"Your heart knows things that mind cannot explain. Believe in yourself and always follow your heart, Swara. Always remember this, for it's not the mind but it's the heart that knows it's way."
Swara always followed this advice given by her Dida, and over a period of time even she believed in it. Throughout her life, most of the times she used to follow her heart.
And undoubtedly, now also she wanted to do the same! For a while, she wished to forget all that were binding her from being honest to her own-self and accept her feelings.
And she was planning on doing that today itself!
Swara, after all that happened today in the morning, had this sudden urge to clear things out. Though Sanskar kept on making her believe everytime that he, too, had feelings for her, just the same way she had for him, she had this desire of hearing it straight from him. All she wanted to know was her place in his heart.
And this time, she wasn't going to back off...
Much the same way he showed that he liked her through his actions, now even she wanted to do the same. She, too, wanted to be open about her feelings now because somewhere, deep down, she knew it would all be worth it!
Now, there was no looking back. Now for her, only the present and future was all that mattered. It was really difficult for her to let all the pain, all the tears, all the heartbreak go too easily, but she could confidently say now that she had healed from emotional pain.
Even when she was sitting in front of the dressing table, combing her hair and getting ready for the seminar that they four were going to attend today, she was all engrossed in her own thoughts. She had feelings for Sanskar, she was sure about it. But she didn't understand where to start. Should she just simply tell Sanskar about how differently she felt about him, or should she ask him about her place in his heart first? It confused her. But either way, she knew they both were going to talk about how they felt towards each other.
And Swara Bose couldn't wait for that special moment.
"Ahm ahm!"
She was shook by the voice in front of her and through the mirror, she saw it was Anushka. She smiled brightly and hugged her best friend from behind, "toh madam, kiske khayalon mein khoyi hui hai aap?"
The question made Swara smile and a chuckle escaped, "Kuch bhi toh nahi. Bas aisehi."
"Kya baat hai. Aaj bohot glow kar rahi hai meri Swara! What's the latest buzz?"
Swara rolled her eyes, "Anushka! Kya tu bhi? Smiling doesn't always need a reason, right!"
"Yes, that is true. But this kind of smile... I mean," she cupped Swara's jaw and both cheeks and pulled them cutely only to annoy her further. "The one where your cheeks are flushed crimson red, there is definitely a reason for such a beautiful smile on your face."
Before Swara could say anything in her defence, Anushka pulled her up by her both hands and started making her dance salsa with her.
"Pyaar deewana hota hai mastana hota hai...!!!" She half-sang half-screamed, trying to make a shocked Swara turn around under her finger. "Har khushi se har gum se begaana hota hai!"
"Anushka!" Her antics drove Swara crazy, like real crazy, and she left her hands. "Kya tu bhi. Kuch bhi bole or kiye jaa rahi hai. Now leave me alone, let me get ready. You are ready doesn't mean you irritate me while I'm getting ready."
"Darling," she hanged her arms on her shoulder playfully, "Teasing and irritating you is my birthright. And you have no right to snatch this from me!"
Swara rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time. How much more dramatic could her friend be?
"Anushka, I'm serious." She told her sighing, "If you have nothing else left to say, then let me get ready. I don't want to get late for something that we have specially come here to Jamshedpur for!"
Anushka sighed. She knew, that among the two of them, Swara was the more uninteresting one.
"My friend is a total bore!" She moaned, making Swara chuckle. "Okay, fine! I spare you. Oh, I'm here to tell you one last thing."
"And that 'last thing' might be?"
"Yehi, ki after the seminar, me and Rajat are going to spend some time with each other. Actually, he asked me out for lunch and he also said he wants to say something important to me. So, that means you and Sanskar are the only ones coming back to the lodge. We both will come later, after some time." She completed enthusiastically.
"Yeah, right! Apne would-be-boyfriend ke saath enjoy tu kar rahi hai aur chidha tu mujhe rahi hai! Sounds fair enough to me." She said half sarcastically, half jokingly.
"What the... He is not my boyfriend!" she exclaimed.
"Would-be, Madam! I said 'would-be'. It is very much likely that you both are going to be together." Swara said confidently.
Anushka smiled, "And I also pray that very soon you will also find the one who loves you with his heart and soul, with his everything. And trust me, no one will be happier than me when my best friend gets what she deserves."
