‘- What are you doing, Tripti? ‘
Listening to Dihan on the other side of the phone, Tripti said in a daze,
‘- This is in bed.’
‘- You mean in bed? Are you still sleeping?’
‘- Ummmm.’
‘- Are you still ummming while lying down? Look at the clock and see what time it is. When will you come to the university? If you miss Sir’s class, there will be news today.’
Tripti sat up in a panic at Dihan’s words. Then she looked at the clock and saw that it was thirty minutes to nine. She quickly freshened up and ran to the drawing room. As she was about to move towards the main door, Tripti’s father, Ahyan Ferdous, called out from behind,
‘- What is it, Tripti? Aren’t you going to have breakfast?’
‘- It’s already very late today, father. There are only twenty-five minutes left until nine. If you don’t reach class on time, sir will scold you. ‘
Listening to his daughter, Ahyan Ferdous came towards his daughter with breakfast in his hand and said,
‘-I don’t want to go on an empty stomach in the morning, mother. Take it and eat a little. ‘
Trupti smiled softly and said goodbye to her father’s breakfast and left for the university. On the other hand, Hena Ferdous smiled softly seeing the joy between her father and daughter. Ahyan Ferdous and Hena Ferdous’ younger daughter is Trupti. In terms of complexion, serious nature, Trupti is like her father Ahyan Ferdous in every way. That’s why Ahyan Ferdous is a little more caring towards his daughter. On the other hand, the eldest son Adi moved to London five years ago. Ahyan Ferdous is living his days in retirement due to his son’s strict prohibitions. Despite being an employee, he sometimes rushes to the office to handle business himself.
‘- This is such a joy for father and daughter. What will you do if you get your daughter married?’
Ahyan laughs at his wife Hena’s words. Then he says,
‘- If we don’t talk about it then, we will see. The girl is still in her father’s house. And don’t you know? Every girl in her father’s house is a princess. My daughter is also a princess to me! How can I not take care of a princess?’
Ahyan Ferdous leaves with a smile after saying these words to his wife. On the other hand, Hena takes a deep breath and says,
‘- Such a beloved and happy princess has to be sent to someone else’s house one day. Ah! What is the law of nature.’
‘- For this Tripti, I have to listen to Sir’s scolding every day. My brother doesn’t like it.’
Ruhan said this with a look of annoyance on his face looking at the clock. Snigdha said from the side,
‘- Who is keeping you? Go to class.’
‘- Have I ever gone to class alone without you? Classes are not good without you. ‘
‘- Hahaha uncle, you are right. No matter how much I scold you, it is different to have a class together. What? Am I not telling you right? My dear darling Snigdha.’
Hearing Ranbir’s words, Snigdha frowned at him and then said,
‘- I am not telling you this? Don’t call me darling Farling. ‘
‘- Where did I call you Farling? I only called you Darling.’
As soon as Ranbir turned his lips and said that, Snigdha raised her finger and was about to say something to him, just then Dihan said,
‘- Trupti’s child! If I get scolded by Sir today. Then is your day our day? ‘
Trupti looked at her watch and said,
‘- There are still five minutes left. Come on, let’s all go to class.’
Then, everyone hurriedly went to class.
‘- Dad, did you call me?:
Shaukat Hossain said, keeping his eyes on the pages of the book,
‘- Yes! There was something to say. Sit here. ‘
Pull a chair and sit in front of his father, Arju said,
‘- Yes, tell me, father. ‘
‘- I am thinking of sending you out. The situation in the world is getting worse day by day. You can see it. Our lives have somehow gone. Your future lies ahead. Think about your own future, not for us. You have grown up now. Stop running around unnecessarily and chasing girls. Don’t forget that we are middle class. ‘
Arju, a little annoyed by Shawkat Hossain’s words, said,
‘- I chase girls? Who told you that, father?’
‘- Why should anyone tell me? I am your father. I know your character very well. Stop talking about Adrita. Forget everything that happened with Adrita as a nightmare. Instead, get better yourself. It doesn’t take money to get better. Don’t waste time unnecessarily and focus on your career. ‘
Arju stood up from listening to her father and then said straight away,
‘- I will not go anywhere until my real work is finished, father. And you don’t have to think about my career. Let it be the way the day is going. It doesn’t matter. ‘
Arju said these words to her father and left the house without standing for a second. Seeing that, Shawkat Hossain took a deep breath. As soon as his wife Anjuman put his hand on his shoulder, he said,
‘-I never thought. A child born in our house would be like this. So rude and uncivilized!’
Anjuman took a short breath and said,
‘-Our son was not like this. The fire of revenge is burning in his chest. Which is constantly burning him from the inside and destroying him. ‘
‘-Where is Adrita?’
‘-Is she sleeping in the room?’
‘-Did you manage to convince the girl?’
‘- No. She said the same thing. She won’t get married. ‘
Without saying anything else, Shawkat Hossain took a deep breath and left the room. He has to get ready and go to work. At the age of retirement, he still has to carry the responsibilities of the family. This is like a cruel irony of fate for him.
Everyone had just left the university after finishing classes. In the meantime, Tripti’s phone rang. As soon as he received the phone and held it to his ear, Arju said from the other side,
‘-Have you finished your university, madam?’
‘-Yes, it is. ‘
‘-But surely we can meet now?’
‘-Why not? Of course! ‘
‘- Then come to the restaurant quickly. We will eat something and talk and leave together. Besides, my heart has been itching to see you since then. ‘
‘- Okay, I’m coming. You stay. ‘
Tripti finished talking and hung up the call. Then she said to Snigdha, Ranbir, Ruhan and Dihan,
‘- You’re welcome, uncle. I’ll meet Arju and then go home. ‘
Even though everyone left after saying goodbye to Tripti, Dihan didn’t go. Seeing Dihan standing, Tripti said,
‘- Why are you standing? Aren’t you going home?’
