Eye of the Storm (Swaragini FF)

Chapter 1

In a different part of Maheshwari Mansion, the matriarch of the family lay in the bed, restless and unable to sleep. There were a myriad of thoughts flowing through her mind, disturbing her peace. She could feel strange foreboding winds flowing through her house, threating to sweep her family and its happiness along with it. She had been seeing signs of it for some time, but with the different upheavals constantly going on in the past few days, she had missed the first signs of the change in the flow of the winds.

Not in a too distant past, there had been such ghastly winds that had blown through the household and they had taken Sanskar away with them. Even when he returned, the winds still hadn't turned and he hadn't returned to them whole. It was just recently that she had felt some semblance of things calming down when she looked at him. She had seen glimpses for the old Sanskar a few times in the past and felt relieved that with time, everything would be okay. Then had come the truth of what Ragini had done and of Sanskar and Swara's fake marriage. While she felt angry at herself for not seeing through this sooner and protecting her family, she had promised herself to do everything she could to set it right and soon.

But the winds brewing this time were different. They promised deeper cuts in the family and more heartbreak for them. And this time again, the deep undercurrent powering it seemed to be love, more preciously the love of one girl – Swara. Annapurna liked Swara and respected her for who she was. She had great faith in the girl and her values. In a strange way, she had been happy when Swara had proven her prejudices wrong and had soon become a welcome addition to the family.

But right now, as she evaluated the signs that she was seeing all around, the though of Swara powering the winds, that were about to knock her family off their feet, didn't give her any consolation. Annapurna was gentle person by nature, but even the gentlest of the soul becomes a tigress when her children are at stake and both her sons and their lives were at stake right now.

She had seen the depth of his love for Swara in Sanskar's eyes. She had heard his declaration of his feelings a few days back and if that wasn't enough she had seen his love yesterday as he kept the vrat for Swara and fasting for her the entire day. This was the same Sanskar who couldn't control his hunger, even when he grew up. This was the same Sanskar for whom the worst punishment for his mischief as a child was to hold back his lunch for just half and hour. That same Sanskar had diligently fasted for Swara to the extent that he had almost fainted.

And yet today, the same Sanskar had informed the entire family that he didn't want to give his marriage a chance. That he wanted divorce from Swara. Somehow this didn't sit well with her, despite all the explanations that he tried to give them. She knew him well enough to know that he wasn't giving the reasons for himself, but for Swara. It had been Swara who had not wanted the relationship, of that much she was sure. She also knew that Sanskar had been left heartbroken but it.

Then on the other hand, was her youngest son Laksh. Right now he was the one worried her the most. It was concern for him that was, for the first time ever, was causing some palpitations in her heart. He had loved Swara, was about to marry her only to end up marrying Ragini by an elaborate plot that Ragini played with everyone. She knew he wasn't happy with Ragini and absolutely supported his getting out of his relationship with Ragini as soon as Ragini was well.

But now, in the past few days, she had seen a different gleam in her eyes, a desperation that shook her to her core. She hadn't missed the glances that he was throwing in the Swara's direction in the past few days or the pain that reflected on his face when Swara was with Sanskar. Her motherly sense had been telling her that there was more to it, but in all the situations and festivities, she hadn't had the chance to evaluate it deeply to understand what was happening. But today's "accident" of Laksh hurting himself when he cut the apple, was ringing some alarms in her head. She knew deep down in her heart that it hadn't been an accident and she knew that somehow Swara was linked to it.

The more she thought about it, the more she was felt that she was on the right track. Both her sons had fallen deeply in love with Swara and Swara, quite possibly, didn't return their feelings. Why else would Sanskar ask for divorce when he loved her? Why else would Laksh hurt himself unless she didn't want to be with him either? In the ordinary course, Annapurna would have in no way been supportive of Laksh and Swara being together, especially since she has been married to Laksh's brother before. There were some sacred bonds that should not be maligned, but even then, if it meant happiness for at least one of her son, as a final option she might have gotten convinced of it – but things weren't exactly as simple.

As she looked at the situation, she realized that at least one and more likely both of her sons were going to be hurt temporarily or permanently by this. If Swara chose Sanskar, Sanskar would find his happiness but Laksh would be deeply hurt and looking at his actions today, his feelings of love could drive his down a chasm, that she might not be able to pull him back from. That was something she couldn't bear.

If on the other hand, Swara chose Laksh, Laksh would be happy but she still feared that the current obsession that seemed to be brewing in his eyes, would still sweep him away to the extent that he would not be able to function without Swara. Nothing in extreme was good and she feared any both too much of too little of Swara, right now, threatened Laksh in equal measures. Sanskar on the other hand, would be heartbroken by this. She knew it wasn't the vengeful Sanskar who had lost his way anymore, but, equally she knew that this Sanskar wouldn't be able to see Swara with Laksh and would forever remain separated from his family.

There was a third way that this could go, where Swara moved away from both. And in this case, she was going to have both her sons suffer from heartbreak and she would need to find a way to help them heal their wounds.

If she were honest with herself, and she always was, there was one path that he favored more than the rest. And there was a part of her that was tempted, even willing if possible, to push things towards that outcome.

She sat up determined. She wasn't going to just lie there and ponder over the possible outcomes when it came to her children. She would find out what she was actually facing and prepare herself for what she must to support and heal them. She left her room to talk to the one person who could give her the answers she was looking for. On her way there, she stopped for a few minutes by the temple, asking Kishan ji, to give her the strength, to protect her family from the violent winds that seemed ready to destroy them from within.