Chapter 14:
Hello friends!
I know you all want me to unite SwaSan soon but be patient. I will unite them but after some more chapters. There is much more to understand other than union of two lovers. Don’t bash me if story is not up to your expectations. Enjoy one more chapter.
Sanskar had a panic attack and faints.
AFTER TWO HOURS:
Scene 1:
Location: Sanskar’s apartment
Lakshya: How is he doctor?
Doctor: he is fine and will gain his senses soon. This all is because of stress. Something has happened which has casted very bad effect on his nerves. Maybe it is related to his past. Try to keep him happy and don’t ask him about anything. Be with him every time so that he can’t think about it. And he was taking sleeping pills and anti-depressants from a very long time.
Lakshya: (worried) how long?
Doctor: about eight to nine years.
Lakshya: (shouting) what? Are you serious?
Doctor: why would I lie? And please keep him away from all sort of sedative medicines.
Lakshya: thank you! Come, I will leave you till door!
Scene 2:
Location: Mumbai, apartment
Next morning, Sanskar opened his eyes and found Lakshya looking at him.
Lakshya: you woke up?
Sanskar: yeah!
Lakshya: how are you feeling now?
Sanskar: fine!
Lakshya: that’s great. Come!
Sanskar: where?
Lakshya: kitchen! Don’t you want to have breakfast?
Sanskar: no!
Lakshya: you have just recovered from that condition and gain? No, I am not listening to you. So you will have to come.
Sanskar: Lakshya! No means no. Leave me alone!
Lakshya: never!
Sanskar: don’t behave like my wife.
Lakshya: then marry immediately and I promise I will not come to irritate you.
Sanskar: fine, you stay here, I will go out.
Lakshya: ok, chill man! I am going. (Lakshya tried talking to him and he just nodded in yes or no. At lunch time, doorbell rang.) Who would come at that time? (He opened the door and saw Kavita standing there. he was thinking) what is she doing here? Sanskar’s mood is already off and…… (to Kavita) yes?
Kavita: is Sanskar here?
Lakshya: yes!
Kavita: I came to see him. I got to know that he is not well.
Lakshya: how did you got to know?
Kavita: I have my sources! Will you not escort me in?
Lakshya: (gets aside) yeah, sure! (Enters Sanskar’s room) Sanskar! Look who came to meet you? (Sanskar sees Kavita and loses all his temper)
Kavita: hello Sanskar!
Sanskar: (gestures her with his hand) stop there.
Kavita: but I….
Sanskar: I said stop right there. What are you doing here?
Kavita: I came to see you. You were not well so….
Sanskar: you have seen me, now you can go. And I am not well? What will happen to me? I am perfectly alright.
Kavita: but you were……
Sanskar: get lost from here before I drag you out!
Kavita: I just came to wish you get well soon as your well-wisher!
Sanskar: (joins his hands in front of him) I don’t need any well-wisher. Please stay away from me.
Kavita: but why you…..
Sanskar: what do you want to prove, woman? That after my clear rejection, you still care for me? How good are you and how cruel I am? I will never accept you. Why can’t you understand? You are a dumb girl and here I was thinking that you are mature and will understand. Don’t you have a little shame? Get lost! (Kavita runs from there crying)
Lakshya: are you in your senses? Why did you burst out on that innocent girl?
Sanskar: now don’t start your lectures here, please!(Lakshya leaves and reaches near Kavita. She was crying)
Lakshya: I am sorry on his behalf. Actually, he is suffering from severe emotional breakdown so…..
Kavita: (wipes her tears immediately) emotional breakdown? Is it related to the girl he loves?
Lakshya: yeah! But I don’t know what actually happened? I was not at home when he returned. He was having a panic attack when I entered. And then doctor told me that he is suffering from emotional breakdown. So I have to keep him happy. He has to be kept away from all the things which push him to stress. So I request you to not come in front of him for some days. He loses his temper easily seeing you.
Kavita: yeah! I will keep it in mind. I want his betterment. Please, take care of him! Bye!
Lakshya: bye! (Kavita leaves)
Scene 3:
Location: bank, Sanskar’s cabin
After one week, he resumed his work in bank but he can’t concentrate on his work. He calculated money wrong about two times. Then he sent the files without signing and he sent them back at wrong destination four times. Kavita was observing him but didn’t come in front of him because she feared of his reaction. He became more serious than before and he was losing his temper on very small things. He was very stressed out. When he couldn’t work anymore, he threw the files away and held his head. He was having migraine attack. Kavita came to him.
Kavita: are you fine?
Sanskar: yes! I am fine.
Kavita: do you need any help?
Sanskar: yes! See these files and write their details.
Kavita: anything else?
Sanskar: no, thank you!
Kavita: if you are not feeling well, then take leave and go to your home.
Sanskar: yeah! Thanks for advice. Tell higher authorities.
Kavita: sure! (Sanskar nodded and left from there)
Scene 4:
Location: Mumbai, apartment
Sanskar sat on his bed and closed his eyes. After some time, Lakshya entered.
Lakshya: hello, my friend! How are you?
Sanskar: I am fine! Would you please leave me alone?
Lakshya: why? What’s wrong with you, man?
Sanskar: my head is bursting!
Lakshya: migraine?
Sanskar: I think so…..
Lakshya: (worried) why are your eyes red?
