It Wasn't Supposed To Happen

58

" You can't be with someone else..."

Bondita opened her eyes in the darkness of her room. The words had made a home in her heart. Her Pati Babu always said no one owned anybody but it seemed that he had laid his claim on her last night.

And she didn't find it as constricting as he had said being owned by someone would be.
A faint smile crept up.

" Will you believe me if I take you to my room every night and..."

And just like that the smile vanished leaving behind the memories of what happened after.

" Go."

He had looked so broken. On edge.
He looked ready to jump off. He looked dangerous.

The wound...

Bondita got up with a jerk . It was already time to get up. She wanted to catch him before he left his room. There was still time for him to wake. She hurriedly got fresh, took a bath, draped a light saree as it was quick to wear, didn't bother with the jewellery in a hurry. The sindoor and bindiya were never ignored.

A first aid box in her hands she made her way to his room.
" Let him be asleep Dugga maa... Let him be asleep." She prayed as she reached his room only to find the room wide open.

Oh no.

How was she going to face him ?

She peeked inside the room to find...

" Bhari Babu...?"

" Ji Malikin ji !"

He had a broom in his hand and was scratching his head standing at the foot of the bed.

The bed. Was empty.

" What are you doing here Bhari Babu ?" She stepped in and was now able to make out why Bihari had been looking around in disbelief. She had already seen the scattered cotton and feathers but now her eyes found the blood on the floor.

Drops and drops.

She followed the trail with a sinking heart.
And why not...?

There was so much blood.

It was her Pati Babu's blood.

She entered the bathroom only to find cracked mirror and shards of glasses on the floor. Too covered in blood.
Did he...step on them...?!
Was his hand not the only thing bleeding ?

" WHERE IS HE...?!!" She came out screaming at Bihari but her voice got stuck as her eyes followed the drops to the door where there seemed to be more. She remembered him standing there after shuting the door.

" WHERE IS HE ?" She was panicking now.

" He was getting ready when I passed this room. He asked me to clean it as he went down stairs."

" His hand..." She was about to cry. " Was it bleeding ?"

" No Malikin. He must have patched what ever wound it was. Maybe it had stopped bleeding on its own."

" Are you crazy ??! How can it stop on its own ?! Look at how much blood there is !!!!"

Bihari looked around confused. Yes there was blood indicating a wound more than a mere cut. Yes it trailed as very, very tiny drops across the room but practically looking at it, it was not that much.

" Bahu raniji I think it was not much big of a wound." The size of her eyes grew twice making Bihari move further back only for him to find a little blood on the floor right where Aniruddh had slept on the bed, hand obviously dangling from there.
He looked at it and closed his eyes in regret.