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Superstition? [Story]
It was in 1971 when the Bangladeshi freedom fighters were battling hard against the Pakistani military forces. Around the clock, the noise of bombardments and gunshots was heard everywhere.
Dead bodies lied on the ground, in the streets, in the pond and so on like rotten logs! The vultures would fly around the corpses being delighted. The dogs and crows would compete with each other to get hold of the dead bodies. Among the dead ones, most of them were Bangladeshis.
This was due to the injustice that Pakistani forces were responsible for. Unfortunately, most of the influential countries were either silent or supported Pakistan either directly or in secret.
Jibon was a freedom fighter who was all set to sacrifice his life for his motherland, Bangladesh. He was a true patriot like thousand others who did not afraid of going forward to fight for what is right and just.
However, rumour had it that Jibon was murdered by a rajakar. A rajakar in Bangladesh means all pro-Pakistani Bangladeshis who assisted Pakistan armed forces and tried to put a stop to the freedom of Bangladesh. At that time, such persons were most hated by those seeking a free nation.
It had been two months since Jibon left home. His wife Sayema and the only three-year-old daughter Neela still believed that Jibon was alive and he would certainly return one day.
The days go by as usual with bloodshed all over. The artists around the world were sympathetic towards the dejected and helpless Bangladeshis. In order to support them, George Harrison and Pundit Ravi Shankar held a concert. It was a huge hit! All the audiences were mesmerized and at the same time turned emotional. The environment seemed as if each were a Bangladeshi!
Sayema and Neela heard about that awesome concert on the radio. They were extremely delighted when they came to know about it. The news brought tears to their eyes. At the dead of the night, when both mother and daughter are asleep, there was hardly any sound nearby except the hooting of a lonely and hungry owl and the sudden noise made by a jackal. But, the day will experience something horrific and devastating.
All on a sudden, regular knocking at the door awoke Sayema. She sat on the bed; Neela was sleeping in such a way as if everything was ordered in the world; as if no war were taking place; as if eternal place prevailed everywhere! Sayema wished with a deep sigh if all her thoughts were true!
Sayema went back to sleep again. After a few minutes, the same constant knock made her wake up. Sayema felt terribly afraid then. As she knew that the Pakistani brutal forces along with the rajakars were raping numerous women everyday.
Sayema was worried not for her own safety but for Neela. Sayema said, “Who is there?” No one replied; she could hear the stormy wind moving outside like ghosts! She also sensed that rain was coming. The thought of rain made her think about the thousands of dead bodies lying here, there, everywhere. Once they were rotten, there might be uncontainable plagues all over.
Thinking about this, Sayema fell asleep. A huge noise of a bomb woke her up in the morning. Getting up, she embraced Neela. At that time, both of them were extremely terrified. They were sweating due to nervousness and their hearts were beating like drums! Sayema prayed to the Almighty, “Please Allah, stop all these killings; we do not want hatred and vengeance; let peace reign.”
On the next night, the same tapping at the door awoke Sayema. She took torchlight and went closer to the door; she stood there for two minutes; when she put her ears near the door, she heard that someone was moving outside. She shouted,
- Who the hell is there?
- It’s me, Jibon.
Sayema was shocked to death! A cold shivering feeling ran from her head to toe! She was damn sure that it was Jibon’s voice but was confused about whether she should open the door or not. In fact, the thought of ghosts started roaming around her brain.
When Sayema asked again, the same reply came back. Calling Allah’s name a few times, she did open the door. To her utter surprise, Jibon was standing just in front of her. The same Jibon who left home a few months back!
Sayema started crying in joy. She was trying to suppress the crying sound so that Neela does not get up at that moment. She welcomed him inside and closed the door. Jibon kept his rifle against the wall and embraced Sayema lovingly.
No one talked for a few minutes; they stood in the embracing stance as before. It looked as if they could not talk anymore! Sayema asked him whether he had eaten anything or not. Jibon replied in the affirmative and told her not to be worried about that.
Sayema felt that Jibon was feeling exhausted. She told him to sleep. He agreed. As Jibon was extremely tired, he fell asleep as soon as he lied on the bed. Sayema closed her eyes to be asleep but could not since all the past memories related to Jibon kept on flying before her eyes like birds! However, she also started snoozing.
The intolerable noise of firing wakes Sayema up; right after opening her eyes, she began to look for Jibon. He was not in the house, nor even his rifle. She looked at Neela; she was still sleeping like a drunkard.
Sayema thought that Jibon must have gone for a hike. But, when she looked at the door, she noticed that it was locked from inside! Now, Sayema became much scared! Because of fear, her eyes turned bigger like ping pong balls! She awakened Neela immediately, embraced her tightly and sat on the bed like a statute!
