Thrice...?

Summary : The danger has always been lurking in the shadows. But somehow it has moved closer. A promise holds her bound and Swara wonders, struggling against and opinionated mother in law and a growing sense of foreboding; if at all, she could keep Sunny safe.
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Dusk was falling and breeze was layered with chill. Sunny was still skipping as Swara led him inside, holding one of his hands to make sure he did not trip and fall. There was a smudge of dirt on his jaw, stains of grass on his t shirt - she looked him over critically - he looked quite joyful in exchange of all that damage.

"Arree Sunny baba aap aagaye?" Rani peered from upstairs, her hands full of freshly laundered cloths. "Chote bhabhi - shall I get him cleaned up?"

"No," Swara declined. "I'll do it Rani thank you!" Rani blinked, still unaccustomed to being thanked doing her job and flashed a smile nevertheless carrying on with her other chorus.

She liked this new chote bhabhi of hers. How unlike malkin and bade bhabhi she was. Rani was much accustomed to their ordering around, their condescending speech, restless attitudes.

Chote bhabhi was still adjusting to this traditional household, to having minions on beck and call. As much as the house was adjusting to her, her individuality, her sweet tooth and having a child in the house after several decades.

Rani did not mind. In fact, Sunny baba brought the much needed light to the dark times they had fallen. He was a joy to be around, such a blessed child.

"Bahu," Annapurna called from the study, halting both Rani and Swara in their respective paths. Sunny stopped skipping, craning his head to see where daadi was.

"Ji Maji?"

Swara shifted masking a wince. She did not like being called Bahu, there was something distant and authoritative about it - unlike Swara beta of her father in law. Annapurna refused to call her that, just like she refused to call Shantanu by his nickname. There was a hard look in her face when their eyes met.

"Let Rani take care of Shantanu for a moment. I want a word with you."

Rani obliged silently, dumping her laundry somewhere to unburden her from Sunny's duties. Sunny pouted.

"Mama, you promised to blow bubbles with me!"

"Hum aate hai baby," she patted his cheek and turned to her mother in law instead.

Annapurna did not wait for her as she turned and went inside the study. Swara followed, feeling uncomfortably like a student ordered to see principal after school.

Annapurna never sat in her husband's chair, even now that it is empty. Instead she stood behind it, a thoughtful hand running along the polished dark wood. For a moment Swara pictured her a queen of yore, standing behind her husband's throne, looking at her with judgemental eyes.

"You went to meet Sanskar," she said as soon as the door was shut.

"I understand you went there following his wishes?" She wouldn't take her husband's name.
Funny it was that the woman had no qualms in spying on her husband, in questioning the wisdom behind his actions but refused to take his name even in his absence.

Swara nodded.

"Does that mean he is willing to forgive Sanskar for his past actions?"

"I don't know, maji. Papaji hasn't shared his plans with me."

Annapurna frowned. This daughter in law of hers had such a silver tongue. She knew the words while conveying her ignorance at the same time barbed her for trying to get information that her husband withheld from her.

This girl - what did she know of Annapurna's importance in keeping their roof above their head.

"Have you forgiven him bahu?"
Swara clenched her fist, willing herself not to notice the dark edge to Annapurna's voice. Such a direct question could not be avoided.

"Where there is no proof there cannot be guilt Maji. If he could help Maheshwari group out of its current decline - if Papaji thinks he could - my feelings, my personal feelings about him hardly matter."

Annapurna's eyes narrowed. Was she bitter or was the girl full of barbs today? Was she trying to imply that Annapurna was letting her personal feelings influence her judgement? And that she was wrong in doing so?

"Or perhaps, you've never considered him at fault."

Annapurna shook her head.

"I thought Lakshya's death would have opened your eyes but then -"

"I think aap papaji se baat kare toh behetar hai," Swara said slowly.

She had enough of this woman playing the card of Lakshya's death to cut off whatever her opinions were. As if somehow, somewhere she was at fault for his death. This Annapurna Maheshwari who knew nothing but believed herself the queen of the bord.

"Adarsh Bhayya wants a buy out. He might end up drowning us all -"

"He is hurt. His life's work has been snatched from him. Ghussa hai woh!" Annapurna lashed out. "Given time, he will come around. He will see."

"In the meantime the documents he has sent out won't lose their legal value Maji. In the meantime the steps he has taken won't stop affecting us. In the meantime he is the reason papaji is in the hospital!"

Annapurna's face reddened. Her inhale was deep.

"You are wrong Bahu." She said savagely. She stepped around the desk and picked up a folder, opened it and pressed a hand upon it. "Come and see this. Idar aao."

Swara edged closer into the amber circle of light cast by the work lamp. The content of the open folder become visible.

"His drink from that night contained caffeine. Humne patha karwaya," Annapurna said triumphantly watching colour drain from Swara's face. "It is poison when taken together with his davaai, tumhe patha hai bahu-"

"It slows the heart," Swara muttered. "I - I've cross checked with them that papaji shouldn't be served any caffeine. "

Annapurna shook her head impatiently.

"Miladiya gaya tha. By somebody who knew what would happen then. Somebody who would benefit of it. Tell me bahu do you still trust Sanskar would help us avert this disaster?"

When she reached out and took her arm, the old woman's nails dug into Swara's flesh like claws. Her eyes flashed.

"Everytime Maheshwaris suffered a loss - he was there. He is no angel send for our salvation bahu. He has come collecting his own debt-"
Swara hardly heard her.

