"Daktar Babu... Daktar Babu..."
Gobindo called out loud as his screams woke Kshitija up from her sleep.

Suresh hadn't returned from the hospital all night, and Kshitija had used this silver opportunity to device a perfect plan to get back to the Roychowdhury's.
She lifted the window curtain and  looked outside.

"Anirudh's caretaker!" She exclaimed. "What the hell is this one doing here?"

She wrapped her head and face in a cotton stole and came out in the open Verandah.

"What do you want?" She asked sharply.

"Daktar babu... Is he inside?"

Kshitija noticed anxiety written all over the simpleton's body as he was panting with physical exertion.

"No... Tell me. I'm his family."

"I'm coming from Barrister Babu's banglow. There has been... has been an accident." Gobindo blurted out.

"Who has met with an accident?" Kshitija asked sharply as her heart started to rumble at the thought of her plan getting jeopardized.

"Maa... Maalkin... Accident... Where is Daktar Babu?" Gobindo was clearly panicking as his words started to muddle up in confusion.

"He is in the hospital." Kshitija replied sharply as she turned around to re-enter her room.

"Dugga maa... " Gobindo raised his hands to his forehead as Kshitija heard a tone of relief in his voice.

"What happened?" She asked again, turning towards him.

"She is already at the hospital... with the young sister... I'm sure Dugga Maa will make everything well...!" Gobindo muttered out the words as he started sprinting his way towards Dehradun Central Hospital.

Maalkin... Young sister... all the salutations and addresses sounded vague to Kshitija as she sat on her bed, thinking about her next course of action.
'Whatever it was, the widow needs to be kidnapped on the road itself. And, as for the 'Maalkin', it would be so much easy to take an wounded Bondita than the usual fiesty one!' She thought viciously.
She lay back on the bed thoughtfully as a freshly fabricated menace started to take shape in her perilous vision.

"Perfect", Kshitija shrieked in exuberance as her mind finally shaped the perfectly devised new plan.

She took out the small whistle and blew it again, closing her eyes to savour the sweet thought of revenge in her mind.

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

"Suresh Da..." Bondita almost ran across the hospital corridor towards the doctor as he came out of the examination room.
"How is she?"

"Much better now." Suresh replied. " These issues are because of her fragile body and weakness. I have given her the required medicine, she'll be fine in a while."

"When can I take her home?" Bondita asked eagerly.

"In a few hours... " Suresh smiled brightly at her. " Don't worry Bondita, you have brought her here right on time. She'll be good."

Bondita held Suresh's hand as her eyes started to flow.
"Dada... Thank you so much. You have no idea how scared..."

Suresh didn't let her complete her sentence.
"Bondita, I'm a doctor... It's my job." He paused. " But, if you really want to thank me, I would request a favor from you."

"Tell me Dada... Anything... Anything at all."
Eagerness was laced in Bondita's voice.

"Not now Bondita... Not here. But I'll ask you in due time."

Suresh excused himself and Bondita slowly walked towards the examination room. Through the glass window, she saw Mira's pale countenance as she lay still on the small bed. Her eyes slowly opened as she caught glimpse of Bondita's tear-striken face. Bondita waved at her lovingly as she saw Mira curving a faint smile on her lips.

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

A perilous, shadowed figure lurked behind the huge pine tree that had bifurcated the main road emerging out from the hospital entrance. The sun had set long behind the gigantic mountains as a uncanny darkness prevailed in the atmosphere, enveloping the surroundings in a unpleasant swathe.
Bondita and Mira sat silently on the backseat of her scarlet car while Gobindo carefully drove them towards the banglow.

Bondita had covered herself in her red shawl and her hand was cradled around Mira's shoulders as she rested the head peacefully leaning on Bondita's body.

"Drive slow Gobindo." Bondita remarked softly as the car suddenly hitched with a violent jerk before halting abruptly.

"Maalkin... Tyre!" Gobindo murmured in frustration as his eyes suddenly widened at a sight in the near distance.

"Maalkin... Look..." He hushed drawing Bondita's attention as she saw a cluster of fire torches advancing towards them.

A sharp jolt of fear ran down Bondita spine as she gauged the magnanimity of the situation.
In an instinct, her sixth sense warned her that the fire torches were not meant for her, but for the young girl sitting beside her! Those treacherous villagers were coming for Mira...

There was not a single moment to waste.

"Mira... Get up... " She lurched Mira to make her aware of the situation.
"Wear these... Hurry up!" Bondita hushed as she quickly opened her gold bangles and fingers rings and shoved them in Mira's hand.

With a swift urgency, she almost snatched Mira's white shawl and exchanged it with hers instead.

"Pull down the shawl and cover your face." She commanded her. "and under no circumstances you shall make any noise."

"Didi..." Mira's voice quivered in an unknown apprehension.

"Swear to me Mira... swear on your unborn child."
Bondita's voice was firm as she quickly opened her hair, ruffling her locks infront of her face. She wrapped the white shawl around her body, covering her head. Only her moist lips were visible in the shadowed darkness.

"Gobindo... No matter what, take Mira back to the hospital... And FIND BARRISTER BABU!"

The sharp fearful intonation of Bondita's voice made Gobindo jump in his seat and he replied in a shaky voice.
"Ji Maa..."

"Mira... Give me your hair pin... Fast!"

She almost snatched the sharp gold pin from Mira's hair and pinned it to the saree plated on her shoulder.
She held Mira's hand firmly in her own as spoke in sharp words.

"Now... Listen carefully... You are Bondita and I am Mira... And DON'T MAKE ANY SOUND."

Mira started to shiver violently as the fire torches approached the car making their human features tangible amidst the dark.

"I'm scared..." Mira's voice quivered.

"Don't... I have sworn to protect you... And I'll."

A fire touch appeared right infront of the driver's window as a sharp blow rattled the glass.

"We're here for the treacherous widow..." A deep voice roared from the dark.

"Give us the witch and we mean no harm to you." Another snarled viciously.

"Maalkin.... " Gobindo cried out as two of the shadowed figures dragged him out of his seat and pressed his frightened wiggly body against a pine trunk.

"Didi..." Mira hushed as her voice choked in fear and anticipation.

"Sshh..."
Bondita slowly unlatched the car door and got down on the street.

The lurking shadowed figure smiled from afar, hidden behind the shades of darkness, as a sharp whistle echoed in the ominous atmosphere.

"There... There is the widow!" The crowd grated unanimously as they saw a lean female figure in a pale yellow saree standing infront of them. Her head was sheathed in a white stole and her hands were devoid of any ornamentation... Her long traces fell open down below her waist, covering mostly of her shadowed doomy face.

"Witch....!!" A man from the crowd gnarled at her.
"You are not with child... You lying hag!"

"Bhairav... Tie the witch up!" Someone shouted out from the crowd as Bondita saw two men approaching her with a thick coconut rope in their hands.

Bondita clenched her teeth and fisted her hand.

"Maa Durga... Give me strength." She murmured inaudibly as the men tugged her hands behind and tied them tightly in a cow-hitch knot.

Her face twitched in a sharp pain as she felt a cloth was been tied around her mouth making her gag in agony.

"Throw the witch in the cart... Let's take her to the old temple." A voice growled from the crowd.

"Yes... Let's take her to Maa Kali... Let the witch burn there!" Another voice snapped.

Bondita stood still, she didn't make any attempts to free herself, nor did she wiggle. She felt her body being dragged in the darkness as someone tossed her inside a bullock cart.
Bondita closed her eyes in acute affliction, and prayed again.

"Barrister Babu... Where are you! Save me... Save your Bondita!"