Daily Prompt : Suddenly

In response to prompt : Suddenly

Our Unexpected Guest!

One morning suddenly I heard a knock on our door, I wondered who was knocking the door, this early, I opened the door, to my surprise I found my aunt with her five kids smiling at me. I tried to understand how could she come so fast from India.

Then my sixth sense alerted me it took her as much time to arrive at our doorstep as will someone else. What happened was they made their decision to come, but failed to let us know that they’re coming. A courteous family wouldn’t do this.

But my aunt thought : I’m going to visit my sister’s place, I don’t have to let her know in advance?

The problem was my mom was out of town, I was in the house with my younger siblings and older brother, who was busy with his newly married wife.

I was responsible for cooking, and feeding my siblings. It was a chore thrust upon me. At 15 it was a huge responsibility for me. Adding another family of five kids was not something I asked for.

I remember I spent all  my waking  time catering to the needs of my siblings and on top of that an aunt who perhaps had no idea about cooking for a family. She liked eating and sitting on the bed and ordering her eldest one.

She unexpectedly arrived and took it for granted that I must be ready ‘at her beck and call.’

I compared her with my mom, she was not like my other, in fact she was the exact opposite, she was lazy, all she did was sit around and make others run around keeping her happy.

Each morning I prayed for my mom to come  home, I was tired of looking after her lazy sister and family.

When mom finally came back, I was happy to hand over the kitchen back to her!

…………………………. 🙂

DP Daily Prompt: Four Stars

Write a review of your life— or someone close to you—as if it were a movie or a book.

I was the seventh child of my parents and the second daughter. I was told  I was born after my mom lost her ten month old son.

My sister informed  me mom sat in a corner every day and cried for her son who passed away.

I had an unusual malady as an infant I fainted without any reason, once my aunt had me on her lap, I suddenly fainted, my aunt cried and said, “Apa(big sister) I did not do anything.”

Before my mom could reply,my sister blurted out, “You didn’t do anything she always faints without reason.”

When my sister narrated  this I knew how much my sister loved me i.e. (hated me).

I loved poetry early on, I’d hang out with my older brothers and listened when they memorized poems esp. the funny ones. My memory was sharp, I recited the poem before my brothers  could learn by rote.

I loved singing quietly when no one was watching, the songs the nuns taught were my favorite.

I spent my time reciting my favorite poems and singing. My siblings always found me in the corner of my room, squatting on the floor singing.

I loved to go to school, but when I was unable to complete my homework, I’d make an excuse and stayed home. This angered my sister so much she’d scream at the top of her lungs with the words, “Dad is spoiling her.”

Life according to me was playing with my siblings, having fun moving around the neighborhood exploring a brand new place every day. I never ever thought what I’d like to be when I grow up, these feelings never found its way  in my mind.

When I was eleven my Dad planned a trip to Bangladesh, it was the first time I saw my aunts,  uncles and cousins. Before I saw them in real life I wondered if I have these relatives that my friends boasted about. The mystery was solved I too have near and dear ones like them.

I barely turned twelve, it was a Wednesday morning, the sun was bright, we the younger siblings came out of the house to play as usual, a loud scream from my mother caught our attention, we raced inside, mom was in Dad’s room, we all went in, to my absolute horror I witnessed my dad taking his last breath.

Things were not the same after this incident,my mom announced we will go to Bangladesh for good.

Everyone in the family was heartbroken as we packed our belongings to leave the place we called home for so long!

………………………….

 

DP Daily Prompt: Cut Off

When was the last time you felt really, truly lonely?

It was a while ago, my mother went to the village to see her sister-in-law, although my eldest brother and his wife were there, I felt uncomfortable and lonely. My brother had just married, and he was one of those men who was always ready to scold us whenever his new bride complained against us.

During this time my aunt(Mom’s youngest sister) came for a visit with her children and uncle also came. Mom left us a servant who she thought would help us. I hate to say it he was dumber than dumb. All he would do whenever I asked him to do something he’d  find a room and fall asleep. My aunt I’m not sure if she ever did any house work, she was a housewife lacking the skills of being one.

It was just me fourteen years old taking care of cooking, even gave a bath to her infant daughter, aunt would sit around and gab. those were the times I missed my mom and dad, I felt lonely I worked day in and day out but never heard a single “Thank You”. My mom was visiting her brother and his wife and dad died when I was twelve. I never had a soul to talk to. my younger siblings were scared of big brother so they kept out of sight.

Those were the kind of days I wished no one should face!

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2015/02/24/dp-daily-prompt-cut-off/

365 Writing Prompts: Nightmares

Describe the last nightmare you remember having. What do you think it meant?

