Safar Khoobsurat hai Manzil Se Bhi (A Mature AniDita Fanfiction)

Painful realizations

After running for what must have been around two hours with only the moon and stars guiding him and showing him the pathway inside the deep, dense woods, Aniruddh saw a clearing and finally decided to take a little stop to rest for a while.
He had to check on Bondita as well. She had been sleeping in his arms peacefully while he was running. 
He settled her against an old tree, and quickly laid down his shawl on the grass. He then picked her up very carefully, and gently made her lie down on the shawl. 
He had a small duffel bag with him that he had slung across his body too. 
Putting it down, he opened it and produced a candle and a matchbox. 
He placed the candle against some stones so that it would stand tall and not topple down, and once it was stable enough,  he lit it. 
The flame flickered along with the gentle breeze, but thankfully it didn't blow out. 

Using this little amount of flickering light, Aniruddh looked around for some twigs, and found plenty of them as they were sitting right under a giant oak tree. 
Collecting many twigs, he arranged them in a circle around the place where Bondita was lying on his shawl. With the help of  the flickering candle to avoid using extra matchsticks, he lit one twig. 
Soon, he and Bondita were encircled by burning twigs.
Although, this produced a lot of light, something that he was not exactly aiming for; however it was necessary to keep insects and other animals away from them while they rested inside their "circle of fire."
Satisfied with his progress, he finally shifted his attention towards Bondita who had now started to wriggle a little. 
Sitting beside her on the grass, he patted lightly on her soft cheeks. 

"Bondita… Bondita…Mien, Aniruddh…  utho...Aankhien kholo… dekho..tum surakshit ho… Darne ki koi zarurat nahi hai."

She stirred a bit and then opened her eyes slowly. 
He gently cupped her face and looked at her minutely. 

Her eyes were puffy and red as if she had cried for a very long time. 
Aniruddh felt as if someone squeezed his heart painfully. 
His hands started trembling as his fingers softly caressed the side of her face. 
There seemed to be a bruise there...as if someone had slapped her hard.
A gasp escaped his mouth as he felt the taste of bile in his mouth. 

His hold on her hand tightened instinctively as he dared himself to continue his inspection.
His tear stricken gaze traveled along her arms and he saw bruises and dried blood marks on her forearms and wrists too. 
It seemed as if someone had forcefully held them...trying to control her or bend her to their will and commands. And in the process, they broke her bangles. 
His soul winced as he felt the pain she must have gone through when tiny shards of broken glass bangles must have penetrated her delicate skin.
Tears falling from his eyes now, he ran his trembling hand along her bruised arm until his fingers landed on her tattoo.
The same tattoo that he had hated so much as it caused her so much pain!
It was the tattoo that she had gotten in a frenzy and as a sign of complete defiance to him to show that their names were inseparable. 
He hated it then just because he hated everything that hurt his Bondita even a little bit. And this tattoo had made her cry! So how could he like it?
But looking at it now, his heart felt like it would explode any moment. 
The skin around the tattoo appeared to be redder than the surrounding. 
The film of tears was blurring his vision, so he raised her arm to have a close look at it…

He could see thin streaks of dried blood over the skin where her tattoo was… as if someone had tried to scratch their permanently etched names from her skin with sharp nails! 

Unable to control his sobs from escaping his mouth any longer, he leaned his forehead against her tattoo softly...as if in a newfound reverence towards it. 
Staying like that for a few seconds to compose himself, he then lifted his head and his tear drenched eyes met hers. 
Bringing her hand that he was holding against his lips, his eyes were now looking at the face of the dear girl whom he had loved so much. Raising hand or beating her was one thing, Aniruddh had never even raised a finger on her! He didn't let anyone else touch her too when she was with him as his wife. 
It was the same girl whom he had nurtured and cared for like a delicate flower… 
Whatever was in his power and capacity, he had made sure to never let anyone or anything hurt her. 
Whenever she used to be in pain, he used to feel it too. 
If she cried, his heart used to cry too.

And now, the same girl for whom he had wished nothing else but happiness and success, was there, in front of him, lying on the ground of a jungle, all bruised and battered, drugged, and in such a wild disarray! 

He felt helpless...and he felt extremely angry too. Someone had dared to touch his Bondita so mercilessly. And that someone was not any outsider. It was all done by her Thaku maa!

Without thinking and completely taken over by emotion, he bent down a little and laid his lips against her forehead in a reassuring kiss. 

And then, his lips moved towards her left eye. Planting a feather light kiss on her lid, he then did the same with her other one. 

His hand was cupping her face as his fingers slid in her hair and his lips moved onto her bruised cheek. 
If it was possible for him, he would have taken all her pain and given his everything to her. 
His face was just an inch apart from hers when his eyes met hers again. She looked as if she was trying to focus, but her gaze was languorous...as if she was still sleepy.