In a small one room house in the city's most populated area, she was sitting by the side of the window and was looking outside. Her mind was closely packed with the thoughts of last night. The sound of half working fan and the smell of overcooked food did not seem to disturb her. The house had involved a small kitchenette at the right of its entrance. The tiny bed in the front of the kitchenette was sufficient for one person to only sit over it. The size of the bed never allowed her to use it for sleeping. A small aged frame of her family photo was hanging on the front wall. The floor tiles had lost all their aesthetic properties and were taking their last breath. Her drape was lying on the bed. Her gaze did not move even for a moment in past half an hour. She was deeply engrossed in her thoughts. Her eyes gradually materialized with the tears which she dabbed up with the sleeves of her Kurti. The memories of the previous night had shown her the true face of the world and were playing in her mind on repeat mode.
On the previous night, while the whole world was sleeping, she was restless. She had fought with the situation courageously without showing the glimpse of any fear on her face. She was accompanied with him in her adventure. She had heard from someone that his name was Adir. She could not see his face clearly for first few minutes, the only observation she had done was that of his fair complexion and six-foot tall height. Eventually, as the light had become abundant, she saw his face. The long and thick beard distinguished him from all the other men around her. She had seen very few men with such a look. His attire, too, was strange. He was wearing some loose pants and a shirt which was falling to his knees. Her first impression of him was that of a villain. They had exchanged gaze multiple times. Without her knowledge, he was devotedly staring at her big brown eyes which were complimented with her dusky complexion. Her long brown hairs were adding charm to her looks. She was more beautiful that he could figure out in the dim light when he first saw her. She had noticed from the corner of her eye that he was watching her. After she had come back home, she was deprived of sleep. She was going through some strange feeling. It was a mixture of fear, sadness, and some magical sentiment. She had realized that she must die with the secret she had shared with Adir. Nobody in her life was worth sharing her state of mind then. She was a strong girl with a big heart. After playing the same set of memories in her mind, again and again, she wiped her tears. Her nose had turned red and her eyes were swollen. Her throat was choked up. She needed water to free her throat. She got up from the bed and seeing the vessel surrounded by fumes, she managed to run towards the stove to turn it off. The half broken floor, too, was not in the mood to spare her. She received a small cut on her left feet. She started sobbing again. The haunting memories again gathered around her. She thanked God for sending a man like him to help her.
The air was mild. She was walking over the bridge, few steps behind Adir, and watching how the water underneath was flowing. Howrah Bridge was her favorite since she was a kid. She had come here only once in her childhood when her parents died and her maternal uncle had brought her to one of the temples on the bank of Hoogly River, they had come via Howrah Bridge. The air flowing through her hair had made her realize that she should live to feel it more. It had given her the strength to take care of herself. She had felt some connection with the Howrah Bridge, the air in its vicinity and the river flowing under the Howrah Bridge. She was feeling the air again. She was in great pain. She had fought and ran from some place with the help of Adir. She was physically weak and emotionally broken, however, her love for the Howrah Bridge, the calm Hoogly and the magical air there made her stand on the Bridge holding the side bar. It was around 1 am, Adir had to turn back since he heard no sound of footsteps walking behind him. He saw Padma calmly standing and watching the moves of Hoogly. He was unsure whether to scold her for standing there fearlessly or to simply leave her there and made his way to home. He kept looking at her for few moments. She was not known that her courage was admired by him. He too then held the sidebar and tried guessing what that strong and fearless girl might be thinking about the unfortunate event she had just been through. His eyes, suddenly, bored into her's. She realized that it was a time for them to leave. She started walking towards him and he started checking in his cell phone whether he can book some cab to drop her home. His consistently unsuccessful efforts were making him more sensible of her situation. He was becoming more restless with time. He was unable to find any cab or even autos to drop her home. She could see one taxi, colored in yellow and doors bordered with black, coming from the other end of the bridge. She had to move forward and signal the driver to stop the taxi.
