Entangled destinies [PART 11] by Mahira

Hi everyone, so soon back ^^
Read : All Parts Here

Swara turns one more time in her bed unable to sleep. Her doll tightly hugged against her, she’s unable to erase that shining smile stretching her lips recalling again and again her meet with Sanskar. Not so much concentrating about what they talked about, it’s about his cute smile, his tender gaze covering her, his shining with hope and happiness eyes, the support of his arm, the comfort of his lap and warmness of his embrace as she unconsciously hugged him before letting him on the gates of her house… she recalls the awkwardness of his hold surrounding her then, he hesitated for a moment but yet at the moment he enveloped her by his strong arms, she just felt like it was there where she belongs…
She sits up facing her doll with a confused look asking her childishly:
– Am I mad? Why is my heart so… so… it’s like if it’s jumping inside there…
She puts her hand over its place palpating its racing beats and smiles even wider. She then stands up and walks toward the mirror reflecting her some different version of herself, her eyes shining, her cheeks fleshed, her ponytail messy… what’s happening to her all of sudden?
She loosens her hair brushing her fingers in its silky locks until it was artfully cascading over her shoulders and looks down her body evaluating herself… she’s short but good proportioned, turning aside she pouts a bit then looking to her chest’s form a flashback from her dream invades her once more time with the weird sensation turning her insides upside down along! Her cheeks redden looking up to her eyes and shyness overwhelms her again!
She turns away from the mirror unable to face herself more and palms her face breathing deeply to chase whatever was that about… looking to the pictures ornamenting her room’s walls, she could see herself laughing heartedly, in a short sleeveless flowered short white dress… was she really ever this woman?
Frowning, she thinks that Sanskar is surely seeing her like a small girl he’s caring for, his small princess and until today, it was a quite good feeling to be cherished like that.
Of course, she remembers her “other” doctors attempts to change that image she’s having of him and keep that he was just her doctor, just like them!
But she has a small giggle comparing him to them… no way… Sanskar was different from anything else in her life!
Her life… what does she know about her life? Absolutely nothing!
She walks to her bedside table and takes that so special photo in her hands sitting on her back. This group picture with those lovely children she has been told being a part from her life before… the idea of having no any memory about them saddens her and one more time she feels guilty for not being able to react like a normal person…
Suddenly the rude reality hits her aching her heart, if she’s not seeing Sanskar as her doctor only, she’s just one more patient in his life… tears beam at her eyes recalling him tonight when she asked about what he’s hiding from her… his voice reason sadly in her ears:
– Don’t forget that I’m your doctor, Swara… of course I know things that you ignore, it’s a part of your cure process… you’ll very soon be able to remember everything by yourself!
She chases her tears taking a deep breath, her trust in him is blind and she knows that whatever he does, it’s only for her! She’s stupid to be so emotional after a so beautiful night!
A new thunder growls outside recalling her that it was about raining by the time he dropped her home. A bright smile draws her smile again, she loves rain… its sound, its smell even its drenching drops!
She then walks toward her balcony, maybe if she stands there for a moment letting the soothing feeling of its presence fill her heart and mind, she’ll finally be able to sleep!
The view was all she wanted to have, the dark night filled with just the sound of nature around, stretching a hand out, she shivers in the chillness of the rain laughing and shaking her head playfully, she looks up to infinite blackness of the sky for a while when she looks down again she’s shocked to see a familiar silhouette sitting on the bench!
– Ragini!?
***
Sanskar walks inside some hall which walls were decorated with children paintings from floor to roof, tables and chairs stored in some corner and from the dust his path discovers on the ground, it seems like long time passed since someone came here.
His steps lead him to the frontal wall where a huge picture was hanging, the group photo gathering the association’s children, the volunteers and the main person of his world “Swara”
*** FLASHBACK ***
Swara parks her car at the entry with a deafening sound of brakes, she hurries inside barely breathing alarmed.
In the hall of art works, all children are gathering in circle in the middle, she finds her way through them to find her colleagues trying to wake up a little boy who was obviously unconscious:
– ARJUN!!!!
She jerks out a guy and kneels at the small boy’s side tears forming in her eyes:
– Arjun beta!! Open your eyes… main hoon na!!! please beta… WHERE IS THE RESCUE!?
She shouted back to the people around, a young woman replies with a shaken voice:
– We called for ambulance before informing you, but it seems that there is an accident on the hospital’s way!
She lets go of a sob trying to calm down in vain, her tears menace to come out and she refused to alarm the children around even more, some are already agitated and lot of them are crying, she closes her eyes continuing her massage on the small hands she’s keeping in hers and takes a deep breath before saying on a rude tone:
– Rakish, Pooja… the children are scared, manage them first, we’ll do nothing being all here!
The two colleagues obey silently trying to calm down children and gather them away saying that there is nothing bad, Arjun is just a bit ill and doctor will come soon.
Someone pats her shoulder repeatedly once, she just keeps looking down caressing Arjun forehead and cheeks asking angrily:
– Kya?
The person pats again without a word making her turn around almost yelling to ask:
– WHAT!?
Her eyes widen in shock discovering the person facing her:
– YOU!!!! What are you doing here?
Sanskar smiles to her with all his teeth making her fume in rage as he replies:
– Ha main… and I …
Before he continues, she just turns back to Arjun ignoring him royally making him roll his eyes sighing. He pats her shoulder again:
– Excuse me?
– Get lost!
