I had something to tell You

 I Had Something to Tell You

I arrived at the village house from Dhaka at three in the afternoon. After taking a bath and having lunch at four, I lay on the bed with a tired body. It was the month of Jaishtha and Mango, Jackfruit, litchi, and jam fruits were hanging from the trees everywhere. The scent of ripe jackfruit from my uncle's jackfruit tree was floating in the air. In the evening twilight, I went out in search of ripe jackfruit and saw that the branches of my uncle's tree were bending down under the weight of the jackfruit.

I was wearing a green dress. The green leaves of the jackfruit tree were touching my face and body. As I placed my hand on the jackfruit to pick it, suddenly a man from behind said to me, "Hey, green fairy, what are you doing?"

I turned around to see a gentleman in a white Punjabi with a bearded face.

I said, "Who are you to talk to me like this?" The gentleman said to me, "Look at me closely!"

"Oh my, Sohel Bhai, is it you?"

It had been a long time since we last met! "Tell me, how have you been?"When I first started high school in class six, from then on I knew you. You were in class eight with my older brother.

Every evening, you would come to our house to meet my brother. During that time, my cousins' friends would also visit our house.

At our houses, we had about sixty children, both young and old.In the evenings, we elders would gather under our uncle's giant mango tree or by the pond to chat, and you would join us.

In the open space in front and back of the house, the younger kids would play in the evenings.

On hot moonlit nights, we would all walk around in the open space in front of the house. We would spread a mat in the courtyard and study under the moonlight.

Sohel Bhai, do you remember? You would also stay at our house until nine at night for studying.

As we talked, Sohel Bhai picked a jackfruit with his own hands and handed it to me, saying,

"Come, let's sit under the mango tree in this twilight and chat a bit more."

I replied, "Sohel Bhai, maybe it's been many years since you last visited our house. A lot has changed about our house. The tin house has been demolished, and now there is a building.

The open space in front and back of the house is no longer there. Fruit trees have been planted around the house.

That giant mango tree of my uncle's has been cut down, and there is now a family graveyard there.

In that graveyard, my parents, uncle and aunt, and all the other relatives who have passed away have been buried there. The pond area isn't the same as before.

Hearing my words, Sohel Bhai was saddened and after a moment of silence, he said to me,

"Let's visit the graveyard, then we'll sit by the pond and talk."

At the pond, I said to Sohel Bhai, "After we met, you used to call me sweet fairy.

Today, why did you call me green fairy?" Sohel Bhai laughed and said, "You looked like a green fairy in that green dress among the green leaves of the jackfruit tree. That's why..."

I laughed and said, "Your mischievousness is just as it was before." Sohel Bhai stared at me for a moment.

He said, "Do you know why I used to come to your house every evening, why I called you sweet fairy, why I used to visit your classroom during breaks? During school tiffin breaks, I would stand in front of your classroom door.

Then you left for Dhaka, and after that, we met only twice during the two Eids.

I wanted to tell you something but couldn't. Two years later, you got married and went to your in-laws' house. Even then, I couldn't tell you.

A year after your marriage, I saw you again, and I stared at you, but you didn't notice. Feeling offended, I said nothing. Four years went by like this. When you were admitted to the Mymensingh Hospital due to illness, what a coincidence!!

I was there with my sick sister-in-law in the cabin next to yours. I met you in the corridor in front of your cabin. We talked about your illness and you introduced me to your husband.

After that, I visited you twice, but your husband didn't let me meet you, saying you were sleeping.

I thought it might be our last meeting. I never got to tell you what I wanted to. Years passed like this. I finished my university studies, passed the BCS exam, got a job. I got married, had children, and my household is going well.

I came home and suddenly saw you on the road. It took me a moment to recognize you from afar.

Knowing you were coming, I came to tell you my words.

I said, "It's evening, let's go home." You held my hand and said, "Maybe I'll never see you again."

I smiled and said, "Why won't we see each other again?"

Sohel Bhai said, "I've told everyone at home that after my death, I should be buried next to my mother. If you ever remember me, stand by my grave for a while and pray."

You held my hand and said, "You haven't grown up yet. You're still the same sweet fairy girl. I miss that sweet fairy girl a lot. You might never remember me. But I'll miss you forever."

Latifa Rahman                                                                    More For You