I do not recall a nightmare I had recently if I did it wasn’t scary enough for me to remember.

My aunt talked about a nightmare she had which turned out to be true. Her baby was sick, she stayed up all night to make him comfortable. She was exhausted for she was looking after him for several days. That particular night she dozed off, she dreamed someone was taking her baby away, she found herself crying when she opened her eyes. She quickly got up to see her son, there he was lying on the bed still!

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2015/02/19/365-writing-prompts-nightmares

365 Writing Prompts: Mentor

Have you ever had a mentor? What was the greatest lesson you learned from him or her?

Whenever I hear or read the word “Mentor” I automatically look for one outside my home, a teacher, a friend, an aunt or an uncle. Strangely enough I never could answer the question. None of the above people ever took the role of a mentor in my life. I reassured myself, not everyone needs or has a mentor, so just accept the fact you did not have one.

This morning the word raised its head in my mind yet again. This time I inwardly went through all the names in my mind, the answer was still the same,no I did not have one.

Suddenly my daughter yelled out,  “Mom”where is my … she barely completed what was on her mind, immediately I thought of my own Mom, here was someone who from the time I could talk and walk taught me between right and wrong.

Be respectful to your elders, greet them when they visit, listen,do not speak until you are spoken to. I remember once my sister and I were deep in conversation,my mother came quietly , she said: “what are you talking about, I hope you are not criticizing someone.”

My sister immediately remarked, “No Mom we are stating facts.”

My mom replied, “I don’t understand what kind of facts you’re talking about, make sure it’s not about anyone.”

Then she went on to explain to me that God does not like back biting, if we couldn’t say anything good about someone we should not discuss them at all.

There were so many other things such as ,”Be humble” when you walk look at the ground and not the sky, do not be overbearing, and there are so many other things I learned from her. What she taught me I could not learn from someone else.

The greatest lesson I learned from my Mom was treat everyone kindly, it will bring you dividends, I truly believe as humans we ought to treat other humans with respect. These were some of the things I learned from my mother.

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2015/02/17/365-writing-prompts-mentor

 

365 Writing prompts: Sink or Swim

Tell us about a time when you were left on your own, to fend for yourself in an overwhelming  situation— on the job, at home, at school. What was the outcome?

I remember once my mom went to see her sister-in-law out of town. My younger siblings and I were left to fend for ourselves, it would be fine if it was just us.

One fine morning my aunt and uncle arrived with their kids, mom was not at home, we had a servant who took care of getting groceries and cleaning the house.

I was barely fifteen, had no experience in cooking , I could do the simple stuff, but wasn’t good enough for company. My aunt was one of those people who was not fond of any kind of housework like cooking or cleaning, it was always done by her four daughters, they were younger than me.

My mom had no idea she had her house full of guests, she was having a grand time with her sister-in-law in the village.

I did the cooking, I’m not sure how good or bad it was , my aunt and her brood were satisfied as long as they didn’t have to cook.

My mom came back after a week, my aunt told my mother, ‘Ranu is a good cook!’

My mother and I knew it wasn’t true, but she  was happy I was able to look after my aunt, uncle and their children.

I was nervous in the beginning but as days went by I became somewhat confident that no one will be sick eating what I served!

k: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/365-writing-pr…s-sink-or-swim

 

 

365 Writing Prompt: From the gut

Tell us about the last time you had a real,deep, crying-from–laughing belly laugh.

I cannot remember laughing that hard, I do laugh when some of my siblings make mistakes. Once one of our aunt asked my brother,Riaz,  “How is your middle sister?” He was disturbed, instead of giving a reply, he showed he didn’t like the question.

He said, ” She is not my middle sister she is My  sister”.

There have been many occasions  I laughed because some of the questions my classmates asked were stupid. I know I shouldn’t but I could not control myself.

I know laughter is the best medicine, it’s not always easy to laugh I think.

: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/07/04/365-writing-pr…t-from-the-gut/

DP Daily Prompt: Gone with the Windfall

You just inherited $1,000,000 from an aunt you didn’t know even existed. What’s the first thing you buy(or otherwise use the money for)?

I do not want to allow the saying, ‘Easy Come Easy Go’ hold true. It’s not always the case, having said that I have also seen what some do when they get a lot of money  they did not earn.

I will give away this money to some of the charities in my aunt’s name. The money will go to those charities where least amount of money is spent on administrative fees. The administration will only be allowed one percent from the donation to spend, rest will go to people who need the money.