"I think... if you say so, then it will happen soon." Swara smiled a genuine smile.
"Dekh lena, when Anushka Shastri predicts something, it always comes true!" She chirped, making Swara feel happy inwardly.
Things were going very well for both these best friends!
~*~*~*~*~*~*
It had been three hours since the seminar began, the one where Sanskar, Swara, Rajat and Anushka took initiative to spread awareness about the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Lot of public had gathered in the Royal Park of Jamshedpur -- the park which they had booked for their seminar -- to know and understand the chronic, incurable disease, and along with it the causes of transmission of that virus and how to be careful about not getting infected by it by suggesting some effective precautions. The seminar and health care tips given were completely free and open for all, and that's how the famous 'Kolkata Hospital' represented themselves -- the well-being and health of a living being mattered more than any piece of paper we call money. This was the best thing about the hospital, for them health comes first no matter what.
"So... By now, we all know how HIV can be spread by blood products, that is, unclean needles or unscreened blood, even by mother to baby by pregnancy, labour or nursing," Sanskar explained, standing in front of his audience which had gathered to attend the seminar, sitting on chairs which were specially arranged for them to sit. "We never know, who is infected by the virus because at first, most of the time HIV is asymptomatic. We must take care not to get ourselves infected and even if we do, then we must start with the treatment immediately. Precautions like avoiding sharing of razors, toothbrushes are important. Take care of not only yourself but also of your families. Educate them as well about everything to ensure safety and well-being of not only yourselves but also of your families!" He advised. The people appreciated how well the seminar was held and all the valuable information they gathered today. A round of claps was followed and all four of them smiled in content. They knew their job here was finally done!
"So with this, we are ending this seminar as all the information about HIV is given. And yes, please feel free to ask us questions about anything. You have all our time!"
And as soon as Sanskar completed, a few people -- of varying age groups -- came forward and put some questions regarding general well-being, good health and also something about HIV. And one by one, everyone was getting their doubts cleared out by the four doctors, who handled the public with lot of care and compassion for humanity.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Today's day went super well!" chirped Anushka as all four of then left the park as seminar got over.
"Finally, the work for which we came here is done!" Rajat sighed in contentment. "Remind me later that we are left to celebrate our accomplishment!" He announced.
Swara smiled and turned to look at Sanskar who reacted positively hearing Rajat's words.
"And Swara and Anushka," Rajat turned to look at them, "thank you so much to both of you for co-ordinating with us and helping us with everything. Without you both, this wouldn't have gone so well."
"I totally agree," Sanskar spoke up smiling, "thank you sooo much to both of you!"
"Sanskar, Rajat, it's our pleasure!" Swara smiled in assurance, "We did what was our duty."
"Exactly, so don't thank us!" Anushka said to them smiling.
"Okay, so now, if that is done," Rajat smiled and went near Anushka to pull her towards himself slightly, "Sanskar, Swara, you both take an auto and go ahead. I'm taking Anushka somewhere as I want to talk to her about something important."
"Yeah, Anushka told me this before," Swara chuckled.
Rajat smiled, "Yes. I hope you have no problem with it! You two will go ahead."
"No problem at all!"
Both Swara and Sanskar answered together, and when everyone realised it, they exchanged looks and laughed a bit.
"Wow, that was a nice synch," Anushka winked.
"Come on Anushka, let's leave them alone and we both can leave from here. See both of you later. Bye Sanskar, bye Swara."
Waving bye to each other, Anushka and Rajat went to the other way and Swara and Sanskar were left alone in the footpath. They started walking, and even covered a few distance, trying to look for an auto. A sense of happiness engulfed them having each others' company, but both of them felt nervous to confess it to the other. For Sanskar, he felt simply happy as Swara was with him the whole time and as for Swara, she finally got an opportunity to talk to him.
It was high time they knew how they felt for each other! Just like she had decided in the morning.
Either it was a 'yes', or it was a 'no'.
But deep down, she knew it would be a 'yes'.
"Sanskar..." She began, and licked her lips once.
"Yes?" He acknowledged as they walked together.
"I want to talk to you about something."
"Yes, what is it?"
"Actually, I-"
"Swara, sambhal ke!"
Before she could say anything, Sanskar pulled her by her wrist a bit closer to him as he wanted to save her from stepping on a rock that could have caused her to trip down. Swara was shocked for a second but brought herself together to register what just happened.
