"Tell me why you called me here, I don't have much time. Mom asked me to return home quickly; I have to buy a few things for the Puja on my way back..."

Satwik acts somewhat aloof as he speaks to Orna. Two days ago, Orna had spoken to Satwik while up on the roof, but they hadn't talked on the phone since then. Orna said sorry countlessly on Messenger, yet he didn't reply once. Satwik is the closest person to her heart; being ignored like this hurts Orna deeply.
It was only two months ago that she befriended Satwik through Facebook. At first, Satwik had sent the friend request! Orna didn't accept it initially because her elder brother had forbidden her from accepting friend requests from strangers. However, when she saw that he was the maternal cousin of a girl from her school (whose face was familiar), she accepted it. Even otherwise, her brother disliked her using a phone during her school days. After her Madhyamik exams during the lockdown, her father had bought her this Realme set for online studies, but even then, her brother had objected:
"There are already three mobile phones at home, what does she need one for?!"
Back then, Orna had reasoned:
"You and Dad aren't at home, and Mom gets calls from uncle's and aunt's houses all the time. The other day while I was in class, younger aunt kept calling continuously. You tell me, if calls keep coming in like that during class hours, how disturbing is that?!"
"Alright, fine, fine, I'll buy you a new phone! But promise me, Oru, you won't fiddle with the phone all the time. You must study attentively!" Chayan Babu had spoken up on behalf of his daughter.
That was it—Siddharth was furious the entire day, fuming and saying:
"My words carry no value here! I won't say anything anymore; let everyone do as they please! I'll just say one thing: having a phone in hand shouldn't make her act overly smart, or else she'll be in for trouble!"
A few days later, Orna's phone arrived. Returning home from the hospital at night, Siddharth set up Orna's phone... and set up Facebook for her as well. Since Orna insisted, he created it, but he didn't upload any single photo of hers; instead, he put up a family picture!
After that, days went smoothly. The 11th-grade exams didn't happen, but online classes went on in full swing... Then, moving into 12th grade, online classes continued. Four months ago, the lockdown was lifted. Orna had assumed there wouldn't be any exams this time either, but right after the lockdown lifted, the board announced that the Higher Secondary exams would indeed take place, though at their respective schools. A test exam was scheduled a month after the schools reopened, just like the usual timeline three months prior to the final Higher Secondary exams.
Orna's exams went reasonably well. However, two months ago, she got acquainted with a guy named Satwik Nandi on Facebook, and since then, they chatted back and forth. During Kali Puja, Satwik had once come to Orna's neighborhood! Unknowingly, Orna was sitting in their local pandal at the time. Meeting Satwik unexpectedly, he didn't recognize her at first, so Orna introduced herself. Wearing a pink gown with her hair open, Orna looked like a rose that day. Seeing her then, Satwik began talking to her in a different tone. Orna didn't notice it initially, but then one day on Messenger, Satwik proposed to her.
What a joyful feeling filled Orna's heart that day! Only Orna knows. For the first time in her life, someone had proposed to her and praised her beauty. To teenage Orna, Satwik had arrived as the king of spring. After that, post-tuition, the two of them often stood on the street, going on what Orna called "ice cream dates" and "fuchka dates." They talked on the phone and exchanged pictures; to Orna, all of it felt like a dream. Satwik is the son of a veterinary doctor—in plain Bengali, a cow doctor's son. His home is slightly toward the suburban side, but his father owns land and a traditional single-story house. Satwik is staying here in a hostel pursuing his graduation... Satwik himself shared all this, and as proof, he even showed her his home over a video call once!
Anyway, the vehicle of Orna and Satwik's romance was moving along smoothly until one day Siddharth asked for her phone, causing a mess. Following that, Orna blocked Satwik and didn't contact him for three days, which became the root of all the current trouble. This morning, calling Satwik, Orna came to meet him at a small restaurant right opposite her local market. At home, she told her parents she was going to her friend Payel's place to collect notes and do a bit of group study, promising to return in an hour or an hour and a half. Naturally, she took the notes from Payel so as not to get caught, and then came straight here.
"Tell me why you called me here, I don't have much time. Mom asked me to return home quickly; I have to buy a few things for the Puja on my way back..."
"Why are you talking to me like this, Satwik?!"
"How did I talk?! The way one human talks to another, that's how I talked!"
"Please Satwik, don't say that. I am saying sorry, please forgive me. Believe me, I didn't block you on purpose! Actually, that day...!"
"What should I believe! Huh?! What should I believe! Have you ever experienced being blocked by someone in your life? Do you know how you've played with my emotions these past three days?!"
Orna sits silently with her head bowed, her eyes brimming with tears. Today, Orna came wearing a beautiful white Anarkali kurti featuring mirror work. For makeup, she wore just a light dusting of powder, kohl, and a nude shade of peach-pink lipstick. With her hair braided, she looked very graceful today. She had thought that if she dressed up nicely, Satwik's anger would melt away, but ever since she arrived, Satwik has been acting rude with her... In Orna's view, what did she even do? Out of fear of her brother, she had merely blocked Satwik for three days; she hadn't imagined he would get this angry over it!
"There's no point sitting silently, Orna! If you were in my shoes today, you would understand. Have you ever considered how I felt, unable to contact you? On top of that, I wasn't even in the city, so I couldn't even come to meet you face-to-face! I couldn't sleep a wink, constantly worrying if something happened to you! And you..."
"If my brother had seen your messages and photos on my phone that day, what would have happened? My brother would have killed us! You can't imagine, Satwik, how aggressive my brother is!"
Hearing Orna's words, a crooked smile appears on Satwik's lips... He leans down across the table and says...
"Just who does your brother think he is, huh, that we have to hide in fear of him? And if you were so afraid, why did you get into a relationship in the first place?!"
"Satwik...!" Before Orna can say anything, she spots Siddharth through the restaurant's glass wall! Immediately, she stands up from the table! Seeing her stand up like this, Satwik stands up too. "What happened? Why did you get up?!"
"Oh no... Brother! Brother is here! Please Satwik... you go away...!"
"Where is your brother?!"
Satwik speaks to Orna with an air of arrogance—as if he is about to assert his manhood in front of Siddharth right now and demand his sister's hand!
"Look over there!" As Satwik's eyes follow the direction Orna points to, his jaw drops...

To be continued........