That first morning
A story of heartbeat
1. A foggy morning and a wait
The day started very normally. I was learning to drive at the time. At the behest of the teacher, I took the car out to get gas at around 4 am. Standing in line at the gas pump, I didn't realize how much time had passed. It was 7:30 am on the clock. When I finished work and headed home, the soft light of dawn was spreading all around.
We arrived in front of a school at around 8:30. The teacher said, "You sit down, I'll make breakfast." I don't know where the teacher went, I sat alone with my hands on the steering wheel.
2. That magical glimpse It was school time. Students were coming to school in droves. I was looking out the window lazily at the crowd. Just then she arrived. Suddenly, a face caught my eye in the crowd. The girl was passing right in front of my car. As she passed, she glanced at me with narrowed eyes. I don't know what was in that look, but my heart trembled for an instant.
She went inside and left her bag and came out again. The shops in front of the school were in a festive mood—some were chatting, some were having breakfast. But she was standing with her friends. I saw her staring at me with fixed eyes. Sometimes she was making some kind of gesture with her eyes. I felt that the fascination was not just mine, but was coming from the other side as well.
3. A handful of courage and a note My mind was telling me to move forward, but I was afraid. Unknown territory, whose daughter, who knows! What if there is any trouble? But the pull of my mind was stronger than my fear. I got out of the car and bought some chocolates from a nearby shop. My chest was pounding, but I gathered my courage and stood in front of her.
Seeing me, she hid behind her friends in shame. I said softly, "I like you." Her friends were surprised and said, "Really?" She didn't say anything, just kept her face down. Without further ado, I wrote my mobile number on a piece of paper and handed it to her, saying, "If you agree, call me. If you don't, throw it away."
4. Excuse for losing the number A short while after I got in the car, I saw him coming back. This time he came straight to me and said with a shy smile, "I lost the number, can you write it down again?" He handed me a notebook and pen. I carefully wrote down both my numbers there. An older brother standing next to me asked curiously, "Who is that?" I said shyly, "A familiar younger sister."
5. A long seven-day wait Then the wait began. A day passed, two days passed—no call came. I thought maybe he wouldn't contact me again. Seven days passed in a flash. On the seventh day, it was a quarter past one in the afternoon. I was sitting in the shop learning how to use a computer. Just then my phone rang.
An unknown number. As soon as I picked it up, someone greeted me from the other side and said in a sweet voice, "I'm so-and-so... Do you recognize me?"
I was surprised and said, "After so long?" He said that he didn't have his own phone, he called from someone else's phone. While talking, he suddenly asked, "Do you really love me?" When I said 'yes', he directly said, "I love you!" Without thinking, I said, "I love you too." That was the beginning of our relationship.
6. Those crazy days Our love was different. Since he didn't have his own phone, he would sometimes miss me from the phone of a shopkeeper, sometimes a rickshaw puller, and sometimes a passerby. Whenever I saw an unfamiliar number, I would know that my 'colleague' was calling me. I would immediately answer. We would talk for two-three minutes at most. I always had five-six recharge cards in my pocket, so that I would never run out of balance while talking to him.
7. Chocolate and whispering Two years passed like this. After a year, I bought him a SIM card. He would secretly insert the SIM card into his mother's phone at night and talk to me in whispers for hours. He was crazy about chocolate. One day, I bravely went to his school and gifted him two boxes of chocolates. That night, he was so happy that we talked for three hours straight.
After those beautiful times in my life, I had to come to Dhaka for work. But before I left, I really wanted to meet him once...I had the opportunity to meet him for the last time before going to Dhaka. People in the area can talk about many things, so we decided to go somewhere a little further away. There is an old landlord's house near our area. We went there.
8. That quiet afternoon at the landlord's house We sat and talked for a long time in that quiet place surrounded by old brick walls and the shade of banyan trees. It was as if we wanted to finish all the accumulated conversations of two years that day. On the way back, we came close to our market with CNG. From there, we decided to walk the way to his house. About four kilometers, a long three hours—we walked side by side. That late afternoon walk was the best moment of my life.When I said goodbye to him, took a shower, returned home, and went to sleep, I had never slept so peacefully in my life.
9. The pull of distance and a sudden return Then I came to Dhaka for work. But my heart remained in the village. Just three months after coming to Dhaka, she called me and started crying - she really wants to see me, I have to come. I could not return her request. I told my boss that it was an emergency and left for home the next morning.
She was waiting for me. We both boarded a bus. When I sat by the window and took her hand in mine, it felt like the whole world was in my hands. We spent a lot of time together.
10. The Love Affair At one point, when we got a chance to rest a little, I put my head on his lap. He was arranging my hair with his fingers with utmost compassion. With that touch of his hand, all the fatigue in my body seemed to wash away in an instant. We both shared all the affection and affection we had accumulated. Just as he was feeling shy with my love, there was a glow of utmost happiness in his eyes.
With those beautiful moments etched in my memory as if they would last a lifetime, I boarded the bus back to Dhaka, and he returned to his own home. Our love remained as a witness to that four-kilometer road and the old walls of the landlord's house.