"There is nothing more beautiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life beautiful for others."

~ Mandy Hale

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"Bachcha Party!" Swara called out loud and in came a train of kids but all too silent to be believable. She narrowed her eyes at them. Was that the silence that prevailed before the advent of the storm? Hardly four or four and a half feet tall, this gang of Lilliputian troublemakers was something not to mess with!

"Why are you guys so silent?" Swara asked cautiously emphasizing on each and every word as she scanned the faces of each and everyone of them. And that was when she noticed it. With a bated breath she asked, "and where is..."

"S-Swara di! We...," stammered a young girl hardly eight years old with her eyes shining with unshed tears and her nose all red, quite possibly because of continuous sniffing and rubbing.

"Aarvi, what happened?" Swara asked as she got down on her knees in front of her and caressed her hair. Aarvi had started trembling and it wasn't too difficult for Sujata to understand that something was wrong... utterly wrong.

"Just take a deep breath and..."

"AAAAH!!"

Even before Swara could complete, a loud holler was heard at the end of the hallway and next came the sound of several things crashing on the floor. Her eyes widened the very next moment as she looked at the kids but all of them had their heads bowed down. And even without looking at their faces, Swara knew that they all had been crying.

Without giving it a second thought, Swara ran towards the room at the very end followed by everyone else right after her.

"Pari," Swara shouted, knocking the door anxiously. "Please open the door, bachcha."

The way she pleaded held Sujata by surprise. The girl she had met hardly few minutes ago, the one who seemed so lively and optimistic, looked so scared at this very moment. She looked terrified beyond measures as if she was about to lose her most precious possession.

'What's wrong?' Sujata's inner self questioned but before she could word it out, a loud cry resonated in the hallway.

"Pari! Pari!" Swara was on the verge of tears as her knocks on the door became even more frantic. No, please, not again!

"Please someone get me the key," she shouted without even looking at everyone else who by now were standing right behind her calling out Pari's name.

And soon enough, the spare key to the kids' room was brought. Wiping the tears off her face, Swara grabbed the key hurriedly to unlock the door from outside. The kids' wellbeing had always been her utmost concern, so, the first thing she did after earning the minimal sum of money from her part time job was changing the lock to the kids' dormitory.

The moment the door was unlocked, they heard something crash against it before Swara could open the door. Signaling everyone to step back, she opened the door cautiously making sure that nothing else was being thrown their way again.

The plight of the whole dormitory took everyone by surprise, or more like shock. Every thing that seemed a bit smaller in size was tossed in every corner of the room, mattresses looked disheveled as if someone had tried to pull them off the bed but couldn't do so, water was spilled all across the floors and the jugs were tumbled down under the beds, and then hiding in the darkness was a little girl huddled up in the farthest corner of the room.

Walking with light yet steady steps, Swara made her way towards the frightened little one and called out softly, "Pari!" Hearing her name being called out, Pari curled up even more, scooting further away from Swara.

Taking a deep breath, Swara came down to her knees in front of her and tried holding her shoulders, but a searing pain shot across her face as a slap landed on her left cheek, with the nails of the little one scratching her face rather mercilessly. Everyone gasped and tried reaching out but Swara signaled them to stand back as she closed her eyes because of the impact.

Opening her eyes, tears still lingering within, Swara gave a slight smile and held Pari's left hand. But the little one freaked out, and started hitting Swara wherever she could with her free right hand. Every other kid present over there let out a cry for the two person they loved the most had tears in their eyes.

After a struggle of several minutes, Swara finally managed to get a hold of Pari's right hand and pulled her out if the corner. Resting her forehead against Pari's forehead she just kept whispering, "Shh! It's okay. Pari. Bachcha. It's okay."

And in a couple of moments, she started relaxing and quieting down. The only sound that one could hear in the room was Pari's sniffing. Nobody dared to say a single word, dreading it could freak her out. Again.

