Helplessness is a state of mind, some would say. But to Mira, helplessness was a luxury, for which she neither had the privilege, nor time. She had to revive her Choto Zamindar babu, the only man she had ever loved, and for that she knew she can't give up on herself, not yet.
By the time Mira reached the hut, the sky had started to wail, fat tears pouring down on the mantle of the earth, drenching everything. The filthy touch of the school master was scorching her skin like a burn wound, making her feel like flaying her own self, but Mira knew she didn't have time. The rain helped though, a bit, and as she entered the hut, she rubbed her rain-drenched face and arms, violently, as if to remove all traces of her physical torment. The only thing that mattered was Batakrishna's health, and Mira was determined to serve him till her end.

The sight inside the hut was exactly as she had seen last. Barring the incessant rain outside, nothing changed. Batakrishna was still lying unconscious on the cot, covered by a blanket, his body burning and his feet icy cold. Mira wrapped a dry red gamcha on her waist, over her half soaked saree, and carefully sat beside him.

"Choto Jomidar babu, here... Take this... " She held his heavy unconscious head in her arms and poured drops of quinine in his mouth. Batuk didn't respond.

Mira knew the medicines, she knew the ways to treat, but nothing seemed to work with Batuk to bring down his fever.
Droplets of quinine and belladonna reached him hourly, and by late evening when everything failed, Mira sat on the floor, by the cot and banged her forehead on the hard ground, probably to draw her gods attention.
"Hey Maa Kali, Maa Durga, Maa Vaishnavi, Maa Bhawani... " She urged all the goddess she knew.
"Save him Maa... I beg you... Please... "

Even mortals don't pay heed to the begging of the helpless, why would the gods!

By late night, when the sky outside became more threatening, Mira finally got up and staggered to the rack where Meenarani Debi had set up her small temple. She took a deep breath and sank down in front of it. A brass Krishna murti glowing even in the dark, and beside, was a Shiv linga.
Mira started with threats.
"I'll never worship you again, ever." She sobbed. "Choto Jomidar Babu deserves to live, you know that... Please... Please cure him."

A loud thunder struck the earth muffling Mira's threats.

"I'll go away from him God... I'll never show my face to him... Please... Please let him live. "
The thunder continued.
The threats had become pledges.
"I'll not see my son, ever... Please God, cure him and I'll leave from everyone's sight."
She rubbed her face on the clay floor, soaking the earth in tears.
But the gods were probably not in a mood to listen that evening.

"Ahh.... " Batakrishna suddenly groaned, and Mira jumped up and ran to him.

"Are you... Batakrishna Babu... Batakrishna... Please... Open your eyes... " She held his jaws and shook him, but his face fell to the side, eyes closed, unconscious again.

"Maaa... Maa Kali... Take me... Take me instead... " She cried out loud, a heart wrenching cry. The threats and pledges had finally escalated to menacing bargain.
"If you need a life, I promise I'll give you mine... I promise... Just let him live."

She fell on his faintly beating chest and rubbed her tear-stricken face on his body, like a demented soul, and her lips muttered constant bargains for the goddess. Batakrishna's body was drenched in her tears, and in sweat!

There wasn't a way to determine the flow of time, but if there had been, Mira would have known that many hours had passed since Batuk had opened his eyes. It was scaring her to death.
With tears as her strength, and a heart full of silent sobs, Mira had somehow fallen asleep on Batakrishna's chest, her arms wrapped around his body, and her lips constantly murmuring prayers even in sleep.
She hadn't eaten or slept in the past thirty hours!

"Miraa... " Batakrishna had woken up, and as if instinctively, he called out her name. Mira grabbed his arms tighter in sleep. Batuk smiled, and then his tired eyes searched for her head placed on his body, as with gentle caresses, he woke her up to consciousness.

"Choto Jomidar Babu...!"
Mira opened her eyes wide at once and gasped at him. Her palms readily checked for the temperature on his forehead.
"No fever." Her eyes poured down once again, a sigh of relief came out of her throat.

"I know. " Batuk tried to smile.
"I dreamt of you."

Mira looked at his face in astonishment.

"I... I dreamt that I was walking to a white light, dazzling white light... ", he murmured, " And then you called me from behind." He paused to look at her face, pain written all over with clear signs of weakness. Yet her beauty stood out as always.
"I couldn't go Mira... How can I?" A single drop of tear rolled down the corner of Batakrishna's eye too, and it slowly faded in his hairline.

Mira wiped his eyes, and then her own.
"You won't go anywhere... I won't let you."

"You won't?" Batuk asked innocently, and Mira nodded sideways.

"Never."

Batakrishna breathed out sharply at her words, letting his agony escape, slowly sinking into the likeable feeling of Mira's uninhibited closeness, and Mira continued to caress his head with love.
He moved his right hand and held her wrist feebly.

"Mira... I thought I'd never see you again." His voice choked.
"Then I saw you, like an angel... First I thought it to be my mother, but then I realized it's you!" He continued.
"I haven't seen my mother Mira... Never... No one has ever caressed my head like this... Like you do..."
Another tear rolled down his eye, and Mira wiped it promptly.