‘Bhaiyya, we need to go to Shibpur'
‘1000 Rupees'
‘What? It is hardly 5 KM from here'
Staring at her breasts, he gave her a strange look. His eyes eventually filled up with the greed. The night and the mild air made the adrenaline rush through his nerves.
‘Madamji, I will take 500 if you sit on the front seat'
He had hit her cord with all-time slutty language. She gathered all her saliva and in no-time, she spat on his face. The driver was astonished. He took few moments to understand what had happened. Adir ran towards the taxi by then and he could collect the situation. Holding her by her hand, he pulled her towards him and started walking away from the taxi. She was very well aware of the consequences. But Adir was not ready for her to face those after going through the unusual trauma a few hours back. He had stopped an auto a few moments back. Forcing her to seat inside it, he ordered the driver to drive towards Shibpur. He was not sure why was she showing unnecessary courage when she should actually go home and save her from all the wild people outside. He was cursing her under his breath. She was not regretting her act. Instead, she was regretting not pulling the driver out of the taxi. She was dreaming to have slapped him and punched him in his groin. The auto was heading towards Shibpur. The no-traffic road and driving skills of the driver, made her reach home in a few minutes. Adir had asked the driver to take a U turn as soon as Padma got down from the auto. She was looking at Adir as if she wanted to share something with him. He assumed that she wanted him to keep quiet about today's adventure.
I shall die with the secret. Please take care of yourself. Your worth cannot be measured in rupees – He thought to himself.
He did not look at her. He simply wanted to move away from her as soon as possible. He was not sure of the kind of feeling he had been through. There was significant variation in the set of emotions he had been through in the past few hours.
As the auto started running again, he closed his eyes and tried to grasp the series of unusual events he had been through.
In the previous day's morning, Adir was quite excited. He bought a new dress for him. It was not a usual trouser and a shirt, but a dress which was usually called as ‘Pathani'. He always had the affinity towards this dress and today was the day when he actually decided to wear it. One of the best perfumes which he could get in Bansdroni Local Market was ready to become submissive with his costume. The beard was neatly combed and he left the house with his friend Azhar. Azhar was Adir's childhood friend. Both the friends had seen each other's good and bad times very closely. The road to their destination was around sixteen kilometers from his house. The plan was to go to Raipur which was around 10 minutes from the Market. There was a goldsmith shop where Adir had already sold some gold ring in order to obtain money. While only a portion of the money was collected, today's visit was to collect the remaining portion of the money. On his way to shop, he was thinking about his mother.
He was a kid when his mother had dropped him at his maternal aunts' house. She was supposed to be back in few days however he never saw her again until he was twenty-one. When she came back, she was a patient of Blood Cancer. Adir's father had divorced his wife, Maira. She had to leave Adir at her sister's place since her second husband was not willing to take Adir's responsibility. She kept sending a minimal amount of money to her sister for Adir's survival. When Maira was diagnosed with cancer, her husband had sent her back to her sister. He was not willing to spend any money on her medication. Maira had no child from her second husband. This fact also made her second husband to leave her without any further hassle. He knew that Maira or her sister had no money even to hire a lawyer for the divorce case. Adir was working with Retailers. His job was to transfer the goods from wholesalers to retailers. Though he used to get less commission than all other people in the same business, he was happy since he was a part of a stable and a risk-free business. He could save some amount with this job. When Maira came to his place, he was on cloud nine. He thanked God since everything was going well in his life, God had gifted him a good job and given him back his beloved mother. He was considering himself fortunate until the moment he learned about Maira's illness. She was already in the last stage of cancer. There was a rare chance of her survival. However, Adir decided to treat her. Under the supervision of one of the doctors in the government hospital, Maira went under Chemotherapy treatment. Adir had to borrow around eighty thousand for his mother's treatment and medicines. After a month's of treatment, Maira's soul had left her body and Adir was again a motherless child. His business had suddenly stopped running. He was struggling to the pay the amount which he had borrowed for his mother's cure. When he was convinced that his faith had taken a leap and he would have a happy life, the tragedy happened. His long-term efforts to set up his business and to bring the happiness back in his life were washed away suddenly. He did all kinds of small jobs for day and night to return the money. All the incidents including setting-up his new business, meeting his mother again, learning about her illness, her treatment, losing his business and struggle to pay-off debt were settled in two years. He was twenty-three then. Looking at Adir, one day Azhar convinced him that he needed a real happiness in his life.
