Finding the Unseen
Page 8
Chapter 8
Keeping a room at a household whose owner always desires to earn an extra income, worked greatly in his favour. The owner agreed to overlook social propriety, and allowed the girl to lodge for the night in his room. The settlement of an extra and generous fare suited the accommodator well. His room only supplied two single bedsteads. Upon one, Jonathan slept, utterly unaware to the perils his friend has been encountering throughout the night. The other bedstead belonged to him, which he offered to her. At first, she shook her head at his offer, gesturing to sleep on the ground instead. However, defeated to his repeated wish, she accepted the bedstead.
At some hour in the middle of the night, he suddenly awoke, hearing the distinctive sound of someone sobbing. Alert, he sits up and follows the noise to the source. Amidst the dimness, he found Nargis sat in the corner of the room, her arms wrapped around her knees and her head buried in her lap, quietly crying. There was no mystery to the provocations of her tears. She has lost family and home. In a country, where women’s honour can be at stake by keeping connections with men of no relation, she was here spending the night with two male strangers. She was directionless, and must be feeling like an outcast, not knowing what to expect tomorrow. She had every right to cry. He gave her the liberty to do so. Her heart was in need of a relief. He lay on his mat again, but found it difficult to oblige with his decision to permit her tears to shed. He heard her gentle whimpers, and resisted all temptation to comfort her. He had no words of comfort to offer her. He is but a mere guest in the country. He is due to leave for England today. He does not know what will happen when Dawn reappears, or from where he will greet the next day. Knowingly or unknowingly, he has taken on a responsibility beyond his ability to manage. He had not anticipated that such would be the consequence of inciting one to speak the truth of their feelings. Just as Nargis was doubtless, he too descended into confusion and dismay. He began to envy her sex. When in a state of despair, she may cry freely. She had no shame to display her defeat against her circumstances. Had it not been for his sex, then he too would have shed a tear or two.
Jameel suspected the journalist would shelter the girl in his lodge. He made his visit the first thing in the morning. It seemed as if Francis and related to Jonathan the events that brought the girl here. Amongst them, they debated on their next action regarding the girl’s future. They established the obvious, that her stay will have to be short in this lodge. The two Englishmen will not see another night in this country. They are due to leave for England today. Considering the limitation of time, the party had reached a sensible solution. Nargis must be reconciled with her brother, and the brother must drop his insistence on her to the landlord.
She peered distrustfully at her brother from behind the Englishman’s shoulder, her eyes dark and obstinate. Jameel had gone to collect her brother. Initially, he was relieved to see his sister. Her safe return has restored his hopes. However, how quickly the Englishman severed his every hope when he relayed his proposition. He must accept the condition that he will not marry his sister to landlord. Upon his acceptance, Jameel will collect the landlord, and an Imam from a local mosque. Before these witnesses, he is to repeat the breaking of this marriage proposal. He was livid. The Englishman has committed many crimes. Lying and providing his sister refuge were two of the biggest. His shameless sister has left him nowhere. He feared how many have come into knowledge of her association with this Englishman. He has given his word to the landlord, who has invested greatly into the restoration of his village house. He had no income, and was living off the landlord’s generosity. At once, he began to fear his future prospects and his reputation. Nargis’s marriage to the landlord must happen.
Francis waited patiently to hear the brother’s answer. He could not leave Nargis knowing that she will not fall victim to compulsion or scandal.
Mukhtar was obstinate against defeat, but the matter was too delicate to display his refusal to their proposition.
‘Nargis,’ her brother calls her, and she unthinkingly clutches onto the Englishman’s arm. ‘Do you not trust your brother?’
She shakes her head.
‘Come,’ Mukhtar tries again. ‘I won’t get you married to the landlord, I promise. Let us end the matter here, and safeguard the little honour we have left. Your missing whereabouts has subjected me to much embarrassment. I don’t want to this drama to continue anymore. So let us go home peacefully.’
The brother spoke in Bengali, but whatever he said had clearly not been to Nargis’s appreciation, for she clutched onto his arm tighter.
‘If you truly will not get your sister married against her will,’ Jameel says in English, ‘then I shall fetch the landloard and Imam, and before them you will pledge.’
Mukhtar was losing his patience. He makes a step towards her, and Francis instinctively adjusts his position so to shield her. The brother proceeds closer to them, and Jameel, predicting the likelihood of a brawl, steps in between the two parties, as if he was the mediator between East and West. He just prayed that the warring sides do not churn him into chutney in their collision. Taking God’s name, he masters to form some reconciliation, requesting each side to sit down and talk peacefully.
