Her eyes were the colour of earth kissed by spring rains, the hue that promises to stir life from dormant seeds, the nascent plants guided upward by the light before blossoming into the vibrant colours of a new season. Her eyes were the shade of acorns, just bright enough to shine in the shadows...
The glowing twilight had flooded the outside of his room, painting everything in gold, and there she was, standing at the end of the corridor, by the staircase, her face aesthetic, her hair open, yet neat, and the new offwhite Dhakai Jamdani saree had decorated her beautiful silhouette, it's royal blue border reflecting the hue of his desires.
Batuk's eyes had widened for a moment, and then he gulped, smiling at his own wild thoughts. It was her he was looking at, Mira... and, yet of late he would often keep his gaze to the soil or else tilted upward to the sky, but when he was brave enough to meet her orbs, a shiver of golden light would race down his spine, every time... every time!

"Colours suit you well!"
Batuk was inching towards her, a smile in his lips, and she just stood still, gently swaying as if playing with the wind, her wavey locks caressing her bare right shoulder, making him gulp at the sight.

Mira was smiling too, and there was a calmness in that smile, a purity, a serenity, and Batuk noticed an ektara held in her left hand, hidden behind the fluttering folds of her new saree, the blue bangles were evenly worn in both her hands now.

"Would you sing to me?"
Batuk inched closer, his breath now colliding against her skin, and he bend down a little, blowing air on her shoulder to remove the strands of those stray cascading traces tickling her skin.
Mira closed her eyes and shivered, but didn't move.

"I won't sing... You would."
She murmured softly.

"But I can't sing." Batuk's reply was slow, measured, in sharp contrast to his racing heartbeat, and he held the railing of the stairway with his left hand, moving up one step closer to her. Mira smiled and stepped back, two steps, and Batuk bridged that gap in no time.

"Sing." Mira gulped, as his fingers trailed up her arm, sending goosebumps all over her body, and Batuk leaned on her shoulder, inhaling the familiar fragnance of her body, his senses muddling up once again.

"I'm a bad singer, a very bad one..."

"That fine... It'd be only me."

Mira had moved a step back, politely persistent, and she held the newly made ektara in her hand, tugging at the string skillfully, and suddenly Batuk felt it's melodious vibration rummaging his entire being, his existence, his senses of right and wrong, do's and don'ts.

Batuk closed his eyes and exhaled, his thin red lips curled into an angelic smile.

"When the buds first bloomed in my garden of flowers,
Amar Mallika Bone...
I had planned my offerings to you, my dear...
I had planned my offerings to you!"

He mouthed the words, binding them with the mellifluous beauty of melody, and Mira closed her eyelids, playing along, her fingers building notes from that single string with absolute aesthetics. Batuk continued...

"Just For You, My Dear,
I Collected A Handful Of Them...
The blooming buds...
Then in web of mist.
On forehead of young dawn, My Dear.
On every dewdrop sparkles the nascent Sun.
Just For You, My Dear,
I Collected A Handful Of Them,
From my garden of Flowers,
Amar Mallika Bone!"

Batuk paused, and so did Mira, as they both opened their eyes slowly, his orbs dilated, and the corner of her eyes were pink. Batuk leaned forward to steal a kiss from her, just a soft touch on her slightly parted lips, and Mira trembled in ecstasy.

"Why?... Why me?" She mouthed the question and suddenly Batuk moved a few steps back, his eyes gauging her lovingly, as he inched forward again, cupping her face in his palm this time.

"You know Mira, there is a kind of sweetness that brings real life to this world, that turns every Pinocchio into a real boy." He paused, inciting her with his piercing gaze.
"I wasn't perfect before we met, Mira. I won't be perfect after either. But you have made me real in a way I never knew was possible... and for you, I feel as if... As if I want to try every day to become the man your heart deserves and needs... A better man!"

"You are a better man." Mira hushed, and Batuk planted another kiss on her forehead.

"You make me one, a more gentler, a better version of myself."

There are moments when time takes a backseat and it's only the emotion that drives the world, and standing hand in hand, at the stairs, Batuk and Mira felt their emotions talking over their senses, slowly, minute by minute.

