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Episode 17
A small message: hello everyone. I know that I am really being late at updating episodes but I takes four hours to type my two fictions and more two hours two reply you all. Another hour to read few fictions on this site
I spend seven hours on this site and besides I need to give time to myself and my family too. So sorry for being late and from today, both acceptance and second love will be posted after 6:00pm sharp and I will daily update
If not, I will surely let you know
***
“She was my parents maid. I heard my dad saying it ” swara said to curious brothers.
Laksh angled his head before speaking
” yeah, as far as I remember, she worked for gadodias even.”
Sanskar nodded in yes. Laksh continued “but unfortunately she left our place before 12 years.”
” what?” Swara shouted.
Laksh gasped and patted his back “God! Can’t you speak slowly?”
“Sanskar! Do you know where she stays?” Swara asked sanskar as if something is really fishy with her.
” I have a address but not sure whether she is still living there” he explained.
Swara nodded in distraction.
” well” sanskar said naughtly “swara is not wrong in laughing at laksh. Only you two can think something dirty” swara and laksh stared at each other before turning to sanskar
” always ” he added before running. Swara and laksh followed him to hall.
“catch him” swara yelled at laksh who is two steps forward.
Sanskar laughed as he escaped from them.
“admit my dear buddies” he said aloud in between his laugh.
Laksh and sanskar kept running around the kitchen counter
“once get into my hold and I will show you how dirty I am” laksh said through his gritted teeth. Sanskar smiled sheepishly and turned back to escape but collided with swara and they fell down with swara top on his back. She immediately twisted his hands back.
” swara” sanskar warned which she ignored. ” fast laksh..be fast” she called out his name who is not in kitchen.
” tadha” laksh mocked showing ice tray in his hand. He started walking towards his brother dangerously. Sanskar shook his head and tried to free himself from swara but didn’t succeed as she is strong on his back with full weight on him.
” have some mercy” he pleaded to which they both grinned, devilishly.
Laksh pulled the collar of sanskar’s shirt and dumped the whole ice tray and swara left him.
” you fools. I will teach you a lesson” sanskar scolded them untucking his shirt.
“remove them fast before they slid into your jeans” laksh murmured to which swara bursted out. Sanskar gave him a deathly glare.
” what’s happening ” some familiar female voice asked them from behind. Everyone turned to ragini
” I just came to take my file. Did I miss anything?” She asked cautiously looking at them.
” well, much” laksh shrugged.
” oh! Who is teasing whom?” She sounded curious
” me and SWA.. You bastard” laksh shouted when sanskar bumped into him which resulted them falling on ground with sanskar on top.
“it’s time to revenge ” he sang showing another tray of ice. Laksh shook his head in no. Sanskar’s sadistic smile said that he won’t take back. Soon the the cubes are inside laksh’s shirt.
He jumped in hall shaking his shirt vigorously.
Laksh is all panting when the last cube fell down. He glared sanskar before laughing aloud which resulted in everyone laughing.
Swara and laksh turned to each other and their smile immediately faded away realising what that they did few minutes ago. Both of them glared each other before walking in opposite directions. Ragini and sanskar smiled at their childish behaviour.
“wow..you look great!” Laksh praised ragini who came to hall in a yellow saree with loose hair.
” does it look good? I mean it is your business party and..” She trailed off feeling uncomfortable.
He pulled her in his embrace and she played with his buttons in shy.
” you should never feel insecure and who said that you are an extra there. You are my would be wife ” he wishpered the last words which sent shrills to her body.
” you are beautiful and this lucky is lucky to have you” he said truly and their eyes locked. ” I am planning to take you out tonight, after dinn…swara will you just stop rolling your eyes” he shouted closing his eyes without turning to her. It is then ragini noticed swara sitting on sofa behind him. She immediately pulled herself out.
Swara sighed before smirking. She walked past laksh and pushed one strand of hair from her face infront of him
“sanskar” swara called his name out so sweetly and walking out of the Manison.
Four of them reached the party. Ragini felt uncomfortable but laksh kept accompanying her. Her heart swelled for his care.
” so, what are we eating?” Laksh asked swara and sanskar who are standing at a corner with dinner plates. Laksh casually glanced swara’s plate while asking.
” not we but I laksh” she said moving her plate away from him.
