~SwaSan Story ~ A Bound Relation ~ Updated Epilogue - 10/04~ - Page 41

Chapter 25:

Sujatha smiles happily on seeing her two favorite children come out from the farmhouse with grins on their radiant faces and giving one another sly glances. It is a pleasant sight for her to see them interact with one another and sharing a personal conversation, laughing with one another and enjoying-- compared to how she usually sees them at home, when they are distant and strange. Perhaps it is the change in the environment. Being away from house chores and the office has given them quality time to be with each other, she concludes.

Sujatha: Come Swara, sit with us...

She indicates to Swara, showing her the available chair next to Dadi, who looks adorably cute wearing a sunhat and dark round glasses over her eyes, sipping on her glass of lemonade. Giggling silently at this sight, Swara moves to join Sujatha and Dadi to watch the game, but is instead surprised to feel a haste possessive hold on her wrist, keeping her back. She turns and looks over at Sanskaar to her side, who shakes his head in a negative to Sujatha.

Sanskaar: Swara's going to play volleyball, Maa, not sit and watch. --Come on Swara.

Sanskaar says to her with a light tug on her wrist, telling her to follow him.

Sujatha: Arre, but then that would make the game unfair. There would be more girls than boys.

Dadi: Oh don't you worry Sujatha, even if the girls had a thousand members on their team, they'd be no match against Sanskaar. He's a champion when it comes to volleyball.

Sanskaar smiles, pleased, at Dadi's comment...

Sanskaar: Actually Swara's going to play in Ragini's place. I can tell that the girl's want to get rid of her because she is keeping them from winning and with Swara playing-- the game will probably finally start getting interesting.

Swara: (intervening) But Mr. Maheshwari--- I don't even know how to play volleyball, how will I---

Dadi: Arre nonsense Swara Beta, everyone can play volleyball. It's not a difficult game. Well- with the exception of Ragini of course.

Sanskaar: Right... so let's go.

Again he tugs on her wrist, impatiently this time.

Swara: Par---(still hesitant)

Sujatha: Arre jao na Swara. Uttara and Neetha will finally start having fun and you will too enjoy yourself.

With Sujatha also insisting her, Swara absolutely cannot refuse. She looks at Sanskaar solemnly.

Swara: Teek hai. (finally agreeing)

Grinning at this, Sanskaar leads her over to the game, where Laksh and Samar are having fun crushing the girl's side.

Neetha: Dii! You are too much! You can't even hit a simple ball!

Ragini: (furiously) Then why did you bring me over here? I wanted to sit!

Laksh and Samar laugh at this scene while Uttara seems like she wants to disappear, not liking being isolated in the sisters' wrath by the long net.

Sanskaar: Then go on and sit down Ragini-- Swara will take your place.

Sanskaar says as he and Swara approaches them all at the net. Everyone turns in their direction. Uttara smiles in relief on hearing that her sister will be joining, taking over the lunatic woman's spot and saving them all from a headache. Ragini, even more angered, glares at her brother and bhabhi, especially her bhabhi. No way was Ragini going to let the two get even closer. She needs to keep them distant from each other.

Ragini: No thanks bhaiya, I'm finally getting the hang of the game. I want to play if you don't mind.

Neetha growls and angrily takes the volleyball out of her sister's hands.

Neetha: Di, please! Just go and sit! Our team is losing because of you! With Bhabhi we may just have a shot at winning!

Ragini: Neetha---

Samar: (shouts over the net) Di, you suck! Go and sit down!

Laksh: Save yourself from being embarrassed any longer!

Both Jija and Sala give each other a high-five and laugh at successfully ticking Ragini off and making her red out of rage. Seething with anger, she storms off from the game and sits down in the empty seat besides Dadi, too blinded by anger to notice who she has sat next to. Dadi, finding the whole scene absolutely hilarious, laughs loudly in Ragini's face.

Sanskaar shakes his head, but can't help but grin himself.

Sanskaar: You two are too much.

Laksh: Arre forget it yaar, she'll get over it. Chalo, come on and let's finally start playing volleyball. Swara-- you go and join your teammates.

Swara listens obediently and is greeted with open arms by both Uttara and Neetha, who smother her with thankful hugs. The guys laugh at this sight, finding Uttara and Neetha's desperation highly amusing.

Swara: (guiltily) I am no God sent angel; I don't even know how to play volleyball.

Neetha: No worries Bhabhi, you're better than Di--- that's all I need!

Uttara: Di, just hit the ball over the net, that's all you have to do... Like this.

