Love is much like a wild rose, beautiful and calm, but willing to draw blood in its defense.

- Mark Overby

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Swara gazed at her reflection in mirror her eyes fixed on pinch of red colour peeking out from partition and she felt the same shade of red lightly adorning her cheeks. Marked as his forever Sanskaar ki Shona'.

She wished she didn't have to go around hiding it ,at least trying to cover up the colour in her maang. It might just be a pinch of color today ,not sindoor but very soon it would be, bounding them for ever.

The day went Well, Holi celebrations. Maheshwari's joined them too, this time.Though this holi had been nothing like previous years, and they had to maintain their distance yet it had been most special one.

Indeed a special one,Sanskaar smiled to himself as he recalled the events of the day.As they parted from each others embrace ,Swara had applied colour on his both cheeks ,and that warm gaze of hers as she turned at doorway to look at him , that lovely smile over her lips,before she stepped out. And how they had been stealing glances of each others throughout celebrations and above all that little gesture by his Shona,today morning..indeed a special one .

After Shower, Swara walked into kitchen to check if her mom needs some help, but she found her Dadi and Maa engaged in some deep conversation and as her ears caught tit bits of the same, she knew she had to have a word with Sanskaar at earliest possible.

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"Shona .. We already discussed this didn't we ?" Sanskaar rose from the bench where they been sitting for a while " I need some more time ..I just can't go to Baba and .." he paused.

Why can't she get the point? Hadn't he told her that day why he wanted time ..how he wanted to prove himself to be capable before approaching Baba asking for her hand ..

Swara watched him for a minute .What would it take him to understand the gravity of situation . From her Mom and Dadi's words She realised, It wouldn't be longer before she finds herself meeting prospective grooms and she didn't want to .Though she didn't understand the reason behind Sanskaar being adamant on job and not talking to baba till he proves himself capable, she decided against pushing him .. but now things seems to be going out of hand and she can't afford to lose him , lose them.

"Sanskaar" Swara walked up to him and held his hand and turned him towards her. " Baat samjhne ki koshish karo . I am just asking you to talk to baba about us .. let him know what we feel for each other...so that baba will stop looking out for matches for me. Main shaadi ke liye thodi na ke rahi hoon .I will wait for you as long as it takes lekin ..."She leaned onto him "Darr lag raha hain mujhe ..kahi bahut dher na hojaaye ..Pehle boldenge tho tabhi pata chalega ki baba kya soch rahe hain ,aage kya karna hain.." Her hands twined around him looking for some comfort .Holding him close always made her ,feel safe, feel at peace. "Sanskaar...mujhe kisi aur ladke se nahi milna hain . Tumhare alava main apni zindagi kisi aur ke saath soch nahi sakti. I love you " She closed her eyes and held him more closer. In other scenarios his hands would have instantly drawn her close but he was too lost in thoughts. Swara waited for a reply for him , a gesture which would ease her tension but when nothing came in ,miffed she stepped away.

"Teek hain, mat baat karo .. aisa hi raho" she picked her bag from bench " Jab ki aur ladka aa kar mujhe le jaayega ..tab" Sanskaar reached out to her before she could complete the rest of words ,holding her shoulder he twirled her with a force almost stumbling her.His eyes bore into hers as she faced him " Aaj keh diya Shona .. Phir kabhi mat kehna" His hold become tighter as he pulled her close " Kabhi Nahi..Samjhi "

Startled at his reaction ," Sanskaar ..main toh bas aise hi " Swara tried to reason but paused as he pulled her into his arms and held her close .All these years when he didn't dare to hope , or dream about Shona being his ,It would have been easy for him to let her go but now when he dared ..dared to hope, dared to dream of having a life with her,... The thought of losing her sacred him to hell. Death would be easy. "Mazaq main bhi nahi Shona ..Please..." She felt and heard the plea in his voice , His fear of losing her .She squeezed him in close offering him same comfort which she hoped for few minutes ago.

"Sorry " she muttered under breath

"I am sorry too ...aur I promise main baba se baat karunga .. hamare baare main ..bahut jaldi "

She lifted her face , her eyes shining

" Sach!"

He simply nodded in answer and pressed a kiss on her forehead.

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"Ouch" Swara yelped in pain as she walked in and stumbled upon a stone by mistake spraining her ankle.

"Shona..."

