Tanmoy was shocked. Everything happened in a flash. He never imagined the poor old man whom he was pitying was in reality a fraud trying to extort money. He looked at the person who calmly threw the wig and beard away. 'So she knew everything all along.' Even he got fooled by the impeccable guise of the fraud. But this young girl in front saw through it. But he did not understand why she did not expose him earlier. That way she would not have to hear such nasty words. He also felt ashamed of his behaviour.
The man pointed his knife at the girl at a dangerously close distance. "Back off. I said back off." He said to the gathered people threatening to stab her. Tanmoy jolted from his reverie. He knew that if the man bent slightly forward he would pierce the girl's throat. He frowned. He thought of the possibility of saving her. He was quite close to him and could stun the fraud but there was a risk of the girl getting hurt.
Tanmoy saw Ankita standing among the crowd with a frightened expression. Their eyes met. He mouthed "Distract him." Ankita did not get him. She looked at him with furrowed brows. "You dummy. I said to distract him." He hissed. "Are you saying that I'll distract him while you knock him out?" Ankita said loudly. Tanmoy felt like sewing her mouth. The fraud also looked at him. "You trying to be a hero huh? Then let me teach you a lesson first. You shouldn't poke your nose into other people's business." He swung the knife at him. Tanmoy luckily dodged the blow. "This stupid girl." He scolded his sister in his heart.
The man raised his hand to strike again. Tanmoy ducked and punched his knee. The man did not seem to be an experienced fighter because this was enough to tackle him. He dropped his knife and howled in pain. Tanmoy had punched him with all his might and his knee almost bent reversely. He clutched his leg and screamed and cursed. By then someone had already called the police and the man was being handcuffed. Tanmoy was questioned for a while before they took the man away.
The onlookers were gradually dispersing when Tanmoy walked up to the girl. She was also about to leave when he called from behind "Excuse me miss. I'm sorry for showing such poor judgement of people. You were the victim from the beginning but I too like everyone else suspected you. I'm really ashamed to call myself an advocate. Hope you'd forgive my rudeness." He said it all with respect and sincerity. "Everyone makes mistakes once in a while. No biggie. And you earned your forgiveness by helping me earlier. Thank you." She said slipping her hands in her pocket. Then turning sideways to the girl who was jogging towards them she said with a smirk "And your sister also helped a lot in 'distracting' the fraud." Ankita laughed in a silly manner and scratched her head.
Both of them looked at each other and their eyes spoke many unspoken words but no one noticed. The eye contact was brief. After bidding farewell the girl left. Tanmoy kept staring at the departing car. "Woah! Did you develop a crush on her?" Ankita brought her face close to his. "Gossip" was written all over her face. Tanmoy used two fingers to push her face away and said scornfully "You almost cost me my life! What crush are you talking about!" "Ouch! Be gentle. Are you planning on poking a hole through my temple?" She said rubbing her forehead. "I do. I really wish to crack your head open and see how many kilos of cow dung is in there." He said.
Ankita knew she did a stupid mistake and hence let her brother scold her to his liking. Finally, they reached the mall and Ankita began hunting for a perfect lehenga for the upcoming wedding. She went to a store dragging Tanmoy behind her. "Please show me a lehenga with a breathable and highly stretchable waist." The salesman looked puzzled. People would usually say colour or design or size or style of a dress but she was specifically asking for a dress with super stretchable waist. "What?" He thought he heard wrong. Ankita repeated. "What do you need that for?" Tanmoy asked with a confused gaze. "Ah, you don't understand. If the waist of my dress is flexible my tummy won't feel strangled when I eat. I won't be able to eat my fill if I wear too tight of a dress you see." I Ankita said it like she was explaining to an ignorant kid.
The salesman laughed. "You're right. We should wear beautiful but loose clothes to weddings. Else how are we supposed to eat in the buffet?" he said. "Do you even know anything besides eating?" Tanmoy said flicking her temple. Ankita shook her head proudly. The salesman laughed again. He then pointed to the screen behind him and asked her to choose her style. Ankita chose a one-piece lehenga with a soap orange-coloured base with golden thread for design. He then proceeded to show her the dresses according to her preference.
"This one." Ankita pointed at one of the panels. "Good choice ma'am. This is by India's number one fashion brand Jet. You can even apply for custom measurements for this. We have a sample for you to try on and you can request for a different fabric material if this doesn't feel good on your skin." The salesman said.