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/dp-daily-promp…h-the-windfall/

 

Mubarak (Lucky)

There was a time when things were different. These were the times when I met this family of three: husband, wife and one son. The wife was a very generous woman. She was always ready to help anyone who needed it. Their son went to boarding  school.

Her brother-in-law died at an early age. There was no one left to look after his three kids. She and her husband took  them home. They were spoilt and like their father weren’t interested in getting education. The uncle and  aunt  devoted all of their time helping these kids. Soon it was apparent they were not interested to  study.

The two boys and the girl did nothing to better themselves. The aunt became ill. She was unable to do anything for them. Instead of helping her,they cursed her all the time.

A year later the aunt died. The uncle had to shoulder the responsibility of the kids. The boys loafed around and the girl had a new boyfriend every week. This went on for some time. Call whatever you will,the luck of the girl was soon going to change.

She met a new boy friend,they spent their time having fun. The father of the boy found out about his son’s girl friend.He wanted to meet the girl. The son was nervous,he was actually planning to break up with her. He was raised in a very wealthy and  religious family.  He was afraid to tell his Dad about his girl friend  he knew he wouldn’t approve.

On the insistence of the father. The son brought his girl friend to his home. His father met them in his living room and asked both several direct questions.

Father to the girl: Do you love my son?

Girl friend:  (extremely nervous) could not say, Yes or No.

He turned around and asked the same question to his son. The son was  shaking,he could not say anything either.

Next he asked both, “How long are you dating?”

Both answered ,’one week’, their voice was barely audible.

The father announced ,they’d have to get married within a week. Preparations were made to have a big wedding.

He told the girl to forget what had happened in the past. She will have to begin a new life. Her name Bulu, was changed  to Mubarak.

Within a week they were married.

She was a Bengali and her husband’s family were from Uttar Pradesh, India,they moved to Bangladesh after the partition of India.

Soon after  Mubarak gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. She stayed home and only went out with her husband and in-laws. Months turned to years and the baby girl was five years old. Mubarak was a changed woman she devoted her time  helping her new family  . It was a transformation no one thought was possible. She surprised the doubters.

Mubarak helped her mother-in-law with household chores,she herself  learnt to cook  and took  care of her family. Besides helping her in-laws, she spent a lot of time with her little girl . One day the girl saw some guests in their living room. She was excited. She ran to her mother, she took her by her hand and told her there were some new people she should meet.

Mubarak noticed some male guests. She explained, “Darling your Dad and Grandpa will be with them soon.”

“I want you to go and talk to them,” she said.

Mubarak told her quietly, “I don’t go in front of male guests.”

Little five year old did not give up,Mubarak took her to the next room and explained why it was so. Little Faria was growing up to be a cute kid. With her mother’s help,she learned to read and write. Soon she was memorizing poems. One day she recited one of her poems,she asked, “Mom do you like  my poem?”

“I do, Mom said but It sounds like a parrot.”

” Parrots can’t learn poems,can they?

“Yes if you teach them.”

Mubarak’s job was to teach the poems with expression. Then she explained the difference. She told Faria about the parrot they had. It learned a sentence and would always repeat it, “It was khoka Babu’s here.” It didn’t matter who came in.

Faria burst out laughing, “You sound funny Mom!”

.

This is my entry for SPEAKEASY #147 Word Count:716

jan. 20th-365 days https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/01/20/365-days-jan20-breaking the law/

Last time I broke a rule was in college. We didn’t mean to but circumstances made us do it. There were four of us, we got permission from our teacher to watch a movie in the movie hall. The condition was we had to have a chaperone  with us.  My classmate said her aunt would go with us. We were ready and  waiting for the aunt to show up. After almost an hour my classmate got a note saying the aunt was unable to go.

Since we were ready and waiting by the college gate we made up our mind to go. We were not sure of one of the girls who was unpredictable. We clearly told her we’d be going without the aunt,if it was okay with her. She promised it was.

We set off on the assumption that things would work out.It was a very hot day,we waited for an auto rickshaw,and got one after walking a few yards. We reached the movie hall,got our tickets, and sat down to watch the movie. Everything went well. We came back happy we managed to watch the movie without the aunt.

Back in our dormitory we found the unpredictable girl restless. We asked her,what was wrong. She said nothing. We went about doing our work. Suddenly one of us was called by the teacher. We didn’t know why. Soon we found out the said girl went and told the teacher we’d gone without a chaperone. We were summoned one at a time and chastised for breaking college rules.

Then she told us to assemble in the auditorium. Sister Joseph Mary was livid. She said everything she could think of. She praised the girl for being honest. We were angry.We were not in trouble,but we learned an important lesson,not to trust the girl anymore!