Act 3

Jahangir gate near Bijay Sharani….

It was five in the afternoon. Jakir hopelessly looked at the long line of the vehicles. The traffic was not moving at all. He cursed the situation because he would have to walk now to his Mohammadpur residence.

“Capital city!!! My a*s!!” his frustration was evident because he did not have any options but to walk home and it was quite a distance….at least 5 kilometers. He started walking.

“Who the hell on this earth would like to walk after a long day of office!” He looked at the heavily fortified office of the Prime Minister.

“Ya…ya…ya…. I know what you would say….because the GENERAL PEOPLE are With YOU!!!!! Oh!! I guess I am the only person who didn’t cast a vote for you…. Whoever licks your shoe is your PEOPLE, and each and everyone who doesn’t like your governance is either the THIEF or The Traitor to the country.” Jakir just couldn’t control his anger, “@!>>!@#,” Jakir used some terrible words and kicked a loose pebble on the pavement.

Jakir once more looked to his front….

“haaaah!!! At least 3 more kilometers left.”

In this kind of situation the best thing to do is to divert one’s mind to some other important aspect of life. Jakir was desperately trying not to focus on long way ahead. Suddenly his cell phone started to ring.

“Hello! Hmm..tell me…buddy,” it was Jakir’s one of many good friends- Wasim.

“Oi! Where are you? I am organizing a meeting for us- few friends,” Wasim screamed on the other side.

“Oi shala(Brother-in-law �" a slang if otherwise not real), I am walking towards my home. Whom else did you invite?”-Jakir.

“Panda (nick name), Vulu, Mofiz and Kaua (crow- nickname).”- Wasim.

“Cheh! What an idiotic bunch!”-Jakir.

“Are you coming or not!”- Wasim.

“Oi! Oi! How can I miss, hah!”-Jakir.

“Well, I will sms you the time and venue, ok! Brother.”- Wasim.

“Please, do!”- Jakir.

“Heh! The Baka(Japanese for idiotic) company reunites!”thought Jakir.

Panda, Vulu, Mofiz and Kaua- all of them were his precious childhood friends. They parted after high school but a string of fate kept them tied up, till now. Well, those names were nick names and were used to such extent that none of their classmates could actually recall what their real names were.

“It would be real nice! Don’t you think Shakhawat!” Jakir looked at the sky which was tinted crimson by the setting sun. “It would be twilight soon!” Jakir sighed and recalled Shakhawat, the only friend who passed away just after the high school certificate exam. A bright, charming young man he was…very sporty. Always made people laugh with his witty remarks. But what he never told anyone of his friends was that he had terminal dieses that no doctor could treat here in Bangladesh and his family wasn’t particularly wealthy enough to carry out his treatment abroad. “Shakhawat! We all have to go where you are now!” For a few seconds Jakir forgot where he was, what pain he was in, just kept thinking about death, a natural phenomenon which make everything tasteless and colorless, which turns everything to emptiness and all the achievements in this world into nothing. That’s what death is.

“Shakespeare said something very true in Macbeth about life, huh!

It is a tale,

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

…………This busy life! What am I working for! Where am I running to! To my grave, right? A grim world full of darkness, and insects that will eat up my body…..”- Jakir sighed heavily.

Jakir looked ahead again…..”Ah! It’s Chandrima garden! Few more minutes and I will be home…have a bath and food…a few more minutes..…” rejoiced Jakir but his legs were reluctant to carry his burden anymore. He had reached his limits long ago…his body didn’t want to move; he wanted to sit for a while, but hunger made him drag his feet and push forward.