Right now, I am the only person Rasel and Rumana completely rely on.
Whenever they face any problem, they come to me first.
I try my best to provide them with solutions.
I have watched them both grow up little by little right before my eyes.
Every day, they are surpassing each other in love, trust, and dependence.
It’s as if they are weaving a garland of love with an invisible thread!
Seeing their selfless love makes me realize how beautiful and pure love can truly be in this world.
Rumana and Rasel are waiting for a bright future together.
As soon as Rasel secures a job, he will take a marriage proposal to Rumana’s parents. Because both of Rumana’s brothers are highly educated and well-established.
They will never marry off their youngest sister to an unemployed man.
This is the only reason for their wait.
Otherwise, they would have been married with children by now.
Eight more years have passed by like this.
That makes it thirteen years since my own marriage.
I still haven’t become a mother.
But in this household, everyone except Rasel is already married.
Because I don’t have children of my own, I have become the mother to every child in this house.
Even though I don’t get the honor of being a mother, I have taken up the responsibility in full measure.
From staying up all night at the hospital after their birth to feeding them, bathing them, and even cleaning up after them—everything is done by me alone.
Since I grew up raising my younger siblings, I became quite skilled at it.
That’s why everyone is relaxed when they leave the children in my care.
As the family grows, so do my responsibilities.
I feel like I’m turning into a robot these days! Working tirelessly day and night for the family leaves me with no time to think about my own body or desires.
All my siblings have grown up now. The two younger sisters are married.
They are happy with their husbands and families.
My immediately younger brother is also married now.
He has a son.
Only the youngest brother is left.
The one whose birth led to our mother’s death.
He is in college now.
I don’t have to worry much about my father anymore.
After my marriage, my father managed all the household responsibilities alone. My two sisters used to help him with household work alongside their studies.
But after their marriages, all the responsibilities fell on my father’s shoulders again.
Finally, after my brother’s marriage, my father got a break from household work.
My brother’s wife is a good person.
My father treats her like his own daughter.
And she respects and cares for him like her own father.
Rumana is now in her final year of honors.
Rasel has completed his master’s and is looking for a job. In the midst of all this, a terrible crisis struck our family.
A bloody clash took place in the neighborhood over territorial dominance.
Though no one was killed, many were injured.
Among them, Palash was the most severely hurt.
I abandoned food and sleep and stayed by Palash’s side at the hospital.
Outside the hospital, I overheard some whispers from people gathered to see Palash. I learned that my in-laws were plotting something terrible against their rivals.
They planned to use my husband as a pawn in their game.
Their goal was to get rid of Palash and frame the rival group for murder.
That way, the rival group would either face life imprisonment or the death penalty.
As a result, my in-laws would gain total dominance over the area.
Upon hearing this, I felt the ground slip from beneath my feet!
My throat went dry with fear!
Everything seemed dark all around me!
We Bengali women place our husbands above everything else in the world.
I can’t bear the thought of losing my husband at any cost.
To be honest, I have never seen Palash mistreat anyone in the family. He has never had any disputes with me either.
Despite all the irregularities in our household, I have never blamed Palash for anything.
Likewise, Palash has never complained about me.
Some might say—what complaint can a husband have when he can’t even secure the basic rights of his wife in his own family?
It’s true that Palash was never aware of my rights.
But I had a part to play in that too.
Palash was always busy working outside.
He had no idea about most of the things that happened at home.
I never made an effort to inform him or explain anything to him.
I never expressed my wants or needs to him.
On the other hand, I never tried to understand his desires either.
Perhaps because I am not very attractive, Palash never had strong feelings for me.
But I could have made an effort to spark his interest in me.
I never tried from my side.
Perhaps my exhaustion from the endless household work was to blame.
That’s why I never considered Palash at fault.
But no matter what, I don’t want to lose my husband for anything in the world.
So, I became more vigilant while staying beside Palash.
I feared someone might harm him in my absence.
Ironically, I feared my in-laws the most.
Because they were the only ones allowed to come and go freely.
I was terrified that someone might bring death along with them.
I had been at Palash’s bedside for six consecutive days.
I only left for the washroom.
This was a time when mobile phones weren’t common in every home.
Especially not in villages.
Even though I knew everything, I had no opportunity to inform anyone.
Because Palash was a special patient, only his family members were allowed inside the cabin.
I desperately wanted to contact my father somehow.
But my in-laws had noticed my vigilance.
So, they didn’t allow anyone else to enter the cabin.
Meanwhile, they were whispering and plotting in stages about what to do.
I pressed my ear against the wall but couldn’t hear anything.
Still, I kept trying in vain—hoping to catch a clue.
Hoping to stay alert about their movements.
But nothing was working.
I just felt increasingly helpless.