Sanskar: because I can’t sleep properly.
Lakshya: and what’s the reason?
Sanskar: I don’t have anti-depressants and sleeping pills.
Lakshya: Sanskar! Your nerves are damaged due to continuous use of relaxing pills. So please stop it! Shift to some other alternative.
Sanskar: alternative? I can’t sleep without it yar! And you know it.
Lakshya: tell me what’s your problem?
Sanskar: office work.
Lakshya: no lies.
Sanskar: no truth also!
Lakshya: shut up and tell me the whole story. What happened when you went to meet your parents?
Sanskar: nothing yar!
Lakshya: then why were you having panic attack that day? Why did you come without telling me anything? Why were you behaving weird? And why are you having migraine attack now? You have to tell me Sanskar! Take your feelings out of your heart.
Sanskar: they were forcing me for marriage.
Lakshya: so?
Sanskar: I refused and told them why I can’t marry.
Lakshya: then?
Sanskar: then…… then dad told me that Swara contacted him once but he told her that I am dead. She never contacted again. Just sent him a letter in which she said sorry for my death and paid the amount of money I have spent on her. (He takes her letter out and reads it once again) I don’t know how many times I have read her letter but every time I read it, I feel like I went seven years back. (Lakshya takes the letter and reads it)
Lakshya: if she considers you dead, then she must have married someone and living peacefully. Then she is safe. So chill!
Sanskar: (looks sharply at him) married to someone else? Is it that easy? This thought is killing me.
Lakshya: then jerk this thought. Forget her just like she was nothing for you!
Sanskar: I can’t forget her, I can’t, Lakshya! I have many debts on me to her. If I am something today, then it’s all because of her. I can’t throw her out of my life just like that. She is the most important part of my life. Although her thoughts give me nothing but pain still I can’t forget her. She is a part of my heart!
Lakshya: are you trying to say that you are waiting for her?
Sanskar: yeah!
Lakshya: and if she doesn’t come, then what would you do?
Sanskar: I don’t know and I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to be alone. (Lakshya leaves and he again takes the letter. He reads it again and tears fall down. He passed the next week in high stress. He was very restless. It was then when he decided to do pilgrimage. After performing pilgrimage, he was sitting near stairs when he heard sound of some Qawwali. He went into a nearby Dargah. He stood in front of a big grave where all were doing prayers. Face of Swara flashed in his mind and he started thinking about her. He never left any prayer undone for Swara. He had prayed for her safety, her happiness, her long life and everything related to her. But he never asked Swara for himself. This was very strange. He closed his eyes and prayed)
Sanskar: God! I have done so many sins in my life that I don’t deserve to be here. It’s your generosity that you have made me among these people. I am a very weak human and I don’t have control on my heart and emotions. I beg Swara for me. I beg that pious woman for me and my family that loves you with all her heart. And if she is not for me, then remove her memories from my heart. Take this pain out of me. I can’t live with this feeling. Please God! I beg you! (Cries vigorously) I want her. Take my all qualitie and just send her back. (Suddenly he felt Swara’s presence there and turned to see a girl going back. He ran behind her and unveiled her face. It was not Swara but that woman started scolding him. After she went, a tear fell down from his eyes. He was still feeling her presence. He was feeling like she is seeing him from somewhere but jerked his thoughts and went away.)
Scene 5:
Location: beautiful garden
Sanskar was sitting on green grass. Swara was sitting beside him. He laid in her lap and closed his eyes. She smiled and turned her head. After sometime, she kept her one hand on his eyes and with other hand, she held her dupatta such that the sunrays could not hit directly on his face. He was lying peacefully when she brought her face near him. Her hairs fell on his face and he immediately opened his eyes. He cupped her face and looked at her intensely. She started looking down due to shyness and he smiled. She kept her head on his chest and closed her eyes. She held her arms around his torso protectively and smiled. He felt some boy calling his name from distance and looked away.
Scene 6:
Location: Mumbai, Sanskar’s apartment
Sanskar was sleeping when Lakshya started waking him up.
Lakshya: Sanskar! Sanskar! You idiot! Wake up! Hey wake up! You are sleeping like Rhinoceros. (Sanskar wakes up)
Sanskar: shoo away, you stupid. I was watching a very beautiful dream.
Lakshya: oh you were seeing me in….
Sanskar: (cuts him) I said beautiful dream, not horrible.
Lakshya: I and horrible? (Hits him on head)
Sanskar: ouch!
Lakshya: where the hell have you been? You went somewhere without telling me. Even your parents were worried.
Sanskar: I went for pilgrimage. Then I went to Dargah and felt like Swara is somewhere around me and seeing me.
Lakshya: what? You went to Dargah? Are you crazy? I mean that place is not for us.
Sanskar: why are you over reacting? And what’s wrong in all that? Did God stopped giving his blessings to people who are from other religion? And it’s not written in any of our religious books that God is only in Mandir. God is in our heart. Bhagwan is always with us. It’s our thought which confines God to Mandir.
Lakshya: then why did you went for pilgrimage. You can sit here and pray whatever you want.
Sanskar: I wanted some peace and it was the best thing for it.
Lakshya: oh really?
Sanskar: I can’t live like this. So I went there. And why did you woke me up? I was seeing Swara.
Lakshya: once more you take her name and I will kick you out of the house. I am tired of your stories. So please……