"Boudidimoni, O Boudidimoni..."

Though her eyes were open, she couldn't think of why; her heart was pounding, mind empty. It's as if a hypodermic of adrenaline has been emptied into her carotid. Bondita strained into the utter darkness of the room as her breathing rate began to steady.
Monimala's sugarless voice had added bitterness to the suppressed melancholy of the room.
Bondita took a deep breath. It was evident that she had overslept, battling with her sadness all night. The memories of the past night engulfed her senses once again, filling her up with an heart-wrenching feeling of betrayal.
Yes, its betrayal... and Anirudh had betrayed her trust!
How could he?
The question rang in the mind in a never-ending loop like the previous night.
"O Boudidimoni... Won't you get up today?"

Monimala's shrill voice interrupted her menacing thoughts yet again.

"Coming, Kaki... In a minute."
Her reluctant voice rose a little higher as she dragged herself out of the bed.
She hadn't latched the door, as a faint ray of hope had still flickered inside her... What if Anirudh realises his mistake and comes back to her? What if....
But the bright light of the day flooding the room through the wiped freshly spread curtains removed that last trace of her expectation.

"Where is Dadababu?" She asked Monimala, her voice heavy and coarse.

"O Maa... Dadababu left very early... I asked him if he would eat, he didn't even reply."

"Hm." Bondita hummed, as that familiar storm arose in her heart once again.

"Choto Dadababu also went with him." Monimala added.

"Choto Dadababu? Do you know when he returned?"

"No Boudidimoni... When I came, let's say around 5 o clock, both Dadababu and Choto Dadababu were already ready to leave. Dadababu handed me the sleeping baby and left."

Bondita sighed at her words and turned back towards her room.

"O Boudidimoni, won't you go to Ka-lej today? What shall I prepare in breakfast?"

"I won't eat."
Bondita closed the door back and sank down in her bed once again.
How could Anirudh do this to her? How could he!

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

Nikhil Daktar had just left the Raybahadur palace when Neelmoni Mukherjee rushed into her daughter's bedroom without even knocking.

"Maa... Rai Maa... How are you feeling now?" His voice was strained with pain and love.

Rai didn't reply. She simply turned her face and stared outside the window blankly.
It's been three days since Batuk had left, and since then Raimoti had neither spoken to anyone nor had she eaten anything. The old family doctor and her father had begged and coaxed her into taking only a few medicines in the last few days. Her forehead still burnt as she lay still in her bed staring at the open window.

"Rai Maa... Don't do this Maa... Don't punish yourself like this." Neelmoni almost cried out the words as he gently patted the unkempt hair of this motherless girl. The more he looked at her helpless state, the more his anger grew. His heart burnt as with all his being he wished for the destruction of the Roy Chowdhurys.

"Babu, a letter for you."
A bearer stood at the door with his head bowed down as he held a tray in his gloved hand with a sealed letter on it.
This was Neelmoni's private moments with his ailing daughter, and nothing on earth could have intervened, but then he saw the glowing golden government seal on the letter.
"Give it to me." He stretched his hand and took the letter from the young man.
"Close the door." He commanded.

Karma is not a function of the divine spirit, not a thing you can pray for or pray away, yet it is earned with actions. 
Neelmoni Mukherjee slowly tore the seal and read the letter. His old wrinkled face reddened instantly as he fisted his hands and threw the crumpled letter away.

"Anirudh Roy Chowdhury!" He roared, as his hands automatically reached up to his hair, pulling them violently in dismay.

"Baba."
Raimoti's soft voice made the fire inside him seamed down. For the first time in the last three days, his daughter had uttered a word.

"Yes Maa... Yes..."
The old man almost ran to her bed and sat by her head.

Raimoti's eyes were blank. With her trembling hand, she grabbed her father's wrist feebly and made him touch her forehead.

"Baba..." She spoke again.
"Promise me that you won't... you won't hurt Batuk or his brother in anyway... Promise me Baba." Her eyes were filled with tears, something which Daktar Nikhil had mentioned to be necessary to normalise her once again.

Neelmoni's eyes teared up as well.
"But Maa... Batuk... That scoundrel is responsible for your condition... How can I..."

"Baba..." Raimoti's feeble voice stopped him.
"No one is responsible for my misery but me. It's not Batuk's fault that he couldn't reciprocate my feelings for him." Her staggered words was calm yet firm.
"He doesn't deserve anything bad in life Baba... He is a good... a good human being."
Neelmoni quickly held a glass of water to her lips as Raimoti coughed breathlessly.
"Promise me Baba... Pro... "

"Yes Maa... Yes... I promise." The old man pulled her into his chest as both burst out into rolls of tears for their individual misfortune.

'And, all because of those Roy Chowdhurys!' Neelmoni thought, clenching his jaws.
'I promise you this Rai Maa... Your father will see an end to this.'

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

"Bondita... Hello...Can you hear me?"