Azhar asked him to go with him to Sonagachi which is a red-light area in central Kolkata. Initially, Adir had declined the offer. But soon he realized that he must learn to enjoy the present. He wanted some moments of pleasure after all the misfortunate events of his life. He agreed to Azhar's proposal. However, he had no money to hire a girl. He decided to sell the only gold ring he had. It was given to him by his aunt on his first birthday. Though it hardly had a good amount of gold, its sale value was enough for Adir to buy good clothes and hire a good girl. Few days before the day of visiting Sonagachi, he had sold the ring and had taken a portion of the amount. From that money, he had bought new clothes. That day morning he, along with Azhar, went to the goldsmith's shop to collect the rest of the amount. After collecting the money, both of them went to the restaurant for having some evening snacks.
‘Are you excited?' asked Azhar and winked at him.
‘Yeah. But I am a little nervous as well. I have never spoken with girls before'
‘That's normal. I am sure this will be the best experience of your life'
Let's see thought Adir. After finishing lunch they both headed to the nearest Bus stop – Noapara to catch the bus. Something struck Adir, and he decided to go to Howrah Bridge before going to Sonagachi. It was 5 pm in the evening and he was keen to see the view from Howrah Bridge. He was ready to stand in the burning sun but the view from Howrah Bridge was a must for him to see before he headed to experience the best moments of his life.
That day morning Padma was doing her household chores when someone knocked on her door. Generally, nobody used to come to her house except her neighbor Vishakha. As she opened the door, she saw Vishakha and her aunt standing at the door.
‘Come join us, we are going to Market. I need to buy some grocery to prepare some Kheer.'
Padma agreed. She kept the dried clothes on the bed, wore her slipper and locked the door from outside. As they entered the market, they noticed that there were sellers sitting by the side of the road. They had colorful and all size of pottery. Vishakha and her aunt went inside the shop to buy grocery, Padma was waiting outside while she was keenly observing the pottery available for sale. At the back of her mind, she was thinking how that colorful pottery can be used to decorate her house which had lost all its colors. She suddenly saw one small girl running to one of the nearest lanes and she was crying loudly as if someone had hit her hard. Concerned Padma followed her. The small girl entered in the lane where there was no direct sunlight coming. It was quite dark there and Padma was not able to spot the girl here. In fact, the girl's voice suddenly came to a halt. While Padma was about to turn back and return to the market where Vishakha and her aunt were waiting for her, someone kept something unforeseen on her mouth and she felt down. After few hours, she found herself in a closed room. Her hands and legs were tied. Her mouth was shut with the scarf which was tied at the back of her head. She was not sure why was she taken here. She had no family, so there was no reason to kidnap her and then blackmail her family for the money. The room was quite old. The color of the wall was faded. The cover of the concrete at the ceiling was popping out. There was only one window which was covered with the curtains from inside. The curtains were blocking all the outside light, they were not clean and there was some unusual smell coming from them. She was scared a little bit. While she was biting the scarf tied on her mouth and was trying to remove it, she heard the same female voice. Gradually the sound became louder and in few seconds she could hear the same female voice exactly out of her room.
‘Feed her the food. She must be ready before evening', she ordered someone.
