Love Along With Heartache

Chapter Twenty Three

Train journey and Calcutta

"Vashma, do you need anything?"-Anirudh was asking this question for the seventh time, in what seemed like an eternity but each time her answer was negative.

He was feeling frustrated with her lack of response. It had been more than ten hours, since they had boarded the train but her nonchalant attitude was not sitting well with him.

Her heartbreak was not sitting well with him.

"Barrister sahaab, I am not hungry."-He looked at her in relief as she answered the question this time instead of shaking her head in negative.

Vashma felt that her mouth had dried up. She was feeling parched and hungry but some unknown reason was stopping her from replying to his queries and accepting his offering.

He had already done too many favours on her.

The biggest of them was saving her life.

Anirudh felt frustrated as she called him barrister sahaab once again but he didn't correct her yet. It was not the proper time to initiate a conversation about their titles.

Besides, they had their life to figure out what to call each other.

The train compartment was lavish and dreamlike. It was everything that money could buy. From the room having tea and other refreshments in a side to the ticket checker coming to the room every few hours to check on them, Vashma felt all of it a little hard to breathe around.

The opulence of the cabin was making her feel a little intimidated.

Batuk decided to be their saviour this time. He was getting tired of seeing them like this. Mostly watching his brother having a one sided conversation with her and only getting no's in response.

It was suffocating for him to see two people interact in this way.

"Boudi..."-He called her as Anirudh went to the washroom.

Vashma looked around her trying to search for the person 'Boudi' before realising Batuk was actually addressing her.

The term was unfamiliar for her and she was having a hard time understanding Bengali language.

"Boudi?"-She questioned Batuk pointing to herself and he bit his lips in amusement.

For the first time in a while, he was seeing the 'Question bank' Vashma making an appearance again.

His "Special friend Malika" had advised him to be cautious while, dealing with his boudi. She had grown up in a different environment and it will be difficult for her to adopt herself in the environment of Kolkata.

Batuk also knew that, especially since his Kaka would have a problem with her religion and lifestyle. Probably his Kaka would create a big ruckus.

For Malika, Vashma or Bondita's story was the ultimate fairy tale from British novels.

For the adventure and mystery loving Malika, her Batuk's 'Bondita boudi' was the ultimate symbol of a strong heroine.

From landing in a hell like Heera Mandi to being rescued and living a new life in such a far away city, Bondita boudi was her favourite person. And she was saying this without even meeting her once.

She was busy visiting her family members in Punjab. Thus, she had missed taking part in the cultural competition.

Only hearing about the intricate details of the competition from Batuk every day on telephone.

Even, she had called his ideas far fetched at first but had supported him nevertheless.

Only so, she could mock him later.