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For three days now the telephone connection has been disturbing.

“ These days they are giving more connections than they can handle. Not enough satellites and look at the amount of advertisement they show on TV. Talk at rates cheaper than landlines- and all people rush in. Fools!” said Biren with a frown on his face. He was disgusted.

He looked at Rimita for affirmation. He always did that. It was his habit. To frown first and then look at her face to check her expressions. And Rimita was used to it by now, as they were married for four years.

She looked back- into his eyes.

But she could not hold back her laughter at the thought that when Biren was swearing and calling people ‘fools’ he was actually not sparing himself too! For he happened to be the first person to land up into the city outlet when the offer for this new model of walky landline was introduced.

“ Why are you laughing?” asked Biren. It was this queer expression of disgust, curiosity and discontent mixed on his face that used to make him look rather cute.

Rimita just said- “ No, nothing.” And continued serving the breakfast.

But Rimita cannot remain silent for a long time. She was this eternally talkative woman. You will always find her talking. If not to anyone else- then may be murmuring a word or two to herself.

“I will call up their headquarters in the city today. I have taken the phone number of the headquarters from their customer care.” She clarified.

Biren mentioned-“Tell them, that we are highly unsatisfied with their job. And when the person attends your call- they tell their names- jot it down. So that in case we have to lodge a complaint we might tell the names of their employees, whom we had talked with.”

As Biren left for office, Rimita retired into her living room. It was her off day.

She thought she would visit her doctor, if the lady were free for a regular check up. She is three months pregnant. Though she has been following a strict diet chart as recommended by her physician, she has been feeling dizzy for a few days. And had attacks of nausea too. Besides on regular office days it was tough for her to find time to go to the clinic.

Checking out the number of the doctor from her telephone book, no sooner had she dialled all the ten digits of the cell phone number to take an appointment, than a rather husky voice started jabbering- “ The subscriber is unavailable now. Please call later.”

Rimita raised her eyebrows in a manner as though the person blabbering the lines was just in front of her-“Later! My foot!”

She was trying to reach for her cell phone when she recalled it had just a Rs. 15 balance! Calling up the doctor would be tough- so it was better to send a SMS. The doctor was an affable woman and within these few months Rimita and she had grown quite close a bond- so they were almost informal while talking to each other and were on first name terms.

“ When will you be free today? I need to go for a check up. I am not feeling well for two-three days now.”

And the message was sent.

Rimita’s eyes now fell on the flying curtains, beside the sofa. They needed a wash for quite sometime. There’s so much dust in this house she thought. It was not on the roadside, yet the amount of dirt it accumulated everyday disgusted Rimita. She always loved light colours like lemon yellow, cream, off white and since Biren was quite reluctant when it came to interior decorations, the furnishing of their apartment was a mere reflection of Rimita’s taste.

She enjoyed the amount of liberty she got as Biren’s wife. For example he never interfered in any household matters and never questioned Rimita on how she was handling not only hers but also his money. She was supposed to run the house, and until she complained Biren was least interested in the expenses. He was workaholic. He never liked socialising outside a certain circle of old friends- who were mostly his old school and college mates. And he made sure that he called them for a dinner at least once every month to his house. Rimita did not like these gatherings much. Because most of his friends were socially not as well off as Biren and in certain ways they lacked sophistication.

Their wives looked at her in envy and criticised her every move and her lifestyle. But Biren never tried to understand that. It was his ‘old friends’ and his ‘old’ is ‘gold’ faith that mattered most in this case.

Actually though Biren himself happened to have risen from a lower middle class family to a high paid officer of an International Software firm, he had not given up on his mediocrity- be it in his way of life or his thoughts.

This indeed was quite contrasting to Rimita’s life. She was the daughter of Biren’s the then boss. Her father has retired now.

She has been brought up in a different manner. She has grown up seeing her mother attending Saturday nightclubs, and father relaxing on Sundays playing golf. So though Biren was her parent’s choice as a ‘good’, ‘ideal’ boy, she knew he was not that ‘ideal’ for her from day one. But she lacked the guts to go against her parent’s wishes for a second time in a row. So she gave in. And she was quite happy- except for the occasional embarrassment she had to meet in her parent’s circle due to Biren’s typical awkwardness in public.

She called up the call centre of the telephone connection headquarters.

“Hello” said a lady’s voice from the other side as the wearied off music that tells you to stay online while they are connecting to their employee came to a halt.

Rimita, who was inattentively thinking how the lines to service centres and call centres of the connection was working well unlike all other phone call routes, could not wait for the lady on the other side to complete her formalities. She almost jumped to tell her problems as the lady impatiently interrupted “Ma’m, can I have your telephone number please. And your name.”

They ask this question every time you call at their centres and Rimita has answered them time and again but for a moment she got completely blank this time.

