Anirudh- The Story Of A Misread Barrister

Chapter-57: The Barristers' Night Out

Bondita's gaze was definitely directed towards my face but her mind was somewhere else. I was not unaware of the reason too. We reached the car and seated the ladies at the back. While doing so, I made a gesture by stretching my thumb and index finger along my smile, asking Bondita to smile as well. This brought her back to senses and she apologized for the act of intimacy that she just showed. I turned my eyes to escape the embarrassment and hide the changes of colour in my face.

The tears in his beloved's eyes moved my friend to an extent that he thought of dropping the entire plan. With concern written all over his face, he asked, "Are you sure about coming with me like this? Even if you have the slightest regret, I will drop you back at your house. I don't want to snatch you away from your family or build my world at the cost of your happiness. Please be frank, Noor. You are not obliged to anyone or anything."

Smiling through her tears, she replied, "It is just a matter of one night. Either it is eloping tonight with my beloved or going away tomorrow morning with the one brought by my parents, taking a proper goodbye. In both the cases, I will have to leave my family by tomorrow. The only difference will be that, if I choose the second option, I should be obliged to live like a corpse or rather die, while in the first case, I will be truly living."

I believe, we should think about rights and wrongs before acting. Once the action is performed, we should only think about facing the consequences. Good actions will anyway yield good results. So, there's no point in worrying. Her friend may be sad now, but when Bondita meets her the next time, she will surely find her very happy. This was my conviction, although I am not a great fan of feats like elopement. More than the act and our intentions behind it, I believed in the maturity of the two lovers and gentleness of Indra.

Bondita then flashed her bright smile. I went and sat in the seat beside Indra, while he chose to drive. Within no time, we crossed the borders of Krishnanagar and reached Deenpur. It was eight at night. There wasn't any light except that of the moon and our car's headlights. I sincerely wished for the absence of even that faint moonlight, as it would aid the world in exposing us. Deenpur was not our safe destination but Calcutta. So, we have shifted their marriage venue to the same place.

As I stared at the retreating flora, I remembered the last two days spent exclusively in Bondita's company. I hardly remembered my house. It was as if I got transported to a different world- the world of Bondita. My only concern at that point was how am I to live the rest of my life without her? Once we see Indra and Noor setting off, I should part ways with Bondita. For, I didn't know how to proceed further.

Surprisingly, in all these hours of closeness, not even once I got a chance to inquire about her future plans, particularly her take on marriage and her prospective husband. This thing ate me up from within. When I once almost got a chance to know about her lover, my possessiveness came in the way and ruined the opportunity.

That afternoon, I went to Bondita's house to take permission from Thakuma to send her with me for one day. Since we cannot tell her the real reason behind our outing, I lied that Bondita wanted to visit Sampoorna , who is in Shantiniketan and that I would be escorting her. Thakuma was not at all pleased with the proposal. She didn't want me to be around Bondita. However, I convinced her by stating the fact that I was the one to admit Sampoorna in Shantiniketan. Hence, it would make sense if I reunite them again. Not just Sampoorna, but Bondita's other friends too were there in Shantiniketan, who would love to meet her, I told.

Thakuma agreed to send Bondita on a condition that I should drop her at the house by morning; and after this outing I should never move close to Bondita again. I didn't have any chance except to agree. The only ray of hope that kept me happy at the moment was our court. If I cannot meet Bondita anywhere else, I can at least get a glimpse of her in the court. This thought gave much relief to my dreary mind and body.