"Why do I feel you to be my ultimate refuge Mira? Amar Mallika Bon! My first blossom!"

"Is that what you want me to be?" Mira gulped slowly and lowered her head, the shades of pink prominent on her cheeks now.

"I do..." Batuk breathed the words, his eyes now focused on her reddened ear, the two tiny piercings on it, but bare.

"You should wear earrings... I'll get you..." He hushed, and his lips found her earlobe, brushing a kiss, and Mira gasped out loud.

"I'm a widow!" She murmured, and her own words made her gasp again, as Batuk's hands had already found her slender waist, his fingers gripped on her bare skin, tightening every minute.
Mira tried to free herself, the ektara had fallen off from her hand, and she pushed him away gently, stepping back. But Batuk was fast, his hands had grabbed her long cascading hair, and slowly, very slowly he pulled her near him, making her face aligned with his.

"Don't leave me Mira... I'll die."
He gulped.

There was an urgency in that moment, a pure desire to submit, and both Batuk and Mira burnt in that flame of desire...

A soft clamour, followed by clanking of utensils made Mira look away nervously.
"I... I should go... Someone would see."

She prepared to leave, but Batuk had seized her advances already.

"Let me take you to a place... A quieter one." He whispered.

The ektara rolled on the ground, and the glass bangles on Mira's wrists made sweet sounds, as in the golden glow of the dying sun, Batuk bend down and scooped Mira up from the floor, cradling her in his arms.
He had seen his brother doing this, and had always fantasized about it, he always wanted to know how it feels to lift someone in the arms, but at that moment, more than the long woven fantasies, it was the sound of Mira's pounding heartbeat that had become his polestar.

Mira remained still, her face buried against his chest, her arms thrown around his neck, and Batuk smiled in contentment.

There are those moments of emotional vulnerability that show our souls are naked in one another's company, and undoubtedly Batuk had felt it in Mira's presence.
He had walked up the stairs, to the empty terrace and then to the greenhouse at the attic that his brother had so artistically renovated.

Batuk pushed the door and entered inside, bending down to place Mira's feet on the ground, and she gasped at the sight.

"What place is this!" Her eyes had widened at the scenary around, and Batuk scratched his head in confusion.

"I thought this to be a greenhouse! I've never visited here after the renovation, and only Dada and Boudi..."
Batuk couldn't complete, as a sudden realisation made him blush profusely.

So this was their secret romantic hideout!

Batuk stretched his hand, and Mira had entwined her fingers with his at once, no inhibitions, no hesitations, as if it was the most natural thing to do, as both their eyes started to wonder around the high glass walls of the cylindrical room.
The space inside can't be called sprawling, but it wasn't cramped too. The glass wall had beautiful flora adorned, forming a perimeter of greenary inside. There was an artificial fountain too, a motor pump attached to it, and the soft splashing sound coming from it added to the sensuous aura of the place.
There was a bed too, a modestly sized semicircular one, and it had white satin bedsheet and a bunch of unused feather pillows. But the most striking, breathtaking feature of the room was the placement of soft white curtains, knitted in silk! They formed a canopy over the bed, they hung artistically from the branches of the bonsai palm trees, and Batuk tightened his grip on Mira's hand as the two wonder struck souls shared a glance at each other.

"It's beautiful... Like... Like heaven!" Mira hushed, her eyes reflecting the amazement that her heart had felt, and Batuk pulled her by her hand, bringing her closer to the bed.

Mira gasped!

The bed was rather low, and beside it were a row of flowering cacti, ornamented beautifully with bowls of colourful Abeer kept infront... red, pink, yellow, each matching the shade of the flowers.

"This used to be a storehouse before, Bondita and I used to play hide and seek here... " Batuk smiled gently at Mira, as he sat down on the soft bed, pulling her closer and locking her in between his knees.
"I wonder why I haven't been here before... May be I was waiting for you..." He whispered, and Mira looked away bashfully.

"Say something Mira..." Batuk lifted her chin and made her look up at him, and Mira's reddened face flushed further.
"Are you happy?" He asked and Mira nodded her head slowly, blushing all the more at her own response.

