It was night time and for Swara, it didn't matter what time of day it was, for nothing mattered to her more than the man she so badly wanted in her life but at the same time was refrained from wanting him with her.

She was sitting near the window, staring at the beautiful moon in the sky, thinking what turn her life had taken and the choices that she made in the recent days.

This moon... it looked so lonely, all alone in this dark sky and right now that loneliness reflected that of her own. That's just how she considered her life when he wasn't there in it. And those stars, they are the ones brightening up this darkness and shining right next to the moon. She wished, she so badly wished she could tell him that he was the star that brightened up her life. Tears filled her eyes when she recalled all the things she did to him in these past few days.

Thinking and rethinking about all this hurt her over and over again. It left an open wound in her heart, an empty hole drilled inside of her that made her regret for what she did in these days. But she didn't know herself what she was supposed to do!

All his memories came and flashed in front of her. Their first meet, how he pissed off in the beginning, his flirting, at the same time his caring, loving, selfless nature...

"If you are not nervous then why is your heart beating so fast? Or is there something so attractive about me that is setting your heart on full speed just by my mere presence around you?" She recalled the time when he flirted with her before her first ever operation, which was also the time when she saw his caring and concerned side for the first time.

A tear rolled down her cheek and she closed her eyes.

Yeh dooriyan
Yeh dooriyan

In raahon ki dooriyan
Nigahon ki dooriyan
Hum rahon ki dooriyan
Fana ho sabhi dooriyan

Usually, his memory would fill her with euphoria but right now, they were filling her with emotions of despair, lost hope and thoughts about what she could have done but didn't do.

"Something about this moment, it feels as if I have everything I have ever wanted in my life. Looking at you, I'm sure you are also feeling the same. Ab jab mai sochun, toh iss jagah ki khubsurati hai yeh wakt! Aur mai chahta hoon ki yeh wakt bas yeh hi rukh jaaye."

"Nothing is hard in my life whenever you are there with me. But not having you in my life, it will make my life itself hard... to live!"

She felt every word of his. Every gesture of his. It's like somehow, in some way, they were connected to each other. What good did she do in her past lives that she got such a pure soul in her life. She didn't know herself if she was lucky because she found him as her love, or unlucky that their love was facing such odds.

Kyun koi paas hai
Door hai kyun koi
Jaane na koi yahan pe

Aa raha paas ya door mein ja raha
Janu na mein hoon kahan pe

Yeh dooriyan

In raahon ki dooriyan
Nigahon ki dooriyan
Hum rahon ki dooriyan
Fana ho sabhi dooriyan

"All this while, I've never told you how much you mean to me. For I wanted to earn your trust first. I wanted to make sure that you know you can trust me in anything. I want to tell you that the girl I love is standing right in front of me."

How beautiful that evening was! If only she hadn't messed up the next day...

The cool breeze from outside had subsided, being replaced by a calming environment. But a kind of calm that wasn't so favourable. Something was missing. Something felt missing. And Swara couldn't have correlated her own situation with this environment more.

"No Swara, I won't let you go until you tell me what is going on. But please, don't behave like this. Don't be so indifferent. You are behaving like you don't... you don't love me when I know you do."

To think she was the reason behind the pain in those brown orbs...

"You know what, I never asked anything from you. I helped you and was there for you but not even for once I ever asked anything in return from you. I never told you that I love you or I want you in my life. Because I didn't want to force you or pressurise you in any way."

"Each and every word you said that day, it broke me, Swara. When I said I want to stand by your side, I said with the intention that I believe you can fight your own battles and I will just be there. Just. Be. There. For you, and with you!"

"I love you because of who you are! I love the girl standing here in front of me today, because of how strong and amazing you are!"

She had so many regrets. First, she realized her love for him so late and when she did, fate had to play it's ugly card to separate them and she hurt him in a way that there was no going back from that. What she did was like dishonouring the love Sanskar had for her and the love she had for him. She so wished she could go back to time and fix everything. She so wished!

Yeh dooriyan
Yeh dooriyan

She whimpered closing her eyes and she didn't know why but she felt like saying his name, as if calling out to him. She missed him. She wanted him. So much. Her soul wanted to reach out to him.

"Sanskar..."

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

"Swara!"

Sanskar's eyes opened in accord of their own as he felt a strange feeling in his heart, something he couldn't understand, as if someone he loved was yearning for him. Like he was being called.

But he realised he was wrong when he looked around the room he was in, the only one in the room was his mother who was in a deep sleep. So, he realised there was no chance that someone was calling him.

