Lalbanu’s screams and cries filled the air, making the atmosphere heavy. Farida Begum tried her best to calm Lalbanu, but Lalbanu was inconsolable. In a trembling voice, she said, “My mother. My mother was alive. I heard her cry. My mother is not dead.”
Hearing Lalbanu’s screams and cries, everyone gathered there. When Majed Khan arrived, Lalbanu grabbed his throat and said, “Where is my mother? What have you done to my mother? Where is my mother? My mother was a child, an innocent flower. Have you killed my pure mother? Are you so cruel, so wicked?”
Lalbanu couldn’t control herself. She became furious at Majed Khan. For the first time in her life, she slapped Majed Khan. Everyone present was shocked. Lalbanu attacked Majed Khan again, saying, “What are you doing to my mother? What medicine did that nurse give me? Why did I sleep for so long? Tell me, what have you done to my mother?”
Majed Khan was quite angry. Maleka Begum came and held Lalbanu, saying, “Your mother is dead. No one is to blame for that.”
Lalbanu pushed Maleka Begum away with all her might. Maleka Begum fell far away. Lalbanu said angrily, “You are murderers. You are all murderers. You are finishing off my innocent flower. My life, my piece of heart, you are killing my mother. You are killing. Otherwise, how did I sleep for so long? That nurse gave me sleeping medicine. She told you. You are all murderers.”
Unable to bear it anymore, Majed Khan slapped Lalbanu. Farida came and held Lalbanu. Lalbanu fainted, crying. Farida looked at Majed Khan angrily. Then she said, “She is a mother. She has lost her newborn child. Now her mind will not be right, it is natural.”
“Should I slap my mother now that she’s about to die and forget all manners and etiquette?”
Farida was surprised to hear Majed say this. She asked in a surprised voice, “Don’t you feel any sorrow for losing your child?”
Majed Khan replied. Farida Begum asked again, “Lalbanu is not entirely wrong. I heard the baby crying too. But you sent me to my room at that time. Why?”
Majed grabbed Farida’s throat and said, “Now you will question us?”
Getting free from Majed’s grip, Farida Begum said, “You did something bad to her just because she was a girl, didn’t you? Now I’m sure of your behavior.”
Majed Khan looked at Farida with angry eyes and Farida Begum fell silent. She thought to herself, “I did so much for such a bad person.”
Farida felt disgusted with herself. Majed and Maleka left the room. Farida sat beside Lalbanu.
When Lalbanu regained consciousness, she started crying for the baby again. Her heart was breaking with pain. Farida comforted her and said, “Allah does what is best. You try to control yourself a little.”
“I don’t want this much good. Tell Allah, I don’t want this much good. I won’t feel this good. I want my mother. My mother is not dead. I can hear her crying.”
To comfort Lalbanu, Farida Begum said, “Maybe she died later.”
Lalbanu loses control of herself. She strikes the bed with her hand and then slaps her own chest. She then says, “If my daughter had died, why didn’t they leave her dead body for me? Why did they bury her? I would have seen my dead daughter’s face. Why didn’t they wait for me to wake up?”
Lalbanu’s words are difficult to understand due to her crying. Her words are somewhat broken. However, Farida can understand her. Lalbanu pauses for a moment and then says again, “If they had kept my daughter’s dead body, they would have been caught. It would have been proven that they murdered my daughter. So they put me to sleep. Then they finished off my daughter.”
Farida cannot bear Lalbanu’s wailing, crying, and blaming her fate. She too starts crying. Farida, who herself has not had the joy of motherhood, realizes the pain of a mother.
Farida Begum calms Lalbanu somewhat and goes downstairs to bring her some food. At that time, Nizam enters Lalbanu’s room slowly. Seeing Nizam, Lalbanu starts crying again. Nizam comes and sits beside Lalbanu, and Lalbanu hugs him and cries. She says, “My child was alive. But they killed my child. My flower. My daughter.”
Lalbanu cries and talks about the imaginary memories she has with her child. Majed Khan’s daughter was not liked. Knowing this, Lalbanu had been afraid. So, she was forced to want a son, but deep down in her heart, she had built thousands of dreams about her daughter. That’s why she had secretly thought of a name for her daughter, her heart, her flower. The name was “Fuljan”.
Nizam listens silently to all of Lalbanu’s words. No words come out of his mouth. He is completely speechless. Lalbanu tells Nizam, “You know, Nizam, even my sister-in-law didn’t see my daughter. They hid her from our sight. They did it willingly. They killed my daughter willingly. They did it willingly because she was a girl. They needed an heir to the family. So they killed her.”
Nizam couldn’t find any comforting words to say to Lalbanu. He could only feel her pain. To give her some solace, Nizam said, “I saw your daughter, Lalpari. She’s as beautiful as you. She has a nose and a mouth just like yours. I couldn’t see her eyes; they were closed. Maybe they were like yours too.”