"Pari," Swara whispered slowly with her forehead still against hers and noticing that Pari was absolutely normal even after her name was called out, Swara smiled. She knew what exactly she had to say to bring their usual Pari back. Sighing, she opened her eyes and whispered, "Pari! Cake..."

The moment the word 'cake' got registered in her little brain, Pari pulled her forehead away, her eyes twinkled, despite the lingering tears, and she gave a toothy smile whispering exactly the same way Swara did, "Thaek!" (cake)

And that was when Sujata noticed it. Pari was not just a normal kid. Hardly three or four years old, Pari was autistic! She was shocked just beyond measures. Her heart went out for the child. But even more that she wondered, 'What was this place?'

Swara smiled and nodded her head, "Yes, bachcha. Cake. Pari will cut it, right?" And with an enormous grin, Pari nodded her head vigorously. Throwing her arms across Swara's shoulders, she wrapped them around her neck, asking her silently to take her to that one thing she loved the most in the world.

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Swara held Pari's hand as she helped her cut the huge delicious chocolate cake in front of her. Everyone clapped and cheered for Pari to which she gave a huge smile to everyone, her two rabbit teeth quite visible. Swara closed her eyes and whispered, "Happy Birthday, Sulochna Kaki!"

Making Pari sit on a chair, Swara smiled and brought a plate to her, "And here's the largest piece of cake for my sweetest Pari."

Looking to and fro from the large piece of cake and then to Swara for a couple of times, Pari clapped her hands, "Halpie Bellday! Halpie Bellday!" Swara chuckled and kissed her forehead, "Yes, Cutie Pie. Happy Birthday!"

Everyone smiled looking how happy Pari was. She was always this happy when she had Swara around. But what Sujata noticed was how happy Swara was, forgetting her own pain. The redness of her cheek and the scratch marks could, in no way, affect her happiness. And this filled Sujata's heart with an unknown feeling, an unknown warmth. She didn't know what it was, but it was something that rendered a strange placidity to her heart.

"Dadu and party! Is your special pasta dish ready?" Swara enquired keeping both her hands on the either side of her waist as she stood in front of all the grandfathers of the Home Sunshine. And the moment the question was asked, all of them started fidgeting and nudging each other.

"Dadu?" Swara narrowed her eyes at them in a playful warning. "It was all Manohar's fault. He asked us to put Dhaniya Powder in it," one of them blurted out suddenly.

"WHAT!! Dhaniya powder? In white sauce pasta?" Swara felt like fainting as she craned her neck to look at Manohar Dadu who by now was hiding behind another one from the lot, refusing to meet her eyes at all.

"Gosh, you guys!" Swara took a deep breath. "Never mind. I'll make the pasta now."

"NO!!" everyone shouted in unison, except for Pari who had quite a large piece of cake stuffed in her mouth, the spoon in her hand, and eyes blinking and scanning everyone's shocked faces, wondering what was wrong with them. Swara jumped at the very place she was standing placing her hand over her heart. "What happened? All of you still don't trust me, right? You should believe me at least," said Swara feigning hurt.

"And get our kitchen burnt down, Swara di?" It was Aarvi who had said it and Swara held her ear, enquiring, "When did I burn up the kitchen?"

"Last time, when you came back during your college holidays and tried making sandwiches for us," said Aarvi still struggling to get her ear free from Swara's deadly grip.

"It was an accident. I know how to cook."

"No, it wasn't. You can't do anything apart from boiling water."

Swara gasped as she left Aarvi's ear and tried looking absolutely livid. The keyword being 'tried'. "I. Can. Cook," she said emphasizing on each and every word but still nobody seemed to agree.

"Why don't we have a voting then? To see how many of us want you to cook pasta," Aarvi suggested knowing that it was something Swara would never agree to. But what life it would be, if there weren't any surprises. To everyone's surprise, Swara agreed.

"All right, then. You see here. My Ganga Maa will vote for me. After all, she loves me the most," said Swara, mustering up the sweetest smile she could, as she made her way towards the place where Ganga Maa sat. "Right, Maa?"