"You were about to step on that. So I pulled you away before-"
"Oh my God, thank you." She came back to normal.
"You were going to say something. You can continue."
"Yeah... I will, but..."
She stopped for a while and looked around what was there. Both sides of the road looked like forest-type of area, and there was hardly anyone here. They were the only ones walking down this lane.
"Swara, are you okay?" He asked, keeping a hand on her shoulder.
"Yes, I am. But... don't you think this area is too quiet?"
"Quiet?" He frowned and looked away from her.
"I mean... This type of 'quietness' does not look good to me. Don't you think yeh area bohot sunsaan type ki hai? There is hardly anyone here. Actually no one is there here at all."
After listening to her words, he looked around the surroundings.
"Yes. There is no one here."
"Exactly."
"Are you scared?" He asked her in concern.
Everytime, she was left in amazement as how well he understood her.
"Actually..."
"Don't worry, I'm there with you. And until we are together, you have nothing to be scared of." He assured her.
"I know. Actually I don't feel scared Sanskar, because I know you are there with me. And being with you makes me feel safe, because I trust you." She admitted to him.
"And this means the world to me Swara. Knowing that you trust me-"
He was interrupted by loud sounds of screeching tyres, coming near them from their back. Swara frowned a bit and both of them turned to look behind, only to find a group of four men coming towards them on two bikes, two men sitting on each. The men seemed to be enjoying a lot, laughing in a very uncivilised manner, and when their eyes fell upon Swara from the distance, a bad kind of joy could be seen flashing across their faces.
"Sanskar, look who are they. Why are they coming towards us?" She clutched the sleeve of his blazer, feeling a bit anxious.
"Swara, be careful. Pretend as if they don't exist. Just continue walking." He pulled her near himself.
Both of them pretended to ignore them and kept walking but soon enough the men were close enough to them to be able to throw their arms on them. As one bike passed near them, one of the men eyed at Swara inappropriately, "Hey beautiful. Want to have some fun?"
And soon enough Sanskar's blood boiled when he could feel the men eyeing at Swara and she squirmed under their lustful gazes. She leaned closer towards Sanskar and he pulled her in his embrace immediately. He rubbed her back to make her feel safe.
The men parked their bikes nearby and got down to come in front of Sanskar and Swara. "Woah, two lovers walking down a street. A man with a beautiful girl." One of the men cheered.
"WHY is your body itching so much?" Sanskar snapped, and Swara too looked at them angrily, "Don't have better things to do or what?"
"Well... I don't think anything can be better than this." One of the men said.
He came near Swara and started passing his fingers over her dupatta -- which was pinned to her kurta -- sensually. Swara trembled under his touch on her dupatta and pulled it closer to herself. He then raised a hand towards a shoulder, to which Swara reacted involuntarily by digging her head into Sanskar's chest. Before the man could do anything else, Sanskar's hand came and gripped the man's wrist tightly.
"How dare you!!!"
Thea tightness increased until it became unbearable for the man. Before he could do anything else, Sanskar pulled him back by his neck mercilessly and banged him hard against the ground. He moaned in pain due to the sudden impact. He eyed at him angrily and wished hard to burn those hands that tried to touch Swara.
Seeing this, the other three men also flared in anger as they saw their minion beaten up badly. One by one, all the men tried to overpower Sanskar and raised hand to beat him but to their misfortune, Sanskar was very good at defending himself -- so as each man came to harm him, he counteracted by harming them ten times as much as they could. After beating them, the man had gotten up and intended to use his leg to beat Sanskar but even then Sanskar was able to escape his grip. He grabbed his arms by pulling his wrist giving the man strain on his shoulders and turned him around, twisting them, and later threw the man towards the ground because of which the man too fell down on the ground, moaning in pain.
"Himmat bhi kaisi hui teri, Swara ko haath lagane ki! Haan?! How dare you!" Sanskar punched the man repeatedly.
"Itni fikar hai iss ladki ki? Kya lagti hai teri? Haan? Bol kya lagti hai?!" The man shouted after getting punched for the umpteenth time.
"You-"
"Sanskar... stop! PLEASE! SANSKAR!" she shouted as tears threatened to flow from her eyes. She was very scared, but more than that, she was scared for Sanskar. She had never seen him like this, but that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was Sanskar was beating these men, putting himself in danger by fighting these dangerous men who looked like they could even kill him if they could.
