Setting It Right - A BB Continuation | Chap 26, Page 11 - Page 4

Another beautiful chapter. This chapter is like a missing link in from the show with the glimpses of Batuk and Mallika's backstory ❤️

Bakuk and Mallika's story is nice. Finally he confessed the vulnerabilities of Batuk which he tried to hide behind the mask of emotionless BRC and realized the mistakes he did by hurting Mallika. Their love story was immature with both trying to hide their true feelings from the other. Batuk was running away from love thinking it as something bad because of his misunderstanding about Rudhi relationship. Mallika was trying to become someone else in her madness of pleasing BRC at any cost. Such a relationship had to break on day.

Good thing is that now both realized their mistakes and starting again as friends first ❤

This conversation was necessary for Batuk to see things from a different perspective. The things she talked about Bon could have been told by Ani also. But Batuk will interpret it as Ani's bias. So being an outsider Mallika is the best person to tell Batuk these things. She has shown the right direction to Batuk. Now it is upto him to decide whether he wants to move in this direction or not.

P.S. Monkey in love is fun to see 😂😂

Chapter 12.1: Entering the "Villa Pisani Labyrinth!"

A/N The Villa Pisani Labyrinth is one of the hardest mazes in the world. It is in Italy. Our Batuk's mind is that kind of a maze too...and well, he's from Italy also! So, as the name suggests, this part of the chapter is going to delve into the maze that is Batuk's mind. Let's get some insights now! This chapter is divided into two parts.12.1 is heavy on the emotional side. 12.2 is heavy on the sexual side. Hence, reader discretion is strongly advised.

30th November 1942, Roy Chaudhary Haveli, 10:30 PM

Bondita had just finished feeding Rudhir, and like a little good boy, he had slept peacefully in her arms now too.

Adoring her baby, Bondita just pressed a small kiss on one of his hands, and then, very carefully got up from the sofa and put him in his cradle.

Bondita had fed Aaradhya first, and Anirudh had taken her to the bed to make her fall asleep while Bondita fed Rudhir. She had turned her back towards the baba-beti duo as that angle was more comfortable for her to sit. So, she couldn't see the other two people in the room, but she could hear some cooing sounds from the bed and some faint sounds of soft kisses being showered on their daughter.

However, after a couple of minutes, the sounds from both baba and baby had quietened, and now, as she turned towards the bed after putting Rudhir in the cradle, the scene in front of her melted her heart.

Aaradhya was cozily sleeping not on the bed, not in her baba's arms, but on his chest! And baba looked equally happy and cozy while he also slept!

With a fond smile, Bondita went towards the bed, by Anirudh's side. His arms were protectively closed around Aaradhya; even in his sleep, he was making sure that Aaradhya's spine was supported and she wouldn't roll down from his body.

Her smile deepened on realizing that Anirudh's habit of being excessively overprotective for her had now found an expansion and transference towards their babies.

Old habits don't die, after all!

A sense of peace and love washed over her as she bent to very gently, and very softly detach Aaradhya from her baba. Anirudh stirred in his sleep when Bondita slowly lifted his arms to pick Aaradhya, but then, letting Bondita take her, he changed his position and continued sleeping.

Sighing, Bondita looked at the wall clock and wondered,

I think Pati Babu is exhausted today. I shouldn't wake him up.

Looking at him lovingly, deciding not to disturb him, she went towards the cradle to put Aaradhya there too by her brother's side.

For the past couple of days, Bondita and Anirudh had fallen into a routine. After putting both the babies to sleep at night, usually around this time, Anirudh would help Bondita with her warm tub sitting session followed by a hot massage and love-making.

His love was proving to be the medicine that could help her heal faster than any elixir in the world.

And while he was taking care of her, she also made sure that he got his regular massage too for the recovery of his muscular strength.

However, it was a separate tale, how all their therapeutic massages used to turn sexual in the end!

But it made both of them happy and more relaxed, so it was definitely proving good for their physical and emotional health! His love and attention were calming her down, and her post traumatic stress and paranoia had considerably gotten better with time. However, there were still times when the fear of losing Anirudh or kids would grapple her heart, and make her turn into a sweating ball of anxiety. She didn't like these changes in her, and she didn't know how she would overcome them.

Normally, in times like these, talking to Anirudh used to soothe her nerves a lot, but tonight, Anirudh had slept.

Bondita sighed as she realized that it meant no talking, no massage, no hot water relief, and no sex tonight!

Drawing a resigned breath, she took her nightgown from her cupboard and went to the bathroom to get changed.

She was habitual of wearing a light sari at night. But after her pregnancy, due to hormonal changes, her breast size had increased, and so, all her blouses had gotten tight on her. She had sent her new measurements to the tailor, and currently he was in the process of stitching her new blouses too.

In the daytime, she was able to manage because her heavy, Banarsi saris sheathed her properly. But at night, after seeing her struggling to feed the babies in those tight blouses, Anirudh had brought her a couple of long, flary nightgowns, in beautiful colors and alluring designs. All of them had an inner negligee too, and they were made of the finest silk and satin. Their smooth material and the airiness that they provided was something that Bondita had fallen in love with. And not to mention, it had become very easy for her to feed both the babies together too.

Choosing a lavender-colored nightgown, she decided to ditch the inner negligee for that night.

After changing, she went towards the dressing table, and taking out her comb, she started humming in a very low voice.

However, as she was gently running the comb in her long tresses, a sudden memory flashed in her mind and her humming stopped abruptly and her hands stilled.

"Big D, Aik tou aapki pyari Bondita ke hair itne lambay hain ke jaise kisi horse ki mane! Usko combing mien hi itna time lagta hai… ooper se uski humming ki aadat while she combs! Bloody Hell! She's super annoying, Big D. I don't know aap usko kaise bardasht kerte thay! Mien tou uss se itne se dinon mien hi tanng aagya hun!"

Feeling a pang in her chest as sadness and anger started settling in her heart, she forgot the comb in her hand. Her gaze fixed on her reflection in the mirror, one memory after the other started flashing in front of her eyes of some very recent events!

____________

A few days back, when Shashwati had suggested two names for her babies, she sounded so sure and adamant that Bondita found it a little odd.

Feeling a little suspicious, she had asked Shashwati about how she came up with the names, Rudhir and Aaradhya. In response, Shashwati had given her a half-baked truth, and it was quite evident that she had tried to hide something from all of them.

When she had suggested Aaradhya's name, she had given elaborate details about the meaning and how she chose that name after some thorough research with her mom. But it struck a little odd to Bondita when Shashwati just said, "kitaab mien se pasand kiya" for the choice of Rudhir's name. She hadn't launched into any details regarding this name, which made Bondita conclude that it wasn't exactly chosen by Shashwati!

Then who had chosen the name Rudhir?

The question was what had made her follow Shashwati and find her reading a familiar black diary in her room.

Feeling intrigued, Bondita had managed to get her hands on that diary, and she was surprised at the confirmation of her doubt that it belonged to her Pati babu. She knew that he used to write in the diary sometimes, but since their marriage, she hadn't seen him opening it much. Perhaps it was because he had found his Bondita back and he no longer had the need to pour his feelings out onto some pages.

She had never read her Pati Babu's diary before. But she was surprised how it got into Shashwati's hands and why she was reading it as if it was an interesting story book!

Puzzled, she was about to open the diary from the first page when she saw a peacock feather bookmark, acting as a partition in the diary, dividing it into two halves. She hadn't seen the bookmark before in her Pati Babu's stationery items, so feeling more confused, she opened the diary from the bookmarked page.

And what she saw there caught her breath in her chest.

It was an entry...but it was not in her Pati babu's handwriting.

But it mentioned her…

And her… no… Big D's son!

"Batuk…" a low whisper escaped her lips as her eyes frantically roamed on the pages of the diary.

The first half of the diary was filled in Anirudh's writing, while the second half, having around ten to twenty pages, was filled by Batuk.

Her heart started trembling in trepidation. No matter how much she had recovered from the post-traumatic stress that was caused because of Batuk, his handwriting, a physical proof of his existence made her tremble in fear again!

She instinctively wanted to close the diary when her gaze accidentally read a word in Batuk's entry:

Rudhir

Her confusion multiplied ten times, she took a deep breath to snap out of her dread, and with trembling fingers, opened the page fully to read the content of the entry.

My very dearest Big D,

You must be thinking...why am I here again?

Kia kerun dada… kisi ko nahi bata sakta ke mujh per kia guzar rahy hai. Kaka ne mana kia hai ki aap nahi rahay ho, iska ghar mien kisi ko nahi batana. But Big D… mien apne aap ko buht akela feel kerne laga hun.

Akela tou mien tabb se hi hun jab se aapki pyari Bondita ke stupid family ne humare family se dushmani ki thy.

Akela tou mien tabb se hi hun jab se aapki pyari dulari Bondita ki wajeh se I had to be sent to Italy.

Lekin dada...abh jo void feel hota hai naa… yeh dukh ke AAP nahi ho… it's not letting me live, dada.

Bass aik hi aasra hai mujhe tou abh. Aapka ansh...aapka beta...You know dada, you are going to be a dad soon?

Mien buht khush hun. Aapka baby hi mere liye only consoling factor hai iss waqt.

Miene tou uska naam bhi soch lia hai- Rudhir.

Iss mien 'Anirudh' ka 'rudh' aata hai na… iss liye I just love this name. Yeh baby bhi tou aapka hissa hi hai. Iss mien se bhi mujhe aapki hi khushbu ayegy na? Isi liye… I am just dying to hold this baby.

Aapki Bondita mujhse keh rahy thy ke mujhe kyun lagta hai ke aapka baby boy hoga? Waise tou aapki Bondita ki mien baat ziada sunta nahi hun, lekin phir bhi, she's right here actually. Beta ho ya beti, iss se tou waqai koi farq nahi padta mujhe… lekin mera dil chahta hai ke beta ho aapka… Kyunki uss mien mujhe aap nazar aaoge na.

Dada… I can do anything to see you again… to get you back in my life again.

But it isn't possible na…

Bloody hell dada!!! Kyun aap ne uss Bondita ke liye jaan di? Aik baar bhi mere, kaka, Som dada, baba, Shashwati… kisi ke baray mien nahi socha aap ne?

Kyun kia Dada aise?

I wish… I could turn back time, dada. Mien woh ghadi hi aapki qismet se mita deta jis mien aap ko life mien 1st time Bondita mili thy.

I just wish...ke aisa hoskta...Phir sab sahi hota...haina?

Drawing a shaky breath, she sighed as she read one of Batuk's many entries.

Running her hand across her face, she tried to cool herself down.

What the hell was this?

Jaise kisi chhotay bacchay ko shikayatien lagani hoty hain teacher ko!

Hadh hai!

This Batuk can never grow up!

Feeling cross, her eyes landed on the last lines of this entry, and suddenly, her heart started thudding heavily in her chest.

Mujhse problem aik taraf, there is no denying that this stupid, immature boy loves his dada very much.

Feeling a little sad for him now, she thought for a while.

Should I read this diary? Isn't it like snooping into something private?

She wondered, but then another thought came to her mind,

"I think padh lety hun. Kia pata mujhe yehi samajh aa jaye ke aakhir isko mujhse problem hai kya?"

Caught in between mixed feelings, she thought some more, and then, very reluctantly, decided to read some more to get insights into Batuk's head.

Taking a deep breath, she opened another page after the one that had the bookmark inserted.

The words made her jaw drop in an instant though!

Hello Big D… yaar… Aap hote tou iss Bondita ko samjhatay. Iske apne hi ronay chalte rehte hain. Pati babu yeh ...Pati babu woh...bla bla bla.

Mien tou tang aagya hun iss se! Aap kaise bardasht kerte thay isko?

Ohh wait...aap ko nahi bataya na. Actually, and UNFORTUNATELY, aapki pyari Bondita mujhe, yani BRC ko 'aap' samajhty hai. Stupid girl! Waise tou badi smart banti hai, mager mera itna sa dhoka nahi pehchaan paayi.

Pehchaanti bhi kaise? Aap se pyar kerty hoty tou hi aap ki aur meri similarities mien se difference dhoond hi leti na?

Dada dekho na… aap ne iske liye kitni sacrifices ki… kitna kuch saha. Lekin yeh Bondita… she just took away everything from you. Aakhir mein tou aapki jaan hi le li isne!

Aur abh yeh meri zindagy barbaad kerne per tuli hai. Ajeeb si hai. I avoid her like a plaque, lekin woh aaj mujhe keh rhy thy ke mien uske sath pyar se pesh aaon!

Pyar? Mien? Woh bhi iss ladki se jisne mere dada ko khaa lia?

Bloody hell! Never!

Abhi tou isko malum nahi hai ki mien kon hun. But she keeps blabbering ke Batuk ayega tou mien yeh kerun gy, Batuk yeh Batuk woh!!

Bloody Hell! Kaan hi pak jatay hain mere tou iski bak bak sunn ker.

Rehem aata hai mujhe aap per. Kia kia sunna hoga na aap ne iski wajeh se?

Aur abh aapka baby bhi...bechara majboor hai. Kia kere… us bechare ki mamma hi aisi ajeeb si hain.

I wish dada… mien aap ke baby ko apne tummy mien rakh sakta. Pyar se nurture kerta… Apne Big D ke baby ko kisi torture mien na daalta.

Ya dada… I wish… aap zinda hote, aur Bondita kahin chali jaty. Baby humien de dety.

Phir kitna accha hota na, dada.

Aap ko bhi samajh aajaty eventually ke usne aapko sari life use hi kia tha.

Aap ko bhi moka mil jata to 'fall out of love' with her.

That would have been the happiest day of my life, waise…

Kash

Aap hote.

Feeling the urge to slam the diary on Batuk's face, her face reddened and a frown appeared on her forehead as she wondered crossly,

"What the hell was this? Aise shikayatien laga raha hai jaise hum school mein hou aur yeh teacher se complain kere ke 'Teacher teacher, Bondita ne mera eraser chhupa lia!' Gadha aik number ka…Shikayati tattu. Stupid!"

Hurling insults at him in her heart made her feel slightly better. Drawing another deep breath, she tried to control her anger now as she flipped the page and read another of his entries:

Oh God Dada… aapki biwi kia cheez hai aakhir? Aur aap usko jhelte kaise thay? Mujhse tou aik second bardasht nahi hoty.

Abh dekhien, kia hua ki Sampoorna maa made some...what was it… haan… methi… methi ke laddu. She said ke yeh pregnant ladies ko khana chahiye as they are very good for the baby. Abh iss Bondita ko sirf baby ka soch ker hi khaa lena chahiye tha...haina? Lekin nahi… what did she do? She REFUSED!!

Aur wajeh kia thy? Yeh ki usko laddu ka taste nahi pasand aarha tha aur usko uss se vomit jaise horha tha.

Now tell me Big D, yeh bhi koi reason hai? Bhayee, ager tumhien baby se pyar hai tou tum ko yeh sab tou sehna hi hoga. Haina big D? Like… I ate it! Sirf usko dikhanay ke liye… ki taste ki fiker kerna bannd kere. If I could eat it, why couldn't she? And to be honest, itna bhi bura nahi tha. Lekin Bondita aur uske nakhray!!!

Pata hai Big D? I don't know… I don't think Bondita ko aapke baby se bhi koi pyar hai ke nahi?

Kher… aap hote tou uske nakhray bardasht ker lete. Mager miene bhi uske munh mien laddu thoons hi diye. After all, baby ke sath woh laddu uske liye bhi acchay hi hote. But she got angry about that too! Some nerve this woman has!

Anyway… I don't care ke woh kia sochay. Mujhe tou bass iss baat ki chinta hai ki mere Big D ka baby sahi rahay...healthy rahay...aur apne Chachu ke sath happy rahay.

Bass…

That's all I want!

Forgetting her earlier resentment, a wave of sadness washed over her as she wondered quietly,

Mien Pati babu ki life mien nahi hoty tou Batuk bhi shayad aisa na hota jaisa woh ho gaya hai…Mager mien tou pehle se thy. Aur pehle tou mien aur Batuk achay dost bhi thay. Kash, Batuk uss dosti aur humare acchay dinon ko hi yaad ker leta aik baar. Shayad tabb usko mujhse itni chid na hoty.

But having read so far, Bondita had understood two things very clearly:

1- Batuk worshipped Anirudh

2- Batuk never meant any harm to the babies

Sighing resignedly, she closed her eyes as she recalled that methi-laddu incident.

How insanely mad she was at him..at her Pati Babu actually for the insensitivity he had shown towards her.

Opening her eyes, she contemplated Batuk's actions that day and weighed them against his narration in the diary. He had written that he force-fed her those laddus because primarily, he wanted the betterment of the baby. But, there was a secondary reason too: He wanted Bondita's betterment also!

On the surface, majorly he bickered and cribbed about Bondita.

But between the lines, there was a small slip-up from his subconscious, and now, Bondita didn't know if she should dwell on one minor fumble or to focus on his rant against her!

Feeling completely baffled by the two conflicting emotions he demonstrated, she decided not to think much and read on the next entry:

My very dear Big D…

My heart is still shaking as my entire body trembles.

You know, Bondita had gone out, against my wishes, and when she was returning on a rickshaw, she met with an accident as her rickshaw tumbled and she fell down and fainted.

I saw it all happening right in front of my eyes, but I couldn't do anything to avoid it. I was so scared, Dada.

Ager aapki Bondita ko kuch ho jata, tou? Sadly, woh gai bhi meri wajeh se hi thy. So, in a way, mien naa chahte hue bhi responsible hun.

Meri rooh kaamp jaty hai yeh soch ker ke ager uss ziddi ladki ko kuch ho jata tou kia hota?

Uske tummy mein aapka baby hai. Ager aapke bete ko… mere Rudhir ko kuch …

No no… the mere thought of having to lose 'you' all over again is killing me.

Kher...Here I have to give her that she used her brain, and when she was falling down, she had pulled the rickshaw's seat with her too. Iss terha woh seat per giri rather than falling on the ground directly. Iss terha usko low impact face kerna pada.

I somehow managed to bring Bondita home, safe and sound. But I was so mad at her.

Woh jaise hi hosh mein ayi, I scolded her so much. Even kaka was on my side.

Abh hum ne aapki azaad khayal, independent, aur empowered Bondita ko ghar se baahar janay se mana kar dia hai. Mien tou usko court bhi nahi janay de raha.

I know I know Dada ke aap ko yeh sab acchha nahi lagta. Aap aise kabhi nahi kerte. Well, to be honest, mujhe bhi ziada farq nahi padta ke woh kia ker rhy hai AGER uske ander aapka baby nahi hota.

Abh mien ajeeb museebat mein phass gaya hun. Mujhe aapki 'apni marzi ki maalik' Bondita ko lagaam daalni padd rhy hai, and trust me Dada, you have never tried this, but it is an EXTREMELY difficult job!

I am sorry to say Dada ke aap ke laad pyaar se yeh Bondita buht hi bigad gai hai.

Kher… It doesn't matter anymore because I am here aur mien uske nakhray bilkul nahi uthanay wala...na hi uski aik bhi chalne dene wala hun.

I can't take any risks with her. After all, uske ander humara Rudhir hai...aapka beta...mera nephew.

For Rudhir's sake, I will have to continue seeing her tantrums.

Bloody hell! That's difficult!

Pata nahi aap kaise ker lete thay!

Bondita's blood started boiling again as she muttered angrily,

"Batuk ke bacchay! You stupid boy!!! Phir se meri shikayat laga rahay ho! What are you? Two?? Hadh hai stupidity aur immaturity ki bhi!"