Just Finished with parking his bike ,seeing Swara withering in pain Sanskaar rushed to her side, noticed her hand gripping ankle. Not saying a word he scooped her up in his arms " Dhyan kaha rehta hai tumhara .. dekh kar nahi jaa sakti ..kuch ho jaata tho .. Ignoring the pain Swara smiled at his mumbling, gently placed her arms around his neck as he rushed inside and that worry on his face, reflected his love for her.

Sharmistha who just walked out of kitchen looked at them and rushed "Shona .. kya hua Sanskaar ...Shona ye ..she asked worried

"Kuch nahi maa,woh iski per main ..." Sanskaar paused as Swara continued "Maa ,woh galti se patthar pe ...halki si moch hain , teek hojayegi " Swara tried to lessen her worry.

"Acha!.. ruko main ice pack leke aati hoon..Sanskaar isse kamre mein le jao." Sharmistha rushed to kitchen .Back in room Sanskaar gently lowered Swara onto bed , pulled a stool and settled near her leg

" Dikahvo chot kaha lagi hain." He reached out to her ankle held it gently and closely examined if the area had been swollen or bruised.Nothing much, meaning a very mild sprain ..Sanskaar sighed with relief.

"Halka sa hain, Theek hojayega " he looked at her in assurance .Swara Simply nodded and glanced at doorway as Sharmistha came in, "Jyada dard ho raha hai kya ? Sekhar bhi ghar par nahi hain .. aur maa , laado tho mandir gaye huye ho ..."

"Main theek hoon maa "Swara held her hand in assurance as she settled besides her handing ice pack to Sanskaar. As Sanskaar pressed ice pack to her ankle ,Swara hissed in pain , held her mom's hand tightly

" Sorry Sorry" Sanskaar pulled back looked at her and she could see he was in pain too ...his eyes reflected worry , concern above all love for her. All her pain seemed nothing as she looked at him tending her ankle gently,making sure she would be in less pain.

"Doctor ke paas jaana hai kya?" Sharmistha asked still worried and felt assured as Sanskaar said it would be fine in a day, if nt they would seek doctor's help . Swara joined him too reassuring her further .

"Shona .. Tu thodi der aaram karle ,I have some work in kitchen" Sharmistha started making a move and Sanskaar unwilling got up, his eyes fixed on Swara . He wanted to be there for her, with her and Swara's eyes mirrored the same.As they both made way towards door Swara called out .

"Maa ... I would be probably bored here all alone ..Can I please sit in garden for a while? Please"

"Lekin Shona tu chalegi kaise..." Sharmistha expressed her concern

"Sanskaar hain na.."Swara came up with ready solution, looked at Sanskaar who looked a bit hesitant and then at Sharmistha. After a while Sharmistha simply nodded and left to kitchen as Sanskaar reached out to Swara.

"Kaha khoyi huyi thi ?' Sanskaar asked as he lowered Swara onto bench in garden made sure she was in comfortable position propped her leg up on small stool .

"Uski Khayalon mein jo mujh se bahut pyaar karta hai " Swara replied promptly with a smile

Sanksaar shook his head with a smile and settled next to her." Apna dyan rakha karo " he told her softly.

"Tum ho na ,mere dhyan rakhne ke liye .." Swara leaned on his shoulder.From childhood, this Garden behind house had been their fav abode where they would spent hours and hours together and this particular bench had been their favourite one, "Hamara " Swara thought fondly .If one would watch closely , they could still trace names Shona and Sanskaar carved with stone on bench.

"Hamesha..rahunga " Sanskaar softly pressed a kiss on her forehead .

"Dard ab thoda kam hua hain .. "Swara raised her head,and smiled at him playfully.

Acha! Smiling Sanskaar drew her close,pressed another kiss on her forehead, a long one and gazed into her eyes warmly. It felt like he came along from far away only to find her .She walked into his life, lit it up with her friendship and love ..and now it feels like he is living a dream ..Little did he know his sometimes night mares followed dreams.

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After a week...

"Shona ..

Swara walked out of her room and rushed to hall as she heard her baba calling her "Kya hua Baba? " she asked looking at him .Sekhar looked her lovingly .. his gudiya.. His shona ..his bundle of joy who would come running to him saying "Baba aagaye "as soon as he would come back from work, and narrate him all events of day cuddled in his lap " Baba pata hain aaj school main " .. ands slowly time passed ,today she stood before him , no longer a chatter box or prankster but grown up young girl " Kitni badi ho gayi" he thought and now it's time to fulfill his responsibility.

"Aaa ...beth kuch baat karni thi ..Swara steeled on couch before him ..joined by Sharmistha , Ragini and Dadi in sometime. Swara looked around and wondered what is this about ..

