Had it been a fairly tale, Batakrishna and Mira would have taken shelter in some enchanted castle full of dragons, which he probably would have killed or tamed. But neither was it a fairly tale nor was Batakrishna the dragon slayer from the furthest corner of the earth. And needless to say, Mira was no princess either.
Thus, as per the mundane commonness of reality, Batakrishna and Mira had landed infront of an old thatched hut at the porch of which an old woman was trying her best to light a fire to her clay-made oven in hope of boiling some plain rice.

"JethiMaa, we're looking for a way to the nearest village." Batakrishna approached her, and spoke very gently. But the woman didn't reply, neither she looked up to see the man standing infront.
"JethiMaa??" Batakrishna called again.

The old woman was still busy blowing on a small pipe into the oven in order to incite the fire, and looking at her futile efforts with a creased forehead, Batuk finally let out a soft sigh and took the small pocket gas lighter out from his ankle high boot.

Mira smiled at the sight as how Batuk sat down on the mud porch infront of the woman and helped her light the fire.
The woman looked up and smiled too.

"JethiMaa, we're looking for the neare..."

The old woman didn't let Batuk complete as she promptly held his hand and nodded her head sideways.

"I'm hard of hearing son..." Her words sounded older than the wrinkles on her tanned face.
"I can't see that well too." She smiled.

"Oh... " Batuk sighed, as he leaned forward a little to her ear and tried to shout. But the woman stopped him promptly with her feeble hands.

"You two must be tired, come... eat something with me... And then you can walk west to the next village." She smiled, and with an amused expression Batuk turned around to share a glance with Mira.
Mira was smiling too.

"Who? Your wife?"
The woman asked, and Batuk nodded his head sideways.

"Not yet." He murmured inaudibly, and somehow he felt the woman sitting infront heard his heart.
She raised her hand and touched Batuk's jaw in an utmost tenderness, the one expected from mothers alone, and Batuk closed his eyes to feel the warmth.

"JethiMaa, shall I call you JethiMaa?" He shouted to her ears, and the woman nodded slowly.

"JethiMaa sounds good." She chuckled softly, and turned around to pick a small bowl with freshly cut bringal on it.
Mira promptly rushed to help her.

"What's your name Maa?" She smiled tenderly at her as her frail fingers touched Mira's chin to lift her face up.

"Mira."
She mumbled, and looked at Batuk, who inturn shouted her name to the woman's ears again.

"Ohhoo... Mira!! And you are Krishna, aren't you?" She turned to look at Batuk, and he smiled and nodded his head.

"It's Batakrishna, JethiMaa, I'm called Batuk actually." He shouted.

"Good good son, very well..." The woman smiled and exhaled sharply, concentrating on the small pot of rice boiling infront.
"Why don't you get a bath, your clothes look terrible, and then I can serve you with some rice."
She remarked without looking up, and Batuk nodded obediently.

"Isn't there no other house here? Nearby?" He reached up to the woman's ear and shouted once again, and this time the old lady flinched her wrinkled face and moved her head away.

"Son, you are screaming a little too loud, even for me..." She smiled, and Mira pressed the loose hem of her saree to cover the grin of amuse on her lips.

Batuk pursed his lips and move away.

"And, no son, no other house nearby... My husband and I were the only ones living here." She sighed deeply and closed her eyes.
"We were casted out of our village."

"Why?"
It was Mira's turn to gesture the question.

"Because, we were in love." The woman casted her cataracted greyish eyes downward bashfully, and it made Batuk smile.
Such is the sweetness of love!

The lady continued.
"Our religion is different. And when I first saw HariMohan, I was a widow, fourteen years of age, living my days counting death." She sighed again, as a drop of emotions glistened on the corner of her orbs.
"One day, he came to me and said, Julekha if I live it'd be with you, and if I die, it'd be for your love." She smiled again, reminiscing her memories, as the fondness of the thoughts made her blush once again.
"And, we eloped, and found our small haven here, amidst this wilderness... No one would come here... They say the forest beside, it's haunted, but my Hari would said to me that Lekha, as long as I'm with you, no one, not even death can touch you." She exhaled sharply and blew some more air into the oven pipe.
"And, see... He was right, he left me and I'm still counting my days."
A drop of tear rolled down Julekha's eyes and Mira got up and sat beside her. She didn't say a word, but held on to the old woman's arm and squeezed a little.
Julekha smiled, as very slowly she turned to face Mira.
"You are a pretty one, aren't you!"she chuckled, "Go around the house, and you'll find a bathroom, my Hari made it for me." She inhaled fondly.

"And me?" Batuk murmured, but as if gauging his thoughts, Julekha turned around and raised her index finger.