The last entry and one of Batuk's statements had made her dare to think that deep down, Batuk did care for her after all.

But now, it was clear…

He only cared for her because she was pregnant with his brother's baby!

Unknowingly, she puffed out her face as she suddenly felt super sad and super angry at the same time.

She didn't want to read anything more, but as if her hands acted on their own accord, she flipped to a random page and read on:

Dearest Big D… Balki… meri jaan se bhi pyare Big D. Today I am very sad. Meri girlfriend… Mallika… usne Bondita ko mushrooms khilanay ki koshish ki dada. She wanted to kill your baby. Mien...I just saved Bondita at the nick of time. Koi Durga Maa ki kripa hi thy ke mujhe samay per pata chal gaya.

Big D, miene Bondita ko bhi daanta...miene Mallika ko bhi ghar se baahir nikaal dia.

Lekin… It hurt. I don't show my feelings to anyone dada, but I feel betrayed. Mallika was someone special. I wish she hadn't stooped so low.

Aur Bondita… pata nahi uss per mujhe kyun ghussa aya tha. Mager miene usko bhi daant dia.

Aik tou woh roty buht hai.

You know what? Raat mein, I sleep on the couch in your room. Aur mien pretend kerta hun jaise mien sou gaya hun. Takay Bondita sou jaye. Lekin woh kitni deir tak jaagty rehty hai. I even hear her sniffles. She cries. Usko lagta hai ki mien, yani uske 'Pati babu' badal gaye hain… Silly girl! Aap ko sahi se jaanti hoty tou she would have known na ke aap koi mousam nahi hain jo badal jaye. Aap ARC thay… aap bass 'aap' hi thay… aur aap jaisa koi bhi nahi hoskta!

But… Pata nahi kyun Big D… Jab mien Bondita ko bina baat ke daant'ta hun aur woh roty hai, tou mujhe accha nahi lagta. I don't know why Dada…

Her previous anger forgotten, tears pooled in her eyes as she noticed how disarrayed Batuk's thoughts were getting with each entry. She was a barrister; she was habitual of looking at evidence from multiple angles. She knew how to read between the lines, and she had a special knack in criminal psychology too.

These entries were… disturbing.

And this time, it wasn't because they were full of nonsense about her! It was because reading these entries had started feeling as if she was reading accounts from multiple people instead of one.

This conflict of emotion, the scattered thoughts, the easily forgotten train of topic made her realize with a pang that Batuk's mental health had probably been deteriorating with each passing day.

She remembered his bursts of anger and his outbursts on various things, and that made her heart tremble with trepidation and dread. She also remembered his occasional caring gestures too, which she now knew were all for the sake of the baby.

But still...there was something that was making her feel sad for Batuk rather than remain angry at him.

Sighing, she saw that she had missed a couple of entries before the last one she read. So, moving onto one of them, she started reading,

Dada... please please please forgive me. I think I broke your dream today. Bondita aik case lene ke liye zidd ker rahy thy, aur usko koi stupid sa award bhi milne wala tha. I broke her trophy. And I even broke her heart.

I didn't like it, Dada. Loagon ko sirf Bondita nazar aarhy hai… lekin Anirudh ko woh bhool gaye hain.

Bondita bhi aapko peeche chhodna chahty hai. Aur mujhe yeh bilkul accha nahi laga. Usko 'aap ke' jaisa bannay ka drama pata nahi kyun kerna hota hai har waqt?

No one can be like you. Not this Bondita, at least.

Kisi ke jaisa bannay ke liye uss se buht gehra pyar hona chahiye. Jo ke Bondita ko nahi tha aap se. So, why this drama?

I don't understand this girl..

Dada, Rudhir is doing great waise. Uski mamma jaisi bhi hon, woh theek hai. Mujhe Bondita ne kuch days pehle bataya tha ki Rudhir has started kicking now. I so wanted to feel that too. Lekin phir… Mien ruk gaya. Bondita ko touch kerna is difficult for me.

Pata nahi kyun… it just didn't feel right. Mere morals koi itne strong nahi hain, jaise aapko pata hi hai. Lekin itne bhi giray hue nahi hain ki mien Bondita ko aise touch kerun jab woh mujh mien 'aap ko' dekh rhy ho. That stupid girl hasnt yet realized that I am me… not you!

Rudhir jab ayega na, tou mien iss Bondita ko bataon ga. Mujh se mere Big D chheene thay na usne

Mien uss se uska baby cheen lun ga.

Aap… Big D...mujhse naraz tou nahi honge na?

Aap mujhse naraz honge tou yeh mien tolerate nahi ker sakta.

Mien family se aur aap se buht duur raha hun… but my heart always belonged here...with you guys...especially YOU, Big D. Abh ager aap naraz hue tou my heart will break.

Please don't let that happen, Big D.

Mien Rudhir ko Bondita se le lun ga. Woh roye gy tou… but she's strong. I think woh seh le gy.

Mien nahi seh paaonga mager.

Big D… please.

Her tears had started rolling down her cheeks now, unchecked.

Batuk's intentions for her and her baby were downright villainous...but the disturbance in his thought process, the way he was shattering down, the way he had poured out his heart on this diary, the way he was trying to communicate with his supposedly dead brother…

It was all so heartbreaking.

Bondita intuitively understood how difficult it must have been for Batuk to go through the pain of losing his brother. He couldn't share his grief with anyone at home except for Kaka Sasurjee - and even she had to admit that this did more harm than good. Instead of taking time to recover from the major setback, he had been forced to hide his tears and pretend to be happy… Not only that, he was in fact forced to pretend to be someone whose death he had been grieving! He had to pretend to love someone he hated.

This was mental torture on it's own!

And, with a very heavy heart, Bondita acknowledged that this new pressure to fill in his Big D's shoes must have wreaked fresh havoc in Batuk's already sensitive mind frame.

No wonder... he turned so unstable later.

Bondita even noticed that his handwriting was also getting messier with each entry.

His gradual mental health deterioration was quite evident from his entries as they were progressing.

Feeling at a loss, sighing heavily, she flipped the pages and came to the last entry. Her heart started beating heavily as she recalled their last unfateful encounter through Batuk's last entry.

Big D… I am very happy today. Bondita ko finally pata chal gaya hai ke mien Batuk hun, Aap nahi.

Pagal ladki!!! Usko laga ki woh mujhse bach ker bhaagne ki koshish kere gy aur mien aise hone dun ga?

She tried… Iss ladki ki fighting spirit ki waise daad deni chahiye. Mujhe behosh kerne ki koshish ki thy isne.

Mager… mien bhi MIEN hun.

Waise dada… aap ki biwi kuch ziada hi ajeeb nahi hai? She said, 'ager Bondita zinda hai tou uske Pati Babu bhi zinda hain!'

What rubbish!

Miene khud...apni aankhon se aap ko jatay dekha hai.

Dada… woh paani buht teiz tha na? It must have been really cold too.

Kash mien aap ko rok sakta.

Mager aap ne Bondita ko raft per bithaya aur khud chalay gaye.

Dada… Aap ko khud raft per chadhna chahiye tha aur uss Bondita ko janay dena chahiye tha.

Mager Rudhir…

Ohh Bloody Hell!!! Ager Bondita bhi chali jaty tou Rudhir bhi…aur Rudhir ke sath uski behen bhi...

Damn it!!! What a bloody fix this is!!!

Arey maine aapko bataya nahi na Dada? Aapke dou dou babies hue hai! Rudhir tou hai hi, mager aapki baby girl bhi hai! Bilkul jaise aap chahtey thay!

Accha dada...suno… miene na, Bondita ko hospital mien akele chhod dia hai. Aapke babies ko… I brought them with me. I will take them to Italy and raise them as my own babies. Mujhe thoda bura laga jab woh bechare roye thay. Of course… unko apni mommy ka milk chahiye tha. I felt a little bad...lekin hum manage ker lien ge. I won't let them meet Bondita. Warna woh babies ko mujhse le legy.

Waise dada...aap ke babies itne cute hain. And they are so small too… slightly premature haina.

Dada… did I do the right thing?

No… I am sure I did the right thing.

Ohh crap! Ghar walay darwazay bang ker rhe hain. Miene unko lock in ker dia haina.

I had to do this dada… Kaka ne tou chameleon ki terha apne colors badal liye. He was with me all along, lekin abh pata nahi kyun woh mujhe itna scold ker rhe hain. He is saying that I am wrong. Abh woh mere Kaka nahi, Bondita ke Kaka Sasurjee bann gaye hain. Jab ki kuch ghanton pehle tak woh Bondita ki nahi, meri party thay!

I am so sad that Kaka has changed sides now. Aur isi liye I had to lock them all in.

Bloody hell! I hear Bondita's cries too from outside. She's here. Pohanch hi gai yeh apne babies ke liye.

Persistent aur Tenacious! That's Bondita!

Imperfectly perfect… but I don't like her at all!

Kher… I got to go now dada. Bondita ko babies ke paas aane se rokna hoga, kisi bhi qeemat pe.

Uske baad mien babies ko le jaonga yahan se.

Phir mien honga, aap ke babies honge, aap ki memories hongy… aur yehi humari new family hogy.

Yeh theek haina, Dada?

Bondita closed the diary with trembling fingers. A deadweight had settled onto her chest after getting some insights into Batuk's head.

She already knew through Mallika's call that Batuk had acted as a guardian angel for her babies.

But now, she also learned his perspective, no matter how misplaced or wrong it was!

Engulfed in a sea of mixed emotions, a thought occurred to her, and opening the diary again, she jotted down a message for Batuk.

She knew Anirudh had brought him back from the hospital, and she wanted to send the diary to Batuk. But how?

Directly going to Batuk was not an option right now. She didn't like to say it out loud, but he still scared her a bit, even though she now knew that he wasn't going to harm her babies or Pati babu.

Sending the diary through Pati babu was also probably not a good idea. Pati babu would take the diary, but she didn't know how she was going to handle this situation further, and hence she didn't want to get Pati babu's hopes up either.

Closing the diary, lost in thoughts, she started walking towards her room when on the way, she saw Bihari entering Batuk's room.

Curious, she followed him there, finding him instructing two helpers to pack up Batuk's possessions to be sent to the kothi. Relieved at finding a way, she handed over the diary to Bihari to be sent over with the rest of the stuff.

After arranging everything and hoping that Batuk would find her message soon, she went to cater to her babies who had started wailing.

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Chapter 12.2: Reconnecting with the Inner Self (MATURE-18+)

A/N: This part of the chapter is mature and heavy on sexual references, ideally suited for readers aged above 18.

There is mention of “Mirror Meditation” in this chapter. While it is a real thing, we have tweaked it a bit to support our narrative. The “therapy” that we have mentioned is not at all medically verified. It is not a part of any type of psychological counseling. What we have mentioned is just a figment of our wildest (and smuttiest)imaginations!

Lastly, please forgive us if the content of this chapter hurts your feelings or makes you feel bad in any way. Our purpose is just to make people understand the importance of building a positive self-image for ourselves in every situation of life.

The mature scene between Rudhi is just a natural progression of how their love flows. Please do not take it as anything negative.

Do let us know about your views regarding both these parts of the 12th chapter. We derive a lot of encouragement and motivation from your lovely comments and votes.

Lots of love,

Ashley and Ayesha

Due to the mature nature of the chapter, we are posting this part only on Wattpad. Please do check it out

https://www.wattpad.com/1185073711-setting-it-right-a-batuk-anirudh-bondita-kaka

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Crucial chapter which gave an insight into Batuk's mind to both Bon and the readers. The title is apt 👏 Just like a person trapped inside a maze Batuk's rational part of mind is also trapped in the maze of his misunderstandings.

Bon is so sweet that she tried to give clues to Batuk which will help him to come out of the confusing maze. She is really the parcchai of Ani who will never ignore a needy person.❤️

Some of Monkey's childish complaints and Bon's reaction to them are fun, glimpses of their childhood teasing. Glad that Monkey at least realized this much that only Big D can handle his pyaari Bon 😆

Now Bon has a complete idea of Batuk's problem and hopefully Batuk too will realize his misunderstandings soon..

P.S. Surprisingly Monkey chose a nice name for the baby! 😆

Chapter 13: Special

Emotional Healing Begins

1st December 1942, Roy Chaudhary Kothi

Anirudh made his way towards Batuk's room with a spring in his step and hope in his heart; the hope that the plan that he and Bondita made, their attempt would work in dispelling the gloom that surrounded Batuk.

However, on entering the room, Anirudh was surprised to find the messy but empty bed.

Feeling panicked, he looked around the room for Batuk frantically, until his eyes landed on a huddled figure slumped over the desk.

A tremor of trepidation ran along his spine as he hurried over to the slumped up Batuk, and quickly checking him to see if he was alright, he slowly expelled a breath of relief.

A small smile came to his lips as he noticed Batuk sleeping with his head on the desk, and peace written all over his face.

The smile lingering around the corners of his mouth made Anirudh very happy. Finally...his brother didn't seem to be shrouded in the darkness of gloom as before.

Batuk is okay, he is just asleep. Shayad apne kisi dost se baatein karte karte aankh lag gayi hou, he thought, spotting the telephone receiver still resting on his neck.

Anirudh caressed Batuk's head lovingly, before gently untangling the receiver from under his hand. As he was about to return it to its cradle, he heard a strange noise.

Curious, he put the receiver to his ear, only to be startled on hearing the extremely loud snores coming from the other end. Anirudh hung up with a chuckle.

Lagta hai Batuk ka dost bhi doosri taraf sou gaya. Chalo, kisi se tou baat kar raha hai Batuk. Kitne araam se sou raha hai, uthane ka mann bhi nahi kar raha, mager dawai waqt pe dena bhi zaruri hai…

"Batuk… " he called gently, caressing his head again. "Utho, mere bhai… "

"Big D...aap aagaye? Good morning…" Batuk said with a sleepy smile, stretching his arms out lazily, before realising his position, and straightening up with a jerk.

"Big D... woh mien… phone…" He looked around for the phone, before noticing it back in its place.

"Maine phone wapis rakh dia hai Batuk. Tumhara dost bhi araam se kharaatay maar raha tha."

"Mallika", Batuk mumbled, as last night's conversation came back to his mind.

Anirudh was not expecting a female name somehow. So, straightening up a bit, he asked quizzically, his eyes carefully watching Batuk's flushed cheeks,

"Kya kaha tumne?"

"Woh...Big D...Mien jis dost se baat kar raha tha…" he gestured to the telephone. "Mallika naam hai uska."

Watching him stutter a little nervously, Anirudh's face beamed with happiness at seeing the signs of improvement in his brother's mood and overall demeanour.

Biting back his smile, he asked teasingly,

"Achha… buht hi achhi dost hogy na… isiliye tou baatein khatam nahi hui…"

An answering smile adorned Batuk's lips as he replied dreamily,

"Sabse khaas hai woh…"

And then, suddenly realising what he just said, he hurriedly got up from the desk chair and muttered,

"Woh, mien fresh hou ke aata hu."

Watching him run into the bathroom with a red face, Anirudh shook his head as he chuckled. He was relieved to find his brother behaving like a normal person after a long while.

He was sure it was because of that "sabse khaas dost."

Still smiling, he decided to wait for the day when Batuk would formally introduce him to this "khaas dost" of his.

_____________________________________________________________________________

"But Big D, hum kahan jaa rahe hai?", Batuk asked as he was combing his hair, simultaneously observing his excited older brother through the mirror.

"Surprise hai Batuk! Tumhe pata chal jaaega jald hi." said Anirudh with a fond smile.

Batuk couldn't stop his eyes from moistening. The last time he had attempted to have a light-hearted conversation with his Big D had been when Anirudh had come to visit him in Italy two years ago. And while Anirudh had done his best, Batuk had felt like he was talking to a corpse. It had been clear that Anirudh had forgotten how to be happy ever since Bondita had gone to London.

"Bondita ki wajah se hi mere Big D ek zinda laash bann gaye thay!", He angrily thought.

"Aur Bondita ke laut aane par hi Big D phir se hasne lage!", his inner voice injected.

Batuk shook his head to stop the inner thoughts as he reminded himself,

Big D khush hain, mere liye itna hi kaafi hai. Kyun khush hain, isse kya farq padta hai! Big D ko khush dekh ker mien bhi buht khush hun!

And indeed, he was extremely pleased at seeing Anirudh smile so freely. And even more overwhelming was the fact that he was the recipient of that smile! Not Bondita, not Rudhir or Aaradhya, but him.

Mager yeh Big D ko mujhpe achanak itna pyaar kyun aaya? Mera head caress kar rahe hai, mujhe tease kar rahe hai… Hou kya raha hai?

"Chalein Batuk?"

Anirudh's voice snapped Batuk out of his thoughts, as he decided to stop overthinking and followed his brother out. He couldn't brush off the confusion entirely though.

Anirudh led Batuk down to the courtyard where Sampoorna, Bihari, Shashwati and the rest of the children were gathered. The children greeted him happily, and he too, found himself smiling back at them lovingly. Sampoorna Maa and Bihari also had soft smiles playing on their lips.

His eyes then met his Shashu-bear's, and he found her smiling enthusiastically too. Suddenly feeling nervous and giddy, he then looked at his brother and asked hesitantly,

"Big D aap mujhe yahan kyun…"

Instead of replying to him, Anirudh smiled and gently urged,

"Aankhein band karo Batuk."

His confusion amplifying to million folds, he frowned and stuttered,

"Bb..but...Big D…"

Putting his finger on his lips, Anirudh gestured to him to stop asking more questions. When Batuk quietened, that was when Anirudh smilingly urged him again,

"Aankhein band, Batuk!"

Batuk closed his eyes with a resigned sigh. He felt a larger, stronger hand sliding into one of his hands, and then a smaller one holding his other hand. He recognized both the touches...one was of his Big D's, and the other was of his Shashu-bear's.

Despite his utter confusion, a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he allowed his siblings to lead him forward.

And then, he heard Anirudh's calming voice gently instructing him,

"Abh apni aankhein kholo Batuk."

He slowly opened his eyes, still wondering what was going on.

However, the sight that met his eyes was one of the most beautiful and most unexpected sights in the world!

He was standing in front of the small wooden cot in the backyard, and lying against soft cushions on it were two little babies, gurgling happily.

Batuk's heart dropped at seeing those babies as he instantly acknowledged who they were.

After all, he had known them for the longest time…

They were his precious niece and nephew…

His Big D's children...

Rudhir…

Aaradhya…

As if he was in a trance, he blinked once, twice, thrice to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

The babies were like a magnet, and he was feeling helpless in front of the strong wave of love that washed over him. He wanted to throw all the caution in the world and just hug the two babies and never let them part from him again.

But his past deeds…

The ugly face of self-doubt raised its head and made him wonder hopelessly,

Do I deserve this…?

The feeling of an insane amount of love was suddenly replaced by his guilt over his past actions. Feeling numb, he just stood like a statue in front of the cot, looking longingly at the babies. He didn't know what to do now.

He wanted to cry out loud as he felt his heart squeezing painfully.

He didn't even know if he was going to be a good influence on the babies.

He looked at his hands. He found them dirty…

With these hands, I tried to kidnap these babies… With these hands, I tried to burn their mother alive…

He no longer knew if he could use these hands to touch these babies again.

And that thought broke his heart into millions of pieces.

His precious babies were right in front of his eyes and he couldn't hold them… not even touch them.

Noticing the myriad of emotions playing across his brother's expressive face, Anirudh's heart clenched in pain on seeing unchecked tears falling from his brother's beautiful eyes.