"Baba ..kya baat hain ?"

"Woh teri shaadi ke baare main ...'Sekhar's reply had Swara startled . Did Sanskaar talk to him or is this about someone else. She wished not .

" Shona ..when I started looking out prospective matches for you I was worried about finding a right person .. lekin main bhi kitna paagal tha ..he was right before me and I didn't notice aur woh khud samne se aaya. He told me how much he loves you and expressed his desire to marry you ...

Swara felt her heart thumping with happiness listening her baba's words

" Matlab Sanskaar ne .. Baba se.." she thought

"Shona tu usse bahut ache se jaanti hain ..aur" Sekhar continued with his talk but Swara's eyes looked around for Sanskaar.' Pata nahi kaha hain ..usse tho yaha hona chahite ..hamari baat ho rahi hain ..."

"Tho kya bolti hain Shona?" Sekhar's word broke her thoughts.

"Waise Swara.." Ragini sat besides Swara " tum chahe tho hum hint de sakte hain..Uska naam 'S' se shuru hota hai." and that sealed the deal for Swara " Mera Sanskaar" She smiled to herself ,but what about Dadi? .She never took a liking to Sanskaar .Her eyes moved to her Dadi and back to her dad

"Baba..woh Dadi aur ...Maa "

" Shona ...Maa, Dadi, main, kya sochte ..doesn't make a difference.Tum kya chahte ho is what matters to me " Sekhar held her hand "waise bhi mujhe nahi lagta, your Dadi and Maa have any objections ..I had a word with them" .Swara drifted her eyes toy.them and found reassuring nod and sighed with relief aur Dada.. he would probably be the most happiest person knowing this.She would have loved to share the news to Sujoy that she and Sanskaar are together now..but she wanted to keep it surprise .. when he would be back ,but now he's gonna get biggest surprise.

"Tho Poochoge nahi ladka kaun hain?" Sekhar looked at his daughter who was now smiling with hint of blush on her cheeks ..and just then he walked in .. Sanskaar. Swara eyes shone brightly looking at him..'

"Lo Sanskaar bhi aagaya .."Sekhar smiled at him who stood leaning to wall and back to Swara "Tho Shona.."

"Baba ..aap jaise chahe ..aap ko jo acha lage ."Swara looked back at Sanskaar and he didn't meet her gaze.

"Dekha mysti ..I told you na my Shona knows her baba will only choose best for her .." Sekhar bubbled with happiness Tho main abhi Gupta ji phone karke bataunga ki kal woh Shona ko ..dekhne aajaaye ..Sahil ko lekar ..aur ..

And Swara's world stopped at moment .She looked at her dad " Kaun Baba?" Her voice trembled .."Sa ..Sahil?

"Arey Sahil ..Sahil sen gupta ,tumhara Classmate" Sekhar told her happily and got busy on his phone " Haan Guptaji ..haan haan pakka.." Sekhar's voice echoed in her ears, but her eyes were fixed on that one person who stood before her , silent , his face devoid of every emotion.

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Swara buried her head in the pillow and cried till her tears dried out .

It didn't matter to him,neither she nor her love. As Sahil's name as her chosen life partner shook her but what shattered her was confrontation with Sanskaar. She stormed off to outhouse, she didnt care if some one watched her going .Definitely there might be a mistake .May be Sanskaar couldn't talk to Baba .. and she had mistaken it .. but now .. they both will set things right .

Sanksaar ..

"You shouldn't here" was his first reaction . ..Leave" and that ticked her off ,she barged in and closed the doors before anyone could see them " Tumne baba se baat kiya ?"

"Nahi."The answer was curt and to the point aur ab I don't think there's any need of it .Since you said yes for Sahil."

"Sanskaar ..I thought It was you .. iss liye maine ..." Swara reached out to him "Chalo hum abhi baba se baat karenge ..bata denge ki hum dono ..Chalo.." Holding his hand she waited for him to make a move but he didn't. Swara stared at him in confusion as he released his hand from her hold .

" Ab iska koi fayeda nahi Shona ." She thought he was angry with her as she said yes to Sahil , and when she tried to explain him "Nahii...Is sliye nahi kyunki tumne haa kaha .. iss liye kyunki main tumhare saath rehna nahi chatha...naa pyaar karna chatha hoon naa shaadi ..Hamare beech jo kuch bhi hain sab khatam."

She stood still absorbing his words ..he just said " Kya kaha tumne?" She asked her voice trembling.

