Love-Quest!!
!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!
Durgaprasad and Shekhar were good friends as well as Annapurna and Mishthi were also each other’s bestiees.
Shekhar and Mishthi have one beautiful Daughter Swara whereas Durgaprasad and Annapurna have one charming, handsome boy named Sanskar.
The two children Sanskar and Swara grew up as the closest of friends.
When they were small, they were always on play dates or in a nursery together.
They would sit cross-legged on the floor and toss a rubber ball back and forth, play pretend games in which both of them were some kind of animal, and have races to see who could be the first one to drag a toy train from one end of the room to the other.
All this play time wore them out, and at the end of the day they could always be found propped up against the wall, side-by-side, sleeping peacefully.
Swara’s head would always be tucked underneath Sanskar’s chin, resting on his shoulder.
Sanskar had light, fair skin, jet black hair, and emerald brown eyes.
Swara’s skin was also light and fair, her hair dark black, and her eyes a deep, chocolate brown.
*#*#*#*#*
When Swara was four years old, her mother Mishthi took her to the local hair salon to get bangs.
When little Swara looked in the mirror, her immediate response to what she saw was, “I look stupid, Mommy!”
“No, you don’t,” say Mishthi, “You look pretty. All we need to do now is put the back in a pony tail and you’ll look even better!”
The bangs and pony tail were what Swara wore all her life.
*#*#*#*#*
As the years passed, they found Swara to be a tomboy to her core.
By the time Swara was ten, she could climb trees with ease.
Swara loved to fish, and wore rubber boots more often than she wore shoes.
Swara was spunky and sarcastic, unlike Sanskar, who was rather laid back and serious.
Sanskar spent more time thinking than playing, which, at times, quite annoyed Swara.
*#*#*#*#*
Once, at the age of twelve, the two of them were swinging in Swara’s back yard.
Sanskar suddenly stopped and just sat there on his swing.
Swara also stopped.
“What are you doing?” Swara asked.
“Oh, just thinking.” came the reply from Sanskar.
Sanskar was staring into space, not facing Swara when he spoke.
“Thinking about what?” Swara inquired.
“About whom it’ll be,” Sanskar said, “Tell me, Swara, do you ever wonder who it’ll be?”
Swara frowned in annoyance at Sanskar’s unexplained question. “Who’ll be what, knucklehead?”
Sanskar ignored her insult and went on.
“The person you marry, I mean. Do you ever wonder who that will be? I do. I think it’s one of life’s most fascinating mysteries.”
Swara stood up from her swing and faced Sanskar. “Oh, for goodness’s sake,” Swara said, “I thought you came over to play, not talk about mushy-gushy garbage!”
Sanskar came out of his trance and looked at Swara.
“Oh, come on,” Sanskar whined, “Why can’t we ever talk about life? All you ever want to do is play. You never want to have a serious discussion!”
Swara turned and began to walk away.
Without looking behind her, she called back to him.
“Oh, go home, Sanskar. I’m gonna go climb a tree.”
“Fine!” Sanskar snapped “Be that way!”
Sanskar rose from his swing, went through Swara’s house, and crossed the street to his own home.
Swara climbed up her favorite tree and seated herself on a sturdy branch. Gazing into the distance, she let out a sigh.
When Swara had snapped at Sanskar’s question, it wasn’t because she thought it was ‘mushy-gushy garbage’ it was because the topic of marriage caused her pain.
Like most girls, Swara had dreams of getting married when she was older.
Dreams of the flowing red lehenga, the majestic organ music, the handsome groom decked out in sherwani.
The all rituals that would seal the love she shared with him.
The very thought of these things caused her to shudder with excitement.
However, the excitement was short-lived.
For anytime Swara found herself thinking about these things, the realization hit her that no boy had ever shown any interest in her at all.
Swara was almost thirteen, and thought by now she should have had an admirer.
But she didn’t, and the children at school made it worse by saying she was too much of a tomboy for someone to have a crush on.
It was all too much for her. Still sitting there on her tree branch, Swara buried her face in her hands and began to cry.
*#*#*#*#*
That night, Sanskar couldn’t sleep.
He lay awake in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, still pondering the question of who he would marry when he grew up.
Sanskar thought of all the possible candidates.
The girl at his school…The girl from his neighbour…And then there were the girls he only got to see at summer camp.