The haunted expressions on his face were enough to tell him that his brother was going through a massive internal battle.

Drawing a deep breath, he laid his hand on his shoulder, and said quietly,

"Jao Batuk, in se milo. Yeh tumhare Rudhir aur Aaradhya hain...aur yeh kab se apne Super Chachu ka intezaar kar rahe hain."

He couldn't believe what he heard.

Big D is asking me to meet his babies?

Me? Their Sinner Chachu?

His heart thudding heavily in his chest, he rose wounded eyes full of uncertainty to look at his brother closely.

Kia Big D waqai aisa chahte hain?

Yeh koi mazak tou nahi hai?

Understanding his misery, Anirudh gently smiled and nodded his head, encouraging him to go ahead and meet the babies.

Batuk felt as if he had been given the entire universe on a golden platter! Needing no further invitation, he covered the distance remaining between himself and the cot, and fell to his knees in front of it. His tears were running along his face uncontrollably, and watching him like that brought tears in the eyes of all the people standing there too.

He still wasn't sure if he should touch the babies. His hands were trembling and he tried holding them together to stop their involuntary movement because of the emotional whirlpool he felt he was caught in at that moment.

Noticing his reactions and understanding the sensitivity of the situation, a pair of small arms wound around his neck as Shashwati hugged him from behind and said,

"Cool Dada… dekho tou. Yeh dono babies kitne soft se hain. Inko touch kero tou lagta hai jaise cotton balls ko touch kia ho. Aur yeh Rudhir haina, aap isko ungli dou ge na tou yeh apni choti si mutthi mien aap ki ungli bhi pakad le ga. Aur yeh Aaradhya...she loves it when you snap your fingers in front of her eyes! Aap dekho tou Dada…"

Holding her arms with his violently trembling hands, he whispered brokenly,

"Shashu-bear… they will get scared of me. I… I can't… mien kaise…?"

Untangling herself from Batuk, she went in front of him, and now, facing him, she wiped his tears and took his hand in hers gently.

She then guided it towards the babies and said,

"Cool Dada, aap introduce kero na apne aap ko inse. Aap dosti keroge tou yeh kerein ge na. Come on Dada, introduce yourself…"

Anirudh was watching the loving scene between his two siblings and a warm feeling settled in his heart upon seeing Batuk responding so sweetly to Shashwati. He felt sad on seeing Batuk's reluctance and uncertainty in meeting the babies, but his reactions were making him more sure than ever that the plan he and Bondita had devised was definitely going to help Batuk feel better.

So, squeezing his shoulder from behind, Anirudh gently said,

"Haan Batuk...introduce yourself. Play with them. Yeh meri aur Bondita ki wish hai ki humare bacchay apne Super Chachu se duur na rahien...aur unke pyar se mehroom na rahien."

Anirudh's soft words felt like elixir pouring into his ears. They were like a salve on his open wounds. The overwhelming rush of emotions felt like a tidal wave. He broke down completely only to let this wave wash away all his fears and concerns, all his self-loathing, and his past sins! However, the feeling of uncertainty was still there somewhere.

Holding onto Shashwati's hand tightly as if he was still afraid that his touch may cause something bad to the babies, he sobbed and brokenly whispered to them,

"H...hello Rudhir! He...hello Aaradhya!"

And then, sniffling, he tried to stop himself from crying. Clearing his throat after a few seconds, he started again,

"Rudh...Rudhir ...Aaradhya… mm...mere babies … Kaise hou tum dono? I am sorry bacchas, ke mien itne din aapse milne nahi aa saka…"

His tone was laced with the genuine remorse he felt as he said,

"Beta... Aapko aisa tou nahi laga na, ke Chachu aap dono ko bhul gaye hai?"

And then, with sheer desperation, he extended his hand that was clutching Shashwati's, and as if he was still doubting himself, he urged Shashwati to guide his hand and make him touch the babies.

Intuitively understanding her brother's plight, Shashwati took his hand and had him caress Rudhir's small curled fist first.

Feeling a jolt in his entire system, fresh tears formed in his eyes as his other hand automatically extended towards Aaradhya on it's own. Cupping her tiny face ever so gently, he whispered to them,

"Rudhir, Aaradhya...trust me aap ke Super Chachu aap ko nahi bhoolay thay. In fact, aap dono ko hi sabse zyada miss kiya hai miene! Aur aapko tou pata hai na! Ki aap kitne zyada khaas hou mere liye."

Smiling, Shashwati took her hand out from Batuk's grasp. He had regained his lost confidence and he was now able to touch the babies gently on his own. Not only that, he was communicating with them nicely too.

Standing up and leaving her Cool Dada to have his "moment of glory" with Rudhir and Aaradhya, she looked at her elder brother.

He smiled at her, and nodding his head in approval of her actions, he signaled her to stay close to Batuk.

Nodding in understanding, she signaled Anirudh's other kids too, and they formed a circle around Batuk and the babies.

Soon, the atmosphere filled with laughter and love as Batuk forgot his crying and got busy entertaining the babies and trying to establish a rapport with them!

Anirudh smiled happily on seeing them like that.

He wanted to give space and time to Batuk to talk to the babies for as long as he wanted.

So, making sure that Shashwati was with him during the entire meeting, Anirudh decided to go and sit at one of the chairs lying in the courtyard. It wasn't far from Batuk and the babies, and he could still hear some of Batuk's words too.

A sigh left his lips as he noticed with relief that Batuk had now completely stopped crying and was making funny faces and cooing sounds to make the babies happy.

Shashwati and the other kids were laughing with Batuk and enjoying his antics. Sampoorna and Bihari had gone back inside.

Watching the sweet little scene in front of his eyes, with all his kids having a great time, his heart filled with tenderness as he silently said,

"Thank you, Bondita. Yeh sab tumhari wajeh se possible hua hai. Ager tum na kehtyn, tou mien chahte hue bhi Batuk ko kabhi humare babies ke pas nahi le ker aata."

Lost in his thoughts, his gaze momentarily shifted towards the window of their room on the first floor. His Bondita was inside the room.

Na janay kia soch rhy hogy iss waqt woh?

Babies ko bilkul bhi apne aap se alag nahi kerty hai. Pata nahi abhi kia mehsoos ker rhy hogy woh? I wish woh bhi iss waqt yahan hoty… hum sab ke sath.

That was when Batuk had turned and looked at his brother too.

Finding him gazing at the window towards his room, Batuk felt something stirring in his heart as he thought to himself,

Bondita…

Yeh sab tumhare kaaran hua hai.

Heaving a deep breath, he decided something, and then, leaning into Shashwati's ear, he whispered,

"Shashu-bear, I need a favor. Mera aik kaam ker dou please."

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Such a sweet chapter! ❤️❤️

Finally Ani stopped his pretense of being formal and expressed his warm side to Batuk. It is so nice to see the brothers together and happy ❤️

I liked your blushing Monkey 😆

Batuk meeting the babies scene is so beautiful. His love, guilt, conflicts, everything is so beautifully described 👏

I love Shashu bear. She really is Ani's sister. How easily she understood her brother's condition and how sweetly she has guided him! She is a sweetheart like her Dada ❤️

Things have started to go in the right direction...

Ani remembering and thanking Bon made the chapter perfect.

P.S. You two toh give names to Ani's lalla lallis. Mangu and Vaishali had forgotten that 😆

Chapter 14: The Key to the Floodgate of Emotions

A/N: Happy 2 years of BB Everyone! While BB may have ended, it will always be a special show for all of us. This story is just an attempt to keep BB alive for a little while longer. I hope our readers are also enjoying this journey with us!

Do let us know about your views through your votes and comments. They really mean a lot to us!

Love,

Ashley and Ayesha

___________________________________________________________________________

1st December, 1942, Roy Chaudhary Haveli

Bondita was humming to herself, deliberately trying to distract herself from the commotion that occurred in the courtyard. Busying herself in work, she tried to tidy up her already tidied room as the noise coming from downstairs hit her ears.

While she had been the one to suggest that Batuk be introduced to Rudhir and Aaradhya, she had still been a bit apprehensive about whether or not the plan would work. However, peeking through her bedroom window for a small while, she had seen Batuk play with the babies. And now, hearing the excited shouts of the rest of the children was slowly easing her heart, bringing her apprehensions a notch down. She was mentally congratulating herself for a brilliant idea, when a familiar voice interrupted her musings.

"Mujhse chhip rahi hou Bondita?"

Startled, Bondita turned towards the door to see Batuk leaning against the doorframe. Anirudh's shirt that she was folding dropped to the ground and her eyes widened as fear momentarily gripped her. However, immediately, she found Anirudh’s words from the previous night echoing in her ears.

“Bondita, tumhare dil mien jo darr betha hua hain, woh buht natural hai. Lekin uss darr ko apni kamzori na bannay dena, yeh tumhare haath mien hai.”

She drew strength from them, and taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she steeled her spine and trying to mask her discomfort, she indignantly asked him.

"Tum yahan kya kar rahe hou?"

Her momentary fear was not lost on Batuk. However, the sight of the brave and fearless Barrister Bondita Roy Chaudhary being afraid of him, if even for a moment, did not cause him pleasure like it would have a few weeks back. Instead, his heart clenched with guilt and he suddenly felt nervous, questioning his decision to come up here.

Fidgeting anxiously, he tried to deflect her. "Maine sawaal pehle poochha… "

Once her fear had settled down, Bondita was able to notice the signs that told her that Batuk was no danger to her.

First, his voice did not have the hiss and loathing that it had when they last spoke.

Second, while he was standing in the doorway, he made no moves to enter the room.

And finally the most important sign, Batuk was fidgeting, a sure sign of nervousness.

Her trepidation ebbed a little, and feeling a lot more composed now, she replied,

"Nahi… Mien kyun chhipungi? Ab mere sawaal ka jawaab…"

Without letting her complete her sentence, he asked, his voice hinting his impatience,

"Ager chhip nahi rhy thyn tou neeche kyun nahi ayi thyn tum? Neeche sab thay...almost poori family...lekin tum nahi thyn...Kyun?"

Batuk's question made Bondita hope that maybe, Batuk was getting over his irrational hatred for her.

Trying her best to not appear too hopeful though, she asked him,

"Tou tum isiliye upar aaye kyunki mien neeche nahi aayi?"

Trying to look away, he ran his fingers in his hair, and thinking of words that could express himself in a better way, he quietly replied,

"Nahi… mien iss liye ooper aaya kyunki tumhari kami feel horhy thy neeche. Dada ko bhi… and I am sure… Rudhir aur Aaradhya ko bhi…" Looking at Bondita's quizzical expression, Batuk attempted to elaborate.

"Bondita, Big D aur bacchon ki jaan tum mein basti hai, aur meri jaan, unn teeno mein. Mien na in sab se duur jaana chahta hun, na hi mien tumhe ab in sab se duur karna chahta hun. Toh ab, mien tumhe avoid kar nahi sakta, kyunki tum… tum iss family ka hissa hou."

That little bit of hope grew larger as Batuk all but referred to her as family. She felt her heart melting. She found herself ready to forget the bad past between them.

A classic Bondia thing to do!

Bury the bad memories in the background and bring the positive things in the foreground!!

However absurd the situation may have been, Batuk's words, his tone, his entire demeanour, and how he had been with the kids just a while ago brought a pang of sympathy in her heart. A soft smile threatened to erupt on her lips, but she bit it back.

She deliberately stopped herself short this time.

Nahi… abhi nahi…

She was ready to forget, but she hadn't forgiven him.

Not so soon!!

And definitely not without an apology.

However, she decided to help him out a little. Trying to maintain a business-like facade, she asked him,

"Tou iska matlab yeh hua ke humien aik doosre ke sath co-exist kerna seekhna padega?"

Batuk had seen the emotions playing on her face… in her eyes.

He found it a little odd that Bondita, who was supposed to hate him, was not displaying any signs of the volatile anger that he actually deserved!

The realization that she was not behaving as she should have made him more restless.

He couldn't place it correctly. Was it some strange kind of hope that had flickered in her eyes just now? Or was it... happiness?

He got more confused when he noticed that she had tried to mask those unfathomable emotions just now.

She is pretending…

Yeh apna dard chhipa rahy hai kia?

Mager woh khushi…

Kia yeh mujhe dekh ker…

Yeh ghussa nahi hai… Tou phir yeh kia feel ker rhy hai?

Sighing, he decided that perhaps he should give her the space to process her emotions correctly.

On the other hand, he himself wasn't left with any energy to pretend in front of her any longer.

And so, instead of hiding his emotions as Bondita had done, he gave her a small relieved smile, and answered,

"Yes... For the sake of the people we both love. Can we have a truce?"

Batuk saw the sparkle in her eyes instantly diminishing on hearing what he just said.

Confused, he tried to read her mind...But he couldn't.

On the other hand, Bondita felt her heart breaking once again.

Just Truce??

Kia sirf yehi enough hai humare beech cheezon ko normal kerne ke liye, Batuk?

She asked him in her heart. The hope that had raised its head in her heart just a while ago slowly got crushed.

However, struggling to maintain her charade of acting all business-like, Bondita returned his smile with a tiny, fake one of her own. Trying to contain her disappointment, she replied,

“Theek hai. Truce it is.”

Unable to hide her sadness anymore, she quickly turned around and returned to folding the shirt that she had dropped.

After a few minutes, when she was much composed, she realised that Batuk was still lingering by the door. Carefully, wearing a blank mask, wiping her face of all the expressions, she turned to him and asked,

"Kuch aur bhi kehna hai tumhe?"

Batuk looked a bit abashed but tentatively replied, "Nahi… Mera matlab hai haan… Sirf yehi reason nahi tha mere ooper anay ka, Bondita. I… I want to say… I mean…"

Stuttering, he paused to take a deep breath, and then, clearing his throat, he said, "I want to thank you, Bondita. For… letting me meet Rudhir and Aaradhya."

He saw another wave of sadness flickering in her eyes, but she was quick to mask it again.

Nodding slightly, she replied to him in a neutral tone,

"It's okay Batuk. Waise bhi jo bhi masley hai woh tumhare aur mere beech hai. Usme baaki parivar waalo ko na ghasite, yahi behter nahi hoga?"

Batuk couldn't stop himself from wincing. After all, hadn't he dragged the entire family, and Bondita's entire family into his quest for revenge?

His self-loathing started biting him again… gnawing at his soul.

And on top of that, Bondita's sadness that he hadn't missed was wreaking havoc on his already teetering emotions.

But worst of all - he found himself unable to say the right words to bring her out of her sadness!

And this inability to do something for Bondita drove him to his edge!

He only did what he knew wasn't completely right...but he did it anyway.

His eyes that were now shining with unshed tears, he let go of his emotions and burst out,

"That's it, Bondita!! Isi liye I want to thank you! Tum jaanti hou ke agar Big D ko chunna pada tou woh humesha tumhe hi choose karenge, par phir bhi, tum poori family ko humare jhagde se, or rather, meri nafrat se duur rakhna chahti hou. But miene exactly wahi kiya na? Apne badle ke chakkar mein sabko involve kiya na! Mager tum ne mujhe waise nahi treat kia jaise miene kia tha. Thank You for that, Bondita."

His tears had started to roll down his cheeks, unchecked, as he continued his "thanking" tirade,

"Also, aik baar phir, thank you! Miene tumse tumhare bacchon ko duur karne ki koshish ki, mager tumne unhi bacchon se mujhe milne diya. Miene tumhe itna horribly treat kiya, mager tumne woh diary bhej ke meri madad karna chaha! Iske liye bhi buht buht dhanyavaad."

Pausing, he took a deep breath and wiped his tears. Looking directly into Bondita's pain and tear-glazed, expectant eyes, he was suddenly unsure of what he was doing, what he was saying. Shaking his head, extremely overwhelmed by his conflicting emotions, he just whispered,

"Bass yehi kehne aaya tha. Yehi kehna chahta tha. I...I just wanted to say, thank you iss liye ke tum ne mere sath waisa salook nahi kia jaisa mien actually deserve kerta tha. Thank you Bondita, just thank you."

Unable to face her any longer, feeling miserable at feeling that he didn't have anything else to say, Batuk ran back to his room in the kothi leaving an extremely shocked Bondita behind.

What had just happened!!!

Batuk… Aik shabdh jo sab se ziada maayni rakhta tha, wahi nahi bol saka!

Her shock slowly turned into annoyance.

Feeling irrationally angry now, she crossed her arms, puffed her cheeks out in frustration and turned towards the window.

"Batuk ke bachhe! Jab pata hai ke tumne kya gondogol kiya hai, tou sorry bolne kya jaa raha hai tumhara? Bewakuf! Itna lamba "thank you" jaap suna dia. Aik baar dil se sorry bhi keh dete tou kia chala jata!!!"

Her annoyed rant was interrupted by two fingers gently deflating her puffed cheeks from behind.

Bondita turned around indignantly to see her extremely amused husband. "Patibabu!" She exclaimed, "Mien yahan gussa hu aur aapko hassi aarhy hai kia?"

Widening her eyes, she looked at him, thoroughly annoyed at seeing the traces of mirth bubbling around the corners of his lips.

When he didn't reply, she frowned and asked,

"Aur yeh aap itne jaldi yahan kaise aaye?"

When he didn't reply again and just tried to keep his face straight, she thought for a bit. And then she gasped as realisation dawned on her.

"Aap humari baatein sunn rahe thay?"

Finally giving up on his futile attempts to suppress his mirth , he chortled, and then, snatching her in his arms, he buried his face in the crook of her neck and shoulder and breathed, his voice still tinged with his gaiety as he whispered,

"Ohh Bondita!!! What are you?"

Although she was exasperated first by his brother, and now by him, she still registered his carefree demeanour after such a long time. Since the entire ordeal, he was always tense and on the edge. He never tried to show it to her, and he had been taking really good care of her and the babies, but she was so attuned to him that she could pick even the slightest nuances in his emotional state. And so, she had known that he was really upset about Batuk's health and all his misdeeds too.

So, seeing him enjoying the situation so freely for a change today filled her heart with warmth. She wanted to smile at him and kiss him soundly, but she controlled herself and waited for him to reply.

After a little while, he broke the hug, his eyes still dancing with amusement, and said,

"Haan Jaan, mien sunn raha tha tum loagon ki baatien."

He saw her eyes widening, and before she could launch into how unethical it was to eavesdrop on others, he raised his palm defensively and teased her,

"I know… I know… but it was just by pure accident. Jab miene neeche realize kia ke Batuk ghayab hai tou I got frantic. Tabhi Shashwati ne bataya ke woh tumhare paas aaya hai. I got more worried. Phir miene jaldi se Sampoorna maa ko ander se bulwaya takay woh Rudhir Aaradhya ko sambhaalien, aur mien turrant yahan bhaga chala aaya. Aur phir, yahan aa ker miene suni tum loagon ki baatien "

A soft smile still lingered around his mouth as he tucked one of her hair strands behind her ear and asked, a genuine quizzical expression appearing on his face this time,

"Mujhe aik baat samajh nahi aayi. Waise tou log apne differences clear karne ke baad shaant hote hain, ya khush hote hai, par tum tou muh phulake baithi ho. Aisa kyun?"

