"WHAM!"
The violet pillow caved in as the furious fist of Sharon Rai Prakash hit the pillow. Her face was contorted with frustration and hot tears singed the corner of her eyes, fighting to flow down her cheeks. Disheartened, that's what she was. She had lost the dance mania. In spite of doing so much, she had lost it, sealing her family's downfall. Sharon remembered the crestfallen look on her mother's face and a panic seared through her heart. What would they do now? Her family was nearly bankrupt and she had lost the final chance to revive their finances.
"WHAM!!"
Sharon punched the pillow again as the gravity of the situation hit her. She had lost gain. And this time her family had lost with her. She had let them down. Her shoulder's sagged and she stared into the dark corner of her room, feeling helpless, her vision turning blurry. The brighter side of the situation was present, her Swayam had won. But the cost of that happiness was too big. Sharon couldn't be happy and she knew she was right in her own way.
Bitterness surged through her as she thought of the whole day. She had been so happy to see Rey back, till the millisecond before the winner was announced. The result made her feel lost. Looking at the D3 team rejoice at her defeat, she had just wished to vanish into thin air. And Swayam, he hadn't even noticed her at that time.
"WHAM!!!"
She placed the final blow on the pillow and it tore apart, causing the cotton feathers to come out. And so did tears from Sharon's eyes. She held her face in her palms and cried trying to extinguish the terrible feeling inside her, oblivious to the fact that her phone was ringing continuously.
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"Humph...phew...oh god..." Swayam huffed as he reached Sharon's window. It had been so many days since he had done this. He propped his elbows on the extension and slowly opened the glass window to see Sharon sitting on the edge of her bed, sobbing her face in her palms. Looking at her pained Swayam a lot.
He groped for the railing and pushed himself up onto the window pane. Swayam tried to land softly but lost his balance and fell with a THUD on his backside.
Sharon looked up shocked at the sound and Swayam saw her bloodshot eyes. She stood up with the same expression glued to her face. Swayam got up and wand walked towards her slowly, conveying his love and concern for her. He saw her eyes water as he neared her and he knew she needed to come out of whatever was troubling her.
"Sharon" he called out to her slowly.
"I guess you are in the wrong house. Shouldn't you be celebrating with Huma and the others?" Sharon spat. She reproached herself for saying so the very next second as she saw Swayam flinch at her words.
"I am sorry Swayam. I didn't mean too...-"
"It's okay Sharon, I understand."
"What are you doing here Swayam?"
"Well..." started Swayam, his face very close to Sharon's "...let's say we are going out."
Sharon found herself getting lost in the comfort those chocolate eyes provided and regained her senses just in time.
"No Swayam. I am not going anywhere. Please leave me alone."
Swayam sighed. He knew she would refuse and now he had no option. Swayam scooped her up in his arms and started walking towards the stairs. "Swayam!! What the hell are you doing?! Mom is at home." Sharon hissed trying to get down but to no avail.
Swayam tightened his grip and moved his face real close to hers. Sharon stopped struggling and stared at him, her heart pacing. She could feel his hot breath on her skin.
"Either you come on your own accord or I carry you all the way outside" whispered Swayam "your choice love"
Sharon scowled and gave him a death glare which caused Swayam to smirk. He knew her answer.
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Sharon took a step outside her house and the next moment she felt herself blindfolded in a jiff.
"Swayam!"
She felt herself being lifted up in the air as Swayam picked her up. "Be quiet Sharon and just come along..."
"But Swayam what-"Sharon was stopped in between by Swayam's lips. Her eyes grew wide underneath the blindfold. It was a small peck enough to make Sharon's heart race. Swayam pulled apart and chuckled at Sharon's open mouth. He placed her on her feet near his cycle and helped her sit on it. He took his seat and asked Sharon.
"You comfortable?"
"I will be 10 times more comfortable if you remove the blindfold."
"Nothing doing love" Swayam smirked and started pedalling.
--------------------------------
Swayam's bike skidded to a final stop and Sharon got down from the bike. "Are we finally there?"