There was nothing wrong with the question- but the voice- the lady’s voice and the tone in which she spoke.

“Ma’m, so finally this lesser mortal is lucky enough to speak to you.”

“ Hey Rimita what are you doing tonight?”

“He needs you, Rimita.”

“ I am no one to decide. I do not have any right to…”

Several haphazard lines of conversations over the phone came to her mind like a gasp of wind. They were all confused sets of words uttered at different points of time by someone. Someone she knew so well. Rimita could not understand though why those broken sentences should come to her mind now. Now that she has moved on for long. Now that she was married happily. Now that she has forgotten her past- now that she was pregnant with Biren’s chid.

“ Ma’m your phone number please. And your name. Is the phone in your name?” the lady on the other side of the phone was persistent. The voice was strikingly familiar and similar. Can two persons sound alike?

Rimita tried to collect herself. She told the number, but did not tell her name. She just mentioned her husband’s name for the telephone was in his name.

“So how can I help you ma’m?” the lady asked.

Rimita tried to state her problems as briefly and articulately as she could.

The lady noted her complaint and promised to look into it and also mentioned that the connections will get better in sometime.

“Anything else ma’m” she asked.

Rimita was still quite confused when she told- “ No, thanks.”

And the lady on the other side signed off. “Thank you ma’m for calling us. You were speaking to Vriksha Bhattacharya.”

“Pardon me”

“Yes ma’m-”

“What is your name you said?” Rimita asked trying to confirm something thing.

“Vriksha Bhattacharya, ma’m.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

And both hung up.

The walls of the cafeteria were painted in yellow and chocolate brown shades. It gave this molten chocolate like feel. On the walls on either side there were small newspaper cuttings about coffee beans- their kinds- Arabica, Robusta, Liberita. The soft dim lights fell on Ayaan’s well-chiselled profile in perfect angles, so that his face looked sharper more than ever before. As he looked from behind his rectangular rimless lenses Rimita felt a strange feeling under her skin, in her heart. It felt like a storm deep beneath the shores of body or mind. For once she was quiet- for she had lost the power to speak.

It was not the first time that she was out with him. But yet it was one of the moments when she felt closest to him. And a moment she remembers the most precisely.

“I called her up a few minutes back. She said she’s left from office, she will be arriving in sometime.” Ayaan said breaking the silence.

“Where is her office?” Rimita enquired.

“In south Kolkata. She’s into public relations department. I have been to her office. It’s this big private firm. And she already has got so many promotions. You know she’s busy.” Ayaan informed proudly.

“She must have been a good student too?” asked Rimita, quite curiously.

“Yes, I guess. But don’t know for sure. When we met for the first time- I was a student, she was working already then having completed management.”

They ordered three cups of coffee. And three pastries.

“Choco delight, please. Vriksha loves it.” Ayaan ordered.

In a few minutes Vriksha arrived. It was the traffic jam of office time that accounted for her delay. She was always punctual otherwise- Ayaan knew.

That was the first time Rimita met her. Vriksha was radiant and intelligent.

Before that of course, she had heard a lot of her from Ayaan. And also occasionally talked to her over the phone on Ayaan’s insistence.

The first time they talked was about three months before when Vriksha was recovering from a bad cold.

“Hi Vriksha, how are you now?” Rimita had said.

“Ma’m, so finally this lesser mortal is lucky enough to speak to you.” Vriksha replied laughing. Vriksha was like that- cheerful always. And Ayaan liked her for that. In fact he had told Rimita all about Vriksha and to Vriksha about Rimita, so much so that even without meeting they already felt they knew each other.

And more recently Rimita had called Vriksha up, this time driven by her own need to take her advice on what gift she should give Ayaan on his birthday.

Rimita had known Ayaan only for about four months then, and Vriksha and he were together for about six years or so. Hence Rimita thought she should seek Vriksha’s advice on buying the prefect present for Ayaan.

Vriksha advised Rimita to throw a surprise party for Ayaan on his birthday. She had given Rimita the phone numbers of Ayaan’s all close friends and even called them up to invite them, but she herself could not attend the bash as she was on a tour to Mumbai due to some official tour.

As the waiter brought the trays of pastries and coffee, Vriksha smiled-

“Ayaan...you must have ordered this! Oh come on, I anyways munch on my favourite dishes- always...today you should have ordered something that Rimita and you like. After all I am not paying the bill today.”

“Why not?” Ayaan asked playfully.

“Listen Ayaan I have already treated you twice this month and once at the Oberoi’s so do not even think of sharing the bill with me!” Vriksha put it straight as Rimita stared at the two friends.

She hadn’t heard two friends, one guy and other a girl, however close speak so frankly and straight to each other. It seemed that these two shared a special high.

It was already time for the theatre show that the three were going to catch up that day. As they were getting up all set to leave, Ayaan called out-“ Hey you miser Vriksha, where is my birthday present?”

