“Do you think everything will really be okay when we get home?” Fariha looked at her youngest sister, Sabiha, as they sat comfortably on the soft chair on the bus. They’re going back home to Bogra, their hometown. It’s been a while since they left for Bagerhat, wishing things will be better, but turned out wrong. Though she did not regret staying there for a while with her relatives.
Sabiha sighed. She knew her sister had gone through a lot, but she always has faith in her siblings. “You know, things will be okay if you make them okay, but things will get worse if you will get them worse. You know, Apu, things don’t work on their own, but according to how people manipulate, make, and act. I actually don’t believe that time does work on its own, because the clock stops working without a battery.”
Fariha was impressed with the wise words of her twelve-year-old sister. She might be too young, but her mindset is mature. She gave her a light smile and nodded. “Right,” she rested herself on the backrest of her chair and put her head on the window glass of the bus. She let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes. Will everything really be good when she gets home?
Fariha Tabassum is a twenty-one-year-old Muslimah who lives in Bogra Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Her life was once perfect with her whole family- two younger siblings, with a father and mother, and their caretaker, Anowara. She was once a sweet, but naughty and stubborn little kid, who loved to mess with her younger brother Labib Hasan, causing fights among them. She loved puppets and dolls, and sometimes she spent her time playing with mud to make her own dolls. She happily goes outside in the afternoon to play with her friends and gets home before dark. Growing with her younger brother was fun-playing ludo, crocodile hunting, role play, running, etc. At night before sleeping, their mother would read them bedtime stories and it’s Fariha who sleeps last, finishing the whole story. Life was fun at all when she was a kid, but it started to turn upside down when her mom got sick of cancer and passed away. She was very upset when the woman of her love left them, but she managed to stand strong and get to take care of her younger brother when their father is not with them. The youngest was sent to Bagerhat after that painful goodbye. Though she was away from them, Fariha and Labib still showed care and love by checking up on her and giving gifts. At the age of five, Sabiha came back to Bogra with the effort of her elder brother. Though it was a bit tough, Fariha still managed to make her feel at home together with Labib.
At the age of seven, she started taking her responsibility to Allah by learning surahs and doing salah. When she got a little older, the mobile phone was being introduced to her, but this created distraction in her studies. Her father, Mr. Abdul Motin, would get mad every time he sees her using her mobile phone, instead of doing other things at home and homework.
“Fariha, are you done with your homework?” Anowara would come to her room, and she’ll be found with her phone in front of her face. She would sigh of annoyance, and if Fariha sees her, she would quickly jump to her feet and start scribbling on her notebook. The caretaker would just laugh with the naughtiness of hers.
She was thirteen when she met her first love online and they lasted for six years. Though things were tight with the boy, Fariha supported him until the time they decided to get married, but things changed. When he was accepted into a company, he started to be cold with his girlfriend.
“I am super busy, talk to me later,” he would tell Fariha when she calls at night. It made Fariha confused because it is their routine to talk at night after his work and after she gets home from school.
And then one day, Fariha broke into tears when she received a message from her best friend’s boyfriend.
: Salam, Apu, I don’t think your boyfriend is good enough for you. I saw him with his colleague dining out nearby. You better confront him about this.
Fariha did confront her boyfriend and the heartbreaking truth made her decide to let him go. She soon entered Madrasah and continued her study. It was around 2016 when she met another man that changed her life to the worst. At first, she didn’t pay much attention to him, but after four years of knowing each other with on and off communication, they finally decided to be in a relationship.
“Send me photos of you without a veil,” her boyfriend asked her one time. At first, she was hesitant, but after asking and seeing her friends sending photos to their boyfriends without veils in their heads, she agreed.
They soon plan to get married, and so both families talked about it together, but knowing that the guy could not take care of Fariha because he mostly spends time in foreign countries for work, Mr. Abdul refused to get them married. He does not care about wealth, but the protection of his daughter. Fariha, then, decided to break up with him, but everything turned upside down. ...