Lightening the Sky (Sloth Updates)

Chapter 5

Sanskar reacted quickly, jumping after her the next moment. The water was murky, so it took him a while to track and pull Swara out of the roaring Hooghly. Drenched Sanskar didn't realise, he was shivering from the cool breeze accompanied by the dark clouds in the sky.

She wasn't breathing, he performed CPR while lightly slapping her cheeks in between, "Swara, wake up. You can't leave, wake up!"

His shoulder slumped in relief when she started breathing on her own, her eyes opened slightly. Sanskar took her in his arms walking to his car near the temple. He stared towards the bridge, then turned to Swara slumping on the passenger seat. It wasn't as much of a confusion, Sanskar concluded, he first needed to bring Swara to hospital.

"Few more minutes Swara," the man before her eyes kept on repeating the same thing. Eventually, she couldn't hold on to his voice anymore tuning out everything she shut her eyes to return to the warmth darkness brought.

"LET ME BE SANSKAR! PLEASE!" Her voice joined her there after a while along with a vivid sensation of drowning where he couldn't save her. The night terror continued for a long-long while and she couldn't breathe underwater while something tied her from swimming up, the water gradually turned lukewarm.

Sanskar upon reaching hospital found Swara squirming in her seat, with knitted brows he walked around to her side and unlocking the seatbelt scooped her in his arms. She stilled after some time, instead choosing to rest her head on his chest as he walked down the corridor of the same place as the day before in the same situation, different direction.

Thankfully, a nurse recognised them and brought them to the same doctor who treated Swara last time. His brows creased at the sight of her, "It is bad. Sister, change the patient's..."

He wasn't needed in the room anymore. Walking out of the room, Sanskar took out his phone but it was as wet as his shoes and watch on the wrist. On the reception, he found a landline on which it took him few attempts to connect with his PA, who couldn't recognise him until Sanskar yelled his name in exasperation. Instructing him to call Swara's family to inform of her location, Sanskar left the hospital to collect Swara's things on the bridge.

Ragini couldn't believe the emotions in the eyes around her, towards her. Walking inside the Maheshwari mansion, she hadn't expected the slap from Annapurna. The function was already ruined in the morning as Lakshya and Papa left to look for Swara after Maa fainted. Her in-laws had returned then itself but she requested to stay behind in the Baadi.

When she pushed Swara in the river she wasn't thinking, for sure she was in a daze because now the news that the bravest girl she knew, wanted to leave shook her till the core. Entering the room she used to share with Swara, Ragini broke down. It hit her for the first time what she had done... Broken her sister. She couldn't really pay that price of being with Lakshya, could she?

Sanskar had stopped her, reasoning if she would be able to live with herself by harming her sister. He had claimed, he knew he couldn't by ruining Lakshya even when he was blind in the agony. She didn't understand it then, however, now Ragini was sure if Swara succeeded she wouldn't be able to live, she would follow her sister.

She had walked over to the study table which hidden to others' eyes held her paper cutter when Dadi entered, and she broke into the sobs once more. I deserved it... Not her. I broke my own family for a man who doesn't even love me.

Dadi informed Ragini that Swara was found, and she wanted to run to the hospital along with Papa, Maa and Dida to fall on her feet and apologise. Instead, she ate food made by her Dadi and was sent to the Maheshwari mansion without being given the chance to speak.

The man she loved wasn't even looking at Ragini as she felt the tingles from Annapurna's slap. Looking around no one spoke a single word against her or in defense of her, even Sujata Chachi was holding her tongue. Annapurna turned around to move back to rest of the family while Sanskar walked to Ragini.

He stared at her furiously, "I told them everything we did to Swara."

Ragini's eyes flickered to Lakshya whose gaze was strictly on the floor. She took in a deep breath before addressing the person before her.

Owner of Karma was expecting an eventual confession by making her believe everyone already knew everything. The businessman in him, had quickly changed the tactics opting for a safer method instead of bringing the drug dealings in Kolkata to light and making enemies out of his former suppliers. Sanskar had threatened his Bade Papa and Maa to get the family to seal their lips and slap Ragini respectively. Of course it was all bluffing, at least from his side, he didn't know if Swara's family could get Lakshya arrested over Swara's actions. He couldn't have expected the smile along with the tears down her cheeks.

"Thank you Sanskar... I wouldn't have been able to admit wh-what I did," she was looking at the floor, "I am sorry for what I did. Few hours ago, I would have justified my actions as love for Lakshya but now I am awake, I can see whatever I did with Swara was wrong. This deception of marriage to you all, who loved me like family can't be justified."

Her last words, however, were said by meeting Lakshya's widened eyes, "I am sorry Lakshya for doing what I did. I now know, what I have for you is unhealthy and I need to stop. I should have stopped long before pushing Swara in the river, long before forgetting she's my sister."

As Ragini walked out of the Maheshwari mansion, Sanskar took out his phone to stop voice recording, gobsmacked at her admission. Walking away she left Sanskar with the responsibility of explaining what happened, and with each word out his mouth he could see Lakshya crumbling piece by piece.

In Gadodia house, Parvati Gadodia who was giving her husband medicine was surprised at Lado's return. Entering, she didn't meet her eyes instead opting to confess everything in a single breath and at the unveiling of her Lado's horrendous acts, for the first time in her life she slapped the girl for whom Parvati couldn't try and feel anything besides maternal love.

Ragini fell on the ground begging for guidance, she couldn't ask from anyone else, "Dadi, I am sorry, I had gone mad and did all this. Please, forgive me. I didn't know all this would happen, I couldn't see how blind I was... You said Lakshya was my husband and I believed it, unthinking, what you taught about marriage when I was young while telling the tale of Rukmani. Hearts of both the people should be in a relationship and I failed. Forgive me."

***

Ragini, Ragini, Ragini... Until she's treated, you will find me giving unnecessary emphasis to her excuses. Yes, this will be that *begin music* Swaaraginii *music ends* fic. Simply because I don't like the way creators dealt with her many times, no, most of the time while trying to sell they are two sisters with inseparable love between the two.  And you may feel, as if I am trying to do the same and maybe, just maybe, I am because I don't feel that way about my Ragini.

I am not white-washing here, what I did want to establish in this chapter was as if she suddenly woke up. It can hit badly to know that someone you know has taken such a step, and in Ragini's case it moved here and shook her to core because Swara is the strongest person she knew. Someone like her, will do something of that sort was incomprehensible to her and she's jolted awake by the stupor of her 'first love', it's a different type of chill when you know someone has been murdered while the other sort is even worse FOR ME, you are free to have a different opinion but it's with this idea Ragini is threshes from one extreme of emotions to the other. The girl needs help if you listen me. 

Another character such is Parvati, I only spent few sentences on her but the realisation is quite similar to 'her Lado'. Many of the things over the course of next few chapter will be actually stemmed from guilt more than love, gradually it will be fine.

This is a Raglak work accidentally because trying to stay close to the show and yada yada, but I think I know how to make them work. I hope you will be tolerant of these, and do you think I am white-washing them?