Far from its Own Destination
It was a Thursday. Nothing great about it. Before it used to be a fun day. Because after Thursday comes the weekends. But now weekends meant nothing to Maliha. She broke up with her boyfriend two months ago. That meant no roaming around Dhanmondi in a rickshaw during weekends. She was sure he was cheating on her because she caught him right in the middle of lies. But that ‘stupid mistake of her life’ made sure that he would never be caught cheating. Maliha knew it was a matter of time before the world of social media would be bombarded with cute couple photos and unnecessary public display of affection aka PDA of him and “who knows who”!
Maliha came from a very conservative family, and by conservative she always meant her mother and secondly her sister, Madiha. Her father was the only embodiment of novelty in her family. He was a man of values and principles and always encouraged Maliha to participate in various co-curricular activities, whereas her mother was always pushing her for studies and thought all other things were a waste of time. Madiha, on the other hand, claimed she did not have any forte of her own, so she was in between encouraging Maliha and was not really enthusiastic at the same time.
Tanvir was Maliha’s ex-boyfriend and childhood friend and knew each other for ten years. However, they were in a relationship for about five years. Maliha’s mother, Ms. Begum was very unhappy at the beginning, and knowing her short-tempered daughter very well, was pretty sure that the duo would probably not last. How do mothers know so much? Sometime around their third year of togetherness, they got into ugly fights and everyday breakups. Ms. Begum knew about them but never acknowledged their relationship, so there were hardly any scopes for going on dates or going to trips out of Dhaka with friends. She was always like “after your marriage, girl!”.
Tanvir was studying engineering and Maliha was pursuing her passion by doing her Bachelor’s in English and Humanities. And that is when she started to see the changes in him. It was unmistakable. Tanvir was a handsome guy and she loved him. The fights were usually initiated by Maliha and it was always due to insecurities and jealousy which she was too embarrassed to admit. The constant fights drove him apart because although Tanvir cheated on her, he was not a bad loser kind of guy. But the relationship was already over. No amount of regret or realization would make them start over.
Maliha started working in an NGO last year. The breakup helped a lot. She was now working with full dedication which made her supervisor tremendously happy. She thought she was over Tanvir but Maliha still missed him. She used to call him before she left for home, and there were days Tanvir would wait in front of her office to give her a ride back home. Unless he was too busy, he would keep talking to her over the phone until she reached home.
Just the other day, on her way to the office, a funny incident happened, with of course all thanks to Radio Dhanmondi. Maliha was waiting at the street corner for her office microbus to arrive, but the logistics manager phoned her and told her that the vehicle had a breakdown and was unavailable for the morning trip. As her manager was supposed to go on a corporate retreat the next morning, Maliha was responsible for organizing and handling all the folders and files her manager would take with him. With only half an hour left, she brought out her phone and called a ride-sharing number for a motorbike. The bike arrived soon, and its youthful and cheery driver greeted her and promised a smooth ride. Maliha liked the smiling young man and gave him a generous tip when she arrived in her office.
While Maliha was halfway through to her office, the bike stopped at a traffic signal. Her aunt Ms. Mannan, whom she called Radio Dhanmondi for her big mouth, spotted Maliha from her car a little distance away. She wasted no time in phoning her sister, Maliha’s mother, describing in more than details about the horrible scene she witnessed: her niece going on a date with a young man, playing truant with her office. Wasn’t her father on a lookout for a suitable boy for the girl?
Maliha envied her mother and her aunt’s relationship. They were also two sisters like Madiha and herself, but they did not share the bond as they do. Well sometimes, it was a relief that they actually didn’t. These two women extremely loved and cared for each other and on a different level were so jealous of each other. Maliha never understood those dynamics partly because she never wanted to. And as expected her mother called her and started cursing her and scolding her, without even giving Maliha a chance to explain what happened. After around 3 minutes and 20 seconds, Maliha interrupted ‘Ma, I will explain everything once I get back home, I don’t want any boyfriends and you of all people know that. The very last thing I want today is to get fired’. She was barely done when she realized her mother disconnected the call. Maliha already started dreading going home in the evening. Her mother believed all kinds of nonsense and she never tolerated if someone told something unpleasant about her daughters, while her cousins, Ms. Mannan’s two sons, and a daughter are pretentious and spoiled brats, but no one said a word. And even if anyone did her aunt would throw herself at him/her.
