair again. Dr. Vandana sighed and closed the imaginary book and pen.

"There was this case, a triple homicide…"