The Unventured Passions

Unpleasant Clarity

In the rise of the wind, dressed in well whipped brine, the waves of the Ganga had every appearance of enjoying both their crescendo and the anticipated diminuendo. For they were part of the music of nature, part of the ebb and flow.
Anirudh was watching the river, lost in the rhythmic percussion of waves crushing on the hull of their small boat. His eyes were steady to the horizon, face aglow with the last orange rays before twilight beckoned the stars. His lips bore the semblance of a smile, just enough to show that he was enjoying his thoughts, whatever they may be. Bondita moved closer so that he could feel her presence, yet stayed quiet, allowing him to stay lost in the moment a while longer.

"Hey there." He broke their silence, and Bondita wrapped her arm around his, and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Given the danger lurking behind us, don't you think this sunset is ironically beautiful?" Anirudh chuckled at his own question, and Bondita snuggled closer.

"Are you still mad at me Barrister Babu?" She hushed softly.

"Umm.. a little." Anirudh touched her hand entwined with his and squeezed a little.
"You should have told me about Batuk's whereabouts."

"Sorry." Bondita clutched his shirt tighter.
"I didn't wish to give you more reason to worry... And I was sure Batuk would pull it off."

"Did you see his condition Bondita? He had blood clots on his lips, lord know what he might have done to get there."
Anirudh let out a sigh and unwrapped himself from Bondita's hands, only to pull her nearer by putting his arm around her shoulder.

"Sorry again." Bondita murmured.

The tide appeared drawn to the horizon, waves rolling in and out, its rhythm as steady as their own, and then within minutes they started to rise higher, taller, and Anirudh and Bondita heard Raimoti retching again from inside the dome.

"She isn't keeping up well. We need to halt." Bondita quickly got up, and Anirudh held her hands to support her as the boat wobbled unsteadily.

Satyakirth was lying down on the other side of the deck, and had rushed to aid Raimoti as well, and both he and Bondita supported her to come out of the shade, to breath the much needed fresh air.
Anirudh's black coat was wrapped around her shoulders, and she looked considerably frail, without food and water, and the relentless movement of the boat had made her condition worse.

"We need to halt the boat Satya."
Bondita remarked, as she cupped a little river water in her palm, and sprinkled it on Rai's face, her head was leaned on Satya's shoulder, and her eyes were closed.

"But, how? It's high tide!"
Satya sighed.

Rashik, the ferryman, was robbed off his ability to speak at an early age, and it had only aided in heightening his other senses, along with his sense of nationality, and it was this love that had made him a duteous, obedient accompliss of the sacrosanct. He was struggling with the oars, and as the tide rose higher, Anirudh promptly picked up the other oar to support him.

"Ahnn ahnn...!" Rashik was taken a little aback at this sudden help from a zamindar, as Satya had introduced him as one, but when Anirudh smiled back with enthusiasm to make him comfortable, Rashik too smiled back, making a suggestive sound, pointing at a direction on the shore, and Anirudh looked up at once, his eyes shining in possibility.

"Satya, we can't go on like this, let's halt."

"But?"

Anirudh hadn't waited for his reply, and as the ferryman neared the boat towards an isolated broken shore, Anirudh jumped off the deck with the thick anchor rope in his hand. Water had reached above his neck, and with difficulty he tried to swim ashore.