"You'll have to get well soon Choto Jomidar Babu, we'll have to leave this place."
She muttered, and Batuk sighed.

"I know." He closed his eyes and swallowed hard.
"But I'm scared... Would you love me like this when I get well? Would you sit by my side and tend my hair like this?" His words were slow and staggering.
"I can be sick all my life, if that's what takes to get you this close. "

"Choto Jomidar Babu! " Mira gasped out loud at his words.
"Don't you dare say this."
Her voice was suddenly unrestrained and the fear pit that was growing in her gut spilled all over. The unholy touch of the filthy man, the rolling of unknown eyes, the rejection, the accusation... Everything came crashing, and along with it came the fear of losing the man she loved.
She broke down into violent fits of sobs.

"Ah Mira... " Batakrishna stretched his arm out to reach her, and she held it readily.
"Don't cry, pretty one, I beg you."
His voice was a soft whisper.

Mira pressed her mouth with both her palms, trying to stop herself, but the whimpers grew louder.
Batakrishna sighed. What kind of a man was he if he couldn't stop his woman from crying!

"You know what I was thinking?" He gulped, and amidst tears Mira promptly helped him drink some water.
"I was thinking, I should give you a name... Like a personal name, only for us." He smiled, and gestured for her to come closer, and Mira slowly leaned over his face to hear him clear. Her whimpers had become softer now, and she was sniffing her sobs silently.
Batuk continued.
"You know what Dada calls Boudi personally?"

"Wha... tt?"
The question came out like a hiccup.

"He calls her Shona..." Batuk smiled.
"And Satya Da calls Raimoti his Princess."
The agony in his face was replaced by a faint naughtiness.
"I'll call you... "

"Wha... tt?"
Mira's staggered question made him smile.

"I'll call you Bou."He raised his head a little to reach her lips, and Mira gasped in response, eyes widened.
"My wife, that's what you are Mira... Amar Bou!"
He pecked on her lips.

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

"Are you absolutely certain you've no idea about any activity in Chattagram?"
Officer Davidson asked restlessly, once again, as he loaded his colt carefully.

Anirudh stood watching.
"I'm certain", his voice had a restlessness too.
"And I'm certain my brother isn't involved in whatever you're hinting at." He walked around the wooden table and reached in front of the officer, his once best friend.
"My intuition says he is in trouble." He tried to calm his words. "Please Paul, I need your help."

"He was on the train to Chattagram a few days ago." Davidson sighed. "My sources had reported. " With two women, one of whose description matches with... "
He didn't complete his words, as from the drawer he pulled out a sketched portrait of a woman.

Anirudh frowned at the picture. It was the same feisty looking girl who had come to congratulate him at the court.

"Srimathi Maya Pattranavish!"
Davidson's eye's had a cold stare.
"Wife of Ramcharan, the krantikari I shot at the Raibahadur palace operation."
He huffed.
"Do you know what this means Ani?"

Anirudh, however, had pushed the picture aside, as with a sigh, he looked straight in the eye of the officer and spoke in a voice, calmer than the sea, yet deep enough to drown anymore that crosses it.

"You know who the other woman was?" He paused to let Davidson guess, yet not giving him the time to come up with an answer.
"It was Mira. He had pledged to unite her with her son, and I think both of them are in trouble."

Nothing more was needed to be said.
Paul Davidson thought just once, and then he sighed deeply.
"Alright mate. Come with me then... We find Mira, and then we kill that bloody son of a..."

"Who?"
Anirudh followed him out of the Central British police station

"That Satyakirth Sen... That's where my battalion is headed to, Chattagram Raibahadur's residence."

"Oh is it?" He tried to sound surprised.

"Yup... That bastard has plannee something big... We won't wait till it happens. I plan to catch him by surprise."

Anirudh heard the words, felt a slight tremor in his heart, his palms turning sweaty, and then he faked a courageous smile at his friend.
"Excellent... Finally... Huff... Well, give me a second, will you... I'll get in your Jeep at once."

"I thought you'll be following me in your car." Paul turned towards him and frowned, while giving instructions to his inspectors to board in, and Anirudh chuckled at his words.

"Umm... Well, not really, it's Bihari Kaka driving, you know him from Dehradun, don't you? He'll have to go back to Tulsipur with Dr. Pramanik from the Medical College, my uncle isn't keeping well you see."

Too much information at once to process, and officer Paul Davidson had just nodded his head in response, readily busying himself with the preparation of the convoy.

Anirudh hadn't wasted a moment next.
"Bihari kaka... Go straight to the bakery, you know where, and tell them Bakasur is coming to get Dwarikadhish in 24 hours. Fast."
He rushed back to secure a seat in Davidson's Jeep, beside him was a white skinned police driver, saluting him as he entered.

"Remember me Sire? It's Burnum. "
The Britisher grinned.
"I'm the one who wiped muck from your brother's Northampton shoes."
A cruel smirk played in the corner of his lips.

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