Perhaps it would be one of them.
Then again, it could be someone he hadn’t even met.
A complete stranger, waiting somewhere in his future.
Sanskar tossed and turned, questions racing through his mind, until he couldn’t stand it anymore.
Hopping out of bed, Sanskar went straight to the kitchen and began fumbling through the medicine cabinet for sleeping pills.
Sanskar accidentally knocked over a bottle of vitamins which scattered all over the floor.
As Sanskar knelt to scoop the tablets back into the container, his mother Annapurna appeared.
“Sanskar?” Annapurna said, “What’s going on?”
Sanskar explained it all to Annapurna as he collected the last of the vitamins and returned them to the cabinet.
“Oh no,” Annapurna said sternly, “I don’t want you taking them pills. Not at your age. I tell you what, let’s go in the living room and have a talk until you’re ready to go back to bed.”
When they had seated themselves comfortably on the couch, Annapurna began.
“So, what was it you said was keeping you awake, Son?”
“Who I’ll marry,” Sanskar answered, “I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s driving me crazy!”
“Well,” Annapurna said,” Let’s talk about something else. So as to get your mind off all that. Okay now, let’s see. How was your play date with Swara?”
“Not so good,” Sanskar replied, “She got mad when I brought up who we would marry. She didn’t want to talk about it for some reason.”
Annapurna made a mental note of this but changed the subject quickly.
“Oh Sanskar, that’s the kind of stuff we’re trying to get your mind off of. Now, what else is there to talk about? Oh, I got it! Let’s tell each other our favorite foods!”
For the next ten minutes, they chatted about crawfish, shrimp, chicken, and so many other things that they couldn’t remember them all later on.
Finally, Sanskar was burnt out, and they both went back to bed.
*#*#*#*#*
The next day, Annapurna called Mishthi, and asked her what was bothering her daughter Swara.
Much to Swara’s embarrassment, every detail was told.
*#*#*#*#*
After school that day, Sanskar made his way through the crowd of children to Swara.
“Hey, Swara,” Sanskar said, “Your mom told us what was going on and I thought I could help….,”
“Leave me alone!” Swara spat.
Swara turned her back on him and began moving away.
Sanskar caught up with her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
“Swara, I just wanted to….,”
Swara turned and swatted him away viciously.
“I said, leave me alone!”
The look of hurt on Sanskar’s face combined with the realization of how mean Swara was being hit her like a weight.
“Oh, Sanskar, I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have ….,”
Swara broke down and started to cry.
“Listen,” said Sanskar, “I just wanted to tell you that I think you will get married.”
Swara peered hopefully through the tears in her eyes.
“You do?” Swara sniffed.
“Yeah,” Sanskar answered, “I mean, why you wouldn’t? You’re just as great as any other girl.”
Swara began sobbing again.
“But I’m not! I’m too much like a boy. Besides, people think I can’t be like all other shy girls anyway!”
“Nonsense!” said Sanskar, “That’s all in your head. And you’re not too much like a boy. If you were, you’d be lifting weights and doing other stuff like that. You just like to play like a boy, that’s all.”
Swara rubbed her eyes pitifully.
“Oh Sanskar, why do those things even matter when no boys even act like they like me?”
“Who knows,” said Sanskar, “Maybe one does like you, but he’s too shy to let you know.”
They were both quiet for a moment, and then Sanskar’s eyes lit up.
“I have an idea!” Sanskar said, “Let’s help each other find someone!”
Swara didn’t understand at first.
“What?” Swara said.
“I want to get married as much as you do,” Sanskar went on, “but I have the same problem. No one seems to like me. I was thinking that, just maybe, we could help each other out. I could talk to some boys about you, and try to get you hooked up with one of them. And, in turn, you’ll try to hook me up with a girl. What do you say to that?”
For a moment Swara looked at the ground, trying to decide whether or not she wanted to do this.
Then her features spread into a smile and she looked up with a gleam in her eyes.
“You know,” Swara said, “that actually sounds like a good idea. I’ll do it!”
“Great!” said Sanskar, “Now let’s get going. The bus is about to leave.”
*#*#*#*#*
Thus began the two bestiees search for their future spouses.
At first, they each went from person to person without successfully establishing a relationship.
However, this did not discourage them, and they kept searching.
Eventually, they reached a point where they did enter relationships, but those relationships were always short-lived.