Staring at the silent yet calm weather outside the window of the hospital room he let his mind wander. All his thoughts, all his feelings, all his memories that were concerned with Swara.

He would be lying if he said it was easy to maintain his distance from her, but the truth was, he was finding it freaking difficult. How come the person you have loved so deeply, so irrevocably, how do you just stop thinking about them? For him, it was like living his worst nightmare.

"Well, thanks to you. Because somewhere, you are the reason behind this smile." He remembered her telling him that. He didn't understand why was she so hesitant now when it came to her feelings. Didn't she trust him? Did he lack somewhere in gaining her trust? Or did she really not care enough?

Kabhi hua yeh bhi
Khali rahon pe bhi
Tu tha mere saath

Kabhi tujhe milke lauta
Mera dil yeh khali khali haath
Yeh bhi hua kabhi
Jaise hua aabhi
Tujhko sabhi mein paa li

Tera mujhe kar jaati hai dooriyan
Satati hain dooriyan
Tarsati hain dooriyan
Fana ho sabhi dooriyan

Today, when she came to him to console him, somewhere deep down inside of him whispered to him that maybe, just maybe, she might come to him. Maybe, the time would come when she would accept her love for him. And also, to trust him enough.

But when was that day going to come! That was something which wasn't in his hand. She had to realise it herself. She had to do this by herself.

It was high time she stopped creating distances between them and to accept her feelings.

"I don't feel scared Sanskar, because I know you are there with me. And being with you makes me feel safe, because I trust you."

She said back then that she trusted him. Then what happened now? Where was that trust? The love that he saw in her eyes but she denied calling it his delusion?

"NOT EVEN A SINGLE WORD! Or else you won't be going from here alive. You dare to hurt Sanskar! How can you dare to hurt him?! If anything happens to him, I won't leave you all."

"Nothing is more important to me than your well-being."

"I care about you Sanskar. Very much. And today when I... when I saw those men hitting you from the back and when you fell down, for a second I thought that I... I will lose you forever!"

And those were some of the words that Sanskar could never forget, even in his wildest dreams. Her affection and care for him was like a warmth that no matter what, he would never get himself away from.

Kaha bhi na mene
Nahi jeena mene
Tu jo na mila

Tujhe bhule se bhi na
Bola na mene chahun fasla

Bas fasla rahein
Ban ke kasak jo kahen
Ho aur chahat yeh aur jawan
Teri meri mit jaani hai dooriyan
Begani hai dooriyan

Hat jani dooriyan
Fana ho sabhi dooriyan

"Nothing will happen to you, not when I'm there with you! I will not let anything happen to you."

"I really care about you. It hurts me to see you in pain."

"Mai hoon tumhare saath, Sanskar. Har wakt, har pal. Please stay strong. You cannot break like this. You have to stay strong to set the things right. And I'm always there with you even when you don't ask."

Her words kept swirling in his mind until he couldn't take it anymore. For he really didn't have the strength to bear any more pain.

He wiped his eyes that he didn't even realize when they were filled with unshed tears. No, he didn't want to cry. He had to be strong if he had to set the things right.

Kyun koi paas hai
Door hai kyun koi
Jaane na koi yahan pe

Aa raha paas ya door mein ja raha
Janu na mein hoon kahan pe

Yeh dooriyan

In raahon ki dooriyan
Nigahon ki dooriyan
Hum rahon ki dooriyan
Fana ho sabhi dooriyan

He missed her. He missed her so damn much.

Sighing deeply, he turned away from the window and forced his feet to move towards the bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed, watching his mother sleeping. This was a sight he was, sadly, very habitual to.

Distracting himself from any negative thoughts coming in his head, he pulled the blanket over her foot which was left a bit uncovered. It was cold outside, so he made sure to keep her warm.

He got up very gently so as to not disturb Sujata in any way. Then, he took a pillow which was not in use and made his way to a couch that was in one edge of the room. He lied down on the couch, trying to get some sleep. It was uncomfortable for him, to be honest, to attempt to sleep on a medium-sized couch which wasn't enough for his six-feet height. But he wanted to watch out for his mother, so he didn't care how much his feet came out of the couch. All he knew was he wanted to be with his mother who was everything to him.

For how long would he be able to keep his strength and patience? He really had no idea. The two women he loved the most in this world weren't there with him, he couldn't have felt more discouraged.

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

After some time...

