A/N

HAPPY DHANTERAS everyone!! So, here is the next chapter after a long gap for which I’m really sorry 🙈🙈 But my time schedule had me worn out!! So, to compensate the long gap, here is a long chapter. ❤️❤️

I hope you all will like it. Happy reading!! ❤️❤️

*** CHAPTER 27 ***

‘Dear Maa, Papa,

I’m sorry! I know that you will not appreciate what I’m going to do now but I have to do this. Everyone knows it very well that the one who has lost the most amongst all of us is Swara. Me being here, continuously in front of her, will only increase her pain and I know no one of us wants this. I’m just playing my part in bringing back Swara… the one she really is!

Please don’t think I’m running away. I’m not! I promise I’ll be back but only when Swara forgives us, especially me. Apparently the one who has hurt her the most is me, so, it will be better if I go away for sometime. She means to me… a lot!

Just know this I love you both and all of you!

With love,
Your Sanskaar’

Annapurna sobs vigorously for the umpteenth time as she reads her son’s letter that he has written before leaving and going back a week ago. Though her heart hurts but even she knows that whatever he has said is true… word by word. Yes, her heart longs for her son… withering every moment he’s away from her, but she can’t forget that they have a daughter like daughter-in-law too and they are equally responsible towards her as well or else how are they supposed to face their friends, her parents, in the heavens above.

She wipes her tears away with the back of her hand when she feels a palm at her shoulder. Sniffing, she turns around to look at her husband who gives her a little encouraging smile.

Durga Prasad: Ready?

Annapurna nods her head in agreement and he sighs.

Durga Prasad: Let’s go then!

Nodding her head once again, Annapurna accompanies her husband as they move out of their room.

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It’s almost evening and Swara is still lying on her bed, without moving a single bit… just lying there like a soulless figure, trying to figure out where her life is taking her. Taking a deep breath, she turns to her right side as a treacherous tear rolls down from the corner of her eyes and all the way down her temple, finally getting soaked in her tangled black tresses.

What’s wrong with her heart? She’s the one who has said that with him in front of her hurts her, but now when he’s gone… it hurts even callously, so much that her chest constricts from time to time making it hard for her to breath.

It’s as if she has totally lost her own self!

True! What does she has left for herself now with her husband gone?

More tears threaten to flow down from the corner of her eyes when she’s pulled out of her line of thoughts with an abrupt knock at the door of the guest room. Even with him gone a week ago she still can’t bring herself to step in the room that used to be theirs. His memories keep on tugging at her heart obdurately with just a single look inside the room. The whole place has his presence lingering all around and she fails to step inside without letting herself get immersed in the embrace of his lingering fragrance. It’s as if he’s everywhere… and no matter how much she denies, in her heart too!

Opening the door without much thought, Swara comes face to face with the two most elderly people of their family. Annapurna and Durga Prasad stand in front of her joining their hands in front of them as if asking for forgiveness. Swara is taken aback. The hands that are supposed to bless her, are joined asking for her forgiveness today!

Swara: Maa… Papa… What are you doing?

Durga Prasad: Swara, we are sorry, beta! We are really very sorry!

Swara: Papa, please don’t say sorry like that. Please come inside first.

Swara brings both the elders inside the room and as they are made to sit on the bed, Annapurna breaks into another round of sobs.

Swara: Maa, please… please don’t cry.

Annapurna: W-We are… very sorry, Swara. We never knew… that the things will turn out… like this. We just wanted to help you out.

Swara sits down beside Annapurna without a word, not knowing how to react. This whole situation has shred her sense of reasoning into pieces and she just sits there dumbfounded holding Annapurna’s hand in hers, stroking it slightly from time to time as Annapurna continues after wiping off her tears.

Annapurna: We are not here to ask you to forgive us and get our son back, Swara. No. He will never want that. We just want to let you know that he never intended to hurt you, beta. He cares for you. He really does. Please just don’t misunderstand our son.

Swara: Maa, he… he’s not your son. He just looks like Shlok. He’s…

Durga Prasad: He’s Sanskaar! Our younger son, whom we had lost years ago.

And with the new revelation Swara is taken aback once again. All these days, she has been thinking that she has harbored these forbidden feelings for some unknown stranger and now she has come to know that he’s not some stranger but the younger brother of her deceased husband! Can things get anymore complicated?!

Swara: What?! How?! I mean…

Annapurna: It’s a very long story, Swara. For now, we just want you to know that all we did was for your betterment, beta. The way your health was deteriorating had us all worried and that’s when he came up for help… without any expectations or demands in return. So, please don’t misunderstand him. That’s all what we want.

