Since the night Trilochan had fled from the Calcutta Club, without ensuing his nephew's safety, his life had been nothing but a rollercoaster of emotions. It was anticipation, it was fear, but mostly it was anger...
Cradling his granddaughter in his arms, he had felt helpless, and so very angry, so deeply bloody angry with the universe, with God. Everything seemed so unfair. Everything he had ever wished for, everyone he had ever loved, all his struggles, it had always been exactly what he hadn't asked for. He had lost the woman he loved, he had lost his newborn, and yet the sufferings hadn't seized. The pain that had come with it, the brutal... brutal suffering of his soul was his sleepless companion. There was no other way to escape it, no way to learn what he had learned, the hard way, and the anger was because now his only reason to live, his nephew... was in danger too... And all he could do was nothing! He wanted to scream... to break things... to cry out loud... But all he did was sit by the Durga temple with his grandchild on his lap, praying silently to the goddess with his tears as the only offering.
He won't eat, nor would he let the goddess eat as well, till the time a news of his nephew's whereabouts reaches him.
And, on the third night, as he offered his soul to the goddess, begging for the safety of his family, he heard a carriage bell, ringing at his doorstep.

"Bihari... Bihari... Who is it...?"
He called out to his faithful servant, and walked unsteadily towards the gate.
He wasn't the mighty Zamindar anymore, but a hapless father, pinning for his sons, and as he ran out of the threshold with his heart in his hand, he saw his youngest standing infront of him, a smile on his face, and at once he know the goddess hadn't been unkind to him, not this time.

"Anirudh?" He had asked, his voice faint and his entire body trembling from the anxiety that the moment had presented.

"He's good and safe." Batuk smiled, and approached him, and Trilochan's lips quivered again.

"And Bahu?"

"She's good too!"
Batuk had bent down to touch his uncle's feet, and instead he felt his knees tremble, as the old man held Batuk's shoulder at once for support.

"Kaka!" Batuk caught him in his strong arms, letting him rest his anxious heart, and Trilochan clutched Batuk's shirt firmly, burying his face on his shoulder.

"Are you alright Kaka?" Batuk hushed, tightening his grip on the old man.

Trilochan looked frail, his deep-set eyes reflected the sleepless worries that had been his refuge in the past few days. He hadn't eaten anything, and now that his mind was relieved, the weakness was taking over his body... slowly!

"I'm good... I'm good!" Trilochan tried to smile, standing upright once again he touched Batuk's face, cupping his jaws in his palm, and his eyes had moistened with the undeniable paternal love that every cell of his existence oozed.

"You suddenly look all grown up Batuk..." He smiled, and Batuk smiled too.

"I'm here now Kaka... Dada too would come home soon... And... And everything would be like it was before."

Trilochan nodded in agreement, exhaling sharply, as he pressed his eyelids to let the tears sink in, and when he opened them again, infront of him was the silhouette of a young girl, smiling at him happily.

"Who are you?" Trilochan asked, a little surprised, as he turned to Batuk and repeated the question with a frown.
"Who is this Batuk?"

"She is Bhargavi." Batuk remarked, as if his uncle was supposed to be familiar with the name, and before Trilochan could ask any more questions, he saw the girl nearing him, and she stooped down to touch his feet, expecting his blessings in return.

"Bhargavi what?" He asked, and the girl looked up and smiled brightly.

"Bhargavi Bharadwaj."

"Bharadwaj? Kulin Brahmin!" Trilochan narrowed his eyes and Bhargavi nodded her head.

"My father is... He performs pujas at people's households."

"A pujari pandit?"
Trilochan remarked, and Bhargavi nodded once again.

"We are very poor Boro Zamindar Babu... And that's what my father does to earn a living."

A smile had escalated on Trilochan's lips at this uninhibited honestly and humbleness, and he touched the girl's head in a gentle heartfelt blessing.

"Shukhi Bhava", he blessed her, and Bhargavi stood up at once, and turned to look at Batuk's happy face, their eyes meeting at once, and Batuk nodded at her expressing his approval of her behaviour.

"Wait... Does her father know she's here?" The exchanged glance between his nephew and Bhargavi hadn't skipped Trilochan, as his eyebrows frowned at once at the anticipation of having to repeat history from ten years ago. He feared that his youngest one too would follow the path of the eldest, marrying someone as an act of social deed.

"My father knows, and he had let me study because of Barrister Babu, he's the one who pays for my education."
Bhargavi grinned, and Trilochan narrowed his eyes, examining the girl closely. She was a little on the thinner side, not a typical beauty, but her eyes reflected an intelligent spark, brightening her entire appearence in it.
Her thick black hair was braided tightly on both sides, and she wore a simple checked saree, with a semij on top.