It had been about forty minutes since Sanskar fell asleep. Not a sounded or deep one, but he was still able to sleep.

But his sleep got broken when he began hearing some disturbing mumbling that included some incoherent words.

"No. No!"

Sanskar's eyebrows furrowed and his eyes opened in accord of their own, hearing the sound. When his eyes roamed around the room trying to look out for the source of sound, his gaze landed on his mother who looked frightened because of something... quite possibly a dream.

His senses tingled seeing her like this and his sleep completely jumped out of the window.

"Please... no..." she continued uttering in fear.

"Mom!" He got up from his couch and rushed to her. He sat near her and noticed that her face was contorted with fear, which scared Sanskar more.

"Mom?" He called her out gently.

"Please s-save me... please... s-someone... save me."

"Mom! What happened? Are you okay?"

"NOO!!" Her eyes jolt open in shock, and got up hyperventilating. She couldn't take it. This was too much for her to bear. Her palm held her chest trying to control her fast heart rate. Sweat trickled down her temples and not even Sanskar's continuous patting over her back could help her calm down.

"Mom, are you okay? Calm down. Calm down, it was just a dream." He kept telling her, not understanding anything.

"No, it wasn't!"

She said and before Sanskar could react, they heard the clicking of the door to their room. When the door opened, Ram came inside, his face etched with confusion.

"Sanskar! What happened?" He looked at his son with worry, "I heard screaming. Is everything okay?"

"I don't know, papa. I think mom has seen a dream. She got up scared."

Sujata shaked her head still in panic, "No. W-What I saw... it... it didn't feel like a dream..."

"What do you mean?" Ram rushed towards her to the other side of her bed, and on one side Sanskar was sitting.

"I don't know..." She said with heavy breaths, "I... I felt like I was trapped somewhere. I couldn't breathe. I was shouting for help but nobody came. Then... aahh!" She screamed loudly due to a sudden callous pain shooting up through her head as she tried to differentiate between a scary dream and a terrifying memory that was buried deep down in her, with chance of it's retrieval negligible.

"Mom..." Tears filled in Sanskar's eyes seeing the pain his mom was going through.

Ram ran a hand over his hairs sighing, "She is talking about her accident, Sanskar. I think when she was asleep, she might have seen some glimpses of her lost memories."

Sanskar immediately grabbed Sujata closer to himself, patting her head gently and lovingly, "I'm here, mom! I'm here with you. We all are here with you. See, you are fine. You are safe and you are here between us. Nothing has happened."

"But... that..."

"Please calm down, mom. You are fine. Nothing has happened to you and I will never let anything happen to you." He whimpered at the end.

"Sujata, here, have water." Ram poured water in a glass from a jug kept on the bedside. He sat near Sujata with the glass in his hand.

Still in shock and frightened by what she saw in her sleep, she reluctantly sipped some water from the glass that Ram held near her lips.

"Mom, are you okay?" Sanskar said so softly, fearing that even the slightest rise in his pitch could scare her.

'Mom'... she didn't understand why, but a strange feeling tugged in her heart whenever this boy called her by that word. But she didn't understand what was it. For her, it was like her mind was being played with since she didn't remember anything.

"Why?" She turned towards Sanskar uttering in a low voice, "Why do you keep calling me your mom?"

"Because you are..."

Sanskar stopped as words failed to roll down his tongue. Which child is so unlucky that he couldn't tell his mother that he was her son! But he didn't want to disturb her vulnerable mind. That's why, he thought it better to not get ruled by his own emotions and say anything.

"Sujata, you really don't remember any of us?" Ram couldn't help but ask, "You don't remember us? I'm your husband, your-"

"Papa, wait. No." Sanskar held out a hand to stop his father as he noticed Sujata holding her head in distress. "It's... okay. Let it be. She is in no state that we should tell her anything that can cause her pressure."

"I know, Sanskar," he sighed reluctantly. "But someday, she has to remember everything."

"Yes, she will. But she needs time for it. She has woke up after so many years, it will take her time to recover. We will have to wait until then. Right now, we can't put any mental stress on her."

When Sujata's eyes drooped as if wishing for sleep, Sanskar gave her a soft smile and kept a palm on her shoulder, "Please sleep. You need it." He said in a low voice. He helped her lie down and adjusted the pillow under her head to help her get comfortable. And then Ram laid her blanket on her.

Sujata turned to look at him while holding her head, and Sanskar couldn't understand that expression. It was blank. It was unreadable. It was... uncertainty.

