"A daughter isn't a possession, she's a flower that is nurtured by all elements of the nature and the society. They do not belong to a single family, they are to be equally loved and respected by all around them."

Anirudh returned quickly after Bondita's train departed. He had a few appointments for the afternoon and thus was quite free right now.

"Kaka!" Young Vansh came running to him as soon as Anirudh entered the Haveli.
"Did you drop Rudhi Didi to school safely?" He asked innocently as Anirudh had bent and picked up the little boy in his arms, kissing his cheek.

"Yes, my prince. I dropped your Didi safely!" He chuckled.
"But are you upto? Did you have your breakfast?"

"Yes, I did." Vansh lied.

"Naughty Boy! You're such a lier!" Vibhavari walked to them, gently pulling Vansh's ear.
"No Dada, he has been a bad boy and hasn't eaten his breakfast till now!" She told, worrying as she was getting late for work as well.

"Don't worry Vibha, I'll feed him. You just leave for work and tell Bihari to hand me the breakfast in my room itself." He smiled at her, before turning to Vansh.
"And you little boy, let's have breakfast together!" Saying this, Anirudh kissed his cheek yet again.

..............

"Yeah, so tell me! How does the cow say?" Anirudh was asking Vansh about various things while he fed him with his own hands.

"Moooooo- moooo!!" Vansh pouted his lips and imitated a cow, giggling as Anirudh filled his mout with another morsel.

"Very good!" Anirudh smiled.

"Where's Kakima?" He suddenly asked, looking around the room.

"Kakima has gone put for some work! She will come back in some days, don't worry." Anirudh smiled, forwarding another morsel to his mouth.

But Vansh's eyes had widened. He looked at Anirudh with a pout, gently pushing his hand away.

"Day?" She asked with large sad eyes.
"No, you call her now! Vansh won't eat anything if Kakima isn't here!" He folded his arms angrily and Anirudh just chuckled at how Bondita was everyone's favourite.

"Oh my prince! I'll make you talk to her in the evening when you'll come back after playing from the park. Right now eat this, or Kakima will scold you for not eating properly." Anirudh told him sweetly.

"Okay! Though my Kakima never scolds me but I'll eat anyways, because that you are insisting!" Vansh said with extra attitude which he had recently learnt from his Rudhi Didi.

"Yes please!" Anirudh chuckled, feeding him.
"Such Nautanki kids we have in this home!" He shook his head with a smile.

..............

That evening, after returning from court, Anirudh was helping Rudhi complete her homework. They had covered most of it by now, and only a little more work was left.

"Baba, now this one!" Rudhi handed him another notebook from her bag while he was still checking the first one.
"You need to draw a cat and I'll colour it." She informed sincerely.

"Wait, you've written the counting wrong baccha!" He said, picking up the eraser and rubbing it onto her Maths notebook, erasing a few numbers.
"It's 7,8,9. Not 7,9,8!" He told her, handing her the pencil to write again.

"Ohhhhhh!" She looked at him cutely, her eyes wide.

"Yes Madam, write it!" He chuckled, with a shake of head as he picked up her english notebook in which he needed to draw a cat!

"A cat, Rudhi?" He asked, picking up the pencil and flicking it between his fingers.
"Isn't that tough?" He frowned, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Maa draws it easily, Baba. Don't you know how to draw a cat?" Rudhi pouted at him.

"Ofcourse, your Maa is the best!" He sighed, almost like admitting it again.
"But Baba doesn't how to draw. And cat is a tough one, Mishti!" He told, biting his lower lip between his teeth as he stared at the page which he hadn't even stained with the pencil yet.

"Let me still try!" He narrowed his eyes, staring at the page and started to draw.

He glided the pencil and drew a few strokes. Picked up the eraser and erased it. Again he drew it and erased it. Rudhi was sitting in front of him, her chin rested onto her hand as she waited for her father to complete the drawing.

It took him almost five tries to complete his artwork and turning it around to show Rudhi.

