Swara and Anushka looked at the nurse coming in their way. Finally, she had arrived!

"Alright!" The nurse announced. Within her announcement, all the attention from all the interns out turned towards her.

"All the new freshers here, I am Nurse Fernandez. Nice to meet you all." She gave a smile to everyone.

"Now, I'll be calling out each intern's name and you all have to answer me in a 'present' if you are there. I would appreciate your attention as I go on calling your names."

Swara and Anushka eagerly waited for their names to be called. She opened her book and she had a quick scan before calling out the names. Within a few moments, Nurse Fernandez started calling out a few names one by one.

"Rohan Malhotra?"

"Present!"

"Anjali Shah?"

"Present!"

"Aisha Patel?"

"Present!"

"Kartik Singhania?"

"Present!"

Swara pursed her lips playing with her fingers and tapped her feet continuously waiting for her name, while Anushka kept her fingers crossed.

"Isha Kapoor?"

"Present!"

"Aman Singhania?"

"Present!"

"Swara Bose?"

Swara's eyes shot up in acknowledgement and Anushka looked on excited.

"Present!" Swara raised her hand up and sighed contentedly as the nurse continued her attendance further.

"Tera toh aa gaya..." Anushka pouted. "Mera kab aayega yaar."

"Jaldi aayega." Swara smiled. "Don't worry."

"One more announcement!" The nurse announced to everyone. "Interns whose names have been called can leave for the interview room. That's the final call for your entries. The Dean of our hospital and the senior doctors are going to interview you about your qualifications and capabilities. And those who have their names pending, have to wait here."

"You go Swara." Anushka told her. "I'll wait here till my name is called."

"Okay." Swara told her. "But try to come fast. By the time, I'll try to find this room. And if necessary, I will ask somebody."

"Okay. I'll catch up with you later then."

Swara put her palm on Anushka's shoulder. "Sure!"

She then sprinted off to a random direction while Anushka turned towards the nurse who was busy in calling out other names.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Interview room... kaha hai yeh... kaha hai yeh... ugh..."

Swara checked... and rechecked... and rechecked... but damn! No angel on this earth helped her to find this Interrogation room! She was already searching for ten minutes and her legs were now beginning to ache.

No!

'Not at all! Swara Bose, you are a doctor for heaven's sake. How will you treat your patients if you are only this weak?!'

She brushed off all those weird thoughts away from her mind and started seeing each and every board put on the door but...

"Bhagwan ji orr kitni pariksha loge meri. Thodi toh madat kardo. I need your help!" She mentally had a conversation with God.

Swara Bose was not as no-nonsense and stern as one thought her to be. Even today, after those five years of her life, she had the same chirpiness in her which she used to have five years back. She still had the same charm and love in her. Her passion for her medical career kept her away from those hidden dark shadows of her life. She already had the wonderful and professional person faćade around her and that proved beneficial for her as no one could see through her and come to know about what she'd been through.
She didn't want anyone to know about the gloominess hidden beneath her soul. See through her. Or else it would be too difficult to handle everything that she had been handling since the five busy years of her life. After so many years, she'd managed to get back on her feet and now she didn't want anything else to break her resolve. Things in her life were finally getting back on track and now she did not want anything else to destroy that.

As she was too busy in her flow, she didn't notice anything else ahead and soon enough... she bumped into somebody.

"Ouch!" Swara winced.

"Ouch!" Came the moan from the other side.

Swara rubbed her forehead as she fearfully eyed at the person with whom she supposedly bumped into. And next moment her eyes widened.

Holy shit, it was a guy!

And that too not just any ordinary man. Oh god! Was he made of a shining pearl or something?! Because that's what his facial features were like.

His personality was like he was holding an invisible charm...

Damn you Swara! You haven't come here for all this.

While the person looked at Swara frowning, trying to anticipate what her next actions could be, Swara gulped once before she finally started speaking. "I... I am sorry... Woh... I was just..."