*#*#*#*#*
The years passed and the two of them went from thirteen to nineteen.
At that point they had been through so many failed attempts at finding ‘the right one’ that they almost gave up.
And just when they were about to do so, it happened.
*#*#*#*#*
It was mid-summer, and they were having an outing at a fast food restaurant.
Swara ordered her food first and then stepped aside to let Sanskar order his food.
But Sanskar didn’t order.
Sanskar just stood there, gazing at the pretty heighted girl Ragini behind the counter.
“Sanskar,” snapped Swara, “Order your food.”
Sanskar’s eyes shot wide open.
“What? Oh, um, I’ll have, uh, silky black hair, with a side of, uh, deep blue eyes, and, uh, simple beauty. That’ll be all.”
An expression of utter bewilderment crossed Swara’s face.
“Sanskar?” Swara said, “Are you okay?”
The girl Ragini behind the counter spoke nervously.
“Uh, is everything alright?”
Swara turned to Ragini and said politely, “Yes, everything is fine. Just do pancakes for him.”
Swara quickly placed the money on the counter and took Sanskar aside.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Swara whispered.
Sanskar blushed slightly.
“Oh, um, I got distracted.”
“Distracted?” said Swara, “By what? Wait, it’s her, isn’t it?”
Sanskar rubbed the back of his neck and blushed even harder.
“Well, uh….,”
“Sanskar,” Swara broke in, “Do you want to go for this girl?”
Sanskar glanced back at Ragini and shook his head up and down.
“Yeah, I think I do.”
Ragini suddenly called out, “Excuse me, he didn’t order a drink.”
Swara stepped back over to the counter.
“Orange juice,” Swara said, “Oh, by the way, my bestiee over there would really like to meet you. Get to know you, I mean.”
“Really?” came out the reply from Ragini, “When would he like to do that?”
Swara quickly gave Ragini an appropriate time and place to meet Sanskar after Ragini’s shift.
Then Swara pay for the orange juice and carried the whole meal over to a table.
Sanskar sat down across from Swara.
“So,” Sanskar said, “How did it go?”
“Well,” said Swara, “She acted like she wanted to get to know you too, so I told her to meet you at the park at 5:00 PM. I forgot to ask her if she was available, but I think it’s a safe bet she is.”
*#*#*#*#*
At 5:00 PM, Sanskar and Ragini were sitting side-by-side on a swing set in the local park.
There, they told each other all about themselves.
Her full name was Ragini Saxena. She was nineteen-years-old.
Ragini was currently working at the restaurant to raise money for college.
After sharing his own story too, Sanskar asked Ragini if she was in a relationship.
Ragini said “No,”
And they began discussing the matter of dating until Sanskar eventually mustered up the courage to ask the question.
“So, uh, would you be interested in dating me?”
A short distance behind them, Swara hid behind a tree and listened.
Swara grinned with satisfaction as Ragini agreed to be Sanskar’s girlfriend.
“Yes!” Swara said under her breath.
Just then, a boy materialized in front of Swara.
He was about her age, with short, sandy-colored hair, and pale-blue eyes.
He had a muscular build and measured about 5’11.
“Hey,” he said,
“I saw you standing over here and thought I’d say ‘Hi.’ My name is Laksh Malhotra.”
Swara was startled at first, but quickly pulled herself together and extended her hand.
“Hello, Its Swara Bose.” she said.
Laksh shook Swara’s hand and then pointed to a group of several other boys standing a short way off.
“I’m here with my friends.” Laksh told her, “We were just walking, trying to get some exercise. So Swara Bose, tell me about you.”
From there, Laksh and Swara had started a conversation which carried on until Swara found herself in the same position as Sanskar already was.
Swara also had ended up finding a new sweetheart in Laksh as her boyfriend.
These two new relationships were the first ones in the lives of Sanskar and Swara that didn’t end after a week.
Both couples were still together by the time two years had passed.
*#*#*#*#*
When the time came, the four of them decided to go to a Royal college together.
Things went well the two years, but the third year they began to take a turn for the worse.
Ragini, who had seemed sweet at first, displayed a quite annoyed attitude when Sanskar spoke to the other college girls.
The slightest comment that Sanskar made to one of them would provoke Ragini to jealousy.
Ragini would even accuse in Sanskar of flirting with other girls when all he was doing was holding a door open for them.