Swara keeps looking at her trembling fingers lying on her lap all this while. Everything has happened so suddenly that all of it has left her tongue tied.

Swara: Maa, I… I don’t know what to say. It’s all my fault. I never heard what he had to say. I should have listened to him, but… now he’s gone. I…

And she’s cut abruptly as Annapurna places a carefully folded piece of paper on her palm. Swara looks at her with a questioning gaze as the older lady stares at the paper lovingly.

Annapurna: This is the last letter he wrote to me and your papa before he left. We want you to read it.

Shocked, Swara looks at the paper and then at Annapurna and Durga Prasad who in turn nod their head in encouragement before leaving the room. And as they leave, Swara takes a deep breath tracing the edges of the paper but she fails to bring herself to open and read the letter. She doesn’t know why but she just can’t. So, taking another deep breath, she places the letter inside the bedside drawer before switching off the lights and closing her eyes, making another futile attempt to get some sleep.

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Swara opens her eyes with a start and gets stupefied as she takes in the surroundings. Standing in one corner of the almost dark room, she shivers as the only source of light in the whole area is a flickering light bulb hanging a few feet away from her. Darkness has never been her thing, always giving rise to some weird thoughts inside her mind and right now, she’s getting scared of this dark.

Swara: Any… Anybody there?

Swara calls out loud but to her bad luck she fails to see even a single soul around as several minutes pass by and it’s then when she’s about to scream out for help, she notices a dark silhouette appearing from the other corner of the room. She squints her eyes to have a clear look of who the person in front of her is and as the person steps in the vicinity of the flickering light bulb, Swara stumbles back.

Swara: You… You came back? W-What is this place?

She stutters absolutely flabbergasted as the person instead of stopping at a certain distance keeps coming closer and stops hardly a feet away from her.

Swara: Sans… Sanskaar?!

“Shlok! Long time no see, Swara”, comes the reply and Swara is taken aback by the familiar smile gracing the man’s features right now.

Swara: Shlok?! You’re alive?!

And Shlok shakes his head in denial taking a deep breath.

Shlok: I’m not, Swara. I’m stuck out here… between life and death and I need your and Sanskaar’s help together to let me out of these shackles.

Swara almost feels her head reeling with this new piece of information. How much has she not known that everything is opening layer by layer. Holding either sides of her head with her hands, she falls down to her knees as takes in several deep breaths. This is not happening! This is just a weird thought her mind has woven! She’s just imagining things, right?!

Shlok: You’re not imagining me, Swara!

And with his next words, as if he’s reading her mind, her head shots up back to him and Shlok gives her another comforting smile as he scoots down on to his knees to reach her level.

Shlok: However, this situation is a bit hard to explain.

Swara: But why are you coming to me now? Why… Why not earlier?

Shlok: Because I had to come now… to make the things right! It has taken all my strength to get to you now, Swara. I’m afraid I can’t do that again. With Sanskaar it’s easy, as we are bonded by birth but with you it’s rather difficult. The only reason I have been able to come to you this once is because we are bonded as husband and wife.

Swara: T-That means you have talked to him?! To Sanskaar?!

Shlok: (nods his head) Yes, he came here because I asked him to, otherwise he would have never agreed to do something like becoming someone’s fake husband. His values made him reject Dad’s request at first but you needed him, so, I requested him to come here. It wasn’t his fault, Swara.

Swara: Why is everyone telling me the same thing… that it wasn’t his fault?!

Shlok: Because everyone knows him the way you don’t. Okay, tell me this… Do you love me or do you love ‘him’?

And that’s the question that hits right on her weakest nerve… Her feelings! But how is she supposed to answer him when she is so stuck within herself?

Shlok: (smiles) I’m still waiting for your answer, Swara!

Swara: I… I don’t…

Shlok: You love him, Swara and there is nothing to deny. No matter how hard it is to accept this but I… I’m not the one you love.

Swara: But that’s… that’s not right!

Shlok: Ugh! Why are you both so stubborn?

Swara: What?

Shlok: When he fell in love with you, the first one to know about his feeling was me. I realized it even before he did. And trust me when I tell you this that making him realize and confess his feelings was just as cumbersome as it is yours.

Swara: Stop!! He… doesn’t love me. He was just pretending to be you, so, it doesn’t matter who I love!

Shlok: Trust me, Swara, it does! All you need is to trust your heart. Can you deny that you started having these feelings after he came?

Swara: Stop…

Shlok: He is the one who gave you that warmth you’ve always been seeking!

Swara: I said stop…

Shlok: You need him in your life, Swara… more than anyone else. You need him. Accept it.

Swara: STOP! STOP! STOP!