In next few moments, one dark fat man entered the room with a plate in his hand. He put the plate down and removed the scarf from her mouth. She didn't utter a word. He opened the curtain, allowing the light to come inside, asked her to eat the food and went out, locking the room again. Padma gathered all her courage and the available strength to stand on her feet. Whatever she saw outside shocked her till death. It was a big house. There were two entrances to the house. Both the entries lead to the same huge porch, at the center of which a lady was sitting. At both the big doors, ladies were standing. All of them were wearing heavy makeup and a bright colored saree. Many of them were not even carrying their drapes properly, making their cleavage visible from the deep cut blouses. Some of them were drawing a person inside some random room and were locking it from inside. She was then genuinely scared. She was thinking something at the back of her mind. She concluded that she was in a red-light area. She could see many rooms from the window. It must be Sonagachi, she thought to herself. The lady sitting on the chair at the center of the porch was fat and wearing a lot of gold. She was chewing Paan and spat out at regular intervals in the pot kept on her right side. Padma had heard many stories of the girls who were brought here. She was praying for something miraculous to happen. In few minutes the same man came back with a bag full of clothes and a makeup kit. He kept the bag down. She was standing by the side of the window. He went to her, held her right upper arm and slapped her hard. She fell down on the floor.
‘Wear those clothes and the make-up. I will be back in some time. If you are not ready, be prepared to get some real kicks in your asses', said he. She started weeping. She pushed herself to think about the wrong things she had done in the past. She was an innocent girl with a big heart. She could recollect only the gossiping with Vishakha about the girl living in the tall building in her area. Gradually she started crying hard.
God, please save me. I will not gossip about any one going forward, thought she. Her face was not clean, the stains of her tears were evident on her face. Few minutes passed and the dark, fat man came again. She was shivering this time. He had one big wooden bat in his hand. She stood in horror and picked the bag of clothes lying by her side. Seeing that he smiled, he left the room by saying ‘Good for you'. She opened the bag, a red colored blouse and blue colored saree were inside the bag. A large beaded necklace and a red lipstick were lying at the bottom of the bag. She was going to experience the prostitute's life tonight. She wiped her tears and started thinking how could she run away from there. She stood up again starting noticing the house. The man who had just left her room went to the lady and told her something making the lady smile. She is may be the owner of the house and the one who was shouting sometime back, thought Padma. Padma could learn that the lady's name was Maya and the man who was dealing with her was Dadu as everyone was addressing them with these names. After thinking for few moments, she could see no way out of that hell. She closed the curtain and started wearing the saree. She had heard many stories of the girls who came here and never went back to their families. She knew that even if she could somehow run away, people standing outside the Sonagachi lane might bring her back or they might rape her. She had inferred all this from the stories of the Sonagachi prostitutes she had heard and read in the past. She thought something and started getting ready. She decided not to put lipstick. She wore the saree and the blouse given to her. The necklace was too heavy for her to wear. She managed to wear it somehow. As she kept the bag down and opened the curtain and looked outside, she saw that two young men were brought inside by the same villainous man. One of them was tall while another one was short. The short one was speaking with the fat lady. After further discussion, he gave her some cash. The short man left the house while the tall man sat by the side of the lady and the lady started chatting with him. This man was wearing some strange costume. He had a thick beard and he was only talking when the lady every time initiated the communication. She closed the curtain. Her heart started beating hastily. She started taking long breaths. In the next moment, somebody opened the door from outside. The villain entered the room and asked her to go along with him. She was quiet alert and went along with him. He took her to a room which was well decorated. A large bed with a colorful bed sheet was occupying the half of the room. The other part of the room was covered with the mirror. He asked her to sit there on the bed and he went out. As he closed the room, she could see that the room was very dark. It had no windows. The only way to get light inside was to open the door. She tried to find the switch but she could not succeed in it.
In next few seconds, someone entered the room and the room was locked from inside. As soon as she realized that that the person who had entered the room might ask her to get physical with him, she sat on the floor and started pleading him.
‘Sir, I am a very simple girl. These people kidnapped me and brought me here. I don't know how to get away from here. I don't want to get my life destroyed here at the hands of these shitty people. Please help me get out of here. I will always be grateful to you.'
