Jogendra asked directly, without any externalities,
"Ramesh, who is this girl?"

Ramesh replied calmly,
"She's a relative of mine."

Jogendra frowned and questioned,
"What kind of relative? This doesn't seem to be a distant relation, or someone with whom you've a relationship of affectionate stature, a niece? Younger sister?" He paused to gather his sprout of words. "I've heard everything about your relatives from you-never heard any description about this particular relative."

Akshay was standing beside Yogendra, hawkeyed, ever so vigilant in his demeanor, as if a police waiting to catch a criminal redhanded. He added a curt sarcasm,
"Jogendra, this is unfair-some things shouldn't be revealed even to friends, let alone discussing it openly. Keeping some relationships private is necessary, don't you see?"

Jogendra persisted, "But, unfortunately, I have a special desire to discuss this with you, Ramesh." His indignation was raising the heat of the evening.
"If your relationship with my sister, Hem isn't about marriage, then why keep such a distant connection with your relatives hidden? It wouldn't be necessary to go through this turmoil if what's private remains private."

Ramesh explained, "Up until now, I could tell you all that there's no relationship of mine on earth that could pose any obstacle to forming a sacred bond with Hemnalini."

Jogendra tried to restrain his anger. He added, "Maybe there's nothing holding you back, but there could be for Hemalini's family. I ask you one thing as her brother: why keep the nature of your relationship with such a relative hidden?"

Ramesh stood quiet, but not afraid. He hadn't done anything wrong that would make him scared. He responded,
"If I reveal that reason, it won't remain hidden. You have to trust me without questioning; from my childhood, you should know-I never speak without a reason. You'll have to trust me that what I said about this girl is true."

Jogendra inquired, "Is this girl's name Kamala?"

Ramesh affirmed calmly, "Yes."

Jogendra questioned again, "Have you introduced her as your wife?"

Ramesh confirmed, "Yes, I have."

Jogendra pressed, "Still, do you expect us to trust you? You want us to believe that this girl is not your wife, but you've told everyone that she is. This isn't a good example of truthfulness."

Akshay was restless, he intervened immediately, keeping his sarcastic knife sharp.
"That argument doesn't apply to ethical principles in schools, but, brother Jogendra, in family matters, sometimes it's necessary to say different things to different sides. At least one of them may be true. Maybe what Ramesh has said to you is the truth."

Ramesh clarified, "I haven't told you anything. I've only said this much: my marriage with Hemalini is not against my principles. Discussing everything about Kamala with you is a more serious obstacle- even if you doubt me, as it would be injustice to Kamala. I won't be able to do anything unjust."

Jogendra said, "Have you told Hemalini about this?"

Ramesh replied, maintaining his composed composure,
"No. after marriage, I intend to tell her everything-if she wishes, I may still tell her now."

Jogendra huffed, "Alright, can I ask Kamala a couple of questions about this relationship?"

Ramesh looked straight at Jogendra,
"No, absolutely not. If I'm accused of being a criminal, I can justify myself appropriately, but I won't allow Kamala to stand before all of you for such interrogation."

"But why would you not? Do you fear that she might... " Akshay was trying to say more, but Jogendra interrupted.

"There's no need for anyone else to be interrogated Akshay. What needs to be known has been revealed. Sufficient evidence has been presented. Now I've clearly told you-after this, do not dare an attempt to enter our house"

Ramesh sat silently with a pale face.

Jogendra continued, "And one more thing, you won't write any letter to my sister, and whatever your distant relationship with her might be, henceforth, it won't exist publicly or privately. If you write a letter, I will publicly disclose everything you want to keep private." He exhaled the words ans looked away in contempt.
"Now, if anyone questions us why Hem's marriage with you was broken, I will say that I do not approve of this marriage and have broken it. I won't reveal the inner details. But if you are not cautious, everything will be exposed."
Jogendra turned to leave, but then turned around to face Ranesh once again.
"You've behaved like a scoundrel Ramesh, and although I have restrained myself, there won't be any mercy on you-considering your conduct, if I had shown leniency, it wouldn't have been appropriate. Now, my final statement to you is that if there was any introduction between you and Hem, any conversation or interaction, I will not have any proof of it. Regarding this matter, even if I cannot prove the truth, if you still feel shame or fear of disgrace, I am indifferent to it."

Akshay commented, "Ah, Jogendra, what else? Ramesh Babu remains silent, yet you have a bit of compassion in your heart, haven't you? Let's go now. Ramesh Babu, don't think about anything; we're leaving."