"Padma flows right infront. Take a dip and wash away all that makes you sad." She smiled.

It was quite evident from the way Julekha spoke, continually, that she hadn't had a visitor in quite sometime now, may be years, and Mira's attentive gaze and occasional nodding of head filled that empty void adequately.
Mira was the listener of dreams! She won't intervene, she won't ask questions, she won't give her opinions too... She would just listen, patiently, her large eyes would become larger in response at times, and her red lips would curve into a smile, and she would just keep listening.

"So four summers back, when Hari left me to his gods, I...I thought to end my life, but then... Then I thought, would he want this of me?" Julekha continued, as very tenderly she pulled out two sarees from a tin trunk from under the cot.
Mira rushed to help. She had just bathed, the wet white saree still wrapped around her slender body, her dampened hair hanging loose, and the old woman smiled at her fondly holding the sarees in her hand.
One was blue, Batuk's favourite colour, and running her fingers gently on it, feeling the old soft fabric, she let out a sigh and picked the other one, a pale yellow cotton saree with thin green border.
Julekha smiled.

"It takes time my dear, it takes time..."
She murmured.

Takes time for what? What time was she referring to? And, would any time be adequate if she was to accept her heart? Won't her acceptance mean her lover's doom? Won't it mean living a life away from everyone whom he had always loved, his family! Won't it be exactly like this old woman standing infront, lonely, lost in love?"

So many unanswered questions crowded inside her head, and all Mira did was exhale softly.

Julekha went out to fetch a ribbon for her hair, despite her mild protests, as very quickly Mira wrapped the saree around her in the old bangal way, without pleats infront. She wore no blouse, as there were none, and blotches of wetness formed on the saree where it touched her endowed bosoms.
Mira quickly pulled her discarded wet saree and tried to dry her hair, as very carefully she rolled the strands up into a wet messy high bun, revealing a good portion of her slender white neck and spine to view.

"Here you are..." Julekha walked inside, a little bend with age, as very tenderly she held Mira's hand and made her sit on the small cot beside. She too sat infront and very slowly held her plam open making Mira gasp at the sight.
A pair of silver earrings and a small septum ring nested carefully in it.
Julekha smiled.

"I've... I've been meaning to give this to someone... someone just like you Maa..."
She touched Mira's chin once again, and although the glisten in her orbs was perhaps not visible to her old eyes, but her old heart didn't miss the emotion behind it. Mira was crying, and for the first time it wasn't sorrow she bore in those tears.

"JethiMaa... ", she gasped, as very fondly the old woman picked up the small dangling septum ring and made her wear it.
Mira smiled amidst tears.
In every step, every moment of her life, she had reminded herself of her status, she was a widow, and it was as true as the existence of the sun in earth. Yet, at that moment, sitting infront of the old woman, a complete stranger she had met only an hour ago, Mira felt more connected than ever. Julekha JethiMaa was adorning her not with ornaments but her motherly love, and hence despite knowing how wrong it was as per societal customs, she just couldn't say no.
Mira just sat there, her eyes closed, relishing the touch of motherly affection for the first time in life, and Julekha prepared her fondly as the daughter she never had!

"Your hair is still very wet, I'll tie them later", she smiled, finger brushing the long silky stands of Mira's hair, as with tender care she took out a small box of black kohl and handed it to her.

"Surma... Wear it on your eyes. Let me see how it looks." She smiled affectionately, and Mira nodded her head gently to her request.

The thin dab of black kohl painted on her eyes, giving a new definition to those large eyelashes, and Julekha dipped her finger in the black and smeared some at the back of her ear.

"May your gods bless you child, and may my God give you all the happiness that your deserve."

Happiness??
Does she really deserve any part of being happy?

Mira thought, and unknowingly her head leaned forward resting on the old woman's frail shoulder.
Such is the bond of love!

"Everything would be alright Maa." Julekha patted on Mira's head tenderly. No bond, no connection, no knowledge about Mira's past, yet her motherly assurance soothed Mira's tattered pained heart with a coating of softness.

Mira didn't speak a word, but her silence spoke more than any words ever could, and old Julekha heard it all.

"Do you love him? Your Krishna?"she asked, and Mira nodded slowly, her head still resting on Julekha's shoulder.

"And him?"

Mira just squeezed the old woman's arms in response, and Julekha JethiMaa chuckled softly at the meaning.

"Very lively, a boy he is... But somehow I feel he'll keep you happy Mira Maa."

Her words made Mira lift her head and look up. She leaned closer to Julekha's ear and spoke gently.
"I know... And that's what I fear."

Julekha chuckled.
"I know this fear... Fear of hurting the one you love." She sighed loudly.
"I too was torn once, my man leaving everything behind for me, but when on spring evenings we used to sit by the river, his head on my lap, listening to the birds sing, it all felt worthy!"

