Fanaa - Destroyed in Love - A Swasan FF

Chapter 9- When Secrets Hurt

It was one balmy Sunday afternoon, and Sanskaar Maheswari was at one of his favorite hangout spots...the church steps of Little Flowers, with Swara beside him, little Manu in his lap playing Candy Crush on his mobile phone, and the cacophony of two-dozen happy kids playing around them. He sat back, smiling to himself. He was most peaceful here, right here.

Sneha the sweet nerdy kid was on the steps above them with a drawing book and a handful of pencils. The remaining were on the new merry-go-round, the repainted slide, the swing set. The older kids were trying the basketball hoop- the latest addition to their playground, courtesy Sanskaar. Swara cast another look around the ground, and across it. The outbuildings, the boarding house, all had been repaired and repainted. Four months ago, the ground was empty but for the old, cracked stone slide...the buildings badly in need of repairs...Now everything was shiny and new. She turned to look at the man who made all this possible... he was happily teaching Manu to beat the computer at-Candy crush no doubt, the child's current favorite. She couldn't help the smile. He was such a darling, sitting here with his expensive jacket folded on the steps, letting the seven-year-old play with his high-end smartphone without a care in the world...

She surveyed the grounds again, and wondered how did he manage this feat. It was obvious that he was well paid - he was very generous in his gifts to the children, and he dressed exceptionally well. But the man drove an Eon. She very nearly giggled; expensive apparel, little car. Interesting contrast. And he had single-handedly brought Little Flowers back to life, he had shouldered all the expenses...So how well paid was the marketing manager of a big corporation? Or maybe he came from wealth and believed in earning his way. She felt that was obvious too; he was an earthy sort, hardworking. So what if almost everything about him spoke of quiet wealth, and of someone who was used to it; he was so grounded...and selfless and sweet.

He caught her staring off into space, her lips curved up in one of those mysterious smiles of hers. What was she thinking now?

"Hey," he waved a hand in front of her, bringing her attention back. "Kaha khoi hui ho?" He asked with a quizzical smile.

"Kahi nai," her smile softened; he was so oblivious to his own goodness.

He gave her a disbelieving look. "Batao kya hai."

"Kuch nahi Sanskaar, me bas-" she broke off, shielding her eyes from the sudden glare of sun against glass. "Wo kaun hai?" she turned to look, and he with her. A van had driven up to the compound gate. The sun was glinting off its chrome and windows; it had a satellite dish on top. "TV channel wale hai kya? Yaha kya kar rahe hai" she wondered out loud.

"I'll go check." He volunteered.

Swara smiled as he walked away. Good she didn't tell him. She had only just remembered one of her friends saying, that one must never ask a man how much he earned. Or a woman her age. Laughing quietly, she took Manu's hand and walked down the steps to join Sanskaar.

It was indeed a TV Channel, a popular news station at that. As he went down the steps, two of the crew stepped a ways off, one with a heavy duty camera and lightmeter, another pointing out angles.

"What do you think you are doing?" he asked the guy who was guiding the camera man. "You can't just show up and shoot a documentary. Did you check with the authorities?"

Swara stood at a distance few feet away from them, wondering the same thing. "Didi, ye log kaun hai? Movie wale hai?" Manu asked her.

"Ha beta. Ek minute," she patted the kid's shoulder and took a step closer to Sanskaar, ready to pounce at anyone who offended Sanskaar or her precious children.