A few things that happen in life, happen just because we didn't want them to. They happen to let us know hoe life works, beyond our plans. They happen to make us realise that life, death, happenings and mishappenings all are bound to happen on their own times and nothing could be change for the mere of wish of a human heart.

Changes are constant in life and they need to be respected at all costs. No matter how hard we try, we can never see our lives beyond what we feel or visualise in a moment. But we can try. Try to see beyond the reach of the conservative mind.

It was late afternoon, a day after Bondita had returned from Calcutta. It was a sunday and Rudhi had not gone to the school. Though she already had her plans fixed for the evening. Rudra and Monishika were coming to see her and play with her.

Rudhi was busy with her Kaka Dadu, downstairs while Anirudh and Bondita were sleeping in their bedroom.

Sleeping peacefully in his arms, her body was deprived of any clothing other than the blanket that covered them. She had been feeling a bit too hot lately and after they both had made love, she could care even less about changing into another cotton saree.
Even Anirudh wasn't wearing much, just a muslin dhoti loosely, rather carelessly wrapped around his lower body.

It has now been a whole day since Bondita hadn't left her room. How could she, when her Pati Babu didn't allow?

He had instructed the whole family, not to let Bondita work for atleast a day or two after she returned. And after knowing how weakened she had been feeling lately, his decision got even more firm.

"Baba! Maa!" There was a soft knock on the door.
"Are you both still sleeping?' She asked more as a whisper.

Anirudh being the light sleeper he was, instantly opened his eyes. He looked around for a moment, sinking into his surrounding and coming out of his slumber.

"Mishti" He whispered, getting up and tightening the dhoti around his waist.
"Just a minute, princess!" He murmured mindlessly, audible enough for Rudhi to hear and wait outside.

Glancing at Bondita and finding her sleeping without a piece of decent clothing around her body, a pink tint reached his cheeks.

How could she be so beautiful even while sleeping? She definitely knew some magic, it wasn't possible without that right? He thought to himself and picked up her blouse, gently pushing it past her arms and hooking it on the front.

Bondita didn't even budge a little in all of this. It wasn't that her Pati Babu's touch was something new to her. She had veen so acquired to it by now that it didn't feel something different then her own body's touch to her.

Walking to the door, Anirudh opened it and smiled at Rudhi happily. Picking her up in his arms, he closed the door and walked back to the bed.

"Maa is sleeping, we've to be quite." He whispered to her and made her lie on the edge, himself laying between Rudhi and Bondita.

Bondita wasn't wearing much clothes and he didn't want Rudhi to ask him more weird questions just after he woke up from a deep sleep.

"Baba, why did you put me in bed? I'm not sleepy! I came here to ask you is you can take me to eat Kulfi?" Rudhi asked excitedly, sitting up on the bed.

"Kulfi?" He asked with a frown and then looked at his wrist watch.
"Right now? It's 4 pm and Maa will wake up in a while."

"So?" Rudhi pouted.
"Won't you take your little, sweet princess to eat Kulfi?" She asked dramatically and he could just chuckle at her.

"Hmm. So you want to go for a Kulfi date with Baba?" He asked, pulling her closer and kissing her cheek.
"Okay, let's go! I'll just get ready. But let's not wake up your Maa, she's tired." He added, getting up from the bed.

"Okay! I'll wait in the drawing room!" She jumped off the bed happily and ran downstairs.

"Drama!" He shook her head and quickly pulled out fresh clothes from the cupboard and went for a shower.

.......

Wearing his yellow coloured shirt and a blue vest over it, Anirudh stood in front of the mirror, combing back his lightly wet hair.
Combing them back neatly, he bent down to pick up his watch and swiftly wrapped it around his left wrist. He still loved carrying his pocket watch but this was just more convenient.

His specs still layed carelessly on the bed side table and he walked to pick them up just before heading out.

That was when his eyes fell upon a sleeping Bondita. She always looked so pretty. Though her kumkum Bindi on the middle of her forehead had been smudged and lipstick faded away, she looked only as much beautiful as she looked at any other moment to Anirudh.

Smiling mindlessly, he bent down and touching her cheeks gently, placed a loving kiss on her head.

"Love you! We'll be back soon!" He whispered to her and walked out of the room to find Rudhi.

"Mishti!" He called, reaching downstairs.
"Come fast Maa! We'll get late!" He shouted, looking around.

"Chote Maalik!" Bihari Babu came running from outside.
"Rudhi Baby is already waiting near the car for you." He told with a smile and then went away to finish up his work.

"Madame doesn't wish to take any chances, I see!" He shook his head and walked outside.

"Baba! You took so long to get ready! Even Maa gets ready faster!" Rudhi whined as he walked near the car and unlocked the door.

"Really? Maa gets ready faster?" Anirudh stopped for a a moment and looked at Rudhi with a suggestive smirk.

"No!" She giggled and ran to the passenger's seat.

"Wait!" He called, walking to her and holding the door open for her.
"It's a date, Mishti. I'm at your service, your Highness!" He said bowing down with a smile making Rudhi giggle and even shy away happily.

"Thankyou!" She held her frock with etiquette and got inside the car.

.......

"How's the Kulfi, Madame?" Anirudh asked as Rudhi tasted the first bite of her freshly made Kulfi.

