I know a lot of you are waiting for this update, and I didn't wish to delay.
This is infact a very long update, hope you enjoy it.
Pour your comments, and I'm sure there would be a lot for you to write in this chapter.
And finally... Please vote. I would only post next once this super long chapter bad received a sufficient number of votes.

Enjoy!! ❤️❤️

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To be found is to be trapped, to be lost is to be free!

Batuk watched with amazed eyes how very slowly, carefully, Mira tiptoed into the crowd, her hands fidgeting with the two rupees note, and her fluttering eyelashes scared to look up, yet stealing glances at the surroundings, ever so cautious to not let her guard down, not at any cost. The royal blue shawl was neatly wrapped around her body, it's hem pulled up covering her head, and Batuk let out a gasp, turning his gaze away from her receding posture, as he too took the other side of the semicircular fair ground, only to be reunited with her at it's crescendo.
There were stalls around the margin, with toys and tinsels, with flowers and vases and steel utensils clamoring loud as the potential buyers weighed their worth. And amidst those, was a stall, selling rainbows!
Batuk's eyes had widened, as the dazzling circles of glass reflected light, beckoning him to feast his eyes on them, to touch them! He had been to fairs before, but never had noticed the sparkling glory of those simple glass bangles, but yet, at that moment, standing infront of the stall, he couldn't help but feel amazed at the plethora of colours that they offered.

"Which ones Babu?" The vendor, a lady in her mid fifties, had asked him happily, breaking his trance and Batuk smiled back at her, awkwardly, as he pointed his index towards a particular set of glass bangles.

"Those."

"And size?"
The woman asked again.

"Umm... Yee height and slim," he held his hand to his shoulder to give her an idea about Mira's appearence, but his weak heart didn't resist when his mouth showered additional information along with it, "...and very pretty, with long hair... Her hands are very soft, and... and wrists are like that of, like... umm... like a Saraswati murti." Batuk bit his lips thoughtfully, perhaps a bit embarassed too, and the lady arched her eyebrows at the poor lover boy in amusement.

"Here, this would perfectly fit your Saraswati, and if not, bring her here."

She tied two dozens of royal blue glass bangles with a small string and handed it to him.

"Does this Saraswati have a name?" The woman smiled gently at him, sensing his overtly fond emotions for the said lady, and Batuk blushed instantly, the hue of heralding spring painting his cheeks.
He handed her the money and looked away, his lips parting a little, just a little...

"Mira!"

***

The carnival looked like a maze, and outside the maze was sunshine enough to see the towering walls of the cityscape. The late evening was quiet enough to hear the moans of those who had tried before her to escape, and had lost themselves, and the thought made Mira shudder in fear, her fingers clutching on to the small jute bag held in her hands.
The minutes were countless, and their was no sign of any kulfi stall, and the thought of being lost, in this maze of unfamiliar humans made Mira giddy in her stomach...

'Why, Mira... Why?'
she cursed herself again,
'Was there really a need for this? To give this uncharacteristic bravery a chance?... It's a mockery! A mockery that she too could live a life... A mockery that her opinion mattered, for once, and that she can be happy too, and yet how foolishly she had let herself to be fooled by it, for which she was paying the price... Was she really lost?'

Mira let out a suppressed exhale, and her lips quivered a little, just a little...
"Batuk Babu... Where are you!"
Her eyes burnt in fear.

She closed her eyes to calm her thudding heart. This was a test, and she was chosen to brave the maze, once she had done it the chain that had tied her heart would be broken for an eternity, and she would have a second chance to beat sadness, her past demons! But before that, in that maze she would have to face her own personal fears, every one of them and still proceed to the centre. She would hear taunting voices and see her worst fears brought to life. She would hear how she was unworthy. She would be goaded into committing betrayals against those she loved, because to betray love was to betray God. She would have a hundred ways to fail and only one way to succeed. She had to walk through every fear, face down her own demons and do no harm...
Mira clenched her jaws together and set off into the crowd, with no rule, no guide, no map, but with her eyes wide open. She had stumbled once, and her worn out slipper had come off, but yet she walked, feeling the sudden chilled ground under her bare foot, a sensation so dark, so scary that she felt it to be the pathway leading her away from hell, or perhaps to it!
But she'd have to win, for that's her only way out.

***

The first sting of panic that Batuk felt was when he couldn't find the kulfi stall at the intended spot, and the second was when he noticed the small wheels attached to those stalls scattered around him, portable and gloriously capable of ever-changing their positions.

