The Moonchild : Part 3

Karan tried to hear what the damsel on the terrace said. She was a damsel, that is how he thought of her. Each passing moment drew him closer to her. Finally, he was able to overhear what she said.
“Today, a boy is coming to see my sister. Please ensure everything goes well. Is that OK, Bandhu? What? For me? Hmm. There is still time for that. You know what my wish is, Bandhu? With your mention, whoever is destined for me should sing songs for me.” She laughed heartily.
“I demand too much, right? But you are the only one who I can ask with authority. Isn’t it?”

“Samiksha.” A shout from downstairs disrupted her conversation, and she returned to the real world.

“Bandhu, it’s a secret between us. Bye.” She ran away from there, bidding farewell to her friend. But she was still there somewhere, in someone’s mind, now onwards.

“Not a secret anymore.” Karan whispered to himself with a smile on his lips.” A girl who cares with all her heart for a small butterfly, how lovable and kind she must be to everyone else. Undoubtedly, she is different from the rest. Naive, genuine, and … a moonchild.” With her glimpses and words flashing in his mind, he walked away.

On the way,

he met Pooja’s husband.
“Karan da, I am sorry my wife wanted to speak with me. So I left suddenly. Did you talk with your client?”
“Yes, I did. Thank you. The girl . . .”
His wife once again called him out, “All are waiting downstairs. Please come soon.” The duo came back to the hall to join the others.
“There you are. We thought you went back to Kolkata from upstairs.” Mohandas pulled his leg.
“Actually, I saw upstairs.”
“Our terrace? It’s a beautiful one, isn’t it? My niece Samiksha takes care of it. Every corner is maintained by her. Did you see her upstairs?”

“Samiksha. So her name is Samiksha.” He spoke in his mind.

The father of Mohandas, a spectator till now,

spoke to Karan, “You liked our terrace, son?”
“Yes, of course, dada. It’s wonderful.”
“Are you fine? You look nervous.”
“Yes, that I am. A lot. Thanks for understanding my situation.”
“My Samiksha is a gem—a rare gem. She loves everyone. She doesn’t know the meaning of hatred.” Everyone there listened to him curiously, wanting to know more about Samiksha. Karan had already fallen for this beautiful caretaker of the terrace, the moonchild.
“Did you see her upstairs? I think she was up.” Karan gathered words to speak but failed. But Hemant was a practical man. He at once told his son,

“Karan, you can talk to Kalyani. We already did.”

Karan got caught in a conflict. After seeing the girl upstairs, he was no longer interested in any other. But he found it unethical to tell everyone how he felt then. “Should I talk to them about Samiksha now or later? How will everyone react? After all, we have come to see Kalyani, not Samiksha.“

Thinking of how to start the conversation with Kalyani, he asked, “What is your name?” and succeeded in leaving everyone in splits.
Karan had not made such a stupid error in his entire life. As a lawyer, he played with words, but the current situation rendered him devoid of them. Everyone in the hall burst into laughter.
“I think I am nervous.” He whispered to his dad, “Dada, may we leave now? My client wants to meet me urgently. And I need time.” First, his dad found this strange, but somehow he spoke,

“Mohan da, we will take your leave now. I am sure Mithila and Anurag liked Kalyani as much as I did.” Both nodded positively at his words. We are here for one more day. Let us see how things work.”
“Sure, da. It was pleasant to meet you all. If you wish to come tomorrow to talk, we would be delighted.” Hemant Sen left with his family.

“Such a nice boy, isn’t he?

A renowned lawyer in Kolkata, but not a trace of pride.” Lakshmi said at once. “I wish Karan and Kalyani had a word with each other.”
Mohandas agreed with her. “Yes, but Dada, what is your opinion?” He asked his father, who was calmly seated in his chair.
“Yes, the boy is nice. And honest, too. Did you notice? He was not in a hurry to give his opinion. A scarce quality in today’s generation. My experience says he is good at heart.” He spoke to himself,

“I wish he chooses my Samiksha. Theirs will be a perfect match. It’s my heartfelt desire that this happens. God, you are everyone’s caretaker. I feel no one other than this boy can make my Samiksha happy. Please, fulfil my wish.” A calm smile on his face did not go unnoticed by all present there.

At night, Karan sat beside his parents.

“Dad, Mom, I need to talk to you both.”
“Yes, go ahead. We even noticed you struggled with your thoughts since we came from there. What is it, son? You did not like Kalyani?” Mithila asked her son in a loving tone. His father waited for his reply.
“She is a good girl, dada. But I liked someone else.
“Means? You know some girl already?”
“No. I met her today, at their house itself. On the terrace.”

“Who was that girl?” Hemant asked at once.
“Wait, are you talking about her cousin? What was her name?” Mithila spoke.
“Samiksha.” Both his parents noticed Karan’s eager tone mixed with joy. They looked at each other.
“She is the girl I have been waiting for, Ma. Trust me, if you see her, you will fall in love with her.”
“As you did?” Mithila quickly asked him. The blush on his face gave them the answer.

Hemant thought for a while.

“She belongs to the same family, which is not an issue. But where was she when we were there?”
“She was talking to the moon,” Karan spoke but regretted it later.
“To whom?”
“She loves talking to the moon dada. As everyone has friends, hers is the moon. What is the big deal?”
“Right, what is the big deal? Agree, Mithila?” He spoke teasingly to his wife. Mithila answered with a sweet smile.

“Mom, Dad. She is a very special girl. Very different. Will you meet her? Once.”
“Mithila?”
“Why not? We can go there tomorrow. But how will you say this to Mohan da?”
“I will see that. But let us meet the girl first.”

Back at Chatterjee’s house,

Samiksha changed her saree and rushed to the main hall.
“Sorry, choto Chachu. I am late.” Her words disappeared as she noticed her family members, but no guests.
“Did the guests leave?”
“Yes, my dear. I am sure you must be busy with your Bandhu up.” Mohandas teased her.
“It’s alright, Dada. Come, Samiksha.” Kalyani called her near.
“So, how was the boy di? Tell, tell.”
“They did not speak much to each other,” Lakshmi informed her. “But we liked the boy. Let us see how things work out.”

“He had come upstairs to take a phone call. Did you see him?” Kalyani implored her.
“Did he? Ohh. I never noticed him. I was busy with my Bandhu… Ishhh. Sorry everyone, I got so engrossed in the talk.”
Later, everyone dispersed. At night, Samiksha went to her grandfather’s room to keep drinking water in his room.
“Come to me camda (moon in Bengali). How was your day?”
“Not good.”
“Why?”
“It was a special day for Di, and I was chatting with my Bandhu.” He laughed out loud.

“It’s ok.

Things do not happen as we wish. They occur as He, The Almighty, wishes. You go to sleep peacefully.” Samiksha hugged him before leaving.
“Apne ki janen(Do you know)?”
“What?”
“He had visited upstairs. Did you see him?”
“Um, no. I was busy chatting. Why?”
“Nothing. Go.”

A thought crossed her mind as Samiksha lay in her bed, trying to sleep.

If he came upstairs, did he see me talking to Moon?

Stay tuned /-

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