It’s not as if Rimita hadn’t thought on those lines, but that Ayaan could ask for it like that directly surprised her a bit again. In fact initially she felt a bit embarrassed too- after all Ayaan was ‘her boyfriend’. But soon enough she realised even Vriksha and Ayaan had a special bonding and there was hardly any communication bars there.

“This time no gift for you.” Vriksha shrugged.

But Ayaan would not leave her-“ This is not the way to do- Sis!’

Vriksha was three years older to Ayaan. While they were really good friends, at times he called Vriksha ‘sis’. Sometimes as a show of love- sometimes as a show of distance- sometimes respect. Rimita never really understood what it stood for at different times, but she would hear Ayaan addressing Vriksha as ‘sis’ on and oft.

That evening he used that word to perhaps confirm that he had some right over her…may be. Rimita was trying to comprehend.

Vriksha could not say ‘no’, now that Ayaan had asked her so fondly. It was her weak point. And she indeed had brought a gift with her. It was wrapped in a blue paper with golden ribbons.

Ayaan opened it.

It was a diamond-studded watch.

“Is it original Vrik?” Ayaan asked.

The gift irritated Rimita. She suddenly felt so bad about the fact that someone was giving a gift costlier than what she had given Ayaan. And it was truly expensive. She knew Ayaan would not accept it. He will say that it’s too costly and ask her to take it back.

But as Vriksha said-“why do you need to know it Ayaan?” and looked with a firm glance into his eyes, knowing full well how expensive it was, Ayaan accepted it, happily.

And not only that he instantly opened the watch he was wearing round the wrist and was about to wear it, when Vriksha mentioned that he shouldn’t be wearing it, after all it could be stolen.

It was a theatre workshop six years back where Ayaan and Vriksha had met each other. Vriksha was splendid in English plays. She had been a part of the drama club of her college in Mumbai. And for Ayaan, like music drama was a passion. He loved taking part in them as well as watching them.

Vriksha, Ayaan recollects was very jolly and already had made lots of friends in the first day of the workshop itself, and he was nowhere in the list. She was smart, candid, warm yet cool about everything. She was very talented too. Wrote poetry with élan. In fact she was good at recitation as well.

It was on the second day of the workshop when Ayaan came to know her as she was paired opposite him in a duet session.

“I did not like him in the beginning.” Vriksha recollects, “You know how he is, a brash at times…I don’t like such people. But when you need to rehearse with someone 24/7 you get used to the wry sense of humour and rude comments…”

“Was I that rude to you?” Ayaan would ask.

“No…I mean not rude...but you know ‘over smart’” Vriksha corrected.

“I see...one allegation to replace another!!!” Ayaan would say grinning, which showed he hardly regretted it.

Ayaan had never been rude to Rimita, even for a moment. If they ever argued he would give in gracefully to her wishes after a while. He was so sober with Rimita, actually quite different from what he was in Vriksha’s company.

Rimita liked him anyway.

But she would often wonder as to why Ayaan never cracked his silly jokes on her like he cracked them on Vriksha, why he never shouted at her like he shouted at Vriksha, why he never disapproved of her dresses when they were flashy, like he did when Vriksha wore something crazy.

“It’s because he loves you. He loves you the way you are.” Vriksha had explained.

Vriksha was addictive. After the theatre workshop, still Ayaan and Vriksha were not the best of friends. But unlike all others who met on the first day of the workshop and parted on the last, Ayaan kept in touch with her. And Ayaan remembers that he had tried to keep in touch with all the friends he had made there, but it was only Vriksha who continued to be with him. Calling him, meeting up with him.

Vriksha would laugh at this and say that she did not have much of a choice. She did not have many friends at that time having come back from Mumbai just a few months back. Since she had done her college and MBA from Mumbai, she hardly had many friends in Kolkata. She had lost her touch with the school friends of Kolkata, in the five years, when she was in Mumbai. And when she did come back, because her dad passed away and mother was alone in Kolkata, she took a job here. And you know acquaintances at work places are professional associates. You can’t call them ‘friends’ that easily.

Biren tells that often. But Rimita used to find it more convincing when Vriksha used to say it. Vriksha’s words were always so convincing.

Meanwhile the doctor’s SMS has come. She’s free in the afternoon and Rimita could drop in if she wanted.

Not wasting much time, Rimita got up. She put on a lose Salwar Kameez and called up her driver, asking him to bring the car.

Before meeting Vriksha, Rimita would often ask Ayaan as to what was so special about this woman. But after meeting her, she never pondered over it again. Because she herself got as much attached to her.

Like Ayaan she too started dropping in at Vriksha’s place whenever she wanted, in the most odd hours. Vriksha stayed with her widowed mother, who had a separate room on one side of the flat. Her mother would cook, knit, pray, listen to music…in short had her own world. And she hardly ever came to see what Vriksha and her friends where upto- be it in her living room or in her bedroom.