"Are you?" She murmured, and Batuk leaned back on the bed, tugging at her, and Mira fell forcefully on his strong thudding chest, their nose colliding and her lips brushing on his chin.

"Now I am." He whispered.

"Were you really waiting for me?" She asked.
Batuk's hands weren't on her back any more, and Mira very slowly slid from his body, as she lay beside him, her breath rapid and her core filled with untamed butterflies.

"I guess, I was..." Batuk smiled, and clutching on his elbow he turned to his side, wrapping Mira with his free hand.
Mira shivered at the touch.
"Now that you said, you know Mira, I've been to Dehradun before, in the last five years, and I can't help but think if I've ever seen you before."

Batuk sounded thoughtful, and Mira let out a soft giggle at his words.
"You haven't..."

"Why?"

"Because I never came out." Mira had gathered all her courage to raise her shaking fingers and move a fluttering stand of hair from Batuk's forehead.

"Never?" Batuk pressed, and Mira's smile grew broader.

"No... Never... They had a fat iron chain tied to my foot, lest I run away, and all day I used to sit infront of a potter's wheel, making utensils for them to sell," Mira sighed, but then a mischievous spark gleamed in her eyes for once.
"But when no one was around, I used to make those instruments... "

"You are talented Mira, and very brave... I couldn't have survived all that you've gone through." Batuk moved his hand up on her face and played with the free fallen locks of her hair.

Mira smiled, and both stared at each other in silence, their hearts and minds syncing in the unrhythmic sounds of their haphazard breathing, along with the soft cooing of water from the fountain.

"What now?" Mira parted her lips slightly and smiled, and Batuk closed his eyes and shook his head violently.

"You are driving me crazy Mira... I... I just don't have any control over myself anymore." He let out a grunt and fell on the bed on his back.
"I want you Mira... I want you as mine."

"Why?"
Mira murmured, and Batuk closed his eyes once again.

"When I say, 'I want you,' I am saying you are the one I want, that there is no other that could be a possible match for me Mira... You are the match. You are the flame. You are in whom I'm lost, and you are my guide too." Batuk let out a sigh and chuckled to himself.
"And that's the blessing and the challenge... But who cares, as for me, you're it! And I hope that's good for you too!"

Mira gasped at his words.
In her existence of eighteen years, she had never heard such words, never had she felt this strange fluttering inside her heart, as if something in her would burst out, anytime, flooding everything around her in it.

"Mira..." Batuk called her, his words were suddenly a seductive hush, and Mira rolled back on the bed, her face buried in the white bedsheet, her hands had clutched the pillow, and her body trembling in need.
Batuk had sat up, half hovering on her body now, and very gently he removed the blue hem of the saree from her back, exposed her bare shoulders and her deliriously beautiful spine.
Mira was shivering, her toes had curled up to battle the maddening sensuality that Batuk's touch was making her feel, and Batuk ran his fingers along her spine, bending down, as his lips too followed the trail of his fingers.

"I'm sorry I had to leave you last night... I'm sorry I didn't come to see you this afternoon..." Batuk hushed on her skin, and Mira grabbed the bedsheet tighter, feeling the moisture of his tongue running across her shoulder blades.

"I was messed up, I needed to sort a few things Mira..." He breathed the words, and his lips touched the wet spots on her bare shoulder where his tongue had ministered.
"But... I want to make it up to you Mira... Now... And everyday, as long as I live!"

Mira smiled at his words, they were pouring honey in her soul, healing her slowly, and for the first time in life she felt alive, she felt human!
But Batuk probably had other plans, before she could fathom the occurrence, or turn back to face him, she felt his hand on her arms, running upward from her wrist, as if smearing her with his touch, and as Mira lifted her face her eyes fell on her arm where his touch still lingered.
Batuk had smeared yellow Abeer all over her, the arms, shoulders, and now his fingers were drawing patterns on her unsheathed spine.

"Choto Zamindar Babu...!"
She gasped out loud, trying to sit up, and Batuk had pushed her down, his face radiating in an innocent mischief.

"It's Batakrishna for you... Or Krishna... Or anything you like..."
He finished his art on her back and freed her, letting Mira sit up at once.

