Sargam Bose was seated in his study early in the morning. His face was rested on the his palms, his deep set dark brown eyes were closed by his worn out lids. His thick, almost horizontal brows were frowned, forming several lines on his forehead. He was thinking, how the life had changed within last four weeks, since the day his only baby sister, his life line, their sunshine Shona was abducted by some terrorists following a plane hijack.

He couldn't forget that cursed day for a moment. He had just won a big case, picked his mom Sharmistha Bose from her office and drove to a mall. It was a kind of ritual for him to do shopping for Shona after his every win, as he considered her as his darling,lucky charm. Shomi was no less in this matter. Mother and son just loved to pamper their Shona. That day Sargam wished to get a new smartphone for her, to give it as a surprise gift on the surprise visit to Hungary they had planned to do two days later. Inside the electronics store, he saw few Indians had gathered before a giant LED screen television. They were discussing something in an astonished and equally distressed voice. Hearing them his heart clenched with fear.

"Have you watched the news? An international flight from Delhi airport has been hijacked." Someone commented with surprise in his voice.

Sargam rushed to that guy, "Excuse me? Do you know which flight?"

The person answered , " It's all over the news. Late night one, for Budapest. The situation is horrible there. They said pilots had been shot and those terrorists cut all the connections."

Another lady seemed sad, "Heard that there were some foreigners and a medical team among the passengers. I hope the passengers are alive."

Sargam dropped the bags and froze. His trance broke right away, only to see Shomi having collapsed, burst into tears. "Shona, mere bacchi!"(Shona, my baby!)

With utmost difficulty Sargam left for home with his traumatized mother. Two days went in foreboding fear and anxiousness.  After that came the worst news they had ever heard in their life. The terrorists had taken their Swara and another young doctor with them after killing her mentor Dr Avinash Mathur.

Their small family had crumbled again. Sargam started to regret for letting his sister live thousand miles away from them, supporting her risky career choice. He regretted as he failed to protect her, felt morose not getting a chance to see her smiling face or hear her musical voice through web.

After a week of Swara's kidnapping agents from Interpol came to meet him. They assured them,, an agent had accompanied Swara under disguise to bring her back to safety. But it would take time, and the terrorist group was dangerous. They insisted Sargam to leave London and settle anywhere else for security reasons.

So he and his mom had to move in Edmonton, the festival city of Canada. He was scheduled to join a new law firm next week. His mom, still not ready to take any professional commitment, tried to keep herself busy in settling their new home.

"They said you were taken as you were the best. Why Shona? Why you couldn't be an average girl? Please survive, kiddo. I'll never let you go away again!" He whispered while glancing at the eighteen year old version of Swara beaming from the photo frame.

A video call from an unknown number brought him back to the present. He touched the green sign on the screen only to find two faces, a handsome young man around his age and their Shona smiling happily with tears in her eyes!

************************************

"Shona! I can't believe my eyes. Tu zinda hai? (Are you alive?) How did you contact with me? Where are you now kiddo?" Sargam thanked God mentally for keeping his sister alive.

" Uff bhai! Andar ki lawyer jaag gaya, hai na? ( Uff Bro! The lawyer inside you came out, right?)How many questions will you ask me at once? See, I'm in one piece. We escaped from the terrorists, and we are still in the woods. About this call, Sanskar sneaked this phone from the camp and called you. I was feeling low." Swara chattered without any pause, dazzling  in happiness.

" Sanskar?" He looked quizzical.

Sanskar came in front, "Hi, Sanskar Singh Rathore, special agent of Interpol. Don't worry about Swara. I promise I'll keep her safe, Mr Bose." He smiled.

"Thanks Mr Rathore, for keeping my Shona safe. Please, don't be so formal, call me Sargam." Sargam's eyes were full of gratitude.

Sanskar grinned. "Then you too should call me Sanskar. Okay, I'm taking your leave. See, your sister is getting impatient. Lo Swara, tum baat karo...(Here, Swara, talk with him.)

"Bhai, How's mom?"

"Oh Shit! I forget to call mom. MOM! MOM! SHONA'S ON CALL!"

Sanskar's heart danced in pride, for he was the one to bring the gorgeous smile on his Swara's face as she kept talking with her mom and Bhai.

************************************

Swara gave back the phone after finishing the call. All on a sudden, she hugged him, leaving him off guard. He couldn't leave this small chance to closeness and hugged her back. She murmured into his ears. "Thank you Sanskar. It really meant a lot.I'm so relieved they are safe now."

