EscapeA Chapter by Nahian Bin AsadullahIt was a dark green countryside with trees reaching the wide blue sky, and when it rained it was really a scene to behold. I'm talking about my village. It was just a stone's throw away from the Training and Resource Center of Brac. Only I never threw stones at the Brac university students who stayed there for a residential semester. just kidding. Jokes aside, I could never become a Denis the menace to do that. I could never fully live the life of a kid, not that the situation in the family was ideal for a kid anyway. My father would leave early in the morning, and come back around 2 in the morning. I never knew what he did for a living. Only we never questioned it for we feared we'd embarrass him. How on earth he ever provided for the family was another wonder. Still my father never insisted my younger sister needed any less food than I did. He was of the opinion that girls aren't any less than boys, and they needed as much nutrition as boys. And if there wasn't anything I didn't like about him, that alone would have sufficed. I respected him for that. As for my mother, it pains me much to talk about her. Maybe I'll tell you something about her too, but all in good time. All you need to know at the moment is that our parents were killed in the last monster attack. That'd need a bit of explaining, but we'll come to that too. It could have been much more difficult for me to live all by myself, but thankfully I had my sister Henrietta with me. The little one is as cute as a furry kitten. She has dark black hair, and light blue eyes. Though she's very cheerful in nature, she's soft-spoken. An otherwise mundane day would become joyous if I saw her. Problem was I was not old enough to care for my sister either. I was only in my teens, and therefore I had to take care of myself too. It's as if I was forced into getting old. I have many achievements in my life. Some I'm very proud of while others I'm not even sure if they're achievements at all. But let me tell you a secret. My greatest strength is nothing about me. It's my sister. She gives me strength. If it weren't for her I would be long gone. She gives me the reason to be strong. Because I know for a fact what will become of her if I'm not there. She'll be raped and left naked to die in the street by the hooligans in the village for all I know. I'm not a hero. Trust me I am not. I'm the average guy from an average background who has an attractive sister, and I know for a fact that men turned into beasts when they saw attractive women. Being a pedophile is all the rage you know. I wish things were different. I wish women were as strong as men. For I worry my time might be near. How long will I have to keep shielding her? She has to become strong for the better. As I keep thinking about it, the unexpected happens. The village is faced with monster attack for the second time in two years. As if the local beasts weren't enough to worry about. Maybe this is the time I put Henrietta to test. Maybe she'll become strong now. I have to leave her, and I have to leave the village. Henrietta is shocked. She can hardly believe that I'm even remotely entertaining the idea of leaving her. "You leave me, Joey? ---the little one asks with her ungrammatical way. "Yes deary, I have to. How long will you be protected by me? Don't you wanna get strong like Joey? " I ask her. "Yes I do! But can I manage?" "Absolutely." I encourage her. She is just a little kid. How can I ever expect her to understand the situation? It's better she figures it out herself. She has to find out a way to survive when I'm not around. I'm positive she has all the makings of a strong girl. She'd just have to shift her emotional strength to mental strength for a change. ----------------------------------------------------------- The oppressive ruler of the capital Rip Van Winkle is ousted, and eaten. The guy was a complete waste though. The 60-year old invalid was making things unbearable for the citizens. In other news Monstrosity, the leader of the monsters, has decided to take over. She is going to be the ruler, and has already declared herself as queen. Why settle here now? What could be the reason? Last time the attack was simply a massacre and they didn't give any indication of a permanent settlement or taking over the authority. Though I was only 13 then I clearly remember people evacuating the village and returning once the situation was under control. There wasn't a fear of later attack. But this time it looks very different. Why should I concern myself with these things? I have a sister to worry about, and she should be my only concern. Why care about the village at all? Why not just leave this place and never come back again? Only it's not quite a solution. The village elder cared for us when our parents passed away, and he made sure we had food to eat. He made sure we were educated in the village politics. It'd be no exaggeration to say that there loads of talented young people in the village. And the village may not feel my absence. But I owe the village a lot of things. I can't just leave the village in this bad time when it looked after me in the good and the bad. It's final then. I'm not going to desert my people. I may leave to get organized, but I'd come back and restore the peace in the village. Why? Because I think I have it in me, at least, to contribute to the well being of the people. There aren't a lack of able young men in this country or for that matter this village, but there's a serious lack of strong determination. Moreover I think the village has contributed to my development more than my parents ever did, and if it's not this time to return the favor I don't know when is. They made me the maven of the year 5015, and that was only last year. I speak 6 languages other than German and English. In addition, I’m a black belt in Judo. However those are my achievements, and therefore barely say anything about my personality. And when I talk about imperfections I have many of them. For one, when I think about something I just have to center my attention around that thing. Like how, at this moment, I can't think about anything else other than my sister. And there's another thing which is perhaps the biggest of all my limitations. I can't take decisions, and oftentimes end up taking the disastrous decision. This is precisely why I'm not sure what should I do now. Should I leave her behind or should I take her with me? I know I should weigh my options but there's so little time for thinking things through! On the one hand, leaving her behind can be dangerous. On the other, taking her with me would mean I have to worry about the both. I have to leave anyway, and I have no way out but to leave. Whether with her or without her, I have to find a way out of this mess. I'd come back stronger, and when I return I hope to do something for the better. © 2015 Nahian Bin AsadullahReviews
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Nahian Bin AsadullahDhaka, South Asia, BangladeshAboutI'm an aspiring writer who wants to get published some day. more..Writing
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