Unwanted

Chapter 10

Archit

I tried to ignore them.

'Frivolous'
It meant 'not having any serious purpose or value.' Just like me.

"Congratulations." The guest said to Priyodorshini while handing his gift to her, he smiled at her.
"Thank you." Darshini said, taking the gift and keeping it on the sofa behind her.

Today was our reception.

Priyodorshini was looking elegant as always, she was dressed in a rusted orange saree and had her hair styled up in a bun. She was busy attending to the guests. Priyangshu was sitting on the sofa behind us with the gifts. I sighed, I looked around and realised that I knew nobody here. Most of the guests were my Baba's guest. Some were his employees, some were his friends, some were our relatives. Most of our relatives disliked me. Their dislike towards me increased after that 'incident.' Most of the guests only talked to Priyodorshini and chose to ignore me. In a way that was good as I sucked at socialising and it was better than being questioned and judged.
"Priyodorshini." I heard my Baba call her name. Priyodorshini upon hearing him, walked away. She went to him and stood beside him. I saw him introducing her to someone. He kept smiling while talking about her. He looked happy and proud. Baba and Priyodorshini looked like dad-daughter. Infact Priyodorshini looked more like his child than I did. At that moment I felt jealous. I shouldn't feel this way. I thought to myself.
But then again feelings cannot be controlled.
I felt like nobody cared about me. Would anyone miss me if I were to disappear and never come back?
I looked down and closed my eyes.

●●●●●●●

I fixed my hair for one last time.
"Dar-Priyodorshini, how do I look?" I asked while looking at Priyodorshini who was sitting on my bed while Priyangshu sat on her lap.
"Talk softly." She said in an irritated tone.
"Sorry." Embarrassed, I uttered.
"But, how do I look?" I asked her.
"Jemon dekhte tamon e lagche." She replied, sounding uninterested.
[Translation: You are looking just like you look.]
I bowed my head feeling a little dejected.
"You look good." Priyangshu said making me smile.
"Thanks." I replied to him cheerfully. I looked at Priyodorshini and then back at the mirror. The navy blue suit that I was wearing looked good on me. But I still had one problem, I didn't know how to style a tie.
"Umm. Priyodorshini...can you.." I thought about asking Darshini for help.
"What?" She asked sounding very cold.
"I don't how to style a tie." I said in a low tone.

She got up with a sigh and came towards me. Taking the tie from my hand, she started helping me with it. I crouched down in order to match her height as that would make it easier for her to help me.
"You should have learned this earlier. It's really just a basic skill." She said while tieing it around my neck.
"You look beautiful." I said to Priyodorshini. She stayed silent. Truth to be told, she did infact look beautiful. The rusted orange coloured saree that she was wearing looked great on her.
"There you go." Saying this she picked Priyangshu up and went out of the room, I stood there for awhile before doing the same.

Upon coming downstairs, I saw Baba waiting for us.
"You look good." He complimented Priyodorshini.
"Thanks." She replied back.
"How do I look?" Priyangshu asked making Baba smile.
"You look cute." Baba replied.
"Thank you." Priyangshu thanked Baba for his compliment.
At last, Baba turned towards me. He looked at me with a serious expression. I smiled at him waiting for him to compliment me.
"Archit, I need to talk to you about something." He said sounding dead serious.
"O-ok." I replied to him.
"Please wait for a minute." Baba said to Priyodorshini and Priyangshu while he pulled me aside.

"What happened?" I asked him with a smile.
"Don't smile like that, you look like a monkey." He said making me frown.
"Archit, today is your reception. I want you to stay silent for the whole event, don't try to say anything, don't talk to anyone. I don't want anyone to talk about your 'past'." Baba said, stressing on the 'past'.
"Also don't smile like a monkey." Saying this Baba walked away. I just stood there silent not knowing what to say.
"Come fast, I don't want to reach the venue late because of you." Baba said in an annoyed tone.

●●●●●●●●●●

I opened my eyes. I saw that Baba was staring at me, I smiled at him. Upon seeing me smile he sighed and turned around. He continued speaking to his guests. I felt ignored. A lone tear escaped my eyes.

Why was I even born. I should have just died that day instead of Ma.

Suddenly I felt someone tug on my pant. I looked around, it was Priyangshu.
"Why are you crying?" He asked making me wipe my eyes.
"Nothing." I replied.
"What happened?" I turned around upon hearing the voice, it was Priyodorshini.
"Nothing." I answered.
Priyodorshini came and sat on the sofa beside Priyangshu.

After awhile we saw Arunima, Deepanjan and Brishti coming towards us. I felt relieved after seeing someone I knew. But, I was wrong. All three of them handed their gifts to Priyodorshini while ignoring me.
"Di, how are you?" Deepanjan asked Darshini in a worried tone while Arunima and Brsihti stood there in silence.
"I am okay. How are you?" Darshini replied.
"Can we talk to you for a second?" Deepanjan asked.
"What happened?" Worried, I asked.
"Nothing. It is just a family matter." Deepanjan said, this time looking me up and down. I understood that it was a signal for me to leave. I guess,
I wasn't family to them.
"You all talk. I need to use the washroom once." Saying this I walked away.

Maybe they had something private to talk about.

●●●●●●●●

I stood infront of the door to my room, feeling a little hesitant.
I knocked on the door waiting for the permission to enter.
"Come in." I heard Priyodorshini's voice from inside.
Today was our fulsojja.
[Fulsojja=first night after the wedding]
I opened the door to my room and entered. I saw Priyodorshini sitting on the center of my bed while Priyangshu was sleeping right beside her. She was wearing a deep teal coloured saree and her face was covered with a red veil, she was adorned in flower jewellery. Taking baby steps I reached towards her and sat on my bed. I positioned myself so that I was facing her. I could feel her glaring at me eventhough her face was covered. Gathering a little bit of courage, I tried to lift her veil, my hands started making their way towards her veil so as to lift it.

"Don't even think about it."

Cover and banner credits - MI-ZU-E