Samarpan (An FF) Part 11 (Thread 1/Page 139) - Page 77

Originally posted by: Pearl_27

Indu...🤗THANK YOU!!!! <3 For being such a wonderful friend sweetheart and I missed you no less! LOVE YOU FOR BEING MY FRIEND!

Originally posted by: InduG64

Love you back Pearl.🤗
Of course, I missed you...You were one of the first to support me in trying my hand out at story writing. See...I am still here.😳

Originally posted by: Pearl_27

So glad to see you are still writing.Even after Sparsh! Its always a treat to read your stories they have twists,romance,emotions everything!!!!! So how can anyone not LOVE them and specially how can anyone not LOVE a wonderful friend like you!🤗

congrats on the 100!👏

Originally posted by: 1HappyGrl

Indu! 🤗 Your comments always humble me so much because this creative space is so reciprocal -- your wonderful writing engenders the reactions I have. 😳 Very honored to be an unexpected source of inspiration for the next installment. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Aw, your past classmate's story tugs at my heart. What she said about the dorm and you girls being the only home she knows is so bittersweet. 🥺 Sad, on one hand, because she didn't want to go home, yet it was so nice you and the other girls made her feel so secure and loved that all of you became her family without knowing it. Hopefully, she's been able to find or create a secure feeling of home now. I think it's the saddest thing in the world for a child not to feel at home or safe with his/her own family. I definitely agree with you that meeting people with such difficult emotional journeys makes us grateful to God for what we have, and allows us to put our frustrations about what we may take for granted into perspective. Such an authentic source of inspiration for this part of Aarti's story! I'm excited to see how you continue to weave all of these emotions and ideas into Samarpan. It's been such a great read so far! 👏

Originally posted by: rutu83

congrats on the 100!👏

Originally posted by: InduG64

Pearl...do you want to make me cry with such love? 🤗

Samarpan

The energy of surrender accomplishes much more than the energy of control.

Part 8

He turned to look at her. Whatever she was going to say next got stuck in her throat as she stared at a pair of eyes that gazed fixedly back at her with an intensity that stirred her soul. Aarti took an involuntary step back. Her first reaction was, "He seems offended." But then she surprised even herself by standing her ground. For some reason the stranger didn't scare her, and even as she stared back, unable to look away, the slightly indignant look in his eyes turned speculative. The transition was so quick that Aarti wondered whether she was mistaken. It seemed he was about to say something. That's when Maansi came out from behind the counter.

"C'mon Aarti…any other day, but not today." She whispered and looked at the man, whose only reaction to her not-so-hushed remark was a slight furrowing of his brows as he kept his eyes on Aarti.

"But why?"

"(Sighing) Anna ma'am has asked me to maintain the sale accounts of the shop till the audit, lest you face a problem. Chris Sir sneaked out two platters of patties and quiches and the entire tray of choco chips pastries for his Bridge session today, and she found out. She was very angry."

"Alright...I'll pay for the burger." She looked at the man whose eyes had not wavered from her face during the short exchange of words. "Sir, don't worry. It's OK. Please have your burger."

"Do people eat alone in your house?"

"Excuse me?" Aarti and Maansi looked at him in surprise.

"You did say, this is on the house….I may not have money on me, and I have been eating alone for some time now, whenever I managed some food that is. If the kind lady joins me for a bite, then I would like to thank her properly for her generosity."

Maansi pursed her lips and snickered as Aarti looked at her confusedly. She didn't know what to do. This had never happened to her before in all the three years she worked here and during all the times she helped some hungry person.

"I…I…don't know. I…have work to do."

"Please ma'am. I promise I'll behave. I just don't want to eat alone. Not today…on my birthday." That melted whatever reservation Aarti had.

"OK. I'll sit for awhile. Please have a seat. Err….Happy Birthday, Sir!!"

"Yash!"

"Excuse me?"

"Yash Scindia….that's my name."

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YASH...

Yash turned quietly and walked away. Aman saw him coming and opened the car door. Without saying a word, Yash slid in the front seat. Aman had already kept their luggage in the car. He just got into the driver's seat and drove away from there, toward the road to Bhopal. He knew Yash would need some time to absorb Tanya's betrayal, so he let him be. He knew his friend too well, and he knew his habit of bottling up things that hurt him. He liked to be left alone during those times. They were childhood friends and very close; even then there were certain corners in Yash that Aman too could never reach. He thought he wouldn't be able to get a word out of Yash till at least a few miles, so he was surprised when Yash asked him to stop the car. Aman looked out…The place seemed familiar. Of course, it was the place where Yash beat that man the other day and saved that girl from being molested. He followed Yash, who had walked up to the tree.

"Yash?"

