It was a rustic door. An antique one. When I first pulled it to enter the house, it creaked loudly. It sounded angry, upset. I wondered why?
I wanted to replace it with a brand-new wooden door. But each time, I failed. Other important things arose, other expenditures—new curtains, pillow covers, bed linen, medicines for mother-in-law, dowry money for sister-in-law, a visit to my parent’s house or his. At the end, the door stayed unrepaired, unchanged.
Two years went by in this house. The house looked ancient, too shabby. Putting too many colours on the walls made it look like a painting that had gone horribly wrong.
Akram told me to stop ruining the house. He sounded a bit irritated. Work problems. He had plenty nowadays. He barely shared his troubles with me. I didn’t press him either. What would I do to listen to them? Though sometimes it felt unfair. Weren’t couples supposed to share everything? But at other times I thought it suited us best, each with our own preoccupations in our own space: he in his room with his files, me on the couch with a book or two, gazing outside.
I changed the position of the couch a little, it faced the main door now. And I had two views to enjoy, one through the window; the other through the door. Since the latter was mostly kept shut, I stared at its greenish, rustic wood. It needed to be repaired or replaced.
Author Bio:
Marzia Rahman has an MA in English Literature from the University of Dhaka. She is a creative writer and translator. Her articles and book reviews have been published in The Daily Star. Her article Bringing Light into Darkness published in 2008 has won her Child Sight Foundation Journalist Fellowship Award for best report. Her stories and flash fictions have appeared in The Daily Star, Dhaka Tribune, Six Seasons Review, and online journals like Five of the Fifth, 101 Words. She has done a couple of distance learning courses under London School of Journalism and Oxford University. In 2017, she has participated in The International Literary Translation and Creative Writing Summer School organized by BCLT in the University of East Anglia at Norwich. Currently she is working on her debut novel. She believes there is no end of learning. Writing is her greatest passion and she hopes to be recognized as a good writer in the future.
I wanted to replace it with a brand-new wooden door. But each time, I failed. Other important things arose, other expenditures—new curtains, pillow covers, bed linen, medicines for mother-in-law, dowry money for sister-in-law, a visit to my parent’s house or his. At the end, the door stayed unrepaired, unchanged.
Two years went by in this house. The house looked ancient, too shabby. Putting too many colours on the walls made it look like a painting that had gone horribly wrong.
Akram told me to stop ruining the house. He sounded a bit irritated. Work problems. He had plenty nowadays. He barely shared his troubles with me. I didn’t press him either. What would I do to listen to them? Though sometimes it felt unfair. Weren’t couples supposed to share everything? But at other times I thought it suited us best, each with our own preoccupations in our own space: he in his room with his files, me on the couch with a book or two, gazing outside.
I changed the position of the couch a little, it faced the main door now. And I had two views to enjoy, one through the window; the other through the door. Since the latter was mostly kept shut, I stared at its greenish, rustic wood. It needed to be repaired or replaced.
Author Bio:
Marzia Rahman has an MA in English Literature from the University of Dhaka. She is a creative writer and translator. Her articles and book reviews have been published in The Daily Star. Her article Bringing Light into Darkness published in 2008 has won her Child Sight Foundation Journalist Fellowship Award for best report. Her stories and flash fictions have appeared in The Daily Star, Dhaka Tribune, Six Seasons Review, and online journals like Five of the Fifth, 101 Words. She has done a couple of distance learning courses under London School of Journalism and Oxford University. In 2017, she has participated in The International Literary Translation and Creative Writing Summer School organized by BCLT in the University of East Anglia at Norwich. Currently she is working on her debut novel. She believes there is no end of learning. Writing is her greatest passion and she hopes to be recognized as a good writer in the future.
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