"Hey, it's okay." Came the voice from the guy. "Don't say sorry!"

If this incident wasn't a bummer for Swara, she didn't know what was. She looked at him in the eye and found him smiling at her.

"I really mean it. I'm sorry."

"And I mean it too!" The new guy said. "It is okay."

Ignoring any other eye contact with him, Swara walked across him to leave the place as soon as possible but stopped dead on her tracks as the guy turned around shooting his question to her. "Are you in a hurry?"

Swara turned around to face him. "No! But why?"

"Well... if you need some help, I can definitely help you. Is there any way that I can help you?" He asked her sincerely with a smile.

Swara sighed deeply before looking at this new young guy she just met.

"Actually, I'm finding the room where freshers are going to be interviewed about their qualifications."

The guy looked on amused.

"By any chance, do you know where is it?" She asked him.

The guy smiled nodding his head. "Yes, I know. I-"

"Then can you please tell me where is it?" She told him pleadingly.

"Let me speak at least!" He chuckled and Swara frowned. "Listen, yaha se right jao and use the elevator. Then go to the first floor. Once you get out of the elevator, walk towards your left and enter room no. 107. That's where interview is going on. Well, I would have led you there myself but... I am running late for an important surgery. So, I am sorry and I hope you understood the way. If not, I can tell you again."

Swara looked on a bit shocked... or rather say surprised. She did not even know this person yet he helped her so much like a friend. The directions he gave to her were so helpful to her. She did not resist a thankful smile on her face. "Thank you so much! I got it."

"Mention not! Now..." The guy cleared his throat, excusing himself. "Please excuse me."

The guy gently moved across her giving her a last smile. Probably... he was a doctor here in this hospital. And by the looks of it, also must be one of the best doctors of this hospital. That much Swara could notice from his professional demeanor.

"Must be a doctor too. Anyway, he seems quite professional." Her mind screamed and she sighed in desperation.

Ugh!

"Chuck it Swara. Now just go fast or else you might end up losing your internship on the very first day itself." She gave a mental warning to her inner self and sprinted off to the direction as that doctor just said to her right now.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Swara mentally thanked God for making things easier for her. Two to three people were already waiting outside the room and by that, Swara could notice that even they were waiting to be called in. So, that means somebody was already in the room.

She wondered about the Dean of this hospital. Would he be cold or no nonsense? How would his personality be? Was he strict or lenient? So many general questions arised in her mind. And on top of that... the thought of the Dean's son stroke her mind.

Would she be meeting him inside now? Right. Then afterwards, she could thank him for helping her and Anushka and then later thank Rajat, after he arrived.

Her chain of thoughts broke as somebody flung the door of the room open. The interns there and also Swara, leaned a bit forward.

It was the attendant at the door.

"Who is Swara Bose here? You have to come in!"

Swara's eyelids raised up as she heard her own name.

"Yes!" She marked her presence by stepping forward. "It's me."

"Alright. Please come in. And make sure you have all your documents with you because the Dean needs it. The team wants to know about your education background, so..."

Swara smiled nodding her head. "Yes. Yes, I have."

The attendant moved into the room again and Swara followed her, carrying her handbag that contained all her necessary documents of her university.

Swara entered the room and all she could see was a team of four men. Probably, a team of four doctors sitting on their chairs behind a long table, who were just seen randomly discussing something. Swara pursed her lips once as she moved her eyes towards every person sitting there, and noticed the professionalism their demeanor carried. And with that... a sudden professionalism crept up in her heart. In herself. Her composure became bolder and her awareness of her main goal struck her more, as she came in front of everyone and stood there.

And that's when she greeted everybody there, with a professional smile on her face.

"Good morning Sir! I am Swara Bose!"

"Alright, please sit." The one sitting in the second chair requested her. On his table, the tagline given to him explained everything to her.

This was the Dean. 'Dr. Ramprasad Maheshwari!'

And to his right, was the Chairman of the hospital. 'Dr. Durgaprasad Maheshwari!'