"Will you do something for me?" She whispered, "Don't call me mom again."

The last words caused his heart to crack open and swell. He didn't understand what to do, or that things would even get fine!

What wrong had they done to deserve this? His mother was alive and yet not there with him. How unfortunate could a son and a husband be, that the one they loved was right here and yet she wasn't here. It felt too distant. It felt like... she wasn't even the lady they knew.

"And please... go away all of you." she forced words out of her that caused a pang of hurt to herself for reasons she didn't understand, "I don't know any of you. And I don't want you all to be here again! Because seeing you all... I... I feel something that I don't understand and I'm not able to bear it! Please... just don't come in front of me now."

And those were the words that made Sanskar get up from his place with a heavy heart, making fists on either sides of him and he walked out of the room. If them being here was causing her stress, then it was better if they weren't here! It him calling her his mom caused her to get disturbed, then so be it. He would be careful next time.

Ram saw him leave and he, too, got up and followed him.

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

Sanskar pushed the door away of his cabin and walked inside, and leaned his whole body weight on the first thing that he happened to come to... his table. He banged his palms against the hard surface of the table, as tears welled up in his eyes due to overwhelming emotions and he closed his eyes.

How helpless could someone be?

Till now he had been pushing himself to stay strong so that he could take care of his mom, so that he could support his aggrieved father if he wanted to fix things. But the truth was, he was not that strong. He was now done being strong all the time. Now, though, he just wanted to let it all out. After all, he was a human with feelings. He, too, felt pain. And with everything wrong happening, he was also losing courage.

"Sanskar..."

His father's voice coming from the entrance of his cabin caught him off guard but this time, he made no effort to hide himself anymore.

Ram walked inside and placed a palm on his son's shoulder from behind, silently assuring him that he was here for his son. He knew how strong Sanskar was being to support him but he knew he was also hurting a lot.

"Are you okay?" His father asked in a soft voice and all of a sudden, Sanskar let his guards down.

"She was shouting for help, papa." he said in a heavy voice, "She wanted someone to come and save her from the accident. I can't believe... how her condition has become. How that one accident has turned her life upside down and kept her away from us, from her own life for fifteen years! How she has lost herself completely..."

Ram made Sanskar turn towards him and Sanskar stared at his father.

"I wish, something... or someone was there to save her at that time."

"Ssh, it's okay," Ram pulled him in a warm hug, "We can't change what happened in the past but at least we can better our future by helping Sujata recover."

"Right," He broke the hug and wiped his tears trying to be strong.

"Did you notice that your mother saw glimpses of her past memory?" He asked, more like stated. "So possibility is that..."

"...maybe she will slowly and gradually come to remember everything." Sanskar nodded, "Yes, I know. My heart says she will be fine. And I'm waiting for that day. And also... did you hear what else she said? She said... she feels something when she sees us."

Ram nodded, "It's the brain that has forgotten everything, Sanskar. But her heart hasn't. Maybe when she sees us, her heart remembers us but her brain has no memory of us and that is why she is not able to take it. Also, her mind is still very vulnerable."

"And also, she is not able to bear the trauma she has gone through due to her accident," came Durgaprasad's voice as he walked inside, causing Sanskar and Ram's attention to turn towards him. "She is still in shock. She is still scared. Whatever happened has affected her mind."

"What should we do then? When will Sujata be fine like before?" Ram sighed.

"We will do whatever we have to do, papa." Sanskar kept a hand over his father's back affectionately. "We can't lose hope like this. She has to recover. For us. For herself."

"You're right, Sanskar. We will."

Sanskar glanced at the time in his clock, "Papa, it's too late. You and Bade papa should go home and sleep."

Ram frowned, "But what about you?"

"I'm staying here with mom for the night. Someone needs to stay here and I don't want to leave her alone."

"But Sanskar, today only you have returned from Jamshedpur. You must be tired and sleepy." His father reasoned.

"You are also tired, papa. You should go and sleep otherwise you will spoil your health. And I want to stay with mom. I won't be able to sleep until she gets better." He said.

"But-"

"Ram, it's okay," Durgaprasad told his younger brother. "He has found his mother after fifteen years, he will be wanting to stay with her. I think we should go home. We can come back tomorrow early in the morning."

Still reluctant, Ram nodded giving up. "Okay. But call me if you need anything. Anything, any time."

Sanskar gave a slight smile nodding his head, "Sure."

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

Early morning...