The best side to Vriksha perhaps was that she knew how to handle relationships better than anyone else. Her relation with everyone was personal and balanced.

For Vriksha Rimita was not Ayaan’s girlfriend only, Rimita was a special friend too. But even after trying a lot Rimita could not get herself to treat her relation with Vriksha, any different from her relation with Ayaan’s closest friend.

She would call up Ayaan and tell him about every meeting she had with Vriksha. But Ayaan hardly bothered about it.

Rimita expected Ayaan too should inform her about his hangouts with Vriksha but he never did.

Same went for Vriksha. She did not like discussing Ayaan with Rimita, but then again she had this power, Rimita would feel to know the innermost thoughts of people’s minds, so in order to avoid any confusion she would answer any queries Rimita would have and occasionally herself bring up the topic of Ayaan.

Rimita knew Vriksha liked her a lot and that she must have mentioned that to Ayaan, or else Ayaan would back out from his relationship with Rimita. Ayaan depended heavily on Vriksha psychologically.

And Vriksha had told that she depended heavily on him too- but only for support. She knew he could never pull her out of a problem; he was too immature to advise her or take a decision on behalf of her.

It bugged Ayaan, but he seriously did not know how to decide and what to do when Vriksha was in crisis. He would rather cry more than her, but he could not see her weak. Vrik, as he called her, was his strength.

Rimita was never convinced when Vriksha would tell this about Ayaan. Rimita relied on him and he solved all her problems- so the allegation of immaturity that Vriksha had against him seemed to be quite baseless to her.

Rimita liked Vriksha, but at times Rimita felt that Vriksha sounded pompous.

Ayaan hardly ever kept any secrets from Vriksha. Even when Rimita and he planned to give Vriksha a surprise present during the new years Ayaan could not keep that a secret from Vriksha. But then Rimita could not be angry with him for that. After all, she was no less.

Once when Ayaan had called Vriksha from Sweden, where he had been for a research project for a month, and not called her, she had told Vriksha-

“I envy you at times.”

Vriksha did not mind. And Rimita knew that while saying so. But after having said it she kept quiet for a while thinking how she, like Ayaan, had surmounted all the communication gaps with Vriksha.

“It happens during pregnancy.” The doctor said after examining her. “ Don’t worry. Follow the chart I have given you. And if possible take less stress in office.”

“I will take care” Rimita said and signed off as she left the clinic.

She was never a careerist. In fact she always wanted to be a homemaker.

Ayaan was into genetic engineering. And she was interested in the subject. She had already completed her BSc. When Ayaan insisted she should apply for further studies in genetics if the subject interested her, but she herself was reluctant. In the beginning Ayaan was a bit persistent, but then when Vriksha explained to him that it depends on her will as to if she wanted to continue with her studies or not, Ayaan understood.

The next time when Ayaan went to Sweden for the completion of his project, he would call up Rimita twice a week. Though Rimita realised this sense was instilled in him by Vriksha, she did not mind as long as she was getting Ayaan’s attention. She in fact curiously wanted to check if Vriksha was jealous of her, now that Ayaan was keeping in touch with her. So when one evening Vriksha called up-“ Hey Rimita what are you doing tonight?”

She instantly agreed to come over to Vriksha’s place for dinner.

But Vriksha showed no signs of jealousy or even curiosity about anything whatsoever. It was then that Rimita started suffering from a complex.

She started feeling herself to be so small before Vriksha. She found herself as an insecure idiot but hardly had an option. She did not feel like meeting Vriksha, yet she felt it was too stupid of her to avoid Vriksha.

She was not suspicious about Vriksha and Ayaan in any way. She was aware they were just friends though Ayaan had admitted to her, that once in his whims he had actually proposed Vriksha, but Vrik, knew it was just a crush. But simultaneously she could not stand Vriksha’s presence in their lives.

And the worst part was Vriksha understood this.

One day she called up Rimita and asked her to come to meet her at the same coffee shop where they had met for the first time, but this time without informing Ayaan.

While before meeting Rimita was apprehensive as to what Vriksha would say and how she would face Vriksha, as soon as they met, Vriksha’s warmth melted all the tension.

That day after ordering Rimita’s favourite cookies, Vriksha put a question before Rimita-

She gave Rimita a choice. She said if Rimita was feeling uncomfortable due to her presence in Ayaan’s life she was ready to walk out- permanently and without any one’s notice.

Rimita wanted that to happen. But when Vriksha did give that option it did not seem as a solution any more. Vriksha would prove herself to be bigger than her in every way again- and Rimita did not want to give her that chance. And on the other hand she was aware that Ayaan’s life would change forever if Vriksha walked out. And may be he would come to realise one day that Rimita’s insecurity over nothing was the reason for that and start hating Rimita.