Jogendra-Akshay left. Ramesh remained seated, looking as rigid as a wooden statue. When the cloud of confusion lifted from his mind, he felt the need to express his feelings, but as he pondered, a sense of relief came over him. At least he won't have to keep up with this duality any longer. But the realisation of losing the love of his life, losing his Hemnalini forever made his insides churn. He wanted to scream, cry out loud, however, the desire to act upon it faded when he realized that Kamala was still there, not left alone at home.

Ramesh let out a deep sigh and went to the adjacent room. He saw Kamala sitting quietly by the window, fidgeting with the latch. Hearing Ramesh's footsteps, she closed the latch and turned her face away. Ramesh sat on the cot.

Kamala asked, "Who were they both? They came to our school this morning."

Ramesh, feigning surprise, asked, "Did they?"

Kamala replied, "Yes. What were they saying to you?"

Ramesh said, "They asked me, 'What is our relationship?'"

Although Kamala had not learned to feel shame due to the lack of her in-law's disciplinary etiquette training that young brides are to receive pist post marriage, but the soft touch of Ramesh's words mentioning as 'our' melted in her heart tinting her face with color.

"What did you reply?" She murmured the question, almost inaudible.

Ramesh replied, "I told them that you are no one to me.'"

Kamala narrowed her large dark eyes at his words in confusion, and then a blush crept on her glowing cheeks as the thought of Ramesh merely jesting unjustly with her embarrassed her to the core. With a pseudo stern voice, she said, "Dhaatt!"

Ramesh kept thinking, should he reveal everything to Kamala, but then looking at her innocent face he lost the heart to act on his thoughts.

Kamala had brought the plate of fruits into that room, and placing the plate in front of Ramesh, she asked gently,
"Won't you eat?"

Ramesh had no enthusiasm for food anymore, but Kamala's gentle touch on his heart prompted a drop of tear to fall from his eyes. Ramesh cleared his throat and looked away.

"What happened?" Kamala widened her eyes.

Ramesh nodded his head promptly, "Nothing", and then he focused on trying to eat without saying a word. Kamala had raised her hand up in front of his face, offering the first morsel to him, a bite of sweet mango with all the love that her little heart could carry.
Ramesh ate without any objection.
With a mouthful, he said, "Kamala, tonight we are going back to our village."

Kamala, with lowered eyes and a gloomy face, replied, "I don't like it there."

Ramesh asked, "Did you enjoy being in school?"

Kamala's voice quivered, "No, please don't send me to school again. I feel ashamed. Girls only ask me about you."

Ramesh tried to avert the topic, he asked tenderly, "You won't eat?"

Kamala replied, "You eat first!"

This small exchange, not much elaborate illustration, but enough to touch Ramesh's delicate feelings in his current situation, it made him shed a tear in the inner corner of his eyes. Ramesh, without saying anything, ate forcefully, encouraged by Kamala's insistence.

Ramesh suddenly asked, "What do those girls ask about me?"
Kamala hesitated, "They ask who you are to me? And why you wanted to keep me in school during the holidays-I-"
Kamala couldn't finish her sentence. The pain in her wounded heart resurfaced.

Ramesh let out another deep sigh,
"Why didn't you tell them that 'he is no one to me."

Kamala heard him, and in subtle anger, looked at Ramesh with a scornful glance.
"Dhaatt! I don't like this!" She turned her face away.

Ramesh tried to say something, but Kamala had swiftly gone to the adjacent room, leaving the plate of fruits behind.

Ramesh watched as Kamala left the room, quietly, and then started to ponder what to do, and the mere thought rose a painful ache in his heart, like the bite of a venomous insect that seemed to be excavating the depths of his heart as he tried to make a move outward from the injury site.

His thoughts lingered on whether, by then, Jogendra had already informed Hemnalini of the incident, about what she would have been thinking, how she would understand the nature of the situation, and what his course of action should be if he had to really separate from Hemnalini for life. All these burning questions had accumulated within him, yet Ramesh, finding no opportunity to discuss them, had not found the time for a thoughtful conversation. Ramesh understood to some extent that discussions about his relationship with Kamala had sparked intense debates among his friends and foes in Kolkata. He realized that, in this turmoil, the public opinion about him, especially regarding his relationship with Kamala, would remain widespread. At this point, Ramesh concluded that Kamala would not stay in Kolkata for even one more day.

In the midst of Ramesh's unspoken thoughts, Kamala suddenly turned to him and said, "What are you thinking? If you want to stay in the village during the holidays, I will stay there too."
Hearing this display of self-control from the girl, Ramesh felt a stab in his heart again. Again, he wondered what to do. Without saying anything, he silently pondered Kamala's words.
Kamala, with a serious face, asked,
"Are you angry because earlier I said I don't want to stay in school during the holidays? Tell me the truth."
Ramesh said with a forced smile on his face,
"I am not angry with you. I am angry with myself."

