FF: Beetein Lamhe Prt 7 pg104 2/25/13 - Page 71

Present

As he stared out of the window Maan could see the stars twinkling against the dark night sky. Each and every star was visible on this clear night – just like it had been on their wedding day. There had been hundreds of thousands of stars in the sky that night, as if they had come out especially to celebrate his joy.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Past

Maan and Geet's wedding had been just perfect – it was fun, exciting, meaningful and beautiful. What made it more special was Geet. Her beauty and radiance was like sunshine – it brought light to everything and everyone around her. The wedding had been small, just family and a few friends at the actually ceremony. They held the ceremony right inside Khurana house – the main hall to be exact, which was more than big enough.

Maan had been stressed all day and yet at the same time he was excited and happy, almost like floating in air. He was sitting in the mandap and it was getting late, there was no sign of Geet or his Pammi Bhabi anywhere; Maan was getting worried. That was, until his eyes fell on the stairs and he saw her.

"Oh my God!" Maan thought.

It was like all of time stood still at that moment. Pammi was bringing Geet down with a beaming smile. Geet was wearing a deep maroon outfit, make and hair done, she was also decked out in exquisite jewelry – she looked like a princess. Seeing her made Maan stop all thought processes that were in his mind; all he could see was Geet, all he could think was Geet. He loved her so much it made his heart ache, in a good way.

As they proceeded with the ceremony, Maan was lost in his own world. He put the mangulsutra around her neck promising to forever protect her and make sure she never lost this string of sacred black beads from her neck. Putting he sindoor in Geet's maang he promised to always be faithful and to never see her maang devoid of sindoor ever again. With each phere they took around the religious fire Maan promised to be by her side at all times through out their lives, promised to keep her happy, promised to take care of her, promised to be the person that she could trust and confide in, promised to respect her – her promised her everything.

The reception had been a lavish affair held at one of the top Khurana hotels. It was Maan Singh Khurana's wedding so needless to say, it was a grand party – the media was there, all of the top society people were there and well respected business associates. Maan had to be honest; he was getting annoyed with everything rather quickly. All he wanted was to be with Geet, but that wasn't happening. He was so frustrated he almost stopped the reception and told people to go home; however, he managed to get control back and stopped himself from doing something completely idiotic. When he was sitting next to Geet he was just fine. She was very shy so she rarely looked at him, but Maan stared at her the entire time and kept his hand locked around hers, not paying attention to the embarrassing comments the guests were making.

At one point, when no one was looking, Geet leaned in towards him.

"I have a special surprise for you later," she whispered and then winked.

Maan's mouth just about fell to the floor – now he was back on the mission to have this reception end ASAP!

Alas, that was not the case. During the course the party, Maan and Geet shared their first dance together. The first son they danced to was the perfect fit for them.

Aaisa koi zindagi mein aaye…joh zindagi ko zindagi banaye…

It was a perfect song because it described exactly how Maan felt towards Geet. Throughout the duration of the dance both of them were lost in each others eyes and embraces.

When the reception finally ended, no one was more happy that Maan to go home. However, he had another long wait ahead of him. Maan and Geet had to proper welcome into the house done by Dadi. After that was done, Pammi had made them play the game where they drop a ring into murky liquid/rose petals and they had to hunt for it. At first Maan was against the whole thing, until a thought occurred to him – he could use this game as an excuse to have some fun. Once both their hands were in the large bowl, and no one could see them, Maan grabbed Geet's had – he looked right at her and didn't even bother to look for the ring. Geet squirmed and fought but Maan was not about to let go. It was a short while later that Pammi Bhabi had caught on to what he was doing and completely embarrassed him when she grabbed his hand and pulled it out – of course, he was still holding onto Geet's hand. It was then that he noticed Geet holding the gold ring between her finger, which made Teji Bhaia yell out loud that in their relationship, Geet would exert the most control over Maan. Maan was not surprised by this, ever since he had met Geet she had ruled over him. After all the post wedding formalities were done with, Pammi Bhabi took Geet upstairs and Maan nearly ran up with them himself. Luckily, Teji Bhaia had stopped him saying that it would be worth the wait.

His brother was right, it was completely worth the wait. When Maan walked into his room, now their room, he was blown away by the sight. There were no lights on in the room, just the glow of a hundred candles, which created the most amazing effect on Geet's face. She was sitting in the center of the bed when Maan came and sat next to her. He felt like he was a traveler in the desert who had gone weeks with out water and Geet was his oasis. Maan slowly went to move her dupatta when she moved back and then stood up. He was confused, he couldn't figure out what she was doing.

Geet went and stood by the large window over looking the back garden. After a moments hesitation, Maan followed and stood behind her. Without warning Geet turned around and pressed a remote control button. The next thing Maan knew he heard "Thriller" begin playing into the room.

With the biggest grin on her face, Geet leaned in and softly whispered "Surprise," into his ears.

Maan burst out laughing, she truly was one in a million. Taking his hand, Geet began to dance with him.

"This is our official first dance," she said. "After all, this is our song."

"God I love you!" Maan said.

"I love you too," Geet said, as the continued to dance.

When the song came to an end, Geet's head rested on Maan's chest. Slowly he took her face in his hand and lifted it toward him – and then, he kissed her. It was a soft kiss at first, but soon it was filled with hunger and passion. He guided her to their bed and began taking off her jewelry until only her mangulsutra remained. Gradually and reassuringly he removed what she was wearing as he proceeded to make Geet his. That night neither of them had slept. They showed each other just how they felt about. They poured their souls out to each other, the let the other into their heart, soul and spirit. They were ONE.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Present

Maan treasured that night with his whole heart. It was the night that he made Geet his and only his, in every way possible. That was the night that he had vowed to be with her forever, vowed to love her and cherish her, vowed to protect her, vowed to keep her heart safe, vowed to stay with her all his life.

Maan had never thought that Geet had made no such vows, and those that she made, she broke. She didn't stay with him forever; she didn't keep his heart safe. She didn't stay with him – no, Geet left him. Geet left him as he always was, alone. He had turned into that traveler in the desert again, searching for Geet – his oasis. He was in search for Geet but there was no salvation for him. Maan's salvation would not come until the end. Thinking about everything made one solitary tear slide down his face and land into his hand…his hand that held a necklace of black beads and gold…a necklace that had a powerful meaning…Geet's mangulsutra…something that she had returned to him when she left.