After the program at the banyan tree area, everyone left in their own way. Saad and Nuzhat left together, while Shuvha, Ruhi, and Dia stood on the road waiting for a ride back to the hostel.
Tiyas, however, held my hand and said he'd take me on his bike for a ride.
Though I was unprepared, I hadn't yet said no to anything Tiyas asked of me. So, I didn't have the courage to refuse this time either.
On the bike, I wrapped one arm around Tiyas and sat close to him. It was the first time I'd been so close to him. At first, I felt extremely shy holding him, but after a moment, I leaned in closer at his insistence.
A few days ago, I'd gotten a haircut at the parlor with my roommates, but I hadn't cut my hair short for Tiyas. At that moment, the wind blew my shorter strands of hair, disturbing both me and Tiyas. But through the mirror, I could clearly see Tiyas smiling faintly, lost in thought. It didn't seem to bother him.
Being so close to a guy gives off a unique scent—one that's enough to drive any girl crazy. But for someone already crazy, it only intensifies the madness. At that moment, I realized how much Tiyas meant to me. He was more than an addiction to me. His touch didn't just intoxicate me; it transformed my entire world.
That day, we spent a long time riding around. The closer I got to him, the more my obsession grew. And my love for him intensified.
That day was one of the best days of my life! But I still didn't have the courage to express my feelings.
Months passed. Neither of us had said anything to the other. Amidst various college exams, my results were nowhere near what they used to be. The me who once wouldn't settle for anything less than first place now didn't care at all. But next month was our year-final exams. I was trying to get serious about studying again. I tried hard not to talk to Tiyas after evening, but I couldn't help it. Finally, one day, I blurted out,
"Tiyas, listen, exams are coming up. I need to do well. If I study hard for a month, I can do well, InshaAllah. I can't accept a bad result in the year-finals. I want to talk less for two months. I'll deactivate my ID. Please focus on your studies too."
In response, Tiyas ignored my concerns and replied,
"Can you come to the market with me tomorrow?"
After thinking for a moment, I said,
"Okay, I'll come."
We left in the morning. Twenty minutes later, we arrived. But it felt like only two minutes had passed. Time with Tiyas always flew by.
Then he took me to a saree shop and asked me to pick one out.
At first, I thought it might be for his mother, so I chose a light-colored saree. He bought exactly what I picked.
Next, we went to a cosmetics store, where he bought everything from earrings to necklaces, waist chains, hair accessories, bangles, lipstick, and even shoes.
Then he said,
"Let me drop you off."
I nodded. When we reached the hostel, he handed me all the bags and said,
"You know my birthday is at the end of this month. I don't want a surprise like Saad's. I want you to wear these and come to me. That'll be the best surprise. Bye!"
With that, Tiyas started his bike and disappeared in the blink of an eye. I stood there, holding the bags, watching him leave. Then I went back to the room. When I entered, I saw Nuzhat wasn't there.
Lately, Nuzhat's behavior had been strange. She acted differently. Over the past few months, Nuzhat and I had become the closest of friends. But in the last few days, she had completely changed. I hadn't heard much about her meeting Saad, and they didn't seem to talk much either. The lively Nuzhat I knew was gone.
I didn't dwell on it too much. I freshened up and took a nap. I woke up at 8 PM, ate, and then spent a long time talking to Tiyas before going back to sleep late at night. I abandoned the thought of deactivating my ID. My decision to study had once again reached zero.
A few more days passed like this, without any studying. But they were good days.
Nine days later, the day before Tiyas's birthday, Nuzhat suddenly disappeared. From morning till evening, there was no sign of her.
Nuzhat's phone was off. We even called her home to check if she'd gone there, but they said she hadn't.
We tried calling Saad, but his phone was busy. Everyone in the room tried calling him.
We also checked with Nuzhat's aunt, who lived nearby, but she wasn't there either.
Then I called Tiyas and asked where Saad was. Tiyas said Saad had gone to his village a week ago, and Tiyas himself had dropped him off at the bus stand.
I was shocked. Where could Nuzhat have gone? Besides, she hadn't shared anything with us. She had just been acting strangely. Her disappearance wasn't my biggest concern at the moment.
My mind was preoccupied with how I'd dress up and present myself to Tiyas tomorrow. After all, it was his birthday!
Right at Maghrib prayer time, I suddenly heard the gatekeeper shouting loudly. We ran to the balcony and saw Nuzhat standing there, crying. Entering the hostel after evening was prohibited. The gatekeeper scolded her,
"Come with me to the sir's office. We'll call your guardian."
