YOURS TRULY

Part 28

Wake up - shower - eat - go to work - work until they realized it's almost time to wake up again - go home - eat - sleep - repeat -

Days were rolling away in their own mundane, stirless agony.

"Did you hear?" Riti stormed inside Ipshita's cabin one day.
"What?" Without looking up from her desktop screen Ipshita asked.
"We are getting a new brunch manager."
"What? I thought Smritidi was getting promoted."
"That was the news, but apparently that's not the case and they are flying in some dude from Hyderabad."
The information made Ipshita's eyebrows knitted together. Mostly office gossip or politics were the things she hated but Smritidi was her mentor from the day she stepped into this office. She had watched her climbing the corporate ladder with dignity and utmost hard work. 'Smritidi deserved that position' she thought. A part of her felt disappointed witnessing such a reward of loyalty.

.

Days were rolling again.

Ipsita looked up from her laptop screen and the scenario of dusk settling over the city made her sigh. One more day got over without her realising. Though she loved working in the company, she loved cracking projects one after another, she loved her boss no matter how mad it sounded - it's been a few days since a bug inside her kept making her restless. And with every passing night that bug would sting her a bit more - one more day gone in peace. Peace! This might be what peace was. Was it? Her life was good. She earned money more than she could spend. Her parents, friends even relatives loved her. She was well-raised, well-mannered, caring, and hard-working- her love life wasn't pitiful either. It was just last week an actor friend of Artriya asked her out. The guy was breathtakingly handsome besides of being extremely charming and gaining immense popularity these days Ipsita blushed red throughout their first date. She heard later from Artriya how smitten the man was by her too. Her life was fulfilled - and like bucket full of water it was peaceful. Placid.
Tiringly calm!
Looking out of her car window she sighed. The city was bustling outside. Packed autos and buses and other vehicles' cacophony were alarming everyone about the jostle. The temperature was equally rising to over 40.
Sitting inside the air-conditioned sedan car Ipsita however could hear all the sound through filters. The rising temperature of mid-March couldn't get to her either. But behind the heavy, thick and powerful glasses of spectacles Ipshita's face looked exhausted. Heavy eyelids tiringly almost coving her eyes, haunch shoulder strengthlessly rested on the car seat as she tapped her index finger on the steering wheel. She let out a yawn as the signal turned green.

...

"You are kidding me!" Arun sat up straight on his bed with eyes sparkling and lips spread with a grin.
"Nope!" Hundreds miles away Arun's friend in Delhi had the same expression on his face as he typed something on his laptop.
"So... when? When exactly are you coming?"
"Umm! Most probably sometime late in this month."
"Man! You will get burnt in this heat dude! No seriously it's forty-two degrees outside and it's just the beginning of April and no rain in sight! But- but! You are finally coming to Kolkata Akash! Gosh! For how many days exactly again?"
"Can't say exactly, I'll be in and out a lot but most probably two to three -"
"Yesss! I will prepare a whole itinerary. From with Kachuri in north to- to- those newly opened cafés in South-"
"I will gladly oblige brother." Akash's torso shook with laughter as he replied, "But, I will be attending classes, so keep that in mind as well-"
"Guli maar tor class ke! You are coming to my city for first time and you will choose classes over me? Also, eh? When you die will classes be there? No, but food will be there. We live to eat Akash and Kolkata is the city of food-"
Akash couldn't refute a logic like this. He laughed away.

After the laughter and the excitement died down, in a mild voice Arun asked hesitantly, "Umm... so how- how are you doing? Otherwise? ... any news on Raina?" He knew this was one of the longest relationships Akash have ever been in. Even though they were miles apart, Arun always loved Akash like one of his closest friends They would go not talking for a long time and then pick up right where they left. In those summer vacations both the family went travelling, the two boys were inseparable. They would share all of their life updates in those few days.
"What- what news will there be?" Akash sadly passed a laughter. "It's done. We met once after I enrolled into university, she said her family has chosen a groom for her. So- " he shrugged resting his shoulder on the chair and sighed. Was it love? Did he love Rain? He did like her a lot that he could say. Liked her enough to introduce to his family. She was kind, generous, always had a warm smile on her face, bubbly, down to earth, but most importantly Raina had long curly hair just like Akash's mother. Akash's father also approved her, "She has a career but she's not too crazy about it. She is family oriented. She would make a good wife Akash. You did well." Anindya had said as if those were the reason Akash liked Raina. The comment left a bad taste in his mouth.

...

"So how's your family being? Any progress?" Artriya tilted her head to the side and looked at Riti.
"Umm... both behaving like they haven't heard anything." Riti shrugged. "Maa is being abnormally cheerful but if I try to bring it up she will leave the room with some excuse and baba... ido'nno! He has a very monk-like serious face on. Everything is just very weird-"
"Well you did just throw a bomb in their lap. You had to be a little cautious-"
"With the fact of who I am? The exact fact that they knew already and behave like they didn't!" Riti howled glaring at Artriya. "Why? Why should I be the one to be cautious about who I am in front of my own parents?!!"
"It's what being child in this country is. Look at Ipshita!" Artriya pointed her fingers to earn a glare from earlier. "Does her parents know what their innocent little Ippu is doing?"
"If you try to slut shame me one more time-" Ipshita warned.
"Uuuuuuh! I am scared-" Artriya replied in the most monotonous tone humanly possible. But these humorous retorts were far from amusing to Riti. Rubbing her palm across her face restlessly she stood up making her two friends gape in surprise.
"I- I need to go. I can't- I can't take this heat anymore"
"We are under air-conditioning!" Ipshita mouthed dumbfounded.
"I don't feel well."
"Ei Riti, don't be angry now babe!" Artriya tried to pull Riti back on her chair.
"No! Not- I am not, I just feel sleepy Ari. I'll see you two later. I will - I will call you-"
And she was gone.

When the two friends looked at her retreating figure that Saturday afternoon with surprise and worry they didn't realise, Ipshita would be waking up the very next Saturday at 2 am in the morning with cry of her cell phone.
"Hel-"
"Ipshita! Ipshita please help kor amae! Please help. I can't stop the blood and I can't open the door I feel dizzy Ipu- Ipshita-"

So this was the part. I hope you liked it. So much is going to happen next. Can you guess?
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