It Wasn't Supposed To Happen

3

"Yesterday" meekly the word left her mouth.
"Yesterday...?" He asked backed, ignoring his kaka's voice. He would go away.
"What yesterday...?!?" He asked with so much intensity that she fell on the bed behind. His hands went in mid air for stopping her from falling, but he then retreated them back. Touching her felt so wrong right now.

Her words echoed in his ears, "did you ever take advantage of me in the bedroom...?"
In the bedroom... They were in the bedroom.
Why was this happening to him ?
"You are scaring me pati babu." She managed to say.
She was scared ? Uttering such words so freely, stabbing him with them in the name of curiosity and she was scared.

Only if she knew.
"Ok...ok..." He tried to calm himself down. He was her guardian, her teacher, shikshak babu. She asked him a question.
He tried to reason with himself, though he knew it was not going to work this time.
" Listen to me." He looked into her eyes. " Tell me from the beginning. Who said such things to you ? When ? Where?"
She was about to open her mouth when he hurriedly added " I won't scold you. I am not angry at you Bondita." It was the truth. He was not angry with her, he was angry with himself. Angry at the whole situation. Angry that someone had tazzed her with the topic of rape. Was it not? One word to wrap her inquisitive sentence. To his ears, his heart, it simply translated to " did you ever rape me pati babu ?"
He felt bile in his throat, tears pricking his eyes. He needed answers. He needed them now.
And maybe the neck of the person who ran their mouth infront of his little wife.

" Radhika..."
It was a little girl, wife of a 20 year man from another village. She was Bondita's friend. Bondita being the only girl in her school didn't have many friends. The boys she occasionally talked to were Batuk's friends. Batuk at an occasion had invited his friend Deepak to their haveli who had visited with his sister.
" This is my sister Radhika. She has come after so many days to visit as. She would have been bored at home so I brought her here. I hope you don't mind." He had added the last part in low tone looking towards Bondita. To which she had brightly smiled.
" Not at all...!" She chimed and jumped. " Now I can finally play doll weddings and ghar ghar with someone." She said pulling Radhika with her to backyard of the haveli.

This was all witnessed by Aniruddh. He had observed that Radhika was quit thin, meek and even looked pale. He knew the reason behind her dull appearance. It was not uncommon for victim of a child marriage to show such signs. He always observed the girl victims of child marriage of the society. Subconsciously. It had become a habit of him. After all he did what he did was to stop such marriages or atleast save the victim from it harmful effects, specially the child brides.

How could he not notice ?
After all, he was married to one.

Both girls had been now friends for a week.

" I went her to her house yesterday to meet as she was leaving for sasural today..." Bondita started. " Her husband was there to take her away. She didn't want to go with him. They must have left today morning. But pati babu, she didn't want to go with him."
Confusion and sadness evident in her eyes.