"How's it? Sent it perfect?" He asked feeling proud of himself, looking at the cat with immense pride.

"Baba..." Rudhi stared at the picture for a while before raising her eyebrow and looking at him with suspicion.
"Isn't that a rat?" She asked.

"Wha... What?" He frowned, feeling offended and looking at his artwork again.
"It... It's a cat baccha!" He told, confused about why would Rudhi call his beautiful cat a rat?

"Baba this is clearly not a cat!" She said, still looking at him with a bit irritation.

"Oh. Okay! I- I'll just d- draw it.... again." He murmured and painfully erased his beautiful artwork.

Anirudh Roy Chowdhary, who was perfect in everyone's eyes, wasn't as perfect though. But one thing he could never do was, draw! He had never scored good in his art classes either. Never had he been able to understand how people drew things so well? He could paint though, which was a long lost thing now.

Drawing the cat all over again, he showed it Rudhi. But she just giggled at first and then broke into fits of laughter.

"Baba! That's.... That's not a cat!" She laughed her lungs out, almost tripping to the ground, holding her stomach which ached.
"That looks like a Monkey!!!" She laughed, pressing her hand onto her mouth.

Anirudh frowned at her, narrowing his eyes as Rudhi clearly insulted his draeing and him too maybe.
This girl is definitely her Maa's daughter! He thought to himself and pressed his hand onto his forehead.

"Enough! stop laughing Mishti!" He huffed like a child, pouting his lips cutely.
"Baba doesn't know how to draw, that's the issue!" He pouted, confessing in front of his daughter.

This was a quality he possessed. He never feared confessing his inabilities or imperfections. Rudhi had stopped laughing and stood up straight, looking at her Baba.

"So shall I not do this homework today?" Rushi asked, being happy that she wouldn't have to study more.
"Can I go and play with Vansh then?" She asked, closing her notebook.

Anirudh lifted his eyes from the notebook and narrowed his eyes at her.
He quickly opened her notebook again and spoke, making her pout.

"Very Smart! You'd not need to do that, Ms. Rudhaanshi!" He informed.
"Go to your Mallika Chachi, and request her. She'll draw it for you." He said, handing her the notebook and the pencil.

"Okay Baba." She pouted sadly.
"But I can play after that right?" She asked.

"Yes, once you colour it and show it to me, you can go out and play." Anirudh replied, picking up his file and getting to work now.

Rudhi smiled happily and ran to him, kissing his cheek quickly before running out of the study.

"SLOWER SWEETHEART!" Anirudh yelled with a shake of his head, smiling as she ran up the stairs in a rush.
..............

Bondita had reached her hotel room and checking- in at the reception, she asked for the room number allotted to her.

"Madame, it's room number 248. This way, second floor please." The receptionist was an old British lady and she guided Bondita to go the left side corridor which led to a staircase for the floors above.

"Thankyou so much, Mrs. Jackson!" Bondita replied with a smile, noticing the little metal name card on the woman's dress.

"Have a good time, Madame." The lady smiled gently.
'You can ring the bell outside your room if you'd need something." She informed and handed Bondita the keys.

"Um..... I wanted to ask, where is the telephone here? I'd need one to make daily calls." Bondita enquired.

"There's a telephone at the end of the front corridor, you can access it anytime." The old lady pointed to the corridor and Bondita could see a small table between a sofa set with he telephone on it.

"That'd work, thankyou! Good Night!" Bondita greeted and walked upstairs to find her room.

As she entered the room, a pleasing fragrance of fresh lavenders reached her nose and her mind was instantly cleared of all her thoughts. It felt so soothing that she felt she could just forget the world and relax in this room for long hours.

As soon as she closed the door, there was a knock. The porter had brought her luggage and she told him to keep on the couch inside the room before he left and she locked the door again.

Walking by the length of her room, she went towards the window and moved the curtains aside, letting fresh air come inside the room. It was almost night but the sky was still tinted in shades of pink and purple from the light tinge of sunlight that was still left.