"Of course, I love you, my dear. But... I love my kitchen as well," said Ganga Maa smiling sheepishly and Swara pouted rolling her eyes.

"Nanhe! My sweet little brother will vote for me," Swara smiled now looking at the Lilliputian Bachcha Party Gang.

"I'll get you the latest sunglasses, Nanhe. Please vote for me." Swara was all set for bribing as well, as long as it could help.

"How did you know that I wanted sunglasses, di? But food is also important. So, I think kitchen is of more importance."

"Golu! My lovely, smart, and handsome Golu will vote for me. If you will give me your vote, I'll make cakes, parathas, noodles, and everything that you want."

"But where will you make them, di, if the kitchen gets burned?"

"It seems like all of you have decided to go against me. Nevermind! My Pari will always support me. I'm pretty sure about that. Right Pari?"

Hearing her name being called out, Pari's cake smeared face looked at Swara and her eyes twinkled, expecting another large piece of cake.

"My Pari will vote for me. Right, Cutie Pie? Come on. Now say... I"

"I," Pari repeated in the very same tone Swara was using, hoping for her cake any next moment.

"Vote..."

"Vold..."

"For..."

"Fall..."

"Swara Di!"

"Halpie Bellday! Halpie Bellday," and she clapped again as she saw Aarvi standing with her next piece of cake.

Swara huffed angrily and sat down on the floor crossing her arms across her chest. That was her way of accepting the defeat. This world was too unfair! The good never got appreciated!

Ganga Maa chuckled as she got up from her seat and kissed Swara's forehead. She melted down instantly. "Now, I'm going to get your pasta ready," said Ganga Maa with a smile and Swara nodded her head with a sigh.

"But if you want you can become my assistant," Ganga Maa added on her way to the kitchen. With a goofy smile, Swara got up from the floor and ran with her towards the kitchen, making everyone roar with laughter.

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It was around 11:00 P.M. and sleep seemed the most far off thing for Sanskaar. Something kept bugging him continuously and the dread clouding his heart was not helping him either. Something, somewhere was not right! He had already put Vanya to sleep, so he wasn't quite sure what was wrong with him.

Getting up from his bed, he walked slowly towards Vanya's cradle and found her fast asleep. Taking a deep breath, he stood by the window and started massaging his head to ease the pain that had been bothering him all day long. Quite possibly a little fresh air would help!

Closing his eyes, he allowed his mind to drift back to Aarti's memories and unknowingly a painful smile made its way to his lips. It hadn't been too long when his cell phone rang by his bedside.

He scuttled towards it making sure Vanya wouldn't get up with all the noise or she would surely throw a tantrum in the middle of the night. She absolutely despised being woken up unless and until she wanted to.

"Hello!" Sanskaar kept his voice as low as possible. It was a call from the hospital. "Dr. Maheshwari, we need you urgently at the hospital. It's a case of accident," Dr. Agnihotri, Sanskaar's junior at the hospital, seemed quite anxious.

"Is the first aid done?" Sanskaar enquired.

"Yes, doctor. We have stopped the bleeding for now but the head injury seems quite a serious one. We are performing all the necessary tests."

"Okay. Get all the tests and scans done. I want the reports on my table by the time I get to the hospital. I'll get there as soon as possible."

"On it, Dr. Maheshwari."

Sanskaar disconnected the phone, and the very moment, ran to his parents to inform them about the emergency before leaving for the hospital.

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"It's a case of brain hemorrhage," Sanskaar said taking a deep breath as she scanned all the test reports. "We need to perform an operation immediately. Please inform the patient's family members. Is any one of them over here?"

"Yes, her husband, Soham. He was also in the car at the time of the accident. He had suffered a fracture in his hand and some minor injuries. He had been saying it all this while that it was his wife who had saved him," informed Dr. Agnihotri and Sanskaar nodded his head.

