~Anidita~ of Love and Desire

S:3 Part:5

Bondita was awaken by the harsh rays of sunshine falling directly on her face.

Wait, when did I fall asleep? So, was it all a dream? No, a nightmare, it was. Bondita concluded.

But why does the mattress feel so hard under my back?

It was no mattress. Bondita realized she was lying on the ground. In front of her stood the Roy Chowdhury Haveli in all its glory.

So, it wasn't a nightmare. It was all real. Last night was real. She had wandered into this very mansion. Anklets. Giggles. Laughter. Then that whisper. She remembered running out after that strange encounter. In haste, she had missed a step and tripped. What happened afterwards?

Nothing. Bondita could remember nothing more. It was all blank. Perhaps, she fell unconscious and woke up only the next day.

The next day!

She is supposed to be getting married today. What time is it?

Realising she was laying on the ground, Bondita attempted to stand up, her head still heavy.

Where is my phone? Scanning the area where she had fallen, Bondita thought while trying to locate her phone to no luck.

She turned around, facing the massive Roy badi again as she started walking inside only to stop mid way to the entrance.

How is this possible? In one night?

Looking nothing as it was last night, the Roy Chowdhury Rajbari was indeed standing in all its glory. There wasn't a speck of dust on the stairs, nor were the pillars appearing weary. The main door, now devoid of spiderwebs and years of dust, was yet again showing off its splendid traditional carvings and art work.

She took a few steps back to take in the view of the enormous mansion as much as she could.

And Bondita couldn't look away, her eyes held captive by the stunning architecture of the decades old jomidar bari that appeared alive. Like it was never abandoned. To Bondita, it looked how it must have been when it was still a home to someone and not just another magnificent yet forgotten structure.

Her eyes wandered to the large veranda on the second floor. 

Is that---? How could it be?

A man? In this haveli that has been abandoned since ages? Was it him last night, playing tricks on her? But she heard a woman's voice, no?

No. She heard her own voice.

She stared at him. Where had she seen him before? No. No, not him. She had seen something like him. A shadow. A silhouette. Her imagination. Whatever it was.

But if he was really a creation of her imagination; how is he standing here, in flesh and blood? And is he---

Did he just look at me?

Bondita's head was bursting from all the thinking. She clutched her head. Black dots appeared in front of her eyes yet she refused to look away from the unrealistically familiar man while his eyes met hers. His eyes. They were the last thing she saw before darkness consumed her senses yet again.