The man in the beard got surprised. He found out the switch so that he could see her face clearly. He had had many desires and he had decided to complete all of them tonight. The kind of scene he was witnessing then made him extremely uncomfortable. He was not sure what to do. He sat on the bed and started wondering.
‘Should I ask her to leave you, instead?'
‘That's not convincing.'
‘Should I go out and lodge a police complaint?'
‘Police don't help much in the matter of Sonagachi lane. If the owner comes to know that you called the police then she might create some problem for you. She might ask her men to break your limbs or she might get you killed.'
‘I am sorry but I am not sure what should I do'
‘See, you can ask her that you want me for a day's time. You can ask her whether you can take me out with you for a short walk and then for a dinner. If she agrees we can easily run away from here.'
‘Lady, I don't have enough money to pay her. I have borrowed you for only three hours.'
‘Please. I beg you. That's the only way out. Please do something. I shall pay all the amount back to you'
Adir started doing some calculations in his mind. He had received four thousand rupees from the Goldsmith and of which he had already spent three thousand rupees. The remaining amount was with Azhar. While he was holding his phone in his hand and wondering what should he do next, he was also trying to catch the glimpse of Padma's face from the corner of his eyes. She was exceptionally beautiful. Her big brown eyes and long brown hairs were very prominent. Her features were exceptional. He had liked after he had seen her for the first time.
‘Did you find any solution?'
‘Ahh..I think I should talk with the lady sitting outside first. I doubt she would allow me to do this. Moreover, when you are only a day older here, there are fewer chances that you will be allowed to go out.'
Both of them were quiet for some time. Padma's heart beats increased and was then following some random pattern. She started playing with the drape of her Saree.
Adir opened the door and moved out of the room. He went straight to the Owner. She was sitting in the center of her house. Adir was determined. Looking at her, he first smiled.
‘What happened? Why are you out of your room?'
‘I want to tell you that the girl is very beautiful. I want to spend some quality time with her in some garden. I want to take her out for some time, may be for a dinner or something.'
‘That is not allowed. I don't let my girls go out from here.'
‘I am ready to pay your charges. And I will drop her here before midnight.'
Maya started thinking about his proposal. It was a golden chance for her to grab as much money as she wanted from him. She had also learned that the girl had become comfortable here in a short time. She looked at Adir once, he doesn't look that smart. He will not take her away from here. I will ask Dadu to follow them. If he is trying to make fool of me, he will pay for it.
‘Ten thousand bucks'
‘What? Mayaji, I am not buying her forever. I will drop her here by midnight. I have already paid for three hours. I can pay for next three hours as well.'
Maya noticed his expressions. He had liked her and she was taking the advantage of this situation. For three hours, she had charged him three thousand bucks.
‘Eight thousand bucks. Since you have already paid three thousand, you need to pay five thousand more to get her out for dinner.'
Adir was speechless. He knew that he had hardly one thousand bucks remaining with him. He made an eye contact with Maya and said, ‘Let me give you money in some time'.
He went inside the room where Padma was already waiting for him. He dialed Azhar's number and explained him everything. Azhar was stunned knowing the full story. He had no money and he was not sure where to get five thousand bucks from in just two hours. Azhar was Adir's best friend and they both were living in the same locality. Azhar's mother used to sell vegetables in the market nearby Esplanade. Azhar took the money from his pocket. He had Adir's one thousand bucks. He opened the cupboard and could find only forty bucks in the pocket of an old trouser. He was sure that his mother would not have an amount as big as four thousand bucks. He had no savings, he was working in a bar as a waiter. His salary was hardly sufficient for his to run his family. The only thing he could think about then was selling his gold chain. It was a very thin chain and he had made it for himself when he had started working in a bar. Without thinking much, he went to the same goldsmith's shop in Durgapur where Adir had already sold his ring. The chain measured four hundred grams. The Goldsmith cut the labor cost and have Azhar ten thousand bucks. Adir tightly held the six thousand in his hand, putting remaining four thousand in his pocket. He went straight to Sonagachi and called Adir as soon as he was outside of Maya's house.
