Hi!
I don’t think many of you would remember but there was a part in IK towards the ending where we come to know Swara was indirectly the cause of her parents separation…this edited out piece belongs to that chapter. Enjoy!

‘You’re missing out on all the fun Shona,’ Sanskar called over, as he appeared through the thicket of trees that covered her. She stood at the very end of the cliff, watching the camp site below. It was their summer camp which Lakshya missed due to his weak performance at the term tests. DP uncle had decided it was time to give him some extra tuition and he was confined home with his books and a very intimidating tutor.
The night had fallen and a bonfire was lit down there. The stars above fascinated her more.
‘You go,’ she said with a shrug of shoulder and a very disinterested nod of her head.
‘What’s up?’ Sanskar asked, joining her at the cliff edge and staring at the moon, wonderingly. ‘You’re usually the loudest in the camp, their searching for you to make you sing. What’s wrong?’
‘I don’t feel like singing,’ she admitted timidly.
Sanskar said nothing as he folded his arms against his chest and turned his eyes upon her, silently urging her to continue.
‘I’m too sleepy, I need to sleep.’
His eyes widened a little, but his features remained impassive.
‘You were sleeping on the way too,’ he said mildly. ‘Are you ill or something?’
Swara rubbed her forehead, and then massaged her temples.
‘No,’ she said.
Sanskar grabbed her shoulder, slightly turning her to face him.
‘You look pale,’ he concluded then. ‘Are you cold?’
She looked up, meeting his concerned gaze.
‘I’m fine Sanskar.’
‘You’re not, I’m not blind you know.’ He said a little firmly. ‘Do you want to go home Shona?’
‘That is the last place I want to go at the moment,’ Swara said softly in a gloomy tone. She looked in to his eyes once more. ‘They are arguing again, bitterly, all night.’ She sighed. ‘I couldn’t sleep properly, listening to their raised voices; it’s been two days now.’
Sanskar gazed, unable to find proper words.
‘Love is such a bad thing right?’ She said wiping her tears with the back of her hand. ‘It hurts people a lot.’
‘No it doesn’t,’ Sanskar objected in a low tone. ‘Losing love does.’ He shook his head as if to get rid of the idea and smiled a little. ‘Come on, let’s go. Otherwise they’ll come up looking for you.’
‘Sanskar?’ He had already turned around and walked a few feet when she called after him. ‘Can we stay here for a few more minutes?’
There was a silent pleading in her tone, as she sat on the edge of the cliff, her feet dangling from the precipice and her eyes glittering in the star light.
‘I need to have a moment to myself, before putting on the social mask again.’
‘Sure,’ said Sanskar as he too settled beside her.
It was general knowledge that when she said she needed a moment to herself, she was not out casting him, what she meant was a few minutes of silent companionship. After all they belong to a different world, where masks were a part of them from the younger days. They have learned to wear them with dignity and grace but still, everyone needed a moment now and then to unmask them and wipe their eyes. Only the closest would have witnessed such a moment and stand by as a silent pillar.
‘Your hand’s so cold’ He said softly making her realize that he was holding it, their fingers interweaved slightly. His fingers were long and pale that they shone silvery beneath the moon swathed casually around her tanned brownish hand. They felt pleasantly warm. Without a second thought she snatched her hand away.
Both said nothing for a moment and Sanskar cleared his throat.
She turned to look at him only to realize how close he was. They no longer went to the same school and had been spending less time together. They last deep conversation was so long ago. She hadn’t realized how much he had changed or to be exact grown up. The swift wind brushed off his hair that looked wild and thick black, his eyes glittered happily in the moon light. Maybe because she had never seen them this close she had never realized how coal like black his eyes were. As if they absorbed all the light that fell in to them they looked soft, black and calm like a deep silent ocean.
Those eyes started in to her and unconsciously she remembered the argument she overheard and some new tears made its way to her eyes rimming them with a burning sensation.
‘What’s your favorite color?’ he asked suddenly noticing that she was lost in thoughts. Swara grinned. ‘What’s this, ten questions? You already know my favorite color’
“Whatever, who knows if it has changed now, come on tell me,’
‘Hmm I never gave it a thought, green I guess yours?’
‘Blue, your turn’
Then suddenly she realized what he was doing, he was distracting her from the painful memories but instead of being provoked as she would with someone else she fell in to the game.
‘Your idolize figure?’
‘Mr. Durga Prasad Maheshwari. Yours?’
‘I thought so, the same’
And the game went on from easy questions like your favorite TV program to your greatest fear. Swara struggled trying to find an answer as Sanskar asked her what her greatest fear was.
‘Just tell me something, darkness, cockroaches something; I’d never know you lied’
‘Cause you would, you’d always know when someone’s lying’ She sighed. ‘Alright, it’s being deceived by people you love…what’s yours?’
‘Losing loved ones…but I don’t think that’s much valid since I have them around me all the time …anyway if you had a chance to swap your destiny whose would you choose?’ He asked smiling as he knew it was a hard one.
‘Yours’ Swara said at once and the smile in Sanskar’s face vanished.  ‘Mine?’ He asked after a moment dumbstruck.
‘Yep’ she inhaled deeply. ‘I don’t know but you’ve got things I’d never have…you take everything lightly…you laugh…you joke you simply live your life…like I would never…’ Something burned her eyes and she brushed them with the back of her hand. Looking up she found those oddly pleasant eyes gazing at her once again.
‘Don’t mind what they said’ Sanskar said slowly and she realized that he had looked away. His gaze was fixed at the moon above but she knew the words were meant for her. ‘Mrs. Parvati Gadodia isn’t the most sensitive person I’ve met, she could turn nasty sometimes’
‘Did you know?’ Swara said uncertainly.
‘About your parents? No I didn’t, still I think you should forget what she said’
‘She hates me’ she added forgetting to ask Sanskar how he had found this out. ‘Am I that bad?’ she added in undertone wishing that he couldn’t hear the yearning behind those words.
‘There are no black characters,’ He said wisely. ‘No white ones either, only shades we can see what we prefer’
‘You’ve been reading I see’ Swara said raising her eyebrows.
‘I felt sorry for those dusty old books, they looked lonely in bade papa’s study.’
Swara said nothing for a moment and Sanskar watched her struggling with her hairs that tried to escape with the wind.
‘If I was not here, not existing…would it change anything?’ She said after a moment in a voice that was barely audible.
Sanskar said nothing for a moment and then asked, ‘What do you think?’
Swara was surprised with herself. She couldn’t understand why she was telling him all those things. Yet he was no longer the mischievous little boy who used to pull pranks on his brother with her. He was wise, understanding and most importantly listening and sincerer.
‘I think it does’ she said after a pause. ‘I think that’s why they hate me’
‘Shona…’
‘I think…they’re scared of me…if I wasn’t here they might not hate Ma so much…If I died…’
‘Shhh’ Sanskar looked alarmed. ‘What kind of mental things are you saying?’
‘They don’t want me Sanskar, no one wants me.’
‘That’s not your decision to take.’
*
Thanks for reading!