"You think so?" Mira asked, but Julekha couldn't hear it. She smiled in turn and ran her hand on Mira's head.

"When you love someone, love with all you have... Because true love knows no boundaries, no restrictions, no inhibitions..."

"And the society?" Mira murmured and old Julekha sighed and got up slowly.
It was surprising how she felt her nerves even without hearing her words

"Don't worry about it. They would learn... In some years, may be decades... " She sighed, "but they'll learn."

*******

May the blame be on genetics, the twenty year old Batakrishna Roy Chowdhury had the kind of face that could stop heartbeats... No one ever told him that, but perhaps, unknowingly so, his heart guided him to the profession of healing people, he was specialising in the ailments of the Heart, irony, and the best part was he was completely oblivion to it. Women would look at him, would give him attention ever since he crossed adolescence, and by then he must had gotten used to that, the sudden pause in a person's natural expression when they looked his way followed by overcompensating with a nonchalant gaze and a weak smile. Of course the blush that accompanied it was a dead give-away. But Batakrishna never really cared. It didn't help that he was so modest with it, as it made the girls fall for him all the more. Yet despite all the opportunity that came his way he turned out to be the most staunch one-woman-man who prized genuineness and thoughtful purity of the heart above lipstick and high-heels. Batakrishna was handsome alright, but inside he was beautiful!

Bathing in the cold waves of the holy Padma river, shedding off all tiredness of the soul, Batakrishna, bare bodied, with only the white sacred thread round his shoulder, and the wet dhoti wrapped around his waist to sheath his modesty, looked alluringly aesthetic. He rushed inside the mud hut almost sprinting, trying to beat the chill in the air, shivering from the cold, his teeth clattering. With his characteristics jolly childishness, he screamed a loud hoo-haa sound as he dashed inside the small room where Mira was combing her wet traces.

"MaGoo..."
Mira was startled considerably. She gasped out loud at his sudden unnatural vocalisation, resounding inside the small closed room, and for a moment both of them were dumbfounded.
Mira was standing with widened eyes, the wooden comb clutched to her breasts, and slowly her eyes started to roam around his water-drenched face, feeling a strong rise in her heartbeat.

Batakrishna was shivering, standing infront of her with only a loin cloth, and his breathings were rapid, audible, inciting the intensity of the moment manyfold. Mira gulped nervously, as against her will, her eyes started to trail down Batakrishna's wet body... his long neck, his toned heaving chest, his perfect chiseled torso, that V-shaped abdomen...
Batuk too was looking at her, mesmerized, and his gaze made Mira feel a shiver down her spine.

"Miraa..." Batuk called out, almost a murmur, and like a powerless soul, Mira walked closer to him in response.

"You... you wore Kajol?" Batuk gulped the question, his breathing yet faster than before, and Mira heard the sound of his pounding heartbeat, matching hers.

"Yes." She replied, and looked away.

Batuk didn't respond on words, but with a gentle touch of just one finger he held Mira's chin and brought her face back to match his gaze.

"I love the nose ring." He hushed, and Mira felt a pool of unknown desire gathering at her core.
Batakrishna's eyes trailed a little south, fixating on her quivering red lips, and very helplessly he parted his own, biting his lower lip to stop his advances.

"You... You have beautiful eyes." He murmured instead.

The closeness of Batakrishna's body was making Mira feel the heat of his desires too, and on top of that he was praising her eyes while devouring her lips with his gaze.

"Choto Zamindar Babu..." She parted her lips a little and Batuk hummed an yes in response, but that's all... None spoke more.

The attraction was instant between them, it had always been this, the sanest kind of madness. And, both realised it won't be long before it destroys them completely.
The difference was Batuk wished for this destruction and Mira wanted to save him from it.

Tortured, neglected, disregarded all her life, this attraction was everything Mira ever needed and wanted, and yet in moments like these she panicked all the same. Just in the morning, she thought she had almost finished conquering those ghosts, the ones that made her feel it to be safer to run from him than to him. Yet, in truth, she could't run. She tried and each time she started to spiral.
The strangest part being the more Batakrishna turned away, the more she wished for him, and somehow it evaporated her steady composure, as if she was a spinning top that needed his hand to stop!

"Choto Zamindar Babu..." She murmured his name, and Batuk moved his finger from her chin to her lips.

"I... I'm burning Mira..." He gulped the words, almost inaudibly, as the touch of her lips on her finger made him close his eyes.

Mira didn't respond, not because she didn't wish to, but because she had no suitable answer.

Batuk was breathing harder with every passing minute, his soul encapsulating in Mira's dark kolh, his heart dangling in that gently swaying septum ring of hers.

