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"Words in double quotes" - Talking
'Words in single quotes' - Thoughts
(Words in braces) - Telephone conversations
Chapter 30 - The Thing called Love
#Next day, city hospital#
*Drip* *drip*
Water dripped from his clothes with each step he took forward. His wet hair stuck to his face, covering his features. He was completely drenched in the rain outside. With neither an umbrella or a raincoat, it didn't take a genius to guess how uncomfortable he might be in his wet clothes.
Each step of his was like an angry lion heading towards its prey. He balled his hands into fists as he walked in the corridors. People around him gave way as he marched past them, not wanting to be on his bad side. He was letting out an aura of darkness which was as if he promised pain and misery to whoever was responsible for this condition of his.
'And I'm almost near that person!' he thought as he looked towards the room he was heading for. With stiff steps, he walked towards it, his wet boots squeaking comically. Slowly, he turned the knob and slammed open the door with a bang.
All the occupants in the room - two boys, a girl and an elderly woman - turned to look at him wide-eyed.
Glancing around the faces, his eyes landed on the one responsible for his condition. She was sitting comfortably on the bed. "You Ragini! You are responsible for everything!"
At once, chaos broke out.
"Aaaaa! Witch! It's a witch! Churail!" Nikhil exclaimed, hiding behind Samay.
Samay and Shramishtha both were looking at the new person in confusion and fright.
Ragini, on the other hand, was laughing her head off. "Ahahaha...Sa-Sanskar..hahaha... Oh my! Ahahahaha... What happened to you!?"
Sanskar glared and sneered as hard as he can. However, it made Ragini laugh harder as it looked more like a pout. 'Aww...he looks cute when he's angry.'
"You're Sanskar?" Nikhil came out from behind his older brother. "Dude! What the heck!? It's not Halloween for you to play dress up. You almost scared me to death!"
Sanskar grabbed his wet locks of hair and pushed it back. Glaring back, he pointed a finger at Ragini's direction. "Its all her fault. She was the one who called me here urgently. In a hurry, I forgot to take my umbrella!"
"Hahaha...you should try playing the role of witch in dramas."
"Shut up Ragini!" he looked at his reflection in the glass and tried to settle his hair. Shivering from the wet clothes, he tried to compose his look as much as possible. To add a finishing touch, he put on his glasses. "Now I look like a cool rockstar."
"You still look like a drowned rat. A highly sophisticated and urban drowned rat." Samay pointed out with a chuckle to which Sanskar glared.
"Whatever. You're just jealous of my hair."
"I would rather be jealous of a moose."
"Whatever!" Sanskar turned to Ragini. "Why did you call me?"
The door to the room opened once again as Saara entered. "You called me, Ragini?"
"Yes. I called you both. Samay, Nikhil, Maa...could you please move out for sometime?"
"Sanskar and Saara under one roof? What are you up-to Ragu? World War III or Sumo Slam?" Nikhil uttered.
"Nikhil!"
"Chill Ragini. I'll take him out." saying so, Samay pulled Nikhil by the ear, with Shramistha following behind.
"Why is she here?" asked Sanskar once they left.
"Why did you call me while he is here? I could have come later." Saara sneered while glaring at Sanskar.
Ragini took a deep breath and readied herself to drop the bomb. "I called you both because I wanted you both to work together for the Fest."
There was pin drop silence for a moment. The calm before the storm.
"What?!" They both exclaimed in disbelief, like it was the end of the world.
"Yes. You heard it right."
"No way am I working with this arrogant girl Ragini. Forget it."
"I'm not working with this arrogant jerk either!"
"Watch what you say, spoilt brat!"
"Who are you to tell me my place, black sheep!"
'Wow. Their attitudes are the same. Sanskar and Saara are more alike than they think. Well, time to do some damage control.' Ragini sighed.
"Hey, quiet down, alright? Just listen to me once. Please."
They grumbled a fine and calmed down to listen to her. "Look! Only today and tomorrow is left for the College Fest. And Maa doesn't want me to go practice. You already know how she fainted out of worry. I don't want to worry her more. This is why I want you two to work together."
"I will find another partner. I could take Swara."
