The next day

Swara and Sanskar were in the middle of the flight. They were indeed sad to have left New York City, a city that was beyond beautiful, a city that was worth living and above all, a city which gave their relationship a new name and a new meaning and now they both had reached a stage where nothing could separate them. Sitting beside Sanskar, Swara was thinking of all the times and of all the situations that brought them together. At one point in time, she had left the hopes of meeting Sanskar again, but he came back after 15 years and now, months later, they were not just friends... They were a lot more than that...

Sanskar: What are you thinking, Shona? About me? (smirking)

Swara: (teasing) Don't think so highly of yourself, Mister. You are not that great that a busy person like me will think about a person like you. I have lots of work to do...

Sanskar: Achcha ji... I'm not great... And what do you mean by a person like me?? Ghar pahunchne do phir batata hoon tumko... (Let us reach home, I'll tell you...) Huh...

Swara: (making faces) What will you tell me, haan? First of all, you didn't let me sit on the window seat even when I begged you and now you are fighting with me... (wiping her fake tears) You have changed, Sansku, you have changed. I showed you around NYC, I proposed to you, I threw a birthday party for you, and all that you are doing is fighting with me? Wow! You know what, go to hell! I'm going to sleep! (closes her eyes with fake anger)

Sanskar: (thinking of the number of time she changed her expressions during the last 20 seconds) Drama Queen, huh!! (mumbling) As if I'm dying to talk to you... Waise bhi, aadha ghante mein apne aap theek ho jayegi... (She'll be talking to me again in the next half an hour...)

Swara: (with closed eyes) I heard it, Mr Maheshwari...

Sanakar: You were supposed to, Miss Bose...

Listening to this, Sharmishtha and Uttara started laughing. Of course, even being in their mid-20s, Swara and Sanskar could be childish like anything when they were with each other... And now, when they were actually a couple, seeing them bickering was so much fun, as if they were still the same like before, but with a bond more strong and more pious...

12 hours later

All of them were back in India and were in their car. Swara and Sanskar, being tired from the journey, were sleeping again with Swara's head on Sanskar's shoulder and his head on her head. Uttara was lying with her head on Swara's lap and Sharmishtha, sitting on the front passenger seat with her head on the seat's headrest, was seeing all three of them through the rear view mirror. Seeing the three of them together was an overwhelming feeling and she was glad that she could be there to espy it.
Soon they reached their mansion and Sharmishtha woke all of them. As they were entering inside, she pulled Uttara inside and stopped Swara and Sanskar before they could cross the threshold saying that she had something "important" to do...

Uttara: (teasing) Keep standing on the threshold. I'm going in my room to sleep (winks).

Swara: (to Uttara) If Mom wouldn't have stopped me, I would have strangled you with my bare hands, Uttu... I'm telling you... (to Sharmishtha, shouting as she was inside) Ma, jaldi, please... I'm tired as hell.

And she again laid her head on Sanskar's shoulder and he held her from her shoulders, sighing. Who could say that they were the same people who were fighting on the flight? Indeed, they were weird... But isn't this weirdness only that makes a relationship everlasting and the couple, strong?

Sharmishtha: Aa rahi hoon... Sabarr kar thoda... (I'm coming... Be a little patient...)

And she appeared with a plate, to be precise, aarti thaal, in her hands.

Swara: (widening her eyes) Seriously, Ma!! At this hour of the day, all you want to do is Pooja?

Sharmishtha: (glaring) Shut up!! I'm not doing any Pooja... I'm welcoming you guys.

Sanskar: (confused) Welcoming?? I mean, we aren't entering the house for the first time.

Sharmishtha: Yes, you aren't entering for the first time, but as a couple, you are... So I need to do this. This will ensure your togetherness.

Swara and Sanskar: (whining) MOM!!!

Sharmishtha: (puppy eyes) Please? Just for my sake. You don't know how happy I am for both of you.

Swara: Ma, you can do this some other time also. Let us sleep now.

Sharmishtha: Kab karungi? Jab tere bachche mujhe dadi bulane lagenge? (laughing)

And this had Swara blushing. The red colour crept up her neck to her cheeks and she couldn't keep that smile off her face.
Seeing this, all the rest three started laughing. Noticing that Sanskar was laughing too, Swara smacked him lightly on the chest and said to Sharmishtha

Swara: (making faces) Ma, it hasn't been a week to our relationship and you are already dreaming about kids... Seriously?

Sharmishtha: (pouting) But what's wrong in dreaming, Shona?

Swara: Very wrong...

Sanskar: (interrupting) Mom! You do the aarti, Shona won't stop blabbering soon... Who knows if you don't do the aarti now, you'll really have to wait till our kids start calling you dadi? (winking)

Hearing this, Swara dug her face deep in Sanskar's chest and everyone started laughing again while Sharmishtha did their aarti.

A week later

Swara and Sanskar were sitting in the back seat of their car when suddenly a car crossed them and its speed was so high that a few metres ahead, it crashed into another car. Both of them trembled but coming back to their senses, rushed out of the car to help the accident victims. Helping the drivers out of their respective cars, they took them to the hospital.
The accident had shaken them to the core and when they returned back home at night, none spoke a word but moved to their bedrooms.

