Sail Through Styx - A SwaSan SS

Chapter Three

Tu safar mera, hai tu hi meri manzil,

Tere bina guzara, ae dil hai mushkil...

Tu mera kuda, tu hi dua mein shamil

Tere bina guzara, ae dil hai mushkil...

Mujhe aazmaati hai teri kami,

Meri har kami ko hai tu laazmi

Junoon hai mera, banu main teri qaabil,

 Tere bina guzara, ae dil hai mushkil...

Lyrics Amitabh Bhattacharya, (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, tittle song)

Fainting footfall

He met her again, by a twist of a very annoying fate. It was some day in late 2013, almost a month after their encounter at the King's Park. Dr. Sanskar Maheshwari, already had his plate full, with a dinner with his aunt and uncle who were visiting from India later that day, having to fill in for a follow doctor in the ER was certainly not what he had expected. Coming across the doe eyes twinkling in sunlight that occasionally waved in and out of his dreams ever since he had seen her was not in the agenda. 

She was dressed in white yet again. This time it was a long Anarkali dress, with pearls stitched into the red floral details at the neck and sleeves. A dupatta of sindoor red tucked around her petite waist, and her hair braided to a side of her head, flowing gracefully past her shoulder. There was no mistaking that the girl was an Indian, even without her dangling earrings and the ever present bindi between her brows. She had a swollen ankle and a halfhearted smile on her lips. The older woman who accompanied her was admonishing in a low tone, apparently the girl had been practicing Kathak on that damaged ankle before the instructor had noticed.

Sanskar cleared his throat, breaking their whispered argument and both ladies turned to him, the older one still having a tint of her earlier annoyed expression while the younger one looked relieved with the interruption.

"You're X - ray looks fine," he said addressing the Anarkali girl, rather than her instructor. "No bones were damaged."

"See, kaki. I'm absolutely fine. Let's go back to the class," her tone was playful, a ring of silver bells in the slightly chilly air.

"I did not say that," Sanskar almost bit back a smile at the look she gave him. "There will be no more dancing at least for a week. Then we can think about it."

"Oh no! A week? Like seriously seven days?" She sounded hysterical; you might have thought he told her she had three months to live.

"Unless we live in different universes; that's exactly the week I meant, the one with seven days Miss - er -"He checked the papers. "Gadodia."

The girl pouted her doe eyes wide. Sanskar had to blink twice to maintain his stance.

"I thought you know, the working week with five days?" Her tone was innocent, but he could see the twinkle of mischief in her eyes. 

"Really now Swara?" Her instructor decided to take the matters in her own hands. "You're pulling the doctor's leg now?"

Shaking his head at both of them and attending a call he had just received Sanskar walked away, from the strict instructor and the bubbly girl in white, only to walk into her at an alumni event weeks later.

He was there to give Kavita company, rather than enjoying the splendor himself and the girl in white was roaming around with one of his old school mates. The later seemed relieved when he ran into them. 

"Sunny!" Vikram, his old friend had pulled him into a bear hug, as soon as they crossed paths. Pulling away, he looked pointedly at the girl who stood respectfully aside while the old friends caught up. "This is Swara," leaning in he whispered, "Our parents are trying to set us up." And he mouthed, "Save me."