"No Sanskar. Swara already has three performances. Only Saara is the best singer left. You have to take her help."
"Then there is no need of the duet in the Fest. I won't help him in anyway!" Saara shouted.
"Saara, forget about Sanskar. Think about your father. Didn't you say that this Fest means a lot to him? He really wants his college to be the best. Don't you want to help your father fulfill that dream?"
Saara looked down in thought. She knew Ragini had a point.
"And most importantly, I want this duet to happen." Ragini smiled at both of them. "I have read the lyrics to Sanskar's song. It deserves a great applause and the most melodious voice, which is yours Saara. That is why I want you two to work together. Please do this for me. Please?"
It was silent for sometime. After a moment, Saara sighed. "Fine! I'll do it. But only for you. Not for him."
"And I'll do it for my song. I want people to appreciate it." Sanskar put forward his hand. "I will try to be polite with you till the performance, provided you do the same. Deal?"
Saara shook his hand "Deal. Now, if that's all..." with a nod towards Ragini, she left.
Sanskar turned to glare at Ragini. "Tell me the real reason you did it."
Ragini smirked "Ah! I knew you had a brain somewhere. And as for why I did it, I want you to reconcile with your siblings, be a family again."
Sanskar looked at her in disbelief. "Are you crazy?! I already told you why I can't be near them! Don't you understand that their lives will be in danger? They could get hurt!"
"Exactly. They would get hurt. That's why I did it." Ragini glared back. "You said you want them to be alive and well. You thought about their physical well being. But what about their hearts? Don't they feel pain there? You cut ties with them to keep them safe. But did you ever think of how much pain you may have caused them?"
Sanskar looked down in shame. He knew he had hurt them. He still remembers how Saara begged him not to go, but he left, calling her a 'stupid excuse for a girl.' He still remembers Ansh's shocked face and the hurt in his eyes when he left. It hurt him as much it had hurt them, but it was all for a cause.
"They hate me. Eventually they will forget me as a bad dream and move on with thie own lives." Sanskar looked away, not wanting to see his vulnerable emotions.
"Really now? You really believe that? You really think that the truth would never come out? Stop lying to yourself Sanskar! The truth will come out eventually. Do you know what would happen then? Your siblings would be filled with guilt and remorse. They would keep blaming themselves for not trying to understand you better, would never forgive themselves and always remain in guilt. Is that what you want?!"
"No! I don't want that. That's why I will never let them find the truth. No matter what." Sanskar stormed out of there, without paying heed to any of Ragini's shouts.
"Get back here! Oi! Ugh!" She sighed in frustration. "When will he ever-aaachoo!" Ragini sniffed. "Aww damn! Now I have cold too? Me and my luck!" She could also feel the onset of a headache.
"Wow Di. What did you do to piss him off? Sanskar looked ready to go on a killing spree." Swara remarked as she entered.
"Nothing Swara. Leave it." She noticed that Swara was smiling from ear to ear. "Any reason you're smiling so much?"
"Not just one Di. I have loads!" she sat down beside Ragini "First, you're recovering. Second, I went to meet Kriti today."
"Is she okay? Nothing happened to her right?"
"She's okay di. She said that Karan and Vivek are working hard to find proof against Mansi and Ricky. They'll will soon find it."
"I see." Ragini sneezed again, and paused before speaking. "Anyway, what other good news did you have?"
"Di! Remember yesterday I left after Laksh's call? Di, Laksh...Laksh proposed!"
*flashback*
She watched as Laksh slowly came near her and turned her towards him. "Swara, please. Hear me out, alright? I...I know its not the right time to do all this as Ragini is in the hospital. But...but I couldn't wait. Not after what happened with you."
Swara looked at him confused. "Nothing happened to me Laksh. Its Di wh-"
"No Swara. The poison was meant for you. I know Ragini saved you. But my mind is playing scenerios where Ragini doesn't save you and you end up drinking the poison. Everytime that thought occurs, an unknown fear grips me. I have to call you or text you to make sure you are alright. What happened today made me realize that I can't wait for the perfect oppurtunity to tell you that I love you. Life is a mystery and none of us know what will happen in the next moment. We might live for long, or I may die in the very next mo-" Swara placed a hand over his mouth.
