Paakhi

T W E N T Y T W O

Shikha Bandopadhyay had now risen to her feet, and had started walking towards him. Aritro looked like he had seen a ghost, as his back now stuck to the wall near the entrance of the room with some kind of an invisible super glue. He looked like he was ready to flee the very instant Shaan gave him a go ahead.

Despite every instinct in his body screaming at him to leave, Shaan stood his ground and watched as the woman neared him. When she had all but reached right before him, he found himself study the look on her face even better than he could from the other end of the room. She was overjoyed, looking at him with the same love with which you look at someone you hold dearer to you than your own life.

Shaan had only just gathered his wits when the woman wrapped her arms around him into an embrace, and now, he froze too. What the hell was he supposed to? This was Vandana's mother for the love of God!

"We need to get away." She whispered into his chest conspiratorially, "If they don't find you, they can't hurt you."

What on earth was she talking about?

"Uh...okay." Shaan mumbled, trying not to freak out as much as Aritro already had. The man looked like he was on the verge of getting a bloody panic attack. Think, THINK Shaan. "We do. Where is-" he stopped, what could he call her? Vandana? Atreyi? God Forbid, if she had some other daak naam he didn't know about it. Could it trigger the woman?

"-Shona is doing okay."

Shaan looked at her with surprise, well, that was helpful of her. They called her 'Shona' at home, which sounded an awful lot like a Bengali nickname, but okay, whatever. Those were enough names to remember for a single person for almost an entire lifetime.

"Oh." He huffed, wondering when she intended on letting him go from the uncomfortable embrace, "Where...where is she?"

Crap, he'd asked the wrong question. They already knew where she was, he needed to ask her more questions about Mohit instead.

The woman looked up at him then, "With her husband." And then she added with the same conspiratory tone, "He calls her Vandana. You have to be careful, and make sure you call her Vandana."

What on Earth-?

"What do you think you're doing?" Shaan suddenly heard from behind him and immediately recoiled in his position. It was Apratim, staring at him with a look of utter repulsion, "Why the fuck are you holding her like that?"

Holding her? He hadn't even touched her! She'd ran into his arms!

"Get away! You get away from him!" The woman screamed at Apratim, pushing her weak but determined body right in front of Shaan like some kind of a human-shield.

Apratim looked shocked, as though he were struggling to comprehend the meaning of whatever was unfurling. Some raw survival instinct within Shaan made him look at the man with request, "Who's Rajeev? She keeps calling me that."

Realization marred Apratim's features and he shook his head dismissively. "Ring that bell."

Shaan turned towards the emergency bell the receptionist had shown him. No, this was his only chance of finding out what the hell was happening with Vandana. He couldn't give up so soon. Her mother was literally the only legit lead that they had found so far.

"Who's Rajeev?" He asked again, ignoring his earlier command.

"Did you not hear me?" Apratim demanded, "I asked you to ring that bell man!"

If not for the way the woman blocked the doorway, the man would have been able to ring the bell himself. Apratim couldn't walk past them now; without possibly worsening Vandana's mother's fit.