The humid nights of Kolkata always feel like a familiar embrace. Tonight will bring back more memories as I will be meeting Aparna and getting to properly talk to her again after so many years. The guilt of abandoning her has never left me, and I am nervous about how she will react to me. As I go down the elevator, my heart pounding in my chest, I see Aparna waiting for me at the hotel’s bar, with a pint of my favorite beer in her hands.

Come sit Baba,” Aparna warmly smiled at me, as she handed me the beer. The hotel bar was nothing short of some of the fancy and elegant bars and pubs in the U.K. and Australia, and the way Kolkata has integrated modernity into its cultural backdrop is nothing short of astounding. Peter appears astonished by the elegance and modern look of the place.

“Ahem,” Aparna cleared her throat, clearly sensing my discomfort. “I’m so sorry Baba, I’m so sorry for everything,” Aparna’s voice started faltering, as tears started welling up in her deep green eyes. Any hesitation I had about talking to her quickly escaped me as I took her in my arms and tried to comfort my weeping Bulbul. She looked back up at me, as I wiped away her tears instinctually. “Sorry, Dad, I invited you to this bar because I wanted you to understand why I ran off with Mike MacDouglas. You have the right to understand why I left Australia and the circumstances behind it.” Baba, I wanted to talk to you this evening and lay everything out from start to finish. You deserve to know why I ran off to Goa and that too with that bastard Mike MacDouglas of all people,” Aparna somberly said, as she wiped away her remaining tears and let out a big sigh. “You know Ma had a problem with alcohol and fell into a huge depression after she found out you were leaving Kolkata, and her depression got so bad that she started taking drugs and got involved with that son-of-a-bitch James MacDouglas who turned her into a drug mule. Ma and I argued so much during that time, and I could see her falling deeper and deeper into James’ clutches. I felt like the only way to save her was to go to Goa myself and confront James. I decided to go undercover as a blackjack dealer at the Majestic Pride Casino and I thought in the process I could also learn how to be independent and live on my own.”

Yesterday Vittorio was distracted by my Bulbul and tonight it seems that the tables have turned, as Aparna’s gaze meets his and momentarily stays there. I briefly waved at Vittorio and signaled to him that I would be there with him shortly.

“The Majestic Pride is an offshore casino in Goa, which is not far the Immaculate Conception Church, the same church you attended when you were a waiter at the Majestic, and Thakurma’s was saying that is where you met and fell in love with Ma too. Unfortunately that is how I met Mike MacDouglas, and started such a dangerous and destructive chapter of my life.”

Aparna’s attention was briefly interrupted as she saw Vittorio arrive at the bar with a glass of San Pellegrino in his hand. Yesterday Vittorio was distracted by my Bulbul and tonight it seems that the tables have turned, as Aparna’s gaze meets his and momentarily stays there. I briefly waved at Vittorio and signaled to him that I would be there with him shortly.

As I looked back at the picture on Aparna’s phone, I remembered the Immaculate Conception Church at the intersection of Emilio Garcia Street, and Fra Angelo Road. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was a building built by the Portuguese during their presence in the country. The Immaculate Conception Church had been financially supported by my father as part of Thakurma’s initiative for charitable work. I also remembered The Crown Goa, where I had also worked while dating Upasana. These roads bring back so many carefree memories of basking in the sun, riding my motorcycle down the gulleys, picking up Upasana after her shift, her hopping on the back of my motorcycle and wrapping her arms around me as we sped off to the beach to enjoy pani puri and coconut water and talk late into the night

Aparna must have sensed me drifting off into my thoughts, as she took my arm and led me out of the hotel to my Fiat. “You know Baba, that first night that I was at The Majestic, I lost all my money playing blackjack,” Aparna laughed. “It was at that moment that Mike saw me from across the room and walked over to me, a huge wad of cash in his hand.” ‘You want to play again?’ Mike asked me, handing me the cash. I needed money desperately and so I took his offer and actually ended up winning quadruple the amount he gave me. I offered to give him half, and he instead asked me to come up to his room to discuss business and if I wanted to keep making money like this every night. My naïve sixteen-year-old self didn’t know that when a man says that he doesn’t just mean professional business, he means personal business. So I went up with him and of course we had sex, and when I woke up the next morning he was gone. He had just left me his phone number on a piece of paper from the hotel’s notepad. I was left so scared and confused and I just left that hotel room. I had so many questions so I called his number, and my confusion soon turned into anger as I found out he left to go to the U.S. where he had a whole family in New York and that he ran a drug trafficking business from there and Goa. I was ready to end it with him, when a few weeks later I had missed my period. I took a pregnancy test and found out I was pregnant with my twins. I then felt like it was my duty to make our relationship work, so I called him back to tell him I was pregnant. He came back to Goa and made all these false promises of being a good boyfriend and father, when in reality as my pregnancy progressed he became more and more abusive, beating me and even pimping me out to brothels and clients.”.

I could feel my blood boiling as Aparna continued her story, and the guilt started to hit me even harder. I couldn’t believe that I had left Aparna in this situation, her innocence being taken advantage of by that slimy pig Mike.

“As if going through all of that with Mike wasn’t traumatizing enough, one night I overheard him talking to his ex-wife back in New York, and she told him to kill me. I recorded that conversation and ran away that night itself while Mike was asleep, going to the nearest shelter I could find. I was there for a few nights, and I had honestly started to lose hope until Thakurma’s somehow showed up one day, picked me up, and took me home with her. She took care of me for the rest of my pregnancy and I can never ever repay her for her kindness and unconditional love for me,” Aparna recalled, with tears in her eyes again, but this time they were tears of joy and gratitude. “Unfortunately once my babies were born I lost custody of them to the government since they deemed me unfit due to my past with drugs and Mike,” Aparna wistfully recalled. “Thakurma’s helped me so much again during this time, helping me get back on my feet financially and helping me see my babies at least every weekend. She really motivated me to get my life together again, and she gave me hope that life is worth living and fighting for. And so, I decided to become a policewoman in the Kolkata Narcotics Department, and now I couldn’t be happier,” Aparna smiled.

I was so proud of my Bulbul. She had been through hell and back and she was thriving. “Oh Baba, there is one last thing I need to give you before we both retire for the night.” Aparna handed me a red and golden envelope and as I opened it, it read “Shomeet Weds Aparna” in cursive. “I’m getting married Baba and I want you to walk me down the altar,” Aparna smiled as she held my hand in hers. “Of course my Bulbul, it would be my honor; may the deities bless you always and forever,” I smiled as I hugged her and kissed her on her forehead.