Together Forever

Chapter 55: A blooming light

The windy breeze aroused the dominant earthy air rendered damp by the drizzle showers from the morning. A musky- sweet smell from all the pile of crisp leaves in scarlet, bunrt gold and sugar brown hinted melancholy despite the radiating post noon sun above them.

"Careful."

Sanskaar walked ahead in caution steps as fallen leaves scattered and twigs on the way crackled beneath every footing they took ahead to reach the top point. Swara followed him, not a word uttered as she devoured the beautiful sight of how the trees stood with vaguely a leaf or two left in the twigs and gave go of the rest to the ground.

He took the larger step, apparently the last and turned to face Swara who studiously observed the large step and streched to take it by herself. When he offered a hand to assist, Swara ignored the help royally and took the step with a win grin.

The grin no longer remained as her foot slipped, but on the moment Sanskaar was able to catch her hand on the right time with a gasp and pulled her towards him, "You stumble too much these days." The breathe that hitched escaped along the words as a hand held her arms and other supported her back.

Swara sighed in defeat, her fisted hands on the collar of his jacket detached slowly that brought back cold in the tips of her fingers but she remained still, "And you manage to catch me somehow, everytime I fall." Swara replied before retrieving herself from his hold to walk ahead leaving him stunned behind.

For instance, Swara never knew she would blurt such a fact out but she didn't mind for the cause it might create. It was an undeniable truth- she falls and he never lets her to and for sure she knew Sanskaar already knew the actions he does.

"I see, this is your hiding place?" She willingly changed the subject and Sanskaar nodded on the take, walking to reach her side, "We used to come up here everytime we wanted to breathe a lot of good air and to charge our lost hope- Old man and I."

Hues of melancholy, nostalgia and loneliness would usually take toll of him by the end he used to reach up- he had always been a crying mess, for all the things he lost, unwillingly let go off. But very much unlike to the before, Sanskaar no more felt lonely or burden heaving him in tons. Maybe because he had a company? or... was it because of her?

"You should have brought me earlier. You dare to hide such a beautiful place from me, how cruel!" Swara faked a glare to his side and gained a crooked smile from him as they strolled to reach the end.

They settled themselves on the edge of the cliff to watch the city below their feets. Luscious shades of green seemed to be sprinkled in between the blocks of buildings coloured in variety of tints. The large lanes of the city were merely a stroke of black line from above and the peaks of mountains stood all mighty while the passing cloud pass by faintly kissed them.

"Why did you bring me here?" She asked, her legs wingled down and her hazels savoured the gorgeous view of the place. Swara was sure Sanskaar had personal attachments to the place from whatever she had observed- be it his words nor actions.

"To pause and breathe." He paused taking a glance of a blank Swara who stilled by the abrupt statement, "You keep tormenting yourself enough until there's nothing left to feed the demons. Days later you smile again, laugh again, converse again but then are you doing it all to convince others or yourself with that illusion that you are okay?"

Swara drew in a sharp inhale at the question Sanskaar effortlessly threw at her. It hurted as if he had touch the raw bruise she managed to cover from others sight. Her eyelids fluttered often, he awaited for her answer, "Sanskaar I- I--"

"So I was right, wasn't I?" Sanskaar sighed in defeat for he though knew the answer somewhere he didn't want it to be true, "That's why we are here. For you to take an ample amount of air to your lungs that often troubled you with breathlessness."