Some Friends Are Forever
(Dear Reader, just a few days back, I told you about one of my bestest friends ever, MITA. You know, dear Reader, that we writers are very good at creating and recreating stories based on a moment’s monument. Only last night, I wrote an adventurous story : An Egg For A Lifetime Remembrance, based on an incident about which I have authored several stories.
Now, let me draw your attention to another Story I authored (I am using the word ‘authored’ here as my story got published in StoryADay, 2022) a couple of years back. Again MITA is the central character here. I had to change a few names in the story to help you keep abreast of the developments in my latest novel : Some Friends Are For Ever)
A Tale of Sacrifice :
On my wedding night, as the guests were leaving one by one, Mita walked up to catch me by the hand from behind. With a garland of bell flowers tied around her bun, dressed in a cream colored sari with golden borders, she looked stunning.
“Bappada, come with me. I’ve something to offer your bride.”
I followed her through the groups of people still loitering behind for the eventful night.
My newly-wed wife, Lopa, looking as serene as ever, was seated on the cushioned chair with my niece beside her. She smiled when she saw us approaching.
“Lopz, here’s your gift.” Mita handed her a rectangular, shiny wrapped parcel before handing her a second, smaller one. “This’s for both of you.” She told Lopa, keeping her eyes on me all the while, her smile hovering around the corners of her mouth annoyingly.
The next night, as we were preparing to go to the bride’s house for the Bau Bhat (the day when the Bride’s parents throw a Party), Lopa was busy arranging the room while my niece and a couple of relatives helped her unwrap the gift boxes. I saw her picking the smaller of the two packets given to her on the previous night by Mita and heading my way.
“Dearest, have a look at this.” She told me while fetching out what looked like a diary. My heart skipped a beat as the diary was a gift from me for Mita when she and Lopa were studying in the same college.
Sorry again, I didn’t tell you about us Threesome.I was introduced to Lopa, a good friend of Mita’s when most of my friends and relatives thought that I was going to marry Mita. Though Lopa was undoubtedly the more attractive of the two, Mita was fast turning out to be the soothing influence on my life. There was simply something serene about this Bengali beauty.
The greatest mistake I made was telling Lopa that I didn’t believe in love.Though heart-broken, I must say that she reacted to the news with a lot of grace and poise. A month after this, Mita came to my house with her mother. I was told that she was getting married to someone perfect for her after two months.
On reaching her home that afternoon, she pulled out a grey suitcase from under her bed and showed me the diary I had gifted her some months ago. The diary was half full with the entries written in her beautiful handwriting. As I was about to sneak a peak inside, she snatched it away from my hands, uttering :
“No, not now. Some other time.” I thought I heard a sigh escaping from her mouth.
On the day Mita got married, Lopa dropped in my house. She was looking nothing less than stunning.
“Aren’t you coming to Mita’s wedding?” She asked. I liked her straight-forward attitude while shaking my head.
“Don’t be a baby. You can’t let others take you as a Devdas ( the eternally betrayed lover). Let’s go.”
For reasons unknown to me, my heart leapt out at her suggestion. I didn’t even have time for shaving. Threw on some clothes. Bought a flower bouquet on the way to the Reception Party. (But I have already told you of all that through the Chapter on Mita, haven’t I?)
That was the night when we two, Lopa and I, were walking side by side and that rascal near Time House cast a lecherous look at her, dared catcall before Gopi’s restraining hand smouldered him. On that very evening, I decided to be Lopa’s Prince Charming and Protector for the rest of my life.
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Lopa has just gone down accompanied by my niece to have her first dinner with my parents.
I pick up the diary from the side stool where I don’t know if she left it on purpose.
As I leaf through the pages, my eyes get glued to an entry written a few days before Mita’s marriage:
“…….I have to free myself from this tangle (triangle?). Lopa, my bestie, told me last night what I have been dreading all these months. She told me she loves Bappada. God! Couldn’t she find out anyone else? Why did she fall for Bappada of all the people in the whole universe?
Anyway, after the heartbreak, I realised that she is the right one for him as she loves him like crazy. I know that she will make him happy. That is all I need to know and keep in mind from now on…..”
With my eyes blurring, I put the regifted diary on the top shelf of my almirah as I hear Ma calling out to me.
No one could have made a greater sacrifice.
