"Tell me what's going on? Will you?" Beenapani spoke softly forwarding the cup of tea towards Bondita.
"You aren't physically unwell, I can see that? So what happened?" She insisted.
"Did the old man..."

"Who? What?" Bondita lifted her eyes to look at her friend.

"Your husband I mean... Did anything happen? Why were you talking about trust back there?"

Bondita took a sip from the earthen cup.
"Trust is a very brittle emotion, Beena. It takes ages to build but only a careless moment to break." She exhaled sharply burying her face once again into a book she had been reading.
"Sorry that I got you expelled too."

"Don't worry about that, I was looking for a reason to drop the subject anyway." Beena let out a soft chuckle.
"Tell me Bondita, what's bothering you?"

"Everything... " Bondita looked up.
"Everything is bothering me Beena... My very existence... Have you ever felt that the person whom you live for doesn't require you in his life anymore?"

Beena swallowed.
"Are you... in love Bondita?"

"Am I? I'd be a fool if I am!" Bondita sighed.

"Is it the old man?"

"Who?" Bondita narrowed her eyes for a moment trying to gauge her question before she chuckled and nodded her head slowly in negation.

"Then who?" Beena's voice was low and measured.

"May I seek the pleasure of speaking to her please?"

Before Bondita could respond to her friend's question, an old husky voice had startled Beena, making her turn around quickly to find the owner of the such a masculine melody
"May I?" The old man spoke again.

This was the first time Beena got a close up view of the old man's appearance. She had seen him before, from a far, speaking to Bondita, probably expressing his love to her in his own quirky way. But never did she imagine him to be this handsome. Probably in his fifties, but his proud frame was tall and strong. Even the ancient wrinkles on his face and those grey eyebrows couldn't suppress the godlike features that might have made women weak during their prime. But the most striking aspect of his entire appearance were his eyes, a pair of blue ocean like orbs radiating elegance.
How can Bondita not love such a man!
Beena gasped as she slowly stood up from the table, her heart couldn't help but saddened at this elderly man's misfortune.
No man deserves infidelity... No man deserves to be not loved...
She had seen her brother pinning for the love of his infidel wife, she had seen him change day by day, a little by little... sinking into an unloved misery.
How can Bondita, her dearest friend, do this to him? Her own husband!

Beena's awestruck thoughts were interrupted once again.
"Please sit. I too wished to speak to you." Bondita's voice was unenthusiastic and plain, the sound of which made Beena's heart wretch a little. She had lost her love at a tender age, and there wasn't anything in the world that could cause her pain than tales of lost loves.
With a heavy heart, she got up from the table leaving behind a saddened sigh that echoed through the ambience of the overcasted outdoor canteen.

"Sit." Bondita gestured towards the empty chair with her eyes.
"Tell me... Were you aware that Girish Da was involved actively in Swadeshi movement?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yes."

"Were you aware of what he was planning?" Her voice was harder than before.

"Yes."

"Were you aware that he was planning on using me to fulfill his mission?"

"No... I wasn't."

An uncomfortable abrupt silence prevailed between the two as Satya finally started to speak.

"Bondita. I'm sorry if that means anything to you. I was aware of the plan, but I wasn't aware that he was preparing to execute it. You might think I'm a family-less, heartless man, what do I know about the implications of lost innocent lives... But trust me..."

Bondita raised her hand up and gestured him to stop.
"Trust? That's the last word I want to hear today Satya." She paused.
"And, no... I don't think you are heartless. You are probably more considerate than most men around. Atleast you have the courtesy to apologise upfront."
She let out a sharp exhale as Satya couldn't help but smile a little.

"What happened Bondita? Fought with your husband?"

Bondita looked up at his face as the subtle smirk on his lips made her fumed up further.
"How is it of your interest?" She turned her face to look away from him.
"You fight only when there is an opposition. How can one fight if they are not even allowed to defend themselves in the first place?" Her voice was restless.

"You are speaking like a lawyer." Satya chuckled softly.
"You know what Bondita, your husband is an extraordinary man. Had it not been for him, Girish and those twenty brothers would have been dead, with you behind the bars."

Bondita furrowed her eyebrows at his words.
"The entry ledger!"

"Yes. The ledger." He pulled out a fat red book from his jute sling bag and winked at her.

"Oh my goodness! Satya... You...!!"
Excitement was evident in her voice.
"How on earth?"

"Shh..." Satya hushed.
"Let's walk towards the parking lot, shall we?"

Bondita walked leisurely behind Satya, rubbing the petals of the fallen Krishnachura between her fingers, watching her skin take on the crimson hue. She looked like she'd spent the afternoon lying on her back in the meadow of some hill station, Dehradun perhaps, instead of walking around her college campus - perfecting the art of emptying her head. There was only so much mistrust, so much sorrow she could take before she needed a wide open sky and soft green grass under her back.

"Bondita, here, let's sit here." Satya called her, pointing at a small stretch of green land under the shade of a lavish Krishnachura tree.
Bondita smiled at the choice of place.
This part of the campus was comparatively quiet, and although in the distance there was traffic, but that was far away enough not to bother her.
Bondita kept her sling bag down and sat on the open grass.

"So tell me Satya, how did you get the ledger?" A suppressed excitement reflected from Bondita's voice.

