23rd July 2015

Annapurna Maheshwari was loving and caring mistress of the Maheshwari house. Her compassion and kindness to the household workers are well known. But today all of her kindness couldn't save the poor cook. Her pleads gone into the deaf ears of their master.

Because Annapurna Maheshwari hates people who abuse their children. And the poor cook hit her child within the sight of Annapurna for running inside the kitchen because he was hungry. While the poor cook thought hitting the four year old would appease Annapurna, It did the opposite. It made her furious. 

            
Having been through miscarriages and giving birth to an still born. Annapurna know the bliss of giving birth to an living child was never written in her fate.  So she written her own fate. Now she is mother of two Sons. And she will fight and kill for them but never raise an hand to strike them.

           
And because of that reason Annapurna Maheshwari dismissed her household cook who worked in her family for over fifteen years. And retired to bed early because she had an difficult day .

      
Add to that Annapurna Maheshwari had an depressing visit with her distant cousin earlier , Who insisted that Swara is no problem to her. Of course Annapurna heart was still restless. Her sons were fighting over that one girl and so she decided to act on their behalf but instead of helping her like last time.  Her cousin laughed at her distress. He told her that Sanskar would move on.

     
Unless he introduce Swara and intends to Marry her, They still got time. Only her demise may make him hard to forget ,if she continued to live ,he will grew tired of  her and break it of on his own.   But no such assurance were enough to calm her down.

Just when she thought the day has drawn to its end. She heard loud voices. Even if she was tired she felt it was her duty to check the reason for the dispute. She thought it must have been an dispute between the gardener and his wife

They tend to argue every once in an awhile,  She was merely going to warn them not to fight or else they will be dismissed as well. But nothing in her mind had prepared for the sight that she witnessed.

Her two sons arguing with each other. They were shouting at each other for some reason. Annapurna couldn't understand anything when she first encountered them due to being shocked  with the fact that her sons who never once fought with each other were actually indulging in an fight.

Soon their reason become apparent when the word she dreaded had made an appearance Swara from her son sanskar. She also heard her younger son saying he was the one who liked her first. And at that moment Annapurna hated Swara with all her heart. But instead of showing it to them,  She tried to reason with her sons to stop fighting.

Usually one word from her was all it took for Sanskar her eldest to listen.  But today he was in no mood to listen. Apparently losing an girlfriend tends to do that she thought. Because while Annapurna hated her sons fighting over Swara. She was also glad from that Swara broke up with sanskar. A fact she learned from as it was mentioned during the fight.

     
" I have just convinced her to date and you with all your stupidness acted like she betrayed you and what else she would do, She broke up with me because she doesn't want to hurt you , her friend ,  "her eldest son was shouting at Laksh. 

  " She Didn't betray me, You did. My own cousin betrays me. You know I liked her first,  " Laksh spoke up,  and thus they continued to argue. Until Annapurna had to raise her voice to make them listen.

   
" Enough, You can't fight over an girl. You are brothers. Nothing should matter more than that, "Annapurna tried to reason with her sons

" He is not my Brother , He is just my cousin and I really regret the fact dad took him to live with us instead of sending him to Australia. I hate him, " Laksh voice echoed in the room

  
" No he is your brother, And you shouldn't hate him laksh. You can't fight over an girl like Swara,  " Annapurna tried to plead with her son

  
" No he is not, Why would he be my brother. He is not my brother. From this moment I hate him. And since this is my house. I want him gone, Gone from my house. Ask him to leave Maa, " Laksh spoke up , with anger in his eyes that scared Annapurna that her son was beyond reasoning

Annapurna tried to plead with laksh to make him listen. But he was far from listening. In an fit of rage she almost told him the truth.

    
" He Is your brother and this house belongs to him as much as it belongs to you. He is your brother you can't fight with each other like this,  "Annapurna kept saying it over and over again .