And some two young men next to them whom she didn't know. They might be ones from their staff.

Swara nodded into a yes and she made her way towards the chair infront of them. She took a quick glance around the room. Everything looked so new to her right now. But she knew she had to get used to all this.

She sat on the chair and kept her paper documents on the table, in front of the Dean.

"These are my documents, Sir!" Swara called out to them.

Dr. Ramprasad nodded his head and took the documents in his hands. He distributed the xerox copies among his acquaintances and took a scan of them...

Candidate Name :

'SWARA BOSE'

✔ Graduated from Jamshedpur Medical University on 2018.

✔ Graduated with a merit. Having an excellent score of 87.40 %.

✔ Eligible for Internship.

'Impressive' that's what the Dean could comment on seeing her education documents.

The Dean eyed at Swara once before going through her merits and scholarships, and also some certificates, that she had achieved with her hardwork and dedication, while Swara looked on confidently.

The chairman too discussed about it among his confidants while Swara blinked once, assuring herself that everything was okay. It had to be!

After a few moments, the Dean kept the papers on his desk and his eyes scanned Swara's expression.

"You are academically great." He implied on what he had gone through in her documents. "Your marks are also quite good."

Swara had a slight curve on her lips. By now, she was internally getting nervy. Thankfully, she knew how to control her emotions.

"Are you nervous?" Dr. Durgaprasad asked her in a curt tone.

"No Sir." Swara replied in all honesty. "I am not."

Her answer brought a frown in Dr. Durgaprasad's face.

"Why?"

Swara knew this was coming, and she exactly knew what to say.

"Sir... honestly, it's my personal belief ki nervous woh log hote hai jinhe apne aap pe confidence nahi hota hai. People who have no self confidence, things like anxiety and nervousness come in for them." She used the neuromedical terminology. She smiled professionally. "But in my case, I am very much confident that I can undertake every task a doctor does. Be it anything... from medicines to surgery... Everything that's in a good doctor's agenda." She confessed with all her heart and smiled. "Sir, being a doctor is not just a formality for me. I want to help those people who are in need. I have always wanted to be a doctor like I desired and soon, I believe I am going to be."

There was complete silence in the room, and somehow, this silence was suffocating Swara. She wondered how her first impression might had been to them.

But here, there was no doubt that the team immensely appreciated this new candidate's confidence. One by one, Swara received nods of head from all the four men and Swara's face grew brighter. The Chairman whispered something to the Dean and Swara maintained silence, trying not to interfere.

After a few minutes, Dr. Ramprasad, the Dean, broke the silence.

"Dr. Swara Bose," Dr. Ramprasad Maheshwari cleared his throat and Swara gave her complete attention to him. "We like your confidence."

She smiled brightly, and Dr. Ramprasad maintained his professional stance but he gave her a smile too.

"We have always been looking for such type of doctors jo sirf naam keliye doctor na ho. Being a doctor means extreme dedication, compassion, a goal to help people in need, and in all honesty, our team can see those qualities in you." He revealed what they'd been discussing about her, and Swara was very glad. "Because you know... some people just become a doctor because their family want them to. If you know what I mean. Some people... like you... with utmost passion of being a doctor are very rare. Helping people, diagnosing them, curing them and bringing almost dead people alive is what a true doctor has to do. So... by the clarifications you have given right now Dr. Swara, we believe you'll be a very good doctor. Thank you so much for giving some time here interrogating with us and we assure you, that a beautiful future awaits you."

The words stroke Swara like never before as her face lightened up at the Dean's encouragement. "Thank you very much Sir and I assure you, I'll do every duty assigned to me sincerely. I won't give you a chance to complain. I'll put my best into whatever I'll do."

She smiled at all of them before getting up, and stuffing her documents back inside her bag.

"Very well." Ramprasad appreciated her. "And here, take your identity card. This is your card which you have to wear everyday when you come here for your duty. The card that labels you as a doctor."

