~Anidita~ of Love and Desire

SS:3 Part:3

Darkness.

Darkness was what surrounded the spacious hall room of the jomidar bari; before Bondita turned on the flashlight on her phone.

Brightness from the flashlight added to the dim moonlight already present in corners of the haveli, making it easier for Bondita to take in the exquisite sight of the inside of the haveli.

Carpets were lined at the entrance and below the center table of the hall room, vintage sofas and one seaters arranged artistically around the table. No corner was left without expensive home decor of that time period.

From where Bondita was standing, straight ahead was a door connecting the hall to the prayer room. Her feet involuntarily walked towards the mandir, stopping right at the foot of the stairs leading up to the tall durga idol.

She looked keenly at it, trying to remember where she had seen it before. This exact same idol. This haveli. She felt like she had seen all this a long, long time ago.

Bondita continued walking, with the intent to explore the kitchen.

And suddenly, she stopped. There it was. The kitchen.

Looking back at the way she had come, it surprised her how she knew which corridors, which doors would lead her to the Rasoi Ghar of the massive haveli. She knew it by heart. As if she lived here.

She looked around. There was that matir chula she remembered cooking on from many years ago.

Wait, what? This is the first time I am ever seeing a matir chula. I never cooked on one. Hell, I don't even know how to use it.

Bondita's thoughts were making her head ache. Except for the matir chula, the kitchen only had dusty and empty cabinets.

She moved out of the kitchen, now walking through the more private and reserved part of the haveli.

There were rooms all around her but one particular room caught her attention. No, it didn't simply catch her attention. It was calling out to her. Bondita couldn't help but move inside.

The door creaked open as she pushed it gently. She shivered, in summer, feeling a cold, subtle brush of wind all over her.

The room was dark. Floor slippery from years of dust laying on it. Her feet took her immediately to the dressing table situated beside the entrance. It felt like they developed a brain of their own.

Desperately, her eyes scanned the surface of the table. She didn't know what she was looking for. Not until she spotted the sindoor dani kept in one corner on the table. She didn't even know she was crying holding it in her hands until she felt a tear rolling down her cheek.

She collected the teardrop on the tip of her finger, and looked at it confused. Why?

Why am I crying?

The headache increased. Yet, instead of moving out from there and going home, she took interest in the wardrobe standing a few feet away from the dressing table.

Bondita opened the wardrobe, not expecting to find clothes in it. But there they were.

The wardrobe held the clothes of a man and a woman. Multiple sarees, expensive ones; the ones apt for a jomidarni. Another side of it consisted of shirts, pants and waistcoats that were in fashion for men during the 1920s.

She smiled faintly at the image of a man dressed in those clothes, a brooch added. Her heart suddenly filling with a feeling she had never felt in this life but knew from another life. In the image that her mind had woven, she could not see his face. Just a blurry, distant silhouette and yet, he seemed close. The closest to her and to her heart. She didn't know him, but her heart recognized him.

Okay, so 40 votes on one chapter aren't that many but we couldn't even achieve that in the last one. If you don't find the story engaging enough, I won't continue it anymore and I can move to another one but that is after I get a plot for the next story. I know the updates are slow but I'm trying my best to make the updates quicker than they used to be. I hope the readers can show some love too. Anyways, looking forward to know what you think of the story in the comments. Thank you for reading!