Bondita has not even met Anirudh properly in this one shot. She just got a glimpse of him and then it all started. They are strangers, almost the same age.

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Sitting by the river bank, Bondita held her knees close to her chest as she breathed heavily. Was it possible to feel such things for a stranger?  The thoughts of the unknown stranger had occupied her heart in such a way that she could only think about him. She didn't even realize that it was already dark and that she should be returning home; her Mami would scold her surely.

The river water flowed gently and the breeze was sultry, it being the month of June. She now stared at the flowing water of the river, a blush warming up her cheeks. A smile crept on her lips when the wind slightly teased her. She hid her face behind her palms, her heart beating erratically. The red of her cheeks complimented the red saree that she wore, her hair flowing back till her waist. A few bangs of her loose hair covered her forehead.

She shouldn't feel these things for that unknown man whom she saw in the darkness of that beautiful night. But she couldn't help it. After calming her heart down, she picked up the earthern pot beside her and whilst smiling, shoved it into the stream, thus filling it up with water. 

She made her way back.

Bondita lied down on her back on the rugged mat. She tried hard to sleep but the vague recollection of those memories that he had left behind seemed to disrupt her sleep. She just stared at the crooked ceiling with her hands placed on her stomach. The room was dark. In the silence of the night, only the sound of her pounding heart could be heard. Her cheeks gained that prominent red yet again as she remembered how she had met him the other day.

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It was pitch dark and Bondita had been fondling with the end of her saree in anticipation. She had lost track of time and it was midnight. As she stood by the river bank eyeing the pot filled with water, she cursed herself under her breath. Bondita was a vivid dreamer and being a village girl, she had always fantasized about living a life in the city.

A few landlords would often visit the small village of Devipur, that too in those rustling motor cars. They amused Bondita's naive heart. She would often dream of sitting in one of those luxury cars and would always wonder what it would feel like to venture in the city. Given the fact that her Mami barely cared for her wellbeing , it was known to her that going to the city was a wild dream indeed. She had never stepped out of the village itself, let alone wandering around the busy cities!

And as Bondita was here again to fill up some water from the river, she had lost the track of time. She actually felt so foolish that she had drowned in her own world so much that she became completely oblivious to her surroundings and now she stood there all alone by the river side, contemplating what she should further do.

Her Mami was going to kill her with her sharp tongue alone. But Bondita knew that she could never escape from her scoldings. So she tried her best to come up with some nice excuses to cajole her. She shook her head.

Bondita had landed herself in trouble yet again!

Nevertheless, she picked up the pot and started walking back, away from the stranded river bank.

It was pitch dark, with no soul around. Bondita was already frightened and to add more, there was a jungle nearby. She had heard stories of people getting missing or lost in the thickness of the woods. She had even heard about a clan of goons who resided in the middle of the forest, who had tried to loot a few passengers who passed. And wild animals! What if some giant creature comes and eats her up!

Bondita gulped in nervousness with sweat trickling down her face. She hurried and pushed her steps forward. She was actually frightened now.

Dugga Maa, save your Bondita.

Bondita muttered under her breath. She cursed herself again.

When Bondita heard a loud growl, she felt all her blood rush down. She dropped the pot on the hard ground, breaking it to pieces. She let out a shrill scream and ran aimlessly, closing her eyes.

What she didn't notice was that in the darkness that engulfed her surroundings, she mistakenly ended up running towards the dense woods. She was so frightened.

Tears were trickling down her face but still with her eyes closed, she rummaged into the woods without even realising where she was headed. Her footwear was lost while running, she couldn't think of a thing. She was unable to process anything.

When she felt something prick her tender foot, she opened her eyes.

She looked around herself as tears flowed down. Where had she landed herself!?

She was not able to see anything clearly, only the moonlight helped in illuminating the surroundings. She realised that she was surrounded by huge tress with no soul around. Her insides twisted as fresh tears rolled down. She took a few steps back, only to stumble against the bark of a tree. Covering her mouth to control her sobs, she knelt down with her back on the tree trunk. She pulled her knees close to her chest and unable to control anymore, she broke down. She cried hysterically.