It becomes too much for her heart and mind. Swara clutches either side of her head in her palms being still on her knees and screams Shlok to stop again and again.

Shlok: Denying won’t do any good to anyone! The sooner you’ll accept it, the better it will be. It’s not me, Swara. I’m not supposed to be the one for you. Most probably he’s still waiting for you… All you need to do is reach out and hold his hand!

And with that being said Shlok’s voice fades into oblivion leaving Swara to struggle with her conflicting thoughts and find a way out.

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Swara wakes up with a start, still trembling and her breaths coming out in pants. Eventually, she feels too limbless that she even fails to wipe off the sweat droplets trickling down her forehead.

What was it?!

Was it a dream?!

But it felt too real to be a dream!

Trying to get a hold of herself, Swara lifts up her head and finds herself still in the guest room, where she has been sleeping for some days now. With her still trembling fingers, she switches on the bed side lamp tearing the monotonous and eerie darkness of the night. Under the dim light she notices the wall clock ticking. It’s 4:30 am.

Taking a deep breath, she gets up but instantly falls down back to the bed owing to her wobbly knees. Gripping the edges of the bed she gets up again and dragged herself towards the washroom.

Splashing her face with palm full of water, she takes a deep breath. Looking at her own reflection in the mirror, she fails to recognize the person standing in front of her right now! This is not who she is. Amidst all this chaos her life has turned into, she has lost herself. No matter what she just can’t bring her heart at ease. It’s as if she’s fighting with her own self.

And then the most unexpected thing happens!

Without her realizing, she has shut off the water tap and made her way back to her bed. She opens the drawer and pulling out ‘the letter’ she takes a deep breath before she starts reading it.

With every word written by Sanskaar, Swara’s heart skips a beat and by the time she finishes the letter, the whimpers of her withering heart has started rolling down her cheeks. She wipes off her tears again and again but her stubborn tears don’t seem like listening to her any longer. She knows it very well that he has left because of her, but reading his words has hurt much more than she ever expected. She keeps on reading that one sentence again and again that is hurting her more than anything else right now.

‘She means to me… a lot!’

And that’s when her heart finally overpowers her brain making her realize…

What has she done?! ‘It wasn’t a lie! Everything he said back then was what he meant! He did care for her!’ She can feel it with just a single sentence from him.

What should she do now? He has been right there for her and she has pushed him away herself! The urge to feel his succoring embrace around herself has never been so strong as it is now. At this very moment, all she can think is of the only person who can help her now… her best friend!

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Swara knocks at the door impatiently and soon enough a peevish Laksh opens the door all set to pounce upon the person who dares to disrupt his sleep at five in the morning but he stops abruptly and gets shocked finding a completely flustered Swara at his doorstep.

Laksh: Swara?! Have you been crying?

Listening to Laksh’s alarmed voice even Ragini gets up and walks up to the door and finds Swara standing there, covered entirely with sweat and almost on the verge of crying.

Swara: Where is he?

Laksh: What happened, Swara?

Swara: Just tell me where he is, Laksh!

Swara whisper shouts as her restraints on her tears break once again. Ragini immediately pulls her in and Laksh hands over a glass of water to his wife. Ragini helps Swara drink the water as Laksh takes a seat next to his friend.

Laksh: He’s in Mumbai, Swara! That’s what you wanted, right? So, why are you worried right now?

And his words pierce Swara’s heart like a callous sword and her sobs become even more vigorous. Ragini glares at her husband scolding him silently as she pulls Swara in a soothing embrace as her friend trembles uncontrollably.

Swara: I’m… I’m sorry! I’m so sorry…

Ragini: Shh! It wasn’t your fault, Swara. It’s alright. Everything is fine!

Swara: No, Ragini. It’s not… fine. I never… gave him a chance to explain. He might be… He might be hating me right now!

No sooner she says this Laksh places his palm on the back of her head, caressing her hair slightly.

Laksh: (whispers) That’s where you are wrong, Swara. He can never hate you. He loves you too much for that!

And that makes Swara to lift her head up instantly from Ragini’s embrace. It comes to her as a shocker. She does know that he cares for her but… love?!

He loves her! Is that what Laksh just said or is she hearing things?!

She doesn’t know herself what she should feel right now! Happy… that he returns her feelings?! Or sad… that their life has found love in such a mess?!

Laksh sighs noticing the conflicting emotions on his friend’s face and lifts her head up placing his index finger under her chin.

Laksh: You’re not imagining this, Swara! He really does love you!

He speaks slowly emphasizing on each and every word as if making a child understand and the sudden outburst of emotions inside of her heart makes Swara shudder.