Lalbanu broke down even more upon hearing this. Nizam had indeed seen the baby. When Lalbanu heard about it, her daughter was already dead. Nizam had seen her dead. Then he said, “I think they didn’t let your daughter live even two minutes in this world.”
Nizam hugged Lalbanu tightly. As he held her, he started crying. Overwhelmed by grief, Lalbanu said to Nizam, “Take me away from this hell, Nizam.”
Nizam was surprised. He looked at Lalbanu with astonished and tearful eyes. Lalbanu said, “What good will it do me to be among so many sinners? Why should I try to be good when I can be a sinner too?”
Nizam was even more astonished. Lalbanu said in a weak voice, “Adultery is the most heinous word in the world. A relationship outside of marriage is a great sin. Since I couldn’t find peace in goodness, I will seek my peace in this sinful world.”
Nizam stared at Lalbanu. He understood the meaning of Lalbanu’s words. That day, Nizam had indirectly proposed to Lalbanu. Today, Lalbanu was accepting it. Seeing Nizam staring, Lalbanu said, “Don’t you want to be happy with your Lalpari anymore?”
“I do,” Nizam replied softly. A smile bloomed on Lalbanu’s face. In a rather firm voice, she said, “I want to be with you too. No matter how sinful the feeling that has arisen in my heart for you is, I will not back down. I will step into that sinful world.”
“Whatever happens, I won’t stay with my daughter’s killer anymore. Even if I have to tread the path of sin, I will. ”
Pausing for a moment, Lalbanu said again, “Lalbanu wants to be happy. This time Lalbanu wants peace. She cannot be a sinner to her daughter by staying with her daughter’s criminal. No way.”
Farida, standing at the door, was stunned to hear this. But she didn’t enter. She left from the door. Farida felt that Lalbanu had made the right decision. One day, Farida had wanted to remove Majed from Lalbanu’s life and unite Nizam and Lalbanu. So that they could run away and she could have peace. Her wish was fulfilled. But today she wants Lalbanu to be happy. Lalbanu should join Nizam for her own good.
Lalbanu wants to be happy. She has only suffered all her life, now she wants happiness. In the hope of happiness, Lalbanu gets involved with Nizam in a sinful relationship.
Time passes slowly. Lalbanu still cannot forget her daughter. She talks to her daughter ‘Fuljan’ alone. She gives her various kinds of advice. Nowadays Lalbanu doesn’t let Majed come near her. When Majed Khan scolds her for this, Lalbanu speaks up. Majed Khan was initially surprised by this. Later he realizes that Lalbanu, who used to tolerate torture day by day, has become courageous after losing her daughter. Having suffered, a person sometimes stands up with a strong backbone. Majed has heard this all the time, lately he is seeing it in Lalbanu.
Majed Khan returns home anxiously in the evening. He informs everyone that he will marry again. Maleka Begum is very happy. She thinks that Lalbanu is unable to give birth to a son. So for the sake of a son, Majed should get married. Hearing this, Lalbanu protests and says, “Are you thinking of ruining another woman’s life now? Aren’t you ashamed? Do you marry women one after another and torture them?”
Majed Khan slaps Lalbanu in the face for saying this. Lalbanu gets up and kicks Majed Khan in front of everyone. Then she says, “You bastard. You couldn’t ruin my life, my daughter’s life. You are eyeing another woman again.”
This girl has gone mad. She’s gone mad because of her daughter. Call Majed the exorcist. Would she behave like this if she wasn’t mad?”
Malika Begum’s words enraged Lalbanu. She scolded Malika a lot. What kind of mother was Malika Begum? Even after her son had done so much wrong, she was still supporting him. Finally, Lalbanu said, “A mother is just like her rotten son. That’s why she supports her son’s wrongdoing.”
Hearing this, Majed beat Lalbanu mercilessly. But even after being beaten so much, Lalbanu didn’t remain silent. She started cursing Majed Khan and Malika Begum. Majed Khan beat Lalbanu almost to death. Then he said, “If you cross the line, I’ll send you to your mother.”
Lalbanu sat against the wall in a corner of the room. Nizam was carefully applying medicine to her wounds. Lalbanu asked, “When are we leaving from here?”
“If we run away, do you think Majed Khan will spare us?”
Lalbanu looked at Nizam in surprise. Nizam smiled faintly and said, “His honor is very important to Majed Khan. You know that. You’ve been involved with the household servant, it’s a huge dishonor for him. If this news spreads, do you think he’ll let us be? He’ll hunt us down and finish us off.”
Hearing Nizam’s words, Lalbanu got scared. She hugged him and started crying. Then she said, “So, we can’t be happy?”