She didn't know the way out.

Was it the end?

For an innocent girl who had never ventured alone, this was scary. Yes, she was head strong with a sharp tongue, but  she had never thought that she'd be experiencing something like this.

She curled herself more against the tree, thinking of all the wretched possibilities.

She was crying with her head down when she felt something stir in front of her. A shiver ran down her spine and she dare not look up. She could sense the presence of a person. Was it on of those infamous goons?

She took a sharp breath when she felt a hand on her shoulder but she didn't look up out of fear. In her mind, she had reached the end of her life.

Suddenly, she heard the person say, "Are you alright, miss?"

It was a man. The deep mellow in his voice had surprisingly put her at ease for a moment. But what if it's some evil ploy?

"Miss?" he shook her shoulder.

Bondita knew that she had to look up now. She finally looked up.

She could not see his face. The moonlight didn't help her much. She could vaguely see his eyes which held concern. She could feel his strong frame, kneeling down on his knees to put her heart at ease. Bondita felt herself get drawn towards him. She didn't know why. Could she trust him? She tried her best to get a clear picture in her mind but her messed up feelings and her fear ended up tangling her thoughts even more.

He gently shook her shoulder again and asked, in that deep voice of his," Are you lost? Why are you crying?"

Bondita felt her insides explode. What was happening to her all of a sudden? She shouldn't feel this way! She felt her eyes getting wet with fresh tears. She had to trust this stranger, that's what her heart said. Even his face was not visible to her but somehow, she felt safe.

Much to his horror, her muffled cries turned to loud sobs. He held her shoulders tightly to help her. As they stood up, without any further notice, Bondita jumped in his arms. She embraced him tightly as she cried her heart out. Her tears were wetting his shirt and unable to process anything, his hands were still in mid air. He didn't expect this. But he knew that this innocent girl in front of him was scared. She needed warmth and love, so without wasting a moment more, he wrapped his arms around her tiny self and brushed her tresses softly. It was peaceful indeed.

Bondita sniffed, clutching the front of his shirt. She felt safe.

"It's alright. You don't need to worry." he whispered softly, trying to calm her down.

Bondita felt something churn inside her heart. She had never felt this way before.  It was as if she was floating in air, such was the effect of his endearing voice on her. He was so gentle with her. She clung to his body more as if trying to hide herself away in his strong arms forever.

She had her eyes closed when she heard him say," Are you fine now?"

That's when it dawned upon her that in an attempt to save herself and escape from her fear, she had curled herself in the arms of a stranger. Her cheeks heated up almost instantly and with a hard push on his chest, she broke away from his safe embrace. This made him stumble on the ground and he groaned.

She cursed herself under her breath. What would he think of her? She had so desperately clung to him! Would he not think low of her? Her cheeks were burning in embarassment and she looked away. She was blushing profusely. She fiddled with the end of her saree and tried to think of a way out of this mess.

She felt him standing up and in no time, he was standing just behind her. Her breath hitched.

"Is this how you treat someone who helped you? You just pushed me on the ground and it would be a lie if I exclaim that it didn't hurt me. It did hurt me" he muttered near her ear playfully and she could feel her cheeks getting warm.

Her heart was beating hard against her chest and she had somehow sensed that this man was a gentleman. She had made it our from their small encounter.

Mustering up some courage, she turned around only to get bumped against something hard. She bumped against his chest. Was he really standing so close to her? She looked up at him and immediately cursed the night for she couldn't see him properly. She could only see his orbs which were so deep and shiny. When she sensed their proximity, her cheeks warmed up and in nervousness, she placed her hands on his chest and pushed him hard yet again. He took a few steps back only to stumble against a broken twig and he fell to the ground again. He let out a loud groan.

She closed her eyes and turned around.

