Jahanara Begum is sitting dejectedly. Nilufa is sitting next to her. At that time, Nilufa’s brother Nizam Sikder comes. Seeing him, Jahanara asks, “What job did you get?”
Nizam shakes his head and says no. Jahanara is disappointed. Jahanara Begum’s husband has been gone for ten days. He is helpless with a son and a daughter. Rafiq Sikder was a daily wage laborer by profession. He had nothing to say about savings. Except for this house from his father’s time. Seventeen-year-old Nizam has also been going out in search of work for a few days, but no one is giving him work.
At that time, Sultan comes to Nilufa’s house with a hand full of market. Standing in the courtyard, he asks, “Nizam, are you home?”
Nizam comes out. Jahanara also comes out. However, Nilufa does not come out. She sees Sultan from behind the door. Sultan pushes the market in his hand towards Jahanara and says, “Auntie, take these.”
“All this?”
Jahanara was surprised. Sultan smiled faintly and said, “I borrowed money from Uncle Rafiq. I brought the market with some of that money.”
Jahanara and Nizam looked at each other. Sultan forcibly handed over the market to Jahanara. Then he took out two hundred taka from his pocket and gave it to Jahanara. He said, “Uncle, I will give you another thousand taka from you, aunt.”
“What are you saying? Your uncle lent you money?”
“Yes, aunt.
Please forgive me. I don’t have any money. That’s why I couldn’t repay the thousand taka. But if you give me some time, I will repay the money little by little.”
Jahanara Begum was happy. For two days, there was nothing in the house except two handfuls of rice. At that time, she should have been happy to hear such words from Sultan. At least there will be enough money to last a few days. Jahanara says with a smile, “I wish. You pay it back little by little. But try to pay it back a little sooner. Our situation is….”
Jahanara’s eyes get wet as she says this. Sultan stops her and says, “I understand. I won’t have to tell you, aunt. Don’t worry, everything will be fine.”
Sultan talks to Jahanara and Nizam for a while longer. He looks inside the room in between conversations. But he doesn’t see Nilufa. At one point, Sultan says, “Aunt, don’t teach Nilu anymore.”
“I will teach her. Actually, she doesn’t want to go in this condition. But if I get a job, everything will be fine. I will teach my sister.”
Hearing such words from Nizam, Sultan smiled faintly. After talking to them for a while, he left. On the other hand, a look of concern appeared in Nilufa’s eyes. A question was swirling in her mind. That is, “Did father really borrow money from Sultan?”
Nilufa, a fifteen-year-old girl, could easily understand Sultan’s weakness towards her. That is why questions were arising in her mind.
Majed Khan brought Nizam to Khan’s house. Seeing Nizam, Maleka Begum got annoyed and said, “Why did you bring this boy home?”
“Mother and Nizam. Rafiq Sikder’s son.”
Hearing Majed Khan’s words, Maleka Begum looked closely at Nizam’s face. He was a small, dark-skinned teenager with no beard. Nizam Khan repeated, “Mother, his family’s condition is not good. That’s why I am bringing him home. “Aiz Theika and I will work at home.”
Majed Khan said something more. He is the head of the village. So he should come forward in the danger of the villagers. At this moment, if he is not there, who will be there by the side of Rafiq Sikder’s family? Maleka Begum understood everything and left Nizam at home. Maleka Begum called Farida. When Farida Begum came, Maleka said, “Aiz, send me to the market to bring those things in this polar.”
Farida Begum looked at Nizam once. Then she nodded her head and agreed with Maleka Begum. Maleka Begum left. As Maleka Begum left, Farida Begum asked, “What is your name?”
“Nizam Sikder.”
Nizam replied slowly. Farida Begum repeated, “Can you do all the work properly?”
“Yes, I can.”
Farida Begum did not continue talking. Nizam was sent to the market with the money from the market.
Lalbanu was sweeping the house. The spiders above the main door had woven a web. Lalbanu could not reach it from below. So she brought a chair and stood on it. She lifted the broom and was about to sweep when Nizam came home with the market. She pushed the door and hit Lalbanu who was standing on the chair a little in front of the door. Lalbanu was about to fall when Nizam caught her. But since Nizam could not catch her properly, both of them fell. Lalbanu was in a lot of pain. Nizam also felt some pain. Lalbanu looked at Nizam.
Nizam was screaming in pain. Lalbanu said in a surprised voice, “Didn’t I scream like a mother and you scream like a child?”
“I am in a lot of pain. You may not be in pain. I caught you.”