"Damn!"
An exasperated sound had escaped his lips as he ran his fingers through his slightly long silky mane, in frustration, cursing his own self for the decision.
He had wished Mira to feel free, uninhibited, but what if she's...

The thought churned his insides as a familiar pit started to rise in his stomach, the same pit that he had felt when Candice left him at the hotel.

"Miraaa...." He called out, as loud as he could, earning glances from the passersby pedestrians, but it wasn't his moment to mind.
"Miraaa...!" He called louder.

For a moment, Batuk felt he had lost her, and along with her, his sanity, holding every men and women around, as he begged them to guide him with Mira's description.

"Yaa tall, blue shawl, very beautiful!" Was his usual description, and everytime he felt the pit rising up to his throat when the answers came as careless nodding of heads.
Batuk was screaming her name, screaming to get the crowd searching too... He looked foolish, he looked crazed... But if that's what it would take to get her back, he'd do it, and more!

And... It was then it struck him!
He ran back to the point from where they started, infront of the sky blue jute stall, selling hot aromatic jalebis, and Batuk stopped infront and took a deep breath, as very slowly, he raised his trembling hands up in the air, and in it was the jingle of shiny blue bangles, the two dozens of them, in a circle, reflected the faint light of the setting sun.

"Come back Mira... Please come back!" His lips murmured continually.

The emotional reunion is told in the soul connection of eyes, in the sweet touch, in the strength of a such a long anticipated hug. For in that moment is the sweet release, the relief, the chance for joy to take centre stage and dance.

Batuk's strained his eyes amidst the crowd infront, stretched across the carnival ground, and it was then, as if suddenly, he caught a glimpse of her!
Mira had stepped from the shadows, stealing Batuk's breath and the heat from his skin. Suddenly his defences were just paper, paper that was being soaked by the rapidly falling briny drops. Before he could draw in the air his body needed he had melted into his form. Mira had come closer, her face painted with a thousand emotions, and she could feel the heaving of his firm torso and the heart that beat within.
No one spoke, and his hands had folded silently around her back, drawing her in closer, the blue glass bangles jingling in his fingers.
Mira felt her body shake, crying for the missed time and for the thought that they'd never make back, crying to release the tension of these sixty long minutes. But Batuk had pulled her face up and wiped the tears with a tender touch of his finger, and somehow it felt more relief than her heart could hold.
He was caressing her with his eyes, running his hand through her hair, as if he couldn't quite believe she was not part of an almost fearful dream. When he kissed her forehead, and then her cheek, amidst the staring crowd, it felt sweet, gentle, and it tasted of her tears. Mira wanted to speak, but all she could do was whimper, in his arms, her eyes casted upward, on his face.

"Don't leave me, not again."

His mouth painted a soft smile and he nodded once before folding her in his arms again.

"Never!"

******

"Cum inside bruv... I was waitin' for ya!"
Davidson's ever cheerful face, along with a pair of enthusiastic blue eyes greeted Batuk cordially, as he smiled back and entered inside the commissioner's office at the Central police Chowki at LaalBazar.

"Any news Sir?" Batuk approached him, and behind him, following his trail like an obedient shadow was Mira, slightly limping, but excited.

"News! Well yeah... Quite some, but before that, please take a seat."
Davidson gestured at the attending Indian police guard, raising three fingers, and the man ran out at once to fetch tea, or coffee perhaps.
Davidson had turned towards Mira, and with a broad grin he had walked towards her, holding his right hand up, and Batuk saw with gaping expression how she had held his hand, without any inhibition, and Davidson patted her head tenderly.

"This girl here is quite a fighter!" He had held Mira lightly by her shoulders, leaning down, as he turned around to address Batuk with pride in his eyes.
"And it's a pleasure to be a part of her fight!"

"Yes."
Batuk had awkwardly blurted out, as he felt a strange sting in his heart, and he saw Mira looking up at the white man's face, smiling happily.

"Well, I've two news, good and bad... Which one first Batukh Roy Chaduryee?"

"Bad one?" Batuk had raised an eyebrow, but through the corner of his eyes he was still glancing at Mira, her smiling eyes were somehow pouring water in his burning eagerness, as although he wished her to smile, but the thought of him not being the reason of that smile was giving him a hard time to focus.

