Two sisters. Alike in appearance but contrary in nature. Both leave home but where one of them returns the other goes missing. Binita Sen steps in to help in another bizarre search after Debts of Desire. Read Chapter 4
While Keya was taxing her brain over critical matters, her mother was enjoying a leisurely stroll in the spacious courtyard of the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Waverly School. She was accompanied by Sister Joyce D’Silva, the elderly matron of the girls dorm. The two women had developed quite a rapport specially when Sister Joyce had discovered that Binita was from her hometown Chandernagore in West Bengal. She regaled Binita with her memories of the school where she had spent all her life as a house parent of the girl’s dorm. She became more excited when Binita reminded her of the dear Bagchi girls, with whom she was related from their father’s side.
“Did you say you were their father’s cousin?” confirmed Sr. Joyce for the umpteenth time.
“Yes, a distant cousin.” said Binita with a straight face looking at the person standing before her.
Sister Joyce was a short stout woman who walked with her hands tucked within her nun’s habit. Her headdress swayed in the wind as she stood looking at the valley below. Her eyes softened as she relived her early years.
“They had first joined as day scholars. However, later on they convinced their grandfather General Das and joined the boarding school. He was such a wonderful gentleman, always proper with the ladies” said Sister Joyce blushing a bright scarlet and giggling like a school girl.
“I am sure the girls were equally wonderful.” Binita asked hiding a smile.
“Anindita was indeed a darling. Always obedient and studious. She was a quiet child who liked to keep to her books. She never had too many friends. You would always find her under a tree reading a book.”
“What about Nandita? Was she like her twin?” asked Binita.
“Now that one was a wild hen” said Sister Joyce wrinkling her nose. “There was not a single escapade in school she was not involved in. But she was smart and would always escape punishment I don’t know how.”
“How did she manage that?” asked Binita surprised.
“We could never find an answer to that question. We all knew she was involved but we could do nothing to prove it. Once cook had baked a huge cake for a school party. Before anybody could have it, the cake had disappeared. Nobody knew where it vanished. Then after a whole hour the cake crumbles were discovered in the barn. When the whole school was questioned, some people hinted at Nandita’s group. But when they were asked, they all had plausible alibis of where they were when the incident happened. Most of all Nandita. In fact, she also had eyewitnesses, some teachers who had seen her in the sports field at that time. We were all baffled.”
“I must say the girl was smart indeed” said Binita thoughtfully.
“Yes…I only hope she had a good heart” said Sister Joyce.
“What do you mean?” asked Binita curiously.
“Well, she used Anindita to do all her work. All her homework, her craftwork would be done by Anindita while she would go around having fun with her gang. We had often warned her and sent for her mother and grandfather on several occasions. Few days after the warning, she would mend her ways. But then again hardly a week would pass, and she would return to her normal self. That one was indeed a handful” said Sr. Joyce shaking her head sadly.
“But why did Anindita oblige? It is so unfair” asked Binita.
“Oh! she was such a sweet girl. She could hardly say no. In fact…” said Sister Joyce pausing for a while.
“Yes Sister?” asked Binita gently prodding the woman.
“I don’t know if I should say this. Especially now that Anindita is missing and Nandita is married and well settled…but even in that she used Anindita”
“What do you mean?” asked Binita.
“Well, you see, Nandita was the more outgoing sort, the one who could turn any man’s head with her charms. Even while in school, she had a lot of boyfriends. Here in our school, we have strict rules and you cannot meet boys, but Nandita was unstoppable. She would find a way to sneak out for her rendezvous. And if she could not, she would send Anindita.”
“You mean she used Anindita as her proxy for her dates?” asked Binita incredulously.
Sister Joyce nodded sadly “Poor Annie she was always Nandita’s shadow and could never have a life of her own.”
“So, when Nandita eloped …” began Binita
“That was the biggest scandal of that time” said Sister Joyce before she could finish. “This is a small town everybody gets to know things fast. Nandita was always the source of local gossip. Then Anindita too left. It is since then that the poor General kept himself locked up in his mansion in Landour and rarely came down. Then when his daughter died he completely cut himself from everything.”
“Do you think Nandita had anything to do with Anindita’s disappearance?” asked Binita after a moment of silence.
“I am not sure. But knowing Nandita, she could have. And now look what has happened. Poor Anindita is missing while Nandita is back in the comforts of her home. Life is so unfair” said Sister Joyce shaking her head sadly.
The words stuck on in Binita’s mind.
As she thanked Sister Joyce and walked out of the gate, she kept thinking of those last words. Did Nandita’s coming back home seem unfair to others as well?
Later that night as she discussed her thoughts with Keya and heard about what her daughter had to share, both remained silent for some time.
After a while, Binita got up to call the reception to book a taxi for Landour the next day.
“Have you thought of what you are going to tell them?” asked Keya.
Binita smiled and said
“Showing gratitude is always a good way to make people open doors.”
Keya stared blankly at her mother for some time.
“Get some sleep Keya, we have a long day tomorrow” said Binita before switching off the lights.
Read Next – Chapter 6
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