Bashir Style Salon. Altaf is sitting in the cache. Shafiq entered the salon.
Altaf: Shafiq brother how are you?
Shafiq: My brother is Altaf. Where is Bashir’s brother? Outside or not?
Altaf: I don’t know where, Dhira doesn’t come for two days.
Shafiq: Very good, the less the owner comes, the more benefits the employee gets. How is the workload?
Altaf: Not much. Don’t see the shop empty. Nowadays everyone goes to big AC salons. The days of salons in these areas are over.
Shafiq: Hmmm true. Arranged to press my head.
Altaf: why headache?
Shafiq: Whoah. No headache. heartache There is no way to press the mind, so I am coming to press the head. I said I can not pay!
Altaf: No problem. I am making arrangements to make the head beautiful. However, there is no system to press the mind, but it is not right, Shafiq brother. If you want, you can press the mind.
Shafiq: Is that so? how If your heart hurts, you press the mind?
Altaf: Brother, hold on, what do you do now? Another person’s head is pressing hard, more pain in the place of pain! right? It’s the same thing with the pressure of the mind. If you think about any reason bigger than the reason for which your mind hurts, you will see that there will be no pain in your mind.
Shafiq: Well said.
Altaf remained silent for a while. He seems unamused.
Shafiq: Don’t take it easy father, chulto tiena all torn Falabire.
Shafiq: Brother Altaf. . .
Altaf: Yes. . .
Shafiq: Do you have any stories that touch your mind? If there is, I will listen.
Altaf: I was getting married Shafiq bhai. At that time I was only 20 years old and Kulsoom was 14 years old. Kulsoom is the daughter of our village master. At that time, two people are running away from each other. Biya Kaira we went to my grandmother’s house, after some time my mother went and brought us. She got pregnant a few days after coming home, she was too young to understand anything, she didn’t say anything to me either. It has been 5 months now, but Kulsumer’s father still did not accept this marriage and my father could not tolerate me anymore.
Shafiq signals to the one who is making head to stop. He took off his apron and sat next to Altaf.
Shafiq: That Harun Bhai’s shop would bring two cups of tea, ask for more sugar. go
Shafiq: Are you getting married Altaf brother? But you have been saying for so long that you have never married. Where are they now?
Altaf: When Kulsoom tells me she is pregnant I am very scared. I think if my father knows, he will throw us out of the house. I am telling Kulsumer that this child cannot be kept. Waste should be thrown away.
Shafiq: Then?
Altaf: I told my friend the incident. I made an agreement with him for 3 thousand taka, I will take the child to the upazila and destroy it. At night, I stole the home television, my friend took the television and I left for Kulsumar upazila early the next morning. It was a dark morning, Shafiq brother, Kulsum took my hand and walked 3 kilometers. He listened all the way. I did not understand his suffering, his pain. I was afraid of my father.
Altaf: We go to a small tin house hospital. My friend was already there. Kulsoom couldn’t stand anymore, she was holding my hand tightly, brother Shafiq. then telling me
Kulsoom: Listen, don’t worry about my bacchadar. He is very scared, he has stopped moving because of fear, he wants us to go somewhere else and never return to the village. I know your son will be a child, and he will look exactly like you, you let him see the world.
Altaf: I, Shafiq brother, did not care about any of his words. I am only telling him that if God wills you will have another child, but now this child cannot be kept. Kulsum didn’t say anything, just stood and listened.
Altaf: An hour later, Kulsoom passed away, Shafiq bhai. He was right, I had a son, what a fool. Looks exactly like me. When Kulsoom was screaming loudly in pain inside, I kept saying outside that I made a mistake, I will take my wife and baby back, but Kulsoom never came back.
Shafiq is sitting quietly with his hands on his head.
Altaf: My friend told me to run away, there will be a police case, I am Kulsoom and my son, I am going to run away to the city, Shafiq Bhai. I never went to the village.
Altaf: You know Shafiq brother, my son has grown up, I talk to him sometimes, he is scolding me a lot. I just apologize to him. A father should apologize to his son, what a shame!
Shafiq: And Kulsoom?
Altaf: He didn’t talk to me until Iz. I used to listen to his feet a lot, he was like a stone. Didn’t say a word.
Kulsoom, O Kulsoom, you will never forgive me, Kulsoom.
Toronto, Canada
