Luna took the rickshaw to a fancy restaurant at the edge of the Gulshan lake. The restaurant was built on a duplex house and had a tint of classical European architecture with bougainvillea creepers hanging from the roof. It looked like something straight out of Wes Anderson's film. Luna was here to meet Arian.
Luna met Arian back at college and somehow was lucky enough to share the same University. They are more than friends, what modern linguists call girlfriend and boyfriend, and their relationship is quite public. After all, Luna's friends also lay in await there with Arian. As soon as she arrived, she was ambushed, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LUNA." Decors covered up the pink walls with the texts "Happy 21st, Luna."
Luna's father, Mr. Kashem, is a well-known businessman who owns a couple of garments in Savar. He has earned enough fortune to afford a 2200 sqft flat at A-block of Bashundhara. After achieving the Bangladeshi dream, he moved on to achieve a respectable position within the BGMEA, which required very few pushes for a man of his stature.
Mr. Kashem loved his children and tried to give them all the love and support they ever needed. He always told Luna, "It is your life, and you are the one who will curve your path. Live the life you like." Mr. Kashem gave her daughter full freedom and Luna never felt that her family turned a blind eye to her, or worst, gave preferential treatment to his younger brother, Nisham.
Luna was surprised and awestruck. She thanked everyone and gave a special bit of thanks to Arian. After dining, they went out to roam, in Arian's car. After all, it was a date. "I will tell my father about our relationship." You sure?", Arian frowned. "He is a cool guy, did he ever lash out at me, or reject my demands?" "You are right, and after you tell him, I will be visiting my in-law's house, not Luna's house, lmao."
Mr. Kashem raised an eyebrow. "And so this boy is in the same university as you?" "Yes, Father." "What does his father do?" "Where is his hometown." Questions, questions, questions. Luna knew, although her father was a symbol of a changing society, there still lies a Bengali soul inside, a soul that wants each and every minute detail of what their child is doing. Being overprotective is the norm, especially when it involves the daughter. Luna gave each and every answer, right down to the atom which her father wanted. And after a while, Mr. Kashem said, "I want to meet Arian".
Luna couldn't wait to tell this to Arian. She rushed to her room, literally leaped onto her bed, embraced her pink teddy-like pillow, and opened Messenger. Oh, but what's this? Arian deactivated his account. Her messenger was plagued by dead silence, as she found only one place of unseen texts, "Besties forever". In it, there was only horror, there were talks, talks from everywhere, about an exposed post. Someone had hacked Arian's Facebook id, and exposed thousands of screenshots, all of which involved girls, about the same age as Luna, with Arian engaging in intimate conversations with each of them. Luna, was the happiest girl on earth, just 5 minutes ago, and now it seemed like not even the saddest place in hell couldn't conserve her soul.
All the spicy parts of her conversation with Arian were leaked. It doesn't take long for everyone to notice, and soon the judgemental eyes, the curious eyes, and the thirsty eyes were everywhere. Arian, after all, was a boy, and the eyes were seemingly sparing him. What concerned them most was how girls talked with that boy, and how much of a slut each of them were! After all, the judgemental eyes, the curious eyes, and thirsty eyes always conclude, "It is always the girl's fault." And because of the degeneracy that has plagued our land, the girls are becoming whores. Godlessness has eaten them. Arian was not the one manipulating, the girls have surely manipulated Arian.
Luna knew this is it. She can never show her face to the public anymore. She was cornered. And where do cornered people go when they find no solace? To their best friend, maybe. She called Jaba, and Jaba was not picking up the phone. After a few tries, Luna gave up. Her head was spinning and everything was fading in front of her. She thought of running to her father and crying her heart out, but after all the fight that she had been through to make the image of Arian, she knew, she couldn't go there. Numerous options revolved around her mind. Her phone buzzed. It was Jaba. When she picked up, the other side immediately spat, "It will all be alright. Let a few days pass. Everything will return to normal." Luna started crying. She knew nothing will ever be normal.
And as she went to university the next day, Luna was attacked by judgmental eyes, curious eyes, and thirsty eyes from all around. She didn't feel safe anywhere. Luna couldn't be convinced by anyone, that things will be alright as deep inside, she felt, she can't ever return to a normal life. It was maybe this feeling, which had asked her to be a bird and let go of all earthly feelings. She underwent a leap of faith, on a fateful day in August 2022, and the leap was her last act of freedom.
And where did Arian go after all this? Yesterday, I decided to take a break from grueling hours of hellish literature review and go visit the tea stall at Shadow. And, there I saw Arian, as lively and happy as ever, popping a cigarette and engaging in silly jokes with his friends. Life can be funny, but nothing is funnier than the hypocrisy it regularly presents us with. I sipped the tea. Awful taste.
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