Lighting the table diya kept in front of a small idol of Lord Ganesha, which was properly kept on a showcase for worshipping purpose, Swara looked at the Lord who answered every prayer, every devotee, every desire. She stepped an inch back and joined her palms together into a praying gesture. She took in a deep breath before staring at the Almighty with hopeful eyes.

"I don't know what is going on in my life. I have been doing something which I know is so wrong yet I couldn't stop doing it. I couldn't stop hurting someone who means so much to me. But... I really didn't know what else to do. Mrs Maheshwari told me to stay away from him and her position in his life is bigger than mine. How could I go against her? That's why I had to do this and I thought Sanskar deserves someone better. But I realized what I did was so wrong and unfair to him. He doesn't deserve what I did to him. He doesn't deserve the pain I put him through. He doesn't deserve anything I gave him in all these days. I ignored him, made him believe I don't love him but the truth is... I really love him! I love him more than I can ever express it. And if I had a choice I would never let him go. That's why, today I'm here standing in front of you, because I want to know if what I'm doing is right or wrong. Is it selfish of me to choose Sanskar over the word given by Mrs Maheshwari? But what she thinks about me is also wrong. Even though someone filled her ears against me but still the truth is she doesn't like me and it will be wrong of me to go against her will. I don't know what should I do, that's why I want you to show me the right path. Please give me some signal, some sign to tell me if what I'm doing is right. Even though I have made my choice, that I want to be there for Sanskar and help him, I can't until you show me some sign that what I'm doing is right. All I know is I can't see him in pain anymore. And I'll make sure to change Mrs Maheshwari's thoughts about me by proving myself worthy of it."

She sighed and closed her eyes, before bowing down in front of the Almighty, inwardly praying for a signal that could tell her if she was making a right choice.

"Please help me, God!"

A few moments passed by, and Swara opened her eyes slowly trying to see and hear if something that was beyond a normal human reach was trying to tell her something.

But that's when, something very unexpected happened. Before Swara could react, she saw a very tiny flower falling off from the idol, which caught her attention, trying to understand what was Lord trying to signal.

Was it really going to be good?

The Lord had answered her prayers! It was going to be okay.

She smiled as she got her answer.

"Thank you so much, bhagwan ji. Thank you for showing me the right path. Now I know what to do."

With gratitude and tear-filled eyes, she bowed down once more thanking Lord for finally guiding her.

She picked up her white coat and her bag, all set for her new day in the hospital.

And perhaps a new chapter in her life.

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

Swara came to the hospital alone as Anushka had duties a bit later that day. When she entered the hospital, she could see the usual chaos and things happening in the hospital -- some patients waiting for doctors to call them in, some doctors rushing to and fro for their work or any surgery, and Swara couldn't help but try to search for a certain man who had her heart.

She saw almost everyone doing some or the other work, except him. Then where was he?

Walking across the wide corridors, she hoped to see him for once, or at least have a glimpse of him, or a word about him, that could tell her if he was okay. But there was no hint of his whereabouts, much to her dismay.

Wishing her seniors 'good morning' that she came across on the way, she felt disappointed that so far, she couldn't see him.

She decided to go and check in his cabin once, and in his mother's room. If he was no where else, then he had to be in at least either of those two places.

Sighing, she turned towards a side but the voice she heard caused her to stop in her own place, and her heart to leap as she finally heard his voice.

"When was the last time she visited for a checkup? Was she fine then?" Sanskar asked the person standing infront of him, who was supposedly a patient or someone related to a patient.

"Yes, she was." The young man answered his question.

"Has she recently complained of a chest pain? Or maybe, pain in her left arm?"

"Doctor, a week before, she did complain of mild pain in her left arm. But we didn't understand the reason at that time."

"You should have brought her here at that time only." Sanskar sighed before writing the information down on his file.

"I know. Doctor, my mother will be okay, right? Please, tell me she is going to be fine." A man asked as worry filled his insides.

Usually, Sanskar would assure his patient that he would be fine if proper treatment protocol was given, but right now, he didn't say anything and rather just penned some things down.

"I'm prescribing some medicines to her, along with how to take them and when to take them." He tore the paper in his file and handed them over to the man. "They can help for now. The only thing I'll suggest you is tell her to take them properly and ask her to take rest."

"Thank you so much, doctor. It's people like you who save us from losing our loved ones when we lose hope. Thank you so much again!"