In response she felt the veil covering her eyes being lifter and the sight in front of her left her awestruck. They were by the shore of the Arabian Sea. The sky was blood red and so was the sea. The fiery sun was sinking into the horizon spreading its warmth around. As if in a trance, Sharon removed her footwear and walked forwards, the sand crunching under her feet. The emotions generated in her heart as she looked at the sunset were inexplicable. She felt a pair of hands wrap around her waist and weight on her right shoulder. She looked sideways to see Swayam stare at the sunset, the light making his face glow.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Sharon agreed to with him. It was beautiful. The warmth of the sun soothed her heart but at the same time the growing darkness reminded her of the problems in her life. Sharon's face fell and she began to walk away when she felt a grip on her wrist.
"Sharon"
She turned around to look at Swayam staring at her intently. His eyes were burning and his hair flapping around his face with the breeze. He looked determined, his jaw set and Sharon cast him a vulnerable look.
"Don't you walk away...we need to talk"
------------------------
The sky turned violet as the last ray of sunlight faded into nothingness. A soft breeze blowed on the beach, messing with Swayam and Sharon's hair as they both were seated near the shoreline, gazing at the crashing waves. The silence between them was tense and Swayam was growing restless with every passing second. He could see how much Sharon was disturbed and every cell in his body shouted at him to make her alright. Finally he snapped.
"Sharon enough please. I can't take this anymore. I can't see you so disturbed."
Sharon looked at him, her eyes glistening with tears. Swayam had desperation written all over his face. His forehead was creased and he looked nearly sick.
Sharon's lips twitched into a smile as she looked at her lover boy. There he was, more tense than her, for her. Sharon inched towards him, wiped his hair form his forehead and placed a deep kiss on it. God she loved him so much. She let her lips linger on his forehead and the next second her control broke. Tears rolled down her cheeks and landed on Swayam's face. Alarmed, Swayam cupped Sharon's face and brought her to his level. He wiped her tears, trying to calm her.
"Sharon...what happened?"
Sharon flung her arms around him and dug her face in the crook of his neck, sobbing. Swayam felt her tears trickle down his front and was positively terrified. He stroked her hair, shushing her.
"Shush...Sharon...don't cry please...hey look at me."
He cupped her face and looked at him, her tears reducing down to sniffs. Swayam wiped away the remnants of her tears and looked at her concerned, "what happened Sharon? Just spill it out please. I can't see you like this anymore." Sharon looked at his love filled eyes and started.
"My family is nearly bankrupt Swayam. We have been facing losses since the past few months and our condition just kept worsening. That's why I agreed to join St. Louis Dance Academy in the first place, so that I could help my mom. We were planning to use the Dance Mania winning prize to improve our condition. But now..." Sharon looked away towards the sea.
Swayam stared at Sharon taking in everything she just said. And flashes of few past incidents came tumbling in his mind. How could he have missed it? He had seen Sharon disturbed many times but had always ignored it. She had been dealing with such a huge matter on her own for so many days and Swayam, he didn't even know about it. He felt really mad at himself.
Swayam made Sharon look at him again and began earnestly. "I am really sorry Sharon. I should have known...I should have helped you" he rested his forehead against hers "But now, I am with you Sharon and I promise you I will do everything I can to help you." He said solemnly.
Sharon stared back and she felt touched to be loved by someone like Swayam. She couldn't have asked for anything else. Without saying anything she placed her lips on his and took him in a deep kiss. Swayam responded passionately and soon both of their mouths were engaged in a fiery dance. As their kiss deepened, the moon in the sky hid behind the clouds so as to give the lovebirds some privacy.
They broke the kiss as they ran short of breath and looked at each other.
"I love you Sharon...and i will bring you out of this crisis no matter what it takes. "
Sharon looked at him as a wave of peace surged through her. Nothing could go wrong when he was with her. He was her stairway to heaven. And she thanked god for sending him in her life.
"I love you Swayam...I love you."
Cricket
CID
9