YOURS TRULY

Part 24

A/N: Two back to back updates. Please show some love, please please Vote!

Engrossed in the paper in her hand Tulika was sitting on the bed. She didn't realise ginger and anxious footsteps of her only daughter approaching her. So as Ipshita's hands hugged her shoulders from behind and she put head on the crook of her mother's nape Tulika jumped up on her sit.

"Kire!" In the surprise of this sudden act of her daughter Tuli's eyebrows curved up. The bitterness in their interactions was not even yet. Although Tulika knew her daughter was right in her argument somewhere the strict and hurt mother and wife in her kept her at bay and similarly the angry and hurt daughter thinking her mother had lost her faith and love for her - stood away too. So after what seemed like ages, as the prodigal daughter buried her face in her mother's shoulder like the nine-year-old baby she was, her touch made Tulika heave a sigh. All the anger, hurt, pain washed down as she stayed stained hugging her mother.

Sighing Tulika's face lightened up in a smile. Putting down the paper in her hand she started patting on the joint of Ipshita's both hand that was in front of her and another hand of Tulika grabbed her daughter's arm to drag her around ahead of her. Quickly Ipshita hid her face in her mother's chest tightening the arm cage of her around her mother more. She could not look at her mother. Her whole body was making her stomach flip.

After Ipshita came into her office building it seemed to her the building was smirking at her although, in reality, the whole floor was busy in work. She felt necked in front of everyone. The look in Raunak's face when he told her about the words that were going around the office was haunted her - as if he was relishing every word that rolled out of his tongue - as if by mouthing those words he was actually living the action the words described. In this long 25 years of her life Shuvro and Tuli's daughter never ever felt so dirty. Tears filled her big eyes as she almost rushed into the toilet. Looking at the big mirror mounted on the wall Ipshita started crying her eyes out. The beautiful salmon pink shirt she wore on the old brown trousers - seemed fouled and muddy. She wiped away all of her make up as someone kept chanting "Why?" in the back of her mind.

Riti came inside her cabin after she went there after calming herself down. Riti could notice anxiety emerging behind her best friend's ever so calm exterior. But the more she tried to talk about it and tried to tell her that no one believed it or how wrong Hriditha or Rounak was for gossiping around about it and put numerous colourful adjectives behind their names - in vain all these efforts went, for everything she said was greeted by Ipshita's bored "get back to work" face.

Dumping her face in her mother's chest a sigh along a drop of tear rolled down her cheek. The beating sound of the mother's heart that had been calming her down since she was a fetus, was doing the magic again.

Looking down at her daughter Tulika smiled. The worry that evoked anger, thinking that maybe her daughter was growing apart from her and trying to distance herself from her parents - vanished into the air as Ipshita stayed in her position longer. Running her fingers through her hair Tuli's smile brightened as the thought that her daughter was still the 5 years old baby that she was, came in her mind. With great motherly affection, she kept patting her head.

"Won't you go and freshen up a bit Ipu? Go! I will grab you some food." Planting a kiss on her hair Tulika murmured softly. But her daughter just shook her head quickly. She wanted to be there, just near her mother where she didn't feel vile. "Oh, Ipshita! Still, the kid you are! Honey, maa is here, just go and change, you must be hungry!" Tulika cooed stocking on Ipshita's head more affectionately. But as she refused to move worries washed over Tuli's mind. Quickly and cautiously she looked at her daughter and asked if everything was okay. "Ipshita look at me!" She demanded.

In reply, the daughter stubbornly pushed her head in her mother's embrace and in muffled voice said, "I am fine Ma! Let me just stay like this for a bit."

She couldn't look at her mother. Couldn't let her ma know that like a five-year-old she was crying because someone said mean things about her. She refused to be taken as a child who needed her parents to scare off the bully. She wasn't in school anymore. More than everything, she did not for once wanted anyone to think that refusing to marry Abhijit, who was supposed to protect her and taken care of her as her parents said always, was a mistake. All her life she had been that girl everyone took care of. She was tired of being that girl. So now she was afraid that if her mother saw her like this, all these things would reflect in her eyes. But the hand of her mum on her head was soothing down all the mayhem that was created inside her, hence she stayed there inhaling the very familiar smell of her mother.

"My baby!" Tulika planted another kiss on her only daughter's head. After so long her daughter was back in her arms.

***

"Just tell me who this Hridditha is Ipshita. Just point your finger at her."
"Rubelda why do you sound like my mother?"
"Davai, gossiping is not a punishable offence you realize?"
"I will introduce you to her!"
"Great!"
"No!"

The four faces were talking with visible excitement in the screen of Ipshita's iPad. Rubel's nose buds spread and squeezed as anger shot through him. Riti was so worried upon seeing Ipshita's reaction on Rounak's words she couldn't but inform the brother - slash - the mother of the group, Rubel. Somehow Amit too got to know and after dinner, all of them hauled Ipshita into an impromptu video chat - for she refused to agree on Rubel's proposal of him rushing to her house.
"Don't be an idiot davai! It's late and I am fine! I don't want maa baba to fuss about this so leave it!" Adamantly she said.

Perforce, the video call.

"Davai! We are not ten! You can't beat up my bullies anymore!" Annoyed Ipshita hissed.
"I can and I will!" Rubel declared.
"And I will help! That bitch needs a piece of this mind!" Riti growled.
"Riti! Why did you tell Davai! What the hell!" Incredulously Ipshita mouthed and put her head on her palm.
"I will beat up anyone that comes near my baby sister! Do you get that!" Rubel's jaw clenched.
"I am not your baby sister anymore!"
"Just the appropriate word for a police officer!" Amit's face was reflecting the humour he was seething with and all the eyes darted glares at him. A chuckle crawled out of the back of his throat. The phone in his hand beeped with a message he was waiting for. The sender's name spread hue over his face and took his mind away from the cacophony coming out of the ongoing call. Only if the other three could see the change, maybe they could point the approaching doomed, dark cloud of the future to him. But fate had other plans for him certainly.

*

After the chat ended hours later, Ipshita pulled out her phone to decide the time and place of the date with the guy she was chatting with. She wanted to feel good about herself so badly! Last six months she had been through so much stress, the level of which was passing her head now. She wanted to breathe.
Aggressively she typed in the chatbox of the guy and after some times moved to another chatbox to receive awed praises from some other boy and then another. She followed the rule her best friend Artriya quoted as the 'golden rule of dating' - "never converse with only one person at one time, or else you are screwed" as she put ever so fluently.
In order to feel amused, pretty and special, she swarmed through the messages of various people unknown of the fact that hundreds of miles away someone was sitting, blankly looking at the open chatbox of Facebook, desperately trying to type something to tell her that he enrolled into university for the PhD program which he always wanted to do and she was the one who inspired him to do so...

So here was the part. Hope you liked it. Now please please comment and VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!...