"That day Aman….I knew that girl had nothing to do with that man, even though Tanya and you all were not sure. But my heart told me she was innocent. I just knew….Why then…(pause)…why then didn't I know that Tanya was never in love with me and was only after my money?" Aman instinctively realized that Yash needed to vent out and made himself stand still as his friend fisted against the tree in frustration, "Why was my heart blind and deaf to her? I should have known Aman…I should have known. The signs were there…but like a fool I ignored them. Fool…fool…Dammit!!!"

"Calm down, Yash. Don't blame yourself. You were true, and you were loyal to your commitment. She may not realize today, but someday she will know what she really lost." Aman kept a hand on his friend's shoulder and turned him. "Yash, take this as a new beginning and think positive."

"I trusted her, Aman," Yash whispered chokingly.

"I know, and she broke the trust. So? Should this be the end of the road?"

"Never again pal…never again. How can I trust a girl again?" Even as he said the words, an image of a girl with hair blowing across her face came to him. He shook his head and looked at Aman who was saying something.

"I don't know much about all this, Yash…but I believe ma when she says there is someone out there who is made only for you, with whom your soul will connect immediately, and when that happens, you won't need to ask such a question."

Yash nodded and walked toward the car, turning to look at the end of the lane before passing it by. Now why had he stopped here? Was it this place or was it Aman's words that the storm in him had already subdued?

**********************************************

With college over, Yash and Aman went one last time to Nainital for their annual trekking trip. They had been coming here every year for the past eight years. Initially, they had come with their school group and had loved the entire experience so much that they went back promising each other that they will come back each year. Their parents had needed some convincing, but they agreed when Aman's uncle, who ran an adventure camp in Nainital, took their responsibility.

The tranquil mountains, thick forests, and the winding landscapes along with Aman's serene, relaxed company helped Yash to leave the unpleasantness of the broken relationship behind and look forward to going abroad for his MBA. He and Aman talked long and in-depth about their future. Yash wanted to come back and take Scindia Enterprises, the business his father had given his blood and sweat for, to new heights. The company was already leading in the fields of Real Estate and Education. Yash wanted to make forays into the Health Care and Hospitality Management areas as well. He wanted the latter to be established for Prateek to take over after he finished his education. Aman had stayed back at his grandparents' house in Bhopal to complete his education when his father moved to Indore to expand his textile business. Of late, Aman's father was not keeping good health. Being the only son he would have to go back immediately to Indore and take over the business.

Both knew they might not be able to come back to Nainital for some years now. As he looked at the far-away mountains silhouetted against a moonlit sky on their last night in camp, Yash mused, "Aman, this place is special. I have always found my answers here…of course with some help from you (both friends smiled at each other across the small fire of twigs and branches)…I don't know whether I'll ever be able to come here without you."

"Of course you can and you will….You never know you might meet that special someone here only."

"You mean my soul mate? Divine connection and all that…eh?" Yash laughed.

"Aha…never laugh at providential decree, my friend."

**********************************************

While doing his MBA in New York, Yash didn't lack female attention. He was handsome, classically good-looking, and possessed an attractive aura that was akin to a magnetic pull. Girls naturally got attracted to the enigmatic Indian. And when they found out he was wealthy, the interest of some of them would double, and they would pursue him relentlessly till they hit upon the wall that he had around him. Yash soon learnt to keep to himself and focus on his studies. One girl, Deepa, managed to get past the wall and that too because she and Yash had one acquaintance in common: Aman's family. That and the fact that she apparently didn't seem interested in him in a romantic manner tilted Yash's decision to accept her hand of friendship. He couldn't have been more wrong. Deepa was an over-ambitious girl from Indore. Her father owned a small saree shop in the crowded Kapda market. Many years back her aunt, her father's sister, had migrated to the States with her husband. Deepa wanted a taste of freedom in a foreign land before she was tied down to matrimony as was the future of girls in her community. So she persuaded her aunt to sponsor a yearlong diploma course in the US and emotionally blackmailed her simple parents to fund her expenses. Having met Yash and knowing the family he came from, Deepa's decision was made: She wanted Yash, simply because he had the means to afford her needs. However, he was a hard nut to crack. The only way to get to him was to attack his strongest virtues, his sense of righteousness and integrity.

It was Sudhir Nayar, Yash's classmate and friend, who tipped him off her moves when Yash was about to leave for Deepa's aunt's house for dinner. Deepa had insisted that he come as his uncle and aunt were very keen on meeting this good friend she had made.

"Stay away from her, Yash. She is trouble with capital T….No, no hear me out first." Sudhir held his hand up when Yash shook his head and looked to be about to defend Deepa. "She bragged to Brian's girlfriend how she is going to ensure that a marriage proposal from your family reaches her parents even before she went back home. Also that she has the perfect plan to trap you. Brian called me up this morning. You still don't believe me, do you pal? (the last on seeing Yash's skeptic expression)….OK, let me come with you. I bet she is alone in that house."