She, who was basking in the warm and fuzzy feelings that her husband was evoking suddenly got annoyed all over again on hearing his question. Her cheeks puffing out once again, she angrily replied,

"Aapke uss bewakoof chhote bhai se poochiye!! Aur ho sakay tou thodi si aqal bhi daan ker dien uss gadhay ko! Itna bada ho gaya hai par kab thank you bolte hai aur kab sorry, yeh bhi nahi pata! Aik number ka ullu hai yeh! Dekhna aap iss baar tou usko itne uthak baithak karaungi ke ginti bhool jayega! Aur iss baar koi bahana nahi chalne duungy. Murgha bana ker anda dilwa ker hi rahun gy!" She ended up with a murderous determination!

His mouth dropped open!!

He had never seen his Bondita behaving so... childishly!!! Not even when she really was a child!!

She had always been so mature… He had always admired her maturity so much!

But now… Watching his Bondita almost gleefully contemplating a punishment session for his errant brother, he was absolutely at a loss!

He couldn't control any longer and reacted in the only way possible!

Anirudh Roy Chaudhary, a normally very gentle, serious, and sober man burst into the craziest fit of uncontrollable laughter!!

-----

1st December 1942, Roy Chaudhary Kothi

"Batuk, are you sure tum theek hou? Jab se aaya hu tabse dekh raha hu tumhe… Kahan khoye hou?"

Batuk looked up into the concerned eyes of his older brother. Anirudh was right, Batuk had indeed been lost in thoughts ever since he ran back to the kothi after speaking to Bondita. So much so that he was barely listening to Anirudh since he came half an hour back with his evening medicine.

Batuk couldn't help but smile at the irony. He had craved for his Big D's attention all his life, and now, when he was getting it, he was zoning out.

"Batuk??" Anirudh shook him again bringing him out of his reverie. At that particular moment, Batuk wanted absolutely nothing more than to cling to his Dada and pour out all his turmoil, but the image of his Big D smiling, laughing and being carefree after so long made him hold on to his instinct.

Big D aaj kitne khush lag rahe hai, best not bother him with my crap… But woh jhuth tou pakad lenge na mera… What to do?

"Kuch nahi Big D… Mai kal raat der tak jaga na? Woh aaj thoda emotional hou gaya tha na, isiliye thodi thakaan mehsoos ho rhy hai. I will be okay after a good night's sleep!"

Batuk wasn't exactly lying, the events of the day and the overwhelming emotions that accompanied them were a big reason for his turmoil.

"Pakka na Batuk? Tumhe kuch pareshaan kar raha hou tou kisi se baat karo. Tumhe yaad hai na…"

"I know Big D, mien akela nahi hu…" He said with a smile as he repeated Anirudh's frequent refrain. "But main theek hu! Aap chinta mat karo!"

"Theek hai phir, mien chalta hu, tum time pe sou jaana, and," he added teasingly, " zyada der telephone pe baat mat karna."

Batuk couldn't stop from blushing at that last instruction…

"Aap bhi na Big D… Goodnight!"

With a final pat on Batuk's shoulder, Anirudh left the room, leaving Batuk to process the plethora of emotions he was going through.

Bloody hell! Hou kya gaya hai mujhe! Why am I feeling jaise… Dammit!!! How do I even name this feeling… this feeling of… I don't know… nothingness maybe? Empty? Khokhla… Jaise something is missing! But kyun?

Perplexed, Batuk walked towards the window gazing at the darkness of the night slowly engulfing the courtyard where he had been so happy just this morning.

Why am I feeling so incomplete? Aaj sab kuch tou sahi hua na? Big D bhi khush hai, mien Rudhir aur Aaradhya se bhi mila, Bondita se bhi truce kar diya. Phir kya kami hai?

"But kya woh truce kaafi tha? Tumhare liye? Uske liye?", a little voice inside him asked.

Sirf truce thodi tha? Maine usey thank bhi kiya! Uska ehsaan hai mujh per… Usne Rudhir aur Aaradhya se mujhe milne dia… but why did it feel that my thank you was not enough?

“But kya TUM sirf thank you bolna chahte thay?”, the voice spoke again, louder this time.

Nahi, mien sirf Thank You bolne ya sulah karne nahi gaya tha waha. Per Bondita ke samnay meri zaban... Mien uss se kuch aur kehna chahta tha...mager mien keh kuch aur raha tha.

“Achha hai na!” A harsher voice spoke from within him. Batuk recognized it immediately. BRC… “Waise bhi Bondita jaisi selfish ladki ko thank you bola wahi buht hai!”

“Woh selfish hai?” the softer voice asked again. “Agar waqai selfish hoti, tou tumhari madad kyun karti? Tumhare saath truce kyun karti?”

“Woh bhi aik naatak hi hai!”, BRC spoke up again, but somehow, his voice was quieter. “Aik naatak jiske through woh khudko mahaan saabit kar sakein! She is selfish, Batuk. Matt bhoolo kaise usne tum sab ko chhoda tha… tumhare bhai ko akele chhoda tha aur khud mazay se London nikal gai thy! Usne aik baar bhi palat ker Big D ya hum sab ki khabar lene ki koshish ki thy kia? No! She is selfish. Dunia ki sab se ziada selfish ladki hai!! Selfish...Selfish...SELFISH!”

“SHUT UP!” Batuk yelled out aloud, trying to silence the voices and thoughts in his head as he turned away from the window and collapsed on his desk chair.

In desperation, he picked the diary lying on the desk and opened to the very last entry, a page that had been torn, and then reattached in the diary. The note that had just yesterday pulled him back from the abyss of guilt that he was about to fall into.

Bondita’s note!

Feeling exhausted all of a sudden, he leaned back, closed his eyes, and heaving a deep sigh, thought,

Bondita Roy Chaudhary. Kia ho tum exactly? Are you as conniving, as selfish as I thought you were?

Lekin tumhare actions…

Opening his eyes with a start, he recalled how Bondita had dealt with Mallika when she had confessed her crimes to her.

That was very generous of her. And both he and Mallika acknowledged that.

And now, with him also, first she sent this helpful note, and then made it possible for him to meet Rudhir and Aaradhya.

That was also very kind of her.

“Was it really?” BRC’s voice came up again, this time sounding desperate. “Isn’t it something she owes you? Your family? Big D? Big D ki khushiyaan dekhna uski duty hai! Isme usne kuch bhi mahaan nahi kiya!”

“Mager abhi tou tum bol rahe thay Bondita ko Big D ki parwah nahi hai?”, the softer voice interjected again. “Pehle tayy karo ke Bondita selfish hai bhi ya nahi”

This time, the debate was interrupted by a sudden gust of wind blowing in through the window. Without closing his diary, Batuk hurriedly got up to shut the window.

When he returned to his desk, a sight that he had not expected, met him.

The gusty wind had managed to flip the pages of his diary, and the words that Batuk's eyes involuntarily read caught his instant attention!

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒌 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒐 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂?

𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒘𝒉𝒚?"

Batuk's eyes widened on reading this as his mind instantly exclaimed,

"WHAT?? Bondita ne jaan dene ki koshish ki...Kab? Kyun? Kis liye?"

Unable to stop the strange feeling of curiosity engulfing him whole, without thinking how, previously, he had avoided reading Anirudh's entries as if they would bite him, he ended up doing just that as he couldn't stop himself anymore from reading further,

"𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝑴𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖?

𝑻𝒖𝒎 𝒌𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒂?

𝑻𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏. 𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒊𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒉 𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒚 𝒌𝒆…

𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂, 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒚. 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒏, 𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒅𝒅 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒅𝒕𝒚 𝒏𝒂? 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒚 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒚𝒆… 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒚 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒕…

𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒂𝒎 𝑰 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅?

𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔!

𝑻𝒖𝒎 𝒑𝒆𝒉𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒖𝒛𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒚𝒚𝒂𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚𝒏, 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒉 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒚𝒆𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒊𝒂.

𝑺𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒉𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒂𝒌 𝒑𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚. 𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒂𝒋 𝒃𝒉𝒊… 𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆, 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒌𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒉 𝒌𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝑲𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒏𝒂 𝑵𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒆 𝑻𝒖𝒍𝒔𝒊𝒑𝒖𝒓 𝑽𝒂𝒊𝒋𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒚𝒏... 𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒇 𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒌𝒊 𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒂 𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒖 𝒌𝒂 𝒅𝒖𝒌𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚𝒏.

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒐, 𝒂𝒃𝒉 𝒖𝒔𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒛𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒍 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒏...

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒆… 𝑻𝒖𝒎 𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒂, 𝒍𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒃𝒉 𝒎𝒐𝒒𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔. 𝑻𝒖𝒎 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒚𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝑺𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒛𝒂 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒏𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚𝒏. 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒏𝒆… 𝑲𝒊𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒏𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂?

𝑨𝒃𝒉 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒂…

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒋𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒂𝒃𝒉 𝒌𝒐𝒊 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒚𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊… 𝑲𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒋𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒌 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒂 𝒋𝒆𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒗 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂 𝒅𝒐𝒖.

𝑻𝒖𝒎 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒆 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒚𝒊 𝒉𝒐… 𝑻𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒎 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂. 𝑻𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂𝒚… 𝑨𝒑𝒏𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆... 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒗 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂 𝒓𝒉𝒚 𝒉𝒐?

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏… 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒋𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆… 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒛𝒊𝒂𝒅𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒍𝒊𝒇 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒉𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆… 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒚 𝒋𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒓. 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊…𝑲𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊...𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏. 𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒅𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂… 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆.

𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆… 𝑰 𝒃𝒆𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖!"

Batuk felt a heavy weight settling onto his chest upon reading his brother's entry in his diary.

He always knew that Anirudh had loved Bondita crazily. And even in this entry he had been imploring her to not endanger herself!

Feeling an absurd angry pang, a frown marred his forehead as he thought,

Yeh Bondita aakhir kyun itni ziddi hai? Kyun Big D ki baat nahi maan rahy thy!

But then, his eyes fell on the words of the entry again.

Sanyasini…

Dada ke liye she was ready to become a Sanyasini!!???

How in the world?

Confused, he thought some more about what he had read. One of his beefs with Bondita was that as per his beliefs, she had never loved Anirudh back, not at least as fiercely as Anirudh had.

But what he read just now told a very different story - very contrary to his entire belief-system.

Bondita ne dada ke liye jaan dene ki koshish ki thy pehle?

Yeh mujhe kyun nahi malum?

Aur… Abhi yeh Sanyasini ka sara chakkar… What crap is this? Yeh kia scene hai? And why didn't Kaka or anyone else tell me about it?

And then, he recalled how he had learned about Bondita's deception and had bitterly thought,

"Huh! Dhoka tou Bondita ka Middle Name hai! Aur kia expect kerien iss se. Dhokay ke ilawah yeh kisi ko de hi kia sakty hai!"

He had blocked Bondita from his mind afterward and had never wondered even about that whole episode.

And now, he had found out that not only had Bondita 'deceived' to 'share his brother's problems,' but she had actually accepted a strange punishment for that too that wreaked havoc on his brother's mind and heart.

His heart wanted to start blaming Bondita again for putting his Big D through such misery. But his mind interjected and made him ponder,

Lekin Bondita ne aakhir aisa kyun kia?

Woh London se padh ker aa chuki thy. Uska sapna poora ho chuka tha. Jo sari favors usko dada se chahiye thy, woh usko haasil kerne mien successful hogai thy. Tou phir abh woh itna danger le ker kyun dada se milne ki koshish kerty thy?

His confusion amplifying to a million times, he dropped on his desk chair with a thud.

Holding his temple in both hands, he closed his eyes tiredly as he wondered,

Kaisi mystery hai yeh Bondita, tumhare around. You drive me nuts... you know that? Mien tumhien jo samajhta hun, tumhare actions uss se alag kyun hote hain? Abhi bhi jab mien, tumhara itna bada mujrim tumhare samnay tha tou tumhari aanhkon mien umeed, khushi, aur phir dukh jaise expressions kyun thay? Tumhari eyes mien ghussa aur nafrat kyun nahi thy? Tum agar waqai selfish hou, tou mujhe saza dene ke bajaye meri madad kyun kerna chahty hou?

Aimlessly looking at the diary now, he read Anirudh's entry once again.

A strange feeling grappled his heart as Mallika’s words from last night reverberated through his head.

“Saare efforts, saari sacrifices obvious nahi hoti. Kya pata, agar tum Anirudh Dada ki nazron se dekho, toh Bondita ka contribution bhi samajh jaao?"

Running his hand over the diary, with a newfound conviction, he flipped the pages.

He had decided to finally give it a thorough read as this diary, Anirudh's friend was now going to show him Anirudh’s perspective, and answer all his questions!

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A/N 2: Emotional labour is something most people do not see because it is not as obvious as physical labour, and this results in a lot of us not appreciating it. This has been a recurring issue in BB, with most of the characters in the show, as well as some of us viewers, not seeing Bondita’s contribution to Rudhi in the face of Anirudh’s more obvious efforts. This chapter and the next will attempt to address this. We have two special shoutouts for @sumishtian__keerthana and @barrister_babu_forever on Instagram. Keerthana’s VM and Brishti’s IG post on this very topic has been a great help for us as we dealt with it in our story. Please do check those posts out!

A/N 3: We are also planning a Valentine’s Day surprise for all our lovely readers, so stay tuned!

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Beautiful chapter ❤️

Finally Batuk took the first step to mend his relationship with Bon. BonTuk conversation was nice, occasionally it reminded their childhood bond too. Batuk saying 'thank you' was sweet ❤️But Monkey is still suffering from the common itv ML syndrome of not being able to say sorry 😆😆

Rudhi conversation was so sweet. It was so good to see them having a light hearted conversation with an amused Ani laughing happily ❤️❤️

Loved Bon's plans of the "grave punishments" 😈

Got the thoughts of Ani for the first time ❤️❤️❤️I've always wanted to know Ani's thoughts which was not shown properly in the show. Eagerly waiting for the next chapter to know Nazuk Kali's feelings...

Chapter 15: The Kaleidoscope of Memories, The Bioscope of Perspectives

A/N: Happy Valentine's Day to all our lovely readers.

So this is our surprise, an early, extra long two part update! To celebrate this day of love, we would like to shed light on Rudhi's love story, from new perspectives.

One major issue in the show was the lack of clarity with respect to Ani's feelings for Bon. We can understand why the makers chose this tactic. With Bondita being only a preteen when the show started and when Rudhi married the first time, a fine line needed to be tread between the social norms at the time and between our modern sensibilities. However, this also left a lot of viewers not only confused, but feeling as if his realisation of love came abruptly or too fast.

Many people have misjudged Anirudh a lot too. Well, to be honest, he is actually the most misunderstood fictional character, without any doubt!

And that's why we really wanted to delve into the insights of his mind. When various things were happening, what were his thoughts? How was he processing everything? What were his feelings? Etc.

This chapter is very very very IMPORTANT and extremely close to our heart. Because here, you all will be able to peep into Anirudh's mind and heart through various phases in his life.

Another point that we would like to specify is that love is a lot more than romance. As Sant Kabir described in his doha- prem is that which keeps you drenched in it 24x7. Love isn't something that can be pigeonholed into rules of society, or age or relationships.

Love can have multiple shades, facets, and dimensions. But at its core, it means wanting the absolute best for someone, and the willingness to do anything for it.

There are many people who have pointed fingers at this kind of a love story before also, and in Rudhi's case too.

Here we would request all of you to only view Rudhi's relationship, and their love without keeping any preconceived notions of right and wrong, rules and principles.

To view their love story in the proper light, one needs to put away their objective and subjective lenses. And take it just as it was.

We really have put our heart into building up this chapter and would really appreciate it if we get to hear your comments and views about it.

A major shoutout to some of our regular readers! You guys are LOVE. Your comments make us very happy and your appreciation motivates us a lot.

So, this chapter is a dedication, a LOVE-FILLED gesture on Valentine's Day for all of you who have been extremely kind to us since the beginning of this story!

Also, there are some parts that Ayesha has taken from one of her one-shots on Rudhi. So, if you find similarities, DON'T think that she plagiarized her own work! :D

This chapter is in 2 parts.

It's super long!

But we really hope that a true BB fan would love this chapter because it is going to give the entire feel of the show on a very personal level!

Now, after this lonnnnng A/N, without further ado, lets move to the chapter!!!

Love you all,

Ashley and Ayesha.

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Running his hand over the diary, with a newfound conviction, Batuk flipped the pages.

He had decided to finally give it a thorough read as this diary, Anirudh's friend was now going to show him Anirudh’s perspective, and answer all his questions!

“𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇!!!

𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒚 𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒍𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒊𝒂. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒃 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒖𝒆 𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒆… 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆. 𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒋𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒊 𝒔𝒊 𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒌𝒊 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒉 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚!

𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒑𝒊𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔?

𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍… 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒚 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉, 𝑰 𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒔… 𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍. 𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊… 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒋𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒋𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒚 𝒌𝒂 𝒍𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒚𝒂 𝒉𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒏𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊. 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂, 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒂𝒂𝒎 𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒌𝒊, 𝒚𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒚𝒂 𝑩𝒂𝒉𝒖 𝒌𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒑 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒂. 𝑻𝒖𝒎 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒉𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒉𝒐. 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒌𝒊 𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒂𝒂𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒌𝒊 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒚𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒖𝒐, 𝒚𝒂 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒂𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒚 𝒋𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒖𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒌𝒊 𝒃𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒌 𝒑𝒐𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒐.

𝑨𝒃𝒉 𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒅 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒏 𝒈𝒂. 𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒐𝒊 𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒅𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒂. 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒊!

𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒐 𝒍𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒖𝒏-𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒉 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒂. 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊, 𝒎𝒂𝒛𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒐𝒏 𝒈𝒂.

𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒚 𝒌𝒂 𝒍𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒚𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊!”

A sigh escaped his mouth as he pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.

He had forgotten many things from his childhood, but he remembered how Big D used to yell at Bondita to make her study in those days. A sudden memory hit him when he remembered how Bondita used to make him do her homework then or attend lessons with her to avoid answering difficult questions.

Without realizing, a chuckle escaped his mouth on the recollection.

Bondita hamesha se hi apna raasta banane ki taqat rakhty thy. I am sure ager Big D ne uski ungli nahi pakdi hoty, tou woh ziddi, dhun ki pakki ladki apna raasta khud dhoond hi lety!

And then, a sudden realization dawned on him as he opened his eyes with a start-

Bondita is headstrong… stubborn even. Lekin usko aisa banaya tou Big D ne hi hai!

Slowly, he straightened up in his chair and thought some more about one of the first few entries of the diary that he had read just now.

And he realized that actually Bondita, perhaps could have been a normal, kushal grehni, and a conventional patni had Big D not instilled the love for education in her.

If Big D hadn't given her all the freedom to fly, would she have been able to do it all on her own?

No… aur yehi tou mien sochta hun ki Bondita ne Big D ko, unke pyar ko aur unki resources ko apne faiday ke liye use kia. Apna raasta banane ke liye… she used Big D.

He chewed on his lip as he thought about it.

And then, a quiet voice from within interjected him,

Lekin woh sab tou usko allow khud Big D ne hi kia tha.

Feeling perplexed, he moved onto another entry,

"𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒂𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒊 𝒈𝒂𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒆… 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒚 𝒔𝒆.

𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒂𝒊!

𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒏𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒕𝒂 𝒋𝒂𝒃 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒎𝒏𝒆 𝒋𝒉𝒖𝒌𝒆, 𝒚𝒂 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒉𝒂𝒈𝒘𝒂𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒆?

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒓𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚… 𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒖 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒚!

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒋𝒐 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒌𝒊𝒂, 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒂. 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒋𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒊 𝒌𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒖𝒑𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆… 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒌𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒊…𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒚𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒆…𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒆.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆… 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝑴𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒉𝒆𝒋 𝒅𝒊𝒚𝒂.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒊𝒂… 𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒌𝒖𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒊𝒂. 𝑼𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒂𝒃𝒉 𝒌𝒐𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒔𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒊? 𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒂 𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒊𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒉𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊? 𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒖… 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒂 𝒍𝒂𝒈 𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒚𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆?"

His heartbeats accelerated as he recalled how bad this one decision of Anirudh's had gone for his boudi!

