Part 2
While she tried to put her thoughts into words, Maan was glancing around the room, appreciating the way it was so well maintained. On one wall was a big photo of his parents, which he had never seen before. It had been garlanded with fresh flowers. Obviously the flowers were not more than a day old, so it must have been changed only that morning. Even the flowers in the vase were fresh. She wasn't aware of his arrival, so she must be have been doing these things routinely. Since how long? he wondered.
Maan "thanks a lot you've maintained the hawali excellently!"
Not being used to being complimented by him she felt awkward. So she asked him "would you like some coffee?"
Maan "Yes, that would be fine."
When she went up and returned with two cups of coffee, Maan wasn't in the room. She was wondering if she should call out to him, when she heard voices from inside. She recognized it as Nakul's. Nakul was questioning at Maan. "Kya huva chote saab??? Ab itne thake huve kyu lag rahe hai???Apne bataya nahi ke aap arahe hai???" so on and so forth. "Ghadi main 3 ghante bhet ke pair dard kar rahe hai mere.They are just recovering from the injury," Maan replied to his queries as he lay resting on the bed.
Then seeing Geet, Maan sat up on the bed, leaning against the bedpost with his legs stretched out in front. She handed him one cup when he extended his hand towards her. When she turned around to give the coffee to the lad, he said "Main coffee main pita didi"
Nakul "Didi aapne takleef kyu uthayi. Main bana deta na"
Geet "Koi baat nahi Nakul. Kya chachu ko pata hai???"
Nakul "Nahi didi. Woh toh aone kamre main araam kar rahe hai. Maine kuch awaaz suni toh main bahar aaya aur maine chote saab ko dekha. Phele toh main inhe pechaan hi nahi paya"
Maan smiled hearing Nakul's talks and that made Geet also smile. Then turning towards her Maan said, "Sit down and give me company. If I remember correctly, you are very fond of coffee." The lad went outside and got the chair for her. When she settled on the chair and started sipping the coffee, he said, "If you could tell Ramu how to get to the market he'll go and get the grocery and other things. So that we won't have to impose on you."
Nakul "Mujhe waise bhi bazaar jana hai main inhe leke jaata hu"
Maan took out a thousand rupee note from his purse and handed it to Ramu. "Yaha pe iske liye change milna bohut mushkil hai" said Nakul, "par aap chinta mat kijye hum sambhal lenge" Then both of them left after making sure that Maan didn't need anything else.
It was very awkward for Geet sitting alone with him. So to start a conversation she asked "how is everyone? Meera, the boys?" Suddenly his eyes dropped and his face grew sad. When he looked up at her again, his eyes were brimming with tears. "Meera ab nahi rahi" he said simply. "She died in the car accident which left me like this." Geet let out a gasp. "I'm very sorry." She knew how much he loved her who would know better?
Maan "Shayad bhagwan mujhe sazaa de rahe hai main tumhare saath jo bartav kiya hai uske liye"
Geet "Aisa mat boliye aap. Maine kabhi aapko aur meera ko galat nahi samjha. Aap thak gaye honge aap araam kijye. Agar koi kaam ho toh mujhe bula lijyega main outhouse main hi hu"
He nodded and lay down on the bed. She didn't want to ask anything more about the accident and make him sadder. But what she didn't know was that she had left him with thoughts of the past. Inspite of the way life had treated her, there was absolutely no bitterness in her. She was the same selfless girl he always knew. "Geet!" he sighed.
Amarjeet Singh Khurana lived with his sons,Veer Singh Khurana n Aryan Singh Khurana n his best friend's daughter,Rano Handa who had lost her parents when she was very young n so she used to live with her father's best friend.
Veer had got married and got a son n named him Maan. A few years later Rano got married. She'd had 2 miscarriages before she conceived Geet. But when she was in the fifth month of her pregnancy her husband died of typhoid. Her in-laws lost no time in blaming her and her unborn child for their son's death and sent her back to Hoshiyarpur.
Few months later, she delivered a baby girl n named her Geet which meant song n she had a very melodious voice. So Geet and Maan grew up together in the same house, though he was elder to her by 4 years. Right from the time she was a baby, her mother instilled in her, that she was to be Maan's wife.
As a little girl, Geet adored the ground Maan walked on. She would be chasing him wherever he went calling out "Maan,Maan". For him, she was an endless embarrassment. His friends teased him no end, because of her. That was why he avoided her as much as possible. Inspite of all his threatening and scolding, she followed him around like a faithful puppy.
When he got admission in Delhi University, he thanked God with all his heart and left home happily. He would come home during the vacation, but for a few days only. He began to notice that she was blooming into a very pretty but shy girl, very different from the earlier chatterbox. He was very thankful that now she didn't tag along everywhere with him. She rarely ever spoke to him. (But he didn't see her hiding behind doors, admiring him who had grown even more handsome now, with good height and perfectly chiseled body.)
Love,
Hinal
Prev - Part 1 - Pg 6
Next - Part 3 - Pg 15
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