"Well, the bad news is, Neelmoni Mukherjee had somehow escaped the city... Blame it on the incompetency of the department, or the lack of proper supervision, but the truth is... We've lost him for now, that swine... And along with him, there is absolutely no trace of his daughter!"

Davidson had pulled up a small black-and-white passport sized photograph of the old man from a file and and kept it infront, on the table.

"What his daughter's name... Umm... Rash...umm..."
Davidson fumbled, and Batuk promptly replied.

"Rai... Raimoti Mukherjee."

"Yaa right... So it's a chance that she's not alive, or she's with her father." Davidson sighed, and looked thoughtful.
"Sadly, we don't have any of her pictures."

Batuk nodded his head gravely, bubbling inside with the true knowledge of her whereabouts, but his better judgement made him keep his lips sealed.

"But, surprisingly... I've news of your brother." Davidson added and Batuk looked up immediately, inhaling sharply in excitement, and infront of him, on the table was now another photographer of his brother's smiling face, with a black Barrister's robe covering his shoulders.

Davidson continued.
"I've had men... Officers... looking around for someone, someone important, for whom I've been posted here, precisely... " he chuckled, "...and in the meanwhile they've brought me information about another man, of same height, same appearence in a way... and a while ago, when I showed them Anirude's picture, they recognised him as that man, at once."

"My brother? Where is he? And Bondita?"
Batuk was now restless, and his voice suddenly reeked of an apprehensive tension, for its been days he hadn't received any news from them, neither Satyakirth!

"No news of Bondita, although my men says that there was a lady with him, but Bondita's picture doesn't match that description."
Davidson had now kept another small picture on the table, beside Anirudh's, and looking at the two pictures kept side by side on the table, Batuk felt a lump in his throat.

Where could Bondita be then?

Batuk's thoughts were interjected by officer Davidson, as he frowned and pressed his temple with the tip of his middle finger.
"Now the thing is, as per my sources, the fugitive I've been looking for is also said to be in the same territories as your brother..."

"And?" Batuk swallowed hard, the eagerness in his tone was unmissable.

"And, I leave at dawn, with my force, and along with that terrorist we'll look for Ani and his wife too."

"Where?"

"The news came from an inn at the border of Rajshahi, so either Mymensing or Rajshahi... The search party would disperse ofcourse."

Davidson was thoughtful and Batuk didn't press any further, his mind was racing otherwise, in a different direction, and suddenly the sense of responsibility that Satya had instilled in him started to sprout once again, stiffening his muscles with an unknown restlessness.
He had to finish his work in Tulsipur, fulfill his words towards Mira, and then he'll have to meet Girish at Chattagram in three weeks, exactly as planned, and the armoury was to be raided!

Chattagram Armoury Raid would then be the greatest blotch on the unblemished record of the proud British army!

And for all these, the first thing that he urgently needed to do was to go and check the letterbox in the ruins of their old Calcutta house, for if Satya sends any communication, it'd be there, and coded.

The cold walls of the heartless station felt even colder, and the silence inside was deafening, suffocating, and seeing the two men lost in their own thoughts, Mira had finally spoken up, ever so softly, but it was enough to bring the men out of their trance at once.

"And, the good news?"

Davidson chuckled at her fondly, and placed his hand on hers, kept hurled on her lap, making Batuk grab the corner of the wooden table firmly. He looked away.

"Mira... The good news is for you... I spoke to the post master, and it was a bit of a stern conversation I'd say..." He chortled, "and within an hour I got a call back from him... And guess who was on the other side of the telephone!"

Mira's eyes had widened, and her heart was pounding in anticipation.
"Who?"

"Suresh Chatterjee's mother." Davidson had widened his eyes too, to create the much desired dramatic effect and Mira jumped up from her seat and covered her mouth with her hands in excitement.

"Now, as per my order, the woman should be waiting for a call back from us, and I'd very much like you to speak."

The corner of her eyes had already soaked and she turned to look at Batuk with longing eyes, as he too, was smiling at her now, nodding at her in approval.

"Halloo...!"

Davidson had dialled the number, and after an initial exchange of scornful words, the receiver was passed on to Mira.

"Yes... No... Yes..."
Mira gasped

"No... I want to see him, meet him..."

"Yes...

"He's my son!"

"No..." Her voice choked, "never!"

The two men saw the boundless over-pouring of tears from Mira's eyes, as she clutched on to the receiver with all her might, trying her best to have a sane conversation without losing it.

