As Prabir had expected, Mr. Banerjee had asked the nurse to give a sponge bath to Ms. Nalini, change her clothes and leave.
Sitting beside her, caressing her face he spoke softly," I am sorry Nalini. I..."

Placing her palm on his,she said smiling,"What you said is true. I really had lost my mind.

My husband was an alcoholic and now his daughter is turning out to be just like him...I shouldn't have said these things to her. She hardly knows what her father was or...is like.

I have made up my mind. I will leave my daughters in your care and leave forever, when I am able to get up on my feet again."

"No! You can't do this. They need you," he said desperately.

"I am a terrible person and a horrible mother. They don't need me. Please promise me that you will look after them when I am gone."

Withdrawing his hand he murmured," I am not promising anything and...you are not going anywhere," he said glaring at her with a piercing gaze. 

"There's no denying the fact that both Bhargavi and Bhawani are your flesh and blood. You fed them, nursed them since they were little babies. Now, when they need you the most...you cannot abandon them as their father did way back.
We all make mistakes Nalini and parenting can be hard at times. If you realize that you did something wrong - apologize,ask for forgiveness and move on. There's no point in dwelling in the past.

Besides Bhawani is emotionally wounded and traumatized. She has been trying hard to repress...bury all of her feelings, pretending to be normal.
We need to encourage her to express herself, and acknowledge her emotions.

If you abandon your kids and try to escape from your responsibilities, what do you suppose Bhawani would do...who isn't performing well in school,has failed in almost all subjects...taken up to smoking...and is heart broken and devastated? Will she chose to fight back...take accountability for her actions or run away from problems and develop an escapist mentality?"

With a sad musing gaze, Ms. Nalini looked up at the ceiling and moaned,
"I wish I could help her."

"Yes! You can. Talk to her. Ask her how she feels. Tell her that you love her."

Their eyes met for sometime, before she looked away. "She will lie...say that I need not worry about her. None of my daughters ever ask for help even if they need some help badly."

"That's how kids are supposed to behave Nalini. They are kids but don't want to be treated like one. Instead of being a parent...try being a friend and then things will certainly work out well."

Hearing the door bell, Mr. Banerjee said excited," Ah! It must be those people. We have planned a little surprise for Bhawani. I'll be back in sometime. Should I switch on the TV?"

"No. Thank you Mr. Banerjee."

"You can call me Adrit," he reminded her smiling, almost the hundredth time before leaving.

*********

"Baba. You remember how happily Paru would swing in the backyard, singing cheerfully, when she was a little girl," Prabir had said merrily, while Bhargavi and Mr. Banerjee were unable to understand the context of the words being spoken.

"Will it not be a wonderful surprise if we place a swing in the backyard again? It won't be enough to erase all the rough memories of childhood from Bhawani's mind, but I feel...she would be able to relive some of the memories..."

"That's great! How about we also decorate the backyard with some mini lights and surprise her in the evening?" Mr. Banerjee asked joyfully.

"Fine! Before going to college, we'll go and pick up a swing and ask them to come and set it up in the backyard. I'll decorate the backyard myself and we'll surprise her when she returns home from her coaching class," Prabir stated.

Bhargavi's stare shifted slightly from Prabir to Mr. Banerjee and then again to him. How in the world will swinging to and fro,help change Bhawani's perception of life and will it really be all this surprising to her? She's no longer a small girl, wanting to be pushed high on a swing by her father, hoping that she'd be able to touch the sky. Bhargavi questioned herself.

As her stomach grumbled, she sighed," With my stomach full I can take a more tolerant view of things," making everyone else laugh. She appreciated the fact that she chose not to speak and sound like a bull frog warbling at a distance. 

The swing wasn't a typical one, set up in any park, without much support, rather it was a huge one. With it's heavy metal frame and swing load of three hundred Kilograms, it could easily support two people.

After it was finally assembled in the backyard, Mr. Banerjee observed the aesthetic elegance and the seamless finishing, before he made the payment and dismissed the people who did the assembling. He turned around on his heels listening to the giggling sounds coming from the guest room.

Mayank's mother was heartily narrating a story of Mayank as a rotund little boy to the nurse. Her health condition was progressing with the right medications, treatment and care.

Overjoyed Mr. Banerjee walked upstairs and briefed all about their plans to surprise Bhawani, about the swing, the decorations." It's quite heavy and won't go dangerously high, but it will be a pleasing sight to see the kids swing." He concluded.

"It seems you are actually more excited than the kids," Ms. Nalini remarked piously.

"I still enjoy being a kid with my kids sometimes. Umm...like I used to play card games, board games, silly and wacky kid games and now that they are all grown up...we have parties and fun, though I don't allow drinks."

In the evening, Bhargavi went missing from the house without informing anyone about her whereabouts. As decided,Prabir decorated the backyard with a bit of Parul's help after Bhawani had left for her coaching institute.

Soon it was time for Bhawani to return home, and Prabir wished Bhargavi too returned on time. As time ticked off, both Mr. Banerjee and Prabir were turning impatient. Finally, the sound of door bell was a relief. Prabir switched off the lights of the living room, before opening the door wide open and quickly hid himself behind the door. He was shocked to see Shekhar peeking in alone.

"Where's Bhawani?" He questioned after about a minute when Shekhar stumbled on the carpet, walking inside.

"She hasn't reached yet?" Shekhar asked alarmed.

"She was supposed to be with you?" Prabir quizzed puzzled.

"I was about fifteen minutes late and by the time I reached there,she wasn't there. I assumed she might have taken a bus. I called her many times, but her phone's battery is dead I suppose. It's switched off," he informed.

Calling up Mayank, Prabir questioned," Is Bhawani with you?"

"No! Isn't she home yet? I didn't want to leave her alone when she decided to take a bus but...she didn't want my company and asked me to leave," he said almost in a panic.

