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 coloured sari with golden borders, she looked stunning.
"Shubhrada, come with me. I've something to offer your bride." She took me by the hand to an adjacent room and led me to a shelf on the wall. She pulled out two colourfully-wrapped packets before breaking into that infectious smile of hers.
“I couldn’t think of anything better than this.” She told me putting the packets down on a nearby table. I shook my head vehemently. I had always approved of her taste and choice, most often than not, secretly.
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), Rina was busy arranging the room while my niece and a couple of relatives helped her unwrap the gift boxes. I saw Rina picking the smaller of the two packets given to her on the previous night by Mita and heading my way.
"Subho, 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 Rina were studying in the same college.
Sorry again, I didn't tell you about us Threesome. I was introduced to Rina, a good friend of Mita's when most of my friends and relatives thought that I was going to marry Mita. Though Rina 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 Mita 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, Rina dropped in my house. God! Didn’t she look amazing?
"Aren't you coming to Mita's wedding?" She asked me from beneath the kameni tree, outside the main door. I shook my head.
"Don't be a baby. You can't let others take you for a Devdas ( the eternally betrayed lover). Let's go."
For reasons unknown to me, my heart leapt out at her suggestion. I hadn't even shaved for nearly a month. Anyway, I threw on some clothes and bought a flower bouquet from the florist’s on the way to the Reception Party.
That was the night when we two were walking side by side for the first time and the local rascals near the Time House cast a hungry look at her. I decided to be her Prince Charming and Protector forever from then on.
Rina 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. Rina, my bestie, told me last night what I have been dreading all these months. She told me she loves Shubhoda. She is the perfect one for him as she loves him like crazy. I know…I am sure 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 from downstairs. Only I will know for the rest of my life that no one could have made a greater sacrifice than Mita!