“Oh hello, I am not here to beg you. I can earn myself” he snapped and went to ragini
” non-veg stall is there” sanskar suggested swara pointing the stalls.
” why?” She frowned.
” I mean your mother is Bengali, so..you might be..”
She smiled at him “as far as I remember, non veg was never cooked or ate in my home. Maybe my mom adopted marwardi style” she explained.
He nodded his head. Swara excused herself to washroom.
“Your work will be done” she heard someone talking near the dark corner of the washrooms. Out of curiosity, she leaned to see the person and experienced a mini heart attack seeing a rifle beside him. She gulped hard and her eyes stared the person with horror.
” I will try my best to kill him before he leaves the party” he said to someone on call and it scared her. Swara felt like it is related to sanskar so she decided to follow him.
The man walked few steps forward and turned back. His eyes widened seeing swara and he immediately started running with his stuff.
” hey you, wait” swara yelled behind him running.
She chased him for nearly five minutes until they reached a desserted road. She is totally exhausted but the thought that the person tried to harm sanskar gave her strength. She came almost close to the person and lifted her right hand to grip his collar but suddenly a bike came from nowhere and the person sat on it. Immediately they left the place. Swara sat on her kness panting. She simply stared the bike infront of her until it disappeared.
” swara” a familiar voice called her name after sometime. Swara turned to see sanskar with fear written on his face. The eyes still held the same concern to which her heart swell.
” I..I heard someone saying that they would kill you” swara informed him. Sanskar exhaled and his eyes suddenly became restless
“Who the hell is back of my life?” He questioned to himself. It is now getting on his nerves.
Swara narrowed her eyes “he..he..I have seen him somewhere” she finally said shivering. Sanskar took her in his embrace.
” swara..shh” he breathed in her hair.
” I have seen him sanskar. I have” she sobbed unable to hide her tension.
Sanskar just kept caressing her hair to calm down. His shirt soaked with her tears which bothered him a lot. Of course he is a heartless for businesses but not for family.
Swara pulled herself “he is one of the persons who attacked at mall.”
But that didn’t get into his ears.
“What if they killed you” she asked and within seconds fresh set of tears came to her eyes and she hid her face in his chest sobbing. Few days ago, she was the one who wanted to end him and now she is the one crying to loose him. What an irony!
Sanskar pulled her more to himself and closed his eyes. After some minutes, they both parted from each other. Sanskar cupped her face and touched his forehead to her. Her breath dropped to normal pace.
” nothing will happen to me swara. I promise” he said locking his eyes with her. Swara faintly nodded to his words and both of them started to walk in direction of party.
” thanks ” he said with a smile that didn’t lit up his eyes.
“Why?” She asked confused
He sighed “for caring about me. I feel good when someone cares for me.”
” and why?” She questioned.
” it’s because I am cursed to love” he stated in a very cold voice trying to sound plain.
” why do you think in that way sanskar, you have laksh, badepapa, ragini and…” She trailed off ‘me’.
“And you” he finished to which she stilled. He smriked and walked two steps forward. She followed him after taking his words to her heart.
” but I have only you four” he said in a very sad and disappointed voice.
” you are seriously acting like stupid sanskar. You have your father, brother and two friends to support you.”
” but not a complete family” his voice is broken now.
Suddenly, he intertwined his fingers with her to which she gasped but his grip became strong second by second.
” stay with me, please ” he pleaded her in the same way he did at the night of their confession. Her heart felt heavy thinking that why would he always plead her to stay. She gave him a warm smile which lit his face even. Smile is infectious.
” say something about kamala bai” she asked him diverting the topic
” why are you back of her?”
” I am sure that she know something about my parents as she worked for them” she explained and be nodded. She really wanted to meet kamala bai to know some information about her parents so that she can get some clue about their murder.
” I have seen her in my home since a 3year kid but she suddenly resigned after few weeks of your parents death. Actually police scared her with investigations” he chuckled at last.
“Oh. What sort of lady is she?” Swara inquired.
” when I was thirteen and laksh was ten, she was fourty. That’s it but very caring and loving person.”
“Did she have any children?”
“only a brother few years elder to me. May be of twenty” he said to her recollecting the events.
” then why is she laksh’s girlfriend?” She is curious now. Sanskar laughed to her words.
” actually I gave him that name. He is more close to her than…” The warmth in his eyes suddenly dropped to few degrees and the smiling and playful sanskar is replaced by cold hearted one with lots of hate burning all over the body. Swara noticed that they almost reached the venue.