"Hmm," was all Sanskar could reply and then he excused himself and walked away from there. Hurt flashed across Swara's eyes as she knew how hard it must be for him to deal with someone who was going through same situation of losing his mother and yet he was here, putting on a brave front to fulfil his duties as a doctor. Truly, a doctor deserves utmost respect because they spend their day treating and saving lives of people putting their own pain aside, it was commendable.

As Sanskar walked ahead, Rajat came to him and walked alongside him.

"Rajat, are all the arrangements for Mr Mehrotra's cardiac surgery done?" He asked.

"Ugh, Sanskar..." Rajat dreaded to say what he truly felt about him but decided to say it anyway, "Don't take me wrong, but are you sure you will be able to..."

He trailed off in between seeing Sanskar looking at him raising his one eyebrow, and stopped in his place.

"I mean... will you be able to do it?" He gulped as if he was ready for a battle.

"What do you mean? Rajat, I'm a doctor and a heart surgeon, for God's sake! And I never let my personal life come into my profession, you know that and yet you are asking me if I can do it?"

"Come on, I didn't mean to offend you," He raised his hands in surrender. "I was just saying that... maybe you should take some time off and rest a little? I mean... you seem upset and I don't think you slept well last night. I'm just saying-"

"Rajat," Sanskar huffed in frustration. "I'm fine enough to do this surgery so I'm doing it and nothing can stop me from doing it. End of the discussion. Ask the nurses to make all necessary arrangements. We will begin in fifteen minutes."

Not giving chance to Rajat to say another word, he walked off from there leaving Rajat gaping at him, and Swara staring at him with a knowing gaze.

The professionalism was still there, but still so many things were missing. The first one was his characteristic smile. His optimistic self. His positive aura. It was missing. He was missing.

The real him was lost in somewhere amidst the wrong things in his life.

Swara came and stood near Rajat, their eyes fixed on the retreating figure of Sanskar.

"Damn. Never thought I'll ever see this guy like this. Now I'm starting to get scared of him. He is giving me the typical doctor vibe which is unlike him." He blurted out.

"He has a lot going on, Rajat." Swara said looking at Sanskar. "And he never showed it before but today is the first time he is not trying to hide himself."

"You're right. I just hope everything goes well for him." He sighed.

"I do too." she admitted in a wet voice.

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

After assisting a senior for a premature delivery and dealing with a dozen patients in the general ward, Swara decided to take some break from her work so that she could have some alone time for herself to think about some things, that involved how to fix things between her and Sanskar. He had asked her to decide what she wanted, and here she had decided. Yet, she just didn't know what exactly to do and how to do.

As she walked in the first floor of the hospital and her eyes just wandered down the basement from the fence, her feet stopped as the sight of a lady caught her. The lady was in the basement and Swara could see her from above. She was wearing a blue hospital gown, and she was walking, or rather trying to walk as she swayed a lot in her steps and had to take support of certain chairs near her. Swara's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Who is she? And why is she walking like this?" She mumbled to herself.

She made a futile attempt to see her face. And the woman turned a little, and Swara's eyes widened in accord of their own as she recognised the one she had seen yesterday, it was Sanskar's mother!

"Oh my God. She looks like... like Sanskar's mom! But where is she going? No. Her condition doesn't look good. I should go after her to check on her."

She moved from there and made her way towards the staircases that would lead her down. Her gaze stayed fixed on his mother so she couldn't see what came in front of her, and she dashed into someone when she didn't mean to.

"OUCH!" Both of them yelled. When Swara raised her head, she saw Kavita in front of her glaring at her. And the files Kavita had in her hands had fallen down.

"Kya hai?!" Kavita exclaimed annoyedly, "Dekh ke nahi chal sakti Swara?"

"I'm so sorry Kavita. I was just in a hurry and I couldn't... but that's no excuse. I'm sorry."

"Whatever. Now since these files fell down because of you, you will be the one picking them up."

"Oh, of course," She squatted down and picked up all the files as their pages scattered around. She picked them up properly and handed them over to Kavita one by one. "I'm sorry again." she apologised.

"You better." Saying this, Kavita rolled her eyes and walked away from there.

Swara sighed inwardly telling herself to be more careful next time. When she looked down the basement from above, she couldn't see the woman.

"Where is Sanskar's mother? Abhi toh yehi thi... Oh god! Please help. Please, let nothing go wrong. Ek kaam karti hoon, Sanskar ko bhi call karti hoon. I just hope he is free."

She descended down the staircases to go down and dialed Sanskar's number on her phone simultaneously. She held the phone next to her ear, hoping he would pick up the call. Her plea was heard when Sanskar answered, "Hello?"