Uttara shows her how to hit the ball with joined hands. Swara mimics her actions.

Uttara: Yeah, just like that.

Laksh: You girls ready?!

Laksh calls over the net. The girls all look over and nod their heads in affirmative.

Laksh: Then come on and pass over the ball. It's our serve.

Uttara hits the ball over and Laksh hands it over to Sanskaar, who is their team's current server. Position the ball in his hand and bringing his wrist up, Sanskaar looks through the criss-crossed net and at Swara, who stands awkwardly in her place, looking lost and being very quiet. This brings a laughing smile on to his lips as he says to himself softly, "Swara...". Ironically Swara glances up as the name leaves his mouth and stares right at him, meeting his eyes, seeming as if she had heard him...

Sanskaar hits the ball with his wrist and watches it successfully fly over the net over to the girl's side. He watches carefully to see Swara's reaction, but Neetha instead comes in the way and bumps the ball back over the net, not giving Swara a chance. On instinct Samar runs in position to hit the ball back over, and so an actual game begins with the ball flying back and forth instead of being spiked repeatedly as how Ragini had done. Swara, however, rarely played and instead Neetha and Uttara covered for her. And when the ball did happen to come to her, she made weak attempts to hit it. She didn't seem to mind that her teammates were hogging the ball, but instead was grateful so then she wouldn't have to embarrass herself at playing a game she hadn't played before in her life. She did watch though how everyone played the game and was picking up a few things.

Fifteen minutes into the game they call a break to get some water to drink due to the hot weather. Seeing Swara on the farther end of the table, from everyone else, where all the water is, he slyly joins her, pretending to go for a laying water bottle.

"What are you doing Swara?", he says for only her to hear. Startled, Swara looks to her side and finally notices Sanskaar there, who grabs a water bottle from the table. She looks at him puzzled, yet curious. He sees this and proceeds on...

"I asked for a simple request... to let poor Shona play, yet you still didn't oblige...", he speaks, this time making eye contact. Swara stares back at him with a sort of dazed out look. He smiles gently at her and then walks away as Laksh and Samar call out for him to come back. He goes away drinking his water bottle.

"Shona...", she says with in a low whisper. Slowly a smile emerges on her face as her eyes follow back onto his retreating form. She appreciates what he's doing... trying to be friendly and get her comfortable around him. He had said that he wanted them to be friends... Just like him she wants a friendship between them, but she was having a difficulty with getting rid of her shyness and quiet-like behavior because she is always so aware of herself around him. She should also reciprocate the effort from her end... try to put aside the awkwardness and nervousness in her to make their friendship possible.

"Swara Di!", she hears Uttara's voice call out for her. Swara looks over in her direction and sees her waving at her, beckoning her to come back to join the game. Her eyes linger back over to Sanskaar, who has approached Samar and Laksh, and she continues to lightly smile to herself. "Swara nahi Mr. Maheshwari... sirf Shona", Swara tells herself, building sudden encouragement and energy inside of her. She walks over to her team's side of the net, taking her bottle of water with her. She sets it off to the side on the ground and sweetly asks Neetha if she can serve the ball, since it is their turn to start it off. The guys, hearing this, watch Swara take the ball from an enthusiastic Neetha, intrigued--especially Sanskaar who raises a brow at this.

Swara fiddles with positioning the ball properly and meets her husband's eyes as she looks up. Smirking cutely at him, she wriggles her nose at him in tease and serves the ball, which glides smoothly over the net. Sanskaar is in too much of a surprise by the sudden change of mood in his wife that he lets the ball just pass by him, which causes Laksh to hurriedly go after it but miserably fails. The girls let out an exclaim from excitement and quickly tackle Swara with hugs. Swara giggles along with them, feeling mighty pleased with what she had done.

Sanskaar realizes what had just happened and stares over to his teammate's angry looking expressions, staring right back at him. He looks back to Swara, who catches his eye as she is engulfed in Neetha and Uttara's arms. A slow smile creeps onto his lips out of amusement on seeing what she had succeeded in doing.

Samar: Bhaiya, what is wrong with you?!--- You just let the ball pass you!

Sanskaar ignores his brother's words. Laksh grumpily passes the ball back over to the girls' side because it was now their serve. Neetha excitedly gives it back to Swara, telling her to serve once more. Swara does and as the ball flies swiftly in the air and over the net, Sanskaar this time is ready and goes forward to hit it. The ball goes back over the net. The girls scream excitedly to Swara, telling her to quickly go for the ball. Reacting quickly Swara bumps it over to the guy's side and smiles widely as this time Sanskaar misses it by a few centimeters. Uttara and Neetha squeal with delight on seeing Sanskaar, the supposed champion at volleyball, losing to his own wife. Eventually the girls scream the guys with Swara now joining them with a great deal of effort, determined to win.