Rimita tried to conceal all such apprehensions and tried to lie- knowing full well that her lie was not working in front of Vriksha. She calmly said-“ why are you asking such a question?”

“Because you are more important in his life. And it should remain that way.” Vriksha clarified.

At this Rimita started to sob gently so that no one present there except Vriksha noticed it.

While Rimita kept on saying-“I know I am stupid. But do not leave Ayaan for my whims. Its not about you…its about my possessiveness.” What she did not say was that one of her another fears was that, may be she was Vriksha’s choice for Ayaan, and as soon as Vriksha would leave, Ayaan’s dynamics of relationship with everyone will change too.

But as all the three kept on meeting over the next one-year or so, by and by all confusions took a back seat. All problems got sorted out and Rimita knew Vriksha was the biggest asset as a friend that one could have.

She was glad now that Ayaan had Vriksha as a well-wisher and not any one else. For Rimita, Vriksha became as important as Ayaan because she was always there for them.

But what still bothered Rimita was that Ayaan and she were never able to do their bit for her. She hardly ever mentioned her problems to either of them. Sometimes to Ayaan, but never to her…and yet then Ayaan would do good only to remain upset for a while and buy flowers for her with tags-“everything will be fine soon.”

Rimita got to understand that Vriksha was not lying when she had said Ayaan couldn’t remain as her anchorage; he was not capable of being so. But Rimita still hoped Ayaan would grow up sometime, and take a stand that would confirm his strength before Vriksha. And for once Vriksha would be proved wrong.

It was still quite hot when Rimita came back to her house from her physician’s place.

She was a bit disturbed. A bit impatient too.

She wanted to talk it out with someone.

She dialled the number of the telephone office again.

But this time it was a man’s voice that picked up the phone. Those same questions as they ask always. Name, number etc etc. But this time around Rimita had a question too.

“Can I talk to Vriksha Bhattacharya?” she asked.

Encountering a spell of silence from the other side of the phone, Rimita clarified-“actually I had talked to her this morning and she knows about-“

“Well ma’m we do not have such norms as only one person handling one customer. She ultimately must have put your problem forward to the headquarters. So you can tell me if you want to add anything to the problem you had mentioned.”

Rimita was aware of such rules at the call centres but she was desperate.

“I really want to talk to her.” She insisted.

“Ma’m in that case you got to call tomorrow between 6 a.m to 3 p.m that’s her shift for the week. She has left for the day.”

Ayaan was quite busy with his career at that point when Vriksha put forward the idea that it was high time Rimita and he got married.

There was no point for further delay. Rimita who was almost idle for about a year by then having graduated from college and waiting for results, was excited at the thought. But Ayaan was a bit phobic about marriage.

He was not ready to commit himself fully into a marriage, yet he was quite sure he loved Rimita and if he ever married, the girl would be Rimita.

“Sis…do not bug me! Please don’t behave like that…odd silly girls always talking of marriage…even you are not married-” Ayaan would tell.

“Yes I am not, but the I am single. But you are not. You are in love. And you have found your soul mate” Vriksha would assert.

Rimita was scared of pressurising Ayaan. She thought Ayaan might dislike her for that.

But after a while she did make her wish clear to Ayaan.

And to her surprise, things became so much easy then. Ayaan agreed almost instantly.

It took a few days to convince Rimita’s parents though.

They were not happy with the alliance as they found Ayaan to be an over-independent, brash boy hailing from a joint family, but they had to come round to their only daughter’s will.

Biren was late that day. As usual. And Rimita had to spent her whole evening watching programmes on TV that she was not too keen on viewing. Old sitcoms with slapstick humour, and flop movies. She spent most of the time channel surfing and had mugged up catch lines of so many ads, when she decided she should go to sleep.

When Biren arrived, though on bed, she was still awake. Biren was not feeling like having dinner. On other days Rimita would insist him on having at least a little food in such cases but that day she agreed to what he said without protesting.

Rimita was not an early riser but she hardly slept soundly that night. Vague images with strong impressions on her mind appeared like dreams.

Often they had no links. Often it was like déjà vu. She had lived it all. She had felt it all. Yet it was just a dream.

Sometimes she could feel a hand pressing her soft palms. They were not Biren’s hands. They were not Ayaan’s either- but it felt more like what Ayaan’s touch felt. Distracting.

She could see a party; she could see a man whose face was not visible. His dress was like that of Ayaan’s when she first met him at a bank. Then there was this baby who was running to and fro and she was chasing it. On the floor there was this card lying with scratches on it- Vriksha Bose, public relations officer. And some phone numbers given.

Rimita was feeling as though she was trying to retreat from the place she had reached, when her phone rang.