Another man came up to punch Sanskar, but before his fist could land on his face, he leaned backwards showing his quick reflexes to save himself and instead, slapped the man back in return. The slap was too hard he fell on the ground. When he fell, he is tried to grab him by his legs but Sanskar tried to push him away with his leg. "Swara, run away!" Sanskar suddenly shouted.
Swara gasped in fear. "No!" was the first thing she yelled.
"Swara I said run away! I have got this." He said, while fighting with two men together.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?! How can I leave you?! I am not leaving you with these men!" She made it clear in a loud voice.
"Swara, for heavens sake RUN FROM HERE!"
She trembled as a man fell down right near her feet due to Sanskar's beating. She cried covering her mouth as she couldn't bear this violence anymore.
"You dare touch her?!" Sanskar hissed, gripping the man's collar harshly to hurt him. "You dare to even go near her! HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY SWARA! Trust me if law wasn't there in our country I would have myself cut these filthy hands of yours and burn them to ashes."
"Sanskar please stop." Swara cried her heart out as tears rolled down her eyes. "Sanskar these people are not worth it! Please, just leave. I don't want you hurt Sanskar. Please! Leave them-"
Before she could complete her last sentence, Sanskar gripped the neck of one of them from behind and slammed him hard against the ground. By this time, all the four men were lying on the ground, injured and incapacitated, struggling with themselves.
"Just because of her, I left you all." Sanskar said to them threateningly. "And no, that doesn't mean I'm going to leave you all so easily. Now, better you all start counting the amount of time left for you outside before you land inside the bars for ever!"
After completing, he turned to look at Swara who was having rugged breathing, as she clutched her dupatta towards herself out of fear. His features softened as he sensed how much scared she was.
He walked towards her and no sooner he came in front of her, she grabbed his hands tightly in hers and caressed them, trying her best to make him feel better. Sure, no matter how much of regular gym-trainer and sportsperson he was, his knuckles were swollen red due to the punches he gave repeatedly to those men. Other than that, she saw no other injury on his body.
Thank God! She exhaled sharply.
"You're fine, right?"
"Yes Swara, and trust me if you hadn't stopped me, I wouldn't have left them so easily. And I told you to run away! Why didn't you listen? What if amidst our fight, they would have done something with you?"
"Do you really think I will leave you fighting with those men who could have done something bad to you any second?" She demanded. "They could have hurt you! Those men were dangerous Sanskar. You were able to fight them but for how long?"
"Swara, but you-"
"Don't worry about me, Sanskar! I'm fine. Your well-being matters more to me." She admitted in a broken voice.
Sanskar huffed angrily, "How dare they to misbehave with you-"
"Leave it, Sanskar. These men are not worth it. The right people will come and deal with them in their own way. For now, let us go back to the lodge."
"Swara, I'm fine. Don't worry so much!" He assured her as if convincing a little child.
"How can anyone not be worried in such a situation Sanskar?! Tumhe kuch ho jaata toh..." She couldn't complete further.
"Lekin kuch nahi hua na! I'm fine. See? Swara, I had taken a special training in self-defence when I was a teenager. And now was the best time to make use of what I learnt."
As he said it to her, she pulled his both hands closer to herself affectionately and closed her eyes, feeling relieved that he was fine. On the other hand, Sanskar smiled feeling her milky, warm skin against his skin. And on top of that, her care for him. She cared so much about him. It brought ecstacy and peace in his heart.
"I'm just happy that nothing happened to you. Come, let's leave from here as fast as we can." Swara suggested.
Both were all set to leave the place, but what both of them failed to notice was, that one of the men had got up from the ground, and was marching angrily towards Sanskar, carrying a big rock in his hands. And before anyone of Sanskar or Swara could understand what was happening, the man lifted the rock over the back of Sanskar's head, and the next moment, he banged the rock on his head, much to Swara's horror. A sharp pain shot upon Sanskar's head due to the sudden blow and he winced painfully, "Aaahh!"
"SANSKAR!" Swara yelled loudly, her eyes widened and tears threatened to come out.
