“Boro Malik is waiting for you.” Bihari’s words made Aniruddha look confused. “He has something to talk about.” Aniruddha eyed the watch on his left hand; it was past dinner time. He stepped into the house to find voices in the living room. He walked in curiously and found Trilochon speaking to a guest.
“There he is!” Before Aniruddha could answer Trilochon’s queries, his eyes fell on the guest.
Saudamini stood up, turning to him with a formal smile. She looked different with the Sindoor and Shakha Pola, a Tant saree and a gold chain around her neck. Aniruddha was a little surprised to see her, and it showed on his face, perhaps as Trilochon briefed him that Mini was here to sell off the property belonging to her father and wanted some legal advice. Aniruddha nodded, smiling back at her as he directed her to the study.
“Oh, Mini is here to sell off the house.” Bondita looked wide-eyed at Kalindi and shook her head. “Why did you not tell me that before? I will go see her now.” She was about to leave when Kalindi stopped her by holding her upper arm.
“She is not home, she is at Roy Chowdhury’s for some legal issue she wants help with.” Kalindi made her nod. She wondered if Aniruddha was fine with that, but let it slide. “She is here alone?” Kalindi shook her head. “Her younger son is here with her. He is right about the age she met you first.” Bondita smiled as she decided to meet Mini first thing in the morning.
Aniruddha tossed his watch on the desk after removing it and let her sit on the client’s chair as he took his high chair and placed his elbows on the desk.
“Tell me how I can help.” He asked. Mini took out some papers from her bag and placed them on the desk. “These are all under my father’s name. So, they need to be transferred to me for selling…” Aniruddha eyed the papers.
“It's been years, they are still not in your name?” He asked. Mini shook her head.
“I haven’t come back since he passed. I was busy with my boys’ schooling.” Aniruddha eyed her with a smile. He would have never imagined Mini having such priorities. She talked of modelling so passionately once upon a time. He cleared his throat as he went through the papers, adjusting his glasses.
“How are your boys?” He tried to recollect names in vain.
“They are good.” Mini smiled. “Gaurav is in eighth standard now. He stays in a hostel. His father insisted. Saurav just turned eleven.” Aniruddha caught her smile, enough to realise she purposefully told their names because he forgot. He looked a little awkward as she added, “Saurav is here with me. I will bring him sometime.” Aniruddha nodded.
“The papers look fine. I would need Uncle’s death certificate, and I can get to work tomorrow. First, we have to deal with taxes and then...” He removed his glasses. “I will tell you the process tomorrow.”
“Yes.” Mini stood up. “It's late, you must be tired. Jethu was saying You still work for the villages.”
“Yes, I do.” He nodded. “Now Bondita wants to go back…” Mini looked confused as he eyed her. “Jethu did not tell you that?” Mini shook her head.
“Oh, she has been back since… her graduation. She is a lawyer now.” An involuntary proud smile appeared on his lips.
“Oh!” Mini exclaimed. “I must meet her.” She gushed. “It's been such a long time. And a lawyer, huh?” She raised her brows. “You must be so proud.” Aniruddha suddenly felt flustered as he nodded.
“I… yes… we all are.” He nodded as Mini eyed him. “I have so much to catch up with her. Why didn’t Jethu tell me?” She exclaimed. Aniruddha smiled. “You haven’t talked to her since she left, right?” Mini nodded as she wondered.
“She must have changed.”
“Not so much…” Aniruddha murmured. Mini suddenly looked amused.
“The last time I talked to her, we had plans that did not happen.” Aniruddha frowned at her words inquiringly as she shook her head, amused.
“She came to me crying because you wanted her to go to boarding…” Mini shrugged. ‘She said she would never leave.” Aniruddha frowned a little at her words.
“When was that?”
“The morning you left for Delhi, I guess. She went to Dehradun that week, right?” Mini tried to remember. Aniruddha leaned in, wondering, “So she told you she doesn’t want to leave?” Mini nodded. “What changed her mind?” Mini could not tell. He asked if someone had said something, perhaps. Mini disapproved of the theory because she had been in the Roy Chowdhury house that evening, and Bondita refused to come and help with the preparations for Satya Narayan Puja, and she assumed it was because she was angry. “But she never refused to help even when she was angry with you,” Mini added. Aniruddha frowned.
“How often was she angry with me?” His confused question made Mini smile, amused. “Every time you two fought over the most trivial things.” She shook her head. “You never treated her like a child her age; she never treated you as an adult.” Aniruddha looked up at her words and cleared his throat. “I was going home that night when she came to see Jethu. They left the next afternoon, and she did not even …” Mini shook her head. “I will pull her ear for not telling me she was leaving. She did not even attend the wedding…” Aniruddha looked up at her, wondering.
“So you were the last person she talked to before she left?” Mini looked a little shocked, like she realised it just then and nodded. “I suppose so.”
“What else did you talk of?” Aniruddha asked. Mini looked confused. Then she chuckled, amused. “ I guess it's embarrassing now.” Aniruddha waited for a clearer answer as she smiled. “I told her I wanted to settle down. Baba would talk to Binoy uncle…” Aniruddha stopped breathing for a second as he stared at Mini and inhaled. “She was confused, poor girl…” Aniruddha opened his mouth but was unsure of what to say. Mini stared at the wall clock and exclaimed. “Oh dear, I took so much of your time. I will see you tomorrow. Goodnight?” Aniruddha nodded unsurely as Mini left, and he sank back into his chair, wondering. None of it seemed to make sense to him. His eyes fell on an invitation that had arrived from his senior while he was away. He opened the invite to see that his first boss in Kolkata would be hosting a cocktail party on his anniversary at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club, and the RSVP mentioned a plus one and had an email ID. Aniruddha kept the invitation in the envelope, making a mental note to mention to Bondita to RSVP on his behalf. He wondered if he should ask her to come along. It would also help her contacts in the field get better offers than the ones she rejected. Aniruddha’s hand stopped at the envelope as a thought came to mind. Maybe the answers he was looking for were with him all along.
He hurried to his room, took out the box from under his bed and started looking through it. He had kept her letter in there somewhere, without opening it. Aniruddha sat down on the floor, legs crossed, as he found the letter. He opened it carefully, using a paper cutter, careful enough not to tear the paper, but it was damp and could not be unfolded without tearing apart. Aniruddha put it back in the envelope and sighed. He could not ask her, could he? He tried opening the letter again; this time, the last folds unfolded, and he could read some of the content. She talked of hostel life and how happy she was with her choices. She had said she made new friends and that he was right, boarding was indeed better for her. Aniruddha frowned at the letter. He had expected it to be full of complaints and accusations. She painted a different picture of her life away from home. He eyed the end paragraph.
Give my regards to Mini Didi. Wishing you a happy life, Yours, Bondita.
Aniruddha shook his head as he wondered if things would have been different had he opened the letter a decade ago. Maybe he would have written to her and stayed in touch. Perhaps explained that she was wrong to assume things based on Mini’s version. But then he would not have missed her presence, and he waited for her. He would not have discovered the woman he knew and admired. Things could have been different. Perhaps less messed up than they were.
