It Wasn't Supposed To Happen

98

Aniruddh woke up to the sound of footsteps out side the room. Still a little dark out, he could make out it was dawn. The servents must be cleaning. He could not go out right now. Roy Chowdhury family was the news maker of the village and people just wanted to land gossips from them. They had to be very careful in engaging a servant. Specially because of his Kaka and Baba using some twisted methods here and there. He too had joined their league when he had the master dragged to that building. Such things should not get out. What there security was, where were the guns kept, what is in the locker and where to find important papers. They had many enemies. And if not, vultures eyeing them. So they had only two trust worthy servants they let on in. All others were just limited to their jobs and seen out. One such servent was outside. He knew it was not Bihari or Koyeli. They did the more important jobs in the haveli. He could not get out right now to start a gossip ' Chhota Malik has started sleeping with his young wife.' around the village for them to pester her like Aarti did to him.

Aniruddh sighed and closed his eyes waiting for the opportunity to move out. He had his face towards the door. He had not expected such a sound sleep after what happened but he did sleep well. He remembered the night and sighed again. He had got to do something about this...his behaviour. He was not guilty of anything. Yet. She had stopped him so easily. But there could be a day she won't be able to. Or... won't want to.
' It's nothing Aniruddh. Just hormones. Just...a need. Not above her emotions.'

Atleast he was not surprised by his actions anymore. He had accepted that things did happen when a man and a young girl are to spend so much time together. And they were married...so... Till he conducted himself in an honourable manner and didn't let his thoughts get dirty and didn't make her feel like he was talking advantage of her...he was fine. He won't hurt her.

Aniruddh turned on his side to look at her only to find...a wall of pillows.
What ? Why ?!

This was the only good part of sleeping next to her. Waking to see her face the first thing in the morning and not being able to do so or say actually being blocked, spoilt his mood the first thing in the morning. Two pillows stacked one over the other, he grabbed the upper one  and jerked it away. He picked the other one up and as it was suspended between his left hand bed, he saw from between the gap, her hair cascading down her...bare shoulder. He didn't even know when he put the pillow away. His eyes not leaving the site. His heart beat in content. Not at watching something he had not seen before or at the thought of laying next to her when she was indecent but at the fact that she listened to him. He requested something and she abided. He tried to teach her something and she understood.

That was what he loved the most about her. When most teenagers just got moody or rebellious, Bondita stood calm and composed. Understanding everything, learning everything. At the age when children thought they knew the best and any instruction given to them came off to them as restrictions, Bondita listened to them, went through with them trusting the elders even after everything she was put through by them all, Kaka, Thakuma, Sampoorna. They all fooled her but she even today trusted them and did what they said. She still chose to understand his mental status and his guilt when he hurt her and never stopped trusting him even for a moment. Even after all that he did.

Inquisitive in nature since he met her, she never questioned his ways of teaching her. His ways of handling their marriage. Asked only to understand better but never in doubt. She never doubted him. That is why it hurt to see when she had refused to understand him back in those days. Trying to make him fill her hair with sindoor and other things. This nature...the sweet and understanding one was the core of Bondita and watching her loose herself back then had made him so so desperate. As if he was loosing her, loosing his life.

Bondita was a heavy sleeper, he was not. He knew she had woken up in the middle of the night. He had woken up as soon as she had moved away. He didn't just show that to her. He was feeling lazy and too sleepy. He felt her take his shoes and socks off. Loosening his suspenders and removing his watch. He had just let her do what she wanted too sleepy to protest and was asleep again as he felt her side of the bed dip. She was back and he was content.