She didn't know what prompted her to do that but she just ran away from there after muttering a 'sorry' to him. She couldn't handle the baggage of these unknown emotions wavering inside her heart. What was she feeling?

He did shout back " Wait! You will get lost again!"

But Bondita paid no heed and ran straight, her heart beating erratically inside her chest.

To her relief, she saw a group of people at a distance with some fire torches in their hands. They belonged to the village. She sighed as she knew that they had come for her.

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As she reminisced the moments of that beautiful night, she could not help but smile. It had been long and she still couldn't help but think about him. With her mind clouded with his thoughts she drifted back to sleep.

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Anirudh had not slept properly. No, it wasn't workload. He was a Barrister who wanted to bring change, to stir revolution inside the hearts of people. So to fulfil this dream of his, he would often visit the countryside to get a wider view of the condition of people, especially women. If was true that the country was oppressed under colonial rule but the women were chained by patriarchy and meaningless customs in addition to the British rule.

On one trip to Devipur in his car, he had lost track of time and it was midnight when he was driving back home. But to his disappointments, his car stopped near the outskirts of a nearby forest and he saw black fumes hovering all around the engine. He was so frustrated. He already had an uneventful meeting with the Sarpanch of the village while debating about a few customs and on top of it, his car stopped midway in the middle of nowhere!

He cursed his fate as he got down and kicked the tyre, in turn hurting his own foot. He suppressed a painful groan as he closed his eyes.

As he looked around for some help, a loud wail had reached his ears and he was immediately alarmed. A feminine voice filled with pain. He knew he wasn't far away from the owner of the voice as it was quite clear. He had then followed the voice and as he neared, it became more shrill and clear. He was nervous when he stepped in the forest but he knew that he had to help her.

He finally found a girl sitting near the edge of a huge tree with her head down. She wailed loudly. She is lost maybe. He thought in his mind.

It was dark and he could not see her properly.

The sight of the helpless girl pricked his heart and  he kneeled down in front of her and tapped her shoulder gently. He knew that she was scared of the surroundings and she must be scared of him too.

After a lot of futile attempts, she had finally looked up. Though he could not see her face but her eyes were in his view. The sight of her teary eyes was enough to make his heart jump. That's when she started wailing loudly and he pulled her up, clutching her shoulders tightly.

And time finally stopped when she placed her head on his chest, sobbing to her heart's content. He froze on his spot and after battling his thoughts, he had wrapped his arms around her ever so tightly while brushing her luscious locks.  She was so tiny in front of him and he suddenly felt like protecting this little soul from the world.

He rememberd how she had pushed him and ran away from there. But he knew that she had stirred some emotion in his heart which he had never felt before.  The feeling of her not being in his arms anymore had disrupted his mind. He felt gloomy.

That unknown girl had done something strange to him and he knew that he needed to find her.

His visits to Devipur were frequent in his quest of finding the unknown girl who was the owner of those beautiful almond eyes. Anirudh felt that he was fortunate enough to have enjoyed the feeling of her being close to him and her eyes meeting his. They had met for a brief moment and if he didn't find her now, then he'd never be able to sleep.

On his visits to Devipur, he had often inquired  people about the girl. Alas! He didn't even know her name!

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Anirudh sat by the stranded river bank of Devipur. His attempts to find that girl had turned out to be futile. He wasn't frustrated but dissapointed and gloomy. He wondered if that girl had ever tried to find him. It had been a few months to that beautiful encounter and he had little hope of finding her. What if her family had got her married to someone else? The thought alone made him clench his fists in anger. He didn't know why he felt so much attached to someone whom he met by chance. He hadn't even seen her properly to say the least. On top of everything, he felt like a fool to not have asked her name on that day itself.

But he remembered her sugary voice. She had just mumbled a 'sorry' to him but he loved it.

He had seen quite a lot of girls but they didn't resemble to her. He knew that if she ever came in his sight, he would recognise her immediately.