He held the hurt area of his head as if trying to ease the pain, but all in vain. All of a sudden, the world around him started spinning. His feet gave up and he fell down sideways on the ground. Extremely panic-stricken, Swara immediately knelt down near him, rushing to his defence. "Sanskar... Sanskar!" she cried and provided support to his head from falling down completely.
"Aahh... Swara..." he whispered in pain, his eyes were drooping as he was slowly entering the state of unconsciousness. His head throbbed and he wasn't able to bear it.
"Sanskar no... No please." She tapped his cheeks, "Please, please be okay Sanskar. Don't worry, I will not let anything happen to you! I'm there with you. Hey Durga Maa, please protect Sanskar. Please give him the strength he needs. I will give anything for him to be okay. Please help. Please." She prayed inwardly.
The man smirked shamelessly. "This rock will be your end, young man. Now you enjoy your last few minutes while we-"
He stopped mid-sentence as a hand came flying upon his face suddenly until he was punched badly on his face. A sharp pain shot and he touched his face, glaring with red-eyes at Swara who was looking at him with eyes full of anger and hatred. Today, it was the time to witness this another side of Swara -- her atrocious side, the anger she held right now was no less than a tigress ready to pounce!
"YOU-"
"NOT EVEN A SINGLE WORD!!! Or else you won't be going from here alive. You tried to touch me and I left you. But... you dare to hurt Sanskar! How can you dare to hurt him?! YOU DARE TO HIT HIM FROM THE BACK?!"
And the next moment, she found something she could use to fight these people and picking up the iron rod from the ground which was lying at the other side of the road, she began hitting the shit out of these men who by now were yelling. Swara gave them heavy blows by the rod and the men were also already a bit weak due to too much beating already done by Sanskar before and now... by Swara! After every beat, Swara only screamed one thing -- how dare they to harm Sanskar! And every beating by Swara was followed by a loud cry from the men.
"If anything happened to Sanskar, I won't leave any of you alive!" She hissed, meaning each and every word leaving her lips.
Sanskar, who was struggling with his own self to be okay, was also witnessing this new side of Swara and even in the semi-conscious state, he was able to see what was happening. Swara was fighting these men -- for him, because they hurt him! But he didn't want her to do this, these people weren't worth it. And now finally Sanskar understood why Swara was also stopping him before. But even after seeing everything, he was unable to react due to the excruciating pain shooting up in his head which was caused by that big rock. He wanted to stop her, he wanted her to not waste her energy for beating these men. His eyes rolled but he blinked tightly, trying his best to not lose consciousness.
Swara gave as many blows to those men as she could. It was all for Sanskar. For daring to hurt Sanskar. If he could fight them for her then couldn't she?
"Guys, please let's RUN!" A man exclaimed.
"WHAT??!! But-"
"Leave them! We all will lose our lives if we stay here for another minute! Run if you care for your life."
The man, after glaring at both Swara and Sanskar angrily, he ran away immediately from the place, with his minions following right after as they sat back on their bikes and drove off. When they left from there, Swara threw the rod away and rushed back to Sanskar who was still lying on the ground.
She sniffed and took his head delicately into his lap, and used her dupatta to give some air to him. "They have gone away, Sanskar. And you will be okay, I promise."
"Swara... I'm fine." He whispered.
"No, you are not. We need to go to a doctor."
A chuckle left his lips even while pain continuously throbbed his head, and she frowned, amidst the flowing tears from her eyes.
"Why are you laughing? Seriously Sanskar. Here I am worried sick about you aur tumhe yeh sab mazak lag raha hai?"
"Swara, do you even realise what are you saying? Why do we need to go to a doctor... when you are a doctor yourself!"
She realised, "W-Woh..."
"Let's go back to the lodge... and there you can... check me yourself."
"Okay, fine. Come, I'll help you in getting up." She offered worriedly.
"It's not needed. I can get up myself. Let me tell you it's my head that is hurt. My feet are very much fine to stand and walk. I can even run." Sanskar said jokingly, trying to distract both of them from the tensed environment.
"Shut up Sanskar! It's not funny. Haalat dekhi hai tumne apni?! Just keep quiet and listen to me at least for once." She scolded.
Sanskar stared at her as she ignored his attempts to convince her, but she seemed in no mood to listen to his stupid claims like 'he was fine' when she could clearly see that he was not.
