Suri, his aunt, was awake, her face looked aged since their last meeting. His uncle Riku slept peacefully. Apart from them, children observed him with curious gazes. He recognized them from the previously seen photographs as Aunt Suri's grandchildren.
Glancing at his attire with a furrowed brow, Aunt Suri eventually queried, 'Who do you want, sir?'
As he stepped in, removing his shoes, Shaan approached Suri. 'You don't recognize me, do you? Even after so long, you still can't place me?'
His Aunt replied, 'No, I'm afraid I don't recall who you are—wait! You're...'
Before she could finish, a woman in her late twenties emerged from the kitchen. Recognizing Shaan's voice, she was his cousin Nia.
'Finally, Shaan, you remembered to visit. I thought you'd forgotten us all,' Nia exclaimed.
Shaan let out a nervous laugh; he was well aware of her fiery temper. He remembered vividly how she had once fractured his skull in their childhood—volatile yet kind-hearted and caring.
Finally recognizing Shaan, his Aunt Suri enveloped him in a warm embrace, gently caressing his back. 'How tall you've grown. When you used to visit, you were so small,' she reminisced.
He sighed helplessly, "What can I do? These companies don't let people leave once you're in. I only get a few days off."
He blamed his job, which he too despised, the same job that demanded him to study for years.
Observing his dejected expression, Nia suggested, "Just come and work here. No need to endure that suffering."
She continued, "I don't see anybody growing wheat and rice on laptops."
He chuckled dismissively, explaining how leaving wasn't a simple thing.
After washing his feet, hands, and face and quenching his thirst, he engaged with the children, regaling Aunt with recent events and happenings.
Eventually, Uncle was stirred from sleep, and upon recognizing Shaan, he spent hours reminiscing past events and experiences.
Uncle and Aunt had two children—a boy and a girl. Amin and Nia.
Nia had married soon after high school; Shaan was present at her wedding. Her husband started well but soon fell to greed and incurred heavy loss from poor managed grape cultivation. He chose easy way , turning to alcohol and gambling. He neglected his marriage, consumed by various addictions, perhaps madness among them. It looked there weren't any interactions with husband for her to bear children.
Another cousin, Amin, wedded after Nia. Shaan missed the ceremony but under Uncle's guidance, Amin led a respectable life, employed at a local branch of the State Bank. He had two kids: a boy named Tanjir and a girl named Sudhi.
Tanjir and Sudhi were 5 and 7 old years each. As I played with them, they looked curious and joyful. This lightened my heart for some reason.
Engaging with Uncle, Shaan gleaned insights about the outside world.
Uncle expressed disappointment with the life of a farmer—when the rains ceased, farmers became laborers. He encouraged everyone to seek education and urban life.
Shaan understood Uncle's perspective, aware that even after hours of labor and investment, a lack of rain and dried water sources left survival itself a challenge.
Comparing his corporate life to theirs seemed naïve. Their worries about weather and rain were absent within his enclosed corporate walls.
Being fed up with corporate life and coming here seemed ridiculously stupid. Since livelihood itself seemed monumental task in outside world.
To him it seemed the challenges of livelihood in the outside world overshadowed the feelings and emotions of people.
When people are dying of hunger who cares if somebody is sad about their life.
Him wishing a different life with thrills and turns seemed ridiculous. It was akin to a sighted man not appreciating the struggles of the blind.
As these thoughts surfaced. He heard frying sound accompanied by smell of Baji, bonda. His mouth watered, ready for meal...