The Unventured Passions

Dance the night away

The air was filled with an overdose of elitism, the ambience was royal. The large dance hall was where the crowd had gathered, men and women, hand in hand, as they swayed their bodies together in the rhythm of the retro jazz.
The bearers were probably the busiest person, charged with the responsibility of filling up every single empty glass.

Bondita looked around. The high ceiling was artistically decorative, with murals on top.
'This looks like some sort of church from the medieval', she thought, eyeing the walls adorned with Victorian paintings adjacent to the ceiling.

"May I excuse your man for a minute please?" A female voice in sharp British accent drew her attention back to reality.
Bondita looked infront and smiled.
A lady in mid twenties wearing a pretty blue gown stood infront of her with a glass of wine in hand. She was visibly inebriated and swayed with the music with her gleaming eyes fixated on Anirudh.

"Hey Laurna! What a pleasant surprise... How are you here?" Anirudh had caught her sight and was smiling brightly.
He hugged her lightly and turned towards Bondita.

"Darling, this is my friend Laurna. Her brother and I studied together in London." Anirudh looked visibly happy.

"Loo, this is the love of my life, my wife, Bondita."

Laurna winked and smiled at her.
"I guessed right then. Such a beauty she is!" She looked around to find a bearer as she gestured him to refill her glass.
"So, Boo.. dit.. taa! Did he tell you about our longgg afternoon stories?" Laurna's face curled up in a mischievous smile.

"Um... Well... He keeps on telling me a lot of stories actually... Don't know which one you are referring to!" Bondita smiled back.

"Loo... First, it's Bon-di-ta... Pretty easy to pronounce. And, are you referring to our afternoon fishing stories? At Davidson's estate?" Anirudh asked her politely.

"Pretty much!" Laurna winked.

"I know those stories actually. Paul told me himself." Bondita replied.

"You have met Paul? Paul Davidson?" Laurna widened her eyes in surprise as Bondita shrugged.

"Small world Ms Laurna... Or shall I call you Loo too!" Bondita smiled brightly.
"I know about your sister Daniella as well. Sad indeed."

Laurna's expression changed for a moment.
"Oh, I didn't know Paul is here in India too." She looked thoughtful.
"Anyway, Anirudh, I would like you to meet someone... You remember Raymond?" She raised her eyebrows at him. "Bondita, would you please excuse us..."

Laurna tugged at Anirudh's arms and almost drunk dragged him outside the dance hall towards the pool area. Anirudh held his wife's hand and hushed softly before leaving.
"Shona, just give me sometime. I'll be right back."
It was clear that Anirudh had some grave intension in mind and under no circumstances he wished to displease anyone, specially any British tonight.
Bondita nodded her head gently letting him go.

Loo disappeared amidst the crowd taking a sharp bend towards the lobby. Bondita saw Anirudh disappearing with her too.

The party suddenly felt meaningless and shallow. All the glamour and gaiety seemed to be fading away into oblivion.
Bondita stood near the bar counter quietly, lost in her thoughts.

"What is a pretty lady such as yourself doing alone?" A husky male voice startled her from behind.

Bondita turned around.
A man was smiling gently at her. He was probably in his thirties, Bondita tried to gauge as her eyes fell on the scar on one side of his forehead.

"This?" The man chuckled playfully and touched the scar.
"This is my battle scar, born and brought up in England and with an English mother, I was serving in the British battalion." The man kept the wine glass on the counter and held his hand out.