Mr. Ghosh had a bike he seldom used, and he had gifted that to Mayank happily. Having it repaired, Mayank took it to school, market as well as the coaching institute, now that Bhawani was being dropped by Shekhar. Earlier, he had to take a bus along with Bhawani as a compulsion because she was reluctant to share a ride on his bike.

Placing her head on the window pane, and shutting her eyes, enjoying the cool breeze on her face, Bhawani had fallen asleep and had no clues to where she had been carried by the bus. Her eyelids were open ajar, when she heard the bus driver calling,
"Madam, where do you want to go? This is the last stop - Mulki."

Scared stiff, she looked around at the empty bus shivering. With trembling fingers, she fished out her phone to find it was switched off and the battery was dead.

The driver handed her his phone, looking at her perplexed and she typed in the first number that cropped up in her mind. It didn't work, she couldn't even properly remember Bhargavi's phone number. It seemed the extreme stress had shut off all her neural networks. Trying again, she managed to call Bhargavi and wailed," Di...please help me. I...I have reached the Mulki bus stop. Please pick me up."

"It's okay. Don't worry. You'll be alright." She barely heard Bhargavi say before disconnecting the call. The further inquiries of why and how she had reached Mulki had to wait as Bhawani was crying like a raven and howling like a wolf.

Handing over the phone to the bus driver, Bhawani climbed down the bus and waited near a small side tea stall, crowded by youngsters mostly her age. One of the young men, came closer and asked," Where do you live? Can we drop you home," giving her an awkward look and gesturing something to his friends.

Clutching the bag tight in front on her chest, Bhawani looked away without answering. It was very dark, and a lonely place.

Shekhar and Mayank both had set off in different directions searching for Bhawani. Shekhar guessed that Bhawani might have gone to Ishaan's house, while Mayank believed that she might have surely gone to the pub for a drink.

Receiving a call from Bhargavi, Prabir immediately set out for Mulki after informing his father.

On reaching the bus stop, he could see no signs of her. Interrogating the tea stall owner,an old man with rectangular glasses, and a bushy moustache, he knew Bhargavi had run away from the bus stand towards the forest. She had no idea about the place. The locality where people lived was at least two to three kilometers away from the bus stop. "Why did she run into the forest?"

"She was troubled by some men who were..." the shopkeeper stammered, "trying to...to..."

Before he could finish the sentence, Prabir rushed into the jungle. He didn't call out her name, as he could clearly mark the silhouettes of seven to eight men even in the darkness, under the glittering sky,coming out of the jungle screaming," Where the hell did she go?" He slid behind a tree trunk silently waiting for them to leave. Though those people had heard his footsteps as he ran, they were scared that it could be an animal moving at such a fast pace.

He began his search once they left. Bhawani had heard the footsteps of those men leave and felt slightly relieved but then the approaching sound of the footsteps made her tremble. She could hear the small twigs break under the heavy weight of a person.

Shutting her eyes tight, she waited to be discovered.

With immense joy she threw herself in Prabir's arms, whimpering when all other sounds stopped except her rapidly beating heartbeat and she saw him smile at her. Laughing and crying at the same time she whispered," How did you find me?"

"See what could have happened today. Why didn't you wait for Shekhar? Even Mayank could have offered you a ride back home and trust me...he won't harm you. He has changed a lot," Prabir said before making a call to Bhargavi and informing Mayank and Shekhar to stop their search for Bhawani.

"Bhaiya! I thought I could travel alone...that I could take care of myself, that I didn't need anyone - Ishaan, Mayank or Shekhar Da. But I ended up making a fool of myself," she spoke while walking slowly behind Prabir who still held her ice cold hand.

Bhawani returned to find Shekhar irritated, annoyed and perhaps angry. She had imagined him to question her but instead, when he saw that she was safe and alright, he asked Mr. Banerjee, the permission to leave.

She was not paid any attention by Mayank as well, who was busy talking to his mother.

Mr. Banerjee suggested,"Make sure your phone's working the next time you move out," giving her a warm hug. Parul leapt at her engulfing her in a tight hug.

Within half an hour Bhargavi returned home, dropped by a friend. The instant she entered the house, it felt as if everyone in the house had been preparing for a funeral march. The crippling silence was just beyond measure.

Her eyes moved around looking for Prabir and finally spotting him, she moved closer to pat him on his back. "Making dinner?" She asked.

"Ah! It smells so good! I feel so hungry," she said excited.

"Hmm...I can smell some jealousy," she finally said when she was given no response. Embracing him from behind, she mumbled," He's only a friend Prabu. It was already so late, I couldn't find a bus."

Wiping his hands, he threw the kitchen towel on the floor angrily, pulled off her hands from his waist and walked away. Following him, she went outside into the backyard and was startled with the decorations and the bright, warm atmosphere. Mr. Banerjee was gleefully pushing the swing high up while Parul and Bhawani enjoyed chatting and laughing. "Baba. You must be tired now. Why don't you take a break?" Bhawani asked him.

Crushing Bhargavi in his arms, from behind Prabir whispered in her ears,
"I know you are hungry and tired. You want to have your dinner here?"

"This is amazing. It is so lovely. Everyone is so happy. The atmosphere is so lively. I don't even remember when I last heard Bhawani laugh like this," she said pleased at the sight. "Yes! I am both hungry and tired but pleased as well that you are not mad at me."

"Should I be?" He smiled.

"Ah! No. Let's go back in. Why and how did Bhawani end up in Mulki?"

They silently walked back into the house, evading everyone's eyes, as Prabir briefed her all about Bhawani's adventurous trip to Mulki.

Author's Note:

Ah! Phew! Here ends another chapter.😅😅

Hope you enjoy reading!