Pacing around restlessly, Mr. Banerjee re-read the note held in his hand, again and again, before tossing it aside on the bed beside his pillow and lying down. Staring at the ceiling, he wondered how mischievous Prabir and Bhargavi could get at times.

An hour had passed after he had returned from the long walk. Although he felt exhausted and fatigued, shutting his eyes close only increased his anxiety. Would Ms. Nalini stick to her decision and leave in the morning, he pondered. Prabir had made an unsuccessful attempt, trying to persuade her...not to leave. Why was he so worried about her leaving? She was right. This wasn't her home, or her family. What right did he have to ask her to stay? He was a nobody,maybe he was supposedly going to become Bhargavi's father-in-law but was no more. What was he expecting from her? And why was he even expecting anything at all? He had genuinely helped her because she had met with an unfortunate accident,and had to go through a surgery but that was all.

They had also taken in Mrs. Jyotshna, Mayank's mother, who had recovered from a severe trauma, and was now able to move around the house on her own, when placed on the wheelchair but he didn't expect anything from her in return. He had decided to let Prabir help her, as it was the most humane thing to do. She too might leave someday.
Cursing himself for having behaved like a teenager, he decided to apologise to Ms. Nalini for his behavior and slowly walked towards her room.

Lightly tapping on the door, he realized that Bhargavi might have fallen asleep as the door wasn't opened instantly. Waiting for about a minute, when nobody opened the door, he had just started to walk away, when the door was opened up slowly with a light creaking sound.

"I...I'm sorry for disturbing you at this hour, but can you please hear me out for a minute?" Mr. Banerjee questioned formally, to Ms. Nalini. When she nodded a yes in reply. "Please. Follow me," he said gently and led her to his room, not wanting to wake up Bhargavi.

"Ms. Nalini, I am terribly sorry for my hurtful behavior today and I promise you...this will never happen again. You can leave tomorrow in the morning or anytime...you feel like," he said almost in whispers.

"Did you receive the note I left for you on the table... in your room?" She asked aghast at this extremely formal behavior.

"You...left it Ms. Nalini? I...I imagined it to be Bhargavi's doing. It isn't Prabir's handwriting. 
What I'd  expected to hear from you...was that I'm insane or it's easy for men to remarry at any age they want to...like your ex-husband has remarried and is maybe...leading a wonderful life.
No one judges a man for remarrying a women, but a woman is ridiculously criticized by the society...and when you should probably get your daughters married off...you can't think about your own marriage at this stage of life....
So how in the world, did this change of heart take place?" He quizzed calmly.

"When I met with an accident, and had to have a surgery,I was deeply hurt not because of the physical pain that I had to bear with but because...my own daughter had pushed me down the stairs.
I was so ashamed, as a mother that I couldn't even share that pain with anyone.
All of my life...the only thing I had focused on...were my kids...that they received good education, had a better life...a better childhood than I had ever had. Now that they're all grown up, I need retirement. I want to focus on myself now, for the rest couple of years that I live.

Bhargavi...is right when she says, screw the society Maa, nothing's more important than your happiness. I've seen the changes in that little girl, who never believed in prayers and the Almighty God for most part of her life...She prays for me everyday now.

When kids are small, we make all the decisions for them...with their best intentions always in our hearts. Now, that I'm an old woman, I'll let Bhargavi make the decisions for me. I'll trust her judgement and discard mine.

She's right when she says, you yourself need to be happy from within in order to make others around you happy. I've chosen my happiness. I've decided not to kill my own happiness because of the fear of what others might think or say about me," Ms. Nalini said in a monotonous note without a pause, and a tear drop tricked down her left cheek.

Flabbergasted, Mr. Banerjee stood scratching his head, letting the thoughts sink in. When he should be high in the Heavens, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. His reverie was soon broken, when he heard the low sobs. Ms. Nalini had been unable to control the emotional outburst.

"I don't know if what I'm doing is right or not...but there's something, I definitely know...that I want my life to be a bit more colourful. You know Adrit...I love to wear big dangling earrings, anklets, bangles, big red bindis, apply Kohl to my eyes...and I want to see a dash of the red vermilion powder on my forhead once again, even if I have greying hair. It's been seventeen long years since...I've lost myself."

Embracing her tight in his arms, Mr. Banerjee sighed,"You've suffered a lot Nalini.I know how you feel." This was the first time, she had called him by his name. His happiness knew no bounds. "I want to live again Adrit. I know I'm not well educated... I'm definitely not talented in anything."

"You are admirable Nalini," Mr. Banerjee said placing a finger on her lips.

"I know what an admirable fool I am," she said smiling back.

"Why are you saying that? Are you having second thoughts? You think you're being foolish?"

"No! No. That's not what I meant. Had I wanted, I could have escaped this self trap that I had created for myself way back. It took me too long to realize that life is really short to...to be even considering the opinion of the people who envy your happiness, who make you feel like an unfortunate forlorn creature, whose destiny is doomed," she said with a glint of happiness in her eyes. "I am not unfortunate. I never was. I am blessed with such glories. Now I have three lovely daughters, a handsome young son and you Adrit."

