Finally, my homecoming
Sarah and her mother were waiting at the airport. The plane had landed, but not all the passengers got down. Sarah walked forward to the counter where she could see some passengers boarding through a thick glass. They waited impatiently wringing their hands in anticipation.
Michael got down form the plane wondering about his loved ones, his daughter, his wife. He missed the warmth of her hands, warmth of her lips, her companionship. There was so much to say to her. Would things be different? Yes! Maybe no! Maybe a little bit! He was so anxious.
His heart pounded faster and faster. He thought about his only daughter whose voice he only heard in the past eleven years through phones. He was thrilled and excited, but at the same time nervous too. It was an unsettling mixture of feelings. He could no longer wait to feel his wife and child in his arms. He walked forward and stood in the passengers queue.
All the memories rushed back some blurred, some vivid. He was overwhelmed. Why shouldn't he be? It has been nine years he had been away from his home, family and friends. He pictured his small child in his mind. Her little hands, face, exploring eyes, the unfinished way of saying dad. He smiled and dabbed his eyes again. He knew things will be different but yet same.
In that queue a little behind, Sarah could see a familiar but old face. A face she had seen in pictures since she was two. They exchanged glances. They were familiar.
Sarah understood the man was close, very close to her. A person she loved a lot. Though it took a moment, she did understand something. She said… its… it could be… umm…. DAD! Tears rolled down, tears of joy. Her mom ran to the thick glass. She could see her husband, changed. Their eyes met. Yes...yes, they had the same deep love for each other. There were so many, so many things to say, to share. They did not know from where to start, from where to unfold.
Michael hastened and checked out. He was overwhelmed to see his daughter. No longer small but a teenager. Now she could say dad clearly in one complete breath. Her eyes no longer explored. She knew a lot of things. She was grown and matured. He felt blessed to be with them.
They hugged each other and headed home. “Home” a place he was seeking for years, eleven years.
Michael kept looking around from the car. His eyes glistened. Everything has changed but he could still recognize his hometown, the streets and the lanes. Millions of memories rushed back. Each sight gave him flash backs of the past. He remembered the dingy lane where he had exchanged numerous love letters with his wife with tremendous fear of getting caught by her dad who is now his father-in-law. He smiled and looked at her. She was still so beautiful, more than before. Tears rolled down his cheeks.
He remembered the town's restaurant where he had sneakily dated her. It existed no more. No! It did actually, it existed in his heart, in his memories. He recalled his childhood, his mother who died wishing to see her son's face for the last time. How strange is the way a mother understands her child's pain and unhappiness! One does not even need to speak. He remembered his mother's tremendous effort to make things right for him. What has she not done for him! And her last wish to see him could not be fulfilled. He felt angry and wanted to burst out into tears but now all his cuts and sores were healed. He recalled his friends, those rock and roll days, those laughs, jokes, those pranks. Where did all that go? Why did things change like this? Why is life so hard? Maybe, life is a play, where when you fall and constantly soothe yourself saying life is hard and mysterious. Life took turns which he never imagined even in his wildest dreams.
He came back to the real world and near his home. The wind from the car window touched his cheeks greeting him. Twirling birds seemed familiar. The sky seemed protective. He knew he had lost a lot…..a lot of moments with his family. He wanted to make new memories now.
The car stopped at the gate of his home. His eyes lit up with peace and satisfaction as he took a deep breath of relief and whispered to himself “Finally, finally……my homecoming”.
By Naima Nuren Khan
Game of Life
Life is like a dream
But you can feel everything
We cry, laugh, be happy, worry
And all around live it
Life is like a roller coaster ride,
We go up and down and all around
We are all strangers to one another
Some people have it easy
Some people have it hard
But life can take you far
Live life everyday like it's your last
Because it might just be
By Somayea Arefin
Dazzling Darkness
Fireflies, they all went meek,
Seven skies, they roam around to seek,
Something, for they've grown weak.
So they knelt down before
The overwhelming darkness,
They've already stopped
Emitting light, nonetheless,
The darkness
Which I fear to face.
And the darkness
Shows its ominous grace,
From the darkness
None struggles to surface,
Nevertheless
I Grasped hold of
The eternal fire,
Which vanquishes darkness
It's only my desire.
I stared at it,
But it made my good hopes split.
I felt the dazzling glaze
Burning my eyes, it's darkness
By Sujash Islam
The Corridor
The corridor is left empty,
The window is open,
Only a bit of light
And a ray of hope.
Dark at both ends,
Where I stand
And where you stood
Two points emerged in loss.
The thundering sound,
Of a soft step,
The echo, the emptiness,
The loss and the lost.
Two points at two ends,
Leaves, old and dry,
By the open window,
Then a lonely laugh.
Then a lonely laugh
And a sob outside,
The sun does shine
But its dark inside.
The corridor that knew us so well
Has forgotten the roses smell
Forgotten, lost time has gone,
And I am left alone.
By Sarwat Tahsin Khan.
