Anidita: Falling Apart

Arm me Audacity from head

How bravely thou becom’st thy bed, fresh lily,
And whiter than the sheets.—That I might touch!

Manorama's POV

"Bondita...." I replied collecting myself "It's possible Anirudh might have longed for me as an adult. But, note that we always remained friends and never shared any physical relationship as spouses. Therefore, maligning him as a lustful infidel husband is extremely nasty and foolish on your part. Your fasting and tattoo stunts were the explicit peak of muddled actions showcasing the degradation of your precious innocence with each passing day.
Hence, Anirudh had to file for dissolving his marriage with you only after he failed to teach you the value of a woman's dignity since you desperately attempted to keep your names intact upon the wall which he didn't.
You admit or not Bondita, but Anirudh's sole objective behind committing the crime was to safeguard your body and give you the luxury of a healthy and successful future, that you have today.
But he is such an unfortunate man that he is being chastised for his benevolent step and called a mediocre unfaithful husband by the same girl who stayed with him who couldn't get enough of her Pati Babu and for whom she could challenge death. How did your love for him diminish so easily, in just a span of a few years?

"Why only a year of stay Mrs Roy Chaudhary?" Bondita remarked smirking "Often, an entire life of the same girl falls short to understand the hypocritical nature of your special human completely. Whereas a moment of her lifetime is sufficient enough to discover the true nature of that same man.
I think he and his society have sufficient evidence by now that disqualifies their fabricated fear of early consummation to be the underlying cause behind his bigamy with you. Though I know they would rather die than accepting it.

However Manorama, I know Barrister babu does deserve to be conferred with the British monarchy's highest Guard of honour for achieving the milestone of holding up his youthful desires for you, and honestly I can't help praising his efforts to safeguard your mature body despite desiring to derive it's luxury and have a healthy successful future that he must have dreamt to have with you someday but could not accomplish it because you left him early. Yet, how can you both even call each other friends, just because you both did not sleep officially despite having sufficient unofficial and official luxuries? Does this condition make you both "Just Friends"?

"Yes, it does" I shot back confidently "But how can you assume Anirudh and myself were not "Just friends", only because we stayed in that fake marriage for a month? I understand your envy is as fresh as it was. (Holding Bondita's shoulder blade) Trust me, I feel guilty and have genuinely realized my fault in all these years. No doubt, I truly loved you Bondita. I was Anirudh's true friend but like you taught us to fight against injustice and listening to the right takes courage, being a revolutionary I failed to understand I cannot use social evils upon women as a medium to achieve my aim.

"And you were courageous enough from every aspect to realize it since the very beginning as well" Bondita replied in apathy, moving away my palm from her shoulder blade, grasping it.

आतुरे व्यसने प्राप्ते दुर्भिक्षे शत्रुसङ्कटे ।
राजद्वारे श्मशाने च यस्तिष्ठति स बान्धवः ॥
He is a true friend who does not forsake us in time of need, misfortune, famine, or war, in a king's court, or at the crematorium