Things weren’t going well for Swara either.
Laksh seemed to be more occupied with other things than her.
Laksh often forgot about their dates due to preoccupation with things like cars, movies, and motorcycles.
The worst part of the relationship, however, was when Laksh showed up for a date with incriminating lipstick on his lips.
Swara and Laksh almost broke up over this, but decided to stay together in the end.
Just when things couldn’t seem to get any worse for Sanskar and Swara, they did.
*#*#*#*#*
One night, the couples went on a double date to a local French restaurant.
While there, they ran into one of Laksh’s friend. She was a sweet, shy girl named Kavya.
Kavya had thick shiny black hair and twinkling blue eyes.
Kavya was short and awkward and wore a dated pair of glasses.
When they greeted Kavya, she seemed to be okay at first.
Then it was Sanskar’s turn to say
“Hi.” At this point, Kavya seemed to grow even more awkward.
Shuffling her feet nervously, Kavya peered up at Sanskar and managed to squeak out the word. “Hello.”
The sweet, timid look in Kavya’s eyes displayed a blatant attraction to Sanskar.
But it wasn’t an unwelcome attraction.
For Sanskar wasn’t so sure that he was not attracted to Kavya.
Lately, Sanskar had been tiring of Ragini’s jealousy.
Sanskar wanted a wife who was nicer than that. And Kavya seemed to fit the bill.
Sanskar immediately began making plans in his head to make the transition from Ragini to Kavya.
“So,” Sanskar asked her, “How do you and Laksh know each other?”
“We’re just friends.” Kavya said, “From when we were little.”
Just then, a waitress came marching up to them with a pen and paper in her hands. “Alright,” waitress said, “How many do you have?”
“Four.” said Laksh.
“Okay,” said the waitress, “Just follow me and I’ll show you to your table.”
As they parted ways with Kavya, Sanskar waved back at her and said, “It was great meeting you! I hope we can get in touch again sometime.” Of course, he said this when Ragini was a good distance ahead and out of hearing range.
*#*#*#*#*
The next day, Sanskar approached Ragini to break off the relationship.
Ragini was in the college library, looking up plane tickets on one of the computers.
Ragini heard Sanskar approaching and spun around in her chair.
Ragini smiled up at Sanskar excitedly.
“Sanskar!” Ragini exclaimed, “I have great news!” Sanskar was taken by surprise. This was not the way she had been acting recently. What was going on?
“Oh, uh, what’s the news?” Sanskar asked.
Ragini seemed hardly able to contain herself when she answered.
“My parents have offered to pay the money to take us on a trip to Colombia! We’ll be able to go just next month!”
Ragini began jumping up and down and clapping her hands with glee.
This is bad, thought Sanskar.
Now’s no time to break up with her.
Sanskar was right. If he burst her bubble when Ragini was this happy, it would be just plain cruel. Plus, the trip to Colombia interested him.
Sanskar decided to forget about Kavya and give Ragini a second chance.
Sanskar smiled back at Ragini.
“That sounds great.” Sanskar said.
Sanskar and Ragini waited eagerly for the first month of summer to arrive.
That was when they would go on the trip.
But, when that month did come, things did not go as planned.
Sanskar found out that Swara’s father, Shekhar, had been shot and killed in a robbery.
Swara would expect Sanskar to attend her father’s funeral, and Sanskar knew Swara would be very hurt if he didn’t.
Sanskar would have attended without hesitation, but on the day of the funeral, he would be in Colombia.
Now, Sanskar had chosen between his girlfriend and his bestiee.
Sanskar had to decide what to do.
Sanskar knew either girl would be hurt if he chose the other.
This made the decision even harder.
Eventually, Sanskar decided it would be better to comfort a mourning friend than to take a vacation to South America.
When Sanskar broke the news to Ragini, she did not have an understanding attitude.
“WHAT?” Ragini yelled, “What do you mean you can’t go? My parents already paid for the plane tickets, we had everything planned out!”
Sanskar put his hands up defensively.
“Whoa, Ragini, calm down! My bestiee Swara just lost her father. I want to be there for her, okay? I wish you could understand that.”
Ragini knew Sanskar was in the right, but this only angered her more.
Ragini reached the boiling point.
Totally forgetting herself, she took off yelling.
Sanskar was done with the conversation.
Sanskar sighed and told Ragini goodbye.