"Don't complete that sentence. I don't want anything to happen to you."
Laksh smiled softly at her. He removed her hand from his mouth and kissed it.
"Swara, I really love you. I promise you that I won't let any harm come to you and try my best to give you every happiness that you deserve. Will you be mine?"
*flashback end*
Ragini's eyes widened and her face broke out into a smile. "I'm so happy for you Chutki! So glad you found your love."
"Yep. But don't worry. I won't marry until you find yours first." Swara winked playfully at Ragini. However, she frowned when she saw Ragini look down in thought. "Is...is something wrong di?"
'I think Swara would be the perfect person to ask this.' She nodded to herself and turned to Swara. "Swara, I need to tell you something..."
And so she explained everything that happened. About her confused feelings, Ansh's proposal, her thoughts on Sanskar, her thoughts on Ansh...everything.
Swara was in deep thought. She expected that Ansh felt something towards her Di, but she never thought that he would propose so soon. It came as a shock to her.
She also didn't think her di would ever feel something towards Sanskar. 'How? I mean, she hated that guy! They were both like oil and water. Then how did she fall for him?' Swara looked back at Ragini who was coughing and sneezing. 'But di is so vulnerable. She has people after her life. Will Sanskar be able to protect her?'
Swara was reminded of the poison incident. 'I think Mansi did that to remove me from the way so that she can harm Ragini Di eventually. She even tried to drop the multiplex lights on her. All this, just because Sanskar paid Di more attention!?' Swara came to a decision. 'With Sanskar, Di will always be in harm's way. I must convince her to chose Ansh.'
"Di, I think you should chose Ansh. Whatever you said about Sanskar seems like a passing phase to me." Swara held Ragini's hands. "Di, Ansh has done so much for you. He saved your life, has been there as a good friend, always tried to win your heart and even now, he had stayed so long with you, leaving his own work. Don't you think you deserve to give him something in return?"
Swara felt guilty of taking advantage of Ragini's good nature. She knew that she was making Ragini accept Ansh by making her feel grateful of Ansh. But she was protecting her Di and so it was right, wasn't it?
"But Swara, Sanskar is al-"
"Sanskar isn't the right guy for you Di. Don't you remember how he is? He is rude to Ansh, to you, to Saara. He's an arrogant jerk!"
Ragini looked down. 'Only if you knew the truth Swara. I know why he is doing this. He is a good person inside. I...How could I take your opinion when what you know is only half the truth?!' Ragini held her head in frustration. Her head was aching like as if someone was drumming inside her head.
Swara put a hand to her forehead and found it extremely hot. "Oh my Di! You've got to rest. Lie down Di."
"Yea. I think you're right. I need to stop thinking and let go of all this stress."
#With Sanskar#
Sanskar sat outside the hospital on the public bench, deep in thought. It was raining, yet he didn't care.
"Sanskar? Here you are. What are you doing sitting here in the rain?!" Laksh came and held the umbrella over both of their heads. "Guess what?! I maned up and proposed. And Swara said yes!"
Sanskar let out a smile. "Congrats bro."
Laksh knew something was wrong with his buddy when he didn't get a comment back to tease him. Observing him, he noticed Sanskar's gloom mood. "Sanskar, what's wrong? And don't even try to deny it. I'm your best friend and I know you better than anyone else."
"This thing called love is so annoying."
"Don't become like Vivek and start terming everything 'annoying'. Be direct."
Somewhere, someplace, Vivek sneezed as he drank his coffee.
Sanskar sighed. "I finally realized Laksh. I finally realized that I like Ragini."
"Wow! Finally!" Laksh chuckled. "That's great news! How did you find out?"
"Yesterday, when she was lying lifeless on the floor, I felt like dying too Laksh. I felt as if I lost a part of me. I couldn't move, I couldn't think right! Its then that that I realized how much she means to me."
"Then what is there to feel gloom about? Just go and admit it to her."
"It's not that easy Lucky bro." Sanskar sighed again. "It's not easy."
"Stop acting like some Devdas. I don't think Ragini has a boyfriend. So where's the problem?"
"It's not that either. It's...it's because I'm giving up on her."
***********************************
To be continued...
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