"What's she saying?"
Davidson mouthed the words, and Mira arched her brows into a solemn expression and nodded her head sideways.

"How could she..."
Batuk's grip had tightened, and he inched forward to take the receiver from her hand, but Davidson was faster.

"Listen lady, either you hand the boy back to the mother, or I'll ensure you spend the rest of your days praying behind the bars... You understand!" Davidson growled on the telephone.

"Tell her, we're coming." Batuk promoted, and Davidson repeated at once.

"And we're coming to get her son! Beware!"

The line was disconnected, and the trio sat quietly, Batuk holding Mira's hand under the table, squeezing gently, in attempts of providing her the much needed comfort, and Davidson sat quietly eyeing the three pictures on the table as now one more additional cut out of a white cardboard with a red question mark on it was placed with the remaining three.

"Go home Batukh... I'll send a word to you the moment I get a news of your brother."
Davidson had finally muttered, his forehead frowned in a crease, and Batuk nodded obediently, his gaze too fixated on the red question mark glowing on the table.
"I can't believe he had to flee like this just because the police department is inadequate..." He sighed loud, "but now that I'm here, I'll sort out all... I'll find Anirudh, and then Neelmoni, and then that sly bastard!"

"Who are you looking for?"
Batuk had turned around at the door, and Davidson looked up at him and sighed.

"That son of a... " Davidson gulped his words, and breathed.
"Saatiyakeet Sen!"

*******

It was drizzling again, mildly though, and Mira's eyes were fixated on the ever moving wiper on the windshield of the car.
How she wished life too had a wiper like that, to wipe away all the bad deeds of the past, to wipe away all the moments that made life miserable...

"What are you thinking?" Batuk had asked her, and it was the first time he spoke after leaving the station. He had drove to their old house, and had successfully secured a bunch of unread letters from the unharmed letter box at the outside wall. The letters were both new and old.

"I wish I could change time."
Mira murmured unmindfuly.

"Don't we all wish the same?"
Batuk remarked back, but it was more of a monologue.
"I too have a few things that I'd want to redo in life."

"Same."
Mira sighed deeply.

"Like?"

"Like my marriage with Daktar Chatterjee..." Mira paused and turned to look at Batuk, a strain of helplessness in her eyes.
"I never wanted it, you know... But still... And everyone saw what happened after that."

"I've heard." Batuk looked at her, as he sped the car down the road, leaving the concrete road of the city towards the muddy village path.

Mira exhaled softly.
"You know Choto Zamindar Babu, Daktar Chatterjee had the chance to live, but he chose not to... He tried to take me with him too... And I had begged him for my life..." She paused, "Sometimes I wonder perhaps it would have been better if I too had died that day."

Batuk pulled the brake abruptly, making the car shudder with shock, and Mira grabbed his arm at once for support.

"You know what he made me promise?"
Mira was still murmuring. There was a vague blank look in her eyes, and Batuk suddenly felt scared.

"What?"

"He made me promise that I'll destroy the happiness of Anirudh Babu's family, and take his revenge..." She gulped and then chuckled softly to herself.
"But then revenge for what? And on whom? I could never harm the God who gave me a new life, rather I'd die a hundred death to save his honour, his family." She turned and looked at Batuk in the eye.

"So I made a false promise to a dying man...I sinned Choto Zamindar Babu, I sinned!"

Batuk was listening to her words, quietly, and the incessantly pouring rain outside the drawn windows formed a background score for the duo.

"You haven't sinned... For sinning isn't that easy."

"You sure?"
Mira's voice cracked, and Batuk touched her chin and lifted her face.

"Absolutely." He smiled.
"Sinners don't have such pristine eyes Mira... You are pure!"

It rained that night, both outside and inside, and Mira wept silently with her face buried in Batuk's chest, his strong arms wrapped around her body, pulling her yet closer. Mira was shivering, and Batuk felt it's intensity in his heart.

"Mira... You didn't tell me if you liked my gift!"
His hand was caressing the back of her head, and Mira clutched his shirt tighter.

"It's... It's lovely." She half sobbed the words.

"Then wear it."

"I can't... It'd be a sin... I'm a widow!"

The words were known, yet they pierced his soul, and very gently he pulled Mira away from his body and leaned forward towards her.

"Let me make you wear them... Then the sin would be mine!"