They parted after few minutes and started to walk. "Shona, I think you forgot that popular saying.Shayad thoda sa cheesy lagega. Par ek baat kaho.Hum dost hain, hain na? ( Swara nodded her head) Toh dosti main no thank you and no sorry." Perhaps it would sound a bit cheesy. But tell me one thing. We're friends, aren't we? So in friendship, there's no thank you and no sorry!)

Her eyes danced in amusement ." Kyun? Tumhari dosti mein rules hote hai kya?" (Why? Do you maintain rules in case of friendship?")

He leaned a beat towards Swara, uttered in his deep baritone "Rules nehi madam, dosti ke usool hote , Samjhi?.."(No rules madam, there are principles, do you get that?)

"Hm. Okay done! Ab se no sorry, no thank you." (From now no sorry, no thank you)  She agreed
" Promise?" He demanded like a child asks for chocolates.
" Promise."
" Good." He smiled..

An unusual tender feelings lingered in the air. Her doe eyes twinkled, lips curved to form a smile and legs almost danced to make her way to follow Sanskar.

**********************************

Swasan were walking through the dense forest, the sun was kind and humble  enough to not flash all of his golden treasures to the residents on earth. The greenery in the woods was guarding its treasures spreading own shields underneath. So the Lady trotted through the ground merrily, following the Knight, who was leading the way cautiously.

"Sanskar, your parents must have lead pretty much caged life, isn't it? I mean to say, being in a profession like this, having tension for them is quite natural. How do you cope with it?" since Swara had spoken with her family, she came to realise, he had to deal with the fear for his parents on a constant basis. How difficult that must be!

Sanskar however, stared at her for a second, then smiled, "Oh,  toh tumhare hisab se , Mr Ram Singh Rathore and Mrs Sujata Singh Rathore, my dear mom and dad,unn dono ki umr hogaya, toh uske liye mein pareshan rahunga?"
(Oh, according to you, Mr Ram Singh Rathore and Mrs Sujata Singh Rathore, my dear mom and dad,  oldies as they are now., so I should feel stressed about them?)

"Haww Sanskar, how uncaring and rude you are! Tum to bohot useless beta nikle!"(You turned out to be such an useless son!) she exclaimed. "Bechare(Poor) uncle aunty!"

"Ha ha useless hi toh hoon. Woh log khud itna kaabil to mein kya karoon?"(Ha ha, useless,that I am. They themselves are so capable, what's left there to be done for me?"

" What do you mean?"

"Do you remember I told you once that my parents had love marriage?" Sanskar continued seeing Swara nodding in affirmative, " Do you know where was their first meet?"

"You missed that part."

" It was in the shooting range. My dad had come to his morning practice session one day, only to see my mom aiming with her rifle. That moment only, one bullet hit two targets." Sanskar grinned, "They were both national level shooters, won medals even in international level. But they had to go for an early retirement. My grandpa became ill, being his only child, dad had to takeover the huge Rathore business empire and Mom had to help him. Then she conceived and we were quite a handful. But, they still practise in their private shooting range.They also have their own security guards 24 hours, you know, business rivals and all. So pretty much protected they are."

"You're lucky than your dad, Sanskar . You've got your Bhai. At least you won't have to leave your dream job for family business."

"Haan, I'm grateful that I've got Vivek and luckily he's five minutes elder than me. So he had to take the baton of being responsible elder son and all that. But if you ask me, the best thing for me is we don't have similar face. I mean we are twins, but non-identical ones."

"Why that's the best thing?" She asked.

"Because, if my future wife ever thought my hypothetical identical twin as me, I won't be able to digest it!" He feigned swooning with a hand over his heart.

"Aww, possessive hubby?" She ruffled his hair playfully. "Uncle and aunty had an amazing love story I must say.What a place to find love. Hai na? Kash mera  love story bhi aisi ho."(I wish I had such a love story. ) She sighed rather dreamily.

Sanskar's tone suddenly became husky,with a tinge of yearning, " Tumhara love story mere mom aur dad ki jaise, balki usse jyada magical ho sakta hai. Agar tum chaho toh.(Your love story can be just as, scratch it, can be way more magical than my parents . ONLY IF YOU WISH!)

***********************************

The golden solar globe had raced a lot in the sky and was getting exhausted. He was nearing the horizon. Golden flairs from him had changed their color like a chameleon into mute orange shades. Two runaway figurines were near to the some human habitation, their body and mind had been on the verge of retirement. They had again changed their attire. This time Sanskar wore a dark slate blue colored casual shirt with denim pants, and Swara red and yellow printed knee length kurti with leggings. He handed her a small packet, which revealed a wedding chain and a vermillion box inside after being opened.

Her eyes popped out of the sockets, trembling. " Sanskar! Ye sindoor, Mangalsutra... Ye sab kiss liye? (This vermillion... Wedding chain... For whom are they for?)

