December, 19. Warm sultry morning in an apartment in Salt Lake, shrouded in foggy winter winds. A part of the iconic things in Kolkata, was sultry dry mornings and chilly evenings when the sun shone brightly on the plants in the balcony. The apartment complex was titled “Chetana” and was on the outskirts of the community of complexes in Salt Lake, near Sector two. Despite the sunny and warm surroundings, Amal Das had a foggy conscience. A twenty-year-old research scholar at Presidency University by profession, he was busy sipping a cup of black tea, as warm as the radiant sun in the sky. He had invited his school friends over to his house for a reunion party, in the evening, sharp at six. He, somehow, was fretting over his friends paying a visit.
Was he hiding something sinister, as dark as the clouds filled with water vapour on rainy days? Or, maybe, was he …..? The pensive moment was broken into pieces when the doorbell rang. It was Lalu, the newspaper boy. Amal flashed a smile at him and received the daily newspaper from him. There was a Readers’ Digest as well. Amal started reading the Readers ‘Digest while drinking the steaming tea. A particular section in the catalogue intrigued him beyond apprehension. The jokes of the day were his favourite segment. When he was reading the stories in the Digest, suddenly the doorbell rang again. This time, he finished drinking the tea and opened the door to find the milkman, who asked him “Dada, ko packet neben aj?” Amal signalled five with his fingers and took five packets of milk from the milkman. Four of his friends, Animesh, Shitesh, Haripada, and Nilima were coming over to his house and he was planning to prepare four cups of chocolate milkshake for each one of them. They were the closest friends in the 2017 batch of class 11 in the Heritage School.
Consequently, Amal proceeded to prepare his breakfast for the day, scrambled eggs and bread toast. After that, he consumed the sumptuous breakfast and proceeded to get ready for his university. Entering the bedroom, he selected a blue shirt and denim jeans and got ready. Firmly locking the door of his apartment, he left the complex and boarded a bus to reach his university. After reaching the university, he completed his work diligently, and left the campus exactly at three pm.
He had to reach home early and prepare for the reunion party. On his way home, he stopped by Mio Amore and purchased a chocolate pure cream 2 pounds cake, and stopped by a Royal Stag outlet to fetch some champagne for the party.
He boarded the bus to reach his apartment and reached his home at 5 pm. After reaching home, he started to set the table for the party. A pure white tablecloth covered the dinner table. He proceeded to cook delicious dishes for his friends in the kitchen. After cooking for almost half an hour, Amal kept the dishes on the table which had already been laid out. Amal decided to read a journal published by the printing press of his university for the time being. At six o clock sharp, the doorbell rang again. Upon checking, Amal found out that his friends were there. He greeted his friends with a warm smile on his face. They replied in a chorus “Happy 2008 reunion. “ Amal said “Kmon achis tora?”. The reply was that they were great. Gradually , they proceeded towards the dinner table. Consequently, the group of reunited friends proceeded towards the dinner table . Neelima was really excited for the party .