Sanskar, finally tried to get up from the ground. When his attempts failed, Swara provided support to him. She firmly gripped his arm as he stood up. When he stood up, he stumbled a little bit in his place. Seeing and analyzing everything, Swara looked at Sanskar challengingly.
"And someone was talking about running." She glared at him and he flashed a sheepish smile to her. "It's still paining, right?"
"It is, but at least I'm better than before." He said truthfully, smiling. Seriously, the pain probably subsided by now, but he knew he should maintain it throughout. He tried hid best not to do anything that might trigger the pain again. He didn't want to go through that throbbing again. He was feeling like he had lost all control of his brain.
"Now you will keep quiet, and stand here while I catch an auto for us." She announced, not giving him chance to speak anything. And Sanskar stared at her.
Within few moments, Swara caught an auto and she made Sanskar sit inside first and then settled down herself.
"You can lean a bit forward. What if we experience any jerk in between and your pain starts again? I'm not taking that risk."
"As you say, Your Highness!"
Smiling slightly, she held him by his arm, murmuring a small 'You will be okay' to him. He held his head and she looked at him in concern.
"I'm fine, Swara." He told her and she just shaked her head, still doubtful if he was really okay as he was showing. Sanskar lied back comfortably, closing his eyes, and she gave him a glance.
No matter what, she wouldn't let him be in pain for long.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
After a twenty-minutes ride that felt like twenty years, Swara and Sanskar were in Sanskar and Rajat's room. Sanskar got bossed around by Swara to sit quietly on the bed as she prepared to do first aid and dressing of the wound that was formed on the back of Sanskar's head. The pain was a bit less, at least not as much intense as it was before, but still, taking utmost care of himself had become a priority for now. For both of them.
"Just sit here comfortably on the bed. Feel free to lie down if you cannot sit."
"Swara, seriously now it's getting weirder." He confessed. "Since the time I have got hurt, you are babysitting me as if something very big has happened. I am absolutely fi-"
"I'm sick of hearing you chant this same mantra 'I am fine', when you are not!" She ranted, bringing the first aid box in her hand and sitting near him on a chair, to gain access to the back of his head. "Now shut up and don't move while I'm applying band-aid on the injury."
Her strictness made Sanskar shut up finally for good. She sighed in relief after seeing him quiet, but could very well sense his 'sulking'. Ignoring his behavior, she first checked behind his head where she saw that the little amount of blood that had oozed out had dried up. She softly touched the area with her fingers, trying her best not to cause him pain.
She immediately began his treatment -- from checking the wound to applying cotton on it to collect the dried blood. In the process, Sanskar felt pain shooting up again and he winced, "Tsk!"
"Sorry!" She panicked, "I'm sorry. Is it paining?"
"Yes."
"Wait for sometime, I will caress it softly and the pain will slowly start fading away."
Sanskar shaked his head into a 'yes', only to end up wincing in pain. "Aah!"
"Don't move, Sanskar! Or else it will pain. Just stay like this for some time and it will be okay."
The difficult task took little time, but at the time she was able to do it. As for Sanskar, he had never felt so much better after someone looking after him. Even the pain that was bugging him like anything before they came to the room was now gone, all thanks to Swara's soft and cautious hands. Really, Swara as a person and as a doctor both amazed him limitlessly.
"Swara..."
"Hmm?"
"Can I tell you something?"
"No." was her response that shocked Sanskar.
"What? No?"
"Yes. Because for now I don't want you to say anything. You need rest, Sanskar and I want you to just rest and nothing else. Baatein baad mein bhi ho sakti hai." She said while doing the dressing carefully.
"But-"
"I said No!"
"It is just a small sentence. It will not take even more than three seconds." he spoke up in his defence, trying to convince her.
Swara looked at him in confusion.
"Okay." She agreed, a bit hesitantly seeing his condition.
Sanskar smiled, "Your hands are very soft. Now I get why all the patients back there in the hospital prefer wound dressing and treatment by your hands only."
"Are you done?" She asked.
"What? Seriously! I complimented you Swara, don't you feel anything?" He teased her a bit trying to lighten her and his own mood.
"I do feel, Sanskar. You think my hands are soft, I got it. But I didn't say anything because I... More than your compliment for me, I am more worried about your condition." She said as she remembered the unfortunate incident that took place today again.
"Worried about what condition? Come on Swara! It's not like I have had some major accident that you are worrying this much about me. It's just a small wound, okay?"