    
"  No he is not, I am your son. Your flesh and blood while sanskar is not. So no Maa. He is not my brother. And it time you picked your son over an nobody like him. He has over stayed your kindness. Taking care of him out of pity is enough, "  Laksh answered back in anger

And Annapurna doesn't know if sanskar was affected by laksh words. But her heart broke for her eldest son.  So it was without thought Annapurna did something that she never did before. She slapped her younger son. Laksh was the apple of her eye.

       
She never raised her voice at him and she hates those who hits their kid. But Annapurna was at an crossroad she had to choose between her two sons and she picked Sanskar.

  
" Don't you ever talk to Sanskar like that, He is my son just as much as you are my son. He is my son. My flesh and blood. My son . And I won't have it. I won't have it,  " Annapurna kept speaking as her hands shook by her actions.

Sanskar Maheshwari was at loss of words, All his carefully laid plans were thrown out of the window the moment his bade Maa hit laksh. Laksh was still frozen from the shock. But no one was more surprised than Sanskar. He didn't expect this turn of events.

When Sanskar told laksh they were brothers. His  brother first reaction was denial and he did deny it. He was not listening to Sanskar reason. All he did was keep shouting it was not true. And he was about to March right back home to confront his Maa .

   
Sanskar couldn't have that. If his bade Maa found out no one knows how she would react. So it was with great effort sanskar asked him to follow up his plan.

The plan that had two benefits. One fighting with laksh over Swara and indicating they broke up already would save Swara from his bade Maa wrath. She would be angry at Swara for the fight. But he hoped she would be relieved that Swara is not dating sanskar any longer that she won't harm Swara.

Then the next benefit. He wanted to rile her up enough. So he could Crack at her self imposed cold exterior. All laksh had to do was say Sanskar was not his brother enough time to make her acknowledge the truth even if subconsciously. And she did. When she kept insisting sanskar was his brother. He knew just few more push and she will Crack. But that where is plan went wrong.

In all his plans,  Sanskar never thought his bade Maa would think of him as her son. Never thought she would pick him over laksh, That was impossible. Laksh was the child she was obsessed with, laksh was the child for whom she went as far as killing. Not sanskar, Sanskar was just an responsibility given to her.

     
That what Sanskar thought till she declared sanskar was her flesh and blood. And he didn't know how to calm the situation down. And he looked at his brother who looked like he might confess all of it was sanskar fault..

So he tried to calm her down. He took his bade Maa to her room. Assured her laksh and he will sort it out. And in the middle of such assurance. His bade Maa shocked him for the second time .

"  Don't leave this house,  You are my son. You are my son,  " She kept saying,  and only fell asleep after Sanskar assured her that he won't leave .

  
Sanskar waited till she fell asleep before marching downstairs to face his confused brother.

    
" She hit me, For you. Her own son. She hit me. And you blame her for killing your parents, " Laksh lashed ,at Sanskar as soon as he saw him

   
" Yes she did, But that doesn't change the facts. She is not your mom and she did kill our parents. And you are my brother, "Sanskar answered back .

    
" You have officially gone crazy, You are talking about Maa. She is my Maa. She wouldn't even harm anyone and you think she killed your parents. For all your insistence that she might reveal that I am your brother. No such thing happened,  " Laksh looked furious by now

    
"  Yes,  But she did say I am her son. Her flesh and blood. I never thought she would see me the same way. I only thought her obsession lies with just you,  "Sanskar knew he uttered the wrong words when Laksh face turned into a block of fury. 

   
"  It not obsession,  It mother's  love. Stop calling it like that. If she decided to share her love with you. You should be thankful. Instead of that you are calling her an murderer, "Laksh had enough of Sanskar accusations.

   
" Fine,  You might be right and I might be terribly wrong. But what if I was right. Give me some more time to prove it to you. We can take an DNA test if that what you want. But for now we have to pretend our fight was over. That was the only way your mom won't be angry at Swara  "Sanskar tried to plead with his brother before he acted impulsively.

