Episode # 2:- (Dark Days Will End Soon)
"Where were you both? It was a work of an hour, and you both are coming back after three hours?" The moment Sanskar and Yuvaan entered the Agnihotri Mansion, they heard an angry voice. They looked above and found Sanskar's mother, Swathi Agnihotri, was standing in front of them with a glare on her face.
Swathi Agnihotri: A loving wife and a mother. Swathi runs an NGO for the welfare of women.
"Aunty, your son has finally found your daughter-in-law," Yuvaan hurriedly said before Swathi could scold them more. Sanskar, mentally face-palmed because he knew that now his mother would start her rambling. He cursed Yuvaan under his breath for his rashness.
"Really?" Swathi asked in an excited tone. Sanskar chuckled at seeing his mother's expressions. Her expressions would change in seconds from angry to happy ones. "Relax, mom, I know nothing about her for now," Sanskar said, and Swathi shrugged her shoulders.
"I know till now you have started the hunt mission for her, so no worries. Let me give this good news to your father," Swathi said, and before Sanskar could stop his mother, she had already left. Sometimes his mother behaves like a teenage girl. "What was the need to open your mouth this much early?" Sanskar asked while giving a death glare to Yuvaan.
"I wanted to escape from her scolding, and that was the only excuse which came to my mind," Yuvaan said, and Sanskar punched his arms. "Idiot," Sanskar said and went from there. Yuvaan pouted and went behind him while rubbing his arm.
Sanskar came into the dining hall. He found his father, Ronit Agnihotri, was sitting, and hearing to his mother. Ronit, on hearing the footsteps, turned his head and saw him standing there with Yuvaan beside him.
Ronit Agnihotri: The youngest child amongst the three children of the Agnihotri family. His elder brother Rohit lives in the U.S.A. and owns a leading telecom company. Ronit's sister, Aadhya Agnihotri, two years elder than him, died at a young age because of cancer. That was the sole reason Agnihotri's shifted to the U.S.A because they couldn't able to cope up with her memories.
Ronit was always interested in the hotel industry. At twenty, he started his small hotel named Blasus, and now, after 35 years, it's one of the top hotels in the world. For the last eleven years, Blasus winning the best hotel and resort award.
"Son, whatever your mother is saying, is that true?" Ronit asked, while filling the glass of water. Sanskar settled down on the chair beside him. He eyed his mother, who was gazing at him with excitement. "I know nothing regarding her, not even her name, so let's wait till I'll get the information about her," Sanskar exclaimed, and his parents agreed.
Ronit eyed Yuvaan, who was busy doing justice with the food on his plate. "Yuvaan, when your father is coming back?" Ronit asked about his father, Advik Goenka, who went out of the station for one meeting.
"Maybe tonight or tomorrow," Yuvaan replied. "Good, because the anniversary of Blasus is in three days," Ronit said. "Don't worry, uncle; dad will never miss this eve," Yuvaan exclaimed.
Later at night:-
Sanskar was checking some files when his cellphone started ringing. "Hello," Sanskar spoke without looking at the caller id. "I've heard that someone is back in India from the last three years, and they didn't have the courtesy to tell me anything," someone said from the other side.
"Who?" Sanskar asked in a confused tone and looked at the caller id. "Sanskar Agnihotri, you are behaving as if you don't recognize me?" the caller said, and Sanskar chuckled in return.
"Reyansh Brother, how are you, man? And sorry, my family came back three years, but I came here six months back only. We have shifted the head office of Blasus here, and for that, I was hell busy. Sorry mate, but you tell me, how is everyone? Arnav uncle, Niharika aunty and your sister, sorry I forgot her name," Sanskar said.
"Swara, her name is Swara, and everyone is fine. I got married five years back and have two sons, Aarav and Samay," Reyansh said, and Sanskar becomes surprised upon hearing this. "Wow, what a pleasant surprise. Seriously in our life, we sometimes get so busy that we forget to remain in contact with each other. But now that you have contacted me, I'm inviting you to the 35th Anniversary of our Blasus. You all have to come," Sanskar said.
"For this only, I've contacted you. Dad is not here, and he also doesn't know about you people coming back to India. Almost one year back, we have shifted from Delhi to Mumbai. I want to give him a surprise as it's years when he met Ronit Uncle," Reyansh exclaimed.
"That's a perfect plan, brother. Dad will also love this; I think we should surprise both of them. It's years when both childhood best friends have met each other," Sanskar said, and Reyansh agreed on that. "True, and don't worry, we'll all come," Reyansh said and later, after talking for a while, they disconnected the call.
Ronit and Arnav were childhood best friends. Arnav used to live in Mumbai, but his family shifted to Delhi when Arnav was around 13. They both were in contact with each other, but later, when Ronit's family went to the U.S.A, they lost contact.
It was years when they both have talked to each other. Reyansh met Sanskar when ten years back, he went to pursue his LAW Degree. They were in the same university, Sanskar, maybe three years junior from Reyansh, but they bonded well. Yuvaan also had a great bonding with Reyansh. It was a coincidence when once, Reyansh, who went to Sanskar's house, saw his father's childhood picture in the living room of their mansion.
On talking with Ronit, Reyansh came to know that his father was Ronit's best friend. Ronit talked with Arnav, and later Arnav with Niharika came to meet them. Swara couldn't able to come, because she was in a boarding school in Pune and had exams.
