Chapter 26
"What did you mean by you understand how it feels to in that kind of pressure?" Sharon asked.
"We are supposed to talk about you." Swayam said with an eyebrow raised.
"Yeah, I know. Will you answer my question first?"Sharon said kicking the dirt on the ground.
"You know how I told you I changed my dream profession very often." Swayam said after a sigh. Sharon just nodded at him.
"Well, I never had life planned out. Everyone in my class had a fixed plan when we came to 9th grade while I just made up fake plans when I was asked about it. As time passed I was almost lost in the pressure of having your life planned at 16 and also the boards. My parents were always supportive but I always felt out of place, everyone had such high expectations from me like I would change the world in some way. My friends used to laugh at me when I used to say that I didn't want to be famous or so successful that people looked at me in awe. Well now I'm more than happy to not have a plan. It worked out just fine for me." Swayam said shrugging his shoulders at the last sentence.
Sharon nodded and kept quiet for few seconds thinking over what he had said. Finally she formed her reply, "You changed my life and I look at you in awe, so maybe you achieved little of what was expected. That's not my point. I just know how awful it is to be under the pressure of expectations but most people forget that not all people want to change the world and will do so, some people like us are a little selfish and want to live one day at a day surrounded by people who love us." She smiled at him and moved closer to him intertwining her fingers with his.
"Now do you feel like opening up?" he said after letting silence surround them for few moments. Sharon walked towards a bench near them and sat down patting the place beside her signing him to join her.
"You said your parents were supportive of you at each step of the way, right? My parents were the stark opposite. They wanted a boy but they ended up having a girl. I've heard it multiple times that if they had a son he would have made them proud and would obey their every decision. Whatever I did was never good enough for them because they always had the mentality that their son would have done better. It didn't help that they had this huge list of expectations I had to fulfil. It's also funny that during the first 10 years of my life they were still in denial and treated me like a boy." Sharon said laughing sardonically.
"Really? That's just..." Swayam replied.
"Kind of awful kind of funny. I know." Sharon said completing his sentence.
"When you said those things yesterday I just snapped because at that time it felt like being in a cycle of making other people happy." Sharon said again after a few seconds.
"I really didn't mean to control you or offend you in any manner; I just feel you'd want to follow your passion." Swayam said catching hold of Sharon's hand and making circles with his thumb
Sharon smiled at him and said softly, "I know you'd never want to do that. I was just wrapped in all my parents' judgement that your words just made opposite sense to me."
"I'm still sorry. I should have never agreed to talk about it at that time when I knew what would happen." Swayam said looking away from her.
"I forced you to talk about it." Sharon stated.
"And I agreed. It is partially my fault too." Swayam said. Sharon held up her free hand in surrender.
"Well then I guess apology accepted." Sharon said.
"Did you talk to your parents after that?" Swayam asked.
"Like that would be a good idea. I didn't even think about them, I was just thinking about how I'd hurt you and how I could fix it." Sharon replied.
"You don't have to worry about that anymore." Swayam said and freed his hand from hers and wound them around her shoulder bringing her closer to him.
"Now that you remind me, I realise I should be pissed at them, but right now I really don't care about them as long as you are here and smiling." Sharon said placing her head against his chest.
They both sat quietly enjoying each other's presence. Sharon lifted her head and pressed her lips softly onto his. They kissed slowly trying to put all of their feelings into it. They slowly broke apart and smiled widely at each other. Swayam gently caressed her face.
"Can't we just stay here like this?" Sharon said leaning into his touch.
"I wish we could but reality can't be ignored." Swayam said with a slight sigh.
"Like my parents?" Sharon said bitterly.
"So what are you going to do about them?" Swayam said as he sat upright.
"I've ignored them since I've come to Mumbai but I think that won't work any longer. I have to stand up for myself in front of them and make them realise that I'm not a kid anymore. I can make my own decisions even if they won't be the best. If I do make a mistake it will be on me and will be a learning experience. Also, they must know that I've already found a very eligible bachelor for myself." Sharon said.
"And who might that be?" Swayam asked furrowing his eyebrows.
"There's this guy at work." Sharon said with a cheeky smile.
Swayam huffed and crossed his arms like a child. He turned himself so that Sharon was now facing his back.
"Come on Swayam I was just joking, don't make such a fuss." Sharon said hugging him from behind.
"Of course you were. But in all seriousness Sharon you are a wonderful person and you have such great qualities; don't let anyone even if it is your parents tell you that you aren't good enough." Swayam said as he turned to face her again and hug her properly.
