Dhaka's sky today is a bit grayer than usual. It feels like the mist has overtaken even the sunlight.
Ela can't sleep. The events of last night keep swirling in her mind-Adris' sudden appearance, Raphael's boldness, and that silent boy she saw from afar-Saiful.
Even at college, her thoughts keep drifting towards the coffee shop.
That morning, she received a small note-no name, just one sentence:
> "You don't know it yet, but the three of us don't want to lose you."
At first, Ela is scared. Then she thinks-maybe it's just a prank, someone's mischief.
But somewhere deep inside, an unfamiliar warmth spreads.
In the afternoon, when she goes to the coffee shop, it's rather empty.
Uncle Mamun smiles lightly and says,
"Seems like someone is waiting for you this afternoon."
Ela looks out the glass window.
Raphael is sitting there, holding an old book-Demian by Hermann Hesse.
His eyes hold the same silent seriousness, but his lips carry a strange tenderness.
Ela walks toward his table.
Raphael looks up and says,
"Your name is beautiful. Do you know what 'Ela' means?"
"No," she answers softly.
"It's a light that falls in the darkness," Raphael says, "At least to me."
Ela is startled by this, but says nothing.
She leaves her coffee cup and walks away.
The door opens again.
This time, Adris enters.
He says nothing, just stares at Ela with a fixed gaze.
His eyes burn like fire.
In his hand, he holds a small gift package.
He places it on the table and says,
"Open it. It's my first gift to you."
He leaves.
Ela hesitates, then opens it-
A chain.
On the chain, a small pendant engraved with the word: "Mine."
Ela's breath catches for a moment.
She knows this isn't an ordinary gift. It's a kind of claim, a declaration of possession.
Far away, Saiful watches all this.
For the first time, he does not stay silent.
Breaking the heaviness in his chest, he steps in front of Ela.
"Do you know?" he says softly,
"You're no one's property. You're no one's 'Mine.' You are simply you."
Ela looks at him, surprised.
Tears well up in her eyes.
She doesn't understand why these boys are shaking her very core.
But she begins to realize-
The darkness in this city is not just on the streets, it's hidden in people's eyes.
And now she stands in the middle of three shadows-
Who want to be her light, but maybe, one of them is becoming her shadow.
Ela says nothing more.
She has been standing silently all this time.
The three-Raphael, Adris, and Saiful-surround her, each wanting to say something in their own way.
But suddenly Ela smiles.
A simple, yet sharp smile.
"Looking at you three, it feels like I'm some kind of princess," Ela says with a mischievous grin.
All three are surprised.