Silence

The cool water felt nice on his skin. The stream washed away the soap, forming a creamy puddle around his feet.

He kept looking into the mirror as the puddle of foam started washing away .He saw nothing but the face of a confused old man trying to justify his own life . The five thousand bucks he got from his pension was all he had now . She had been paralysed for the last 15 years . It was getting impossible for him. Their only son had just gotten into a private college. Their daughter’s  husband had called last week, asking for money .  He threatened to divorce her if he didn’t get it . He was too old to find a job now ………  What the hell was he supposed  to do?

He opened the small wooden closet beside the mirror . Her expired old lipsticks, her eyeliners , her perfumes everything lied there in one corner ,covered in dust .  

A teardrop escaped his threshold , travelled through the folds on his face, hung on from the chin for  a few seconds, and then plunged into the deforming puddle at his feet.

He didn’t dry himself , instead he put on a pair of old pajamas and dragged himself to their bedroom . There she was ….lying so peacefully . His eyes looked at her lifeless body lying in front of him .  He kneeled down and kissed her forehead . It’s been years since she had last kissed him back . A peaceful expression had always  covered her pretty face . But he knew she was hurting . He knew it was selfish to keep her paralysed body alive for his own wants . But he wasn’t ready to let go of her yet . He never will be .

He slowly laid down beside her  and tried to get the fragrance of her hair . It still smelt wonderful  . He slowly curled up around her body and covered his eyes with her hair . The light still hurt his eyes as he tried to remember everything …..


They met when they were in college .  “The Perfect Couple” everyone called them .Both of them were from mid-class families , both of them liked classical music and both of them were madly in love with each other . They would miss each other even if they were apart for a single second . They would take care of each other and knew everything about each other , even when they were far apart . They married with everyone’s consent and were on their way to having the perfect life . 5 years into their marriage , they already had a 3 year old daughter and a newborn son . They vowed to each other to take care of their children , no matter what .

6 years had passed without a speck of dust on their perfect family . It was the night before their 7^th anniversary  . They had left  the kids at a neighbor’s house and gone out to a romantic date . She took a long time to get ready he remembers . But it was worth the wait . In her full-length ,sequined red gown she looked more beautiful than what anyone would ever define as beauty .

They went to a luxurious greek restaurant for dinner , and ordered the priciest things on the menu  . They ordered a bottle of red wine with their meal . It was almost 12 when they realized that they were late . They rushed to their car and he started driving at 80 on the empty road . The alcohol fueled adrenaline had blurred his sense and his vision .

That one accident had shattered their life. He was saved but she was paralysed for life. With two children and his lack of savings , it was getting tough for him to stay within sanity . Everyone told him to remarry , but he ignored them . He wanted her to be with him . He wanted his children to know their mother .

Today , he was forced into retirement . He was 53 and young recruits were lining up for his job .The company allotted him a mere pension and handed him the one week notice . He came home and looked at her sitting on her wheelchair , still not moving . She hadn’t moved for 15 years , but some wicked sense of hope had forced him into keeping her alive . He opened the drawer and counted his savings . Twenty thousand bucks , he counted . Half of what he owed to loan-sharks  . He looked at her once more . She was still lying there , showing no sign of life . In a split moment of desperation , he lunged at her lifeless body and grabbed her by the neck . He tightened his grasp until her muscles relaxed and she stopped breathing . He couldn’t look at her anymore , he quickly escaped  into the shower .

**
He glanced at the small spider at the corner of the room ,it was busy doing it’s own thing , not caring about the emotional battle he was going through . Her face seemed much calmer  than it usually did ; he gave her a tighter hug, almost crushing her bones in his strong arms . But she didn’t fight back , her body  didn't reciprocate anymore . She was dead  , already far away from him .

“I couldn’t have done this !! I should have never even thought of it … Come back please!! I should have waited a little longer . I should have taken more pain !! Come back to me , I need you ! Please come back to me …. Please wake up!!” ,he screamed ..

But he could hear nothing but the sound of his own teardrops …… and the sound of his own pathetic guilt .

-Dhrubo

Another Entity

I could only see the palm tree residing in front of my house, through the window. Living in an urban environment was never suffocating to me. I enjoyed seeing the sodium lights, long drives at late night, hilarious advertisements of cinemas, hungry gazes at restaurants and what not! I had a strong bond with my very own city than any other place in the whole wide World! But someone once said, all of your happy moments are not the only moments you’ll be experiencing throughout your life. However, with a drastic experience I found out that, that someone was actually correct.