Swara nodded her head obediently and took her identity into her hand. The identity she had been keen on to make for herself.

'Dr. Swara Bose!'

And today was the day! Today was the day she was going to adopt all the rights of a successful doctor! And now it was her journey!

Her Maa and Dida's dream! Her own dream!

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Swara got out of the room and took a sigh, pulling away a few strands of hair behind her hair.

Finally! Her identity and dignity was what she had always wanted all these years. And today, all because of her hardwork, she had it. Finally, she had it. It was her constant hardwork that brought her here.

Anushka was nowhere to be seen. God knew where she was. Maybe still stuck into that attendance thing. There were so many interns there in the Lobby, almost more than fifty. It might take time for her to catch up with her.

So, for the being time, she decided to call her Maa and Dida to tell them the good news.

She fished her phone out of her pocket and dialed her mother's number. Soon enough, she held the phone against her ear as the phone was ringing...

~*~*~*~*~*~*

A middle age woman who looked like she was in her late forties, came running towards a cabinet of her wide living room. Something inside her had a really good feeling that something good had happened.

Of course, her daughter had the identity of a 'Doctor' today. And of course, her daughter called her to give her the wonderful news!

Sharmishtha Bose was a very loving lady. The perfect daughter of Shobha Bose, and the perfect mother of Swara Bose. She never let anything evil cross her family's paths and even today, she had put sweets before the pious Durga Maa so that no bad eyes fell on their small yet happy family.

She had gone through the deepest agony of her life once. Her husband, i.e Swara's biological father, had left her when Swara was very young. They had their divorce and she took Swara, and they had to come here to her mother's house in Kolkata from Jaipur. Sharmishtha was a very brave lady but she feared her daughter would suffer the same fate like her. Something like that... had already happened with her daughter too and that's how history repeated. But she had swore on Durga Maa, to always have the best for her daughter. She had hopes that she would get someone for her daughter who would love her with all his heart and soul. Even though Swara never talked about marriage thereafter that incident, Sharmishtha knew well that Swara had to get over this and she knew she had to find someone who would always have the best for Swara. Someone Swara would trust. And for this, Swara was first destined to make her career, for the time being to escape from those dark hooligans of her life. She was not going to risk her daughter's life at all. She knew she would have to find a life partner for her very soon.

Only Sharmishtha and her mother knew the deep anguish behind her daughter Swara's smiling face.

Sharmishtha had the telephone in her hand within next few seconds and she smiled.

"Yes Shona!"

"Maa!" Swara smiled delightfully. "Wow, you recognised that it was my call!"

"Shonaa!" Sharmishtha smiled happily. "I already knew that it was going to be you! Accha yeh bata, how is everything? Shobkichu bhalo na? (Everything is fine na?)"

"Haan Maa shobkichu bhalo!" Swara answered to her happily and smiled. "The Dean was very happy, they all liked my spirit and my thoughts. Now I promise you, Maa, your Shona will become the person she had always wanted to be."

"Very good!" Sharmishtha was delighted hearing the news that her daughter gave. "I'm so proud of you, Shona. Teri jaisi ladkiya bohot kum hoti hai. I am very proud of my daughter, because she rose high and didn't let anything affect her. Bas man laga kar apna kaam karte rehna, okay? And yes, do not divert your mind anywhere else. Just put your heart into whatever you do. Okay?"

"Ha Maa." Swara assured her mother. "And just see, I'll make you very proud of your daughter! Your Shona has become a doctor, Maa! I have also got my ID Card! 'Dr. Swara Bose!'"

Sharmishtha nodded her head emotionally. "Very good Shona. I'm so proud of you. You have come very far all because of your own hardwork and spirit."

She turned around and took a glance at the Idol of Durga Maa. She took her blessings and wiped a lone tear from her eye.

"Accha Shona... thikh se rehna hostel mein, okay? And you can come home whenever you want! I'm praying to Durga Maa for you."

"Haan Maa." Swara replied back. "Waise ek baat batao na! Dida kaha hai? Baat karwao na! I want to give her the good news as well."

