Sitting near the table, Amba was writing something in a notebook with a pen. Seeing that, I felt both deeply happy and also afraid. When she noticed me, she said, "Ma, you must give this to Suman-da no matter what." I asked, "Why are you doing this, Ma?" She replied, "Why? I'm telling you the truth, Ma—Ankita said that if Suman-da finds out everything, she'll tell her father, and then her father will kill Suman-da."
Hearing that, I was quite surprised. I said, "What are you saying, Ma?" Amba said, "You must give this writing to Suman-da." When I looked at the notebook, I saw she had written a thousand things and then scratched them out. To calm her down, I said, "Alright, I'll give it to him. Now you go to sleep." Even then, she continued this madness for a while. Finally, I forcibly took her and made her lie down.
That horrifying night just didn't seem to want to end. A little while later, the doorbell rang again. I was too scared to open the door. After several rings and knocks, I finally had to open it. As soon as I did, two young people—a boy and a girl dressed in black—rushed into the house. Before I could say anything, they said, "Don't be afraid, Kakima (auntie), we are Amba's college friends—very good friends. We warned her many times, but she didn't listen to us. Ankita is a very nice girl generally, but selfish. Her father has a lot of money, you see, and she thinks money can buy everything. She befriended Amba because Amba was good in studies. Then a quiet battle started over Suman-da. But looking at Amba, we could never tell anything was wrong—she's a very reserved girl. Perhaps Amba herself didn't know Ankita would lie to such an extent. That's why she showed all her writings to Ankita. And Ankita started publishing them under her own name."
I said, "But hadn't Amu published a few things earlier under the name Durga Rani Sur?" They replied, "Yes, but people thought that now she's just using her real name instead of a pseudonym, so no one suspected."
Hearing all this, I was speechless. A young girl, with so much conspiracy in her head, just to win over the person she loved? That's why I told you not to come home and instead to go to your uncle's place. Ambika says, "And I, like a fool, got mad at you and went on a trip with my friends."
"By the way, where did you get the money from? Didn't we lack money for sister's treatment?"
Ma laughed and said, "Your uncle gave a loan. He knew everything. But even then, how much could he earn from that job? But your sister's treatment wasn't stopped because of money—she didn't want to take her medicines properly. And if needed, I had my jewelry. What other options do we middle-class people have? But it's surprising—despite all their wealth and power, Ankita's parents couldn't fulfill their daughter's emotional needs."
Ma said, "Ambika… yes, both her parents committed suicide in grief over their daughter."
Sometimes I think the girl was so foolish. Did she lack talent? If things had gone right, she could have built a happy home with Suman. And is that how love works, Ma? Ma was about to say more when Ambika interrupted, "Why do you keep saying 'was' about Ankita? Has she become clever now?"
Anika Devi gave a faint smile and said, "Maybe. People say the soul knows all time—past, present, and future."
Ma tried to say "Ankita…" but couldn't finish. Her throat caught for some unknown reason. Anika Devi sighed deeply and nodded up and down—meaning "yes."
Suman-da said Ankita would call. It's been four months. Is she at some function in Hyderabad? To this, Anika Devi replied, "Listen to the whole story—then you'll understand."
She continued: "They stayed at our house all night. At night, your father had a high fever. I took him to a nearby government hospital. They called the ambulance and arranged everything. It was because of their support that I could leave your sister and go to the hospital.
'Ma, are you talking about Adrit-da and Mita-di?'
Anika Devi replied, 'Yes, they've been helping us for the past two years. And the boy Mita is going to marry is also very nice—his name is Ratul Dutta. Though he's from North Kolkata, he now works in Bhubaneswar. He got us an appointment with psychologist Samita Bose.
You know, in this world, just as there are bad people, there are good people too. But the next day, Ankita's father again sent money through someone. We returned it. But he threatened me quite a bit on the phone.'"