সেদিন আকাশে জলভরা মেঘ
বৃষ্টির বেদনাকে বুকে চেপে ধরে থমকে দাঁড়িয়েছিলো
এই পৃথিবীর আলো বাতাসের অধিকার পেয়ে
পায়নি যে শিশু জন্মের ছাড়পত্র
তারই দাবী নিয়ে সেদিন রাত্রে
সারা কাকদ্বীপে
কোন গাছে কোন কুঁড়িরা ফোটেনি
কোন অঙ্কুর মাথাও তোলেনি
প্রজাপতি যতো আরও একদিন গুটিপোকা হয়েছিলো
সেদিন রাত্রে সারা কাকদ্বীপে হরতাল হয়েছিলো
– সলিল চৌধুরী, ‘শপথ’
I was coming down a flight of stairs… Never ending steps, one by one… The sound of my boots was the only thing to keep me in a company; when I reached the end, I found a door… and As I pushed in, I heard a ruckus…
– “How can we keep calm? Our Baby Just died…”
I was petrified… everything else faded around me; all I could see was a woman holding an infant, wrapped in towel. Her eyes were cold as ice…
Life is so fragile…
I remembered those days when I cried myself to sleep for those dead puppies and kittens of our neighborhood. I fed them, nurtured them only to wake up in the morning to find their mutilated bodies soaked in blood.
It’s true, no one has any control over death; but there are times when I desperately hope that I do… It’s not the first time; I saw people die. People close to me, people who mattered to me; and I was as helpless as that dying child…
As I stood in the hospital lobby; everything faded away from my sight like a washed away watercolor painting. Before I could comprehend where I was; I saw a boy running towards me; a teenager. I recognized him from somewhere. The boy faced me, and said
-“You’re late… Again…”
I looked at the boy and that moment, I was sure who he was. I replied…
-“We are never on time…”
The boy smiled. The smile, which I’ve lost years ago…
-“You could’ve saved me…”
-“Maybe, but you never needed saving.”
The boy smiled again and said…
-“I forgot, you are the clever one. I don’t blame you… I died so you could live…”
I couldn’t speak. As the boy stood in front of me; I saw tears roll down his smiling face. His cheeks turned blue before he collapsed and disintegrated into million pieces.
A life lost in the creation of another.
That boy, who just died in front of me, was made of dream and innocence. Things which are more fragile than life itself. He was bound to perish someday; and perished he did. But, could I’ve saved him?
No. As he clearly pointed out. His death was necessary for me to live. He didn’t have weaknesses; he was weakness personified.
But still, I cried like a baby, when I realized, he died.
As I blinked twice, I found myself in a dark room. A old man was standing in front of me.
He was crying.
-“I failed you… I couldn’t save you…”
I replied;
-“I failed myself… twice.”
His teary eyes were foggy, and his hands trembled.
-“I’ve lost so much…”
I wanted to say, “I’ve lost as much you…”
But before I could open my mouth; the whole room came crashing down, and I woke up in a dusty old room, in front of a computer, and a cold cup of coffee…
Peace…
Neel
Libberish 