Anirudh- The Story Of A Misread Barrister

Chapter-3: Realization

"I will slap you Anirudh", kaka said raising his hand in anger, but stopped abruptly and burst into tears.

"I had never expected that I will raise hand on my Anirudh.", he stated, looking pathetically into my eyes and cried. I couldn't control myself anymore, so I hugged him and apologized, while tears flowed incessantly from my eyes. For a moment, he forgot his anger, as his fatherly affection for me got invoked. I too became a small child before him and sought solace in his embrace. Though he is my father's elder brother, he has raised me and my brothers just like his own sons. I am very much attached to him than I am to my biological father. However, he instantly broke the hug and questioned me seriously claiming his fatherly authority over me.

"How many times did I tell you not to take any decisions under the influence of your obsession and rage?".

"Kaka, I had already told you that, whatever I did was to save Bondita from the toxicity of the social evil called child marriage. She got distracted from studies, because she shifted her concentration from studies to becoming a good wife.", I explained.

"Anirudh........... What is wrong if she want to become a good wife? After all, every married woman aims to become a good wife and a good daughter-in-law.", he shouted.

"Today, my fatherly affection for you might have stopped my hand from slapping you, but my fatherly affection for Bondita, will not leave you until it makes you realize your mistakes. Well, did you succeed in your plan? Now that Bondita came to know the entire truth, do you think she will study well and leave her obstinacy of becoming a good wife? Anirudh, she is just a twelve year old. There are hundreds of ways to explain her, without breaking her heart.

You tell me, Anirudh; in this process of teaching Bondita a lesson, if you had lost her forever, then what you should have done? Did you think about this? If not, then start thinking now. It's never too late. Next time think hundred times before you make such mistakes. And be careful if you dare to hurt my daughter-in-law again. However, amongst all the erroneous things that happened, one good thing is that you did not marry Manorama. Otherwise, seeing the way you stopped her marriage and the way you were always choosing her over Bondita, compelled me to think that you love her. Well, Durga ma did not let any injustice happen with my bahu. I should offer her some special delicacies and thank her. ", he spoke this while joining his hands as a way of thanking God and left the study.

My heart almost stopped beating listening to that question and my eyes filled with tears of remorse. My knees became week and I fell on the sofa.

"If you had lost Bondita forever..........", these words of kaka kept ringing in my ears. I closed my ears with both the hands, while shutting my eyes tight and screamed, "Noooooo........". I can't even dare to think like that. If something bad happens to Bondita because of me, I cannot live.

I rested my head on the backrest of the sofa and closed my eyes when some horrible memories from the last few days hit me hard.

On the day of our first wedding anniversary, I opened Bondita's notebook to check her homework and what I found in that shook me to the core. She wrote my name along with hers, in all the pages and drew some heart shapes around our names. I understood what was going on in her mind then. She was getting attracted towards me. My heart sank at the thought. She is just twelve years old and what are the things she is even thinking about? Isn't it the age to play and study?

Someone has rightly said that marriage spoils studies. Yes, that's absolutely true. Once you fall into the trap of attraction, infatuation and love, you are not going to come out of the mess so easily. And if you fall into that trap at a young age as twelve, none can help you. Not knowing how to handle that pressure, I vent it on Bondita. I blurted out the truth of our marriage to Bondita in the most unpleasant manner and in an inappropriate time.