" Relax! Sindoor nehi, gulaal. Simple red color." He tried to calm her down, "In village you won't get any place to stay unless we show them we're married. We also have to change names. Karan and Ria Yadav. Accountant and music teacher from Bangalore. We'll stay here only for 24 hours, then meet our people tomorrow evening. "

" Wow! Great!" there was hint of pained sarcasm in her voice. " Now there's a sequel to the drama.Fake engagement to fake marriage.Nakli mangetar se nakli biwi. Kya role mila mujhe!" (Fake fiancée to fake wife. What a role I've got to play!)

"Shona., I'm sorry. I'll not cross my line, I promise. Just like we used to stay in our tent." Sanskar looked down, again faced her to give some assurance.

"I know, Sanskar. You don't have to say anything. I trust you enough. Now let me wear them."She wore the wedding chain and applied slight scarlet colour on the partition of her hair. She felt so hurt. For him it's a mission, for him she's a friend, for him she adorning those signs is a part of creating a false alias. But for her? She didn't know why her heart was reacting so weirdly. Why it leaped when Sanskar said she too could have a wonderful love story? Why she couldn't accept the word "friend" from his mouth any more without any despair? Perhaps having something more than the easy camaraderie they have, is her deepest desire? Did she want those two signs to be her identity? Not disguise ?

Sanskar wasn't at peace either. She hesitated in sharing a room with him. "She should be. Just yesterday I had kissed her."He thought guiltily. But she also said she trusted him! Perhaps she forgave it as his mistake. Perhaps she never wanted herself to be seen as his wife even under some pretense. His wife! How would it feel if Swara gets married to him someday? First of all, her name would be really long, he smiled inwardly. Dr Swara Sanskar Singh Rathore! " Sanskar beta! Udna maat. Tu khud nehi janta tere dil mein kya hai.(Don't fly. You yourself are unaware what's going on in your heart.) You can't be distracted. Right now you have a mission to complete." He berated his dreaming heart, tied in the reigns of responsibility.

***********************************

"Sanskar, do you know where are we?" Swara asked Sanskar.

"The forest we're in is in Karnataka portion of Sayhadri mountain range. The site was cleverly chosen, I must say. Sayhadri is huge, around 160000 Sq. Km area,who would have traced them? Secondly, journey to the borders by road takes few hours only, neither too close nor too far. Well hidden from Police,Border guards or intelligence agencies. They've chosen a heaven to create hell. Those numerous eye catching waterfalls you are seeing here are the segments of Shivanasamudra waterfalls of Mandya. The camp was near the smallest and remotest segments. The biggest ones are popular tourist spot, can you imagine?" Sanskar was describing like a zealous professor.

Swara was also listening like a good student. Suddenly a thought clicked to her, " Karnataka! And you'll tell them we're from Bangalore. I don't know a single sentence in Kannada! How will I manage there?"

"I know enough Kannada to survive for a day or two. About you,I'll tell them my wife is from another state, okay?Now let's go!"

**********************************

Chilumputri was a small beautiful village on the bank of Kaveri river. The sun had blended in the azure, when Sanskar and Swara stepped in. Sanskar stopped a pedestrian to ask about a place for staying at night.The man was helpful and suggested him a lodge near a dargah and gave directions.

The lodge was really small, an old one storeyed home with traditional clay tiles roof ,surrounded by a low brick wall. There was asmall but well maintained garden. Few rustic tea table and chairs were placed inside the porch. A man in his late fifties had been checking an accounts book, when he noticed the young, stunning but exhausted couple who just reached there.

The young man approached him and folded his hands, "Namaste. Shubha sāyankāla.(Good evening) I'm Karan Yadav and this is my wife Ria Yadav. nā Bangalore linda bandēni. (We're from Bangalore). Is there any room available for tonight?"

" Nimmannu bheti mādiddakke santosha, Mr Yadav. (Nice to meet you, Mr Yadav) Yes we have room. I guess you're here for."

"Honeymoon." Karan, alias Sanskar answered with a smile. " And you're?"

"Paresh Kothari. Me and my wife Janvi manage this place. Our lodge is not much, but you'll get clean bed and nice food. If you want,we'll also arrange for hot water. "

"Thanks, that's great. One more thing Kothari ji, Ria doesn't know Kannada that much. Whenever we need something, I'll be the one to let you know."

" No problem. I'll tell Janvi to send tea and snacks."

Sanskar nodded ,after that Paresh handed him the keys and lead them to their room.

********************************

"Yes, they are here, in Chilumputri, staying in Kothari's lodge. But sir, when I had seen the girl on TV, she didn't have vermillion or wedding chain, which she has now." A boy about 18-19 years old was talking to someone on cell phone.