With a sour mood, she entered her manager’s room and at once realized today was going to be a long, bad, and boring day. Maliha hated her boss. He was a married man and a very decent guy, and Maliha was very close to him. He always gave her space to vent her frustrations and relax and guide her towards a positive resolution. But after her breakup, he changed and not the way Maliha liked. He was flirty and texted her at very odd hours. At first, Maliha ignored him, thinking he was just being caring, but as days passed, she understood he might be harmless and annoying. That was her epiphanic moment-she decided to drown in her work rather than drowning herself in her sorrows. Iqbal, Maliha’s boss was a smart man. It took him a day to understand what Maliha wanted, but every now and then he would grin like a stupid and flirt like an amateur (which he sadly was!).
Finally, after a very uninteresting day, Maliha came home. As expected, her mother already stopped talking. With 20 years of practice, assuming her mother wasn’t like this up until she was 5 years old, Maliha knew best to ignore her She was the rebellious type, but her father talked to her, explained why silence is the key. That also explained why her father talked less. “Why am I so humorous and awesome?” Maliha thought. That was her mantra when something unfavorable happened.
Just when she came out from the shower, Madiha came to her to notify that Ms. Mannan is home. ‘Ah! the cherry on top” blurted out Maliha. She was half-expecting this to happen. As it did, no more surprises. Her aunt knew about Tanvir, which meant, she also knew about the breakup. The families were thinking of getting them married, right before Tanvir broke up. Her aunt saw her the mess she became, but who knew what drama was in store for her.
As soon as Maliha gave her salam, Ms. Mannan gave the sweetest smile ever. And that was when she realized her honorable presence- she brought some guy’s biodata for her to marry. Maliha was absolutely right. Girls are gifted with a kind of instinct and maturity. Nature’s way of warning girls but then again, no girls pay attention to what the gut says. It is always the stupid heart that wins.
Maliha kept quiet through the whole eloquence. And she wanted to shout and scream, “Get your daughter married first, get Madiha married, why me? Because I got on a bike with some strange guy? Well, why don’t you cut a cake and celebrate, because I WASN’T SITTING ON HIS LAP!”. But Maliha was calm as the lion waiting to pounce. Maliha left the room. She was hearing all sorts of cuss words behind, but she stopped caring. Or better, she started pretending that she didn’t care. Made her life a great deal easier that way. Her father was quiet. He was quiet a week after too. He talked and made jokes but not once did he bring that up. And Maliha allowed the matter to slide too, but Ms. Begum was an exception, and there was nothing that could be done. Maliha needed at least two years to get over Tanvir, or that’s what she thought.
All these happened almost a fortnight ago. Maliha’s mother was sick. She had diabetes for 14 years along with high blood pressure. She had been on bed rest for the past two days. Ms. Begum asked Maliha to sit beside her and started talking about random things. Out of nowhere, she asked her to give her consent for the proposal Ms. Mannan brought the other day. Maliha was in shock and mumbled, “But Ma, Madiha is elder than me, and by 3 years. By rules, isn’t she the one who should get married first? And Safa (Ms. Mannan’s daughter) is older than me too, why are you forcing me, Ma?” “Because you work and meet a lot of people, beta. They are not extrovert or over-friendly like you. They are all into studies. And Madiha just finished her MBBS. She needs a little bit more time to stand on her feet. But look at you- you are all on your own now. Getting married now would be ideal” explained her mother.
“Ma, just because I never failed my exams, and started my professional career without wasting any time or money, you think I should get married before all of them? If I knew this would be the case, I would have just done what they did! You know about Tanvir. I need time, Ma. Let me be on my own for a while. Not asking you to allow me to go on a trip out of town. Not asking you to give me a lot of cash so that I can spend them without a flinch. All I am asking is sometimes. Some ‘me’ time”. That was when Ms. Begum gave up and said, “Consider this my last wish before I die. Now I need to sleep for a while”. Maliha knew she used all her cards. The further argument would only make it worse. Maliha left.
It’s been three years since Maliha left home. Things were still rusty. Her mother, May Almighty always bless her, was in good shape and health. Madiha got married (to another doctor), good for her! Maliha was living in a hostel. Her father requested her to come back and still does. Maybe she should get back home on one condition: she will marry only when she wants. Tanvir is already in a two-year-old relationship with his then classmate, and she heard from her friends that they were to marry this December. Life did not turn out the way, she planned. For some people, it does. Not only couldn’t she be with the love of her life, but her mother’s coldness pricked her soul to this day. Maliha knew by heart that marriage was the solution to her 360-degree loneliness, but she didn’t want to end up telling this story to her kids or grandkids. Maliha wasn’t against marriage, but she was against the notion of getting married as if it was the last thing on Earth left to do. It’s supposed to be a new chapter in her life, not the only chapter.