He threw a stone in the river, making the water splash. Dusk was nearing and the sky was painted with a crimson hue. Battling with his thoughts, he stood up and dusted his clothes.

Maybe it was his last visit here. After this, he had decided that he won't come back here.

He looked around the river bank and noticed a girl standing there, just a few metres away from where he sat. She was probably trying to draw some water out from the river. Her back faced him and he could not see her. She was wearing a violet saree wrapped around her in traditional Bengali style and her long beautiful locks were left open. He like a possessed soul inched closer. As he stood a few inches away from her, he tapped her shoulder gently.

As she turned around, Anirudh froze at his spot and so did she.

The same pair of eyes that he had seen the other day were weaving magic into his soul. He felt himself get captivated under her spell. He looked at her face intently and he was awed by her beauty. Her kohl rimmed eyes, her plump lips and her hair swaying made his heart beat rapidly. She was the same girl. He had been searching for her from so long. A tear trickled down his face and he immediately wiped that off as he continued to gaze at the beautiful girl in front of him.

It was no different for Bondita. When his eyes met hers, she knew that it was him after all! Her heart jumped in ecstasy as she stared at the stranger. Her hands itched to trace his handsome features but she refrained from doing that. She was just staring at him, spellbound and amazed.

They let their eyes do the talking as their mouths were sealed because of those overwhelming emotions that they experienced. They didn't speak a word and just looked at each other.

A sound disrupted their sweet encounter and when they realised that they had been staring at each other from so long, they looked everywhere but at each other.

Anirudh tried to form the right words. Why was he suddenly nervous? Bondita stood frozen at her spot, her cheeks burning red.

After a few moments, Anirudh uttered,"Um..do you remember me?"

He looked hopefully at her and she smiled back at him, fighting with her nervousness.

Taking a few steps back, she uttered, "Of course, I remember..."

But she couldn't complete as her foot twisted and she knew she'd fall in the river. Anirudh's eyes widened in shock and he held her wrist. But instead of pulling her out, his foot itself got tangled somewhere and with a splash, they fell into the cold river water.

When the water hit her skin, Bondita shrieked loudly and clung to Anirudh's neck,"I don't know how to swim! Save me!"

Anirudh was still not able to process what had happened a moment ago and hearing her scream added up more to his amazement. The effect of the water hitting them both had still not completely let him have clear view of his surroundings but when he heard her squeal, he wrapped his arms around the waist of a drenched Bondita who had clung to his neck in haste.

It finally struck him that they were actually just near the shore, the water must be shallow. So instead of hitting his feet in the water, he attempted to stand and to his relief, he could stand properly. As expected by him, the water was shallow on the edges. The water reached till his chest.

As he finally registered everything, his  breath hitched when he felt Bondita's warm breath tickling the crook of his neck. She was leaning completely on him as she shivered in fear with her eyes closed. The wet strands of her hair stuck to her beautiful face. His arms were intact around her slim waist and even air couldn't pass through the space they had between their bodies. Anirudh could feel his heart beating wildly inside his chest and his ears had turned pink on account of the emotional rush that he experienced.

Bondita was still frightened and on instinct, she only tightened her hold on his neck. Her breath tickled his skin as she muttered," Can we please get out of the water?"

Anirudh obliged and without even thinking twice, slipped his arm under her knees and picked her up. Bondita gasped loudly and her eyes widened in shock. Her cheeks were red from all the blushing and her heart exploded with all sorts of foreign feelings she had not experienced before.

As he got out of the river, he made her stand on her feet. His hands were still around her waist while she had his shirt tightly clasped in her palms. They didn't even realise that they were standing dangerously close to each other. So much close that they could feel each other's breath. Their clothes were sticking to their skin like second skin and as they looked at each other with an unknown longing, desire erupted from both ends.

Looking at her intently, Anirudh asked ," Won't you say anything?"

Still under daze and captivated by him, Bondita uttered," What is there to say?"

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I hope it didn't bore you.