“We will. As long as I’m holding your hand, Lalpari, I’ll protect your honor.”
Hearing Nizam’s words, Lalbanu looked into his eyes. Nizam touched Lalbanu’s forehead with his lips and said, “I love you very much, Lalpari. I can do anything for you. Now that you love me too, no one can stop us from being together.”
Lalbanu was happy. She said emotionally, “I know this is wrong. But I’ve given you my heart.”
“Lalpari.”
Nizam softly called out to Lalbanu. Lalbanu replied softly, “Yes.
“I love you so much, Lalpari. That’s why you haven’t made a mistake by giving me your heart. You haven’t made a mistake at all, Lalpari.”
Hearing Nizam’s words, Lalbanu became even more emotional. In her heart, she spoke to her daughter, “Forgive me, my Fuljan. Your mother couldn’t stay with your murderer. That’s why she gave her heart to this man. She loves this man.”
Majed Khan was thinking of getting married again. Since Lalbanu wasn’t accompanying him or coming close to him, she couldn’t stop him from this marriage. If Lalbanu tried to stop him, Majed would say, “Come to bed with me.”
Lalbanu would then become silent. Firstly, she didn’t want to go near her daughter’s murderer anymore. Secondly, she now loved Nizam. Although love had been born a long time ago, she had expressed it only recently. At this point, she couldn’t imagine anyone else in her life besides Nizam. No matter how sinful the relationship was. So, Lalbanu didn’t stop Majed Khan.
The search for a bride for Majed Khan had begun. One morning, while going to call Majed Khan, Lalbanu saw that he wasn’t getting up. Even after so much time, when he didn’t get up, Lalbanu called everyone. Initially, everyone thought Majed Khan was asleep. Later, their opinion changed. Majed Khan was not asleep. Rather, he had died. Seeing this, Nizam said, “Did he die of a heart attack in his sleep?”
A physician was called. He came and confirmed that Majed Khan had died. He also stated that Majed Khan had indeed died of a heart attack.
A shadow of grief fell on Khan’s house. Altaf came from the city after receiving the news. Altaf mostly stayed in the city. To look after the business. He was also in the city at the time of Majed Khan’s death. So he came after receiving the news.
Maleka Begum was turned to stone with grief over Majed Khan’s death. Lalbanu wasn’t feeling as much pain. Seeing Maleka Begum’s pain, she said, “This is the pain of losing a child, Amma.”
Maleka Begum hugged Lalbanu and cried. Among all this, Farida Begum’s crying caught Lalbanu’s eye. Farida Begum was crying loudly. She couldn’t accept that Majed Khan was dead.
Farida Begum glared at Lalbanu with fierce eyes. She rushed forward and grabbed Lalbanu by the throat, saying, “You’re killing him. You’re trying to finish him off to clear the path for yourself and Nizam. Isn’t that right?”
Farida Begum was furious. She was losing control and trying to kill Lalbanu. Altaf came and restrained her. Farida Begum angrily said, “This girl is the one who killed him. This girl was with him last night. She must have done something to him.”
Seeing Farida’s behavior, Lalbanu was certain about the relationship between Farida and Majed Khan. She hadn’t fully believed the rumors until now. But Farida’s behavior today made everything clear to her. But why was Altaf Khan so calm? Why wasn’t there any surprise in his eyes? Lalbanu thought to herself, “So, Nizam was right. Altaf Khan knows everything but is keeping quiet. But why?”
Silence prevailed in the house. Everyone was burdened with unspoken pain. Lalbanu was not entirely unaffected. She was suffering. But this pain was more from guilt than from Majed Khan’s departure. Immediately, Lalbanu felt her daughter telling her, “It’s not your fault, Amma. They are killing me. They are torturing me a lot. So, everything that has happened is right.”
Lalbanu still had doubts. A part of her said, “It’s true that Fuljan was killed. If she wasn’t killed, then she is doing wrong.”
Lalbanu decided she would find out the truth. If her daughter was indeed killed, then everything that happened was right. Lalbanu was certain that her daughter was born alive. But even after being born alive, she could have died. This thought always came to her mind. Yet, somewhere, she was sure that Majed Khan had killed her daughter. Just for the crime of being born a girl. She believed it. But the words Majed Khan had been saying for a few days kept circling in Lalbanu’s mind. When Lalbanu didn’t let Majed Khan near her, Majed Khan, in response to her calling him a murderer, would say, “I’m not a murderer. I didn’t kill your daughter.”
Lalbanu knew this was not true. Yet, it was important to be sure.
It was late at night. Lalbanu was fast asleep. She was lying straight on the bed. At that moment, someone opened the door of her room and came forward with a bowl in hand. Slowly, he moved towards Lalbanu.