They both met after years. But because of the busy life routines, they failed to remain in contact like before. But now, when Reyansh came to know that they were back, he had decided that he'll make them meet again.
Present:-
Sanskar got free late at night and picked his cellphone. He checked the messages and found one text. "Email sent," Sanskar read it and opened his mailbox. Sanskar read the mail and a surprising look came over his face.
"Swara Chauhan, age 21, and youngest child of the Chauhan Family. Her father Arnav Chauhan is an owner of Food Processing Company, and her brother Reyansh Chauhan is a famous criminal lawyer of the country," Sanskar read the details.
"She is Reyansh's sister?" Sanskar murmured, but later a bright smile came over his lips. "Mom and dad will be so happy. Let me tell them," Sanskar said and got up from his seat but halted. "No, let the dad meet Arnav uncle first, then I'll tell them. Maybe she'll also come to the party," Sanskar exclaimed and eyed her picture in the mailbox.
The picture was from the mall only, taken from the CCTV footage. Suddenly, he felt something strange. He eyed her face again and didn't know, but his sixth sense was screaming to him that something is wrong with her.
"She is not what she pretends," Sanskar murmured while gazing at her again. "Whatever the reason is, but I promise I'll make everything fine," Sanskar said. He doesn't know that it was love or not? But more than that, he was feeling some inner connection with her.
He wanted to replace her sadness with happiness as soon as possible. He never fell in love with anyone, as he was more focused on his career. But today, he had realized that sometimes you don't need any tag of something for caring about someone.
Two days later:-
"Dadu, dadi (Grandpa, Granny)," Aarav squealed when he found his grandparents entering the mansion. Arnav and Niharika smiled brightly at seeing their grandson. "Aarav, my son," Niharika exclaimed while picking him up in her arms. Aarav threw his arms around his Granny's neck and hugged her tightly.
"I mished (missed) you sho (so) much," Aarav said, and Niharika kissed his chubby cheek tightly. "I missed you too," Niharika replied, and Aarav looked at Arnav.
"Dadu," Aarav said and raised his arms towards Arnav. "My son," Arnav said and took him from Niharika's arms. Niharika looked in front of them and found Reyansh, Aastha, with Samay in her arms were standing there.
She met the trio and later took Samay from Aastha. Samay is two months old but an active baby. He gave his granny a toothless grin and giggled when Niharika kissed his cheek. "Where is Swara?" Arnav asked when he didn't find her in the hall.
"I'm here, dad," Swara exclaimed from behind. She was in the kitchen as Samay was hungry, and she was making his formula milk. Samay takes both formula milk and mother feed.
"How are you, dear?" Niharika asked and took her into a side hug. "I'm fine, mom," Swara replied with a smile on her face. However, everyone knew it was not her genuine smile.
"Let's come. Dinner is ready," Aastha said after a while, and they all went towards the dining hall. "Swara, what you have decided? You have completed your graduation. Where do you want to take admission for masters?" Arnav asked. Swara has completed her graduation two weeks back.
"Dad, you know that I always had an interest in Hotel Management. I want to gain some experience/ training before taking admission for a master's degree. I've even applied to some hotels; in fact, one International Hotel is launching its Grand Hotel in Mumbai. They have some open vacancies, so I thought why not apply there. And if I get lucky, then I'll get the chance to work under the CEO. I've heard that he is the best mentor whom anyone could ever get," Swara replied.
"That great doll, Masters Degree, you can do side by side, but if you want to gain some experience, then we all are here to support you. What's say, dad?" Reyansh asked. Arnav nodded with a smile on his face.
"Whatever your decision is, remember that we all are here to support you," Arnav replied in a soft tone. Swara smiled in return and resumed her dinner. "What's the name of the Hotel?" Reyansh asked after a while.
"Blasus," Swara replied, and Reyansh became surprised, but he composed himself. "That's great; Blasus is one of the famous hotels around the World," Reyansh replied, and Swara nodded. Reyansh eyed his father, who was eating his dinner. He took a sigh of relief when he realized he paid no attention to the name of the Hotel, all thanks to jet lag.
"Dad, tomorrow we have to go somewhere," Reyansh said, and all gave him a questioning gaze. "Where?" Niharika asked. "It's a surprise, so be ready at 8 pm tomorrow because we all are invited there," Reyansh said, and all agreed, excluding Swara.
"I'm not going anywhere," Swara said, and before anyone could stop her, she left from there. Niharika gave a helpless look at Arnav.
"Arnav, till when this will go? I can't see her like this. She doesn't even talk, smile and behave like before. With passing time, she is becoming more lifeless. I thought with time her wounds would heal, but here...," Niharika left her sentence incomplete.
"Would she ever be able to leave this darkness behind? She is just 21, but the way she behaves, it looks as if everything has ended in her life. The girl who used to share every bit of information now doesn't even talk much. That person has destroyed our daughter," Niharika said, with tears continuously flowing down from her eyes.
"Mom, have some faith in Almighty. Someone would be there for her, who'll heal her all wounds, I'm sure. I have a feeling that soon everything is going to change," Aastha said. "I hope whatever you are saying would happen soon," Niharika said while wiping her tears.
"Dark days will end soon," Reyansh exclaimed because suddenly he felt everything would change soon, but in a good way.
To be continued...
Don't forget to press the '☆' button below. 👇👇👇 😎😎