OTHER GROOM... the tale of the rejected guy...

Part 37

"Have you eaten anything?"

Tuli jolted her face up as Shuvro's question knocked her senses. Sniffing, and wiping the rolling tear over her cheeks, she shook her head a little, "I am not feeling like it..."

Shuvro sighed helplessly hearing her as his head hung a little. He walked ahead and sat down beside her on the window sit of her room. He stared at her for a little as she sat there looking out of the window folding her one leg close to her chest. Shuvro sighed as the grim on Tuli's face was breaking his heart. He looked down at his hands that were on his laps. Very badly he wanted to say something, something that could lit up her face with some glow that he started to see since last month - but he couldn't do anything other than sitting there.

The face of Shuvro's father kept coming in his mind.

"Baba looked peaceful though, didn't he?" Tuli suddenly spoke up with a stretch of a smile on her face. Shuvro looked up at her to find her still looking out side. "He was in a lot of pain Suvo. He must be in peace now..." Tuli sniffed.

Shuvro nodded.

"But I going to miss him Suvo... amar baba..." she welled up again.

"Tuli," As Tuli sniffed trying to calm herself Shuvro spoke. "Kakima is not eating anything, you know!"

Tuli jolted up her face to look at Shuvro with questioning and suddenly worried eyes. "No one fed her yet...?"

"She isn't agreeing to." Shuvro shook his head.

Tuli wiped her face quickly, "didn't you...?" She started asking Shuvro for him to make her eat something

"Listen to me..." he inched a little closer to her and grabbed her one hand as he spoke looking into her eyes, "we - as in, me, your other relatives are there for you Tuli, but trust me we are no one, you are the only one who can take care of your mother Tuli. You are needed to be her rock. She has no one other than you, in this whole world now. She needs you."

A lone tear crawled down from her eyes as she understood what he was saying, and the reality of the loss of her father once again hit her.

"For that you need to be strong, and you need to eat Tuli," he spoke staring at her as she nodded sniffing before getting up from the window sit and composed herself heading the kitchen to grab some food for her mother.

"Don't repeat my mistake of forgetting one parent in grim of losing one." He murmured inwardly after Tuli walked out of the room. Heaving a sigh Shuvro lit up a smoke.

*

"Maa!" Tuli called touching her mother's arm. Mr. Sengupta was lying on the bed having her eyes closed. Her face looked so grim and swollen. Yet she tried to stretch a sad smile looking at her daughter's face. Tuli's eyes welled up as she inched closer to her mother, hence she blinked quickly to fade those gathering tears. "You haven't eat anything since last night maa..."

"I am not feeling like it Tuli..."

"Baba will get mad at me maa," Tuli tried to paint an angry face on her agony as she tried for a commanding voice. "I have warmed up some milk maa, have this."

"Tuli... I..."

"Have this, maa." She handed a glass her mother.

Mrs. Sengupta unwillingly took the glass and brought the goblet to her mouth, but stopped again. She looked up at her daughter. "Have you eaten anything?"

"Once you have it I will..."

Listening to daughter's answer Mrs. Sengupta shook her head, extend her hand holding the goblet, "have it,"

"Don't you argue with maa, I will have something. Its yours..."

"Tuli..."

The mother and daughter became pestering each other, when Tuli's Kaki walked into the room. "No one is needed to argue!"

She was carrying a palate of sweets. She came inside as if she was waiting for some cue. She gave Tuli a smile in futile attempt of cheer her up handing her the palate.

Standing at the door Shuvro heaved a sigh as he saw his wife shove a piece of sweet into her mouth motioning her mother to gulp the milk down.

***

"Tuli would perform the funeral after three days, so we should..."

The words of Tuli's Kaku wasn't yet finished as it got interrupted by Shuvro.

"Why must she perform it after three days? She will do it after the fortnight, won't you?" Shuvro asked the last question looking at his wife, who looked back him with blank face. "You are uncle's only child Tuli..."

"But according to the tradition, after getting married the daughter does it on the fourth day Shuvro." Tuli's kaku pointed out.

"She is uncle's only daughter kaku if she doesn't do it, it kind of sound meaningless, now doesn't it?"

"I am his brother." agitatedly Tuli's kaku said "Cousin, might be, but..."

"I am not trying to undermine you kaku by any meaning, but I think Tuli should do it as one offspring should do. Now its up to her..." Shuvro argued in his yet calm and polite tone.

"I will perform it after fortnight." She spoke up and as everyone looked at her, looking at Shuvro she continued saying, "Baba asked me to do so. Cause I was his son and daughter both. I was his rock."

Tears crawled out of her eyes speaking about her father, but a sad smile touched her lips making them lift up. The smile touched Shuvro's face to, curling his lips upwards.

***

One week later Shuvro took two days off from his job ignoring the glares of Bagchi.

"Don't be insane!" Shuvro had hissed on Bagchi's scowling face.

Those days Shuvro, along with Tuli went to the houses of Tuli to invite them to the funeral. All of them gave them condolences, and plastering a smile on their faces. They offered consoling words, and nice things about Tuli's father saying how much they are gonna miss him.

Amidst of all these things Tuli didn't feel a thing.

As she came out of the sixth house she was feeling claustrophobic. Sitting inside the ac car Tuli tried to inhale lungs full of air, but she felt more strangled. She rolled down the window in haste, and the chilling breeze of December hit her face. Closing her eyes she inhaled sharply.

"You will catch cold Tuli, roll up the window." Shuvro mused driving through the busy roads of Kolkata carefully.

"Amae ekbar Pricenpghat niye jabi Shuvro?" Tuli asked looking at the passing streets and then turning her face inside the car looking at Shuvro's surprised face she repeated what she said, assuring him, "lets go to Princepghat, I need a break."

Shuvro took his car an U-turn driving where Tuli wanted to go.

"We need to sit for a moment there." Tuli murmured leaning her head on the car's shoulder...

So this was the update. Hope you liked the part. Now VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! and comment...