And she was. Deepa had opened the door in a provocative dress, and was taken aback on seeing Sudhir with Yash. She couldn't face Yash's direct questions; her flimsy excuse as to why her uncle/aunt had to suddenly leave town on emergency bit the dust when Sudhir pointed out that that was not true as he could prove that her relatives were out of town for the past three days to attend a wedding in another state. Yash's disgust was written plain on his face.

**********************************************

Yash returned home after three years and wasted no time in easing out his babuji's professional responsibilities. Within a couple of years he carved a niche for himself and emerged out of his father's shadow as a shining beckon in Bhopal's corporate world. He was enterprising, hardworking, honest, fair in his dealings, and admired and respected by anyone he came in contact with. Suraj Pratap Scindia was a proud father in every which way. Scindia Sheraton, the first of the Scindia chain of five-star hotels, gained popularity in no time. Two years after returning from the States, the foundation stone for Revati Devi Scindia Cardiac Center was laid by Yash's dadima after whose name the hospital was to be named. The same evening Suraj Pratap threw a party in the hotel to celebrate thirty years of Scindia Enterprises. The celebrations were cut short as the family had to rush home after a phone call. Yash's dadima had suffered a heart attack. Through the night the family kept vigil. They breathed easy only when the doctor declared the critical period over in the morning. As soon as she was allowed to, Revati Devi called for her elder grandson.

"Yash, when are you going for that visit to Hoshangabad?"

"I was supposed to leave today, dadima…but I am cancelling it for the time being. You get well first. I am not leaving you till then."

His grandmother smiled weakly, "I still remember that little Yash who would silently follow me everywhere holding the end of my saree aanchal. Don't worry about me, beta. I am not going anywhere before welcoming your bride over this threshold."

"Dadima, don't….I think I know where this is going. You are not the one for dramatic dialogues otherwise. In any case we have been through this a few days back."

"I hadn't had a death scare then Yash."

"Dadima…please don't say that. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Then do your dadima a favor. In Hoshangabad, go and meet that girl I told you about. Remember? The one I met in the village for the wedding of the sarpanch's daughter. This girl had come with her parents as part of the boy's entourage. I spoke with her parents, Mehras…very decent, educated, down-to-earth people. I have no doubt the daughter of such a culture-conscious couple will have all the good upbringing needed for a daughter-in-law of our family. And to top it all (with a wink Yash couldn't help smiling at) she is beautiful and fashionable and modern…In my opinion, she is ideal for you."

"Dadima, you are incorrigible…You always were able to make me do stuff I never wanted to…like making me eat Karela."

"Indulge me, Yash…I promise I am offering you sweets this time."

**********************************************

Yash reached Hoshangabad on Saturday evening. He had a dinner meeting with few officials regarding a hospital he wanted to put up. Next day after visiting the site, he went straight to Prof. Mehra's house. It was evening by then. He liked the Mehra couple. Dadima was right. They were simple people. After a few minutes, Mrs Mehra got up and brought her daughter with her. Dressed in a saree, the young girl was indeed beautiful. Yash stood up in a polite gesture.

"Yashji, this is our daughter, Arpita."

"Namaste, Mr Scindia."

"Err…namaste."

"Yashji, our daughter is a highly accomplished girl. She has been an all-round student in college and is admired by everyone. She plays guitar and can sing well. She is also very good with household…"

"Ma, please…You don't have to recount all that. I am sure, Yashji is getting bored. (Turning to Yash) Sorry…ma gets carried away."

"No, no…it's fine. She is your mother and obviously loves you very much."

Mr Mehra turned to Arpita, "Why don't you show Mr Scindia around the house? Till then your ma will arrange for the tea."

Arpita got up and smiled invitingly at Yash, who was already finding the entire set-up very awkward. He looked at Arpita, searching for the connect Aman was so sure about but felt nothing. Arpita showed him the house and in the end took him to a small library cum study.

"Yashji, this is my parents' favorite place." Just then her phone rang. "Oho! Please excuse me. I need to take this call."

Yash nodded and looked around as Arpita went out. His roaming eyes fell on a maroon-colored journal kept on the center table. He picked it up and turned to the first page in a bid to flick through it. As he read the first lines, a jolt of strange yet familiar realization passed through him. He read…and he read again.

Holding me up…..when I am weak
Helping me find what it is I seek.

Catching my tears….when I cry
Pulling me through when the tide is high.

Just being there….through thick and thin
Protecting my heart from within
You helped me to begin.

To be continued...

Originally posted by: disha_rajdev

Indu sis now I got it how Yash got the journal😉

U rocked again sis with the update👍🏼 but had forgot to PM me😔

A beautiful update sis...really really meant it sis...❤️