*#*#*#*#*
Then Sanskar went to his dorm room to get some rest from his stressful day.
A few days later Sanskar went to the funeral.
When Sanskar walked into the funeral home, Sanskar saw Swara and her mother Mishthi standing over the body, clinging to each other as they sobbed.
Sanskar waited till the right moment, and then walked up to them.
Swara turned and gave him a hug.
“Thank you so much for coming!” Swara said through her tears.
“Don’t mention it,” Sanskar said with a smile.
“Where’s Laksh?” Swara asked as she looked around.
“I don’t know,” Sanskar plainly said.
“Laksh was supposed to be here a long time ago.”
The two bestiees seated themselves when it was time for the service to begin.
During the 60 minutes of talking, each one kept an eye out for Laksh.
But Laksh didn’t come.
By the time they had left the funeral home and gone to the cemetery, Laksh still had not come. He didn’t show up even once.
*#*#*#*#*
The one month after the funeral, Swara found Laksh in the cafeteria.
Laksh was sitting by one of his friends, chatting with him as they scoffed down their breakfast.
Swara walked up behind Laksh and whispered in his ear, “Hey, I need to ask you something in private.”
Laksh got up from his seat and followed Swara outside.
“What is it?” Laksh said.
When Swara asked Laksh why he had not attended the funeral, she expected him to say that he had been at a car show or a football game or something similar.
What he did say, however, was worse than anything she could have thought of.
Laksh’s answer was simply, “I didn’t feel like going.”
Swara’s eyes grew wide. “What?”
Swara gasped, “What do you mean you didn’t feel like going?”
“I just felt like staying here and hanging out with my buddies, that’s all. We had a great time. In fact, I’m glad I didn’t go to your old man’s funeral. I would’ve really missed out.”
Laksh leaned casually against the outside wall of the cafeteria and shoved his hands in his pockets.
Swara’s mouth dropped open.
“But…but, Laksh,” Swara said “What about me? Your girlfriend! Don’t you care that I just lost somebody I loved?”
“Oh, come on,” Laksh said, “Don’t be trying to manipulate me like that. I’m my own man and I call my own shots. Nobody tells me to go to no funeral if I don’t want to.”
Tears began flooding down Swara’s face.
“I can’t believe this!” Swara cried, “First, you forget about our dates, then I catch you with another girl’s lipstick on your mouth, and now this! I can’t take this anymore, Laksh, we’re through!”
Before Laksh could protest, Swara pushed her way back into the cafeteria and left him outside.
Inside, Swara sat down at a table and buried her face in her hands as she cried.
Sanskar came hurrying over.
“What’s wrong?” Sanskar asked gently.
Swara didn’t even look up when she answered.
“I’me fine, Sanskar. I just need to be alone right now.”
Swara appeared beside them.
“Fine my foot!” Sanskar spat, “Messed up is what you are! Yeah, that’s right, messed up! What with thinking you can make me go to some funeral when I don’t have to! And then breaking up with me to boot! I’ll show you fine!”
Swara let out a shriek as Laksh smacked her in the face.
“You keep your hands off of her!” yelled Sanskar.
“Well, well,” sneered Laksh, “You want some too, do ya?”
Laksh tried to land a punch on Sanskar’s face but Sanskar caught his fist.
Laksh pulled his fist back and was about to swing with the other when Sanskar swung back at him. Hit in the face, Laksh crashed to the floor.
At this point, everyone else had stopped eating and was watching the episode with great interest.
Two campus officials rushed over to Laksh and helped him up.
“Come with us,” one of them said, “You’re going to see the discipline committee.”
After the incident, Laksh was booted from the college and neither Swara nor Sanskar ever saw him again.
*#*#*#*#*
Sanskar, however, was pardoned, as the college considered his punching Laksh to be an act of self-defense.
For awhile after these things happened, Swara did not act interested in finding another boyfriend.
*#*#*#*#*
Sanskar and Ragini sat side by side on a campus bench.
There, Sanskar told Ragini gently that he didn’t feel she was the one for him and that he would like to move on.
At first, Sanskar thought Ragini would react by throwing another tantrum.
But, to his surprise, Ragini remained calm.
“Alright,” Ragini said, “If that’s really how you feel, it’s okay then.”
*#*#*#*#*
Later that week, Sanskar and Swara went to a restaurant together where they ran back into Kavya Dixit.
