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Part 2 of the Fanfic.
Lakshya overhears Swasan...
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The Best of Things
(RagLak, SwaSan) Fan Fiction Series
By Bubble
=========
The Best of Things
Chapter 2
On the balcony off his room, leaning back into cushions lining the deep garden chair, Laskhya Maheshwari rested his head and raised the cigarette to his lips. His wife slumbered on in the room within...
This week had been so mundane and yet, somehow so momentous. A turning point had come a few days ago - but so wrapped up in the daily ebb and flow of things... no one even realised what had happened.
An evening the week after Diwali, dusk had fallen ridiculously early. The men had returned from work, and Lakshya had sneaked up to the terrace, to his smoking cubby-hole to one side of the house where the elders never came. The younger lot all knew that he smoked, but by common consent, it was kept secret. Lakshya had just stubbed out his cigarette when he heard someone sit on the large creaky swing chair on the other side. This was a lovely terrace garden in Maheshwari Mansion, designed with many fronds and flowers, trellises with lush flowering creepers, a couple of bird baths and discreet lights. The elders hardly came upstairs these days, but he looked through the shrubs that concealed him in case it was one of them.
It was Sanskaar who had settled into the swing... a mug of steaming tea stood on the side table next to him. Lakshya pulled a face. They had once been friends, but Lakshya could hardly see his cousin brother these days without pulling his hand into a fist. Bloody Hypocrite! He was now pretending to be a saint and Swara's saviour, and she was falling for it, damn her!
"Sanskaar!" It was Swara's voice. "Where are you?"
Sanskaar raised his head. "Here, Swara, in the terrace garden," he shouted back.
Swara's form stood silhouetted in the lit doorway with something like a tray in her hands. She was dressed in a simple elegant suit of ochre, paired with a lovely silk multi-hued dupatta that trailed slightly as she walked in. "Ah, here you are. You weren't in the room, so I wondered where you'd gotten to."
She moved up to Sanskaar. "I've brought us some pakoras to go with the chai. These cold evenings are perfect for it!"
"Oh, great, and you've brought cookies too!" he replied, making room for the large plate on the table in front, and helping her set down her own mug of tea. She settled on the swing as well. The Maheshwaris ate dinner late, which gave them enough time for a substantial tea after the men came home.
Lakshya gritted his teeth. Having to eavesdrop on their bonhomous chatter grated on his nerves. But in that way in which we can't leave a wound alone, he cocked his head to hear their conversation, which was more muted now. What was that about Banaras?
"Promise?" Swara was asking.
"Of course, I promise. We'll do that - start at Gomukh, bathe at Gangotri and follow the River Ganga to Hardwar, we'll go river rafting in Rishikesh, then come to Prayag and Banaras before looping back to Kolkata. It's a terrific plan!" Sanskaar sounded very excited. "Only, since it's a longer plan, I'll just have to juggle things at work - arrange karne mein thoda time lagega, but it's worth it, Swara!"
He fell silent, thinking. Something minute must've shifted in his face because Swara's voice became more attentive. "Kya hua, Sanskaar? What are you thinking?"
"I was wishing we could ask Lucky and Ragini to go with us too... but haalaat aise hain ke we can't do that!"
Swara sighed. "I know! We could have so much fun together, the four of us, but it's all so messed up. Ragini is so suspicious, she'll see conspiracies in every bush. And Lakshya will never understand how simple and uncomplicated I want it to be - how I can only ever relate to him as a friend, nothing more! And he's got so many misgivings about you too. Rehne do, Sanskaar... I want as little as possible with the two of them as matters are."
Then she brightened up. "Lekin, hum dono bohut masti karenge, I promise. It'll be the trip of a lifetime!"
A wave of sadness had engulfed Lakshya then. Oh, why they did they call him Lucky, when he was the unluckiest chap alive? The girl he had loved so much, the brother he had adored - he had lost these precious friends! Instead, he had on his hands a wife he loathed - a millstone around his neck - a murderess, an unconscionable liar! And one who was obsessed with him... he felt like he was drowning, sometimes... choking in her deadly grasp. How had it come to this?!
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