Bye, Bhalobasha: A Short Story (Ours #3)

Part One: Hurting

"Ki?" Abhik said, this time louder, causing people to turn heads. Muttering an apology, he turned around and began walking in the opposite direction of the campus. "What are you talking about, Zahir?"

He found a bench in the courtyard, set his bag beside him, and sat down. Phone close to his ear and with one hand through his hair, he listened to his friend. Or, tried to. "I'm serious, yaar. Suraiya was there. She probably still is, and-"

"Stop it. Suraiya's at her nani's."

The sound of cars zooming and horns honking only made Abhik's head more muddled. Why was Zahir saying this? "Since last week you keep telling me, 'Suraiya this,' 'Suraiya that.' What is this sudden obsession you have?" he huffed. Why was his childhood friend saying all these things? It didn't make sense.

"Thika ache." Abhik ended the call and began fidgeting with his fingers. His Suraiya could not do such a thing. No, Zahir must be mistaken. He closed his eyes and leaned back.

Her face began to materialize in his mind. Full, pink lips stretched in a smile accompanied by the dimples that gave her this happy-go-lucky look. Wide, blue eyes hidden by a set of long, black lashes. Her black hair that went down to her shoulders was always adorned with a clip of some sort.

The bell rang, its sound reverberating in the courtyard. Abhik still had his eyes closed as he felt the whizz of students passing by and heard the chatter of after-school plans people were already making. That reminded him. With a jolt, he stood up, grabbed his bag, and slinging it around his shoulders, made way over to his bike. He didn't bother calling yet but figured that he would make it early and surprise her there. And so that's what he did.

***

Despite the many places to visit and hang out in Dhaka, they always chose this one corner store. And they never knew. Maybe it was the many memories created there, or the natural attraction to the place in general. Whatever it was, the place was theirs. 

It must have been only ten minutes since he had arrived, and ten minutes since he was waiting for her. But it was no surprise. Suraiya's school was further from here than Abhik's. Not to mention that now since she was living with her nani, who became ill about a month back, it made it more difficult for her to get here and about. Abhik had offered to give Suraiya a ride multiple times, each ending with her declining, saying that she could not ask for so much from him. Truth be told it made his heart sink, but he understood.

A soft jingle reached his ears from somewhere not too far, and he raised his head to see her there. Suraiya was standing in an awkward stance, eyes flitting around nervously as if this were her first time here, and when her stare landed on Abhik and she offered him a shy smile, his shoulders relaxed and he found himself returning the smile with one of his own. Making her way over to him, he caught sight of the clip in her hair, and unable to resist the urge commented, "Pink phulas... it looks good on you."

Her hand immediately went up to her hair, grazing the clip with her fingers before bringing it back to her side. "Dhonnobad." But as she said it, she avoided looking into his eyes, and he took it as her being bashful. She took her seat across from him, head tilted to the side. "I'll be right back," he told her.

***

When Abhik came back to their table, he noticed Suraiya slip her phone into her purse at the same moment he slipped into his seat. "You don't drink cha, so I got you this instead." He passed her a cup, which she took gratefully and began sipping almost immediately. He warned her to stop, but it was too late. She set the cup down with a thud, resulting in the liquid sloshing out and onto the table. Suraiya raised a questioning brow in his direction.