"I've learned that and Ankita keeps drilling it in my head. It just gets to you if you hear it every single day. It's one of the reasons why I moved back here." Sharon said looking into his eyes.
"I'm glad you did. What would be the other reasons?" Swayam questioned.
"Well Ankita moving here was also a huge motivator because we couldn't imagine us living in two different states. Also, I had these thoughts years ago that I'll move to Mumbai and somehow become a world famous dancer." Sharon said.
"What's stopping you from doing that? I've seen how happy you are when you are dancing, it's like you go into another world. I still remember how mesmerized I was when I first met you." Swayam asked with slight confusion lacing his voice.
"And you thought I was a participant." Sharon said reminiscing about the day she met the person besides her who somehow made everything alright.
"Yes because it felt like you belonged there. If I may ask, why are you still going round with these jobs as an assistant manager?" Swayam asked.
"Because Swayam I need a job with a decent amount of salary. I can't always depend on my Dad's huge bank account." Sharon said as she pointed one finger at him. "Two is that I enjoy it too. I've always been curious about reality shows and how they worked, trying to fit pieces for a good family entertainment. I'm lucky to have found a job that I liked and I've grown to love it." Sharon said adding another finger towards him.
"I understand. You could still try to gain some skills on the side, like maybe some classes. I'm not trying to say you dance horribly but you could learn it professionally which can help you in the future." Swayam said.
"Honestly I've thought about it too and maybe I'll do it sometime in the future, but right now I like how my life is going on right now. I also realised that dance has always been my escape from life. I used to let my feelings out through dance and it will always be a part of me for me. I guess I sometimes fell uncomfortable to share that intimate part of me to others." Sharon said shrugging her shoulders at the last sentence.
"So I won't be seeing anymore of your dance routines?" Swayam asked.
"No silly. I guess my dance is limited to my boyfriend and close friends." Sharon said chuckling at him.
"Good, because I love seeing you dance." Swayam said pulling her closer.
"How do you still manage to make me blush?" Sharon said as she tried to hide her blush by covering her face with her hair.
"Because you are truly, madly, crazily and completely in love with me." Swayam said tucking her hair away.
"I am." Sharon said as she looked at him.
"You are not off the hook." Sharon said after a few minutes of just staring at each other in silence.
"What do you mean?" Swayam asked clearly confused.
"Why are you so insistent on me following my passion?" Sharon said.
"I just want to see you happy." Swayam answered.
"Don't give such a vague and safe answer." Sharon said and moved away from him.
"Alright, I have never seen someone wanting to chase their passion like you do. I'm not the most passionate person out there but it just felt wrong that you were ignoring yours." Swayam said playing with his fingers nervously.
"What nonsense are you spurting out?" Sharon said with shock.
"What?" Swayam asked equally puzzled.
"The part where you said you weren't a passionate person." Sharon stated.
"It's true." Swayam replied.
"Then it is also true that the earth is flat and the sun revolves around the sun." Sharon said sarcastically. Swayam just shook his head not understanding what she meant.
"Seriously Swayam, you are a very passionate man and I've said this before." Sharon said looking at his blank expression.
"Why don't I believe that?" Swayam replied.
"Because you are a big idiot. You know what I admire the most about you?" Sharon asked.
"My hair?" Swayam said as he remembered her spurting that once.
"Funny. Take a wild guess." Sharon said monotonously.
"It's your passion idiot." Sharon said when she saw Swayam shrug in reply.
"You are so passionate about your family and the theatre. It always warms my heart and in some way I hope to be that passionate about people." Sharon said warmly cupping his hands in hers.
"Wow. I never saw it that way." Swayam wondered aloud.
"Of course you didn't. You are an..." Sharon began saying.
"Idiot. I know." Swayam said and chuckled.
"Glad you acknowledged it too." Sharon said with a nod, chuckling herself.
"Thank you, I guess." Swayam said solemnly.
"Anytime my love." Sharon said with a smile.
"Thank you for making everything alright. I feel that with you by my side I can face anything." Sharon said after a few minutes of mindlessly observing the surroundings.
"The feeling is mutual." Swayam said.
"So, you think you can handle lunch with my family?" Swayam said as he took a look at his watch.
"I feel I can handle anything." Sharon said as she smiled and pulled him towards his house.
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A/N- And this is the final chapter. I can't believe I managed to complete this story. Thank you all for reading, commenting and supporting this story. I truly didn't know that a story that I started writing randomly 2 years ago would become such a big part of my life.
Thank you once again for reading. I may or may not write an epilogue. Let's see.
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