My Destination, My Bondita

80 - The Most Awaited Reunion

Bondita wasn't thinking. She couldn't. She was too overwhelmed, too focused, too full of a directed goal. This focus was directed towards getting to the study, to her Pati Babu.

Her body shook uncontrollably as she ran, tears flowing down her cheeks freely.

When she got to the study, she opened the door without a thought and ran to the sofa where she saw his figure sleeping underneath the blanket. 

Anirudh, who had been sobbing to himself all this time, heard Bondita's anklets run towards the study. He didn't know what was happening, nor could he fathom why she was coming here. When she pushed the door open, he just closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. 

He didn't know what she was doing, but he heard her rush to him. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hold in his tears. 

Again, without a thought, Bondita fell to her knees beside the sofa, pulling down the blanket that had covered his face. 

His eyes were closed, his eyelashes were wet, and his nose was red. It looked like he had been crying a lot. 

Bondita touched his hand gently. 

Anirudh felt a wave of electricity run through his body when she touched his hand, but he still kept his eyes shut. 

"Birristira Babu," Bondita cried. "Open your eyes please Birristira Babu." 

Her fingers curled around his hand, holding it tightly. 

Anirudh opened his eyes slowly, his heart beating fast, shocked that she called him Birristira Babu after so long. He turned to look at her and saw that her own face was red from crying. 

He sat up on the sofa and pulled his hand away from her grip, looking around helplessly. He stood up and was about to leave the study, when Bondita got up and ran in front of him, holding her arms apart and blocking his exit. 

"Bondita, move," Anirudh said, tears flooding his eyes. "Please." 

"Today I won't move!" she sobbed. "Today I won't let you go. Because I know the truth now. I know why you pushed me away from you!" 

Anirudh looked at her with shock and pain. 

Not knowing what to do, he took steps backwards, until he found a small cupboard at the side of the room. He opened the cupboard door and slipped inside, closing the door from the inside. He was trying to avoid her in order to run away from his guilt. It was becoming unbearable to handle.

Then he brought his knees to his chest in the cramped space and started to sob again. 

Bondita sat outside the cupboard and asked, "Do you not want to see your Bondita's face anymore, Birristira Babu?" 

"Bondita go from here," Anirudh cried. "How can I face you after all that happened?"

She placed her hand on the cupboard door gently. 

"I've done such wrong things to you Bondita," he cried. "I only wanted to bring you on the right path, but I have hurt you so much and I've broken our relationship instead. I broke you. S - Sorry Bondita. I'm so s - sorry."

He held his earlobes inside the cupboard as he apologized, his body still shaking uncontrollably.  

"Come out and see if I'm okay or not," Bondita requested softly. "Pati Babu."

Hearing him call her Pati Babu again made him cry even more. He cried so hard that he didn't even know how he still had tears in his eyes to shed.