"Oh... So you're not Batuk's...."
Trilochan didn't complete his words as Bhargavi narrowed her eyes and looked at Batuk with confusion, seeing him roll his eyes at his uncle.

"Kaka... What's wrong with you? Bhargavi is from Dehradun... She studied in the same convent as Boudi."

"Dehradun?" The name refreshed a lot of not so old memories in Trilochan's mind, and he exhaled sharply, and nodded his head.
"I see!" He remarked, taking the plate back  from the guard's hand, about to walk inside the drawing hall slowly, but stopped abruptly as he heard Bhargavi call out to someone. 

"Didi... Come." Bhargavi stretched her arms, and from behind the shadowed darkness of the main iron gate, came out another feminine figure, her sharp facial features clearing up with every step she took.

Trilochan adjusted his gold rim glasses and looked again, the pale white skin, the long cascading hair, the deep brown eyes... all looked familiar to him, and as the woman came near him and stooped down to touch his feet, he stepped a few feet backward, instinctively, his mouth parted, and his throat dry.

"Mira!!" He exclaimed.

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

The deepest of despair fashions the strongest of believers, for when there is no other way out but to ask for the love of the divine, for a light to shine upon a way to better times, we call and there comes an answer... always!

Sensing the unnecessary delay, Anirudh and Raimoti had walked back to the hut, in search of their companions, only to be struck by the cruel reality, the reality that had forced them to drift apart, physically, as in mind, they both felt the presence, a presence bubbling up hope in their heart.

"What now Anirudh Da?" Raimoti asked. It's been three hours that they were walking, ceaselessly, after Anirudh had left the two sacks of grains at the porch of the hut, bidding farewell to the widow and her son.

"Now we walk ahead Raimoti, measuring every step we take, and in each step we'd look for them..."

"What if the British police had taken..."
Raimoti couldn't complete as the thought made her shudder in fear.

"We are talking about Satyakirth Sen... And trust me, Bondita is equally quick-wittted..." Anirudh turned back and stopped, waiting for Raimoti to catch up. "They will be alright Raimoti, let's just find them!"

Raimoti staggered towards Anirudh, stretching her hand for support and Anirudh held her at once, letting her crutch on his arm for support.

"You think so Anirudh Da?" She sighed, and Anirudh nodded in negation.

"I know so." He remarked.

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

"You??!!"
Trilochan stood still, as in his moment of emotional dumbfoundedness, he realised it'd take time for his brain to find the words to adequately express what he felt... And hence he stood still, quiet, letting his fingers trace the sharp edge of the curved brass plate, rendered so beautiful by the deep varnish hue.

Mira hadn't replied, neither did she react to his sudden discourteousness. Instead, she had simply touched the ground where Trilochan had stood, and brushing her fingers on the red stone floor, she touched her head, straining a forced blessing.

"Batuk... What is she doing here?" Trilochan cleared his throat, and Batuk shrugged.

"Dada asked me to bring her here. She's looking for her son."
Batuk replied plainly.

"Oh...!" Trilochan sighed.
"Tell her to take the room on the terrace." He addressed her in third person, and Mira pulled the shawl further down her forehead and nodded obediently.

"And Bhargavi?" Batuk asked, as Trilochan walked back inside.

"Second floor, guest room." He commanded.

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

"A little more Rai... Just a little..." Anirudh was urging the tired woman, almost on the verge of tears, as he himself panted from the exertion of walking at a stretch for almost four hours.

"I can't... Anirudh Da... I can't... "
Raimoti weeping silently, breaking down, as her knees sank into the muddy road, her head buried into her hands.

"Just a little further Rai... I can see a two storeyed hut at a distance." He sat down too, infront of the weeping woman, touching her head with one hand and pointed at a direction with the other.
"Just a bit more."

Raimoti looked up, tears flowing down her eyes, and Anirudh sighed at her condition.

"The tire tracks aren't too be found anymore... They should be here, somewhere around..." He hushed, making Raimoti wipe her tears.
"And soon it would be darker, we'll have a find a shelter Rai."

Rai nodded silently, and with one hand lifted the hem of her saree, revealing her tender sore feet, bruised and bleeding, and contemplating for a few seconds, Anirudh exhale sharply and leaned forward, cradling Raimoti's petite frame in his strong arms, making her gasp.

"I'm sorry. I should have considered your health." He spoke slowly, and Raimoti held his neck in an instinctive reaction.

"I...I need to use the bathroom too." Raimoti murmured, and Anirudh nodded silently, increasing the pace of his walk.

"Another few minutes Rai, hold tight." He breathed.

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