The Unventured Passions

Sensuous Healings

Trilochan Roy Chowdhury always felt families to be like those strong rooted trees, capable of withstanding any storm that life may offer to them. And, although, like branches of the tree, they too might grow apart, but at the end of the day, they all would be held together by the trunk.
He was that trunk in the Roy Chowdhury family!

The fresh evening breeze from the Ganga had made Trilochan inhale sharply, filling his old lungs with another puff of life. He was strolling on the terrace, with his granddaughter in his arms, his Rudhi, and the little girl had thrown her tiny arms around his neck, grazing softly the silk collar of his expensive malmal kurta with her sprouting milk tooth.

Downstairs, it was ofcourse a different scenary. Batuk had returned from the Governor General's house, and after a bath, he had sat with his eager-eyed Dada and Boudi, hooking them with his strange experience of the day.

"No no... Tell us from the beginning..." Bondita was nodding her head vigorously.
"So, you went inside, and I stayed back... Then what?"

"But first shouldn't you be eating something?" Anirudh had interjected, as Bondita looked sharply at him, clearly unhappy at this abrupt intervention.

"Dada... You have no idea how much I ate today... and..."

"Uff Batuk... From the beginning..."
Bondita scoffed restlessly as Batuk narrowed her eyes at her.

"This is the same enthusiasm with which you read those gossip columns in the evening newspaper." Batuk winked at his elder brother as they both shared a subtle laughter, before their eyes turned serious once again.

"Alright, so Governor Sir took me inside." He started, as Bondita cradled her face on her hand, crutching on her elbow.
"It was very dimly lit, a little spooky if I may say... And, after crossing three, no four rooms, he finally pushed open a lightly shut door."

"And?" Bondita murmured, her eyes large with interest.

"The moment he did, something just came flying from inside, and then... Splash! A splattered flower vase, and then a pillow..."

"That's odd." Anirudh remarked as Batuk turned to face his brother.

"But, then... The Governor, very slowly started to call out a name... Marie, Marietta... It's me... Someone had come to see you." Batuk's voice was intonated and dramatic.
"By then the governor had switched on the electric light, and guess what I saw in that light?"

"What?" Bondita's eyes were widened.

"Pieces of scattered porcelain and glasses everywhere on the floor, and fresh blood marks as if someone had trodden over them."

"That's really bad." Anirudh too had widened his eyes.

"And what's worse was the woman who was sitting on the bed... All golden hair was all over her face, her white gown had blood marks all over, and she held a piece of broken glass in her hand.

"Wait what?" Bondita gaped.

"Yes Boudi, but she had this very strange gaze in her eyes, calm and unrested." He took a deep breath, probably recalling the moment as it was.
"But, strangely she didn't do anything to me... She was looking at me as if I'm an unicorn... Her eyes had widened, her hands were trembling, and then she dropped the glass piece on the bed." His eyes had suddenly turned sad as well.
"I saw that her wrists had slits, self inflicted, and blood was oozing from the wounds. Governor Sir had gripped my shoulder by then as he said,
'Doctor, I've tried a few British physicians, she isn't letting anyone come inside even, but... If you can, I mean..." Batuk had brought a psudo gravity in his voice imitating the British officer.