Chapter 31: The Red Dust of Bankura

The car moved slowly along the rugged road beyond Sonamarg, heading toward what the driver called the last village.

The mountains stood tall outside.
Snow still lined the edges.
The Sindh River followed like a silent companion 🌊.

Inside—
Everything had changed.

Ananya sat in the middle seat.
Little Deepabali leaned against her shoulder, half-asleep.
Asha sat quietly by the window.

And in the back seat —
Akash and Depabali.

No one spoke for a while.

The earlier conversations had taken something out of all of them.

Even the beauty outside—
Felt distant now.

Ananya looked out.
But her eyes weren’t on the mountains anymore.

She was listening.

Without asking.

Without interrupting.

Depabali’s voice broke the silence.

“Bankura is different,” she said.

Akash turned slightly.

“How?” he asked.

She gave a faint smile.

“Red soil,” she said. “Dry wind. Long roads.”

The words painted something far from Kashmir.

“Not like this,” she added softly.

The contrast was clear.

“In the last two years… that place became everything.”

Akash listened.

“My parents are still there,” she continued.

A pause.

“In our old home.”

“Do they stay with you?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“No.”

The answer was simple.

“They don’t want to leave their home,” she added.

A faint pause.

“And maybe… they don’t want to live in mine.”

The sentence carried more than it said.

Akash didn’t respond.

Because he understood.

“I visit when I can,” she continued.

“But mostly…”

She stopped.

“I’m alone.”

The word stayed.

Ananya’s fingers tightened slightly around her daughter’s shoulder.

Not visibly.

But enough.

“How do you manage everything?” Akash asked quietly.

Depabali looked ahead.

“I don’t think about it,” she said.

A faint breath.

“I just do.”

The road turned slightly.
The car slowed.

“Office work… is constant,” she continued. “Files, people, pressure…”

A pause.

“And then Asha.”

Her voice softened.

“School. Studies. Growing up.”

Akash glanced back at Asha.

She was looking outside.

But listening.

“I had to become both,” Depabali said quietly.

Akash understood.

“Mother… and father.”

The words didn’t need emphasis.

They carried their own weight.

“Was it difficult?” he asked.

Depabali smiled faintly.

“Yes.”

A pause.

“But not more than giving up.”

Silence settled again.

Then—
After a moment—
She added—

“And being a woman… alone…”

The sentence didn’t complete immediately.

But everyone understood.

“In a place like Bankura… people watch,” she said.

“Judge.”

“Question.”

Her voice remained calm.

“You have to prove yourself twice,” she added.

Akash looked at her.

“Sometimes more.”

The car moved forward steadily.

Ananya finally spoke.

“You handled all that alone?”

Her voice was soft.

But genuine.

Depabali turned slightly.

“I had no option,” she said.

Ananya held her gaze for a moment.

Then nodded.

Not out of agreement.

But respect.

The silence returned.

But this time—
It was different.

Heavier.

Real.

Outside, the mountains continued.
Unmoved.

Inside—
Lives felt the weight of everything they had carried.

Quietly.

Individually.

And still—
Together in the same car.

Moving forward.

❄️ To Be Continued…