The dawn broke with the first rays of the Sun touching the yellow petals as She fluttered awake. The Night seemed too long at times for the Sunflower as she waited for a glimpse of the Sun again, to feel his warmth again. At times, she wished she were a bird and could travel with the Sun, East to West every day. That way, she would never miss him!
But sometimes she loved the feeling of longing, of waiting for daylight like her life depended on it. She was bound to her roots; she couldn’t set herself free from the Soil, her nurturing Mother. All she could do was raise her head and follow him, as he travelled clueless, about how long she had waited. The Sun had no idea that the Sunflower existed. He had a million others like her. But the Sunflower’s life and reason to live was the Sun. One day, the rays took pity on her, as she yet again shed tears watching him leave behind a trace of red light on the western horizon. The Rays told the Sun about the Sunflower and her silent waiting. The Sun was amazed at how someone’s life is affected by him, and he was so clueless. One day, as the Night put the Sunflower into a deep slumber, the Sun appeared in her dreams.
“Why, O Beautiful Yellow Heart, Do You wait upon this Clueless Soul?” He asked as she appeared speechless in her dreams. “ Don’t you fear my blazing heat? Don’t you fear it will dry you someday?”
“ No My Love, I don’t!” She replied without a thought.
“But Why?” He asked, amazed.
No one dared to look him in the eyes, let alone love him. No one was there to share his burdens or be a part of his journeys; he was always alone.
“ Because you are my reason to live. Because you travel the sky, and I follow you in my heart, maybe I am attached to my roots, but I am always with you, in my soul and heart.”
The Sun smiled as his image faded in her dream. She woke to find a ray had reached her. Her wait was over for the day. She smiled.
The Sun now looked forward to visiting the yellow patch of the field every day, unknowingly, there she was staring up with hope every day. He smiled as he made sure a special ray reached her every day. He could never meet her; she could never be his. But their hearts spoke in silence every day. She knew the warmth was special to her.
One day, Ray had a message. From the Sun.
“ Why do you wait upon the Love that can never have a happy ending?” She smiled at the Sun’s question.
“Because Home is ... where You are!”
He smiled to himself as she stared up, looking at each other, and the warmth of their love spread across the earth.
It had been a month since Bondita had started working in the firm. With Somnath’s wedding date being set for winter, many things were keeping Trilochon and Kalindi busy as they took charge of the smooth running of things leading up to the wedding. They needed to shop for everyone, buy gifts and choose jewellery and sarees for the bride. Despite his attempts, Trilochon found Binoy reluctant to participate in his son’s wedding arrangements. Somnath took him and Kalindi to places they wanted to go, especially Kolkata for shopping, and Trilochon made arrangements to make sure that the first wedding of the generation was grand enough. Bondita tried to help as much as she could as she noticed Aniruddha being oddly aloof from the entire thing. She assumed it was due to Trilochon’s reactions to his lack of interest in marriage. Trilochon kept pestering her to enquire into his reasons while she kept stalling him with excuses. Bondita also failed to know more about Kalindi and Trilochon’s past, ...