Posted:
WOW! This is really good, please add me to ur pm list LOL!!!!!! I wanna know what happens next!
awwwww man why did you have to stop there lol...it was totally awesome...just loved it...cant wait for the next part. do cont.soon
Part 4:
Maan stared wide eyed at the young woman, who had haunted his dreams and countless waking minutes for the last five years. Subconsciously, he stood up from his seat, taking in the sight of her before him.
Damn. The years had been good to her.
She was dressed in a navy blue air hostess uniform...her hair neatly coiled in a tight bun behind her head. His hands itched to reach out and pull free her hair from this constrained arrangement...he had always liked it open.
Her face was just as he remembered. That stubborn chin...petite nose...arching eyebrows...luscious, kiss worthy lips and her eyes...God, how he had missed her eyes. They were the very epitome of innocence with the extraordinary ability to reach into the very depths of his soul and render him weak in the knees.
Everything about her was the same, and yet, there was a subtle difference in the way she stood there before him. She looked ordered...far too ordered for his liking. The previous careless elegance about her was missing now, but why?
As he took in the sight of this new Geet, the one without a speck of lint on her dark superfine, Maan couldn't help missing the chaotic version of her...the girl who always ran around the office, making crazy facial expressions at everyone...the one who was never afraid to put him in his place, forgetting that he was her boss and she, but his employee. The girl who laughed openly and fully without a care of onlookers. He missed that bubbly personality...that was the girl who had captured his heart...the one with whom, he had hopelessly fallen in love.
"Tum ku kharay ho gaye? Mommy called out for me, not you. Main ho Maan, tum nahin."
Maan jolted back to the present.
He looked down at the little girl as if seeing her for the very first time. How could he have missed it? Everything about this little girl spoke of her connection to Geet, especially the eyes. She had the same eyes as her mother...simply bewitching.
The little girl ran up to Geet, tugging on her hand to get her attention.
Meanwhile, Geet had been too shocked to say or do anything. She had been simply standing there taking in the sight of the man who had meant more to her than life itself. Five years, she had spent missing this man...wanting to run back into his arms and forget everything that happened. Those torturous days...all those attempts at forgetting him and moving on...wasted, as her feelings for him slammed, full force within the confines of her heart. It had taken but one meeting with him...this chance encounter...for all those long ago buried feelings to resurface with a vengeance. The intensity with which she felt her love for him in that moment, made her want to weep and jump into his arms...showering him with a thousand kisses. Those feelings had never completely vanished for her, but she had not known that the sight of him...that too after 5 years...would affect her so intensely and thoroughly. Isn't absence supposed to make the heart grow less fonder?
"Mommy!"
Geet tore her gaze away from Maan and looked down at her daughter. "I was looking for you, honey. Don't ever run off again like you did earlier today, okay? You have to tell me where you're going before you leave anywhere. Do you understand? It's dangerous to go anywhere alone."
The little girl nodded her head before saying: "But mommy, I wasn't alone. I was with my new friend...and he's so nice...he bought me ice-cream! Do you want to meet him? Come on, mommy."
The little girl tugged on Geet's hand leading her towards Maan.
Face-to-face, Geet and Maan lost themselves into each other's eyes...reliving the moments of the past. Old memories that were never forgotten.
The little girl stared back and forth at Maan and Geet. Growing impatient at the lack of conversation, she tugged on both of their hands, bringing their attention back to her.
The little girl smiled. "See mommy...this is my new friend...his name is...actually, naam poochna toh bhool he gaye. Kya naam hai tumhara?"
"His name is Maan," Geet whispered.
Maan's eyes snapped back to Geet's face. How good it felt to hear his name on her lips.
Surprised, the little girl continued excitedly. "Really? Tum bhi Maan ho?"
Maan smiled down at her. "Bilkul tumhari tarah."
The little girl shook her head. "Lekin, mera naam toh Mannat hai. Maan, toh mommy mujhe tub pukarti hai jab woh mujhse bohat gussa ho. Pata nahi kyun? So now, Maan has become my nickname."
A blush crept across Geet's cheeks. "Chup ho jao, Mannat."
Glancing towards Maan, she found him grinning back at her. Was he also thinking about their playful fights? During those times, she had always forgotten to use 'Sir' and always slipped into the familiar...calling him Maan, instead.
Trying to regain control over the situation, lest her daughter spill more of her secrets, Geet crouched down by Maanat. "I think Aunty Neha has some chocolate chip cookies for you. Why don't you go ahead and have your snack now."
Maanat's face brightened. "Really? I love chocolate chip cookies!"
With that, she skipped down the aisle, disappearing behind the curtain in the next second.
Geet drew in a deep breath, before slowly standing up to face Maan.
Immediately, she was drawn into an embrace, as Maan's arms enveloped her small frame. "God, how I've missed you," Maan whispered, slightly tightening his hold around her.
Subsequently, he leaned back and took her face in his hands...his eyes flittering over her features, as if trying to commit them to memory.
Satisfied, he again pulled her back into his embrace, burying his head against her neck. "I've missed you so much! You cannot even begin to imagine how lonely life had become without you. I felt as if I was an empty shell...a hollow man without his soul...for you were my heart, Geet. Everything that is good and pure inside of me is YOU...and when you left, my very reason to draw in each breath left with you."
Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes, and she fought with herself savagely to keep them inside. She could not simply forget what happened...too much from the past still lay between them. She couldn't let emotions lead her astray.
So, she tried to be strong and simply let him hold her without returning his embrace. The only thing she would allow herself was this small pleasure of being in his arms, and even though her heart and body pushed her to offer him the same comfort, she resisted.
"Maan, please let me go," Geet whispered. "Someone may come."
Maan shook his head against her shoulder. "I don't care who comes. Let me just hold you a little bit longer. I'm afraid, Geet."
"Of what?" she whispered.
"I'm afraid that this may yet be another dream of mine. I'm afraid that if I let you go, you'll disappear."
A lone tear escaped down her cheek, as she stood in the shelter of his arms.
Silently, she mouthed the same words to him without voicing them aloud.
I'm afraid you'll disappear too, Maan.
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