Without realizing, his heart squeezed in pain as he remembered how Som dada had told him that because of their dada's decision, their boudi had been sent to a very bad place!

Being a carefree child, he hadn't bothered about wondering ever before about that bad place.

But now, he wanted to find out. And so, without any delay, he flipped to the next page, and then the next. Both the entries were about how Anirudh missed Bondita when she was gone.

However, the next entry was more painful than he had ever expected.

"𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒂𝒊.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌 𝒌𝒊𝒂. 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂.

𝑷𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒌𝒊… 𝑰𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒐𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒚?

𝑯𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒒𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒊 𝒇𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒖, 𝒂𝒂𝒑 𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒑𝒊 𝒍𝒂𝒂𝒐𝒏?

𝑲𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒔𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒋𝒆𝒆, 𝒂𝒂𝒑 𝒌𝒊 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒌 𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒄𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒊 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊 ..

𝑺𝒐𝒎 𝒅𝒂𝒅𝒂...𝒂𝒂𝒑𝒌𝒂 𝒌𝒉𝒐 𝒌𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒂 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒉…

𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒌… 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒋𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒂 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒈 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂, 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒖𝒕𝒏𝒂 𝒉𝒊 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒂𝒗 𝒕𝒉𝒂.

𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒚𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒂.

𝑱𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒌𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚, 𝒋𝒊𝒏 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒎 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚, 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒖𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒖𝒓 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒂.

𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒔𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂...𝒘𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒏… 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒛𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝒈𝒂𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒋𝒊𝒔𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏!

𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒐𝒊 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊, 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒎𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒎𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒚!"

A loud gasp escaped Batuk's mouth on reading this. He was very young when this had happened. But now, he could understand the depth of Anirudh's words and his remorse as he felt his heart constricting,

Bazaar… Jism ke sauday??

Bloody Hell!

His eyes widened as realization dawned on him.

Bondita Heera mandi jaisi jagha pohanch gai thy? Aur woh bhi iss liye kyunki woh apni didi ki care ker rahy thy aur Dada ne usko hi misunderstand ker lia! Bloody hell!!! Dada ke aik ghalat faislay ki wajeh se Bondita wahan pohanch gai jahan…

Unable to process it all anymore, he restlessly stood up, and walking to the dressing table, he stood in front of the mirror and looked at his reflection.

So, while you, Batuk Roy Chaudhary enjoyed all the glories of being a zamindar, a girl of your age must have gone through hell!

Jis waqt tum apne toys se khel rhay thay without any worries in the world, uss waqt shayad chhoti si Bondita uss jagha ki tanhai aur khoff se ladd rahy hogy.

A lump formed in his throat as he wondered,

Dada jab bhi usko daant'te thay, mien khush hota tha. Dada ka ghussa kitna teiz tha...aur Dada kitne impulsive thay, yeh hum sab ko pata tha. Lekin Dada life mein aisi mistake bhi kerien ge, yeh miene kabhi nahi socha tha. Pata nahi, wahan, uss bazaar mein chhoti si Bondita ki rooh kitni baar kuchli gai hogy! Pata nahi woh kaise bach ker ayi hogy. I remember Dada had brought her home. Kaka and Baba said something about a wound. So, clearly Dada ne hi rescue kia hoga usay, and tab injure huye honge. Lekin yahan, I can't deny that Bondita se ziada Dada ghalat thay.

His Dada was his hero. And it wasn't that he assumed him to be completely "error-proof" like a saint, but he had made himself believe that in Anirudh and Bondita's relationship, it was Bondita always who was at fault. And it was her because of whom his Big D used to land in hot waters.

But now he learned that, that hadn't been the case always, clearly.

Feeling at a loss, it took him a while to compose himself, and once he was ready, he returned to his desk chair. Sitting on it, he then moved on to the next entry,

"𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒊.. 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒅𝒐𝒔𝒕… 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒊 𝒏𝒊𝒌𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒈𝒚, 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒉𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒂.

𝑼𝒔 𝒏𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝑯𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒂, 𝒍𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒅 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒆.

𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂. 𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚. 𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚. 𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒊 𝒏𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒌 𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒇 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒚𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂. 𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚.

𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏… 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒌 𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒖 𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊 𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒉 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒂 𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒂.

𝑨𝒃𝒉 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒂 𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒊 𝒑𝒆𝒉𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒊 𝒌𝒐 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒉𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒋𝒉𝒂, 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒚𝒂𝒓 𝒌𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒉𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒂… 𝒍𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒊𝒌𝒍𝒂.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒋𝒉𝒂… 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒌𝒊𝒂. 𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒊𝒌𝒍𝒊...𝒔𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒊𝒌𝒍𝒊.

𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒅 𝒌𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒇 𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒂 𝒊𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆?

𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒂𝒃𝒉 𝒚𝒂 𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒓 𝒋𝒂𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝑯𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊 𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒅 𝒌𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚.

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒋𝒂𝒈𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒊𝒌𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒂𝒂𝒓𝒉𝒂. 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒂.

𝑲𝒊𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒏?"

His heart filled with sympathy as he understood the feelings that both Bondita and Anirudh must have gone through after such a horrible incident. Batuk was no stranger to post-traumatic stress disorder, and he could completely empathize with both his brother and boudi now, after so many years!

Back then, he remembered that he had started feeling a little bad when, after returning from the bad place, Bondita had instantly become Big D's center of attention.

He had stopped scolding her and he was always found roaming around Bondita in those days. His focus had shifted from his younger brother to his young little wife.

Feeling uncomfortable on recalling that weird emotion that used to consume him and fill him with anger, he stopped himself short from exploring and analyzing that feeling. Instead, he sighed and acknowledged that he now understood why his Dada's attention and focus had shifted to Bondita back then. He must have been guilty, and he must have tried to do something to help both himself and Bondita from that messy situation.

Feeling convinced that his brother must have put in all the efforts to bring both him and boudi out of that post-traumatic situation, he moved onto the next entry,

"𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒌𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊?

𝑱𝒂𝒃 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚, 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒎 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅, 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂.

𝑨𝒃𝒉 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒚 𝒌𝒂 𝒍𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒚𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒍 𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒂.

𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂? 𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒌𝒂𝒔𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒆, 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒋 𝒕𝒂𝒌 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒊.

𝑨𝒊𝒌 𝒎𝒂𝒛𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒋𝒐 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒐 𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒋𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊 . 𝑻𝒐𝒖, 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒈𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒂 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒂 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒃 𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒋𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏. 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒇 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑩𝒊𝒍𝒌𝒖𝒍 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒋𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒌𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒂 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊 𝑺𝒉𝒊𝒗𝒋𝒊 𝒌𝒂 𝒌𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒊 𝑲𝒂𝒌𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒌𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒚𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏.

𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝑺𝒉𝒊𝒗𝒂, 𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒍𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒊 𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒏 𝒌𝒂𝒌𝒂 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒅 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑫𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒂 𝑴𝒂𝒂 𝒌𝒊, 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒅 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒊 𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒛𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆!

𝑯𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒍𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒑 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕?

𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒈𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒂 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊… 𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒌𝒖𝒍 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉, 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒚.

𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒉𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑺𝒉𝒆'𝒔 𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒊 𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒋𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒛𝒂𝒓𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒂."

Two things hit Batuk upon reading this entry. First, his dada was acknowledging that Bondita was the source of reasoning in his life

Second, his dada had mentioned that it was his dream to make her a learned, well-educated woman, a Barrister!

These revelations opened new avenues for Batuk as he thought,

Mien hamesha sochta raha ki Big D ne hamesha Bondita ko strength di… unhone usko empower kia. Unhone usko woh sab means diye jis se woh APNA sapna poora ker sakay.

Mager yahan tou Big D keh rhe hain ki sapna UNKA bhi tha, aur sirf wahi Bondita ko strength nahi dete thay, balki Bondita bhi unko aik strength, aik power dety thy. Unko ghussay mien ghalat decisions lene se rokty thy… Unke saray ghussay ko apne ooper utaar lety thy. Bilkul waise hi jaise Maa Parvati ne kia tha Shivji ke liye!

He stopped short. The slightly religious bent in his thoughts surprised him to the core.

Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, he quickly turned to another entry in the diary,

"𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂… 𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒚 𝒌𝒂 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒂 𝒛𝒂𝒓𝒖𝒓𝒊 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒏 𝒋𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒈𝒚, 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂. 𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂 𝑺𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒊 𝒅𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒚𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒏 𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑼𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒌𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒂 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒂 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒑𝒚𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒉 𝒏𝒂 𝒉𝒐. 𝑨𝒈𝒂𝒓… 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒓 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒚𝒂, 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒚𝒂 𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏? 𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒂..."

Sansaar!!!

Bondita Big D ko apna Sansaar kehty thy??

An old memory suddenly resurfaced from the depths of his mind.

He vaguely remembered Kaka relating the story of Ganeshji and how he had done parikrama of his parents when he was told to circumvent the Earth in a competition, declaring them as his Sansaar.

A mere memory triggered another flashback of a little Bondita circumventing around Anirudh dada!

And that was when the realization dawned on him,

“Oh! You Bondita Big D ko uss sense mien apna Sansaar kehty thy!! Yani apna sab kuch…!”

A frown had marred his forehead upon reading about his brother's sentimentality. And it had now deepend upon this memory from the past.

With that, he also realized that this diary was like a step-by-step documentation of the progression of his brother's feelings for Bondita. And it also revealed Bondita’s feelings for his Big D as they started to develop overtime.

A sigh escaped his chest. He had been avoiding reading Anirudh's entries just because he had anticipated such saccharine lovey-dovey stories about Big D's pyari Bondita.

However, now that he had decided to read it all to solve the “Mystery of Bondita,” he sighed resignedly again, and started flipping the pages.

The next few entries were full of gushing praises for Bondita that made Batuk a little squeamish, but anyway, he braved it all out until he reached the entry where Bondita's abduction at Mini's hand had happened.

Batuk gasped as he suddenly recalled that horrifying incident. He was there too at the time. But his boudi had almost reached the verge of her death, and Anirudh dada's friend, Saurav dada had lost his life.

He read with extreme remorse about the anguish Anirudh had felt over Saurav's death in the next couple of entries.

It was difficult for Batuk to see how tortured his brother was at that time. However, he noticed that even in those days, his ray of light and the only source of happiness was none other than Bondita.

As he read further, he came to an entry which shocked him to the core.

"𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒈𝒘𝒂𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑨𝒑𝒏𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒒𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒕𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒂.

𝑰 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔. 𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊, 𝒋𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒉 𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒌𝒊𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒏𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒈𝒖𝒏𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒋𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏? 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕.

𝑺𝒂𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒗 𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒂 𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒘-𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒊 𝒌𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒌𝒊. 𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒚. 𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑹𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌 𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒖 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒆. 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂. 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒅 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒋𝒂 𝒏𝒊𝒌𝒂𝒍𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒌𝒐𝒊 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒅 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒋𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏. 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒅 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒊 𝒈𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒋𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒋𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒌𝒐𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒔...𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒔 𝒌𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒃𝒊 𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒌𝒊𝒂. 𝑴𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒂… 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒊 𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒒𝒆 𝒔𝒆 𝑴𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒐 '𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕' 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒊𝒂!

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂… 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅 𝑰 𝒂𝒎...𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆. 𝑻𝒖𝒎 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒈𝒆𝒉𝒓𝒂𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒌𝒊 𝒉𝒐 𝒌𝒊 𝒂𝒃𝒉 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒋𝒆𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂."

Batuk's eyes widened upon reading about his brother's near-death experience, recollecting that entire period.

His boudi had rescued his brother then, and Batuk had witnessed it… But why had he not remembered that?

Mien hamesha sochta tha ki Dada hi Bondita ki jaan bachate rehte thay. Lekin… Bondita… boudi ne bhi tou…

He couldn't think straight as his vision blurred because of the tears threatening to spill from the pools of his orbs.

Rapidly blinking, he somehow managed to compose himself and moved onto some more entries that were full of Anirudh's praises for Bondita. Surprisingly, Batuk didn't feel bad this time when he read them as he understood how important Bondita had become for his brother.

After going through several entries, he came to a strange one that made him halt.

"𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒚𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐.

𝑲𝒂𝒎𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒊𝒌𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒚, 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒚... 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒋𝒂 𝒓𝒉𝒚. 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒄𝒉 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒈𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒉𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒂 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒊𝒂?

𝑼𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒉 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒂𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒖𝒏? 𝑼𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒍𝒊𝒇 𝒏𝒂𝒛𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒂𝒓𝒉𝒚?

𝑶𝒉𝒉𝒉 𝑮𝒐𝒅!! 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒆𝒓? 𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕?"

For an entire month after this entry, all his entries were about similar questions.

Furrowing his brows, Batuk wondered what had gone wrong in his Big D and Bondita's life back then.

He even felt a pang of anger directed towards Bondita for making his brother so sick with worry.

Lekin hua kia tha?

He tried to remember, and suddenly, a vague recollection made him jump on his seat!

Yes!!! Boudi aik mahinay tak apne room mein bannd rahy thy. School bhi nahi jaty thy mere sath. Even usne exam dene se bhi mana ker dia tha. Lekin uss waqt aisa kia hua tha aakhir?

His curiosity was answered in the next entry as he read on,

"𝒀𝒂𝒒𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒂! 𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒑𝒆𝒉𝒍𝒊 𝒎𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚, 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊.

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒉𝒎𝒊 𝒉𝒖𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒌𝒊 𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒂 𝒌𝒂𝒌𝒂, 𝒚𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒂, 𝒚𝒂 𝑺𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒌 𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒋𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒈𝒚!

𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒉𝒎𝒊 𝒉𝒖𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒋𝒂𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓, 𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒆 𝑷𝑨𝑨𝑷 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒊𝒔𝒊 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝑫𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒂 𝑴𝒂𝒂 𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒎𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒔𝒉𝒓𝒂𝒂𝒑 𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊!!!!

𝑴𝒚 𝑮𝒐𝒅!! 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒉.

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒔𝒊 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒉𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒌𝒊 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒊 𝒏𝒖𝒌𝒔𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚.

𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒊 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒚… 𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒚… 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒂.

𝑼𝒔𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒎𝒂𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒉𝒊 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒉𝒊, 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒅 𝒅𝒊. 𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒎𝒂𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒅 𝑫𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒂 𝑴𝒂𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒌𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒂 𝒔𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒖𝒌𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒚. 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒉𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒔 𝒌𝒂𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒏, 𝒋𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏!!! 𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒍𝒊𝒇 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒚…𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏, 𝒋𝒐 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒂, 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒊 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒌𝒐𝒊 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒅 𝒏𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒂.

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒃𝒉 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊.

𝑨𝒃𝒉 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒍𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒂.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒍𝒊𝒇 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒂. 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒌𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒋𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒂𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒖𝒏, 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒂!

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒎 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒆 𝒈𝒚 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒎 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒚 𝒋𝒊𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒂 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒒 𝒉𝒂𝒊!"

Another pang of sympathy hit his soul as his earlier anger on Bondita dissolved.

So, yeh reason tha Bondita ka Big D se baat nahi kerne ka.

Woh Big D per koi aanch nahi aanay dena chahty thy!

"Mager Big D ko itna waqt kyun laga Bondita ki takleef samajhne mein?" his inner voice piped up in confusion.

"Big D mind-reader hai kya? Bondita batayegi nahi tou unhe kaise pata chalega?" BRC defended.

"Tou kya Bondita mind-reader thy ke woh bina kahe Big D ki takleef samajh jaaye?" The sane voice asked.

"Huh!" BRC humphed. "Mager itni gyaani, itni intelligent hai na Bondita. Kya kehti thy woh? Pati Babu aur mere dil jude huye hai! Tou phir kyun nahi samjhi? Because she is selfish."

"Yeh dilon ka connection tou two-way hota hai na? Tou Big D bhi selfish nahi huye?" The inner sane voice pointed out.

BRC huffed again before quietening down.

His internal battle got interrupted as a feeling of sadness washed over him upon imagining a lonely, completely isolated Bondita in pain and crying, without having anyone to confide in.

He himself had recently gone through similar feelings. He also had felt how bad the feeling of loneliness and abandonment was. He understood how heartbreaking it is when you have no one to talk to.

And so, he completely comprehended the agony that Bondita must have gone through back then.

While he had continued going to the school and enjoying his life, Bondita was again going through hell. He did miss playing with her, and he was happy when she had finally come out of the room, but he hadn't bothered thinking about the reason for her absence in the first place back then.

Feeling a little ashamed, he shook his head and moved on to the next few entries until he reached another strangely heart wrenching entry.

"𝑼𝒔𝒔 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒛 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂.

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊...

𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏…

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒎𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏…

𝑼𝒔𝒔 𝒌𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒑𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂. 𝑱𝒊𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒅 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒉𝒏𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂 𝒚𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒌 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒉 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒚𝒂. 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒊𝒚𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒖𝒂. 𝑩𝒂𝒔𝒔… 𝑫𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒂 𝑴𝒂𝒂 𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒌𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒂 𝒌𝒊...𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒊 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒉 𝒂𝒂𝒈𝒚𝒂. 𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒖𝒓 𝒌𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒏𝒊𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒖𝒏.

𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊, 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂, 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒈𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒓...𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒓.. 𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒂 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒂. 𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒏𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒖𝒓 𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒚 𝒋𝒉𝒖𝒌𝒊 𝒏𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒊...

𝑼𝒔𝒔 𝒏𝒆 𝒋𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊 𝒔𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒚𝒂 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒏 𝒌𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒏𝒂 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒏𝒂.. 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒉𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒒𝒕.

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒚 𝒋𝒉𝒖𝒌 𝒋𝒂𝒐𝒏.

𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒏 𝒋𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒏…

𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝑫𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒂 𝒋𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒖𝒏.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒊𝒛𝒛𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒂𝒗 𝒎𝒆𝒉𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒔 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒉 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒂 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒏𝒂𝒆𝒊𝒏.

𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒒𝒕 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂.

𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒊𝒛𝒛𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚, 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚, 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒈𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒐 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒖𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒚.

𝑫𝒐 𝑰 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆?

𝑵𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒂...

𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘…

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂, 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆!"

Batuk jumped up from his seat as his eyes were ready to pop out of their sockets.

Running his hands in his hair, he yelled,

"Oh my… God damn it… Bloody Hell!!!!"

And then, he held his head in his hands and thudded back into his desk chair.

Bondita was molested??? Woh bhi humare hi ghar mein?

Bloody Hell!! Mujhe yeh sab kyun nahi pata chala kabhi?

Shayad jis time per meri age ki Bondita iss sab se guzar rhy hogy, uss time per mien tou aram se sou raha honga!

Trying to get a grip on his veering emotions now, he quickly flipped the page and went on to the next entry. It surprised him to see that this entry was written just a few hours after the previous one. It was strange because normally, as he had noticed, Anirudh's entries were a few days apart. Sometimes he didn't even write for an entire month.

Perhaps he only wrote when he really didn't have anyone else to turn to, to express his feelings and emotions!

With this understanding, he started reading the next entry.

However, it was more heart wrenching than he could ever anticipate.

𝑴𝒚 𝑮𝒐𝒅! 𝒀𝒂𝒒𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝑲𝒂𝒌𝒂 𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐 𝒋𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒖 𝒌𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝑺𝒖𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒈 𝒓𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒖𝒏!!!

𝑶𝒉 𝑮𝒐𝒅!!!

𝑲𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒔𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒚 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒑𝒌𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒇 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒂.

𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒓 𝒌𝒐 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒛 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒃𝒊𝒌𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒂𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒌𝒖𝒍. 𝑨𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏...𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝑹𝑨𝑲𝑺𝑯𝑨𝑲 𝑩𝑨𝑩𝑼 𝒉𝒊 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒉'𝒕𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒖…

𝑶𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝑮𝒐𝒅!!!

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒛𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒋 𝒌𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒉 𝒓𝒉𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒗𝒚𝒂 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒓𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒊 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒑 𝒌𝒐 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒊 𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒂𝒎 𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊!

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑺𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏. 𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒂. 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒎 𝒉𝒐.

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒑 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒂 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒊 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒂. 𝑵𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒉 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒛𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒈𝒆.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒛𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒂... 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒋𝒆𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒖𝒋𝒘𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒚𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒍𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒂."

A gasp escaped his mouth again on reading this!