"Yes, a small wound that nearly made you lose consciousness. You are yourself a doctor, Sanskar. You do know that having our brain hit by something hard can be fatal to us?"
"But luckily I am fine Swara." He assured.
"Yes, and for that I thank god that you are little fine, at least now! Warna tumhe... tumhe aaj kuch ho jaata toh? I can't see you hurt Sanskar, I can't see you hurt at all."
She said it not just once, but twice, and it was clear that she meant it. She meant what she said and something flickered in Sanskar's eyes. The first question that he wanted to ask her was... why? And he did exactly that.
"Why?"
"Huh?"
"Why can't you see me hurt Swara?" He held on to his breath to hear her answer, his anticipation from her getting higher.
"Because I care about you Sanskar. Very much." She whimpered. "And today when I... when I saw those men hitting you from the back and when you fell down, for a second I thought that I... I will lose you forever!"
Saying this, she couldn't stop herself anymore and much to Sanskar's shock as he didn't expect it, Swara closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders oh so tenderly, trying her level best not to hurt him in any way. There were tears at the corners of her eyes but she controlled them, and wiped those corners hidingly from Sanskar. She didn't want him to see her tears, because she knew it would hurt him. And right now all she wanted Sanskar to have now was only rest and peacefulness and not any kind of pain.
"Thank God you are fine! Nothing will happen to you, not when I'm there with you! I will not let anything happen to you."
As she uttered those soothing words to him, Sanskar felt like he was on cloud nine. He wanted to embrace her back, but her words had left such a deep, emotional impact on him, that reacting to her actions was getting hard. All he could do was smile, closing his eyes, feeling the intensity of the affection they shared. He let her hold him close to her. He happily let her be with him. He couldn't have wanted anything else, both of them rather, nothing seemed better than this beautiful moment they were sharing with each other.
After some minutes of this peaceful silence, she leaned back, regaining her original position. She tried to smile, just for the sake of him to feel better, "You want me to make something for you? You must be hungry, you have not eaten anything after we had the morning breakfast at 9 am. Aur mujhe pata hai, jab tumhe time pe khana nahi milta toh tumhe sar mein dard hone lagta hai. Is it right? So please, if you want to eat then tell me what and I will make it for you."
"It's true, I am hungry. And it's also true, mujhe agar time pe khana nahi khane milta toh mujhe sar dard hota hai. But Swara, even you must be hungry, right? As even you have not eaten anything after that morning breakfast. So mind you, if you want to make something, then make for both of us and not just me alone! You can make anything you want. Or if you want you can even order from the hotel."
"No hotel. Home-cooked food is better." She said, and started preparing to make something for them -- on his strict orders.
Before she could go from there, Sanskar held her hand from behind.
"Swara..."
"Now what Sanskar?" She turned around.
"You told me in the morning that you wanted to tell me something. What was it? Now we can talk." He said, shocking her.
Swara, after some moments of silence, spoke up, "Not now, Sanskar. We can talk about it later."
"Swara..." He rolled his eyes.
"No Sanskar, you need rest!"
"I have had enough rest for now. I'm fine now. Swara please, you want to talk with me, I know it must be something important-"
"Nothing is more important to me than your well-being." She stated to him clearly, even silencing him because of her firm stance. "You might be fine, but even then, I don't want to pressurise you in any way. So we will talk later. For now, I want you to rest and only rest."
He made a face, and no matter what, she couldn't resist that face.
Alright, there was no winning from him.
She sighed at last, "Okay, how about this -- you promise me you will take care of yourself for the whole day and then we can talk."
Sanskar sighed and raised his hands in surrender, "Fine, fine I promise I will take care of myself and listen to everything you say. Ab khush?"
"Bohot khush!" At last, Swara could feel like smiling.
Finally, Swara came to know today that along with being adorable, caring and unbelievably charming, Sanskar was very stubborn as well!
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Precap : More SwaSan scenes and finally... The moment which we all have been waiting for! But don't trust me, as I might end the next chapter in a cliffhanger 🤫😝
Do let me know what you feel about the chapter ❤️💕
Edited : some changes are made. SwaSan don't go back to lodge by car, but by auto. My stupid brain forgot that they have come to Jamshedpur by a private bus, so that means how can Sanskar have his car with him. Anyways sorry for inconvenience 🥺