The Best of Things
(Ragya, SwaSan) Fan Fiction Series
By Bubble
Chapter 38
She sat there hunched, body racked with sobs.
Lakshya looked at Ragini, worry and concern on his face. She managed a grip on her emotions.
He said, "You do realise that your daadi and mother gave you a wrong picture of how things were, don't you? Sharmistha ji spent so many years of her life alone, Swara has been without a father... they weren't waiting or plotting against you all their lives... you do know that, don't you? They were as much victims of circumstance as you were..."
She wiped her face with her dupatta and nodded, "Yes, I know... Swara has suffered all her life... without a father, and in recent years because she was considered illegitimate. Logically, I know that Sharmistha Maa was left alone to fend for herself while she was pregnant... I can see that she did nothing to interfere in my parents' marriage... I know how much Swara loves me... how much she has put up with, for my sake... I know that Papa's marriage only righted a great wrong done years ago... "
"It's just that you've been fed and raised on a diet of paranoia and mistrust!" he finished, looking angry.
What a mess of relationships! And he had walked blithely in, getting engaged to one sister, falling in love with the other, callously cutting off one tie and hoping to forge another... so insensitive! He didn't know it then but he had been the match that set a box of tinders ablaze.
"Will you trust me now if I tell you there is nothing between Swara and me and never will be?" he asked her earnestly. "I have moved on, and what would really give me peace would be if she goes ahead to have a full and happy life with Sanskaar?"
She considered it and then nodded firmly.
He got out of bed and moved to the window, sighing. "But that's not enough - this situation is not about my making promises or about you trusting my word, it's about replacing thought patterns! And you've got to live with Swara in the same house - I don't want you living on a razor's edge all the time!" He stared out, deep in thought, scratching his chin.
She looked up at him questioningly. "Matlab?"
"Matlab... you'll never be happy unless you become friends with Swara, Ragini... unless the two of you become sisters again, sisters of the heart!" he said musingly, and then turning to her, "Will you try, please? I'll help, but will you try?"
"Yes," she said simply. She had done some extreme things in her life... and if Lakshya wanted it that way, she was willing to try a few more.
+++
They had very little sleep that night... talking late into the night... agreeing that they needed to work to improve things.
Lakshya went off to the barber the next morning and came back feeling like a plucked chicken. His wife laughed but assured him this was a huge improvement. Ragini had sent back the driver yesterday, so they packed up all their stuff, loaded it in Lakshya's car and headed back home.
The family greeted him warmly and with great relief. They had all barely spoken to Ragini in his absence; they knew she had gone to bring him back.. and they hoped she would succeed but they were quite intrigued and surprised to see that everything appeared smoother than before between them! What a raging fight that had been! But if Lakshya was happy with the situation, they were willing to wait and watch.
Sanskaar had a special extra-long hug for his brother and was extremely relieved to see him looking so light-hearted. Ragini hung back, letting everyone greet him. Sanskaar and Swara exchanged a wordless look - she must've done something very right last night.
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