My Destination, My Bondita

11 - Their Own Exile

"Pati Babu, why are we going?" Bondita asked as she unhappily packed her bag to leave this  haveli. 

He was not answering her.

"Pati Babu!" Bondita repeated, holding the sleeve of his shirt and tugging at it gently. "Answer me! And are we going to school today or not?" 

He looked at her and said, "Bondita there are some things you won't understand right now. I will drop you to school first and by the time you finish school, I will have a place ready for you." 

She pouted again and threw her sarees into the bag unhappily. 

"Do we have to go?" she asked. 

"Bondita, don't ask me questions anymore!" he informed, "You finish here, I will go and get my things." 

Then he left the room, looking disturbed.

When they met back downstairs in the living room, carrying a few of their things, Sampoorna stepped forward, glanced at Bondita's bag, and said, "Bondita, the jewelry you wear doesn't belong to your Pati Babu. I guess it's hidden in your bag." 

Bondita looked at her Pati Babu, and he gestured for her to remove it. 

She reluctantly removed all of her jewelry from her bag and handed it to Sampoorna. 

"The sarees you are carrying are way too expensive for you to take," Sampoorna added on, making Bondita frown. 

"Sampoorna, let it be," Binoy said. "Anirudh, don't go." 

"Baba, this place is not safe anymore," Anirudh said, and then glared at Kaka who looked away, a little bit of uneasiness on his face. 

"Dada! If you and Boudi go, who will play with me?" Batuk asked sadly. 

Bondita looked at Batuk sadly too, and asked, "Pati Babu do we have to go?" 

"Bondita, didn't I say to not ask me questions?" he snapped. 

Bondita looked down and pouted. 

Even Somnath and Bihari were standing there, looking unhappy.

"Bondita leave all the expensive sarees here. We don't need anyone's help," Anirudh told her. 

"But Pati Babu, Sampoorna Maa didn't work and buy these sarees with her own money right? If Sasurji has a problem, shouldn't he say it?" she questioned, making Sampoorna look irritated by her argument. 

Anirudh couldn't help a soft smile reach his lips when she asked such a question. 

"You're right Bondita. But I'm telling you to go and change the sarees," he told her softly. "You trust me, right?" 

She nodded and sadly went up to her room to change them. 

When she came back, she had a much smaller bag with only a few sarees. 

He held his hand out and she took it. The two of them then stepped out of the haveli, to start their life elsewhere, leaving behind a sad atmosphere as the family watched them go. 

As they left, Trilochan Roy Choudhary was smiling. Binoy stepped next to him and asked, "Why are you so happy? Our son has left the house with our Bahu." 

"You don't understand," Trilochan replied, "When they are alone, having a hard time and struggling with none of us there, they will only have each other to rely on. This will bring them closer. This will make Anirudh realize what Bondita really means to him." 

Binoy nodded, understanding where his brother was coming from. He also wanted his son and Bahu to be happy together. 

Anirudh dropped Bondita to school first, taking her bag from her. 

"Pati Babu, I don't have to go to school today," she told him. "I can help you." 

Anirudh smiled at her and said, "No Bondita, you must go to school. I'm doing all of this for your bright future." 

Bondita still didn't understand his reasoning, but she knew that it didn't feel right to leave her Pati Babu to struggle alone to find them a place to stay. 

"But Pati Babu, how can I leave you alone?" she asked him. "You have no money. How will you find a place for us?" 

"Just trust me," he told her softly. "I will figure something out. You go in now. You'll be late. I will come and pick you up when school is done." 

"Okay Pati Babu," she said and reluctantly entered the school.

"Time to get started," he murmured to himself, and left to find a way to get a place to live and some money to get Bondita food to eat.

Later that day, when Anirudh came to pick Bondita up from school, he saw that she was carrying a piece of paper in her hand. 

She approached him and held the paper for him. 

"It's an address," Bondita said, "Batuk gave it to me. He said that it is Bhaari Babu's village, and there will be people there willing to help us." 

Anirudh took the paper and was about to throw it, when he just sighed and kept it in his pocket. He couldn't let his ego come before Bondita's safety, especially since he was still unsuccessful in finding a place for them to stay. 

"Let's go," he told her. 

"Did you find a place for us Pati Babu?" Bondita asked as she walked beside him, holding her school bag. 

"Not yet," he admitted. 

"Then why don't we go to Bhaari Babu's village?" she asked. 

He had been trying all day in the hot sun to find a place for them, but had been unsuccessful. Maybe this was the best option. 

"You must be hungry Bondita," he said. 

"Yes Pati Babu!" Bondita answered, and then remembered that they had no money and she said, "No! I'm not hungry!" 

Anirudh smiled and took the note out of his pocket. 

"Let's go to Bihari's village then," he told her. 

At least this could ensure that there would be a roof above Bondita's head and maybe he could get her some food. 

He could stay out on the streets all day, but he wasn't willing to make Bondita live outside. He had to take care of all of her needs and make sure she was safe and healthy. 

It was only for her bright future, and their dream to make her a barrister of course. There could be no other reason behind it, and Anirudh was absolutely convinced of this!

What Anirudh didn't realize though was that Kaka's words as scary as they might be, had actually indicated to a deeper truth. A truth that he himself wasn't ready to accept just yet.

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I know I posted 4 chapters in one day, and I'm considering posting more.  🙈 I'm having so much fun writing this story, and I'm getting motivated by all your comments and love too. If this is too fast, then let me know and I'll slow down. 😂❤️