But Mukhtar’s patience was fully tested. His sweetness abruptly vanishes, and his voice becomes aggressive, ordering Nargis to come with him. Fearful, she clutched the Englishman’s arm even tighter. The Englishman made every effort to protect her. Then, completely beyond their expectations, her brother strikes a hard blow into the Englishman’s abdomen, gaining his opportunity to grab her. She tries to release her wrist from his hold, but his grasp was painfully tight, dragging her away from the Englishman, who lay on the ground, as his friend made desperate enquiries to his health. Jameel was trying his best to restrain her brother, but her brother’s determination would not fade. Jameel’s struggle ends, when her Englishman returns a strike upon her brother, releasing her arm at once. But his determination was such that he recovered quickly, approaching her again. Jameel again restrains the brother, but fearing the situation will deteriorate to treacherous outcomes, he advises the Englishman to run. Jonathan also reinforced the same instruction, but Francis was unprepared to leave Jameel and his friend with the violent brother. Jameel sounded more determined to have his instructions heard, advising him desperately to take the girl somewhere safe. He will handle matters here.
He did not know what made up his mind, but holding her hand, he led her out of the room, brushing past the lodge owner and his mute wife, who came to investigate the disturbing noises.
They ran and ran, not knowing where they were going. He only knew that Jameel was right. He needed to get the girl to safety, away from her insane brother. Eager in his quest, they crossed the busy Dhaka streets one after the other. Rickshaw riders and cyclists rang their bells frantically. Motor vehicles beep their horns annoyingly, but before none could he or Nargis stop, continuing along, unknown to their destination. They ran through the numerous crowds, cutting the paths of marketers who were heading to set up their stalls, dropping their goods, which scattered everywhere at the doing of these two reckless escapees.
In the near distance, he could hear the distinctive sound of trains. They were near a railway station. An idea struck him. He follows the inviting noise, landing them in Kamalapur Railway Station. Immersed in the crowd, Francis looks desperately for signboards to learn the departure of the next train, but the words were Bengali. Challenged by time and fear, his adeptness to think of a solution suffered greatly. He held onto the girl’s hand tightly as the crowd push pass them abruptly, trying to board their respective trains. The speakers overhead announce departure times of various destinations. Nargis overhears a family nearby react to one of the announcement. Her attention then returns upon Francis. He suddenly looks more concerned, looking intently at the words on the board. She knew the Englishman well enough now to interpret his expressions. She looked around at that family, hastily heading for their respective tra
in. Where Francis had helplessly decided to flee this place too, he found himself instead led towards another direction. Keeping low, he enquires Nargis to where she was going, despite her inability to reply. At length, she caught up with that family. Soon, he becomes aware of her plans as she nods towards a stationary train on the platform. In five minutes, this train will depart the station. The trains in the country were such that there were no doors to any of the carriages. The final rush of passengers crammed in, some authorised, and others like them without a ticket. They too make their struggles to get in. Eventually, they succeed. The carriage accommodated second-class arrangement. Thus, there were no free seats, with passengers making use of every available space. He and Nargis also occupy a small space along the aisle, holding onto the overhead rail for support. A loud blow of the horn commenced the start of the journey. An immediate relief descends through him as the train leaves the station. He looks at Nargis, predicting her reaction to be the same, but discovers something else that renewed his worries. Her exhaustion was evident, struggling to hold onto the railing for support. Her legs throbbed in pain, as she stood, and desired to rink something that could quench her thirst. She desperately sought to lean her weight on something, while he frantically searched the crowded compartment for an available seat to offer her. He could not have her stand throughout this journey, to which the destination was still unknown. He made meaningful eye contact with those seated in the hope that they will sacrifice their seat seeing Nargis sway on her feet, but all kept unconcernedly seated.
Scarcely did he wish to make a request for a seat, that he felt a weight upon his shoulder. Nargis was resting her head upon it, her eyes closed, as if the effort to keep them would add to her exhaustion. As the train progresses throughout its journey, he notices her hold loosening from the rail. She was swaying dangerously on her fatigued legs. Fearing for her safety, he turns around to steady her, but instead she seeks his complete support, her head falling upon his chest. He felt the warmth of her breath touch him, slowly and quietly. He was aware of other’s glances. Yet he ignored each one, keeping her safely supported against him as the journey continued along.