‘Wait there, I will come out', saying this Adir went out of the house.
‘Take this. These are six thousand bucks. Do you want any further help?'
‘How did you manage such a big amount in such a short time?'
‘That's not important. Important is to help the girl.'
Adir held Azhar's collar and checked whether he was still wearing a gold chain. He could see no traces of it. Adir was speechless. The situation made him closer to Azhar and it had once again proved that nobody cared more for Adir than Azhar. Looking down at the land and feeling guilty he said,
‘I will manage. You don't get involved now. These people are dangerous. I will meet you at home after midnight.'
‘Call me if you need any help'.
Adir nodded and went straight inside. Giving five thousand to Maya he said,
‘This is the money. I will be back before midnight'. He immediately moved to Padma's room and told her that they could leave the house. Padma was stunned to see the quick action taken by this man and his friend. She was yet to know his name. Before leaving the house Dadu warned Padma to not to act smart and come back home with Adir. She came to know his name after Dadu mentioned it. Agreeing to Dadu's words, she moved to the main door where Adir was already waiting for her. As Adir and Padma left from the Sonagachi, Maya asked Dadu to follow them. She also asked him to engage into a fight and kick Adir in case he tried to do some smartness. Adir took Padma to the nearest garden for some time. The plan was to sit there, check whether someone is following them or not and then take a bus to Shibpur and drop her at her home. They sat in the garden for almost one hour, without talking much. Adir was in his cellphone, checking the availability of buses and taxis to Shibpur after 11 pm. The closing time of the garden was nearing, they both had to move out from there. After moving out, they sat on the bench outside garden on a footpath. Adir did not notice anyone following them. They had decided not to go to Police station since many police were sellable and they might have dropped her back to Maya's place. Sitting at the roadside, Adir was roaming his eyes everywhere around. He could not spot anyone from Maya's team. He was sure that she was not stupid to send them without anyone behind them to keep watch on them. As he was thinking about next steps at the back of his mind, he saw some movement at the small plant around ten feet away near the garden fence. He saw Dadu there. Immediately he mentioned the same thing to Padma. Padma blanched with the fear. His doubt was turned into reality. He was physically weaker than Dadu, he decided not to engage into fights. They left from there and kept walking for next half an hour. They reached in Chitpur and Adir decided to go into some restaurant. Dadu was following them on a bike. It was not that difficult for Adir to recognize him when he waited for both of them at every corner of the road. Dadu had tried his best to hide his identity. He was wearing a helmet and a dark colored shirt pairing it with some scarf. As they both entered the restaurant, Adir asked Padma to take a seat. He then moved to the kitchen area. He had some secret discussion there with the staff. After few minutes, he came out and sat by Padma's side. He knew that Dadu was outside the restaurant, waiting for both of them to come out. He told Padma that they both had to use the back door to leave the restaurant. After having a sip of water from the glasses kept on the table, both of them moved to the kitchen and then ran away from the back door. Adir was very concerned as he knew that these people were harmful and they might get killed both of them if they come to know about their plan.
It was eleven in the night and both of them were still walking towards the Shibpur where Padma was staying. Walking through the crowd was the best way to hide from Maya's people. The road to Shibpur was crowded and it helped both of them remained unseen for a considerable amount of time. After walking for a little more than one hour, Padma could see that their walking way had taken a right turn and they had reached on her favorite Howrah Bridge. They both could feel each other's presence as the same breeze of air touched them. Adir was experiencing some strange feeling which he had never experienced before. The midnight had already passed. Howrah Bridge was standing proudly with almost very few people walking over it. Due to less number of people on the bridge, Adir felt it was safer to board a taxi than walking to Shibpur. He stopped one auto, pushed Padma inside and the auto headed towards Shibpur. As they reached Shibpur, Padma looked at Adir. Adir was trying to hide his gaze from hers.
