There are two primary choices in life: to accept the conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them. Anirudh, as an elder brother, and a mentor had always encouraged and taught Batuk to take up responsibilities, to take up the challenges presented by the world, and needless to say, Batuk had always exceeded his brother's expectations. He had devoted his life to the cause that had, till then, been the biggest force driving his life... The cause to free his motherland. But, after getting his heart broken mercilessly by the foreign beauty, Batuk was no longer sure what he wished in life. He for the first time in life, was contemplating his actions, and judgements and the decision to bring the two girls to Tulsipur. He had the choice to abandan them, despising every moment of the rest of the journey. But, at the same time, he felt responsible towards them in an obligated way. They were his brothers responsibility, and so were his!

It was the cresent of dusk, the sky reflecting a pure orange glow, when Batuk's carriage was greeted inside Tulsipur with rolls of conches emitting from the scattered village households. They were all offering their evening prayers, lighting diyas in front of the Tulsi Manch, and the smell of incense had impregnated the air with it's feel good serenity.
Batuk had paid the carriage off, and as he entered the massive gate of their Haveli, he was promptly greeted by the guards infront, tears in their eyes and hands folded. The two girls were behind, following him, hurdling close to each other, as their widened eyes were awed at the sheer massivity of the building.

"Didi... This is hugee!!" Bhargavi pressed Mira's arms in anxiety as they crossed the threshold, entering the sprawling courtyard. But Mira, however, was quiet, she hadn't spoken or wasn't infact moved by anything since the letter fiasco, and with small uncertain steps, she clutched Bhargavi's hands and walked along, her head bend low, and her eyes teary.

"Come inside, Bhargavi."
Batuk called out, and the girls tiptoed, crossing the threshold, and infront, as if like a climax of a dramatic novel, stood the Zamindar himself, fresh after his shandhya arati, with a brass plate in hand, holding a diya.

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There are moments in life when we find ourselves at crossroads, and the choices we make at those moments are probably the ones that defines the course of life.
Bondita too was at a crossroad, choosing between running to her husband's protective arms, leaving the sacrosanct behind, or staying with Satyakirth, saving his life and doing justice by whatever her husband had taught her all these years. And, in this battle of do's and don'ts, Bondita didn't take long to decide her path.

"Come on... Come fast!" One of the British officers beckoned Bondita, commanding her to get into the open hooded motor carriage, and Bondita bowed at them, excusing herself on the pretext of fetching her husband.

Ghontu and his mother was standing too, watching them, and as Bondita hurried around the corner to meet Satya, Ghontu rushed inside the hut, and came out in no time. He held Bondita's hand and stopped her.

"I know he isn't blind." He swallowed hard, and with trembling hands, forwarded a fat black rimmed high powered glasses at her.
"This is my Dadu's... He looked blind when he wore them." He smiled fondly, before his face clouded once again.
"When the police took him, they didn't let him take these..." He sighed, shoving it into Bondita's hand.
"Take these... "

Ghontu had ran inside the hut at once, and letting out a fearful exhale, his mother too followed him silently.

For a moment Bondita couldn't fathom what to do and say next, and clutching the old black spectacles she turned around, and infront of her was Satyakirth Sen.
His fresh pink kurta was soiled as if he had rolled on the muddy ground, his face was strained with mud and grease, and his hair was disheveled in an unrecognisable way. Bondita's mouth fell, it was as if in these few minutes Satya had transformed himself completely into someone else, sans the eyes, and seeing the glasses in her hand, he took it at once and pushed it on the bridge of his grimy nose.

"How did..."

Satya held Bondita's shoulders firmly without letting her complete.

"Listen carefully. You have two choices. Run to your husband at once, and I'll cover for you... Or else, keep up the ruse with me."

Bondita gulped and held Satya's hand instead.
"I've chosen already... Let's go." She inhaled sharply.

It was quite uncharacteristics of the British officers to mingle with poor villagers, let alone offer them their own vehicle, and although Bondita had quietly got inside the carriage, Satya with his crooked back, and deformed walk, gauged the officers from under his glasses.

"Talk in colloquial Bangla." He coughed the words subtly, making to his seat, infront of Bondita, and the two officers seated infront turned their heads towards them.

"Your husband is a filthy one it seems." One of them laughed, as the vehicle started to speed up the muddy village road, taking a different direction than what they had expected, a different route than where Anirudh and Raimoti were waiting expectantly for them.

"He is sick my baap!" Bondita croaked, again in a shrill voice, making the men flinch their faces.

"How does he keep you happy, I'm wondering." The other one grinned, and in no time Satyakirth understood their real intension behind luring them inside the vehicle, his hand automatically moving down to his soiled boot, touching a shiny silver metal tucked in it.

Bondita hadn't replied, but with her eyes she forbade Satya to do anything rash, and the ignorant officer went on.

"How long are you married?"

"Ten years." Bondita coughed the words.

"And children?"

She nodded her head in negation.

"No wonder!" The other officer chuckled with dubious intentions, and Bondita narrowed her eyes, realising the danger wrapped with the intended sarcasm.

"Do you want children girl? White children?" The first officer laughed out loud, and Satya fisted his palms in a supressed indignation. One more word, and he'll pounce on them like a hungry lion.

Bondita, however, hadn't replied, and as one of the officers turned around from his seat and grabbed Bondita's saree covering her head, Satya let out a loud cough, and Bondita sneezed on his face.

"Holy hell!" The officer let go of her at once, wiping his hand with a handkerchief, and Bondita sniffed back noisily and spoke in a crackling voice, making it as repulsive as possible.

"He has Tee-Bee my baap... And, people say, I too have it." She sneezed loudly once again, wiping her nose with her hand and blowing noisily on her saree.
"That's why they burnt out house... Everyone gets tee-bee whoever touches us...." She blew her nose again, followed by two more sneezes and then a loud roll of wailing...  and with a hitch at once, the police officers halted the carriage, almost chasing them to get down.

"You filthy bastards!" They spat at them, as Bondita stood at the edge of the road, letting her blind weak diseased husband crutch on her arms.

"Ram ram my baap!" Bondita sneezed again, and the vehicle zoomed past them, leaving them behind.

"Thank you Bondita!"
Satya had a proud smile on his face. He had stood upright, wiping the grim on his face with his kurta, and Bondita exhaled sharply, looking at him with a grave expression.

"I just hope Barrister Babu gets to know about us... I just hope he returns back to the hut at our delay."
She sighed.

"He will, don't worry."

"And, what do we do till then?" Bondita asked.

"Do you want to walk back and look for them?"

"No... not that way... The police patrol would catch us in no time."
Her voice was tough and decisive, and Satya nodded his head in agreement.

"Then what would you have us do?" He asked calmly, letting the lady decide, as it was for him that she was dragged into this puddle of misery.

"I say we move forward... Find the nearest locality, take shelter, and wait for them to find us... It's not safe for you to roam around freely Satya." She sighed again, and looked down, her voice a little choked with emotion.
"But, what if they can't..."

Bondita trembled at the thought and Satya held her shoulders gently.
"Don't worry... We are taking about Anirudh Roy Chowdhury and Raimoti Mukherjee, the best scheming minds I've ever known." He winked at her, his smile radiating hope and Bondita looked up at him.

"They are the best... I know!" She wiped her tears and smiled too.

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Dear readers,
I'm so sorry for not being able to update in the last few days...
I was extremely overworked and wasn't keeping well either.
But I hope to run a spree in the next few days,😀 it's an extended weekend afterall!! 🥳
Cheers ❤️