“Did you just observe?”
“What?” He cut her.
” listen to me first. Laksh has stopped drinking for a while I mean after meeting ragini” she chirped. Sanskar nodded after thinking for a while.
“Yeah” he said turning to his right “but I don’t think now”
Swara raised her eyebrows to which sanskar raised his chin to his right. She saw ragini carrying laksh with his arm around her shoulder.
Ragini shoot a dagger to sanskar before leaving laksh
” next time he drinks, say him that I will break up” she snorted and went to parking area. Swara and sanskar stared at each other before chuckling and they carried laksh to the car.
“We will go to her house tomorrow” sanskar informed swara after dropping her to her room. Swara nodded in approval.
” the house is locked” swara cursed under her breath seeing a very big lock infront of her. She and sanskar started to kamala bai’s house early in the morning. She had her hopes high to get some information but everything went in vain.
“I already said that the address I have may be a wrong one” sanskar defended seeing swara’s angry face. Swara turned to him and opened her mouth to shout but interrupted by some male voice.
” did you come for kamal bai?” An old man of around sixty years asked them. Swara nodded.
“she shifted to another area two months ago.” He informed.
“but why?” Sanskar asked.
“I don’t know but after that night, noone knew where she went. But I have seen her a week ago going to near slum area.” He informed.
“What happened that night?” Sanskar asked angling his head.
The old man opened his mouth but closed it again.
“What about his brother?” Sanskar asked again.
” oh he is in foreign, married now with two children” the old man informed.
“Isn’t wired?” Swara asked sanskar walking through path of slum area.
” yeah. Why should she live in this type of place when she had some decent house and also his brother is in foreign. It is clearly seen that she cannot afford that much” he stated.
” where does kamal bai live” he asked some random person walking past them
The person gave them directions and they followed it. The house looked like a old one with pale walls and it seemed like it would collapse at any time.
Swara nodded to sanskar before knocking the door. They knocked it again when didn’t get any answer. Swara kept knocking the door while sanskar went to take a round outside the house to find some source to enter the house. His eyes widened seeing the scene through the slit of the window. He immediately came back to swara.
“what happened?” She asked but he didn’t seem to listen to her. He turned around to see some weapon to break the door and he finally opened it with a long wooden log.
Swara’s breath stopped for a second seeing the scene infront of her. The Next moment she started shivering and sweating badly. As always, sanskar is by her side to support her. Even his heart raced seeing the view.
” at what time did you come?” Ragini asked swara and sanskar who are standing few feet away from her. She examined the stool which is on ground.
” around 8:00am. When we entered, I saw..” sanskar’s throat closed but he composed himself before speaking “I saw her hanging to the ceiling” he informed seeing kamala bai’s body which is now on strecher.
Ragini let out a deep breath and pressed her lips into thin line.
Swara cuddled herself more into sanskar’s embrace.
” it’s a murder” ragini spoke after examining the body “a planned one probably” she added.
” how can you say that?” Sanskar enquired.
” simple, the stool is not in its place. If she committed suicide, it will be under her legs but it is not”
Sanskar heart became heavy because he is also close to kamala bai. He considered her as his grand parent.
“and the murder happened within half-hour from now” ragini continued “the marks are fresh” she traced her finger along Kamala’s neck. Swara raised her eyebrows questioning.
” may be the one who tried to kill sanskar might have killed her” swara said to ragini.
” what!” She screamed ” why didn’t you inform me swara.” Ragini is pissed.
” I am sorry ragini. Actually yesterday night, I saw someone talking about killing sanskar near washrooms and I followed him but he escaped with his friend on bike.” Swara explained
“Did you note the number?”
Swara nodded her head in no with guilt. Ragini sighed.
” but he is one among the men who attacked sanskar at mall.”
Sanskar rubbed his chin with forefinger thinking something.
” what are you thinking? ” ragini asked him checking others whether the photographs of the body are being taken correctly or not.
” you said half an hour right. I called you as soon as we saw the dead body and you came within fifteen minutes. It has been ten minutes now.”
” so?” Ragini shrugged but inhaled as realisation hit her.
” it means that the murder is here, in this room when we entered. “swara murmured and three of them turned locking their eyes to kamala bai’s lifeless body.