Barrister Babu

Chapter 50: A Genuine Smile

Bondita's eyes grew as wide as saucers.

"Patibabu... gun?"

"Barrister babu, please forgive me!" the woman folded her hands and sat on the ground, tears pouring from her eyes in fear.

Anirudh didn't like seeing a woman begging in front of him like that — but nobody had the right to hurt his wife — his Bondita. All he could see was red.

Bihari stood in his spot and glanced at Bondita, who shook her head.

"Bih—" Anirudh was interrupted by Bondita, who whispered into his ear.

"Leave it, Patibabu. Let's focus on Chandni's matter, please. I am okay."

"Okay?" He looked at her in disbelief. "Khoon nikal raha hai tumhara."

"Forgive me, please, Zamindar Babu," the woman went to Trilochan.

"Yeh baat toh tumhe zamindar ke ghar ke bahu ke upar patthar marne se pehle sochna chahiye tha," Batuk grumbled.

Before Anirudh could say anything further, Bondita said, "Let's go inside. Please."

One look at her, and he sighed. Her wound needed to be tended and he knew she wouldn't until he obeyed her words.

He sighed and took out his handkerchief, gently placing it on her forehead. "Ek minute do," he mumbled and she nodded curtly.

"Jaswant Kaka," Anirudh glanced at him and said, "Chandni is in a very nice place. Trust your daughter for once. Give her a chance to fly. Don't cut her wings. If you really love and care for your daughter, then pray for her so that she can achieve what she dreamt of."

Jaswant's anger vanished at Anirudh's calm words. Jaswant did care for his daughter. Surprisingly, merely hearing that his daughter was in a good place gave him relief. Probably because he knew that Barrister Babu meant every word he said.

Without another word, Jaswant left from there. Other villagers also sauntered away, though half of them did disappear already when Anirudh said to bring the gun.

"Bondita Malkin, I am so sorry," cried the woman, who was still sitting on the ground. "Please, forgive me."

Bondita helped her get up. "Kaki, auraat ke dushman auraat hote hai — yeh kahawat suni hai apne?"

The woman hesitantly nodded.

Bondita managed to give her a small smile. "If possible, do something so that this proverb becomes a lie. That's all I want from you."

The woman was stunned. She heard about Bondita — the entire village knew about her. She hated her guts even though she barely encountered her before, but after hearing her words today, she understood why education was needed. And now she would make sure her two daughters receive proper education.

"Thank you so much, Malkin," this time, the tears in her eyes were of gratitude.

###

"Gun? Seriously, Patibabu?" Bondita said with frown as Anirudh was treating her wounds.

"What's wrong with that? We are Zamindars so we do have guns in our house. You know that," he replied to her, cleaning the blood.

"You sound like Batuk," as soon as she said that, she winced in pain.

Anirudh felt a pang in his chest seeing her wince since he was applying antiseptic. "This is why we need guns and rifles."

She rolled her eyes dramatically. "The way you are going, one of these days, you might end up carrying a gun in a holster."

He finally finished putting on a bandage and twitched his lips. "It's not a bad idea. I might do that."