"Sanskar!" she exclaimed hastily as she reached the basement.

"Swara? What happened? Is everything okay?" came his worried voice.

"Sanskar... woh... Sujata ma'am..."

"Mom?! What happened to her, Swara?" The mention of his mom brought him to vigilance.

"I saw her going somewhere."

"WHAT!" he cried out.

"Yes. I was about to stop her, but..."

She looked everywhere around her and she found a blue gown figure -- who she she was sure that she was his mother -- going outside the hospital.

"I found her! She is going outside the hospital."

"How did she..." came his voice delved with disbelief. "Okay, I'm coming there. Can you please-"

"I'm following her, Sanskar." she said what he was going to ask her for, much to his surprise. "Don't worry, I'll see to it that nothing goes wrong."

She dismissed the call and walked outside the hospital.

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

Sujata felt like someone, very dear to her was calling her out but having all her memories lost, she didn't understand what to make of it. She didn't know what to do.

She had walked out of her bed and out of her room, trying to look out for the inaudible voices that were yearning for her. She was in hope that she would know who was calling her, but in vain as she could see only people walking here and there.

She didn't know where her feet took her. She felt suffocated in this hospital as it made her very uneasy. Some flashes of her past memories with this hospital started bothering her and she couldn't make sense of anything. It made her helpless until she couldn't take it anymore. She just saw in and around the hospital, trying to understand what was it that her heart remembered about this hospital but her mind didn't. But she didn't remember anything. Nothing. Everything was black.

She was standing at the edge of the road where vehicles moved to and fro in fast speed. She made a fragile attempt to cross the road. She didn't know where she was going and why. It was like she had lost all sense of control on herself.

When Swara ran outside the hospital gate in search of Sujata, her eyes widened as she saw her standing at the edge of the road at a very high risk as vehicles kept rushing, not waiting for people wanting to cross the road.

Panic bubbled inside of Swara as she heard continuous honking of a truck that was coming straight towards Sujata, but she didn't notice the loud sound and was all set to step ahead in the road.

"MA'AM!" Swara shouted and just when the truck came closer, it was at that time when Sujata saw it and she freaked out. She closed her eyes fearing what would happen next but she felt two hands pulling her away from that spot, coming just in time to save her for something that was likely to happen if no one had come to save her.

Swara pulled Sujata away from there and towards the footpath, both of them tried to catch their breath. While Swara managed to save her from something dreadful, Sujata looked disoriented because of what happened.

"Aa-aap thikh toh hai na?" Swara asked worriedly as she held Sujata because she knew she was weak. "That truck was so close. Thank god you are-"

"SUJATA!"

Both Swara and Sujata were startled to hear a panic-stricken Ram's voice coming from a distance. No sooner, Ram, Sanskar and Durgaprasad ran towards them as soon as they saw the whole thing that happened.

"Swara..." Sanskar whispered in shock.

"ARE YOU CRAZY??!!" Ram came to Sujata and gripped either side of her shoulders in extreme frustration and anger. "What the hell do you think you were doing! We have already lost you once, we don't have the strength to lose you again! What were you thinking Sujata? Why did you leave your room like this? Tumhe abhi kuch ho jaata toh! Thank God Swara saved you or else-"

"Please let go. Please! It pains." Sujata mumbled pointing out at Ram's tight grip. Tears welled up her eyes due to flooding of emotions within her entire being. "Please let me go. I can't stay here."

"What are you saying-"

"Papa, don't shout on her please." Sanskar said keeping his palm over Sujata's back.

"Why shouldn't I?! Just look at her Sanskar! She is talking about going but where will she go in this state! Where do you want to go?"

"My home!" She whimpered. "My family... they need me. My heart is saying to me they need me."

She swayed in her place a little and Ram immediately held her with hopeful eyes. "Did you just say..."

She held her head in distress. She happened to remember something when she saw Ram and Sanskar but... the memories were gone as soon as they came!

"I-I don't know. It's like... I feel like I remember something but I don't exactly know what." She whispered feeling loss of strength of stand.

"Ram, we need to take her inside first. She needs to rest." Durgaprasad concluded after noticing her uneven breathing. Ram nodded.

"Sujata, come let's go inside." He said holding her close to him.

"But..."

"Please."

Without a word, he took his wife inside and Durgaprasad followed right after. And Sanskar and Swara were left behind.