‘- Did I ever leave you?’
‘- Hey brother, won’t you let me spend some time alone with my bf?’
‘- No. I’ll stay with you as long as I’m here.’
Tripti slapped her forehead at Dihan’s words and said,
‘- Why did a scoundrel like you get on my forehead? I don’t even know. Anyway, let’s go. Arju is waiting.’
Dihan started walking after Tripti, cutting off her hair.
Seeing Tripti with Dihan, Arju’s face showed a clear expression of annoyance. Even though he understood it, Dihan pulled a chair and sat down without paying attention to it. Then he said to Tripti,
‘-Hey, why are you standing? Sit down quickly. Since then, he has been feeling like a rat is running around in his stomach with hunger. As Tripti pulled the chair and sat down, Dihan said to Arju,
‘-What will you feed Dulabhai today? ‘
Arju was already annoyed to see Tripti with Dihan. On top of that, he got angry hearing Dihan’s words again. Nevertheless, he managed to control his anger and called the waiter and ordered three pizzas along with cold drinks. As soon as the waiter served the food, Dihan started eating. As soon as the phone rang in his pocket, Dihan finished eating and received the call. Arju and Tripti moved away from each other a little. Arju said to Tripti,
‘-Can’t I ever spend time alone with you, Tripti? Why do you have to keep your friend with you all the time? There’s something to be said for our personal conversations. ‘
Tripti took a small breath and said,
‘-Tell me what to do? Dihan is my best friend. I can’t refuse even if he asks me to come with you.’
‘-Please, Tripti, please! I’ve endured too much. Either keep Dihan in your life or me. Or stop taking Dihan with you all the time and meeting me. ‘
‘-Okay. I’ll tell Dihan to never come with me again. ‘
After finishing speaking, Tripti stood up. Then she said to Arju,
‘- Come today, then.’
Arju looked at her in surprise and said,
‘- You just came.’
‘- My head is pounding. I have to go home and take a rest. ‘
Tripti left the restaurant with Dihan without giving Arju a chance to say anything else. On the other hand, Arju was extremely annoyed by Tripti’s behavior. With a hint of annoyance on his face, he said,
‘- No matter what, I have to separate Trupti from this Dihan. Otherwise, this Dihan will become a black hole for me.’
In the afternoon, the three friends went out for a walk together. They came to the bank of the river flowing a little distance from Ranbir’s house and sat down. Dihan, Ruhan, and Ranbir were sitting in the gentle afternoon breeze and chatting. While talking, Ranbir said at one point,
‘- Uncle, why are you chasing Trupti even though you know everything? Trupti is already booked. Uncle, let go of Trupti. Otherwise, you will regret it later. Trupti will definitely go away holding Arju’s hand. And you? You will suffer as a Devdas yourself. Instead, he gives up hope for Trupti. Find someone new. Is there a shortage of girls in the university? ‘
‘-Can you leave or forget Snigdha?’
To Dihan’s counter-question, Ranbir says,
‘-Of course! If Snigdha had someone else in her life, I would have left her. There is no such person. Besides, I know Snigdha also likes me. I saw love for me in her eyes. But, I did not see any love for you in Tripti’s eyes, Dihan. Why can’t you understand that?’
Dihan smiles softly at Ranbir’s words and then says,
‘-This is the abode of only my lover named Tripti. Where she lives every moment. How can I forget her? Tell me. Forgetting her or imagining anyone other than her is like a terminal illness. ‘
Ranbir stands up from his farewell sitting. Then he says,
‘-Evening is approaching. Let’s go home. ‘
The sun is setting slowly in the western sky. Who doesn’t like the last lap of the twilight? The evening will be approaching soon. But Dihan doesn’t want to leave this beautiful scene behind at Ranbir’s words. So she tells Ranbir,
‘-Stay a little longer. It’s nice to see the last lap. You too, watch and enjoy it.’
‘-Okay. ‘
Say okay and Ranbir sits next to Dihan again. On the other hand, Ruhan says,
‘-You stay, I’ll come. I have some work to do. ‘
Ruhan leaves, while Dihan and Ranbir sit on the bank of the river.
– Walking with a friend. I’m chatting with my friend’s sister without my friend’s knowledge. What a shameless person I am. If your brother Dihan finds out about it once, then he won’t leave me alone, Shubhrata.
Shubhrata bursts into laughter after hearing Ruhan’s words from the other side of the phone. This is the only person who can make her laugh all the time. Or a girl with a serious nature like Shuvrata is not one to be easily amused.
‘-What’s the matter? Are you laughing?’
Hearing Ruhan’s words, Shuvrata somehow stopped laughing and said,
‘-Tell me what to do? I can’t laugh at anything you say.’
‘-You’re right about that too. Now you understand what Ruhan is. He can make a robot-like girl like you laugh.’
‘-Do I feel like a robot?’
‘-Of course! But that’s how it seems to everyone. Not to me. Because, to me, you are a playful, cheerful and childish girl. Oops, you are a child. Just skip classes. After all, I have to handle a childish girl like you?’
‘-Am I a child?’
‘-I guess you’ve grown up?’
‘-Go away, I won’t talk to you. I hung up. ‘
‘-No no no don’t hang up the phone. Listen to me. ‘
‘-Say.’
‘- You are not a child, you are my little wife. Love you so much honey.’
‘-Love you too. Now I’ll hang up. Good night. ‘
‘-Good night. Tata.
As soon as Shuvrata hung up the call from the other side, Ruhan smiled softly. Then he dived into the abyss of the incident that happened a year ago today..