All the necessary arrangements for the operation were done within an hour and the operation was scheduled at 01:15 A.M. And it was at the moment Sanskaar was about to enter the operation theater with his team when Soham fell down to his knees and held Sanskaar's feet.

"Please! Please! What are you doing?" Sanskaar was taken aback and tried making him stand up but this man didn't seem in a condition to understand what he was doing at that very moment.

"Please get up!" Sanskaar urged him bending down but Soham just shook his head vigorously in denial. "Please, doctor. You are no less than the God to me right now. Please, save my wife. I love her so much. If something happens to her, I won't be able to forgive myself. It had to me, but she pushed me out of the way. Please save her. I won't be able to live otherwise."

Holding Soham by his shoulders, Sanskaar made him stand back to his feet. This pain, these tears, seemed all too familiar. The moments from the past came crashing down to him. It wasn't long enough when he, too, had been begging Dr. Mathur to save his Aarti. His hands trembled.

"We-We will try our level best, Soham. Please pray for your wife and for our success. Ramesh, give him a glass of water, please," he asked the ward boy and left for the operation theater but not before patting Soham's shoulder in encouragement.

The man really needed it!

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It was already 5:00 in the morning by the time Sanskaar reached his home. With trembling hands he entered his room and closed the door before sliding down to the floor, with his back against the wooden door. His eyes were all red, stinging with all those unshed tears.

His eyes slowly found their way towards Aarti's picture hung right above the headboard of the bed and they yet again became glazed with a glassy layer of tears.

"What if I won't be able to do it, Aarti?" he had once asked her.

"You can, Sanskaar. I believe in you much more than you yourself do, Dr. Maheshwari," her words from back then resonated in his ears and he blinked. The lingering tears dripped from his eyelashes and slid down his cheeks. With his fist against his mouth he let out a muffled cry attempting to hide any sound that wanted to escape his mouth.

"I thought I won't be able to do, Aarti. I thought two lovers will get separated once again, that too, for forever. But your Sanskaar didn't fail again. He didn't."

And once again, he was lost in the torrid vortex of the moments of the past. He didn't know himself for how long he was going to be tormented by the past that in no way could be undone but every time he was alone, these excruciating memories hauled mercilessly at his heart.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't able to save you. I'm so sorry!"

He wanted to cry. He wanted to wail. But could he do so? May be or most probably not! He was all alone. He had thought that maybe one day he'd be able to cope up with it but this pain seemed like killing him each day, each moment, snatching away what was once his inner light and bedimming his moments with darkness.

Where was the limit?

When would he be saved?

And with several such questions still troubling his mind, he yet again went near the window of his room, and sat there as if nothing more than a statue, his cries no more than the muffled sobs. There were no answers. All he knew was that he needed something, something to hold onto to save his own self... not for himself, but for his daughter.

He wanted to ask for help! But he knew it all too well that there was no one who would listen him out.

It was then, when a soft music hit his eardrums. At first he thought it was his hallucination that the drizzle outside was creating. But as the music reached him once again, he knew it was too good to be an imagination. He tried standing up but his knees wobbled and he sat down once again, with fresh tears sliding down his cheeks yet again.

With a feeble attempt to wipe off his tears, he tried listening to the music with a bit more attention only to find that it was coming from somewhere in the mountains. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to get lost in the music of the flute that was becoming clearer and clearer now.

And then almost like a delicate breeze, the music swept past him as if whispering a message. Sanskaar opened his eyes as the flute hits high notes and unknowingly it was affecting him much more than he had thought, as if the soft mellow was telling him something and soothing his soul like nothing before.

Telling him that he wasn't alone!

Telling him that someone out there could understand his pain!

Telling him that everything would be fine one day!

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A/N

Hello everyone!

So, as promised here's the new chapter and the longest one of the story until now, more than 3250 words. I hope you would have liked it. And please do listen to the video linked in the media box. It will help you imagine the last scene even better.

See you all soon with the new chapters of my other stories as well. Till then, stay blessed and happy reading!

With love,
Stella ❤️