Beenapani's voice sounded a bit mechanical as Bondita pressed the receiver reluctantly to her ear.

"Yes Beena. I can hear you."

"Now why aren't you coming to college? And why are you dodging my telephone calls. This is the fifth time I'm calling you in the last three days. What's wrong with you? Are you unwell?"

Bondita sighed at Beenapani's restless questions. It's been three days she hasn't spoken to Anirudh, neither did he made any attempts of reconciliation with her. The days felt unbearable to her but the nights were painful. Anirudh would return home at the deadly hours of the night and would leave at dawn. And Batuk? She hadn't seen Batuk even once in the last few days.
Why was everyone behaving so distant from her?
Why was everyone alienating her like this?
Bondita felt that painful lump in her throat once again.

"Hello.... Bondita...?" Beenapani's voice vibrated from the telephone once again.

"Yes."

"This isn't going to work. Either you are coming to college today or I'm coming to see you at your house this morning."

Bondita took a deep breath.
"I'll come today, Beena. Save me a seat."
If Anirudh wasn't bothered about her whereabouts, then why should she be? What was the point in this grieving when she know in her heart that she wasn't the one who's wrong!
"See you soon, Beena."
She breathed out loud before hanging up the telephone.

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

Failure is the reset, a do-over, a chance to fix what needs fixing and set sail once more. But Anirudh Roy Chowdhury saw infront of him was a never-ending stretch of vast sea with no signs of shore.
He had always been a fighter, someone who would never give up, but at that instance, sitting infront of his table with the rejected appeal in his hand, he felt like a lost soul in a defeated battlefield.
It had taken him three days and three nights to pull all the string known to him to get permission to resubmit the case appeal. But, that morning, the letter had returned back to him with a stamp on it that said 'rejected'.
This was exactly what he had feared.

"Dada... Shall I leave now." Batuk quietly spoke for the first time that evening as Anirudh nodded his head silently.

"You know the drill." Anirudh sighed.
"Girish is your college mate and you both are here for on-job training."
Even his voice sounded defeated, Batuk thought, nodding his head to his brother's words.

"Don't worry. I know where to take him." He turned towards Girish and offered him his hand.
Girish stood up, limping, as he turned around one last time.

"Anirudh Da... You promised. Your words are their lives."

Anirudh sank down in his chair, a stabbing pain churning his insides.
'Its all because of her... Because of Bon...'
His relayed thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the loud ring of the telephone.

"Hello, Barrister Anirudh Roy Chowdhury speaking."
His voice was low.

"Barrister Anirudh, Good day Sir, this is Lieutenant Samuel, High Commissioner, Justice MacKenzie's assistant."

Anirudh sat upright, his eyes focus infront, his mind alert.

"Sir, we received a duplicate case apeal yesterday from your office. Hence we had to reject it." The man paused as Anirudh's heart started to thud inside his diaphragm.
"Sir, sensing a miss somewhere, His Honour has personally asked me to call and inform you that your initial appeal has been accepted and owing to all the evidences put forward, Sir Neelmani Mookarjee has been dismissed from the case." The man continued.
"The same has already been intimated to him, Sir."

Anirudh felt numb, he could feel his cortisol levels go down, as he strained with all his might to hear his words. The man spoke about how injustice committed by few British men puts the entire clan into bad picture, and how brave barrister's like him were appropriated... But none registered to his brain completely.
"Thank you Sir." The man had finally disconnected the telephone as Anirudh kept the received down with trembling hands.

"Fakirchand..."
He pressed the manual calling bell kept on his table and shouted out again.
"Fakir..."

A middle-aged man rushed inside his office.
"Yes Babu."

"Did you submit any letter? To the High Commissioner?" He tried to sound as composed as possible.

"Yes Babu. I did. Three days back."
Fakirchand replied back, a little confused at the sudden anxiety of this ever-calm man.

"Who... Who gave you the letter?" Anirudh got up from his chair as he asked slowly, his voice quivered a little making Fakirchand narrow his eyes.

"Why babu? You had kept the letter for me. Your assistant gave it to me."

"My assistant?" Anirudh swallowed.

"Yes Barrister Babu. The sweet lady who had come here three days back for interview. Such unruffled, polite young lady... with such large eyes and that pleasing smile, felt like Maa Durga herself was standing infront of me."

Anirudh felt light in his head. He quickly clutched the wooden chair infront to support himself.
"Babu, you didn't select her, did you?" Fakirchand spoke in a low dejected voice. "But I tell you this Babu, you have rejected a real diamond, for I know one when I see one.... Forty years of experience and...."
Fakirchand's voice faded slowly at a distance, unregistered to Anirudh's ears as he slowly sank down into his chair.
How could he not see it?
His head reeled as his mouth uttered a single sharp gasp...

"Bondita!!"

..........................................................
...........................................................
Drop a comment if you like this chapter, and I'll reply back, like those old times.
Sorry for not being able to reply back to every comment recently.
But, I love you all. ❤️❤️😘