Anticipation, fear, fondness... along with wild racing of untamed heartbeats, and one by one, with absolute tenderness, Batuk made Mira wear the shiny glass bangles, painting her bare hands in blue, his favourite color.
His left hand was now placed on her right thigh, and with the free hand he wiped the dried tear strain from her beautiful face.

"Ahh..."
Mira let out a suppressed cry, and Batuk realised he had applied a little pressure on her leg.

"I... I'm sorry."

"No... It's just my foot." Mira looked down, and in an instance Batuk had stooped down, picking up Mira's right foot in his hand.

"How the hell!"
Her foot was bruised, and suddenly he recalled how she had been limping on her way to the station.

"My slipper tore."
Mira murmured fearfully.

"And you didn't even tell me?"
Batuk's voice had climbed a pitch higher, making Mira flinch away fearfully.

"S... Sorry."

"Don't say sorry Mira... Hell, I'm sure it must be hurting!"

Batuk had pulled the handle of Mira's seat, making it recline, as with expertise he started to treat the wound with the fast-aid kit from the dashboard.

Mira lay quietly, it was only her eyes that was on him, forming an outline of his face, his worried eyes, his thin red lips blowing on the burn, and Mira smiled to herself.

"Don't do all these for me Choto Zamindar Babu... I'm not accustomed."
She had murmured and Batuk looked up at her, frowning.

"I don't do it for you... I do it for myself!" He had let go of her foot and was now taking out the small jute bag from the dashboard instead.
"Won't you show me what you got?"

"A toy... For my son!" Mira replied slowly and got up, pulled out a small wooden horse from the pouch.

"And nothing for me?"
Batuk claimed like a young boy, and his face dropped down in an instant rejection.

"I don't possibly have anything to give you Choto Zamindar Babu... You have everything."

"I don't Mira... I have nothing... Just a heart, and now that too..."
He couldn't complete as he held Mira's hand in a firm grip making her gasp. He pushed her down on her seat, as he half hovered on her body, his eyes piercing her soul with a burning gaze.

"Can you not hear my heartbeat Mira?"
Batuk squeezed her palm a little and moved it up, making her touch his chest.

"Can you not feel anything?"
He pressed Mira's trembling hands harder, his penetrating gaze deepening on her, and Mira gulped in response, desparately trying to fight the battling emotions in her heart.
She closed her eyelids slowly and sighed.

"I'm not allowed to feel Choto..."
Mira couldn't complete as she felt Batuk's fingers on her lips, his face dangerously close to hers.

"Shh...!" Batuk's face was hovered on hers, in perfect alignment, and Mira shivered as his hot breath seared her skin.
"Who said you aren't?" Batuk's knuckles were now caressing her cheek, and Mira looked up slowly, the reddened corner of her eyes looked seductively alluring and Batuk felt a hitch in his breath, his heartbeat racing from a point of no return.
"You... You are a human being Mira... And humans feel, and you too are allowed to feel..." He was sniffing the fragnance of her skin, his nose nuzzling at the crook of her neck now, and Mira gasped softly at the subtle touch.

"Choto Zamindar Babu! these emotions aren't mine to feel." She murmured.

"But do you want to make them yours?" He had now sat upright, letting her free, and Mira too sat up beside him.

"I... I can't."

"You can... You just have to wish for it Mira."

His words were like a burning pyre, igniting her heart and soul, and her mind too was giving in to the sensation.
It was extraordinary, it was forbidden yet overwhelming, something that was beyond her wildest dreams, and Mira felt a palpitation on her chest.
And, suddenly... in a flash of a weak moment, Mira unlatched the door of the car and ran out, her body instantly drenched in the sensuous rain.

The puddles upon the blacktop were as good as a magic portal, through which Maa Sita had entered inside the earth at her moment of shame, and yet instead of transporting Mira to a new and fantastical land of underearth, they reflected her drenched face, her eyelashes dripping water.
Batuk too had gotten down from the car, and was now standing behind her.

"Mira..." He called her, and the rain very cleverly muffled his voice, making Mira turn around and fall on his chest, with need, with intent, and he sheathed her in him with all his might.

The rain continued to pour, but now those drops weren't just magical, they were divine. Each one washed away an unseen pain, a doubt, an angst. And, for the time their lips met, locked together in that rush of rain, the world itself ceased to exist, blurred and indistinct as an impressionist masterpiece.

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Don't forget to vote !!

I almost took the entire day to write this, in bits and pieces... With all my heart!
If you're reading this, do drop a comment... ❤️❤️