Chapter 1

‘Mayaboti!!’ A woman’s scream comes out from the house.

‘Ji Ma, ashchi!!’ As Mayaboti steps into the house she hears her mother’s voice go, ‘It’s always something with this girl, last month she was walking bare feet on the snow and now she is apparently sitting out in the cold and greeting the spring, when will you change, Mayaboti? It’s time for you to come out of your dream world and into real life. You won’t go any far with your silliness, no one will accept it.’ She looks at her with a concern in her eyes.

‘Ma, don’t you worry. No one will have to accept me, my big dream is to become a spinster. Besides who will take care of you and Abbu when you two get old? So better off I don’t get married at all, can you imagine Apu taking care of you? Micro waved food for dinner, must be the best retirement plan for you two, ha!’

‘When will you give up, besides your Apu is an expert in cooking now, I’d be better off with her’

‘Great! That easies my load’, Mayaboti replied with a devilish smirk on her face. With frustration her mother tells her to take care of the laundry and she retrieves back to the kitchen where dinner was cooking.

After finishing the chores she retreats to her room, the only place in her house where she can do just about everything, but mostly be alone. Her room is the lightest place in the house, in the mid day of summer she can light her lamp and still can’t see any light as it blends in with the sunlight. While moving to this house she and her elder sister fought for this room. As elder her sister had the first choice, lucky for her, her sister choose the wrong room.

It’s 6 pm and it’s still light outside, she’s lying on her bed and staring at the ceiling. Her eyes are counting the self gloving stars that she put long time ago, but her mind is absent, it has taken her back in time.

‘Can you cook?’ a playful voice ask.

‘Well I know how to make polao, though I just made it once. And yes I think I remember the recipe of kofta. Oh, and I am very proud of the fact that I can make bhapa pitha! I made it yesterday with ammu. Want any?’

‘Umm… na. I don’t like coconut. So next time you make bhapa pitha make some only with gur.’

‘Achcha, I’ll make some only for you’

‘What about ironing?’

‘What do you think of me? It’s not like Bangladesh that you have a servant doing your chores, you actually have to do it all yourself.’

‘Polishing shoes?’

‘I know all those, but why are you asking these things?’

A tear sheds down her cheek as Mayaboti comes back to reality, she turns around and takes up her mobile phone. Z600 Sony Ericsson, with rainbow stripe clamshell. She always got mocked for the colour during her high school years. People used call it the bathroom matt, of some reason a junior in her math class said that his mother had a bathroom carpet just like her mobile phone.

‘Ki khabor?’

‘I’m alive, can’t complain.’

‘Well you don’t seem to, haven’t heard from you awhile now. Are you sure there isn’t something?’

‘Mayu, nah it’s nothing. I’ve been just busy with studies and all those things. You know how it is. So how’s your life going?’

‘The same old, the same old things Julz.’

‘Have you been thinking again? Mayaboti, what have I said about that. Don’t put yourself down just because of all that.’

‘I am not, trust me. It’s just those moments when you have nothing to do and you just get caught up in everything. Anyway don’t worry, I’m just doing fine. So how’s your future planning going?’

‘Oh don’t remind me about that Mayu. My head is upside down. Plus Ammu is on my back again about Dipu. Apparently auntie has been asking Ammu about me. I don’t know what to do. Everything is just a huge mess.’

‘Well I know what you shouldn’t do, that is listening to your mother. You are still young, plus we were supposed to go for a Europe trip. So I can’t let Auntie ruin all these things, I’ll guess in the end I’ll have to kidnap you. Just imagine huh?’ Mayaboti says with a devilish smirk on her face. ‘Yeah, I’d like to see Ammus face then!’ Julie replied laughingly. ‘Shuno, talking of the beast, she is calling for me. I need to go now, I’ll call you later.’