"I wish I had died before I met you Mira..." He hushed again, his voice hoarse and grainy, and it only pumped more blood inside Mira's heart.
She narrowed her eyes at his words, and then as realisation dawned, she quickly placed her hand on his lips to stop him.
Batuk kissed her hand in return, making her gasp.

"Don't... Don't say these." She tried to move her hand slowly but was promptly seized by Batuk's strong grip.

"Then don't go... Don't make me suffer like this." The urge in his voice was thick with desire and love.

"What would you have me do then?"
Mira breathed the words, as deep inside she was craving to hear his answer, no matter how unrealistic it would be... She just... just wanted to hear it once.

"Marry me... " Batakrishna had let go of her hand, as with a gentle tug he pulled Mira close to his chest, his hands placed on the small of her back.
Mira gasped as her pounding bosoms collided against his strong chest muscles, still dampened.

"And?" Mira closed her eyes and murmured.

"And, have my babies... Lot of them."
He hushed into her ears, and in the entrapment of his arms, Batuk felt her shiver at his words.

Mira almost moaned.
"And?"

"And, I'll love you Mira... All my life... I'll love you like none had ever been loved before... I'll protect you..." His hands slowly moved up her body, caressing her spine, and Mira arched her back to feel the touch of his hands.

"And?"

"And... I'll show you stars in broad daylight... For the rest of your life, everyday, every moment... and I will..."
He leaned forward and placed his lips on her nose, a soft kiss, and Mira clutched his arms tighter, digging her nails in his skin.
"And, I'll never let you cry."

He whispered the words to her lips, and a drop of salty tear dripped down the corner of her eye, as if awaiting his words, and Batuk licked it slowly from her cheek.

"If you cry, I'll eat you... And your tears... Just like..." The words didn't end, but Mira's longheld dam of resistance did. With a violent urgency she moved her hand up wrapping it around Batuk's neck, and pulled his face down to match upto her length. Batuk complied at once, and Mira lifted her toes to do the rest.

The realisation that Mira was kissing him came much later, as the sheer intensity of the moment made Batuk loose every bit of his senses. Mira's mouth was pressed on his violently, clumsily, and very slowly Batuk parted his lips and started to suck on that puffy lower lip of hers that he had been craving for so long.
Mira slowly started to reciprocate, letting him suck the nectar from her lips, and she sucked his upper lip in return.
Batuk felt frenzied.
This was the first time after that fateful night in Tulsipur haweli that Mira was this close to him, and Batuk wanted the moment to freeze.
He moved his left hand down Mira's spine and grab her buttocks firmly, making her jump in their kiss, as his right hand automatically moved infront of her body and started to knead the softness of her bosom. It was only a moment, but he felt the heat of his desire burning his body in full flames. He wanted Mira, completely, entirely, and the thought made streams of raging blood rush down every part of his body, pumping his muscles in response.

Batakrishna Roy Chowdhury knew no middle way in love.

He pushed his tongue inside Mira's mouth and deepened the kiss, and Mira curled her toes and let out a soft muffled moan in response.

"Miraa..." Batakrishna moaned too, letting go of her lips briefly to breath, and Mira hid her face in his chest at once.

Both were breathing rapidly, both were panting, and when Batakrishna tried to lift her face once again to resume the kiss, Mira turned away.

"This is wrong... This is so very wrong..." She blurted out, and contrary to her words, her hands started to roam aimlessly around Batuk's body, feeling every curve of his attractive muscles.

"Then why are you here?" Batuk's jaws however had hardened at her words at once.
"Do you think I'm your plaything that you can do whatever you want with me, whenever you wish!"
He chewed the words sharply, his grip around her body loosening up, and. Mira looked up at him with a confused expression.

"What...I... I didn't..."

"You didn't intend to do this? This accident! These kajol in your eyes, this nose ring, everything is an accident isnt it?" He huffed the words and turned around, his entire body vibrated with unsubduable rage, and it made Mira move back at few steps from him.

"I meant..." She murmured, her voice fearful, and Batuk raised his hand to stop her.

"I know what you meant." He huffed, and picking up the clean white dhoti that Mira had kept on the cot for him, he turned towards her again.
"Guess what... That white saree suits you better, at least it's a reminder that these accidents aren't meant to happen." He spoke the words as if telling himself, and Mira lowered her gaze slowly.
"Eat, and pack fast... We'll leave in an hour." He growled at her.
"The road would have less chances of such accidents!"

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

Please vote and comment if you want me to write more.

What do you think would happen to Mira and Batuk next?

Any ideas about the haunted forest they are heading towards?

What do you think Bondita would do to come out of the mess?

Finally... What do you think Raimoti and Satya are doing in the palace?