"Though, I've been successful in filtering...my life before...projecting it to the outer world, where I've always showcased that my life's sorted...I have a descent job,friends,... a wonderful life with two lovely kids... there's a void that never leaves me...not only has it been haunting me but also consuming me...with every passing day.

Yes! Definitely, Prabir asks me almost every single day at the dinner table...Baba how was your day...but there are things that I can't share with him, even if he's all grown up and will understand...being his father.He has his own troubles, worries, anxieties and fears to deal with. And well, I certainly can't expect my fifteen years old child to be my confidant," Mr. Banerjee said and looked away.

"Go on. I'm listening," Ms. Banerjee said curious. "Tell me what's on your mind."

Grabbing her hand, he asked her to sit on the bed, as he laid down resting his head on her lap. "I might tell you a few quirky and unappealing things, that you'd rather not hear," he said smiling looking into her eyes.

"Like?" She asked even more curious.

"The first thing that's on my mind is... Bhawani right now. I don't know if she'll be able to forgive Shekhar. That child is going through a very rough phase and I'm still unable to figure out how I can help her.

Second thing on my mind right now, is Prabir. He tells me that he's unable to sleep here...in this room because I snore loudly, but whenever I go downstairs in the middle of the night, I find him awake, except, when Bhargavi's with him... that's the only time I've seen him sleep peacefully. I don't know what's wrong with him. Is he depressed...unable to sleep?

The third thing on my mind is you Nalini. You're pretty naive when it comes to your health. You have high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels but you completely forget all about your medicines."

"From now on you'll remind me if I forget, what's the issue? Cooking, cleaning, washing and ironing clothes, doing the household chores, sometimes I don't remember to take my medicines on time," Ms. Nalini said softly.

"Okay! Now you go and get some rest. It's already 3a.m." Mr. Banerjee said sitting up straight.

"Whatever you have told me... there's nothing that you can't share with Prabir," Ms. Nalini mumbled softly.

Though her voice was almost inaudible, Mr. Banerjee heard her clearly. "If I told you what's really on my mind, you'd pick up the broom and start hitting me," Mr. Banerjee snapped back.

Confused, Ms. Nalini stared at him bluntly.

Grabbing her at her waist from the back,Mr. Banerjee whispered in her ears," How do I tell my boy how much I love his Maa? I'll have to tell that to you." Ms. Nalini's face turned cherry red.

"I hate you," she spat.

Laughing he said," Too late to say that Nalini." Softly he kissed on her forehead, turning her around, making her blush even harder. Pulling her in his arms, he murmured," I know what you're thinking Nalini. Right now, you might think that I'm out of my mind and too shameless a person.

To love is to be vulnerable...To open up your heart to someone you love is not wrong... no matter what your age is. To have a healthy relationship we need to ensure that we express ourselves and this is... how I feel for you.

When you'd fallen down the stairs and were covered in blood because you had hit your head...and you weren't coming back to your senses. Everyone had witnessed my vulnerable...miserable state. I couldn't drive... I couldn't move...

Love isn't a feeling that one can easily hide or suppress for a long time and I'm not afraid to face it. I'm tired of running away or ignoring and neglecting my feelings... tired of loving someone that's not mine."

"You don't have to...I want to be there with you...for you...for the rest of your life Adrit," Ms. Nalini said in a serious tone.

"I couldn't even imagine you saying this. How am I supposed to believe this? Tell me I'm dreaming. This is all a dream. Yes! That's what it is. When I wake up in the morning..." He was caught off guard when she lifted herself on her toe and pressed a kiss on his right cheek.

"Unbelievable! Pinch me and wake me up someone. What the hell have I been dreaming?" Yelled Mr. Banerjee.

Placing her index finger on his lips, she whispered," What are you doing? Everyone's asleep." Pinching him lightly, she said," Now, you believe me? This isn't a dream."

"Hahaha. I was too tired to have been awake at this hour, regardless...this is a wonderful dream and I wish I never wake up,"Mr. Banerjee said smiling.

This time Ms. Nalini splashed a cold glass of water on his face, that had been placed on the table. Handing him a towel to dry up his face, she said smiling," Sorry for doing that," when he stood bamboozled.

"This is all real? Really? You calling me by my name?" He asked again.

"Are you putting in so much effort to...to act like a dummy to annoy me Adrit?" Ms. Nalini asked a bit annoyed.

"There are so many mornings when I woke up confused, it's hard for me to tell when I'm dreaming and when..." He stopped speaking watching her leave. "Get some rest! Goodnight!" She wished before closing the door behind her.

Author's note:

I would like to thank all of my beloved readers for their patience and time.
This is the last chapter of this story and I would like all of my beloved readers to imagine the rest of the story and embark on a new and fabulous journey all on their own without my aid or intervention.

I'm sorry if I have let you down or was unable to fulfil your expectations. I lack both experience and expertise in narrating stories and you'll find a million times better writers than me on Wattpad. I am highly indebted to you, for giving this book an opportunity.

Thank you for reading!

May you all have a wonderful life ahead! And advanced Christmas and New year greetings to all!
May God bless you all.