Sanskar wasted no time in asking Kavya out.
Kavya accepted, and they exchanged whatsapp numbers.
The date was to be the next day at the same French restaurant where they had met.
The next day came.
Sanskar arrived at the restaurant at 6:30 pm.
Sanskar sat at a table for two and waited for kavya…Waited…And waited…And waited. But Kavya never came.
Sanskar decided to call Kavya but she didn’t answer.
Something was wrong.
Sanskar was wondering what to do when he noticed a television on the wall.
A news reporter was going on about something, but Sanskar couldn’t tell what it was because the volume was muted.
Then Sanskar saw the announcement at the bottom of the screen. It read: “Young college girl, Kavya Dixit, dies in car accident.”
The rest all seemed to happen so fast.
One moment, Sanskar was rushing out the door of the restaurant into the night, trying to see if he could spot the accident.
Then, the next thing Sanskar knew, three days had passed and he was standing over Kavya’s body as it lay motionless in a coffin.
When Sanskar left the funeral home, he didn’t know what to think or feel.
Sanskar was upset, but not so much sad.
Sanskar hadn’t known Kavya long enough to be sad.
Their relationship had barely started.
*#*#*#*#*
In February, Sanskar and Swara went home from college to visit with their parents.
During this time, Sanskar told his parents about what had happened, as he sat with both of them on the front porch swing.
“It was really a shock.” Sanskar told them, “Just when I thought I’d truly fallen in love.”
Sanskar’s father Durgaprasad shook his head pitifully.
“Sanskar,” Durgaprasad said, “Please don’t tell me you actually just said that.”
“Said what?” Sanskar enquired.
“Fallen in love,” Durgaprasad answered, “I thought we raised you better than that. Listen to me, Son. Nobody falls in love. Love is a conscious choice.”
Sanskar gave him a puzzled look.
Then Sanskar’s mother Annapurna joined in.
“Sanskar, what your daddy means is this: Loving somebody is making sacrifices for their benefit…Giving anything for their sake…See?”
Sanskar reflected on this for a moment.
“Making sacrifices for someone else’s benefit,” Sanskar said to himself, “Giving anything for them. Hmm….,”
Sanskar knew immediately that this was something he would be willing to do for his family.
But had he ever been willing to do it for anyone else, especially a girl?
Yes, he was a person of character, and he would sacrifice anything for anyone if they needed him to.
And there was one girl he would go out of his way to do this for.
“I’m really glad you guys told me this,” Sanskar said to his parents, “It was a huge eye-opener. Now, can I talk to you about something else?”
*#*#*#*#*
Swara sat in her living room with her mother Mishthi.
They were relaxing, doing nothing, when the phone rang.
“I’ll get it.” said Mishthi.
“Hello, Annapurna.” Mishthi said as she answered.
“Oh hi, how ya doing? What’s that? Oh, alright, I’ll tell er…,”
Mishthi pulled the receiver away from her mouth and spoke to Swara.
“Shona, could you go to your room for a few minutes? This conversation’s kinda secret.”
“Wha…? Oh, okay.”
Swara got up and hurried to her bedroom.
Then Swara lay on her bed and waited.
The conversation turned out to be longer than she expected.
After about thirty minutes, Mishthi poked her head in the door.
“Okay, you can come out now.”
Swara jumped up and walked out.
Mishthi seemed to be glowing with excitement.
“What was that all about?” asked Swara, “Can I know?”
“Oh, don’t you worry about it,” Mishthi smiled, “You’ll know in due time. I’m hungry. What do you say we go get a bite to eat?”
*#*#*#*#*
On the next day, Swara and Mishthi were invited to the Maheshwari Mansion for supper.
When they got there, something seemed suspicious to Swara.
Mishthi was still giddy with excitement.
Annapurna had puffy eyes, as if she had been crying recently.
Durgaprasad was unusually quiet, and Sanskar himself seemed very nervous and antsy.
When they all sat down at the table, Durgaprasad finally spoke.
“Alright, everyone, before we eat, Sanskar has something he would like to say to Swara.”
Everyone grew quiet as Sanskar rose from his seat and walked around the table to her.
“Swara,” Sanskar said in a shaky voice, “Could you turn your chair to face me, please?”
Swara did so, and Sanskar took her hand as he went down on one knee.