"Haan Shona." Sharmishtha replied her. "Actually she is sleeping right now but I'll try..." She was immediately trailed off by another elderly voice that followed...

"Aeee! Arey mera Shoru phone kar raha hai and you said I'm sleeping! How ungrateful of you!"

A lady in her early 60s made an entry in the living room. Needless to say, she was Swara's jolly grandmother, Shobha Bose.

Shobha had always been the best mother of Sharmishtha Bose and the best grandmother of Swara Bose. She did not want anything else except for her daughters' happiness. And she lived with the hope, that it would be back in her children's lives one day. She'd always wanted the best for both Sharmishtha and Swara and she was the happiest person alive on the declaration of her granddaughter finally becoming an official doctor.

She playfully snatched the phone away from Sharmishtha and put the phone against her ear.

"Very bad Shoru!" Shobha folded her arms feigning anger. "Apne Dida ko bhul gaya tu!"

Swara could do nothing but giggle her heart out. Sharmishtha chuckled too, trying not to be centered by her mother.

"Hindi seekho pehle Dida!" Even today apnar Hindi durbal! (Even today your Hindi is weak!)"

"Well..." Shobha made some funny faces which made Sharmishtha giggle. "It's not my fault now. I was never used to Hindi that much."

"Dida! Maa!" Swara called out to both of them. "I love you both, you know?" She kissed her phone two times. "I love you both the most in this world! The most. And I mean it. Agar mera ek haath meri Maa hai, toh mera dusra haath meri Dida hai. Mai aap dono ke bina kuch bhi nahi hoon. Aap dono bhi meri sabse badi taakat ho."

Shobha and Sharmishtha exchanged emotional looks. They were so content to see their Shona so happy. Her happiness was all that they'd ever wanted, just like Swara wanted theirs.

"We love you too Shona." Sharmishtha smiled telling her. "Bas apna pura dhyan lagana kaam par, okay? And take care."

"Yes Maa."

"And yes, our best wishes are with you! Okay?" Dida smiled. "Bless you my child."

"Haan Dida!" Swara said to them. "Aapka, Maa ka or Durga Maa ka aashirwaad hamesha mere saath hai! You know na that you all three are my strength! Haina? Accha..." She noticed some general hustle and bustle going on and that's when she realised that she had less time. "Accha ab na mai phone rakhti hoon. Please both of you take care of yourself."

"Yeah. Bye Shona! All the best!" Sharmishtha and Shobha both wished her.

"Bye Maa! Bye Dida!"

And with the final conversation, Swara disconnected her call, all set for her further tasks.

Her face turned a bit worried as she glanced down at the Lobby from the first floor balcony.

"Where is Anushka? Ugh..." Swara sighed. "I think I'll only have to see this."

Having an inner conflict with herself, she walked towards the staircase which led her down. She descended down the staircases and had almost reached at the middle but alas... for a moment she felt as if she kept her foot near the edge of the stairs and the next moment, she realised she was about to fall down the stairs. Her eyes widened and fear flashed across her facial features as she had nothing by her side to regain her composure and she was falling...

Until her heart skipped a beat, she fell on somebody's arms who held her so that wouldn't fall. Wait, that meant somebody saved her! Her eyes were shut and she paniced on seeing herself into somebody's embrace, before falling down the stairs.

The person held her tight, and they were so close to each other that even the person could hear Swara uneven breaths. Swara's heart skipped a beat to realise what just happened...

On the other hand, a pair of amused eyes kept on gazing at this girl infront of him. Nevertheless, he steadied herself and he gripped Swara's shoulder, delicately pulling her away from him. Swara still looked frightened and she tried to get hr heartbeats in control.

The person left her and something inside him leaped to see her expression. God, she looked really scared. She must not be, actually. Not after being safe from falling down and embracing the floor.