“Ayaan is ill. He’s having high fever. I had called him up. I am out of town. Visit him. He needs you.”

Rimita woke up. It was still early hours of morning. The sun had not risen yet. The breeze was still cold. Something you do not find in Kolkata after sunrise. Biren was sleeping peacefully beside her. Snoring loudly in spells.

Biren hardly looked at things of nature in awe. It was precisely for this reason that he had not been for vacation after his honeymoon. He never stopped Rimita though. She had flown to Nepal and Bhutan last summer with some of her cousins.

But Ayaan liked the half lighted, half dark surreal atmosphere. Though they have never been together at dawn, they have had the bliss of spending a few dusks together.

Vriksha had travelled more extensively in India than Ayaan or Rimita. She often said that her stay in Mumbai had changed her life forever. It is there that she had learnt to fulfil all dreams of life and ‘live’. She had a fetish for travelling and shopping. She had covered Maharashtra, Goa and a lot of South India. She also knew to greet and ask ‘hi, hello’ and all that, in quite a few Indian languages. She had never been abroad.

While Rimita had been to Singapore and Thailand with her parents, Vriksha did not share any such memories of holidaying with her family. For that matter, she never ever spoke of her family.

Ayaan and Rimita got engaged in a few days after Ayaan spoke to her parents. His parents came to talk to Rimita’s family as well. They were sweet and crazy bunch of people.

The engagement party was one to remember. Partly because Rimita got to know Ayaan’s family for the first time closely. They were loud and jovial people. And partly because from Ayaan’s side Vriksha took all the responsibility for arrangement of the blast and it was the most beautifully decorated hall where they exchanged rings, Rimita remembers.

The music of saxophone was pouring loud. And there were roses, wine and white ribbons…things that Rimita loved and Vriksha knew.

There was this particular aroma in the air. It was that of musk. It was so fresh then. But now Rimita hates musk. The whole fragrance agitates her.

It was so tough to forget it all and now having been reminded of it all over again, she cannot keep herself from digging deep into wounds. Now she can afford it. The rawness has waned a bit with time. Its six years now.

It’s six. Finally. Biren is still asleep. His one hand is lying near her belly. Rimita quickly moves it taking care not to disturb him.

The telephone seems to be lying as an answer for all questions that had loomed large in her heart for so long.

She dialled all the digits carefully. She was collecting herself to speak out.

The wedding cards were printed in golden and red. From Ayaan’s side it was Vriksha again who designed it. With cursive handwriting it had the alphabets-“ Ayaan Bhattacharya weds Rimita Chattopadhay” imprinted on it.

Rimita had been nervous a few days before the ceremony. She had called up Vriksha time and again. At times she would also ask Vriksha weird questions like-“ is this a right step Ayaan and I are taking?”

And Vriksha would say-“ I am no one to decide. I do not have any right to…”

But as the day of the marriage neared gradually all the apprehension gave way to underlying excitement, though the nervousness prevailed.

Vriksha had been going to Mumbai frequently for the last few weeks. Just two day before the marriage, when she was needed the most she could not avoid an important meeting in Mumbai. She had to go but told that she will be back in the morning on the d-day.

Since this upset both Ayaan and Rimita she made it a point to visit both personally and tell them how important the whole affair was.

As the call was transferred to the call centre,” Can I speak to Vriksha Bhattacharya?” Rimita asked without giving the other person even to greet her a proper good morning.

“Yes, speaking.” The voice said inquisitively.

For a moment Rimita felt a chill in her body. But she had gathered courage all night to face it-“ Are you Vriksha Bose?”

For the next few minutes no one spoke.

“I am Rimita, if you remember. I want to meet you.”

From the other side the lady suddenly gathered her sense and quite mechanically went on saying-“good morning ma’m. How can we help you…’ softly…so softly that even she herself could not hear it properly…while Rimita mentioned the date and time of their meeting.

It was at a Chinese restaurant of a shopping mall. A new one that has sprung up in the city. But a large one. Rimita was there well before time. The lady had not promised to come, but if she was Vriksha she would, Rimita knew.

Rimita was getting ready trying to wear the red apparel of her wedding. The pre-marriage ceremonies were over. The beauticians from the parlour had arrived to do up her hair and face. It was a few hours before the wedding was to be solemnised. The bridegroom and party would arrive any minute, when Ayaan’s father in an almost traumatic state came to inform that Ayaan had not been in the house since last night. He had not come back from office at all, the last evening. He was gone. Where- no one knew. With whom- everyone did.

He never arrived and neither did Vriksha.

Later through the next few months as Rimita tried to cope up with the whole episode, she took to completing MSc., taking up a job. Once she had even visited Vriksha’s apartment but it was locked.