What!!! Kaka!!! Unhone Big D ko dhokay se intoxicate kia taaki woh Bondita ke sath…

Bloody Hell!!! Big D ke marzi ke khilaaf… aur Bondita ke bhi consent ke against! Was Kaka planning for a RAPE damn it!! Aur rape bhi aisa jis mien Big D aur Bondita dono hi victims hote!!!!

Bloody Hell!! Yeh kaka aakhir kitni baar girien ge?

Pehle Big D already itne dukhi thay ki kisi aur ne unki patni ko ghalat terha se touch kia tha. Lekin jo kaka ne kia… woh tou aur bhi ziada heinous tha!

And then, clutching the diary tightly, he muttered under his breath,

"Kis kis cheez se guzri ho tum, Bondita? Sati pratha, Child Marriage, Child abuse, Child trafficking, mental trauma, stress of so many things, molestation… near rape… and God knows what else! In sab mein dada ne tumhari madad ki thy, lekin victim tou tum hi thyn. Dada ko tou shayad waqai tumhari raksha ke liye hi bheja gaya tha."

And then he shuddered as he thought,

Ager Bondita ki life mein Dada na hote tou kia hota?

Surely, Dada ki life simple hoty… mager shayad meaningless bhi.

Kyunki Bondita hi ko tou Dada ne apni zindagy ka lakshya maana tha!

The last thought made him chuckle humorlessly.

He always believed that Bondita had used his brother. But now that he was able to look more objectively and without much bias, he could see that Bondita's misfortunes were mostly caused by the people around her. Her mama mami, her kaka sasur jee, the society. It wasn't that she chose to get herself or Anirudh into these troubles.

Not once did Batuk see her as a damsel in distress. But her brother was a knight in shining armor for her nonetheless.

However, that didn't mean that he was being used.

No…

By the accounts of this diary so far, Batuk could clearly see and there was no denying now that like Bondita mainly needed Anirudh for her physical survival because she was young at that point, Anirudh also needed her for his emotional survival although he was older than her and supposedly, maturer too.

Now that Batuk was looking at all these aspects through an objective lense, he could understand how his brother's and boudi's relationship had been-

They both were like the 2 halves of a circle. They both were necessary for each other!

Wondering sadly how they must have tolerated their marriage annulment, he flipped the next page, but it increased Batuk's heartache some more as he read,

"𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒌𝒉 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒚.

𝑱𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒊 , 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒓, 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒚 𝒕𝒂𝒌 𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒗 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂 𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚, 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒑 𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒊𝒍 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒊 𝒌𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒌𝒊.

𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒂𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒂, 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒃𝒉 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒑𝒆𝒉𝒍𝒊 𝒎𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒒𝒕 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒂𝒂 𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒌𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂… 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒂 𝒛𝒊𝒂𝒅𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒈𝒆𝒉𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒊 𝒈𝒂𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒃𝒉 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒎𝒊 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒌𝒖𝒍 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒂.

𝒀𝒆𝒉 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒎𝒊 𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚𝒏 𝒋𝒊𝒏𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒉𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝑯𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊 𝒑𝒐𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂. 𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒃𝒉… 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒎 𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒍𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚𝒏. 𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒉 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒆𝒃 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚𝒏. 𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒖𝒓 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚𝒏!

𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒖𝒓 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚𝒏.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒏 𝒈𝒂.

𝑨𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒔𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒌𝒐 𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒂.

𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚… 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒅𝒏𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒚.

𝑴𝒚 𝑮𝒐𝒅!! 𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒑𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒔𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒄𝒉 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏?"

Batuk recalled how his Dada and boudi had left home once. He remembered how he terribly missed them at home, and due to school being out for the holidays, he hadn't even been able to see Boudi there.

Still reeling from the information that how his Sampoorna maa had once played villain in his Dada and boudi's life, with trembling hands, he flipped onto the next page

It was an entry from a month later. But for once in this entire diary, this entry had only scarcely mentioned Bondita.

This was weird because all Anirudh's entries had revolved around that one little girl only, and by now, Batuk had made peace with this fact too.

However, this entry was more about some other woman whom Dada had called "Azadi Express!"

Feeling confused, he wondered who this other woman was and why his dada had sounded so besottedly impressed with her.

He found out that she was a valiant freedom fighter who had even taught his brother some fighting skills too.

However, that entry ended very abruptly.

Finding it strange, he moved onto the next one that was another month apart.

"𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒈𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏.

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒋𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒏𝒂 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒌 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒉𝒆𝒍 𝒈𝒂𝒊. 𝑨𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒎𝒖𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒏𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒌 𝒑𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒔𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒆 𝒏𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒊, 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒌𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒂. 𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒖𝒏.

𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒛𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒈 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒕𝒆 𝒌𝒐 𝒌𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏.

𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒏𝒂 𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒎 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒊𝒚𝒆!

𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒂𝒋 𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒇 𝒊𝒔𝒊 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆… 𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒇 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒋𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒂𝒌 𝒑𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒋𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒊… 𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒊𝒓, 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒚𝒆, 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒑𝒊𝒚𝒆.

𝑴𝒚 𝑮𝒐𝒅!!! 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕?

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒋𝒉𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒖𝒏, 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒊𝒚𝒆. 𝑼𝒔𝒆𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒋𝒘𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒚𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒊𝒚𝒆... 𝒍𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊. 𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒋𝒉𝒊.

𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒖𝒏-𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒂𝒋 𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒂𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊...

𝑨𝒂𝒋 𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒂𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒋𝒖𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒕𝒆 𝒌𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒆 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂. 𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒉 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒅 𝒉𝒊 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒚 𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒖𝒓 𝒋𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒂.

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒏?

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒍 𝒏𝒊𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒏?"

Batuk frowned upon reading this entry. The sympathetic feelings he was having just a while ago for Bondita again started to turn into anger as he crossly thought,

Bondita aur uski infamous zidd!! Aur yeh tha woh cliff wala incident jiske baray mien miene pehle bhi padha tha Big D ki entries mien.

But that was when his heart interjected and quietly said,

Bondita ne zidd ki, that's right… lekin woh zidd thy bhi tou Anirudh dada ke liye hi… unke sath rehne ke liye… Unke sath rishta mazboot kerne ke liye.

His frown deepened as his anger started dissipating and he again started feeling super conflicted.

Shaking his head as if to clear it, he then moved onto the next entry. It was the night after this cliff wala incident.

"𝑨𝒂𝒋 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒎 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒋𝒊𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒅 𝒏𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒑 𝒔𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒛𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒆 𝒒𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏, 𝒏𝒂 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒔𝒆.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒋 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒂 𝒔𝒆 𝒋𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒊 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑼𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒚𝒂𝒓 𝒌𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒗𝒂 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒂𝒌𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒈𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒐𝒊 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒌𝒊 𝒂𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒑 𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒕 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒋𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒂𝒂𝒋 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏... 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒋 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒅𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑲𝒊𝒂 𝒂𝒂𝒑 𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒊 𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒏 𝒌𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒋𝒐 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒊 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒂𝒈 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂 𝒅𝒆? 𝑵𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆...

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑨𝒏𝒊𝒓𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒉 𝑹𝒐𝒚 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒋𝒐 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂, 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒂 𝒎𝒖𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒇𝒊𝒛 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂... 𝒂𝒂𝒋 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒅 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒚𝒏.

𝑼𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒕 𝒈𝒂𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒐 𝒂𝒂𝒈 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂 𝒅𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑱𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒏𝒂, 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒛𝒊𝒂𝒅𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒍𝒊𝒇 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒆𝒃 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒖 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒔𝒆 𝒏𝒊𝒌𝒂𝒍𝒏𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏. 𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒏𝒊𝒌𝒂𝒍𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒂𝒃 𝒉𝒐𝒋𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒂𝒋 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒋𝒐 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒖𝒃𝒉𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒈𝒚, 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂.

𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚, 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒓𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒉𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚, 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚... 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒏 𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒂.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔 𝒋𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂… 𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒈𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂. 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂 …

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒍𝒊𝒇 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒚, 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒛𝒊𝒚𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂, 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒐 𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒓𝒆 𝒌𝒂 𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒋 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏… 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒋𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂.

𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒛𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒔𝒆 𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂.. 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒅 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒋𝒘𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒚𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒚.

𝑨𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒌𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒕 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒛𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒈𝒂, 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒒𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒂 𝒒𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒈𝒂…

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒏… 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂... 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒇 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒂."

Batuk felt as if his head was ready to explode as he exclaimed,

"Ohh Damn it!!! I remember that doosri patni Manorama now. Ohh shit! So yeh 'woh' freedom fighter Manorama thy!!! Bloody Hell, Dada!!!! What did you do? "

His heartbeats accelerated as he held his head in his hands again, trying to make sense of his dada's CRAZINESS!

So, Dada loved Bondita, and Bondita also cared for him very much. So much that she was even ready to die for him. Lekin Dada ne socha ke Bondita unko importance na de, balki apni future ka sochay… iss liye Dada ne Manorama ke sath FAKE MARRIAGE ker li!!!!

He was horrified!!

So, it means that Dada ne apne pyar ko uske pyar se, yani khud se bachane ke liye aik doosre pyar ki attempt ki...aur phir uss jhoote pyar ko aur apne asli pyar ki behteri ki basis per aik jhoota natak kia...aur phir aik jhooti shadi bhi ki! What freaking crap is this???

Holding his temples now, he tried to massage his forehead as his head started throbbing on this sheer nonsense.

And then, another realization made him stop abruptly as the memories of those days started resurfacing.

Memories of his boudi being extremely sad…

Memories of his boudi losing interest in her studies…

Memories of him trying to cheer her up as his friend who was always so happy and chirpy had suddenly quietened down so much that sometimes, he had to suppress his urge to go and check whether she was alive or not!!!

Memories of him helping his boudi in playing all sorts of pranks on that doosri patni.

Memories of his boudi bribing him so that he doesn't spoil a surprise she had planned for his Dada.

A lump formed in his throat as his eyes glistened at those bittersweet memories.

Bondita must have been going through yet another hell…

Aur sadly, iss baar ki hell khud Anirudh dada ki hi created thy!

Oh bloody Hell!

Running his finger on Anirudh's handwriting, a lone tear escaped his eye as he quietly said to the diary, as if addressing Anirudh directly,

"Yeh tou buht ziada ghalat hogya Big D. I can't believe this. Bondita ke maamle mien aap hamesha hi zarurat se ziada hi jazbaati rahay haina? Mager dada yeh sab kerna… yeh tou buht hi ziada hogya tha. Aur Bondita uss waqt kitni hi badi hogy?"

He thought for a while and then muttered,

"If I remember correctly, yeh sab baatein tab ki hain jab aap ne mujhe meri 12th birthday per aik English language learn kerne ki book gift ki thy. So, if I was 12, then Bondita must have been the same age too. Jis waqt mien iss baat per rou raha tha ke mere dada ne mujhe birthday per aik boring si book gift ki hai, uss waqt Bondita iss liye rou rahy thy kyunki AAP NE uska dil aur khud usko hi todd dia tha, dada."

He then ran his finger where Bondita's name was written, and muttered,

"Wow Bondita… tumhari list mien tou addition hogai. Now lets repeat: You have been through Sati pratha, Child Marriage, Child abuse, Child trafficking, mental trauma, stress of so many things, molestation… near rape, and then the trauma of dada's second marriage, albiet fake. I feel sad for you. Tumhari itni umer nahi thy jitni tum ne mushkilien dekhy thyn. Aur tumhari mushkilon ki list yahan hi end nahi hui hai. It culminated with a crazy man yelling at you when you were pregnant, the horrible man stealing your newly born babies...that wretched man trying to shoo you away with fire…"

Drawing a shaky breath, he ran his hands through his face.

He was surprised when his fingers felt dampness on his cheeks.

Are these tears for my Big D, or am I crying for Bondita and her misfortunes? Ya shayad mien in dono ki zindagy ke itne ups and downs per hi rou pada.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 15.2

With shaking hands, he flipped the pages of the diary and read...

"𝑨𝒂𝒋 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒕 𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒂.

𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒖𝒍 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚. 𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒌𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒋 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒖𝒍𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌 𝒑𝒐𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝒈𝒂𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒓𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒊 𝒌𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒉𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒕 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒉𝒂.

𝑲𝒂𝒔𝒉… 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒍 𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒉 𝒏𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒂.

𝑲𝒂𝒔𝒉 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒃 𝒂𝒕𝒚 𝒋𝒂𝒃 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒛𝒊 𝒔𝒆, 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒎𝒊 𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒚…

𝑲𝒂𝒔𝒉… 𝑩𝒂𝒍 𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒉 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒂𝒓𝒛𝒊 𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒏𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒕𝒊.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒊𝒚𝒂…

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒅𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆…

𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂."

Batuk clearly remembered those depressing days in the Roy Chaudhary Mansion, when suddenly their boudi had turned into a stranger who could not live under the same roof with them.

He remembered how sad both his Dada and boudi were.

He remembered how he had offered to tie Dada and Boudi together with a rope, so that no one could separate them.

The painful memory brought fresh tears to his eyes as he read the next few entries.

They had all been written after Bondita had gone to Siliguri and Anirudh missed her like crazy in Tulsipur.

One of the entries from those days caught Batuk's attention as he read,

"𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒑𝒚𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂...𝑻𝒖𝒎 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒐, 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚.

𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒂 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑻𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒂 𝒂𝒂𝒋𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂?

𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒉𝒊…

𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒂 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂!

𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒖𝒎 𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒂𝒂𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒚𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊. 𝑯𝒂𝒍𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒊 𝒌𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂. 𝑻𝒖𝒎𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒐 𝒈𝒚. 𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂.

𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂… 𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊… 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒂𝒚… 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒍 𝒋𝒂𝒐.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒂. 𝑵𝒂 𝒉𝒊 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆.

𝑲𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒌𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂, 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒍𝒂 𝒋𝒐 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒂, 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒍𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒂. 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂… 𝒀𝒆𝒉 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏… 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒋𝒆𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂. 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖...𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕...𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅...𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.

𝑨𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒐 𝒏𝒂. 𝑻𝒖𝒎 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒐 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂. 𝑺𝒂𝒃 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒊...𝒗𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒚𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑻𝒖𝒎 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑮𝒖𝒓𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒚𝒏, 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌. 𝑻𝒖𝒎 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒚𝒏, 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒚𝒏.

𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒈 𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒌𝒊 𝑴𝑰𝑬𝑵 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒂.

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝑻𝑼𝑴𝑺𝑬 𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒂. 𝑹𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒊 𝒆𝒉𝒎𝒊𝒚𝒂𝒕… 𝑫𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒆𝒉𝒎𝒊𝒚𝒂𝒕…

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒚, 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒍𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒚𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒃 𝒕𝒂𝒌 𝒃𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒘𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒌 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒋𝒂𝒃 𝒕𝒂𝒌 𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒂.

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒍𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒚𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒏 𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒂, 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒉𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒋𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒂… 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒂.

𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒃𝒉, 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒕 𝒈𝒂𝒊…

𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒌𝒐 𝒚𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆 𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒂 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒌𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒋 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒒 𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒂𝒃𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒌𝒐𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊.

𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂… 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒐! "

As poignant as the entry was, this time Batuk didn't feel nauseated or squeamish upon reading Anirudh's sentimentality for his pyari Bondita.

In fact, this time Anirudh's words gave him a lot to think about.

Margdarshak… Guru… Bondita… woh bhi dada ki?

Yeh kia scene hai?

He was genuinely perplexed. He was okay with all the missing and loving accounts of the diary, but why did Anirudh call Bondita all those other things?

Was he not the guru and margdarshak in their relationship?

Suddenly feeling an absurd sense of betrayal, Batuk looked at the diary and grumbled,

"Bloody Hell! What kind of sorcery is this? Yeh inka role reversal kaise aur kab hogya?"

And then all his heightened emotions settled down in a jiffy as realization dawned on him,

Tou baat sirf pyar ki nahi thy.

Baat need ki thy.

Jitni zaruri Bondita thy Big D ke liye, utne hi zaruri shayad Big D bhi honge Bondita ke liye. Tabhi tou woh shuru se le ker abhi tak sab kuch wahi kerty aarhy hai jo Big D chahte thay. With her own touches of course. Lekin is sab ka tou yehi matlab hua ki Jitna invested Big D thay iss rishtay mein, Bondita bhi utni hi thy. The annulment was not her choice. The separation was also not her choice.

Sighing heavily, unable to sit straight, he got up and went towards his room's window.

Gazing at the expanse of the dark sky, he looked at the twinkling stars and a strange thought emerged in his mind,

"Ager Big D tumhare liye aasman thay, tou tum unke liye unka Dhruv Tara thyn Bondita. The one constant in his life. Jo raat ke andhere mein roshni bhi deta hai, aur sahi direction bhi dikhata hai."

Batuk closed his eyes and tiredly leaned his head against the window glass.

It took him a while to recover from the emotional onslaught.

However, the ordeal was still not over.

Heaving a deep breath, he straightened up, and went back to the desk. Sitting back on the chair, he started flipping the pages of the diary from the point he had stopped a while ago.

The next few entries were full of Anirudh's emotions for his Bondita when she was away, the last one mentioning that he was going to meet Bondita at her Thakuma's house in Krishnanagar.

Krishnanagar!

There were no entries from the time they stayed in Krishnanagar, as neighbours to the Das family. But Batuk could now recall the events and also Bihari's dramatic retelling of the story when they returned to Tulsipur.

Batuk remembered how it had all seemed like a grand romance to his teenage-d mind! How Boudi's scary Thakuma had tried to keep Dada away from her. How Dada had made attempt after attempt to be with her! And finally, after a lot of drama, Dada had taken Boudi from her wedding with another man, and they had absconded, going far away to London, to live happily ever after!

Only that there had been no happily ever after!

The mind of an adult could now understand what exactly must have happened back then.

He flinched in pain as he now recalled how his Dada had returned to Tulsipur, all alone, and everything had come crashing down.

Lies!! It was all lies and stories! There was no legend! And no love!

Batuk furiously wiped away his tears and returned to the diary. He came to an entry that was dated after a good 2 months from the last one.

Frowning and wondering what must have happened in those 2 months, he read the entry,

"𝑪𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒏… 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒂𝒏, 𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒔𝒖𝒌𝒉, 𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒂𝒗… 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒘𝒂𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒅 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒂𝒈𝒚𝒂.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂. 𝑱𝒂𝒃 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒖 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂, 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒈𝒆. 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒂𝒘 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒂...𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒚. 𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒅𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒚𝒂 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒌𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒚… 𝑲𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒚𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊… 𝑷𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊.

𝑷𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒐 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒂… 𝑲𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒌𝒊… 𝑲𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒌𝒐 𝒂𝒃 𝒏𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂…

𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂 𝒑𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒋𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒂.

𝑲𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒌𝒊 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒚. 𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒖…

𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒍𝒂 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒏𝒂 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂.

𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒍𝒂 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒉𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒊 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂. 𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒚.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒂.

𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒚 𝒈𝒚 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒚𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏.

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒇 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒚. 𝑱𝒂𝒃 𝒌𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒏𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚. 𝑵𝒂𝒚𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒏𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂.

𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒈𝒚 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒚𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏… 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒚 𝒈𝒚. 𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒌𝒐𝒊 𝒂𝒖𝒓… 𝑲𝒊𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒉, 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆?

𝑨𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒂, 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒗 𝒌𝒂 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒎𝒂𝒖𝒌𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒋𝒂𝒕𝒂. 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒋𝒐 𝒂𝒛𝒂𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏, 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒅 𝒌𝒊 𝒓𝒂𝒂𝒚𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒊, 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒅 𝒌𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒊, 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒋𝒂𝒕𝒚. 𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒆 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒉𝒊 '𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏' 𝒉𝒐𝒋𝒂𝒕𝒚.

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒉, 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒓, 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒑𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒓, 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒑𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒗𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒖 𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒂. 𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒂 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉.

𝑰𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝑺𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒎 𝒉𝒐𝒋𝒂𝒕𝒚.

𝑱𝒆𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒂 𝒋𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒗 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒛𝒊 𝒔𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊, 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒐 𝒑𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒂.

𝑰𝒔𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒑 𝒌𝒐 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒊 𝒔𝒆 𝒏𝒊𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒏𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒂. 𝑵𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒆 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒏𝒂 𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒈𝒂 𝒋𝒂𝒃 𝒕𝒂𝒌 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒅 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒛𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒓.

𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒃 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒍𝒂... 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒖𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒖… 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒎𝒆… 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒊𝒕. 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒉 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒊, 𝒋𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒉𝒆! 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒏𝒂 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒖𝒏, 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂?

𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉 𝒑𝒂𝒂 𝒓𝒉𝒚 𝒋𝒐 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉 𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏. 𝑰𝒔𝒊 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆, 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊. 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒛 … 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒊 𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 '𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒖𝒅𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒂' 𝒌𝒊 𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒉 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑰𝒕'𝒔… 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒘.

𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒃𝒉… 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒛𝒂𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒌𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒂𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏… 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒅𝒖𝒖𝒓𝒊… 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒌𝒐 𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒓𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒂 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊. 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒋𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒂𝒚𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒆… 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒊𝒌𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒚𝒊. 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉 𝒍𝒊𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒋𝒂𝒃 𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂.

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂.

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒅 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂...𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒉𝒊."

Still frowning at such an abrupt yet detailed entry, Batuk thought for a while and he felt super sad at how his brother went all against his heart, and in the process, made Bondita agree to go against her heart too...

Big D… Loag tou pyar mien doosron ke sath kia kia ker dete hain. Aap tou apne hi dil se khel gaye… Aur aapki har taklif mien aap ke sath, aap ke jitna hi jis ne suffer kia, woh Bondita thy! Koi aur nahi!

Shaking his head to come out of the sudden mist of sadness, he read on the next entry that was almost a week apart.

"𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂… 𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒊 𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒋𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒊 𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒆𝒏.

𝑱𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊 𝒉𝒐, 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒂 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒕 𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒛 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏. 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒌𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒂… 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒈𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒚𝒏.

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒑 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂… 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒋𝒂𝒃 𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒘𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒂𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒃 𝒕𝒂𝒌 𝒚𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒔𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒋𝒂𝒚𝒆.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒋𝒆𝒆 𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂 𝒅𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒂 𝒖𝒏𝒌𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒋𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏, 𝒕𝒂𝒂𝒌𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒃 𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒐, 𝒕𝒂𝒃 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒈 𝒏𝒂 𝒌𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒊𝒏.

𝑻𝒖𝒎 𝒕𝒂𝒃 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒚𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒊 𝒏𝒂?

𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒔𝒐!"

The size of the entries was getting shorter. It seemed as if Anirudh just poured his innermost feeling in a haste now.

But then, a realization dawned on Batuk,

Ya shayad Dada Tulsipur aur Krishna Nagar ki dushmani ke beech pisna shuru hogaye thay uss waqt tak.

Kaka ne tabb bhi yeh headache unke hi sarr per daal dia tha.

Batuk clenched his eyes shut as the painful memories of those days started flashing in front of him.

He remembered the poisoning incident, and he remembered how his baba had been brutally hit in the head.

He remembered how lost, how broken, how dead his Dada looked.

He even remembered how he was crying to stay at Tulsipur with the family while Anirudh was sending him away to Italy for his safety.

He had always laid all the blame of this on Bondita too. But now he was looking at the events of the past more clearly. With Anirudh's words narrating exactly what had happened and how Bondita had been reacting in those days, a slow realization finally dawned on him like in its entirety, eliminating all his doubts now:

Bondita had not been the one at fault…

Bondita had not been the one to initiate the dushmani…

She had not been responsible for baba's mental issues…

And last but not the least: Anirudh dada had sent me to Italy not because of Bondita, but because he had seen how dangerous the Krishna Nagar people could get. And how personally they could attack. They had already managed to attack kaka and baba…

And he could now understand Anirudh dada's point of view completely about sending him away.

Of course… It was because Dada didn't want to take any risks with his younger brother's life.

And Bondita was nowhere in these decisions. She was never behind any of those things of which I had become habitual of laying all the blame on her head.

This was something that he had realized while talking to Mallika too, but Anirudh's words had further reinforced it for him now.

Feeling like crap, he rubbed his hand on his face, as if trying to wipe away all the follies of his belief-system!

He then read all the next extremely short entries. They were all about things that Anirudh had had to do in order to maintain peace and decorum within the two villages, but he didn't like doing them one bit.

Some of the entries mentioned other family members too, but Batuk noticed that they had stopped addressing Bondita.

As he continued reading all the entries, he realized that their frequency had also decreased.

Batuk had an uneasy feeling that by that time, his brother had started shutting out all his feelings and emotions. He had stopped sharing his personal thoughts with people.

He didn't have any friends… and now that Bondita was gone too, his brother must really have felt so lonely.

The only thing with which he still occasionally talked was this diary, and even this talking was getting very less.

"Maybe Bondita wasn't responsible for causing the dushmani! But she was responsible for Big D's state! Woh yahan hoty tou Big D kabhi akele nahi padte!" BRC spoke up again.

This time his sane self didn't need to say anything… Batuk knew the answer to this accusation.

Kaise aaty woh? Big D aanay bhi nahi dete usey! Aise hi akele suffer karne ki poori planning karke rakhi thi unhone.

Feeling sad for his Big D, he came to an entry that again caught his attention.

"𝑨𝒋 𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒂𝒚𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚. 𝑯𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒍 𝒌𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚.

'𝑼𝒔𝒏𝒆' 𝒘𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒎 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆… 𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒉𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒔 𝒉𝒖𝒂 𝒋𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚.

𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚… 𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒖𝒅𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒊 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒓𝒐𝒌 𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒑 𝒌𝒐…

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒂𝒋 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉…

𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒛𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆…

𝒀𝒂 𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒅... 𝑼𝒔𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒛𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒂…

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓…

…

…

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒊.

𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒚𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒂…

𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏…

𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒛 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒎𝒛𝒐𝒓…

𝑵𝒂𝒉𝒊… 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒂.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏… 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒂𝒃𝒉?"

This entry was pretty haphazard. And Batuk realized that it must have been an excruciatingly emotional experience for his Big D.

Tabhi unhone itna bhi likh dia. Warna woh tou abh dou lafzon se ziada kuch likhte hi nahi hain.

Aur yeh 'uss' is definitely Bondita. Iska matlab hai ki woh wahan se bhi Dada ko contact karne ki koshish kerty thy. Matlab woh Dada ko bhooli nahi thy. Dada ki gurudak...gurudaksh...whatever it was… uski condition ki wajeh se woh directly contact nahi kerty hogy, mager if Dada 'felt' her, iska matlab hai ki woh sach mien hi hogy wahan. Kyunki Bondita ko le ker Dada ki sari senses hamesha hi buht sensitive rahy hain!

Mager woh bechari iss intizar mien rehty hogy ki kab Dada apne qasam todien ge… aur yahan Dada khud hi poore ke poore toot chukay thay!

Wow!

As Batuk grappled with the implications of these thoughts, another stray thought came to him.

Kya… kya Bondita ko bhi feel hota tha ke Dada… ke Dada ka yeh haal tha? Kya woh isiliye Dada se baat karna chahty thy?

This means… Bloody Hell!!

Feeling extremely sad now, he wanted to stop reading the diary as it was constantly proving how wrong he had been.

But, braving it out, he decided to do exactly as he had planned.

There were only three entries now, and they were all years apart from each other.

That surprised Batuk a lot.

Kia Big D ne diary bilkul likhna chhod dia tha uss saray period mien jab Bondita London mein thy?

He was chewing at his lip now and flipping pages to find some clue about Anirudh's life in those days, until he came to one entry that caught his attention,

"𝑨𝒂𝒋… 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂.

𝑨𝒊𝒌 𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒋𝒐 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒉𝒐𝒏 𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒋𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂.

𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒚𝒂, 𝒍𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒆 𝒃𝒉𝒊, 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒚𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒊𝒌𝒉𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒋𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒂𝒃𝒉 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒅 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑩𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒘𝒐𝒉. 𝑱𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒏 𝟖 𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒅 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂 𝒂𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏, 𝒖𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒂𝒕, 𝒖𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒉𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒅𝒅 𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒊 𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒊 𝒌𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏.

𝑱𝒂𝒃 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒕𝒂𝒃 𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒉𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒔 𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏.

𝑼𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒍 𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒋𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒋, 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒓𝒂𝒂𝒉 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒚.

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓…

𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏? 𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒂𝒃𝒉 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑯𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂?

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓… 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏… 𝒂𝒂𝒋 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉 𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒂𝒎… 𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒂𝒎 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉 𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊…

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊… 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒂𝒎 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂… 𝑯𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂?

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒃𝒉𝒊...𝒂𝒂𝒋 𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒂𝒎, 𝒖𝒔𝒔 '𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂𝒚' 𝒌𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒂𝒎 𝒋𝒐 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂, 𝒑𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒃𝒉 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊… 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏:

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒋𝒂𝒃 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒐𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒊𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒇𝒂𝒂𝒛 𝒌𝒆 𝒋𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏,

𝑻𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒍 𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒇𝒂𝒂𝒛 𝒑𝒆𝒉𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏…

𝑴𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒊 𝒌𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏,

𝑷𝒂𝒓 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒆...𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒊𝒍 𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍 𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒃𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒈𝒖𝒛𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏,

𝑼𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒏 𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆,

𝑩𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕'𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒛𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏,

𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒅𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏, 𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊…

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒓𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒊𝒍 𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊…

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍 𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊…"

[Poem Source: "Saahir's poetry" from the Sony TV's show, "Humsafars" (2014-2015)]

Batuk hadn't realized that he had been holding his breath while reading such a poignant entry. Slowly expelling bated air, his brows furrowed as he read this entry again. It was a long one in comparison to the other entries spanning the period of 8 years.

Not only that, but his brother sounded extremely conflicted in this entry too. It felt as if he was so short of words that he had to resort to poetry to pour down his feelings somehow.

Batuk's heart clenched in pain as he realized that perhaps, while writing this down, his brother's heart must have been bursting with so many emotions, but he tried to kill them all down.

He wanted to mention Bondita, he wanted to attend her convocation, he wanted to talk to her also...but he didn't do any of those things.

A frown marred his forehead as he pondered over Anirudh's "said and unsaid" words.

Mien hamesha sochta tha ki Bondita London mien aish ker rhy thy jab ke yahan mere Dada iss dushmani crap mien phasay hue thay aur uski tuition ki fee bhi de rhe thay.

I used to think that Bondita chose to forget Dada while she was away, partying in London. Lekin Dada ki entries se tou lag rha hai ki Bondita ne unhien kabhi bhoola hi nahi tha.

She had tried to reach out to him, lekin Dada ne hi apne aap ko bilkul shutter down ker lia tha.

And then, a deep sorrow settled in his heart as he thought,

Shayad Dada mien uss time tak itni bitterness bhar gai thy ke woh apne aur Bondita ke relationship ke liye hi completely hopeless hogaye thay.

Mager phir bhi… unke dil mein "uska" khayal rehta hi tha.

Woh chaah ker bhi "uske" khayal se peecha nahi chhuda sakay thay, aur shayad isi liye woh aur ziada koshish kerte thay "usko" yaad na kerne ki!

Stopping himself short, he realized with a start that like Anirudh, he had also started avoiding Bondita's name.

A smile appeared on his lips as he realized how unknowingly he used to copy his Dada's gestures. He shook his head, and then, focused back on the diary.

Flipping the page, he found another entry after a month's period.

"𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒂𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊… 𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊… 𝑾𝒐𝒉… 𝑺𝒉𝒆'𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑳𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒏.

𝑾𝒐𝒉… 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈…

𝑴𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏. 𝑲𝒊𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏?

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒂… 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒌𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒂𝒎 𝒕𝒂𝒌 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒍𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒂. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒓 𝑰 𝒂𝒎!

𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒏𝒂… 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏… 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂.

𝑾𝒐𝒉…

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒂… 𝒍𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒉… 𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 '𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍' 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏…

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒃𝒉 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒏? 𝑨𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏, 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒑 𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒈 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒂?

𝑶𝒉 𝑮𝒐𝒅!!!

𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆… 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆… 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒊 𝒕𝒂𝒒𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒋𝒐 𝑻𝒖𝒍𝒔𝒊𝒑𝒖𝒓 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒊 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒉𝒐. 𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒖𝒏𝒌𝒊 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒊 𝒊𝒔𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒃𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒋𝒂𝒐𝒏.

𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆… 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆…𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒃𝒉𝒖𝒍𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒊𝒏

𝑵𝒂𝒉𝒊…

𝑲𝒆𝒉𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆, 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒅𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊

𝑷𝒂𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒖𝒑 𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏, 𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊

𝑩𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒀𝒂𝒂𝒅...𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒊

𝑻𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒅… 𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒊

𝑨𝒊𝒌 𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒇 𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒅 𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒋𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 '𝒘𝒐𝒉' 𝒉𝒂𝒊…

𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒚𝒆𝒉𝒊 𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒚 𝒌𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒊."

[Poem Source: Song- "Mien jahan rahun" from the movie "Namastey London." (2007)]

Batuk felt like his heart was breaking apart into millions of pieces.

He could feel his brother's pain.

He didn't know how his brother even managed to continue breathing with so much hopelessness.

His brother had loved one person so dearly that it was impossible for him to live without her.

And he was made to do exactly that!

Suddenly, feeling angry for his brother, he thought bitterly,

Big D aur Bondita ka juda hona zaruri nahi tha. Even though unki shadi annul hui thy, lekin ager sab haalat normal rehte tou Big D ko apne aap ko Bondita se distance kerne ki zarurat na padti. Woh dono aik long distance relationship mein aik doosre se eventually milne ki aas per woh saray 8 saal guzaar lete. Maana woh 8 years koi contact mein nahi hotay, mager koi umeed tou hoty…

Yahan tou Big D ko koi umeed hi nahi rahy thy…

Aur Bondita… Usko tou kuch pata hi nahi tha.

And then, his eyes widened as another thought occurred to him, making him feel extremely emotional.

Bloody Hell!!!

Bonditaaa!

Usko kuch pata nahi tha.

Matlab un 8 saalon mein woh aik umeed ke saharay jeety rahy hogy.

Damn!!!

Uski tou sari umeedien India aa ker toot gai hongy.

Ohhh Bloody hell!!! Bondita ne 8 saal separation iss umeed per jhela hoga ke woh Big D se eventually milay gy aur Big D buht proud honge jab woh un dono ka sapna poora ker ke wapis jayegy.

Mager usko tou yahan aa ker apni life ka major shock laga hoga!

And suddenly, it all started making sense as he muttered,

"Tou isi liye shayad Bondita ne woh sab drama kia hoga. Woh uski koi zidd nahi thy, balke shayad apne rishte ko new life dene ki aik koshish thy. Shayad usne give up nahi kia tha tabb tak. Lekin Shayad jab woh bhi bilkul hopeless ho gai hogy tou usne Sanyasini wali saza apne liye chuni hogy!"

He felt extremely sad for both his brother and boudi now.

His inference was further confirmed by Anirudh's next entry that was dated 3 weeks apart from the last one.

"𝑽𝒂𝒊𝒋𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊…

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒌𝒊 𝒌𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒉𝒍𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒂. 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒊 𝒑𝒆𝒉𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒊 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊?

𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒏… 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒏... 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒉…

𝒀𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒋𝒐 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒅 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂? 𝑽𝒂𝒊𝒋𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊… 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒃𝒔 𝒎𝒆. 𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏… 𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒃𝒉𝒊, 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒌𝒉𝒐𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊…

𝑰𝒕𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒌𝒂 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒊 𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒍𝒂 𝒔𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒅𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓… 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒃𝒉𝒊.

𝑲𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒌𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝑽𝒂𝒊𝒋𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒊 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒌𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏.

𝑽𝒂𝒊𝒋𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊 𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒌𝒊 𝒂𝒊𝒌 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒔 '𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒊' 𝒌𝒂 𝑺𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒂 𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒖 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆.

𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂.

𝑰𝒔𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 … 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝑽𝒂𝒊𝒋𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊 𝒌𝒐 𝒅𝒖𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒏𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒂."

Batuk clenched his eyes shut as he muttered

"Big D… nahi kerna tha aisa aap ne apne sath! Woh Vaij… I mean, jo bhi uska naam tha, but uss ladki ko aap ki soul ne recognize ker lia tha on a subconscious level. Miene kaha tha na ki aap ki sari senses hamesha Bondita ke liye buht sensitive rahy hain. You were also right, Dada… Bondita ko aap waqai 'cellular level' per jaantay thay. Tabhi tou yeh Vaij… Vaiji… I mean, tabhi tou yeh ladki aap ko itni jaani pehchani si lag rhy thy. "

Opening his eyes again, he wondered sadly,

Pata nahi yeh sab drama kerte hue Bondita ke dil per kia guzar rahy hogy?

I know how hard it is. Miene bhi itne months Big D bannay ka drama kia tha. Mien Big D se jitna bhi similar kyun na hon, it is a fact ke humari personalities bilkul alag hain. And it was really hard for me to mimic him. Aur kis terha apne real emotions ko hide kerna paddta tha… It was all so so so difficult. I can imagine what Bondita must have been going through at that time.

Sighing heavily, he moved onto the next page. This entry was only 2 days from the last one.

"𝑽𝒂𝒊𝒋𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊 𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒂 𝒌𝒊𝒂.

𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓… 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒋𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒏… 𝑱𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒏… 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒖𝒑𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚𝒏.

𝑲𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝑽𝒂𝒊𝒋𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊 𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒂?

𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒌𝒊.. 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒂𝒗 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒖… 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒖… 𝑷𝒂𝒓… 𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒕𝒂. 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆...𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒖𝒑𝒔𝒆𝒕? 𝑼𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒂 𝑩𝒐...𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒅 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊?

𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝑽𝒂𝒊𝒋𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊 𝒔𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒒 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒅 𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊?

𝑨𝒊𝒔𝒂 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒉𝒏𝒆𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒉𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒑 𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒊 𝒕𝒂𝒂𝒌𝒊 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉 𝒕𝒂𝒌 𝒏𝒂 𝒑𝒐𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒚.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒂 𝑹𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌 𝑩𝒂𝒃𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒂.

𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒊 𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒌 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒏𝒂𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒐 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒊 𝒌𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒌𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚.

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝑽𝒂𝒊𝒋𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊… 𝒀𝒆𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒖𝒏𝒉𝒊 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒏𝒂𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒐 𝒋𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒊 𝒌𝒐𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒔… 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏!

𝑶𝒉 𝑮𝒐𝒅! 𝑨𝒃𝒉 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒂?"

Batuk's eyes narrowed down and he counted the times his Big D wrote Bondita's name, after not taking it at all for almost around 8 long years!

What was happening to Big D? Aur yeh dada ka koi secret room bhi tha jahan unhone Bondita ki sari memories hide ki hui thyn?

Gingerly recalling the strange poem that Anirudh had used as a leverage to express his feeling, he gasped loudly,

"Bloody hell!!! Dada ne waqai aik jagha Bondita ki sari yaadien sambhaal ker rakhy thyn!!!"

Suddenly feeling claustrophobic at the onslaught of such heavy emotions of his Dada, he felt as if he himself was stuck in a dark room. He couldn't understand his brother's behavior.

On one hand, his brother had tried to shun Bondita out of his life, but on the other, he built a shrine of her memories!!!

Aik taraf Big D Bondita ko bhoolne ki koshish kerte thay, aur doosry taraf usi Bondita ko na bhoolne ke liye uski sari yaadon ko samait ker bhi rakha hua tha.

Aik taraf woh cold and calculated Anirudh Roy Chaudhary bannay ki koshish kerte thay, lekin uss Vaij… Vaiji ke samnay 'the Real Anirudh Roy Chaudhary'...no... actually 'Bondita's Anirudh Roy Chaudhary' had started to make appearances too!

Oh Dada! What freaking crap you had gotten yourself into? Yeh kaisi aziyat thy?

Tears formed in his eyes as he felt his brother's loneliness and depression in those days.

He himself had first hand experience with those things too, and his heart just squeezed in pain as he whispered brokenly,

"Tou Dada… aap bhi meri terha internal wars ladte rahay ho. Miene tou sirf family se duuri ka dukh saha tha, aap ne tou woh woh dukh sahay hain jo mien imagine bhi nahi ker sakta. Aur Bondita… I can now see clearly ke Bondita aap ke liye oxygen jaisi thy. Jab aap ne usko apne aap se duur kia tou aap ne tou shayad jeena hi chhod dia hoga!"