As Sanskar started to walk, he felt his hand being grabbed by Swara in her's. This gesture of her caused him to look at her, who looked back at him blinking her eyes once, assuring him it would be okay. And right now, he just didn't understand how to answer those black orbs as he was driven by mixed feelings. This girl, right here in front of him, just saved his mother! Or else God knew what would have happened if she wasn't here. Seeing her save his mother awoke something inside of him... It awoke the urge to break the resolve that he made to himself. The resolve that he wouldn't go to her until she came out clean of her feelings. In this war between heart and brain, his heart won and he finally succumbed to that resolve. Right now, what mattered was she saved him from being devoid of his mother again. By saving his mom's life she just saved his!

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

Swara and Durgaprasad stood outside Sujata's room as Sanskar and Ram together tended to Sujata and they gave her the medicines that she needed. Then, tucking her to sleep, Ram sighed deeply as he didn't understand what to make of from all this. The fact that she was following her heart and trying to search for her family was so overwhelming and it gave him hope... that maybe, his wife would recover soon. One day, along with her heart even her mind would remember all the things -- her life, her family, herself, everything.

Ram stood in front of Swara and much to Swara's shock, he clasped his palms together to her.

"Sir! Please no-" she attempted to keep his hands down but he didn't.

"Thank you so much, beta. If you were not there today, I don't know what would have happened. We might have lost her again. Tumhara yeh ehsaan hum kabhi nahi bhulenge." He uttered in a wet voice.

"Sir, please. Aap bade hai mujh se, please don't join your hands like this. I did what I knew I should have done."

Ram, with tear-filled eyes, raised a palm and kept it on Swara's head to bless her.

"God bless you beta." He said with a small smile, "I pray that you get whatever you wish for and rightfully deserve."

When Ram said those words, Swara's eyes involuntarily travelled towards Sanskar, as if her eyes just knew what her heart wanted. When she looked at him, she found out he was already looking at her.

Sanskar walked towards her and much to her surprise, he grabbed her hands and asked her, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am." she smiled in assurance.

"Are you hurt anywhere? Let me see..." He checked her arms to see if any scratch was there, or anything else that hurt her but there was nothing.

"No Sanskar, I'm not," she said truthfully. "I'm fine. Go to your mom. She needs you more."

"Sanskar, I'm staying with Sujata. I'll take care of her. Don't worry and you both can go. Swara, are you sure you are fine?" Ram asked her again.

"Yes sir, absolutely. And I'll pray that Sujata ma'am gets well soon."

Sanskar stared at Swara as she said those words to his father.

Ram went inside the room and sat near his asleep wife and Swara smiled admiring how loving this family was towards their dear ones.

"Swara..." Sanskar called her.

"Hmm?"

"I want to talk with you. Can you come with me for sometime?"

Giving no particular expression to her, he gently took her hand, surprising Swara. He entangled her hand with his and made his way away from the room and across the corridor. There was silence between them, none of the two could utter any word.

Swara was confused... he was in so much control of his emotions right now that it worried her. In these three days he didn't talk with her -- minus the time when he cried yesterday for his mom and he told her to make a decision for their relationship -- and he distanced himself from her. But right now, it was he who said to her that he wanted to talk with her. What was it that he wanted to say to her? But despite of everything, she couldn't help but love how he was holding her hand. She loved the warmth of his hand against her skin. She felt his love through his soft, firm grip. She wondered how smoothly her hand fitted with his, as if they were pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

Sanskar walked towards his cabin bringing her with him and no sooner they were standing in the center, he stared at her. He still didn't let go off her hand. She also looked at him, wondering what he was going to do.

"What happened, Sanskar?" she asked but before she got the time to think of anything, she was pulled into a bear hug by him which caused her heart to jump into her throat due to this quick reaction.

On the other hand, Sanskar couldn't help but feel like pour his heart out because of all the recent events and that's exactly what he did...

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you a million times! If you were not there, I can't even imagine what would have happened. Thank you so much Swara!"

And as for Swara, her eyes closed involuntarily and she cherished being in his arms.

"Thank you... for coming in my life and loving me the way no one can!"

And now Sanskar Maheshwari knew... that Swara Bose had made the decision for them.

The decision that could give a new start to their relationship.

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

Precap : The much-awaited union! Surprised? And I bet you will love the next chapter as much as I will love writing it 😁

A/N : 'Sun Mere Humsafar' has won third place in 'SwaSan Awards' hosted by @Bhoot777777. It's the first achievement of this book and I'm so grateful to the host and judge @nour__5 for liking my story 🤗🎉