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Pathetic! [Story]
Joya has given birth to a baby boy. It is beautiful like a handsome prince. Her husband Jashim has named the boy as Suruj Ali. The word ‘suruj’ means ‘sun’ in English. It goes without saying that both the husband and wife are exceedingly delighted.
Joya and Jashim have scarcely any relatives in the village called Rohmotpur. Joya’s cousin Jamal lives in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Every now and then, she talks to him over the phone. When Jamal has heard of the auspicious news, he gets much happy.
The neighbours keep on visiting Joya by turn almost everyday. They do not forget to bring some gifts with them. Those who are rather impoverished can only bring blessing with them. However, for the last few days, Jashim has been distributing sweetmeat among the neighbours. The children are much satisfied devouring the candies.
Days go by; Joya is not allowed to resume the usual household activities. Obviously, Jashim cannot stay with Joya always because he has to go to the field to take care of the farming. Yet, he has managed a maidservant to look after Joya and the baby.
When Suruj is two years old, Joya has a nightmare. In the dream, she sees that she has become Kali of Hinduism; she is extremely angry; her ayes have turned red like the inside of the watermelon; she is running nakedly around; people are touching her big breasts and pressing them hard; she keeps on cutting their heads and piling them up; a huge mountain of cut off heads has been formed eventually. Later on, she sees that she is slaughtering a little boy whose face is not clearly seen by her. It is at this very moment that Joya wakes up.
Joya embraces Suruj rather tightly as if she were embracing him for the last time. She looks at her husband who is having a sound sleep. Joya goes to the washroom to sprinkle some water on her face. Looking at the mirror, she becomes horrified as if there were a ghost inside the mirror! She sees that there is a vermillion on her forehead. The vermillion reminds her of the nightmare and Kali once again. She feels like crying like a baby.
However, Joya concentrates on the daily chores. She is a hard worker. In fact, the village women are never lazy. They are rather strong and dynamic. From morning till night, they keep on working like machines!
Joya is not that tall. But she has an excellent complexion that reminds us of peach. Her eyes are so beautiful and hypnotic. Her hair is very long like that of a princess in fantastic stories. The perfect neck and firm breasts make her exceptional among other ladies. Her waist is so contracted that it gives the impression of a slim lioness. There is no room for fat in her entire figure. In a word, nature has given her everything that a girl craves for. Other village women envy her for her natural assets! However, Joya enjoys the very feeling of others’ inferiority a lot.
In this sense, Jashim is much fortunate to have such a wonderful wife. He is nothing compared to Joya. Even at 36, he is almost bald; due to working continuously in the sun, his complexion is becoming blacker; the scorching heat has also affected his eyes badly. He has to wear glasses to see things properly.
However, Joya is a matured housewife. She loves Jashim a lot. Even though poverty is ever there like an arrogant shadow, Joya is never to leave her husband alone. She believes that if we fight together, then impossible is nothing!
One day Jashim has to go to Dhaka for a loan-purpose. Joya and Suruj bid him goodbye. It is only a visit of four days. Jashim has already bought the necessary things for her and the son. Besides, he has handed over some money to her.
Three days have gone by. Jashim is supposed to return the next morning. Joya has sung a lullaby to make Suruj sleep. He falls asleep soon. She is also asleep after a few moments. The horrific nightmare that she saw few days back has returned. Joya sees the same things. Just before the end of the nightmare, she gets up. She is sweating a lot as if someone had dropped some water on her head!
Joya looks at Suruj who is having a sound sleep. She takes him on her lap and reaches the yard outside. Then, she lays him on the earthy floor. She goes back to the house and searches for a scythe, which she gets soon.
Now, Joya is before his son. She has the scythe held tightly in her hands. It is so sharp. She looks the full moon and slaughters Suruj within a few seconds! Before the innocent child can understand anything, he has become a part of the afterlife.
The fresh blood is all over; the trail of blood is going downward. The trail looks like the flowing river. Joya dips her palms into the blood and reddens her cheeks with it. As a result, she looks like an ancient tribal woman who has performed some sort of divine sacrifice.
Joya does not move an inch from the dead body. She stares it indefinitely. At 6 o’clock in the morning, Jashim returns home. Seeing the frightening event before his eyes, he faints. By now, almost everyone knows about the murder.
The police have appeared. They have arrested Joya. Jashim is still unconscious and is taken to a hospital. The neighbours are trying to find out the true reason behind the outlandish murder. Some say that perhaps a ghost has committed the killing. However, when the police ask Joya bout the slaughter, she answers that she does not know anything!