"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? Are you sure you've seen HER?"Someone barked.

"I'm 100% sure sir! She's one of a kind...s-s-. sorry Sir... I mean she was all over the news that time.Sir, I heard that a couple from outside had married in the temple today."

"STOP! STOP IT!" The man on the other line was shaking in anger. "Listen., I want that girl! You people are going to bring her to me.Do whatever you need to do. BUT DARE you lay your fingers on her. I'll chop them off!"

"And what about her husband?"

" Kill him. But at any cost I want her. Sanskar Oberoi dead or alive, woh hum baad me dekhenge..."He cut the line.

" Swara yeh tum accha nehi kiya!(Swara you hadn't done right this time.) HOW COULD YOU MARRY HIM? You and Sanskar both will pay. You'll be mine. Only mine! So what you're his wife?Black wolves koi shaadi-vaadi ki parwa nahi karta!"(Black wolves had never cared about marriage and all!) Evil laughter of Laksh echoed over the mountains around him. Owls hooted in the background depicting a scary,sinister, scene from a horror movie where the villain looked borderline insane.

**********************************

"AAHHH! !! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD !" Swara shrieked. Sanskar who was going towards the balcony stopped midway and took a sharp turn.He in all concern asked
"What happened Shona?Tum thik ho?"Only to see Swara, who had stepped in few minutes after him spreading her arms... Hugging the bed!!!

"Oh my darling bed! How much I missed you! That wretched sleeping bag had destroyed my back. I swear I'm not going for camping for at least 2 years. " she was at her drama queen avatar.

Sanskar was taken aback. Swara usually was very sorted, sober, kind of serious. She was witty, had a sense of humour too.But he'd never seen her childish, carefree side.

"Dear wifey!" He mocked. "Did you leave your sanity in exchange of freedom? Lost your marbles? Oh God, why you blessed me with a whacko as a wife?"

"Excuse me, Mister! Don't label my love for bed as craziness. I think you're jealous.Tumhe toh couch pe sona parega. Aur mein? Araamse bed par soke rahungi!" (Here you've to sleep in couch. And me? comfortably will be sleeping in the bed!)  She poked out her tongue, teasing him, "Loser!"

"Loser? Me? Abhi baatati hu!"(I'll tell you right now! He chased her. She smiled like thousands of anklets chimed . They kept running encircling the bed. He beamed like the brightest sun. She jumped on the bed to dodge him, only to lose her balance.

Sanskar had instinctively held Swara by encircling his one palm on her waist. His other hand wrapped her shoulder. He was standing near the bed and she was dangling in the mid air, her feet touching the top of the bed. Her ankles betrayed her again by slipping when her hands clutched his collar tightly.

She fell on the bed by a thud, with Sanskar on her. His muscular body almost crushed her soft petite frame. His face found its abode on the crook of her neck, where his rough lips unintentionally brushed the soft skin. For few moments both forgot the world around them. Their mission, the lurking dangers, minds in constant battles, confused hearts, fear of losing each other- nothing matter at that moment. He inhaled the fresh flowery fragrance of her to his heart's content and lifted his face only to get drowned again into the never ending depth of her hazel eyes. Her heart was somersaulting, her cheeks turned as scarlet as the colour on her hairline. Sanskar noticed his crimson beauty only to smirk with naughty glint in eyes.

"Now who's Loser, Biwi? Your so called hubby is a born winner! Don't think I'll leave my claim on bed easily, samjhi?" He nudged her nose tip with his own. She clutched his collar more tightly. These time their eyes conveyed what they meant to each other. Their hearts took a small leap of faith. Her rose petals touched his jaw, whereas his rough lips kissed just above the cupid's bow of her soft ones.

They lived in true sense in that moment in pure bliss, unaware of the waves of Tsunami going to hit their lives.

***********************************

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Two brothers are introduced...

*Sargam Bose: None other than Gautam Rode can fit in his shoes, believe me! At least the characteristics wise..

*Vivek Singh Rathore : I would have used the name Adarsh, but that character pissed me off... Arjun Bijlani as Vivek Singh Rathore Fits the bill

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** Kannada people, please don't be hurt as I used Sayhadri as Black wolves camp... according to the area I described previously , Geographically Karnataka matched closest with the description I used....

*** I have zero knowledge in Kannada.. few lines I used here had been picked from Internet... Pardon my mistakes.

*** Chilumputri it is an imaginative village. The name means "daughter of waterfalls"

*** Shivanasamudra is a real waterfall in Mandya district, 135 km away from Bangalore, has two main bifurcations and many smaller segments

*** Sayhadri range- another name western Ghats ..

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