.PART2
PART 3
PART 4
PART 5
PART 6
PART 7
PART 8
PART 9
PART 10
PART11
PART 12
PART 13
PART 14
PART 15
PART 16
PART 17
PART 18
PART 19
PART 20
PART 21
PART 21 A
PART 22.
EPILOGUE
1. The Pain
"Do you think Maan still loves Geet?"
Annie thought of Arjun's question as she lay awake. It was strange that Arjun had asked the question on the night before the anniversary of their secret wedding during Maan bhai's marriage to Geet. It brought back the old memories and the pain of loss that always followed it. For her the pain had faded over the years'so many good and happy events had helped her overcome that loss- her marriage to Arjun, their flourishing business and the birth of their first child. But did bhai get over the grief of losing Geet? Never!
He may have packed her things into the barsati, but his love was evident in so many ways'in the way he pushed himself to limits during his work-outs, in the way he drowned himself in work as if rest and free time were punishments, in the taveez he no longer wore but kept close to his heart in the breast pocket of his shirt, in the flicker of pain that appeared in his eyes whenever he heard someone call 'Meeti' by her given name 'Geet'.
4 years was a long time. The days that followed the 'fall out' were one of the worst times of her life. Maan's frantic attempts to search for Geet yielded no result. Then some one informed that she was seen taking a bus that went to Amritsar. Following that information resulted in a greater shock. The bus had met with an accident near Amritsar and there were no survivors. Her breath caught in a flash of pain as she remembered Maan's desolation. At first he refused to believe the news of her death. Tears brimmed over from her eyes unaware, as her thoughts brought back the image of a broken guilt ridden Maan, who came back from Amritsar. Nothing seemed to reach him beyond his pain for days. Finally, it was the threat of another loss that jerked him back to life. Daadi suffered a heart attack and had to be hospitalized. The panic over her condition turned the burning flames of pain into simmering ashes. He packed away Geet's clothes and photos as if keeping them out of sight would keep her memories away. But how could one pack away a presence that was not there, yet made itself felt by its very absence, in every aspect of your life. It took months before the tired eyes of her brother got a full night's rest, even longer for his smile to reach his eyes. The first time she saw the spark of the old MSK was when Arjun approached him for her hand in marriage. Now after 4 years a kind of normalcy was setting in.
A sound from outside made Annie walk towards her brother's rooms. Maan was sitting in the balcony hunched over something. As she approached him silently and stood behind him she saw the various snaps of Geet lying beside him. When Maan pressed his face into the cloth he held in his hands, light reflected off Geet's wedding chunari. As silent tears shook his shoulders, Annie softly walked back feeling like an intruder coz she knew she cud never find the words to comfort her brother.
Tears flowed unchecked as she thought, "No, Maan will never stop loving Geet."
A note to my friends:
Since I've written 3 OS, thought I might try something different this time, to see if my writing skill is worth reading. So this time I am going to write a series of continuous OS or rather a short story. Please give me your opinion '.needless to say your comments inspire me to write more'.
i will name it together later
go to page 2
PART 2
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