And then, wiping his tears, he thought,

Miene hamesha socha tha ki mujhse ziada tragic kisi ki life nahi hogy. Mager Dada, aap ki aur boudi ki tragedies ke aagay tou I don't think miene aisa kuch jhela hai. Mien Bondita ko aap ke liye curse samajhta tha. But now I know that woh curse nahi thy… woh vardaan thy aap ke liye.

Mujhe hamesha aap ka Bondita ke prati lagaav buht unjustified and overrated lagta tha. Mager abh mujhe samajh aaya hai ki woh lagaav unjustified nahi tha.

Aur naa hi woh one-sided tha.

Sighing heavily, his own words resonated in his ears that he had spoken to Mallika a few days ago,

"𝚈𝚎𝚑𝚒 𝚝𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚕𝚊 𝚑𝚊𝚒. 𝙸𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚘𝚗𝚎-𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙. 𝙱𝚒𝚐 𝙳 𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚑𝚊 𝙱𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚊 𝚔𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚢𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚔𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚎 𝚛𝚊𝚑𝚊𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚗. 𝚃𝚞𝚖𝚗𝚎 𝚔𝚑𝚞𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚔𝚑𝚊… 𝚊𝚙𝚗𝚒 𝚓𝚊𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚊𝚔 𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚔𝚑𝚎𝚕 𝚐𝚊𝚢𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚑 𝙱𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚊 𝚔𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚢𝚎. 𝙻𝚎𝚔𝚒𝚗 𝙱𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚊… 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙱𝚒𝚐 𝙳, 𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚞𝚜𝚗𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚔𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚢𝚎 𝚔𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚜𝚊𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚊 𝚋𝚑𝚒 𝚑𝚊𝚒 𝚔𝚊𝚋𝚑𝚒. 𝚆𝚘𝚑 𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚑𝚊 𝚊𝚙𝚗𝚒 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚣𝚒 𝚔𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚒, 𝚊𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚑𝚊 𝙱𝚒𝚐 𝙳 𝚞𝚜𝚔𝚒 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚣𝚒 𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚢 𝚓𝚑𝚞𝚔𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚢𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚒𝚗. 𝙱𝚒𝚐 𝙳 𝚔𝚒 𝚔𝚑𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚒, 𝚞𝚗𝚔𝚒 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚣𝚒 𝚔𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚒𝚗 𝙱𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚊 𝚗𝚎 𝚔𝚊𝚋𝚑𝚒 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚑𝚊 𝚑𝚒 𝚗𝚊𝚑𝚒.”

He flinched as he realized how erroneous his thinking was. It was indeed a miraculous day and Batuk Roy Chaudhary's brain was in a super-power mode. His inner sensitive, logical reasoning self was able to read and understand all the said and unsaid words of his brother.

And math had been his strongest pursuit since ever.

So, calculating the facts and doing the math now wasn't hard for him as he reached some conclusions:

1. Big D hamesha Bondita ke liye sacrifices kerte aye hain, true. Lekin Bondita ne bhi apna sab kuch unke liye daav per laga dia tha

2. Big D ne usko har terha ki resources diye… physical protection bhi di. Lekin Bondita ne woh sab cheezien apna birthright samajh ker nahi li thyn. Moreover, Bondita ne unse sirf "liya" hi nahi tha. Clearly, usne Big D ko bhi buht kuch diya tha. At least, unko har terha ki moral aur emotional support tou di hi thy … aur zinda rehne ki wajeh bhi!

3. Woh khud Big D se duur nahi hui thy. Big D ne usko apne aap se duur kia tha

4. And now I just can't thank Bondita enough. Ager woh zidd na kerty, koshish na kerty, tou Big D ka heart sealed hi reh jata...aur woh hamesha aik zinda laash ki terha hi reh jatay.

5. I am glad Bondita ne uss time apni marzi chalai. Woh drama kia. Kyunki ager woh nahi kerty...ager woh Vaiji...Vaiji ko beech mien na laaty, usko Big D ke dil ka "door stopper" na banaty, tou unka dil hamesha hamesha ke liye locked reh jata. Uss lock ki key sirf aur sirf Bondita thy, aur mien uska jitna dhanyavaad kerun woh kamm hoga ke usne apni persistence aur tenacity ko use ker ke Big D ke dil ka lock khol dia. Kyunki ager woh yeh sab na kerty… tou Big D apne hi created hell mien hamesha ke liye stuck reh jatay!

He felt as if he had been running for too long, and finally, he had reached a spot where he could rest for a while.

His heart was finally at peace. It no longer burned with anger for his brother's misfortunes. He also knew now that he wouldn't be able to blame Bondita for anything.

No matter how much peace had washed over him, the dull ache in his heart was still there and he couldn't get rid of it.

It was the ache of guilt...remorse… and anguish.

Taking a deep breath, he shifted his focus back to the diary.

The next entry made his eyes flood again.

"𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂… 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂… 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂.

𝑯𝒂𝒂𝒏… 𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒇 𝒘𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏, 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏, 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒇𝒛 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏, 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏, 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏, 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏…

𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒋𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒉 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒊 𝒌𝒐 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂. 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒖𝒏.

𝑽𝒂𝒊𝒋𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒅𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒊… 𝑴𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂.

𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏… 𝑱𝒂𝒃 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒃𝒐𝒍𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒉𝒖𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚?

𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒋𝒂𝒃 𝒑𝒆𝒉𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒃𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒒𝒖𝒇𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒂𝒗 𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒓𝒂, 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒌𝒊 𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒃 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒈 𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂, 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒖𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒔 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒂𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒋𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝑵𝑨𝑯𝑰 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒏?

𝑨𝒃h 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒉𝒖 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒆𝒃 𝒍𝒂𝒈 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊

𝑽𝒂𝒊𝒋𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒖𝒏. 𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒐 𝒓𝒂𝒂𝒛𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚. 𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒋𝒂𝒃 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒌𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒖𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒔 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒉𝒖𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚? 𝑼𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏𝒌𝒊 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏 𝒌𝒂 𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂.

𝑼𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒒𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒅 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒂𝒗 𝒔𝒆 𝒈𝒖𝒛𝒂𝒓 𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒉𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒊𝒚𝒂.

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅.

𝑱𝒂𝒃 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒓 𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒇 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒇 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂, 𝒉𝒖𝒏, 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒂 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒂, 𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒂𝒊? 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒖𝒏 𝒈𝒂, 𝒍𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂. 𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒍 𝑽𝒂𝒊𝒋𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒂𝒊!

𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒓𝒅!!!"

A chuckle escaped Batuk's lips as he softly said with eyes still wet with his tears,

"Kyunki mere buddhu Dada, WOH BONDITA THY! Aur Bondita bechari kaise khush hoskty thy jab aap kisi bhi Vaiji...shaiji ke liye shadi ko haan ker rhe thay tou."

As his fingers wiped the tears rolling down his cheeks, his smile turning painful and he whispered,

"Bondita… Apne dil per kitne zakham sahay hain tumne? Big D ko bilkul badlay hue roop mein dekhna, unka tum ko milne se refuse kerna, tumhara naam tak na lena… Yeh sab se kitni taklif hui hogy tumko… haina? Aur phir, jab unhone finally accept ker lia ki woh sirf tumhare hain, tab kitni khushi hui hogy na tumhien. Lekin Bondita, iss sab ladai mein tum bilkul akeli hogy na? Dushmani ki bawajood apni jaan ko khatray mein daalti rahyn sirf iss liye taaki tumko wahi Dada mil jayein jinse tum ne prem kia tha… That must have been tough for you… haina?"

Softly running his finger over Bondita's name, he thought,

Jab koi dost nahi hota aise waqt mein, tou kitna akela feel hota hai… I know. Aur tum se tou tumhara sab se pyara, sab se aziz dost hi kho gaya tha. I have recently gone through this too. But I am lucky… mere pas Shashu hai… meri Mallika hai… aur mere taciturn lekin sweet se Dada bhi hain. And now I have learned ke duur se hi sahi, lekin TUM bhi thyn mere sath Bondita. I can't be thankful enough now…

His sentimental train of thought was interrupted with another recollection - a very recent one, when he had profusely thanked Bondita and she had appeared… sad, and hurt!!

Suddenly all the distress that he was feeling earlier, before he had started reading the diary came back with a force.

And then, his eyes widened as he re-read Anirudh's entry.

A low gasp escaped his mouth once more as he did the math again:

Wait a minute!

Jab Bondita woh Vaiji bani hui thy, aur Dada ne usko shadi ke liye haan bola tha, tou khush hone ki bajaye woh udaas hui thy.

Jab Dada ne usko refuse kia tou woh khush hogai! Yani opposite reactions to seemingly obvious situations isliye thay kyunki woh uss waqt dil se kuch aur chahty thy.

Isi terha jab miene Bondita se baat kerna shuru ki aaj tou uske face per aik khushi aur hope si agai thy.

Mager jab miene usko Thank you bola tou woh khush hone ke bajaye udaas hogai!!!

Ohh Bloody Hell!!!

Bondita aur uske twisted signals!!

Woh aaj bhi yehi ker rhy thy!

Woh pagal mujhse Thank you nahi sunna chahty thy. Woh mujhe dekh ker waise hi khush hogai thy. Mere thank yous ki train ne usko HURT kia tha!!!

Shit!!! I didn't want to hurt her again.

Lekin… Jo woh mujhse actually sunna chahty thy… woh mien keh hi nahi paaya.

Aur isi liye meri wajeh se Bondita phir se hurt hogai.

Squeezing his eyes shut this time, he whispered,

"But you deserve to hear it, Bondita...You really do!"

Vowing in his heart to make amends, he opened his eyes and shifted his focus back to the diary.

There were several entries left now.

One of them was the entry that Batuk had read the first thing- the entry that had actually prompted him to read the entire diary from the beginning.

He now understood in a better way why Bondita had chosen that Sanyasini punishment for herself back then, and why his Dada had gone bonkers over it.

He chuckled now as he realized,

Dekha jaye tou Bondita ki zidd ne hi Dada ko unke shell se baahir nikala. Ager Bondita woh Sanyasini wala challenge na lety, tou Dada kabhi ki inner feelings jin ko unhone lock ker ke rakha tha, woh baahir nahi aaty. Woh aanay lagty bhi tou bhi Dada unko suppress ker dete.

Moving onto the next entries, he noticed how his Dada was breaking apart, completely tearing down in those days when Bondita wasn't listening to him.

His brows furrowed as his heart started aching over and over again because of the emotional trauma his Big D was going through.

"𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒛𝒂 𝒂𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒚 𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒍𝒖𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒉𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒔 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒉𝒖𝒏?

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒏𝒂𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏…

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒐𝒍𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏.

𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒌𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒋𝒂𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑻𝒖𝒍𝒔𝒊𝒑𝒖𝒓 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒂 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒂𝒋𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒎 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂.

𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒊𝒔𝒊 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒃𝒐𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂 𝒋𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊…

𝑴𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓… 𝒋𝒐 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒉 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆...𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒌𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒏 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊?

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒎𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒏𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒆.

𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔 𝒌𝒐𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒋𝒂𝒉 𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊!

𝑲𝒚𝒖𝒏? 𝑲𝒚𝒖𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒋𝒂𝒉 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊? 𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒚, 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒊 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒂...𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒋𝒂𝒉 𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒇𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏?

𝑲𝒊𝒂 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒂 𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒇 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒆𝒉𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒏𝒂 𝒛𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊?

𝑮𝒐𝒅! 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂.

𝑼𝒔 𝒔𝒆… 𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒉𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒈.

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒊 𝒛𝒂𝒓𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒍𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒃𝒆-𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒏𝒂 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒕𝒂.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒏… 𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏… 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒂 𝒉𝒐 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂. 𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊… 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂.

𝑫𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒂 𝑴𝒂𝒂… 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 … 𝑲𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒌𝒊𝒋𝒊𝒚𝒆.

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚!!!"

This time, Batuk actually counted how many times Anirudh had used "Meri" and "Apni" for Bondita.

It felt as if he was so emotional, so desperate at that time that he literally poured just about every feeling in that entry:

The feeling of anguish, the desperation, the pain that he was feeling because Bondita was in pain, the anger, the helplessness… and above everything else: an overwhelming feeling of love loomed over the entire entry.

Batuk felt as if his Dada must have broken completely by then…

But some other desperate and frantic entries were also there following this one.

The frequency of the entries had dramatically surged during this whole episode. Which made Batuk realize that perhaps this was the lowest point in his Dada's life.

8 saalon se apne dil se ladte ladte thak chuke thay. Aur iss point per aa ker unki bardasht ki seema khatam hogai thy. Unke samnay Bondita thy tou sahi, lekin woh uss se kuch keh hi nahi paa rahay thay. Aur shayad isi liye iss period mien Dada ne itni sari entries ki hain diary mien...Un becharon ke pas iss dost ke ilawah shayad koi aur tha hi nahi uss waqt.

An insane amount of sadness engulfed him whole as he read the next couple of entries that were almost made daily.

Learning how Bondita had gotten angry made him smile.

Sahi tou hai! Hamesha wahi bhaagty rehty thy Dada ke peeche. Accha hai, abh Dada uske peeche bhaag rahay hain!

And then, he came to the point after almost a month where Anirudh mentioned how everything turned out and how he decided to abduct Bondita from Krishna Nagar!

There wasn't anything more related to those incidents, but Batuk recalled his discussion with Shashu-bear a while ago. She had mentioned that Big D had managed to elope with Bondita, and they were supposed to get married then.

Tou iska matlab hai ki Big D apni roothy hui Bondita ko mananay mein successful hogaye honge. How sweet! Bhaag ker shadi ker rahay thay dono!

Still smiling, he moved onto the second-last entry. In it, Anirudh had been blasting about how Kaka had tried to get Shashwati married just to blackmail Anirudh and to prevent his marriage from happening.

Batuk felt his mouth filling with bile as he recalled his Shashu-bear relating that scarring, horrifying incident too!

He winced in pain when he read how sorry Anirudh was for leaving Bondita alone at the mandap.

Bechari Bondita… itne saray misfortunes ke baad she even had to face the embarrassment of being a jilted bride!

Bloody Hell TRC!!! Aap ne life mien kuch sahi kia bhi hai ya nahi?

But then, his sadness turned into a small smile as he read Anirudh's accounts of how Bondita had actually understood him, and stood with him, despite all the opposition and oppression she faced from her own family.

Batuk smiled fondly as he thought,

So, Big D ki Margdarshak ne hi unko aik baar phir sahi raasta chunnay mien help ki thy.

After that, there was only one entry made, and that too, after a period of a couple of months.

Batuk roughly knew the events that had led to his Big D and boudi's remarriage, so he understood why Big D must not have been needing the diary anymore.

Unki life mien unki Bondita wapis agayee thy...aur sab sahi hogya tha. I am sure Big D aur Bondita kitne ziada khush honge.

After Anirudh's last entry, Batuk had made a partition and had used the other half of that same diary when he was in the Roy Chaudhary Haveli as Anirudh himself.

Now, he turned the page to read this last entry which was made a week before Anirudh and Bondita met with that drowning incident.

“𝑩𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒂𝒋.

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒌 𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒖𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚. 𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒂𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒌𝒂𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒚𝒂. 𝑲𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒌𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂.

𝑽𝒊𝒋𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒎𝒊 𝒌𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒉𝒊, 𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒚𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂, 𝒍𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒋𝒂𝒃 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒊 𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒖𝒌𝒕𝒂 𝒔𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒌 𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒌𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒚𝒂! 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒏𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒆𝒌𝒉𝒂, 𝒍𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒉 𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆 𝒋𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒋𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂. 𝑨𝒂𝒂𝒉… 𝑲𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒋𝒉𝒂𝒖𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒌𝒊 𝒋𝒊𝒔 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒌 𝒌𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒚𝒂𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒂𝒅 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊, 𝒘𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒌 𝒖𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒂 𝒛𝒊𝒂𝒅𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑯𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉.

𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒋𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒂 𝒌𝒐𝒊 𝒒𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊.

𝑲𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒆𝒉𝒍𝒆 𝒋𝒂𝒃 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒌 𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒏𝒆 𝑰𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂, 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒔𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒉 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒊 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒖𝒏, 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓-𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒖 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒅𝒖𝒏… 𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊 𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒅𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒚𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒚. 𝑯𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓… 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓!

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒌 𝒌𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒃 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒋𝒉𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒐 𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒂𝒑 𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒈 𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒏 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒌 𝒌𝒆 𝒋𝒂𝒛𝒃𝒂𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒉𝒊. 𝑺𝒐𝒎 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒚𝒂𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒌𝒐𝒊 𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒂𝒗 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒕𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒂. 𝑰𝒔𝒔 𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊 𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒐 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒊 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒉 𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒔𝒂𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒍𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊.

𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒌 𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒚𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒇𝒔𝒐𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒉𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑾𝒐𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒂 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒊… 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒌𝒂𝒓 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒂 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒂 𝒌𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊 𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒊 𝒎𝒆𝒊𝒏 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒌𝒂 𝒌𝒊𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒒𝒂𝒂𝒎 𝒉𝒂𝒊?

𝑲𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒊 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒌 𝒂𝒖𝒓 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒚. 𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒅, 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒌 𝒌𝒊 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒍 𝒈𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒆. 𝑼𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒂 𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒅𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒂𝒊 𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒚𝒆𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒛 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒂𝒃𝒉 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒊𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒊. 𝑨𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝒇𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝒌𝒊 𝒌𝒂𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒔𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒉 𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒚𝒆𝒉 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒍𝒂 𝒏𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒆 𝒌𝒊 𝒘𝒐𝒉 𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒉𝒊 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒈𝒂.

𝑴𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒐 𝒌𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒐𝒏 𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒊… 𝑰 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆!

𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒂 𝒛𝒂𝒓𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒂.

𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒌…𝑴𝒂𝒂𝒏 𝒋𝒂𝒐… 𝑾𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒂 𝒋𝒂𝒐. 𝑰 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆, 𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒂𝒂𝒐 𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒂𝒃 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒉𝒐 𝒋𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒈𝒂.”

Tears rolling down his cheeks incessantly, he closed the diary and laid his head over it's smooth, black surface and cried.

“Big D… mere pyare Dada… I am so sorry. I am so sorry… I am really very sorry. Aap ne mujh se kia kia umeedien lagai thyn, mager mien un mein se kisi aik per bhi khara nahi utra. Dada… I broke your trust. I broke your heart. And I broke your hopes too. I … I swear Dada mien abh badal jaonga. Mien abh waisa hi bann jaonga jaise aap ki wish hai. Mager please, aap mujhe maaf ker dien. Apne laadlay, chhote bhai ko maaf ker dien.”

And then, a realization made him halt.

Raising his head from the diary’s surface, he wiped his tears and muttered to himself,

“Actually, Dada ne mujhe maaf ker hi dia hai. Tabhi woh meri chinta kerte hain. Aaj bhi… Woh mujhse ziada khush thay ke mien Rudhir aur Aaradhya se mil paa raha hun. Yeh sab, aur unki care show kerta hai ki Dada ne mujhe maaf ker dia hai. Mager I know. Humare beech mein sab kuch tab tak 100% sahi nahi hoskta jab tak mien woh na ker lun jo sab se ziada zaruri hai.”

The sun was rising now, and a few rays of the sun had entered his room through the window too.

He knew, in only a few minutes, his room would be completely illuminated as the light of the sun would kill all the darkness around them.

Theek usi terha, jaise meri aur mujhse juday hue loagon ki lives mein bhi abh roshni hogy.

A hopeful smile blooming on his handsome face, he wiped the last traces of his tears, and with the determination of an extremely brave man, he opened the diary again. Quickly flipping to his section of the diary, he took out a pen and scribbled,

"Judgment is not about destruction, but about setting things right. And I promise today, that I. Batuk Roy Chaudhary, will set everything right again for myself and for my family!"

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