"You are a bloody liar Shona...", Sanskaar says to her in a sulking mood as they walk together back over to the lawn chairs, where Sujatha, Dadi, Ragini sat, and where everyone else was now going to.

Swara: How is that Mr. Maheshwari?

She says, trying hard to contain her smile and laughter. Sanskaar softly grins, clearly hearing the tease in her voice.

Sanskaar: You had told me that you don't know how to play volleyball.

Of course Swara didn't, but by quietly observing them play she picked up on a few things and later figured that it was actually quite easy. Swara was just about to explain this to him, but instead she smiles goofily at him and says, "Shona knows how to play volleyball... Swara is the one who doesn't." She leaves him behind, rooted to the spot, giggling away.

Sanskaar smiles delightfully as his shock passes by...Who knew that his wife could be such a tease?

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Laksh: What do we do now?

Laksh says as he sits down besides Dadi, who affectionately ruffles his hair. Neetha opens her mouth to speak, but Uttara quickly cuts her off.

Uttara: No more games, please, Neetha... I'm exhausted.

Neetha closes her mouth, seeming dejected. Samar, who was approaching, overhears the conversation and suggests an idea. Swara and Sanskaar follow closely behind, the lasts ones who had left the net. Swara smiles to herself and blushes from the way Sanskaar closely watches her with a grin of his own. He shakes his head, chuckling at what she had said before.

Samar: We could watch a movie...

Dadi: Yes, we can watch a movie! What a wonderful idea you've come up with, Samar!

Dadi squeals with excitement. Samar immediately regrets how he had worded his suggestion.

Samar: No, Dadi, I meant we could watch an English---

Dadi: I'm sure we're all yet to see Om Shaanti Om???

Neetha: (groaning) Dadi, you made me watch that six times with you last week.

Dadi: Arre you be quiet, I am talking to everyone else.

Uttara: Dadi, you made me watch it six times also with Neetha.

Samar: I watched it with you twice on Monday.

Laksh: Three for me.

Ragini: You are going to kill us with these Hindi movies! -- Even I have seen it three times.

Dadi: ...Sanskaar Beta? Swara? You two haven't seen it, right?

Sanskaar and Swara cast one another a quick glance before looking at Dadi, guiltily.

Swara: Dadi, I have seen it with you in a total of 7 times.

Sanskaar: ... I've already seen it once with you just two days ago.

Dadi: (looks hopefully at Sujatha) Sujatha?

Sujatha: (suppressing her giggles) Maaji, leave it. We have all seen it too many times. Why not watch another movie?

Samar: Why don't we just go through our movie collection and decide on one?

Everyone agrees on this and begin walking towards the farmhouse. Swara happens to catch a glance at Neetha, who seems a little dazed out all of a sudden. She rests a comforting hand on her shoulder, startling her.

Swara: Neetha, are you alright?

Neetha: (quickly) Ji, Bhabhi ji. I'm-I'm perfectly fine. Just feel a little tired from the game, that's all.

Swara: (smiles) Alright.

Swara walks on besides Neetha, who after a few seconds stops and rests a hand against a nearby tree for support. Alarmed by this, Swara joins her side and examines Neetha's pale face.

Swara: Neetha, what's wrong? (concerned)

Neetha: It-it's nothing Bhabhi... I'm fine...

Swara: (hastily) Neetha, you do not look fine. Your face is pale and you seem weak.

"Swara, what's wrong?," Sanskaar's voice comes from behind. He had been witnessing this quietly from a distance. Swara turns around and looks at him with worry.

Swara: Look, Mr. Maheshwari, Neetha's health isn't too good. Something is wrong with her. She is weak and her face is pale.

Sanskaar steps in and examines Neetha's paling face and drowsy eyes.

Sanskaar: Neetha, what is it? What's going on?

Neetha: Bhaiya...Bhaiya---

Neetha's head spins and her vision becomes a blur. Before she knows it, she loses balance and falls unconscious. Quickly Sanskaar catches her in his arms while Swara gasps at this. Hurriedly without wasting another second, Swara calls for Laksh.

Swara: Bhaiya! Laksh Bhaiya!

Everyone, confused with Swara's shouting, turn around and catch the sight of Neetha passed out in Sanskaar's arms...

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Thank you,

Shreetha..