There was no point looking for a man, who leaves you at will…but if he loved Vriksha then why so much farce? They could have married straight off. Why bring Rimita in between. And the truth as Rimita knew- they loved each other- but not like they wanted to marry or something. At least Ayaan loved Rimita from the core of his heart- Rimita had felt it. Then why did this woman who once had tried to marry the two lovers herself come in between.

Rimita had left from office early to come here. At office she had told she was not feeling well. Biren did not know that she was coming here. Biren knew nothing about the whole episode and her past.

The physician had advised Rimita not to take tension and not to eat food outside during pregnancy.

Rimita was still not sure as to what she should do, as it was already one hour late and the woman had still not arrived.

She was in a dilemma when a voice called out from behind-“ it was the traffic jam you know.”

Rimita knew now. Traffic was Vriksha’s only excuse to be late always and wear the air of punctuality otherwise.

Strangely enough after all these years it was still same. All the reservations Rimita had about this meeting with Vriksha ebbed as soon as she arrived. She was as smart and as affable as ever. She was warm.

“ I am in a hurry. Tell me why you called me here.” She asked Rimita.

‘ Don’t you know why I called you?” Rimita asked.

“No.” insisted Vriksha.

Rimita could not stop herself from asking, “Did you marry Ayaan?”

“Yes.”

Though Rimita had expected this, yet she could not believe it when it came.

She did not know what to say or do for the moment. She was brimming with questions yet she was speechless.

And she was cursing Ayaan from the core of the same heart, with which she had loved him sometime.

Then as though Vriksha could read her thoughts, and perhaps because she did not want ‘her husband’ to be cursed like that, she sort of intruded into Rimita’s thoughts.

“Ayaan did not ditch you!” Vriksha confirmed. “ Not even for a moment.”

He did not ‘ditch’! How sarcastic it sounded. He married another girl, left her on the day of their wedding and yet he did not ditch her?

May be Vriksha is saying this, as he was never able to love her as he had loved Rimita.

“So you realised that you never get someone’s love by snatching him?” Rimita said with all the disgust she had. She meant to prick Vriksha where it hurt the most. But Vriksha still came out unscathed.

“You know what Rimita, Ayaan’s problem was that he used to take your words more seriously than you ever thought he would. You disliked his incompetence when it came to taking decisions in times of crisis, especially when it came to my life…he went all out to prove you wrong. He decided. And that’s the biggest wrong he did to you.”

What did he decide? That he should dump Rimita? What crisis? Did Vriksha beg for love?

“How does it feel when you beg for love?” Rimita asked with wounded pride, “I never even looked for him when he left me, and you called him on his wedding night…so selfishly that he-“

“Yes I called him. I did. But I did not beg to be loved. He loved me anyway. I did not need to ask for it. Long before you had come into his life he had proposed me, and I had refused. But that was his infatuation and fancy.”

Rimita was silent for a while. She wanted to believe that Vriksha was lying but her body language was far from being misleading.

Vriksha felt it was time now to tell it all.

“He loved me as someone special- not as a wife, girlfriend, sister or even a friend for that matter. For me he was just a buddy, though. But I was his well-wisher. I knew I was not meant for him. As the only good guy in my life, he deserved much better.”

Rimita laughed to herself. She had heard all that so many times, over and over. She was not having the time and energy to hear those clichés again. Disturbed, she did not feel, as much courtesy was needed to say a bye… she was just about to get up when Vriksha held her back.

“Rimita, I am sorry.” She said. Rimita could not believe her ears. Vriksha, a lady consumed by self-pride and who always appeared larger than life was apologising to a frail and naïve girl like her! But Vriksha continued-

“My past has changed your present. Neither you nor Ayaan ever knew who I really was other than the person you met everyday. Yes I was working; I was the girl who you met, but I had another life too…and another job. The last words sounded firm but soft. It must have been tough to utter but Vriksha was strong still.

A life that you live sometime does not leave you. It traces its steps back to you, in some way or the other.

The streets of Mumbai, its dazzle and its survival of the fittest rule overpowers many a person, and Vriksha was no exception. There is nothing like money. There is nothing like getting it and spending it. A lifestyle you always longed for could be just a night away. Its tough initially but her first boyfriend had broken the ice for her. And then it was one romance to another…five years…multiple relationships. New mates and new ways to get about. And for an uncaring, bold girl who had nothing to lose, as she thought herself, getting physical was cool. She did not even come to know when she got herself entrapped on the lines of business. She had entered a racket that started from college to her management school and it continued. She insisted that her Kolkata job was out of the chain but nonetheless she had to remain loyal to the group of ‘friends’ she had made early in life.

“We all came from good families…all of us. Some where much more rich than me…yet they did this…even I did not have any specific need …but as the money kept coming…

You know seniors of college would help us. It was fun! I always believed I had many lovers…I had many affairs and I was giving each one of them something…I never realised what I was doing. It became an addiction.”