She quickly opened her suitcase and pulled out a fresh bedsheet and blanket to use as she barely trusted the hygiene of these hotels. She was aslo just way too particular about all this stuff though.

Lying on her bed after a quick shower and change of clothes, she fell asleep. The train journey had been tiring without any companion, especially her Pati Babu. She had wished to call him before she slept but her tiredness didn't let her leave the bed once she got into the covers.
.......

That night, after dinner, Batuk and Somnath had taken Rudhi and Vansh out for an ice- cream party. Vibhavari and Mallika had also gone with them, while the elders preferred sleeping early like they always did.

Anirudh was sitting alone in his study, reading a bunch of letters that he needed to answer. After he had finished writing five letters of reply, he stretched back onto his chair feeling exhausted. It had been a long day and that too without Bondita by his side. Immediately, a thought struck his mind.

Bondita must've reached to her hotel by now! Then why hadn't she called him yet? Was she safe? Did she need him Or was it just that he was thinking too much? Anirudh sighed and decided to wait for her call till tomorrow morning.

He suddenly thought of writing a letter to Mallika's father which he had already planned a few days before, but had forgotten.

Pulling out a fresh sheet of paper from the bundle of letter sheets, he started to write to Mr. Sahni.

Respected Mr. Sahni,

I hope you're doing fine with both health and your business. I'd like to inform you first, Mallika is doing absolutely well too.

I writing a letter to you is clearly the first time experience for us both. You might jut know me as your son- in- law's elder brother, but I clearly have a wider knowledge about your nature through your daughter.

She always tells me how many gifts and jewels and dresses you got her from markets across the whole world. But what you didn't get for her was..... YOU. She as a daughter has always been craving for your time and a single expression of your love.

Don't get me wrong, Uncle. I'm not questioning your love for Mallika. I'm sure you love her immensely. I too am a father to a beautiful daughter and so I know pretty well how a father's life resides in his daughter, in his children.

I'm pretty sure your love for Mallika is deep and beautiful in it's own way. But what I want to bring to your attention is, your daughter needs you.

Mallika and Batuk have been going through a lot since the past few months. Still, they've been smiling through it all, being just the way they are, happy and cheerful.

Their longing for a child is something which cannot be ignored, yet cannot be fulfilled so easily. They did try a lot and pray a lot too, but failed in all of it.

What I want to address isn't their problem, it's about a solution. Batuk and Mallika have carved out a plan to go to Italy and adopt a child there. You might know how tough of a thing this is in India and no one the family would accept it either. Even everyone else does, our Trilochan Kaka won't.

This decision is totally their's and I still don't support it. But my wife says it's the best for them if they wish so.
I hereby just want to request you to come and meet your daughter once. She needs you in these hard times of her life. She needs your love and your support to know that her father or as she calls you, her Bauji is with her in this.

Mallika needs you by her side, Mr. Sahni. You are her father and you'll always be her eternal support system, even from away. Even if you write her a letter or make a phone call, it'd be enough for her heart to know that you're with her. That's the only thing she needs the most right now, your love.

I hope you'll read this letter with an open mind and consider my request as a son's. I hope I haven't crossed any of my lines in the love of my little sister.

Hoping to see or hear from you soon.

Yours,
Anirudh Roy Chowdhary

..................

He wrote the letter and kept in an envelope, putting it aside with the bunch of letters to be posted tomorrow.

.........

That's all for this part!❤️
Hope you all enjoyed reading this!❤️

Don't forget to vote and comment on this chapter!❤️

How was the bond between Anirudh and Vansh?

What do you think about Rudhi's school homework and her Baba's Drawing skills? 🤭

Is drawing a cat easy?
For me it isn't!😭😂

How do you think Bondita's time at Calcutta go?

How was the letter from Anirudh to Mallika's Baba?
I personally felt so emotional writing it. 🥺❤️

Anything else that stood out to you?

Don't forget to share your thoughts through the comments!❤️

Love,
Author!❤️

......