The first rays of the bright sun brushed her face through the curtains swaying in the wind. She smiled in her sleep. She imagined as if his hands were caressing her face. She opened her eyes and looked at him. He looked like a baby in his sleep. She kept staring at him for some time.
When she was just about to touch his face, the doorbell rang. No one answered.
The bell rang at least five more times before the man on the bed, reluctantly threw away the blanket on him. With closed eyes, he got up and started walking like a zombie. He seemed to know the route from his bed to the main door- practice pays off. Suddenly, he bumped into a chair, which was not supposed to be there in his way. “Ouch”, came the instant reaction.
Binodini could hold back her smile. Binoy has always been this careless guy whom she simply adores. She believes that they share a platonic relationship, much beyond what meets the human eye.
Binoy turned without even looking at who was at the door. He knew it was his maid. His kajer mashi (maid) is never late, more punctual than him. Even if Binoy is sleeping, she knew her chores. After all her work, she slams the door while leaving so that Binoy understands that she has left.
She did not say anything when she saw Binodini, it seemed quite common and natural.
Binoy Bagchi is in his thirties, a laid back, sluggish, typical Bong guy. He came to the city to make a name for himself as a painter. Initially, he sold a few of his paintings to a media house and gallery and earned a bit, but then things took a bad turn. With easy cash in hand, he slipped into a life of ignorance and merry-making. Soon, cash was over, and so was his luck. Everybody said that he has lost his touch.
Since then, he has tried to revive by doing some odd jobs, but hardly enough to get back to a decent living. He has realized that his passion for painting can only get him back from the shackles of failure and depression. So, he started all over again- doing what he does best- painting human portraits.
He met Binodini a few days back and something clicked between them. He felt a strong connection, and a strange one too. Their relationship grew, one little step every day. Binoy loved the way Binodini looked- a traditional style in this modern age. Her classic beauty was like a breath of fresh air in the polluted world of modern beauty where everything seemed superficial. Binoy loses himself in the depth of her eyes, every time their eyes meet.
Binodini is head over heels for Binoy. He is her first love, and she loves everything about him. Though she gets a bit jealous when Binoy spends time with other women, she knew that he will return to her every night.
Their sweet love story was about to turn sour with a stroke of destiny. Binoy touched her face, admiring her beauty, and kissed her. Then, he left for work as usual. Binodini sat there the entire day looking forward to when Binoy will return.
That evening, it was raining heavily. Binodini was getting scared of the thunderstorm. The thunder was too loud and the lightning was too strong. And, Binoy was getting late. She was getting impatient.
Suddenly, she heard the door unlock. Her face lit up waiting for Binoy to enter the room. Binoy came in, but there was someone else with him. Binodini could not believe her eyes. She was devastated when she saw another girl in Binoy’s arms. It seemed that she had met with an accident as she was bleeding from the forehead.
Binoy helped her in and made her sit on the bed. Binodini gasped, ‘how could it?’ How can some other woman be in his bedroom other than her? She wanted to cry aloud. She wanted to ask Binoy. She wanted to protest.
Suddenly, the thunder roared and the woman hugged Binoy tightly. A window in the room was left open mistakenly. So, the effects of Mother Nature outside were too profound inside as well. Hence, Binodini was also getting scared.
Both Binoy and Binodini skipped a heartbeat. It took Binoy a few more seconds to hug her back tightly, and say, “I missed you. Where have you been?”
The girl spoke up, “I am sorry. I will never leave you again. I love you.”
Binoy smiled and responded, “Me too.”
A sudden gush of wind entered through the open window and thrashed Binodini on the floor. The colour palette fell too. Her entire face got smeared with paint. Binoy tried to save her, but the damage had been done already.
Binoy’s painting – the one he was working on for days, the one which became his motivation, the one which could have been his masterpiece, was no more. He had imagined Binodini in his dreams, a perfect face, a perfect illusion.
He was painting her one bit at a time, admiring and creating her beauty with brushes every day. Something in her attracted Binoy. He had named his painting, Binodini, his imaginary love.
Yes, Binodini is not real, and this is not her story. She was just a painting. But for her, Binoy was real and so was their relationship. But now everything was over.
Binodini was on the floor and the water droplets on the canvas perfectly looked like her tears. Yes, she was crying. But, no one saw her tears like no one knew that she was real.
Finally, her fate has been painted with one stroke of destiny.
Giving Words to Emotions 