"It's so tasty, Babaa!" She said with pure contentment.

"Makes me feel graced!" He bowed his head again and she giggled.

"You're acting like that Prince Charming!" Rudhi giggled at him.

"Prince what?" He asked confusingly, eating his Kulfi.

"Baba Prince CHARMING!" Rudhi said louder this time.
"The one whom Cinderella married!"

Anirudh rolled his eyes at her fairytales but still he smiled at her happiness.

"Was he good?" He asked, taking another bite of his kulfi.

"He was sweet and he acted like you're doing right now!" Rudhi informed with a grin.

"Okay, Princess!" He said, feeding her a bite from his own kulfi.

..........

It was a forest, not a beautifully tamed one. The grass was tall and the trees huge. Bondita was running as fast as her legs could support. The pallu of her saree fell down her head and trailed on the ground behind her.

Her eyes were searching something, rather someone. She looked all around with tearful eyes, waiting for just one glimpse of him. The sun shining on her head with full rage. The nature seemed to be against her and so her destiny.

Her breaths ragged even quicker and finally she felt out of breath. Her knees felt immensely weak and her legs wobbled, making her fall down onto her knees as she shouted to the sky.

"PATIIII BABUUU!!"

That's when her eyes opened and she sat up on her bed. Her forehead sweating and her breath ragged. She looked to her right to see her Pati Babu but he wasn't there. It made her heart sink in fear.

It was certainly a dream... no, a nightmare. But she needed him. She needed to hug him tightly and hear him say that everything was fine and she need not fear when he was with her.

She got off the bed to go and take a shower. Walking to her wardrobe, she opened the doors to it and found her toiletry box kept with a note on it.

"Your toiletries have been restocked. Your monthly date is near." The note said.

She could just smile for a while at how amazingly her Pati Babu remembered everything about her without any fail. He never forgot the date to her menstrual cycle!

But, her smile faded away instantly. Her date was supposed to be last week. This note had been kept here since before she left for Calcutta. She hadn't noticed because Koyeli Didi had packed her stuff then. And after Bondita returned yesterday, she hadn't got the time to put her clothes back in the wardrobe or even check it.

Her heart sank. It had been a whole week late this month. But how? Her cycle was always so regular! Even Vibhavari was coming back tomorrow with Vansh, so Bondita didn't even have her to discuss this.

Suddenly, her heart was filled with a feeling. A feeling that she had been ignoring for the longest of time now. She knew this feeling. She knew how it felt.
She knew it so well, yet her heart wasn't allowing her mind and body to let this feeling sink in. She wasn't allowing herself to think that way!

"Pati Babu." She murmured, closing her eyes.

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

"Baba I'm done!" Rudhi forwarded the empty earthen cup to him.

"So am I!" Anirudh finished the last scoop of his cool Kulfi and handed both the cups to the vendor.
"Come here." He called her, bending down to her eye level.

Taking out his handkerchief from the pant pocket, he wiped her lips lovingly.

"You need to brush your teeth before sleeping, okay?" He told her.

"Okay Baba! Now let's go around the market!" Rudhi pulled onto his hand and started walking to the market.

Following her as he looked at his little daughter, a sense of happiness exploded his heart. Was she guiding him? He loved it.

His little princess was too young to guide him in the world, but he loved thinking this way. He loved imagining how she could guide him when she grows up and shows her old Baba new things.

When his eyesight would get worse and he won't be able to look at the world properly, his Mishti will become her eyes and show him around. When his old limbs won't be able to support a lot of walking, she'll tell him stories about far off places.

He was thinking a bit too much and expecting a lot, he knew. But don't parents always do this. They envision their child's future around themselves. They tend to expect their child to take care of them when they grow old. But do all children grow up to do this?

"Baba! Buy me the toy car!" A young boy was crying and whaling in front of a  toy shop. Anirudh came out of his chain of thoughts and looked at that boy with a frown.

The boy was shouting and stomping his feet angrily because his father had refused to buy him the toy he wanted.
The whole marketplace was looking at the boy irritably. Some people thought that the boy was being crazy. Others felt he should be bought the toy.  And a few other's were just irritated by his loud crying and shouting.

Anirudh shifted his gaze to look at Rudhi who was looking at the boy with a weird expression as well.

"What are you thinking Mishti?" Anirudh asked wanting to know what she felt.

"He shouldn't shout like that." She just murmured and looked away.
"If his Baba said no, he should respect that. Maa taught me that being stubborn is a bad habit." She informed looking at a far off flower vendor.

Anirudh wanted to laugh out loudly. Bondita taught her to not be stubborn? Wasn't she the most stubborn girl he ever found in his whole life? He thought and shook his head.

"That's really good!" He told Rudhi and walked with her on the street.
"My good girl!" He smiled at her.

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

That's all for this part. Hope you all liked this. Don't forget to vote and comment on this part❤️

Do let me know what you think about Rudhi and Anirudh's date?

How do you think will Bondita react to  this secret date without her?

What do you think about Anirudh's thoughts about his daughter?

And yes Rudra and Raghav are gonna come to meet Rudhi together. What do you think about it?

Do let me know in the comments!❤️

Love,
Author!❤️

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