I never really hated my Chemistry classes. Paying full attention, I was trying to solve a problem of calculus. Leaving the professor dumbstruck , my phone rang out loud playing a creepy ringtone! I just grabbed it and pressed ‘ignore’. My teacher looked a bit disturbed and that look suddenly spoiled my mood and as well as my attention. Then again I started to solve the problem controlling a justified anger for the caller.

I got inside my car and took a breath. I was still trying to control my temper but at last I couldn’t. ‘2030? Is that even fair to call me during my classes? Argghhh! Bloody help lines!’ I was too much angry and felt a bit suffocated. Out of that minor suffocation maybe, I drove my car to the call centre of the carrier I use.

I parked my car beside the garage. Maybe I didn’t feel like maintaining a decency. I ran across the pavement and entered into the building. The receptionist appointed an employee for me instead of the manager. That sprinkled a pinch full of salt upon me. The employee came right away.

‘What’s all these? Don’t you think it’s inhuman? I was on a very important class!’ I yelled at the employee. I also showed him the number I was complaining about.

‘We’re extremely sorry ma’m, but this isn’t our number. We didn’t call you actually.’ He replied.

All of a sudden, I realized how irrationally I was behaving. ‘I should have cross- checked! Damn!’ I muttered to self and apologized to the employee and ran out of the call centre. Picked my phone out of the pocket again, and went through my call list. The number was still there , 2030.

                                                                       •

Mom didn’t seem to be very happy to know my professor’s reaction. She was not at all concerned about that horrifying call , instead she just kept nagging about my Chemistry professor. I found no reason to drag her disgust out anymore so I just quitted explaining my thoughts and went to my room. I dragged out my phone from the cover and took a deep breath. Several things were floating in and out of my subconscious mind. ‘Is it a serial killer? Or am I gonna experience all those scenes from the final destination? Is it a prank? No! I guess it’s the gang who clone numbers!’……….. I was so confused within myself that regardless of my assumptions being so unimpressive, I pressed the call button beside that creepy number.

‘It’s ringing!’ I said to myself. My inner sensations were trying to burst out of me….. Sweat dripped from my neck not realizing the frosty weather………..

The phone still rang………. With a weird clicking sound…….

After a few more rings, I felt that someone picked up the phone.

‘Hello!’ The voice left me devastated! I was feeling sheer pain all through my nerves and felt like I was never going to be okay! ‘How’s it possible?’ I thought to myself!

‘Hello? Ipshita? It’s me! Another entity of yours!’ The voice laughed.

I felt shivers running down my spine……

‘ What the hell is this? How could you even call me? Who are you? This is not at all funny I tell you! Tell me which reality show I’m on? What YouTube video are you making using a familiar voice of mine? Just say it!’ I simply mumbled these while constantly struggling to yell!!

‘Hold on sweetheart! I am in 2030 now. It’s not anymore the way you want it to be dear. People are inventing unbelievable things every now and then! I have finished my project on a calling system today. It’s a system to call someone from the past. And guess what? I’ve accomplished my mission today! We can call and talk to our past selves now! Can’t you see? I am talking to you. And I still have that mole inside my ear. It’s just a bit bigger now. Would you love to see a picture of it? I could mms you. We had the mms system back then in 2008, right?’ She tried to calm me. I just got blanked….. That hollow feeling started killing me from the inside……… I got more furious and again yelled at her.

‘Do you think it’s funny sister? Please say you’re joking!’

‘I am not Ipshi. Why would I confuse my own self? You and I both are real. It’s just that we are leaving in different dimensions.’

‘How can that be possible?’ I asked her… Suddenly, I thought of something…. ‘Let me ruin her prank!’ I thought…

‘ Wait! Where are mom and dad?’ I asked to the newly met entity of mine.

‘They are fine dear. Don’t you worry. They are still fit and fine even in their 90’s. I will make sure they be like this till the end.’

‘I wanna see them. Show me.’

‘Of course I will. After I cut the phone, I’ll send you an mms dear.’ She scared the hell out of me by saying this. I knew she couldn’t sound so confident if she was unreal. Then I heard something………. Heard it through the phone……… I heard an old lady calling by my name just like mom calls me. The caller, who introduced herself as me, replied to her…….