"I might have stolen it." Satya smiled.
"How can I let you be in any trouble Bondita... You are a family now." He paused to quickly alter his words "I mean like a family, and Anirudh Da... He is the real hero. He was the one to convince Girish to veer from the path of violence." Satya's face brightened up at the mention.

"Anirudh 'Da' ? Since when did he became a Dada to you?" Bondita teased him as Satya just shrugged in reply.

"By the way, do you know I'm about four years elder to you... So, going by the rulebook, shouldn't you be calling me Dada too?" Satya winked at her playfully as suddenly a gush of black cloud overcasted Bondita's demeanor.

"I've a rotten luck with brothers." She sighed. "So I guess, going against the rulebook as always, I'd stick to just 'Satya'."

Satya smiled.
"There, a petal on your hair Bondita." He quickly touched her hair and gently finger brushed the red Krishnachura petal from the entanglement of her silk locks.

"And here, a grass on your fake grey beard." She chuckled, touching his chin gently.
"You know Satya, I have always wanted a brother, a younger one, whom I can take care of... And scold and... Love..."

"What about Batuk?" Satya asked abruptly making her smile and nod her head.

"Batuk and I have a different equation. He calls me his best friend. But yes, we're more of... you know, siblings." She giggled softly.
"There's this funny incident about us." Excitement of happy memories reeked from her tone.
"So after I got married, Barrister Babu had put me to the same school as Batuk. So, he'd never call me Boudi. I used to get real mad when he used to address me as Bondita infront of everyone... I mean, I was brother's wife, I thought I demanded that respect from him." Bondita rolled her eyes expressing her words as both burst into fits of childish laughter.
"So, I used to complaint about it. And, one year after Durga Puja, I had somehow convinced Batuk to take Bhai-phonta from me, so that we could, well, atleast I could have a brother." She paused to take a break as Satya brushed away another petal from her hair.
"Now, initially he was all excited. But on the very day when I sat infront of him and was about to draw that sandalwood paste on his forehead, he stopped me."

"Why?" Satya sounded intrigued.

"Because, he wanted to make it clear who is going to be the elder one in our new relationship... So, when I said, I'm six months elder to him, and hence I'll be his Didi, he suddenly got all furious and rushed out of the room."

Satya laughed aloud.
"But why so?"

Bondita curled her lips and shrugged.
"He just said, Wasn't one elder brother enough to bully me around that I'd need two now!"

Heartfelt laughter echoed through the cloudy wind.

With a dark overcast above head, the afternoon rolled in perfect slow rhythm, exactly what Bondita had needed. Speaking to Satya was natural, no inhibitions, no restrictions and somewhat no fear of mistrust. There wasn't any expectation that she had held from that moment, and hence, there wasn't any chance of her getting hurt! With closed eyes, she imagined their happy conversation to be colours, painting stairs in the same way grapevines grew in her convent orchids - this way and that, in a beautiful chaos that isn't quite random. In the calm of the day, her heartbeat was the only steady drum to their melody and she seeped into the moment, allowing herself to climb those rainbow stairs.

"Tell me about yourself, Satya. Don't you have any siblings?" She suddenly asked as Satya nodded his head in negation.

"No. My life has been quite simple. I lost my mother at birth, never met my father and was raised by my thakuma in Stratford."

"Oh... So, that's how the ascent."

Satya nodded.
"Your husband too has one."

"Hm. And, what about your father?"

Satya sighed sharply at her words.
"My parents... Well, they never married socially. I mean, even if they had, it wasn't accepted by either families."

"So, do you know where he is?" Bondita asked curiously.

"I do."

"And?"

"And nothing." He forced a smile on his face. "My life isn't for happy ending Bondita... So, the more I stay away from him, the better it is for his family."

"Does he know about you?"

Satya nodded his head again.
"I don't think so." He sighed again.
"It's about to rain Bondita, don't you want to go home?"

Bondita looked away, as that old familiar pangs of agony grasped her heart again.
"I... I don't want to... But, I'll have to."

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

Tiny droplets of early monsoon rain had already started to fall as Anirudh started the automatic wiper in his car. He had just reached the sidewalk of Hindu College, as from inside his car he saw his wife standing under a beautiful red Krishnachura tree. There was an elderly man she was talking to, probably laughing heartily, as Anirudh slowly pulled the glass of his window before driving away into the drenched misty street.
'She was smiling... atleast... she looked happy!', he thought, as a dry lump of guilt formed a knot on his throat.
'His Bondita deserves better than this... And no matter what, he would never ever let her down again'

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Author's note :
As humans, we all are destined of sorrow, in some way or the other,at some point of our lives, less or more... But sorrow is inevitable.
At times there are emotions such as betrayal and mistrust, accompanying the apparently never-ending stretch of sadness.
But, why did I say 'apparently'?
Because, like happiness, sadness isn't everlasting either.
I guess you all know this by now. 😀

But, what I'm trying to convey is about loving oneself. About being happy above everything else.
I too, like Bondita, believe that life is too short to be locked indoors and sulk. Life is too short to cry in darkness. Hence, I always do whatever makes me feel good.

For Bondita, going to college, being a rebel in class, speaking her heart out to Satya, getting drenched in rain.... These are probably just mere excuses to fulfill what she had been craving for.... Happiness!!
Happiness is all it matters in the end.
So, cheers to life and let's promise to be happy... Always!! No matter what.

Anyway, do let me known how the chapter was.