"Hey... hey! Stop! Ssh... Calm down. You are safe, perfectly fine. Okay? Now, open your eyes!" He convinced her as if convinced a small child and Swara, still in fear because she was almost going to lose her life few seconds ago, slowly opened her eyes.

And her eyes widened as she saw who was this person who just saved her.

He was the same person who had helped her in finding that room!

"Wait, aap... aap toh wohi ho na who... helped me sometimes ago in... finding that room?" Unknowingly, Swara's thought in her mind rolled down her tongue. From when did her tongue get connected to her brain?

The guy in front of her smiled and chuckled at her quite convenient question.

"Yes, I am." He smiled shaking his head. "Anyway, I know these stairs can be quite tricky but still, be careful from here on."

"Yeah, I'll be."

Putting pressurising attempt to voice out 'be', she turned her gaze away from the guy, expecting him to continue his work. And he did. The man gave a last smile to her and he walked off to some other direction, but something fell off his neck which went unnoticed by both of them. Swara looked at his departing figure.

Swara let out a deep sigh and held her head. "What are you doing Swara? Why are you ruining your first day in every possible way?! Just... forget it!"

She mentally prepared herself to face the next challenge in this hospital. Soon enough, her eyes landed on the ground and it got glued to the ground. Her eyebrows scrunched down.

She saw an ID card lying on the ground and that made her realise instantly that whose it might be.

It must be that person's who just saved her!

Before she could lean down to pick it up, Anushka came to her running.

"Hey Swara!" Anushka chirped. "Rajat has come! You can meet him and his friend too. You know... the one who helped him in getting our admission..." She realised Swara wasn't listening to what she just said right now.

"Swara?" She called out again.

Swara looked at Anushka but she simply shaked her head. And it concerned Anushka on seeing this reaction of her friend.

Anushka kept her palm on her shoulder. "Kya hua? Any problem?"

"Anushka, see this." Swara pointed her finger downwards and Anushka's eyes travelled towards that direction too. "Woh... a few moments ago, someone had saved me from falling off the stairs."

"Wait, what?!" Anushka was shocked and next moment she hit Swara. "Swara! Are you nuts? Can't you walk carefully?! Kuch ho jata toh-"

"Sssshhh!" Swara silenced Anushka immediately rolling her eyes. "It's a hospital Anushka. I guess you can speak softly."

"Are you mad? Dekh kar kyu nahi chal sakti tu..." Anushka kept on yelling much to Swara's dismay.

"Arey let me speak first na!" Swara silenced her again and just then, she bent down and picked up that ID card and held that in front of her. "See this. Maybe that doctor dropped his ID Card by mistake. Or maybe it slipped off his neck while saving me."

Thinking about it for a while, Swara took a scan through it at the back side of the card and she turned it towards the front side, the main side that had all the details of that person. Before she could scan through it, Anushka asked, "Swara... Is it his only? Are you sure?"

"I am sure." Swara replied. "I need to give it back to him."

Swara's eyes again travelled across7 the ID Card. Now it had the front side and the details could be read. But... as soon as Swara's eyes landed on the clear text on the ID Card, her eyes widened in shock as she had a scan through the card...

| IDENTITY CARD |

Name : Dr. Sanskar Maheshwari

CARDIOLOGIST in
Kolkata College & Hospital

Age : 25 years

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Precap : What do you think about it, then? Do you like Swara's character? 😉 How do you think about it? How will Swara react on the revelation? Is something there in store for her?

Well, time will tell. 😃

Now here comes the cast...

Ishita Ganguly as Anushka Shastri
Vijayendra Kumeria as Rajat Sareen
(Their appearance in this story also as shown in this pic)

AnuRaj has been my love before SwaSan came in our lives 😃 So, I thought to bring them in this Fanfiction. 😆

Please express your views on this chapter ❤

PS : I'll be using some Bengali terms occasionally but don't worry, translation will be there. And honestly, I'm not Bengali so maybe some mistakes can happen from my side too. You will be surprised to know that I'm taking Google's help to find certain Bengali phrases! 😅