‘Thank you so much. I have no words to express my gratitude. You have saved my life from getting destroyed.'
‘Dada, please take the auto back to Howrah Bridge. I will tell you where to go to from there', said Adir completely ignoring Padma's talk. He was not sure whether he had the courage to look at her. Her eyes were too attractive for him to stop staring at them. He was in love, in deep love, with her. All the events happened to him had made him go through the best feeling in the world called as love. As the auto took a turn, Padma kept looking at the departing auto. She had seen a God today. Thoughts were crowded in her mind. A tear fell down from her eye. She went inside. In auto, Adir, too, was shedding his tears. He was in a different mindset altogether. He was in love with a girl whom he might not meet anytime in future.
Today, both of them were still engrossed in the memories of the adventure both of them had experienced the previous day. Padma was badly missing him. She wanted to see him and hold his hand once. She wanted to look into his eyes. She wanted to ask him whether he wanted to be with her forever. She was not sure about his address. There was no one else whom she could ask any details about Adir. She was lost. She was stunned to know that she would meet her love of life in such a tragic way.
It was 4 pm in the evening. She never used to go out alone but in last two days, she had discovered herself. She was not like the one she used to portray to the outside world. She was smarter than people used to think of her. She was a warrior who had fought for the well-being of her life. She was then no more scared of anyone. She decided to go out alone that day and without any hesitation, she took her drape from the bed, locked the house and started walking. She knew where she should actually go. After walking fearlessly for almost one hour, she had reached her destination. She walked for few more minutes and grabbed a place which could make her feel more air and from where she could see flawlessly flowing Hoogly. The Howrah Bridge which had already completed its lifespan was strongly standing with some of its legs in Hoogly and remaining ones on the land. She stood there, the same place where she was standing the previous day and was calmly staring at the flowing water. The breeze and the lights, in combination with each other, made her feel –again- that she is the most fortunate girl in the world. The air and the view from the bridge gave her energy – again – to fight with the world and to follow her heart. She was weeping, she was missing him. She asked her god to send him back to her. She was ready to accept him even though she hated his attire. She was not a fond of his beard, too. She was still in love with him, in love with his soul. One more strong breeze of air landed on her face, dried up all her tears and made her close her eyes. She was quiet for some time, she kept all the running thoughts in her mind on-hold. With closed eyes, she was experiencing the wind again. Suddenly, a rough hand of a strong man landed on her hand. She was scared. She had felt this touch before. He was either Dadu or Adir. She knew that Adir might not follow her but Dadu might found out her house and re-capture her. Without opening her eyes, she started praying for God. The hand of the man was still in the same position. Gradually, the hand started moving in the direction of her fingers and in next few moments, she could not feel that touch anymore. Thoughts congested in her mind. She gathered her courage and opened the eyes to see something astonishing. Adir was standing in front of her and he was looking directly into her eyes. She was happy and in a few moments the happiness was overflowing. With all the energy and excitement, she hugged him. He covered her torso from both of his hands. The flowing winds made her hair touch his face. He considered himself as the most fortunate man in the world. While he was holding her tight to himself, he looked towards the sky and thanked God for all the kinds of experiences he had been through in last few days. He was glad and grateful. Both of them were smiling and content. The air, the water, the lights and the Howrah Bridge were witnessing their immortal love for each other. The energy Padma had got throughout her life was given by the Howrah Bridge. The positivity and the sense of responsibility she had received in her childhood, the courage and energy to fight with the whole world and then the love of her life were the gifts given to her by her favorite Howrah Bridge. She could not thank more to god for all kind of transformations she had been through in her life. While she was in the arms of Adir, she kept staring at something which had built her and given her identity. She thanked from the bottom of her heart to that which taught her what Life is all about, she smiled and touched the side bar as if she is pampering it. She realized that Adir was never her first love. Her first love and her strength was the bridge she was standing on - the 'Howrah Bridge'.
