The last triumph

Ozil is cutting brushwood of bamboos in their thicket to repair the fence around the vegetables garden behind their straw made shack. Since his school is off for a long time and his mother has strictly forbidden him to go outside the house, this small garden is only place where he has no feeling of chagrin, no feel of annoyance . Today While cutting bamboo, a story came to his mind. Belike:

It was a foggy winter morning. His father awoke him after and time started for the farmers to move for land. He shouted at his son to be ready up for school. But winter made him feel so slothful that he refused to get up and missed school that day. When he got up from bed, he found his father approaching toward him with a stick cut from this thicket of bamboos. Tears wet his cheeks as his father beat him without the slightest of mercy. For sure, his father is very instinct with education, though he never placed his foots on the premises of any school.

Once upon a time, Ozil had to be insisted to go to school. Guess what? Now He wants to go to school and meet friends. It’s been almost 4 months since Government has declared all schools as closed. Even he misses his teachers who always motivate him to dream big, think large and this was too annoying to him. Evermore, He found sons of rickshaw puller to be a rickshaw puller at the end of the school. He misses the girl sits in the front bench wearing clean dress , churi and deep lipstick who being the daughter of principal He never had a single conversation with her. Ozil still feels to go his school though it seemed irritating to him someday.

Ozil doesn’t know enough about the overwhelming virus .Yet, it has made him scare about his family and father as well who pulls rickshaw in town. Ozil talked with his father over phone yesterday.

“Baba, Ozil. I have bought your wrist watch that you wanted .The black colored glossy one”, said his father.

“When will you come home Abba?” asked Ozil.

“Next week ,I hope so “,said his father.

His father did never mention him about the death of huge people by the out broken epidemic , but he told it her wife. Ozil knows everything since his mother didn’t hide anything to him. That’s why he knows so well that his father isn’t coming back home soon. He feels a heartache for his father .

***

Rodela is preparing breakfast . She is a part time servant in the house. It was 4th day of the month and so is she supposed to be paid today. The lady of the house summoned her.

“Rodela, Rodela?”

“Yes , Apa.”

“Here it is. Take your payment.”

Rodela counted the money and it was one hundred in total.

“Apa…...”, Rodela muttered.

“I was supposed to be paid an advance for the next month. Kindly, I asked for it few days back”, Rahima finally added.

“What advance? Huh? What advance?” she almost shouted.

“ Apa , Ozil’s father gets no passenger now a day in his rickshaw.He can’t send any money. Apa, I have no rice preserved to eat . I beg u Apa .I beg you for an advance payment of next month. We live by your kindness, Apa ”, Rodela howls.

“You people always think we have built a mountain full of treasure. You don’t need to come from the next day”, She answers finally.

“Rascals”, she also muttered.

Rodela comes out of the house with a glossy droplet of water in the corner of her eyes. Returning home, she found Ozil to work in the garden.

A month went on …

Rodela is out of work. She has nowhere to go. Ozil’s father doesn’t call home for 3 days . His phone says it’s not reachable. Her phone is out of recharged balance and so could she not call Ozil’s father. Almost one third of the population of the locality died throughout last six months. She is cooking one kg of rice for past seven days. She has eaten nothing but water for last three days. She only feeds Ozil . Ozil is too young to understand these sufferings. She heard that the lady of the house where she worked has died this morning. The lady was taken to town for treatment. Since the lady was affected by the epidemic , her death body was buried covering by a polythene bag and none had joined her janaja. Even no janaja was held.

Janaja is an activity before buring death body in Islam. This is sort of honor for a man if huge people attend his janaja.

Rodela is on her bed and feeling kinda sick. She summoned Ozil and ask him to massage her forehead. She saw dark clouds in the sky to gather together and saw thunder to rumble .She closes her eyes. She remembers when she was a child, an old man came to their house who has acquired Islamic knowledge though out his life. The man told her family that the most honorable achievement in one’s life is to be buried in grave though Zanaja and Kafon , the clean cloth. Rodela mother remembered this by all her heart and prayed to God so that she might be buried this way.

Rahima has been worn a clean cloth and huge number of people is behind her coffin .She figures out that she is not dying by any epidemic .Her clean cloth says so. She knew her lady of the house was buried by polythene,but she is not going to be buried with polythene. All these messes are happening inside her mind.

Ozil saw droplets of water falling from his mother’s eyes.

“Fortunate , fortunate “, implicit moans come from her mouth .She exhales the longest breath, a breath with a cryptic smile and that smile denotes an ever unseen triumph.

Now , what “fortunate”?

A death out of food is being a fortunate death today.