We were all scared. Then Ruhi said,
"If they call the guardian, it'll be fine. Don't worry, I'm Nuzhat's guardian."
I was stunned. Everyone laughed at my expression and said,
"Lia, if it were you, you'd definitely be in trouble. But we filled out the forms using each other's numbers as guardians. Nothing will happen. Come on, let's act it out."
Ruhi took the phone and sat down dramatically. Two minutes later, the call came. Ruhi cleared her throat and said,
"Who's speaking?"
From downstairs, the sir said,
"Are you Nuzhat's mother? Your daughter entered the hostel at Maghrib time. Are you aware of this?"
Ruhi put on a broken voice and said,
"Sir, has my daughter arrived? I kept telling her to come tomorrow, but she said exams are coming up, and every night counts. She needs to study well. So, she left in the evening after arriving in the morning. It's such a long journey, sir. Has my daughter arrived safely?"
Ruhi pretended to cry.
The sir softened his tone and said,
"Yes, she's arrived safely. Alright then, I'll let you go."
He hung up. We all burst into laughter, high-fiving each other. Then we went to bring Nuzhat inside. She could barely climb the stairs. She looked exhausted, her eyes swollen and red from crying.
When we got to the room, everyone started asking what had happened. But my questions only made her cry harder. Eventually, we stopped and decided to give her some time.
Nuzhat went to take a shower. I told Tiyas about the incident with the sir. He then shared countless stories of his own mischief. When I mentioned Nuzhat's sudden change and her crying, Tiyas's tone shifted. He started giving delayed responses and seemed to avoid the topic. I didn't understand why.
Meanwhile, Nuzhat returned after almost an hour. I could tell she'd been crying in the shower too. While waiting for Tiyas's reply, I went to Nuzhat and softly asked,
"Did something happen with Saad? Why are you crying like this?"
Nuzhat burst into tears and said,
"Lia, I'm pregnant."
The moment I heard those words, my phone fell from my hand. Dia, Shuvha, and Ruhi jumped up and surrounded Nuzhat. We were all in shock. I didn't know whether to feel disgusted or to ask more questions.
A moment later, Nuzhat cried and said,
"We got married. Two months ago, as soon as I turned 18 on my certificate, we got married in court."
Hearing this, we all let out a sigh of relief. But everyone except me gave her a disapproving look and said,
"So, you didn't tell us?"
But I felt they hadn't told us because they wanted to keep it private. However, something must have gone wrong now. I placed a hand on Nuzhat's head and said,
"If you're married, why are you crying? Talk to him. Then tell your family about him and try to get them to accept it. Many girls have children at this age. You didn't do anything wrong. You're married, right? So why are you breaking down like this? If your family doesn't accept it, run away together and start a life. You'll see, in a year or two, everything will be fine."
Hearing this, Nuzhat hugged me tightly and cried,
"Saad betrayed me, Lia. He refused to take responsibility for the baby. He ran away to his village to escape me. He clearly said he can't handle this responsibility at this age."
I lifted her head and said angrily,
"If he can't handle the responsibility at this age, why did he do it? File a case against him. Make him pay for this. I thought so highly of Saad, but he's such a coward!"
Nuzhat sobbed and said,
"No one is good. No one keeps their word. Everyone in this world is a betrayer. And Lia, what are you saying about filing a case? What will happen? What will happen to me? Even if I abort the baby, how will my family take me? What will my future be like? I never thought my life would end like this, Lia."
As she spoke, she broke down crying again. My head was spinning. In an instant, all my excitement for tomorrow vanished. My heart felt crushed. Can people really change like this? Tiyas is Saad's friend. What guarantee do I have that he won't betray me too? What am I getting myself into?
No, no, I need to break free from this illusion. I need to forget everything. Falling for a guy has turned me from a top student to a bottom-tier one. I can't even recognize myself anymore. I can change this if I want to, but what if I end up like Nuzhat? I need to fix everything. I need to fix myself!
I stood up with determination. I had to break free from this spell, no matter what. I calmed Nuzhat down and sat with my books.
That night, after hearing about Saad's actions, a thought about Tiyas crept into my mind. If I had held onto that thought and acted on it, maybe my life would have turned out differently. But the very next day, all my doubts were erased.
Perhaps this was the biggest reason that made me even weaker for Tiyas!