Dipa went into her room, lit the night light and stood by the window for a while. The air was very still and the summer night stiflingly hot. Dipa switched on the fan, took off her blouse and went to bed. There was no telling when sleep would come, but there was little else to do other than go to bed at the appointed time. As she lay there, Debashish’s words echoed in her head: ‘Dipa, you may not love me, but I have fallen in love with you.’

Debashish had switched on the bedside lamp as he lay in bed reading a scientific journal. He had taken off his shirt and the fan was whirring overhead at full speed. He could barely concentrate on the book. His thoughts wafted away like so much hot air. Even splashing cold water on his head had done nothing to afford him a measure of relief. Half an hour later, he put the book aside and switched off the light, as if the bright light were to blame for heating up the room.

Debashish lay there in the dark with his eyes closed. Despite the fan above, the bed felt as hot as a griddle. He tossed and turned, but his head felt hot and heavy as it lay on the pillow. His brain was heating up at the same time, but in a more insidious way. Finally, in the depths of the night, his anguish burst forth with the pent-up force of a volcano. Debashish sat up in bed and cursed under his breath, ‘Goddamn it, she’s my wife!’

He got a grip on himself and sat silently in the dark for some time. Then he stepped out of the room. As he put on the light in the drawing room, the clicking of the switch seemed to suggest that the room had been startled awake from its reverie. Debashish too was a bit startled by the sudden onslaught of bright lights. After a pause, he went and stood in front of the closed door of Dipa’s room.

He could not make out if the door was merely shut, or locked from inside. Perhaps a gentle push would open it. Dipa must be asleep. Debashish stood there for a while, then raised his hand to knock. He could not possibly enter Dipa’s room unbidden while she slept. But he couldn’t even bring himself to knock. He let his hand fall to his side. ‘Coward!’ he cursed himself as he went back to his room.

Dipa had been lying awake all this while, but she remained oblivious to what had transpired.

Two months had gone by since Debashish and Dipa’s wedding. We are moving back after a long foray into the past to the moment where we began: The day Dipa had refused Debashish’s invitation to take her to the movies.

Debashish paused on his way to Nripati’s. He was in a terrible mood and the thought of going to Nripati’s and engaging