‘Hello? Hey? Are you there? Is that mom? What is she doing with you?’

‘Where would my mom go Ipshita? She lives with me!’ She laughed again.

‘You know what I am talking about, don’t you?’ I could feel the depth of my words.

‘Yes. I know. I have my lab just beside my home. She came to see me.’

I don’t know why, but I felt like believing her. My mother’s voice could never be wrong………. She’s the only thing I couldn’t ever be wrong about……….

‘And granny?’ Where’s granny? Tell me!’ I asked her. She didn’t reply…. She tried to blur my question and I didn’t let her………

‘Tell me! Ipshita.’

‘Well, we cannot expect a life to be eternal, can we? She left us in 2009 Ipshi. Look, do not get disappointed or upset please. This is how life is, right? We tried a lot…….. but……… she was………. Hello?........ I can’t hear you anymore……. Are you there?......... Ipsh……………’

I cut the line and threw my phone away. It hit the window,shattering the glass to pieces .I saw the window and maybe immitating it, broke into tears. Tears fell down my cheeks as I wept. I couldn’t believe my own self….. My own ears… Such an oblivion!!! My whole World shattered in front of my own eyes…….

‘Ipshu baccha?’ I didn’t notice granny coming inside my room. She came and sat beside me and wiped my tears with the fringed part of her saree. She looked tensed. She was one of a kind. Who couldn’t even tolerate a paper cut on my body. I didn’t want her to know anything about that phone call. So I just stopped crying and smiled at her. She calls me her sunshine, and that’s how I tried to look.

‘Why are you crying my child? Who made you cry? Show me that guy! I will kill him! Come on, I am not dead yet that someone will just come and make you cry, nah?’ Granny consoled me with her mesmerizing smile. I smiled back to her. ‘How can you leave me, granny?’ I thought. A drift of horror blew through my mind…… I looked at granny, hugged her and told how much I loved her. I hugged her again and again, her fragrance just kept me reminding how it’ll be missed when she’ll go away………. I cried again………. I just cried over and over again……….

                                                                       •

I could still only see the palm tree from my window. It’s dancing to the winds will. This tree always makes me think about myself. I am also living against my will……. No, wait! It’s me, who is reigning in my World! It’s not me……… But it’s me…….. It’s Ipshita………..

It has been a year since Granny left us. It’s 2010 now. She left us last year. After that incident, I frequently talked to Ipshita. Ipshita, she’s another ‘Me’. I couldn’t stop talking to her despite of my unwillingness. …………………. She could tell any single thing about my near future……. All of that she said, proved themselves as correct statements……. I kept talking to Ipshita……. Maybe future attracts!

Now, I know everything! Every freaking thing ! I know how Tanveer’s mother is going to die,……….. how Zara will attempt suicide,…………. how Lutfa apu will face an accident,………… how brutally is Marwa going to get killed……………. I just know about their death!........... And I cannot do anything about it.

I have tried saving people before……….. But none of them ever worked at all! The other Ipshita has warned me not to do this and enhance my pain. Because the future never lies……….

Now I am waiting……………. Waiting to know how my death will come. When it will step towards me and accomplish its desire………….. I am waiting, when I’ll hear another voice from 2030, apprising me about my death…………...... I don’t feel like I won’t be able to face that moment! I am facing deaths every second! I have spent two unbelievable years, dying! Now I know how death feels……….. I don’t have my soul inside me anymore……………. I just don’t want another life to die like me ever! I want myself to be actually dead now! I want to be dead! Dead along with that number……... So that it never kills any other Ipshita……. So that it never roams around anyone’s dream………. So that the bloody number dies………. That bloody number………. 2030……………

-Ashabori

The Interrogation

“Who’s the leader of your gang ?”

“ I’d die before I’d confess to fuckers like you ”

“See those three men standing behind you ? They’ve made a lot of men cry before . They’ll crack your bones open and make sure that you never walk for the rest of your life . So, before I loose my head and hand you over to them , tell me , who is the leader of your gang ?   ”

“ Babu Bhaiya . “

“ Isn’t Babu Bhaiya leader of the local political party? ”

“ Hmm .”

“ Shouldn’t he protect women  instead of harassing them ?”

“ He protects the divine religion .  These shameless girls bring only destroy our religion . They deserved to be a lot more than harassed . They deserve to be raped !”