Swara: B-But he never said that he loves… me?

Ragini: He did… he just didn’t use the exact words!

Swara: Huh?!

Laksh: He couldn’t say it because you thought of him as Shlok, so he used his actions to show that what you meant to him… that how much Sanskaar loved you… that how much Vidhaan loved you!

Swara: Vidhaan?!

Ragini: When he came to help you… us… he came as Vidhaan. We had no idea that he was Sanskaar, the lost son of the family. He was lost twenty seven years ago.

Swara: Then… how did you all find out about who he was?

Laksh: It was after Mr. Khanna’s party that night!

And a huge rush of memories hit Swara mercilessly. That was the day she kissed him for the first time! How can she even forget that night? Each and everything has been so fresh in her memory as if it has happened just yesterday!

Laksh: Badi Maa saw whatever happened between you two and…

Swara: (freaked out) Maa knew?!

Ragini: She was furious. You were put to sleep that’s why you don’t know anything but even remembering the events of that day make me tremble.

Swara: What had happened?!

Laksh: Badi Maa slapped him several times!

Laksh says and Swara gasps. She doesn’t even want to imagine how things would have been that night for all she knows that her mother-in-law is not someone to mess with. Just a single act of hers has caused him so much pain!

Laksh: And between those slaps the pendant he was hiding for all those days came out of his shirt. Badi Maa thought that it was Shlok’s pendant and that he had stolen it.

Swara: The ‘S’ shaped pendant?!

Ragini: Yes, there were two of them. One for Shlok and one for Sanskaar. Badi Maa snatched away the pendant causing him to hurt his neck too.

Laksh: After we found both the pendants and that Vidhaan was Sanskaar, he freaked out. He refused to accept and he cried for all those years he had spent yearning for his parents. He has suffered so much, Swara. He deserves better. You both do!

Swara: Can’t… Can’t we bring him back?

Swara finally words out all that her heart is feeling right now and Laksh sighs noticing the look of anticipation on his friend’s face.

Laksh: (sighs) Yes, we can but I think we should give him some time. Very much the way you need time because of all this, he needs it too. The least we can do is give him that time!

Ragini: Yes, Swara! He struggled with himself too much when he realized that he has feelings for you. He felt as if he was betraying Shlok Bhai, he didn’t want to accept his feelings. But that night when we found who he really was, he cried… accepting that he loves you and that he never wanted this to happen, but he couldn’t stop his heart from feeling anything for you.

Swara breaks into another round of sobs as she takes in every bit of his pain. Though she hasn’t seen any of it, but only the thought of him suffering like that tears her heart apart.

And when no one is noticing, a pair of little hands make their way towards Swara’s face wiping off her tears. She lifts up her head only to find Chaitanya looking at her with little tear droplets shining at the corner of his eyes. Amidst all this, the three of them have entirely forgotten about the little one who has been sleeping there all this while. Though he couldn’t understand why, but all he knows is that his Swara Mumma is crying… and he doesn’t like this. He loves it when his Swara Mumma smiles.

Swara instantly pulls him into her embrace and Chaitanya pats the back of her head lightly with his small palms.

Chits: Swala (Swara) Mumma, don’t cly (cry). Evelything (everything) will be okay! Sanky Papa will come and will make you smile again.

Swara’s embrace tightens around the little one and he wraps his arms around her neck.

Swara: He will come back, baby… very soon!

And for her two friends witnessing the entire scene, it seems as if she’s not only making a promise to their son but even to her own self!

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“And so what our answer comes is seven plus five, which is equal to twelve”, Sanskaar speaks as he writes the answer on the board and the students seem as if they will cry any next moment.

It’s been a month ever since their beloved Vidhaan sir returned, but to their utter dismay the one who has come back is not the one who they have known all this while. Their Vidhaan sir don’t sing for them anymore and they only get to see the smile they all love on his lips only once in a while.

What has that taklu uncle did to their beloved Vidhaan sir?!

Anyone witnessing the scene can easily notice the flames of anger emanating from every child’s head. If they can they will love to break eggs on taklu uncle’s bald head! They want their Vidhaan sir back!!

Sanskaar takes a deep breath as he scribbles a bit more on the board in order to make the problem clearer to his students. With his back still towards the students he asks…

Sanskaar: Is this clear to all of you? Any questions?!

On not receiving any questions for a couple of minutes, Sanskaar takes a deep breath again before rubbing the problem to start with a new one…

“When are you coming back?!”

And that’s when he hears the voice he has been dying to hear… the voice he hears every time his heart wrenches with pain But there is no way possible that she will be here! Is his heart playing games with him again?! Has he started hallucinating now?!

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