For all response, he just pats her shoulder again making her jerk his hand away, she closes her eyes trying to control her voice as children are still around:
– Will you go or I have to ask security to put you out? SOMEONE CALLS FOR THE AMBULANCE AGAIN!!!
She shouts out exasperated before verifying again Arjun breaths, she says almost to herself:
– All this is that doctor’s lack of responsibility!!!
– Madam…
– Suresh, if it’s not for telling me that ambulance is here, you should shut up for the mom… AH!!!
Suddenly, she feels two hands over her waist startling her and before she could even react she’s just moved up by their strong grip making her yell in shock as the person holding her just pushes her back taking her place, she mumbles still stunned:
– What the hell are you doing!????
Sanskar was kneeling at the boy’s side a stethoscope in hands and a bag opened at his side, seeing him taking his blood pressure and pulse, injecting some medicine in his arm and asking for people to disperse as the patient needs fresh air, the reality hits her finally!
Some moments later, the little boy mumbles between his lips:
– Mumma!
She hurries toward him laughing as tears drown her face suddenly overwhelmed by happiness to see him safe, Sanskar smiles seeing her check his forehead again trying to say without breaking down:
– Ha beta! I’m here… tumhara Mumma is here, are you okey now?
Arjun clear irises appear slowly as his eyelids rise up, his toothless smile filling her heart with warmness as his tiny hands brushes her tears away.
Arjun is then taken to his room for rest, the other children are taken to music room for training and her colleagues disperse for their tasks, she stays alone with him in the middle of the hall, looking awkwardly to her feet as he approaches her a victorious smile on his lips, she has already decided that she hated him when he asks:
– You’re welcome again!
*** END OF FLASHBACK ***
Sanskar extends his hand toward the picture caressing the small Arjun’s smiling face, his gaze roams toward Swara’s one feeling his tears surface again for the first time again as he whispers:
– Come back to me, princess… I miss you so much!
***
In their house’s garden, Ragini is sitting on the bench’s rude surface since God knows how long, letting the rain’s drops drown her until suffocation, her memories flowing over her childhood’s memories, recalling herself growing up with Laksh as friend, confident and lover…
She doesn’t even know when she started loving him, maybe still her birth as she was promised as his bride at her first cry. This is why he became the oxygen she’s in need to live, he’s the sun keeping her from fanning and the water filling her thirsty soul… ha, he’s just like the heartbeat inside her throat! Then, how will she be able to live now?
*** FLASHBACK***
Somewhere during the night…
– Go away, Ragini! I still haven’t answers for you…
Laksh’ says trying to get up seeing her, he feels ashamed under her scolding gaze over the bottle in his hand. Trying to keep straight in front of her, he wipes his nose with the back of his hand looking in her eyes before saying his free hand waving in the air:
– I’m the bad guy in our story, hai na? let it be… I’ll bear it too, it can’t be worst than this disgusted look I see in your eyes whenever we’re three together and I try to be kind with you sister…
Taking another sip from his liquor, he walks unsteadily by her side as she keeps quite, her swollen eyes focusing on the void. He turns toward her standing in her back and add:
– I will not defend myself, I know I’m the culprit… I couldn’t stay away from you neither support you! My love to you broke you, our love and your sister and here I am… complaining about myself!
After another sip recalling the today’s confrontation with her, her bitter words and her afraid posture under his stupid behavior he just feels more miserable throwing his bottle away in anger, he comes in front of her looking in her eyes for a while before he suddenly kneels in front of her crying badly his words barely finding a way through his sobs:
– I… I’m just so sorry, Ragini… so sorry… I don’t know how things messed up so badly… I don’t find… I can’t find a way for solution… please, I beg you… just tell me what you want me to do… tell me what is the best solution and I… I swear on… my own life…
Taking her hand in his, he puts it over his head begging her with his eyes to just look down to him desperately in vain, he continuous his tears endlessly flowing over his tired cheeks:
– I’ll do as you say… please Ragini… please…
Her eyes finally meets his a sad smile drawing her lips. Her trembling hand moves down to his face, the other caressing his other cheek making him stand up, she erases his tears the lightening illuminating their both faces in darkness, he smiles through his tears seeing her smile. She finally speaks:
– You don’t have to do anything, Laksh… you don’t need to handle this burden alone as well. We both have faulted, I don’t know if our fault is for loving each other or for not facing the world two years back… but changing both is impossible by now hai na?
He shakes his head agreeing at her questioning gaze. She wipes his tears again swallowing hers back and adds in a deep breath:
– but it’s still time to limit damages and for that I’ll ask you to agree for what I’ll tell you now, ok?
– Everything you want, baby… just tell me!
His face illuminates in a hopeful smile again and he stops breathing waiting for her decision, she finally speaks looking straight in his eyes:
– It’s over, Laksh!
He frowns refusing to understand her words, his lips trembling as he tries to say something but she adds taking off her hands from his and making a step back:
– You’ll no more need to find a solution for an inexistent problem…
*** END OF FLASHBACK ***
Recalling her own words stopping his attempts to convince her back, Ragini’s heart aches even more at repeating sentence in her mind:
– “There is no more “us”… from now on, I’m sirf Ragini, tumhara Ragini nahi and you’ll be just Laksh’ Maheshwari, Swata’s fiancé!”
Shivering at the idea, she’s shocked to discover who is facing her. Her trembling lips mumble inaudibly:
– Swara?