Attempting to steer clear of the tempest in his personal life, Ramesh engaged Kamala in a conversation about her school escapades.
"So Kamala, tell me what you have learned in school during this time," he asked.
Kamala, with great enthusiasm, began to describe her educational pursuits. She tried to impress Ramesh by talking animatedly about the shape of the Earth, Ramesh expressed doubt with a serious face.
"Is it ever possible?"He asked, and expressing her astonishment, Kamala asked in return,
"What do you mean! Is it written in our books?"

"Really? How big the book is?" Ramesh suddenly found this exchange amusing, a soothe to his sore mind, and he saw how Kamala widened her eyes at this question.

"What do you mean by how big? "

Ramesh just nodded his head distantly.
Following this, Kamala went on to describe her time at school, talking about the students and teachers, the daily activities, and what she learned. Ramesh, still preoccupied, occasionally asked a question.
At one point, Kamala asked,
"You aren't really listening to anything I said, have you?"
Ramesh cleared his throat and sat upright, now actively participating, said, "No, Kamala, I'm... I'm all ears. It's just that I'm not well today."

Concerned, Kamala asked,
"Are you sick? What happened?"
Ramesh replied, "No, not really sick - and nothing at all. Sometimes I feel restless - again, let's leave now."

Hoping to anchor Ramesh with the pretext of education, Kamala chimed in, "How about I show you the wonders of the world through our geography book?"

Eager to divert his thoughts, Ramesh peered at Kamala as she eagerly fetched her books. Expressing mock astonishment, he teased,
"Is it written in the book? How big are these enlightening tomes?"
Kamala, a touch hesitant but with a twinkle in her eye, spilled the beans, "Not hefty volumes, but printed ones. They even come with pictures."
Ramesh, unable to resist the humor, conceded defeat.
To persuade Ramesh to stay with education as a pretext, Kamala said, "Shall I show you the pictures of the world in our geography book?"
Ramesh, eager to see, looked at Kamala. Quickly, Kamala brought her books and opened them in front of Ramesh.
She said, "In this picture, the two sides of the Earth are drawn separately. Can you ever see both sides of the globe together?"
Ramesh, pondering for a moment, said, "No, you can never see both sides of the Earth at the same time."
Kamala explained, "That's why they have drawn the two sides of the Earth separately in this picture."
With this, the evening passed, and Ramesh was lost in thought.

In the midst of their whimsical exploration of the geography book's wonders, a sudden unexpected moment unfolded like a melody in the symphony of their conversation. Kamala's hand, alive with the fervor of her storytelling, found an unintended rendezvous with Ramesh's. It was a fleeting touch, like a delicate brushstroke on the canvas of their connection, leaving an electrifying resonance that hung in the air like a suspended note in a melody.

Kamala, caught in the rapture of the serendipitous touch, blushed as if a garden of roses had suddenly burst into bloom upon her cheeks. The warmth of the encounter lingered like a soft echo, and in a dance as delicate as a butterfly's flight, she withdrew her hand with a graceful swiftness that mirrored the flutter of startled wings.

"Umm... I mean, well... The earth has... " She murmured nervously.

Ramesh, momentarily suspended in the charm of the inadvertent connection, watched as Kamala's eyes, like pools of mystery, met his with a mixture of shyness and an unspoken invitation. The atmosphere crackled with an unanticipated tension, akin to the charged air before a storm, and the unspoken exchange resonated like a poignant note in a silent music.

"Yes, the earth... And... " Ramesh couldn't conjure tangible words either.

Their words, like curious whispers in the midst of this emotional ballet, wove a tapestry of awkward attraction. Kamala, attempting to conceal the flush of her cheeks, chuckled nervously,
"Oh, the wonders of geography can be quite... tactile, wouldn't you say?" Her words hung in the air like a delicate perfume, adding a playful note to the unspoken connection.

Ramesh, still navigating the currents of his own internal tumult, managed a bemused smile,
"The school has changed you", was all he could say.
The dialogue, a subtle dance of emotions, echoed through the room like a whispered secret.

As Kamala retreated, her laughter rippling through the charged silence, she ventured,
"Maybe it's just not the school."
The lingered words made Ramesh narrow his eyes, a subtle acknowledgment of the unseen forces at play.

"Pack your home Kamala, we're leaving first thing tomorrow." Ramesh exhaled and got up.

"Our home." Kamala muttered inaudibly.