“ When did you join Babu Bhaiya ?”

“ A year ago .  Me and some of my classmates were in trouble after teasing a girl in front of my college . Babu Bhaiya got us out and showed us the divine  way .”

“  Who was your first victim? “

“ That same girl from my college . I remember  she was wearing a salwar day . She had worn her orna ( dupatta )  on her neck instead of her chest .  I could see her curves perfectly . That shameless girl didn't even try to hide them.…… She was asking for it . Me and Akash forced her into the storeroom   and raped her  .”

“And the authority didn’t take actions  ? ”

“ Nobody ever found out  . That bitch’s parents were too afraid to complain to the police . They moved away from the city a few day ’s  later .”

“ Weren’t you afraid  ? ”

“I'd be lying if I told you I didn't feel nervous. My hands almost shivered when I pulled her orna from her neck  . But let me tell you, revenge was sweet  . ”

“ You were caught harassing a girl in the crowd yesterday during the Boishakhi Mela . That too in the university   campus .Why did you harass her ?”

“ She wore her  white saree under her navel . Everyone was looking at her . I saw nothing but desire in her face.  She was a perfect 36-28-36 . All of us wanted her . But Babu Bhaiya gave her to me . I’m Babu Bhaiya’s  favorite  disciple.”

“And yet Babu Bhaiya fled the scene when you got caught .”

“If he gets caught , who’ll protect the society ? Mark my words , he’ll be back for me . And he’ll kill of all of you scums when he does . “

“ Did you know that Babu Bhaiya got caught at the same place an hour later ? “

“ He’ll get out . You don’t know his power  . ”

“ He was caught trying to rape a 16 year old girl . She was wearing a Hijab over her saree . Babu Bhaiya complained that her Hijab wasn’t covering enough of her face . He pulled her down from her rickshaw along with her friends and tore open their clothes in public . “

“ Babu Bhaiya knows what he’s doing . He was probably right about that girl and her friends”

“ The girl lived in Arambagh . Around where you live .”

 “ I don’t need to know the details. I believe in  Bhaiya .”

“ Her name is Asma ……. Asma Chowdhury .”

“Hahahaha!  You suck at lying you idiot ! Asma’s my sister ……   Babu Bhaiya would never have touched my sister .”

“ Apparently  that didn’t matter to your Babu Bhaiya .”

“ What’s your proof ? Show me !  ”

The interrogator stood up and  walked over to the small screen that went almost unnoticed by the rapist. He put the disk in and started the 7 minute long black and white  footage .

He waited for a few seconds as the  confident-smile on the rapists  face turned to shock. As he left the room, he heard the rapist fall down from his chair, crying and screaming for help in repentance   .   Babu Bhaiya wasn’t here to help him anymore………………..

-Dhrubo

Sweet Sixteen

She was only sixteen when she was the happiest girl in the whole world . She had almost everything anyone wants -a caring family , loving parents , a great social life and wonderful friends . She would chat with her friends all day long and cuddle with her teddy at night.

She was sixteen when she qualified for the "Asian IT Fest". Only person to qualify from the entire city. "She's going places" said the judges.

She was sixteen when she met him. A guy who was a couple of years older but still he understood her far better than anyone else. He gave her adventure , something she always wanted . Her eyes would swell up the second he left her sight .

She was sixteen when he finally proposed to her . He kissed her cheeks as she said "I love you too ." But she felt weird when he hugged her . His hug was tighter , as if he wanted something more . She resisted that feeling as she resisted him from touching her back .

She was still sixteen when it happened. On the night before her seventeenth birthday. She told her parents that she was going on a sleepover with her friends and jumped in his car parked at the end of the street. He drove his car into his dad's storehouse at the edge of the city . His friends were waiting for them......or rather , for her.

A few hours later, she was seventeen . Her damaged, wounded body lays still on the ice-cold steel stretcher . Her dad pushing the stretcher through the corridor with a couple of nurses . Her mom and a few other relatives running behind them .  The police refused take the case, "He's the MP's son", they said .......

She was almost eighteen when she breathed her last on a small cabin . There was no one beside her this time . He had moved on to his next prey . Her friends and relatives had moved on . Her parents had already given up . There was no one crying ,no one talking . Just the sound of her paralysed body finally giving up . The summer heat didn't help much . She wasn't the happiest girl in the world anymore.........
-Dhrubo