 
" You have gone insane,  First you steal my girlfriend. Next you come up with I am your brother stupidity and now say my mom is an killer who kill innocent like Swara just because she is angry , I am done. I am gonna tell everything to mom tomorrow , "Laksh  spoke up , and Sanskar feared that his brothers impulsiveness will be the death of him. 

    
" Please Laksh don't do it, Not for me. But for Swara. I won't have her in harm way. If you really cared for her. Just give me one more day , Please. I will prove it to you,  "Sanskar pleaded with his brother. 

Sanskar know about laksh's  impulsiveness.  About how fickle minded his brother can be, and yet he told him such an big secret.  An secret if handled in the wrong way can harm Swara. But when laksh nodded and went to his room. Sanskar breathed an sign of relief that for at least tonight all the people he care about was safe.

Sanskar called Swara the moment he locked his room. She would have been panicking by now.

  
" How are you? Did she accept laksh was your brother, "Swara voice echoed in the other end of the call .

    
" No , Our plans didn't work. I don't know how to make her confess Swara. She went as far as killing Kavita but now she claims I am her son. It seems like she genuinely loves me. But at the same time she destroys everyone who loves me,  "Sanskar spoke up, telling her about the turn of events

  
" I have been thinking about it for a some time sanskar. You always thought your bade papa killed Kavita. And his reason for saying No to Kavita was her background. But maybe that was not the reason for your bade Maa. Maybe we need to know what would motivate her to even think of killing Kavita,  " Swara answered back .

   
" Then there is the fact, while she wasn't happy.   She didn't do you any harm when we were married. I always thought it was because you were daughter of,  "Sanskar voice stopped abruptly as he realized in his worry. He let it slip.

And maybe he was really tired from the plane crash, maybe it was because he was tired of arguing with laksh or tired of reaching yet another dead wall over his bade Maa,  But sanskar forgot Swara never knew about her dad.

  
" Daughter of who Sanskar? My mom is bengali too and I am illegitimate child as well. I don't understand, "the confusion in her voice made him worry

   
" Can you come out of your house  to the near by park in ten minutes. I will tell you everything ,I  am on my way,  "Sanskar answered back .

The next ten minutes sanskar was preparing himself for the wrath of swara. He kept it an secret from her and he deserve her anger . But he thought he was doing right by her.

   
But after finding out laksh was his brother. Sanskar realized he was being hypocritical towards Swara. He was trying hard to prevent laksh from making the same mistakes has before because he was his brother and he wants to have an good relationship with him.

     
If that was the case than ragini deserve an second chance as well. If Swara wants to move past what ragini did in the future and still accept her as an sister. Then she deserve to know.

Her mom and dida hid it from her and sanskar revealed it to her in the future only to hurt her. Now he will tell her the truth because she deserve to have the chance of mending her relationship. So when he parked the car and walked inside the park she was already seated in the bench and waiting for him .

  
" Who is he? "it was the question that greeted as he took his place beside  her

  
" I am sorry Swara,  I didn't mean to keep it from you. I knew they only hurt you back then. I was trying to spare you from it. But I was wrong. If I was changing the entire life then you deserve the choice to choose once again as well." Sanskar spoke up trying to let her know how sorry he was to have lied to her till now.

  
" I can't wait anymore. You know i wanted to know him,  from the moment i saw my mom being mocked at,  I don't want to have an relationship with him. I don't want an father. I want an face to hate, "Swara face held a mark of hatred at the mere thought of her father in name sake .

   
" That exactly what you said back then too, And no you didn't mend your relationship with your father. But once the truth was out. Your mom married him,  "Sanskar told her the truth .

" What she married him?? Why would she go back to him,  "Swara question filled him with concern as she felt confused by his words .

      
" Because though he didn't deserve it,  She loved him. Just like you. Bose family does have big heart and tendency to love those who don't deserve it,  "Sanskar tried to reason with her but she was already shaking her head in answer .

