I will be forever grateful to Bibha for walking into my room in the morning. She looked stressed and sleepless and wanted to speak with me. I shook my head, murmuring, “Not now,” as I hid my head in some papers, trying to appear busy. Bibha refused to leave.
“It is about Lata.” She finally said. I looked up at her, quite irked.
“Oh, did she send you here to advocate for her?” I taunted Bibha. She shook her head.
“I don’t want people to misunderstand her because of me.” Her words made me frown.
“Because of you?” I asked. “What do you mean?”
“I can’t tell you. Lata will. Hear her out.” Her eyes travelled to the door where she stood, behind the curtain. I inhaled.
“Bibha, if this is one of your tricks to…”
“It is not, shotti bolchi Dada. Hear it from her. It is not what you think.” She didn’t wait for me to protest as she ran away, and Lata stood at the threshold. I looked back at my papers. She was still at the threshold, as I eyed her.
“Will you need a mic to explain things to me from there?” I scolded, prompting her to come inside the room.
“You said you didn’t want to see me.” She complained softly, her voice choking in her tears.
“It is too late for that, isn’t it?” I shrugged without sparing her a glance. She stood there for a while. “Will you speak up?” I said again. The suspense was killing me. A part of me wanted details. Details of who this person was, how they met and what made Lata like him. Another part of me wanted to distance myself from all of this and concentrate on how it might affect her future.
She looked intimidated and unsure. She eyed the doorway twice before whispering that the letter was not hers. I wasn’t sure what she meant. Did she think all of us were fools? It was found in her notebook by Kakima. The obvious question was who it belonged to.
“Didi.” She murmured almost in a whisper.
“WHAT?” I stood up from my chair as she stepped back, a little intimidated.
“First, promise me you won’t scold her.” Lata looked up, teary-eyed. I frowned, disturbed. She was facing everyone’s wrath quietly for Bibha. It made no sense. Why would she do that? Who did Bibha correspond with? She narrated the tale of the teacher to me in sugar-coated words, making him sound almost perfect. I immediately wondered what she left out, or perhaps she was repeating the exact words Bibha taught her. Now I was disappointed in both of them. I walked away, leaving her still in tears in the middle of my room. I needed to think.
I was about to take a walk to clear my head that day when I saw Lata’s Kaka in Thamma’s presence.
“Her Kakima tells me we should look for a groom.” I stopped at his words and eyed Thamma’s unreadable face.
“She is studying now.” Thamma shook her head, raising her brows. I walked towards them.
“Yes, but such things spread rumours and…” Kaka stopped at my sight and was about to get up to greet me when I stopped him.
“That is no solution,” I said, making Thamma look up at me with a frown. “I will talk to her and make sure she learns a lesson. Such things won’t be repeated. I take the responsibility for it.” I spoke as Thamma frowned some more.
“But, do you know who it was for?” Kaka asked, a little disturbed. I shook my head. He left soon after. Thamma stopped me as soon as he was gone.
“Do you know something?” She asked suspiciously. “What Lata had done...”
Was to save your honour… I wish I could tell her that. Instead, I reassured her that it wasn’t Lata’s. It was her friend’s. That wasn’t Lata’s handwriting. Thamma nodded, partially convinced. She told me to scold her about the bad company. I couldn’t tell her further, so I walked away.
That evening, I summoned Bibha to the library when everyone was done with dinner. I rebuked her for being an emotional fool, for believing everything a man said, and reminded her that our status and class are very different from his. For the first time in my life, I saw her protest. She said he loved and honoured her and would go to any lengths for her. I slapped her. I had never raised my hand to her before. She was always the most pampered in the house. Her sudden rebellious streak scared me. I was responsible for looking after them. What would I tell Dada if he ever came to know of this? And Thamma? She would be so angry. Bibha stood there for a moment, not able to comprehend what had happened, and then she retorted at me that I didn’t care for her. Only Lata understood her. I tried to check my voice and reason with her. The love she read of in books didn’t feed hungry stomachs nor give what one needed to survive. Before she knew it would fly straight out of the window. She smiled the most sarcastic smile I have ever seen.
“What do you know of love?” She had asked. I was quiet. Not because she was right. But because I wasn’t answerable to her. Yes, perhaps I was no fool in love like her. And my love has its limits. But for the three years that I knew and the many more before, when I never realised, I had felt the feeling she was now familiar with. She shook her head, teary-eyed, and walked away as I tried in vain to stop her. I knew she wouldn’t listen to me.
I was in a way relieved to know that the letter wasn’t Lata’s. But Bibha? Was she naive enough to believe that they could have a potential future just because they liked each other? By midnight, lost in my thoughts, I was sure of it. This man was after our family inheritance. He didn’t love Bibha. He just persuaded her to believe him. Naive as she was, she was easy prey to his plans. If only Bibha could meet someone worthy of her and see for herself that she deserved better. I stopped pacing. I needed to snap her out of this. It needed to be done before she left for Calcutta for college.
Lata walked into my room the next morning, putting the Panjabi down on the bed while I combed my wet hair in the mirror. She stood there, prompting me to eye her through the reflection as she cleared her throat.
“What is it now?” I turned to face her.
“I… sewed your button back.” She said, looking away. I sighed. I remembered giving her the Panjabi. She sewed back all of Ananta's and my missing buttons, as Bibha never bothered, and Thamma’s hands trembled nowadays.
“Umm… about the… letter…” She stopped as I glared at her.
“What now? You two have done enough already.” I rebuked.
“Meet him once.” Her words came almost sounding like a statement, not a plea. My brows shot up.
“You only tell me not to judge people before knowing them, Deb Da. If Didi likes him…” I had made her stop. I didn’t want to be part of this. I didn’t want to hear anything further on this topic, ever again. I made it clear to her, and she shook her head, a little disappointed. I reminded her that instead of supporting Bibha’s stupidity, she should have been wise enough to talk her out of it or perhaps let me know. She was quiet and looked away. Unlike Bibha, she didn’t respond. Instead, she kept saying I should meet a person before rejecting them. I ended up scolding her. That prompted her to walk away from my room.
I met the man the next week, in secrecy, in the forest, just as Lata wanted me to.