“Sss…SS…SSwwaara,” Sanskar stammered, “I talked to my parents about this yesterday, and then I talked to your mom about it over the phone. They’ve all given me their blessing to ask you what I’m about to ask you. Miss. Swara Bose, I love you very much.”
Sanskar paused and gulped. “Will you marry me?”
A long silence followed.
Swara stared at Sanskar with eyes as big as saucers.
Sanskar bit his lip, and the parents stared on in silent anticipation.
Finally, Swara spoke.
“SS- Sanskar, are you serious?”
Sanskar nodded up and down.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Swara said, “Shouldn’t we date first?”
“Swara, why should we date?”
Sanskar said more calmly, “We’ve known each other all our lives.”
Swara looked at him, considering this for a moment.
Then her eyes filled with tears and her features spread into a smile.
But then within some couple of minutes Swara’s smile vanished while thinking a big status difference in between her and Sanskar.
“Sanskar, can we have some talks in private first” Swara said while noticing hoping eyes of her mother and Sanskar’s parents as well.
Sanskar respected Swara’s embarrassment.
“Yeah, sure why not”
Sanskar followed Swara all the way towards his bedroom after excusing both of them from dining table.
After they entered into the bedroom, Sanskar gazed Swara questioningly.
“I’m sorry Sanskar…we can’t see each other anymore.” Swara said looking at the floor, knowing that if she looked into his eyes she would break down.
“But… why?”
“We just can’t. You have to accept that.” Swara turned to walk away but Sanskar grabbed her wrist gently pulling Swara back to him.
“Swara, I will walk away and never look back. I will accept it if it’s really what you wants. I will do it if you tell me you don’t love me.”
Swara felt her eyes water up and she struggled to keep tears from falling.
“I promise if that’s what you want, I will walk away.” Sanskar whispered.
Swara knew it wasn’t what he wanted.
“I don’t…I can’t.” Swara said still refusing to look at him.
“I can’t say it.”
Sanskar took Swara by the shoulders and I backed away until Swara was up against the wall.
“Look at me and tell me you don’t love me.” Sanskar whispered, almost angrily.
There was a hint of sadness in his voice as he gently held Swara there.
“Look at me, please!”
This time Sanskar was louder and the tears became uncontrollable.
Sanskar let go of Swara with one hand and gently tilted Swara’s face by the chin to look at him.
Swara stared into his brown eyes.
“Swara, do you love me…??”
“Yyy…yyeeess.” Swara choked out uncontrollably, nodding.
Sanskar quickly pulled Swara into a hug.
“Then please tell me what the problem is, I don’t want to leave you. I love you too.”
Sanskar kissed the top of Swara’s head.
“I’m just going to mess it up somehow and I don’t want to hurt you. You deserve someone so much better, someone not like me. Someone who deserves you, who can live the life you want and be less emotional, mingle with your high status rather than standing around awkwardly.”
“Oh now babe,” Sanskar said wiping a tear away.
“Swara I love you, and I’ll love you forever. You’re perfect for me. I don’t want anyone else, just you. And besides, what’s this status and all. I just don’t care about this. I love you just the way you are.”
Swara smiled at him.
“Really…??”
“Absolutely…Don’t worry everything will work out, we’ll be okay.”
And Swara believed him.
“Sanskar, I love you.”
“I love you too Swara.”
Both swasan gets locked into bone crushing hug.
After breaking the hug, Swara answered Sanskar in excitement.
Swara said, “Let’s get married Sanskar!”
Sanskar smiled through his mare tears and nods his head in agreement.
Just the swasan hears applause from the entrance of the slight opened door which went up from the parents as the two of them embraced each other and spun around joyfully.
*#*#*#*#*
Then after settling down in their career both Swara and Sanskar gets bound in beautiful marital relationship.
In the back seat of a car, on the way to the reception, Sanskar leaned over and gave Swara a sweet, blissful lip-lock kiss.
“I love you Swara…I’m really deeply and completely in love with you.” Sanskar said with bringing a satisfactory smile on his handsome face.
Then Sanskar added, “Swara you are the best thing that ever happened in my life, and yes now while looking at you I can surely say that you are the one who is soul mate of mine for whom I was looking for from my childhood”
Swara pecked Sanskar’s lips and smiled back with confessing her love for him.
“I love you too, Sanskar…!!”
———————————————————-
That’s it..!!