"Sahi suna tumne ...sab khatam aur before you ask me why ..listen" he griped her shoulders pulling close "tumhare saath rehne ke baad mujhe ehsaas hua ki ..hamari duniya kitni alag hain and you were right..when you said you are not good enough for me ..neither I am .. so ..It's over."

Swara stumbled backwards as he released his hold .Tears pooled in her eyes

"Sanskaar ki duniya shona se shuru hoti uss par hi khatam hoti hain .. haan pyaar karta hoon tumse ..I love you ." his words echoed in her ears and flashes of that night.

"Aur uss raat .."she asked tears spilling out of her eyes "hotel main .."

"Woh Pata nahi uss raat mujhe ho kya gaya tha ..hosh kho beta ,par ab nahi .. . ab mujhe jayada pareshan mat karo, jao yaha se .." he held her hand dragged her to door but still she didn't give in.

"Sanskaar kya hua? Please batavo ..Sanskaar ..main tumse pyaar karti hoon .. Sanskaar " and he didn't pay a heed , pushed her out, " ye hua ki ..Tab pyaar tha .. ab nahi hain bas .. "and he banged door right on her face .

"Sanskaar .. Please darwaja kholo .. Sanskaar please.." Swara knocked the door again, again but nothing came in. "Sanskaar ..please !"she leaned on to the door ,her tears now flowing in never ending stream.But she didn't know on the other side of door , tears flowed too and a heart was breaking.

"Jao shona .. please .. jao. Don't make it difficult for me please .." he murmured in a voice which would probably never reach her. Tears trickled down his cheeks, .every knock on door was like bang on his heart . He would have died before hurting her ..but he had a promise to keep up ..

As he heard the faint sound of anklets he knew she left and he leaned on to door and sank down...

" Tumne soch bhi kaisa liya ki shona tumhari hogi .." A voice rang in his ears

Why did he even dare to dream .. didn't he know this from long ..that shona would never be his.

"Iss ghar ne tumhe itna kuch diya ..ab tumhari baari ..." the voice rang again Kabhi kuch nahi maanaga tumse .. apni bacho main tumhe koi farak nahi kiya ..lekin ab ..shona ko maang rahi hoon .. bhool jao usse.'

Forget shona? .. his sole reason for existence

"Iss ghar me mujhe zindagi diya hain ..lekin aap tho mujhse meri jeena ki wajah maang rahe ho .. Shona ke bina main .. main koshish kar raha hoon ..ek mauka dijiye mujhe ...main khud ko shona ka kaabil banavunga ..aur ."

"Aur .. kaun ho tum ,tumhare maa baap kaun hain ,,, kaha se aaye ho? Hai koi jawaab?'

and he didn't have answer.He still had no clue why he was being punished for something which he didn't have a say . is it his fault that he doesn't have parents and name to go with ..he is not privileged like others . Doesn't he deserve to be loved.

"Shona bhi mujhse .."he tried one last time to let her know that shona loved him too .

"Jaanti hoon ..issliye tumse maang rahi ho kyunki shoina nahui maane waali ...bolo ..karsakthe ho ? karz chuka saktho ho itne saalo ka...uss pyaar ka , uss apnapan ka ..bolo ..aur agar tum shona ke liye ek achi zindagi chahte ho ..jo tum usse nahi de sakthe ...tho ... "

"Waada karo mujhse...ki kuch bhi ho ..you will let shona go for a better life " and he did promise.

He thought he would indebted for a lifetime for all these years of love this house had showered upon him ..but now he knew everything comes with a price ...and he paid back by letting go of his life ..his Shona and now .. Sanskaar wiped his tears off and got up.

He owed nothing to anyone ..nothing at all .

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But Swara didn't give in and decided to talk to her baba ,approached him resolutely

"Baba ..Woh kuch bolna tha .. woh Sanskaar .."

And her baba's next words crumbled her world ." Arey kehna bhool gaya ,Sanskaar bhi mila Sahil se aur usse woh bahut pasad aaya .. pata hain kya kaha usne ke tere liye Sahil se acha ladka milnahi sakta."

" Aisa kaha usne?" she asked staring at her dad in disbelief.So he knew it , Sanskaar knew it all along but he didn't bother to say her a word.so he decided that she is not worth of being in his life and he choose someone else as replacement ..didn't blink once before sealing her fate .He didn't want her.

"Kuch aur baat karni hai Shona" ..Sekhar looked at Swara who seemed lost

Nahi baba " and she turned back and fled to her room.

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And that's how Swara got engaged to Sahil Gupta, a week after.

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