Instead thoughts - cold and icy - fogged with fears - swirled in her head. In her mind the hand digging into her arm was not Annapurna's. It was much younger, much insistent and covered in blood.

"Somebody is going to kill them all. Somebody is after them. Shona - humari Shona - you won't let it happen will you? You won't let them take Sunny too - will you? Promise me! Promise me!"

There was a crash somewhere above and Sunny cried -

"Mama!"

Shaking, still in the thrall of her nightmarish recollection Swara shook off Annapurna's clutches.

"Sunny!" She said instead, throwing open the study door and racing up the stairs to her child.

"Sunny!"

**

It was after all nothing major. Sunny had made Rani chase him around the bedroom trying to dress him and had broken one of Swara's perfume bottles in the process. The room was full of thick almost nauseating scent of crushed jasmine and the marble floor strewn with pieces of crystal glass.

"Breaking glass is ominous," Rani informed her in a hushed voice, peering over her shoulder to check whether Annapurna the queen of superstitions had followed or not.

Swara sighed.

"Get on the bed, bandar," she said to Sunny, "dont step on the ground until mama is certain all the glass pieces have been swept off.

There were tears brimming in Sunny's eyes. He nodded nevertheless. And hopped on the bed, sniffing.

"Woh aapki favorite thi na mama?" He sniffed.

"Rani can you open the windows please? The smell is making my head spin."

"Ji bhabhi," Rani nodded robotically before throwing open the nearest window. The blessed night air rolled in, fluttering the thick draperies. Swara breathed deeply.

"I'm sorry mama!" Sunny sniffed. "Aap ghussa ho? Please ghussa na ho -" a thick drop of tear fell and he blinked furiously.

"My baby," Swara sat on the bed and pulled him into a hug. "It was nothing special - hmm - mama will buy a different bottle. But, aap ko lagg jaata toh? What if you cut yourself badly? We'll have to get stitches - mama was worried about that. Issi liye mama told you not to jump around the dressing table - haan - mama ghussa nahi hai - don't cry okay?"

Sunny borrowed into her and hiccupped. Trying to contain his sobs, Swara patted him on the back, pressing her mouth against his hair as Rani wiped away the shreds of glasses strewn on the floor.

"You know when your mama was young, she fell and injured her knee cap. She had to get three stitches for that. Thab se mama is scared of getting stitches."

Sunny hummed still sniffing.

"Achcha bathaiye - what will make you feel better hmm?"

"A story?" Sunny suggested in a small voice.

"Okay!" Swara said brightly. "That new book - we haven't started on the last story right - the knight's tales?"

Sunny pulled out his head, blinking at her, his lower lip still trembling.

"And Orieos?" He suggested meekly.

"With warm milk," Swara conditioned. Sunny scrunched his nose.

"Just orieos?"

"With milk. Baadam wali- mama's special?"

"Fine," Sunny conceded. "But you'll have to read the full story mama. I won't sleep until the story is finished!" He declared then.

Swara bit back a smile.

"I'll read until you fall sleep. Promise." She said going to pop into the kitchen quickly for the milk and Orieos.

**

She settled on the pillows, more pillows on her lap where Sunny had his head. Brushing a hand over his curls, Swara turned to the last story of the designer storybook.

"The fallen crown."

Once upon a time there lived a king. He had two sons and a daughter. All three of them were gifts from a witch queen - each made differently. The eldest son had a body of iron but his heart was made of fluffiest cotton.

"Cotton?" Sunny popped a question.

Swara smiled. "Like your soft toys," she said and as Sunny noded understandingly she went back to reading.

The second had a body of wood, and a will of lead. Strings of his limbs were often in the iron hands of his older brother. So he made him dance, bend his will this way and that.

Swara stopped. Something was not quite right about this story.

"Why did you stop mama?"

Swara turned the pages. The story was about how the iron brother was afraid that his glass sister could summon dragons and exiled her, joining forces with his wood brother once their father was dead.

Unknown to them the witch queen who forged them had also put a curse on their family, that if they turn on one another - their crown will fall.

One by one each of the family will follow.

Swara shuddered.

"Mama ?" Sunny prodded. "Read na!"

The two brothers divided the burden of the kingdom. Eldest become king, second became his wise advisor. Nobody heard of the glass princess for a long long time. The brothers married, had children of their own. Slowly, they forgot about the doom that was foretold.

Then one day the son of the wood prince - knight of Sunsets fell in love.

"Sunsets is not a place-" Sunny said sleepily. And he yawned. "How could he be knight of Sunsets?"
Swara chuckled.
"It's something the author came up with. Like the iron king's crown prince is called -" she turned the pages and tapped her finger. "Prince Adamant. And his brother Prince Longing." Swara paused.

"Why mama? You too think it's strange?"

But Sunny had his eyes closed, he turned around getting more comfortable snuggled against his mother and gave into sleep. He did not see how Swara had gone white, how the book trembled in her hands.

"His wife is called lady Rose of winter lands."

Swara trailed the name with a cold finger tip. Then went back over the other names, tracing each letter they began with. The S of sunsets, the A of Adamant, L of the Longing. It was too much of a coincidence that they tallied with the names of three Maheshwari sons. Sanskar, Adarsh and Lakshya.

And the Rose of winter lands.
The R.
Swara shut the book with a snap.

Once an incident.

Twice a coincidence.

Thrice - and more - what would she call that?

And this was the book Sanskar bought for Sunny, knowingly or unknowingly; the book that sales assistant in Hungary claimed no one had read apart from its maker.

Who then was this maker - and did they have the answers that she wanted?

**