At night

Swara's POV

Oh, God! Please save the person we admitted to the hospital. The accident was tragic enough to have the car driver slip into a coma. Please bring him to conscious soon. I know what it means losing people... I've already lost Sujata Ma and Ram papa in an accident. Don't know how Sansku might have handled himself and Uttu, being just 10-years old. Thinking about them, please bless them, God... They have already been through a lot, enough for the rest of their lives.
These few months have been the happiest of my life, considering that I have got my best friend and Uttu back. And now that we are together, we seriously need your blessings. Sure there will be ups and downs, but please never let them do us apart.

Her monologue is broken by slow screams coming from Sanskar's room, which was just beside hers. As she feels them getting louder, she hurriedly gets up and runs towards his room only to see something she would never ever want to witness. There, lying on the bed, was Sanskar flailing his hands and his legs shaking with murmurs escaping his lips. As she moved closer, she could see the sweat dripping from his forehead. She immediately wipes it with a handkerchief kept on the side table and moves closer to him to hear his murmurs.

Sanskar: (murmurs) M... Ma... Pa... Papa... Get up... Noth...Nothing can happen to you... Get up fast or we will miss our flight to Mumbai... See, Uttara is also un...unconscious... We need to take her also to the hospital...

Hearing all this, Swara stumbles back. She never imagined that a happy-go-around Sanskar would still be facing nightmares of his parent's death as if that incident has been engraved in his mind. Coming back to senses and feeling the need to console him, she moves closer to him slowly and with shivering hands, caresses his hairs with one hand and face with the other to wake him up...

Swara: (caressing gently) Sansku... Utho, Sansku! See I'm here... Get up...

But he doesn't respond to her caressing and so she starts shaking him. Feeling the shake, Sanskar jolts up and shouts cryingly

Sanskar: (shouting) Maa!! Papa!!

And all that Swara does is that she sits beside him and pulls him to her chest and he, getting her support, leans on her completely and starts crying vigorously. And all that she does is that she caresses his back and hairs, unlike the first time when she actually consoled him because she knows that letting it out for once and for all is for the best and now that he has her, she will never let him cry ever again.

After half an hour or so, when she notices that his cries have been subsided, she, first of all, makes him drink water and then, she leans on the headrest with the support of a pillow for her back and pulls him gently on her lap and again starts caressing his hairs as if he is a fragile baby.

Swara: (gently) Sansku, you never told me that you have nightmares. Why?

Sanskar: (still sobbing lightly) I had these nightmares for one or two years after their accident but then I never had them until today. When I witnessed the accident today, it struck me hard and that's why I had that ni...nightmare.

Swara: Okay, now stop sobbing. This was the last time you cried and I promise this.

Sanskar smiles weakly nodding his head and says

Sanskar: Shona, don't tell about this to Mom or Uttu. They will unnecessarily get worried.

Swara: Hmmm... I won't... Now sleep. It's late and I know that you're damn tired.

Sanskar nods his head and tries to get up from her lap but she pulls him back gesturing with her hands as to where is he going.

Sanskar: You only said na that we should sleep, so I'm getting up so that you can go to your room.

Swara: (with raised eyebrows) And who said that I'm going to my room? I'm staying here tonight and you are sleeping here on my lap. (sees him interrupting) And before you say anything, I'm not listening to you and that's final... So sleep now (strictly)...

And with no option left, he takes another pillow and puts it behind Swara's head and then keeps his head again on her lap and wraps his hands around her waist

Sanskar: (mumbling) Lagta hai jaldi shaadi karni hi padegi, nahi toh pata nahi mom aur Uttu kya kahenge... Ki itni jaldi thi ek saath sone ki (making faces)
(Seems that we'll have to marry early, otherwise what will Mom and Uttu think that they couldn't even wait to sleep together)

This had Swara blushing like hell. Composing herself and trying to hide her blush from Sanskar, she smacks him on his hand and gestures him to sleep. He complies and dugs his face in her waist but after half a minute, seeing that Swara has closed her eyes, moves his face towards hers and whispers "No need to hide that blush from me" and then swiftly, again digs his face in her waist.
But this time, Swara didn't blush, she smiled heartily seeing her Sanskar back to form and starts patting him on his head, slowly drifting off to sleep.
Indeed this was the beginning of those many beautiful and serene nights they were going to spend together in the future.

_______________________________________

Author's Note:
Hello friends!! Finally I am back after around two and a half months... Trust me, school and studies have taken up all of my time... I am telling you guys that it took me around a week to write these 2000 words and I don't even know if it's up to the mark or not... I know that you might have forgotten the story and I am solely responsible for updating late, but please cooperate and support me... I promise that the chapters will be regular after one month, considering the fact that my terminal exams are beginning in September.
Anyway, back to this chapter. How was this chapter? Any suggestion or constructive criticism is welcome...
If you like the chapter, do share, vote, comment and recommend...
Till then,
Happy Reading!! ❤️

PS: SamairaRaichand5 According to the dare, I had to write a pocket story or an OS, but because of lack of time, I couldn't. So here's this chapter just for you as a compensation for the pocket story/OS... 😊😁