"What did you do?"
Mira was looking at her reflection on the tinted glass wall, the yellow powder smeared on her body made her appear like a new bride, preparing for her wedding.

"Why did you do this?" Her voice had suddenly choked in fear.
"I'm a widow!"

"But I'm still alive Mira... "

Batuk had grabbed her shoulders, letting the saree slide down her body, her modesty barely sheathed from sight, and Mira looked at him with earnest pleading eyes, her orbs glossy with tears.

"Why..."
Mira asked him, and Batuk moved his hands up cupping her face, as in a passionate urgency, he pulled her face closer and pressed his lips on hers, parting her lips with his tongue, begging an entry.

Mira complied, her eyes had closed automatically, and her lips had parted...tears of happiness rolling down her eyes!

"Batakrishna!"
She murmured his name and smiled, breaking away from the prolonged kiss, and Batuk sucked away her tears instead.

"Mira... My Mira..."
Batuk smiled back.

It is magical how words weave together and show our deep truths. We say this is body chemistry, it is... perhaps in a way, but it is more too... It is finding out the elements in oneself, and then bringing out the elemental nature, the part of them that is hidden to others. And when words succeed in unsheathing a soul, bringing out its raw naked form, it's when the body takes over.

Batuk had pressed Mira on the bed, half hovering on her, his fingers entwined with hers, and their lips continued the ancient battle of passion.
His occasional growls were complimented by her soft moans, and they pressed against each other, with clothes in between, they body crying in need for release.

"Choto Dadababu... O' Choto Dadababu...! Zamindar Babu is calling you... Urgent!"
Bihari Kaka's voice from outside had made Mira push him violently, making Batuk disoriented for a moment.

"What?" He almost cried out, and Mira pulled the loose end of her creased saree to cover her almost exposed bosoms.
But, Batuk's eyes were fixated on her face!

"Calling you... Outside..."
Mira murmured, getting up from the bed, and Batuk let out a sharp groan and exhaled.

"Coming! He yelled at the old man from inside and pressed his forehead with his fingers to calm his throbbing muscles.

"I'm not done with you Mira..." He looked up, smiled at her she he saw her preparing to leave.

But Mira didn't respond, inside she bit her lips bashfully and looked down, strands of her long hair tangled under Batuk's rough ministrations. Batuk saw the yellow tint on her body and smiled.

"Next time, this would be red."
He smirked and Mira stole a glance at him, smiling, and next, she pulled the saree up her head and ran out of the room, leaving Batuk alone with his wild thoughts and full heart.

*****

"Kaka... You called?" Batuk had straightened up his clothes, barring the slight strain of yellow on his white kurta, there were no outward reminisces of his passionate encounter with Mira, but his heart was light, flying, and it's strain came out as a bright smile on his face.

Trilochan was seated in the drawing hall, richly clothed, and smiling at Batuk in an welcoming warmth, he gestured him take a seat infront.
Batuk whistled and jumped steps, almost as if floating downstairs, and Trilochan cleared his throat at the two seated figures, whose form were sheathed from Batuk by the high rest of the couches.

"This is my youngest nephew, doctor Batakrishna Roy Chowdhury." He announced proudly, before turning back to Batuk's frowned face.

"And, Batuk... This is Abinash Lahiri, and his daughter... Mahamaya Lahiri."

Batuk listened, but none of the words registered to his senses at the moment, and then he saw a woman rising up from the couch, her hair neatly pinned with multicolored flowers whose name he won't want to know. She was smiling at him, folding her hands infront in a courtesy and all Batuk could do was step backward, one, two, three steps... Before Trilochan's sharp voice broke his trance with a harsh hammer of reality.

"Batakrishna Babu... Nomoskar."
The lady greeted him, and Batuk somehow managed to smile back.

"Good evening", was all he could murmur.

............................................

Hope you guys enjoy this one too!!
And if you are reading this, ensure that you drop your thoughts!!
I'll frame the next plot accordingly!!

Also, check the song Posted at the Header of the chapter.
Jokhon prothom dhoreche koli amar Mallika bone...