She was dating a man in Mumbai at that time. He was the honcho of a private firm and she had met him at work in Kolkata.

“I do not know how it happened. How the man understood what I was…I mean he placed an indecent proposal right on our third meeting…when I met him at a hotel with an official presentation. He was rich…I felt that old pang again. I gave in. from college days we had this old paying guesthouse on lease at Mumbai’s suburbs where we dropped in with our boyfriends or girlfriends as the case may be… after initial reservations, when he proposed me a second time I called him there. Two days before your marriage.”

The beauty of Mumbai lay in the way it hides people who take shelter there. The city has its own vibe. Who cares there where a lost girl in her twenties was heading. It was late September. The onset of autumn but it was terribly hot there in Mumbai.

“We were inside our rooms. The doors were shut and AC was switched on. We did not even hear the sirens…when our door was knocked; I quite carelessly guessed that it must be one of my mates. It was the police.”

The man got out of the situation by bribing the police. But Vriksha and many others there did not have that option. So while on one hand the man left in his own car, the lesser fortunate ones were taken by the police.

Rimita was having a mixed feeling. As Vriksha poured out her heart-“after spending a night in prison, I understood the police were not for launching some huge case on us or anything, they wanted to have fun with us. I could feel so many eyes settled on me. It was for the first time I realised that what has started as a game years back, was no more that. I was tagged as a sex worker.

“It was then that I called up the only man I could trust, Ayaan from the police station after facing lots of obstructions from the police. I did not tell him what it was for. Just told that the police was harassing me. He did not question much. He came right away in the first flight he could.

“I thought he would be able to return by next day in time for the wedding. I was desperate to save myself.

“And Ayaan came.”

As she was reminiscing the hard past, Vriksha’s eyes were sparkling. She was living those hard days all over again through her words. She did not herslf know why she was telling all these to Rimita, but it was so reliving being able to tell someone about the hardest things you have gone through.

“you know I was scared to face Ayaan when he came. I was afraid of how to answer him. I had never looked ta him, the way I looked at other men, you know. And I knew the esteem in which he held me..it wasn’t easy. But he did not ask me anything in the poice station. There he talked with the police, bribed them and shut the case with minimal formalities. He did everything he could he stop the police from taking the case to the court. He saved me. It was the morning of your wedding when I got released. Two nights in prison had made me more cynical than ever.

“And then as we came out from that hell, Ayaan took me to the hotel where he had put up. I insisted him to be back to Kolkata. But he wanted to know everything about me first. I told him. All the truth. Yet, he was not ready to leave. Suddenly he held me tightly. And with firm resolution he asserted he would marry me. He threatened that he would leave me in the police station, from where he rescued me, if I did not agree to marry him! It was strange…and I was greedy…now that I knew what my position in the society would be if he left me. That was the only decision he took…. We lived in Mumbai for two years then.”

Rimita kept on wondering how to react to it. It was Ayaan’s decision to marry Vriksha…but why so adamant?

“I don’t know why he was so forceful…yet I did not protest, an escapism was working in me…” Vriksha said as her voice choked.

Rimita took that entire thing in. this Vriksha indeed was so much different from the girl she had known. Vriksha was the beautiful lady who changed other peoples lives for better…strong and rational…how could she cry like that before her…

Rimita understood, it scares to see your strongest support crumble before you. You go all out to save it.

It was not easy for either of them to face each other, but they were.

“Your mother?”, asked Rimita.

“She died that year...I had brought her to Mumbai a few days after we got married. And she expired there.”

Vriksha smiled uncomfortably…and she was all set to leave Rimita who was still almost numb.

“What does Ayaan call you when you are together? Vrik or sis?” Rimita asked.

Vriksha got up, smiled again-“ nothing…Vrik was his friend and ‘sis’ I have realised is just a word like all others…it meant nothing. He named our son, who’s two year old now Rick.”

Vriksha was leaving after saying bye to Rimita, when Rimita finally remembered to ask the question that she had come to ask.

“How is Ayaan?”

Vriksha had got up and turned back. She did not even looked back and murmured-“ Good.”

But in the whole hour-long conversation that Rimita had with Vriksha this word-‘good’ sounded the most unreal. As Rimita continued to stare at her intently, Vriksha winked sighing- “Must be good.”

And started walking hurriedly as Rimita followed her asking-“ must be good? Don’t you know? Doesn’t he stay with you?”

But Vriksha did not stop or even look back.

Just then Rimita’s cell phone rang. It was Biren calling. In a bid to answer the call she lost sight of Vriksha.

“Where are you? Not at office…not at clinic…at office they said you were unwell.”

Rimita was fumbling to answer when Biren sighed-

“Oh! You must be at home…so silly of me. Actually I had called up in the landline to tell that I will be late today, and did not get you that’s why I asked…you know its still saying- Subscriber unavailable!”