  
" Don't compare him with you. You both are different. He failed my mom. He abandoned my mom and all her fault was she loved him and trusted him , "Swara let the hatred seep back into her voice .

  
" Are we not , I am sure your description suits me as well.  I did abandon you back then Swara.  If not I wouldn't be here right now. We would still be married and would have been happy, " Sanskar answered back.

   
" No we both wouldn't have been happy, You wouldn't have been happy. While a part of me wants to call myself stupid for forcing you . It all worked out in the end. You saved Kavita. You found laksh was your brother. You found the real person who murdered Kavita. And you realized you loved me. So it all worked out, "Swara voice held the conviction that she would never allow him to blame himself .

 
" What if it didn't work out.  What if you didn't love me now?" Sanskar answered back .

  " But it worked out,  So don't think about it. Just tell me who is the person, "Swara asked him refusing him to regret his choices. 

And so Sanskar told her about Swara father and ragini being her sister. He told her everything while she listened patiently.. And only when he finished telling her everything did she finally stopped holding back her tears.

Swara Bose was strong just like her Dida. She never let the words and whispers of her name falter her smile. She knew her mom never married. She knew she illegitimate. But she was brave just like her dida who would fight anyone for her .

      
But hearing how much of an coward her father was shocking. Hearing about her family and how they treated her was  heartbreaking.

And so she stopped pretending she was strong or brave like her dida. And become the little girl who wanted to cry every time someone hurt her with words and insults. She always smiled at those insults because she didn't want her mom to be sad. But with Sanskar she didn't have to pretend so she cried instead for the life she lived without an father and for having an father who failed to  protect her.

But she had someone to protect her now , Someone with whom she can show her weakness. She knew he would always understand her and it was because of that she leaned onto him and cried her hearts out. And when she finally calmed down she smiled at him .

While Swara and sanskar were having an moment of peace. Their siblings were having an hard time. Ragini Gadodia loved Laksh Maheshwari with all her heart and it was because she loved him.

      
She decided to cross the line between right and wrong when she followed Swara and listened in on a private conversation between Swara and Sanskar. It didn't make sense to her , until she heard Sanskar telling Swara that her father was Swara father as well .

         
Then Swara tears disturbed her as well ,not because she suddenly found out she had a sister . But she never thought her capable of tears ,she had listened to every taunt of her dadi and smiled at her . Ragini had been envious of her strength and to see her letting her defense down made her realize even strong people can get hurt. 

               
  She always considered herself weak and hence blamed others for trying to snatch her happiness including laksh . But for the first time she realized everyone had their own strength and weakness and it was time for her to find her strength to move on from Laksh and live her life .

   
        
She quietly slipped out of the park while her sister was lost in her moment of peace with Sanskar.  A pang of envy rushed in at the support between them and she shook herself of the thoughts and walked away no longer content to live under other shadows.

   
Meanwhile Laksh was unable to sleep because of sanskar declaration. His mind was reeling from all that happened today and sleep eluded him. But when he heard his room door opening he pretended to sleep and the footsteps stopped before his bed. An hand stroked his cheek that when laksh realized it was his mother. And small drops of tears fell on his face.

It broke laksh heart. He didn't care about his birth anymore. She was his mother. The only mother he knew,  He was gonna pretend to wake up to console her when he heard her voice and her declaration.

"Don't worry Son. I will kill her by my own hands if possible. I know she hurt you. I know she hurt your brother. And she even made me hit you. She is the reason for everything. Don't worry Son. Your Maa will kill her . You know that right I will kill anyone who tries to take my son's away from me, " Annapurna Voice held a steel of determination .

Laksh never was smart but even he knew who his Maa wanted to kill. And just like that Lakshya Maheshwari world fell apart at that night.

P. S:"  That it for now ,sorry about the long update ,it just that we are nearing the end . Let me know your feedback and thoughts.  Hit the votes if you liked it."

Juanita Reid