Harmony Of Broken Souls (Complete)

Chapter 10

Sidharth opens his eyes to view the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his lifetime, her smiling face. He could still feel the sweet scent of the strawberry balm lingering on his lips. He cups her face and takes her lips again for a more passionate kiss this time. 

"I love you.", he whispers.
"I love you so much Shehnaaz. I never wanted to hurt you, but I never wanted to burden you with my..limitations."
Sana signs, "Are you feeling my burden right now?"
"No. Never."
"Then how can you think like that?"
"Shehnaaz, I.."
"Don't say anything else now. Just keep saying you love me. Please."

Sidharth cups her face again and kisses her forehead.
"I love you.. I love you… I love you.."
Sana wraps her arms around him. He puts his face on her head.

Holding her close, he looks outside. He kisses her head and says,"I never thought I would find you this close to me. Ever. I can't believe my fate. Are you really with me?"
Sana looks up and kisses him on his chin.
He smiles, "Thank you for making me believe  it again. Keep doing that."

Both smile and she kisses him on his chest.
"You know Shehnaaz, I have one dream left. Just one."
Sana breaks the hug and looks at him with curiosity.
"I want to see you as a bride. You know before I lose my eyesight, I want to see you as my bride. "
She stares at him as he asks, "Will you fulfil my dream? Will you marry me?"
Tears come into her eyes as she cups his face. She comes closer and kisses him on his cheek and mouths yes.

On the way from the airport, Sidharth is lost in some thoughts.
Sana taps him on his shoulder, "Where are you lost?"
"Nothing."
"Something is bothering you. I can feel it. Tell me na."
"I asked you to marry me. But I don't know if your father will accept us. Especially now after learning about my condition."
Sana smiles, "He knows how much I love you. He won't say no. I know that. You don't worry. You come tomorrow for dinner with Aunty and Sandy."

Sidharth, Sandip and Sumitra Devi arrive at Sana's place for dinner the next night. Sitting in the living room, they start gossiping.
Sumitra Devi says,"Santosh ji, we all know these kids are in love. The day I saw Shehnaaz, I wanted her to be my daughter-in-law. She is such a sweet girl. Now that both kids want to get married, I think we should find a nearest date and do the honour."

Santosh and Poonam smiles and she says, "We too loved Sidharth so much. We had never expected a celebrity son-in-law for our daughter. Right Santosh."
Santosh says,"Poonam, stop it. Sumitra ji, I really adore him not because he is a celebrity, but because I have found him to be decent and down-to-earth. I liked the way he stood by our Sana and encouraged her to show her talent. We really want them married soon."

Sandip says,"Then let's celebrate. First engagement and then a week long wedding celebration. I am thinking about Goa or Jaipur. Destination wedding. Let me call the wedding planners."
Sidharth stares at him, "Wait Sandy. Uncle, before you all decide a date, there is something I need to tell you."

Sumitra Devi says, "Sid! Beta.."
"Mom, we need to. You know."
She nods her head and looks away, hiding her tears.

"What is it, Sidharth?"
"Uncle, I am.. suffering from a rare condition in which.. actually.. I  am.. I am losing.. my vision. "
"Vision? What do you mean? You will need glasses?"
"Yes for now. But eventually I will.. lose my eyesight. I will go blind."

There is pin drop silence in the room.
After sometime Santosh ji breaks the silence by asking, "Sana, did you know about this?"
"Yes Papa. He has told me everything."
"And you agreed? Sidharth, I thought you were a sensible guy. But I was wrong. How could you ask her to marry you?"
"I didn't. I never wanted her life to get entangled in my problems. I wanted her away from my life of darkness. I tried to stay away from her. I had denied my love for her but I couldn't fight against our feelings. I failed miserably."

"Papa, I love him. And you know I have been in love with him from the moment I have heard his voice. He was not accepting our relationship. I made him do it. Sidharth loves me inspite of my inability to talk. And you expect me to reject my feelings only because he won't be able to see? How can you be so inhuman?"
"Sana, I am not inhuman. You don't get it. You both are so much in love that you both are not thinking practically."
"I don't care, Papa. I will marry him and only him. That too as soon as possible."
"Sana.."

Poonam tries to calm the situation, "Santosh, let's talk about this later. Just calm down and listen to them. Please."
"It is okay aunty. He is correct here. I think we will take your leave. Mom, we should go."
Sana grabs his wrist and signs, "No. You are not leaving like this. He has to accept us. If not, I will leave with you."
"No, Shehnaaz. You will not leave. He is your father. You should understand him."
"Why? He is not getting us then why?"

Santosh says in a calm voice,"I get it beta. Your love for him and his feelings for you. I am not against that. I am not against your relationship as he will turn blind.  I know my daughter has one limitation and he has loved it neglecting that. I have respect for him. But you all are not seeing the things that I am looking at from here."
"What?", she asks.
"How will you both communicate among yourselves? You don't have a voice and he won't be able to see your signs or writing. Give me a solution and I will consider your relationship."

Sana stares at her father and before she could say anything, Sidharth holds her wrist.
He turns her to face him.
He smiles at her and touches her cheek, "Don't fight. Please. It's okay. Mom, Sandy let's go."
Sana shakes her head as they leave. She turns towards her father.
"Papa, I will find a way. I promise. And you will have to accept our relationship then. You will."

Sidharth hears her playing a new tune. She is upset and she is thinking. He knows that. Yes they can read each other's mind through their music. They don't need words to communicate. But how will he make the world understand that?

He stands in front of his father's photo and tears fill his eyes. He needs him now. He was his friend, his mentor, his guide. He keeps staring at the photo and he gets his answers. His father used to say, love can conquer all the world. Their love is strong enough to face any obstacle and come out successful. He wipes his eyes and picks up the guitar and starts playing with her. He knows they will find a way. They have to, as they are incomplete with the other one. He has to tell her that. And he does that through his singing.

Sana enters the room and immediately hugs him the next morning.
"Hey baby! What happened?"
She breaks the hug and signs, "You said we will find a way."
"Yes we will."
"You trust me right!"
"Of course. What is it, baby?" 
"I believe we don't need words to understand each other. Do you believe that too?"
"Yes."
"Our music. It connects us. We can understand each other with our music. Just like last night."
"Yes."
"Then why do we need to worry? Our music, our heart beat will speak for us. I will explain that to him. Papa will understand. He has to."

Sidharth smiles and pulls her closer and kisses her forehead.
"No one can understand that. No one but us. Your dad is correct. We need a way to understand each other when I won't be able to see those  beautiful eyes. We need something when we can't create music. We need words when we are far from each other to hear the heartbeats."

Sana stares at him without blinking. A lone tear drop escapes her eye which he wipes using his thumb.
"Hey! Stop crying. We will find a way. Just be with me. Please."
Sana gets into his arms, sobbing softly as he closes his eyes wishing everything will be alright soon.