Lalbanu smiled faintly. Then she said, “I have a body that can bear such minor pains. I don’t have a soft body like yours.”
Saying this, Lalbanu stood up. Nizam also got up and started picking up the markets. At that time, Farida Begum came. She was surprised to see the two of them like this. She asked, “What happened? How did the market fall down?”
Nizam told everything. Farida Begum heard everything and said to Lalbanu, “Bhabhi, you should have seen it and not worked. If something like that had happened.”
Nizam looked at Farida Begum in surprise. Farida Begum could not find the reason for her surprise. Lalbanu took one look at Nizam and asked Farida Begum, “Who is this? Why is he bringing the markets to our house?”
“He is Nizam. He is coming to our house for a new job.”
Lalbanu did not continue talking. Farida Begum said to Nizam, “He is Lalbanu. The eldest wife of the Khan family. You can call her the eldest daughter-in-law.”
“What?”
Nizam is doubly surprised than before. Farida Begum says, “What happened?”
Nizam doesn’t answer. He looks at Lalbanu. He thinks to himself, “Old wife. Majed Khan’s wife.”
Nizam’s calculations don’t add up. Lalbanu is the wife of Majed Khan for thirty-two years, he doesn’t understand this. Farida Begum’s voice breaks Nizam’s meditation. Farida Begum says, “Take the bazaars and come to the kitchen.”
Nizam shakes his head and goes towards the kitchen. Lalbanu gets busy with her work.
Majed Khan calls Nizam to his room. Nizam comes in a while. When Nizam comes, Majed Khan says, “Are you going home now?”
“Yes.”
Majed Khan smiles faintly. Then he says, “Go to Aiz, then I won’t have to go home tomorrow.”
Nizam doesn’t understand. Majed Khan understood that and said, “I have some work to do at night. I will have to do those things. Besides, I will give you a few days off in a month. How many days will you go home for? That is what happened with your mother. You don’t have any problem with that, right?”
“No.”
“I will. But I will go. And yes, I will tell your mother that I will go to meet her tomorrow morning. She lives at home, you know.”
“I will.”
Majed Khan asked Nizam to go. Lalbanu came into the house at that time when Nizam was about to leave the house. Nizam looked at Lalbanu once again, and then at Majed Khan. Majed Khan. A man of thirty-two years. His body was quite handsome. However, he had some fat on his stomach. His bearded face looked a bit old compared to Nizam. On the other hand, Lalbanu. A twelve-year-old woman who had just entered adolescence. There was a charm all over her bright, fair face. A bewitching face. The eyes are shallow, the lips are a bit narrow. With such a face, a pair of narrow lips doesn’t look bad. It looks good. And the most attractive thing is the small black mole near Lalbanu’s lips. Nizam can’t seem to put these two people together in any way. Seeing Nizam looking at Lalbanu like this, Majed gets annoyed and says, “I’m telling you to go.”
Nizam immediately shakes his head. He quickly steps out. Lalbanu looks at him and closes the door. Majed Khan says, “The boy is Rafiq Sikder’s son. His mother begged him a lot, so I took him for work. Isn’t it right, Lalbanu?”
“Yes.”
Lalbanu replied slowly. A smile appeared on Lalbanu’s face. This was the first time she liked one of her husband’s works. She had proven that he was worthy as a nobleman. The idea of standing by the helpless is truly fascinating. Lalbanu was thinking about all this when Majed pulled her closer.
A question suddenly arose in Lalbanu’s head. As the question swirled in her mind, Lalbanu said, “Why did you marry me? I am also a helpless woman?”
Majed smiled at the question. Then he said, “Why do you think I am marrying a helpless woman?”
“No, I mean. You stand by the helpless. Just like you stand by that Polar family.”
“That may not be the case. I am not the Nizam’s family, I can stand by you for other reasons too.”
Lalbanu did not understand Majed Khan’s words. Majed Khan laughed loudly. Then he says, “You don’t even understand the joke. I’m just kidding.”
“Kindness?”
“Yes. If I’m not going to make fun of you, then who am I going to make fun of, wife?”
Lalbanu doesn’t answer. Majed Khan hugs her and says, “Why do you want to know that I’m marrying you?”
Lalbanu shakes her head. She wants to know what he means. Majed Khan says, “I like you. I like the fair. Because you’re beautiful. Beautiful, my mother, I like the fair.”
“My mother?”
Majed Khan is taken aback by Lalbanu’s question. He turns the subject around and says, “I mean I like you.”
