YOURS TRULY

Part 17

Sorry!
That's all I can say for making you wait for this long for this part. I know it's been four months and I am really sorry about that.
It is just that, I don't want to write just anything that comes to my mind cause this book or the series for that matter is special for me and I am sure for you guys too. So I just want to make it perfect. So it'just taking a bit of time to write everything I want to tell in this story the way I imagine it.
But anyway, I am sorry.
And here is the new part.
Here you go...

Daylight in December was like a scene of a wink. It seemed like as the temperature went down around the city, even the god of Sun was in a hurry to quickly finish his work for the day and take a leave. Hence the evening poured down darkness around the metro-city with a snap of a finger.
Dusk appeared in Ipshita's clean and finely furnished bedroom as well. The huge room that oozed class and test along with wealth, was looking cold in the dirty blue light of twilight. The furniture appeared to be in the great cold and holding each other standing in a line to get some warmth.
But the owner of the room didn't seem to be aware or affected by the darkness that gathered around her. She sat in a corner hugging her knees that were gathered at her chest. The beautiful soft face of her was resting on the joint of her knees. A swarm of mosquitoes surrounding her we're busy making an attacking plan time and again entertaining her with there humming of, which can be assumed as their war cry. One can hardly tell if that bothered either, for other than her very slow movement of shoulders just as a mussel reflex as the insects sat on her, there was not much stir in her figure.
Her mind occupied with thousands of knots of questions, thoughts, conflicts and fights that she was having with herself.
Time and again the back of her mind was asking questions she had no answers.
'What now?'
'I don't know'
'What about -'
'I don't know'
'What if-'
'I don't know!!!'

'But why Ipshita?'
'Why? Because I wasn't happy'
'Happy!'
'Yes! Happiness!'
'What is happiness!'
'I-'
'Do you even know what makes you happy?'
'I-'
'You are a stupid little girl who is just being selfish! Who is not thinking about anyone else but herself! Have you thought about how your parents will face the world? How Abhijit must be feeling now! Just tell them you are sorry and marry the guy!'
'But-'
'Enough! You can't possibly dream that, that Delhi boy will run here and rescue you!'

"It's not about him!!!" Shutting her eyes close tightly, clenching her jaw the growl sneaked out of the back of her throat. Cold spread through her body as the December chilly air coming from the window passed through the thin shawl she had wrapped around her torso. Ipsita hugged her knees more tightly.
'Keep telling yourself that!' The back of her mind growled.


***


Sitting on the farthest corner of the couch with her phone in her hand, waiting for a reply to a message she had sent five minutes ago, Riti sighed for the hundredth times. Her mother and an aunt were blabbering animatedly sitting on the other sitting places in the room.
"Are you listening to us or not? Riti's mother gave her a light nudge on her shoulder demanding her attention.
Sighing once more Riti looked up at the women in front of her with a bored expression on her face. "Yes. I am."
Making a face to her daughter's visible indifference Riti's mother faced her sister, "I don't understand this girl! She is turning twenty-six next year, we must start looking for a groom! But look at her!"
"Saying 'twenty-six' like that won't make it turn into 40 maa. I am not ready for marriage." Riti bit back typing on her phone with a frown on her face completely ignoring the glare her mother was sending at her.
"Uh, Riti! Your mum isn't asking you to get married right now darling, all we are saying is that we start looking now that you have a wonderful job. It's gonna take time anyway." With a polite smile, Riti's aunt suggested.
"Yes," poignantly Riti's mother supported her sister's words. "All we are asking you to choose a guy. Then get married after a year or two."
"Yeah, even your best friend is getting married!"
"Yeah, look at her! She is your age! You are not ready now, but you will one day! So what's the harm in looking?"
For once Riti contemplated over whether to tell her mother about Ipshita's decision. But she realized it was not something her to announce or spread for she herself was not sure if her best friend was sure about the decision. For seven long years, the idea of Ipshita getting married to Abhijit was so confirmed no one had any doubts about it.
But then it wasn't anymore, and this fact was making the uncertainties of Riti's relationships more predictable to herself.
The reply to her message was still no show in the chatbox. Kissing her teeth with her tongue in disappointment and heaving another long sigh she stood up and escaped the room.
The two ladies in the room left looked at her retreating figure with much resentment in their eyes.

*

"Hello, can you talk?" Sitting in her dark bedroom Riti spoke in a small voice. Anxiety, nervousness shook her voice and made it smaller than usual.
"No! I am surrounded by family Riti. I can't now. I will call you back!" The girl's reply from the other end of the line was curt.
"Ajopa come on! Just - just give me five minutes. I really need to talk!" Riti pleaded.
"Later I said. Didn't I? Riti stop making this so hard for me." Ajopa hissed, "my mum is calling me bye. We will talk later."
"Fine. I love you." Heaving another sigh looking at her palm she said with a hope of hearing it back.
Though Ajopa's heart flooded with blood, racing through her entire body, with having butterflies fluttering inside her stomach madly, with a great skill she had earned since now she hid it as she was approaching her mother and cut the call with a simple "yah. I will call you back."


***

Tightly clenching her jaw Ipshita was sitting on the floor still when the muffled cry of her phone demanded her attention. Shooting her glance at the phone, she sat for a few moments, having absolutely nothing in mind, letting the phone tune the unrated jungle as it had suddenly torn the knots of her thoughts and wiped everything off her mind. She realized suddenly how much she had hated this tune throughout. The tune was a happy meaningless harmless jingle which had no statement to make absolutely. It was soft, sweet and completely meaningless. She did not even remember setting it as her tune.  She remembered she just did not want to set any song which could speak any personality or let people judge her.
As the realisation dawned upon her, her gaze turned bitter and she almost lept at the phone to stop the sound.

"So what is going on?" Riti's voice came from the other side of the call after Ipshita swiped on the screen of the phone to accept the call and they exchanged the basic greetings.
"I haven't heard from them after I told them. Radio silence!" She replied leaning against the bedpost sitting on the bed.
"Wow, you told the parents, huh!" Riti sighed may be hoping for a share of this courage of her best friend for herself to confront her own self and then her parents.
"I had to, I mean, it would have been much messier if they came to know about it when working me up at the dawn of the wedding for the Dadhimangal ritual. Imagine the waste!" Sadly Ipshita let out a chuckle that resonated through her best friend too.
"So you are going through this huh!"
Ipshita didn't reply to her question as she just kept staring at the wall in front of her.
"Riti, you really think that Akash Chatterjee really has something to do with my decision?"
"Well..."
Riti started to reply but before she could answer, the lights of Ipshita's room turned up. Surprised by the sudden appearance of so much of lights Ipsita jumped up on the place and jolted her face towards the doorway near the switches of the lights.
Stand in there with a scowling face Shuvro was retreating his fingers from the switchboard.
"Why are you sitting in the darkness? And shut the windows, mosquitoes are making a festival in this room." The calm tone, 'as if nothing had happened' tone of her father sent a cold shiver down her spine. She dreaded this calmness of her father.
"II-"
"And go and clean your face, freshen up a bit, your would-be in-laws are coming in dinner, you need to straighten this mess up."...

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