FICTION
Published: 01:55 AM, 07 March 2019
The other side of the coin
Lamia always has had a desire to help others. No poor man returns from her house empty handed. When she hears any bad news about a person she knows, she runs first to help the person. Although sometimes her lawyer husband Kamruzzaman becomes bothered of it, she does not hesitate to help others.
With the children grown up and settled abroad, the old couple are lonely in the big house. At the entrance to their two-storied house, clusters of white and magenta bougainvillea flowers tangle vibrantly. After retirement, Kamruzzaman's time and attention is wedged with his long cherished hobby, gardening.
Lamia was the middle one among her two sisters. But when her elder sister died of eclampsia during the delivery of first child, Lamia's parents tied the knot of their unmarried younger daughter Maria with her widower brother in law. Lamia was married then; otherwise she would be the sacrifice. She felt sorry for Maria, who lives in another city. Last night, Hamzah, younger son of Maria, called her. "Saleh has been paralyzed in an accident. Mom is very upset," he informed her.
"How did all this happen?" Lamia asked.
"The accident happened on Monday morning near the corner of his office. The car was at high speed. A truck was coming from the opposite side and due to the haze the truck hit Saleh's car and it lost control. Some people helped him to get out of the car. He was unconscious and his left leg was seriously injured," answered Hamzah.
Since Maria's husband had a cardiac attack five years ago, their family is wholly dependent on Saleh's income. Lamia sends Maria a small amount of money every month.
She travelled to Maria's town the next day. Maria is two years younger than her. She turned sixty last month. But she looks more aged owing to her year-long struggle. Maria started crying on seeing her. "Stop crying, the worst can happen. Thanks to Allah that he is alive."
"Aunt is right, mother, I'm alive while I could very easily have been dead. Doctors told me that I would walk again if I start doing physiotherapy soon." "Thanks, Lamia, for coming all the long way. Now make your sister understand that her son is alive so she doesn't need to cry all the time. His mother used to reprimand Saleh for his fast driving, but he didn't care. I'm his father; I also feel bad. Have you seen how crazily she reacts? I don't want to take any risk. I'm afraid that her blood pressure may increase," says Maria's husband.
"Worry and anxiety are killing me. My young healthy son is in a critical condition. Ten days have passed. He is in the hospital and the medical bill is still pending. How can we manage all these?" sobs Maria. "Have patience and faith in Allah. I'm still alive. Why are you worrying? I'll give money for his treatment," consoles Lamia.
"You know, I requested Saleh over a minute before that accident that the weather is not good, be careful while driving and please don't drive fast," she said. "But he always said that he's a daredevil, the more speed, the more fun. When he drove, he could not care about anything," she added.
"At the age of 16, my struggle started. I sacrificed my whole life for my elder sister. For the first couple of months, it seemed to me that everything in this house was my sister's property. I felt uneasy sleeping with my husband as he had been my brother in law. I adored my sister's daughter as my own child. The whole day, I tried to do everything with a smiling face although my pillow was flooded with salty water during the nights. Then my first son Saleh arrived in my lap and I forgot my every pain.
You'll never realize what life I'm passing here. You have a wonderful life. Your rich husband has given you all the luxuries in life, she added. "Don't talk like this, Maria. I know you've faced lots of problems from the beginning of your married life. Regardless of your pains, your life is interwoven with love, honesty and warmth among your family members."
It has been two days that Lamia has been away from home. She will head back home. "Saleh needs emotional support now, please take good care of him. Don't hesitate to tell me about money," she told Maria while waving her goodbye.
The night had already arrived. She saw that all lights were switched off. She pressed the bell thrice but nobody opened it. "Kamruzzaman must be sleeping", she thought. After a while, she opened the door with an extra key.
Entering the house, she heard light music coming from bedroom.
She silently went to the bedroom and found that her husband was lying with a woman. He was passionately cuddling her. Pains from the heart tried to come out of her throat, but didn't. She felt drops of sweat on her forehead. Though her hands were shaking, Lamia got her mobile phone out of her bag and snapped some nude photos of them. Both of them woke up and looked at her with embarrassment.
They weren't expecting her. But she wouldn't waste her time that night. She quickly got out of there after locking the room. From the outside, her life is a perfect one. Nobody knows that throughout her life, she has struggled to keep things normal and perfect. It began after their second child born.
One day when Lamia went to vaccinate the li'l one and came back home early. She discovered her loving and caring husband in their bed with a maid. He became entirely exasperated when she asked about it. Lamia sacked the maid at that very moment, but she couldn't change his habit.
She thought that her husband would rectify but at the age of 70, he is still being a pervert. No doubt at the beginning, she thought of leaving him forever. She couldn't whine about being abused, people would mock at her. If she were divorcing him, her children would feel bad.
But now enough is enough. She ate the leftover food and then went straight to the police station to submit a general diary against her husband. For a long time, a big soreness blocked her chest, but it came out easily as she breathed out a deep feeling of relief after decades in the police station.
-- The writer is working in Daily Asian Age
