Shayba's P.O.V.
Argh.. Finally!!! Finally I'm here at the ever dreamt place of mine! It's January 4th,4:32 p.m. and after spending exactly an hour in the unbearable traffic jam, now I'm standing in front of the student hall of the best Engineering University of the country I got enrolled in a few days ago.
Mom, Dad, Bhaiya and Annaba are here to drop me off. I said them almost a thousand times that I can go by myself. But my whole family has come with me to drop me off as if I was a little kid. I have luggages and my full family with me and everyone is staring at me supposing there is a circus going on. Goshhh it's so embarrassing!
To be honest I am actually delighted that my super busy family could manage time out of their busy schedules to bid me adieu, hence I'm grateful for that. My heart is fluttered standing here with all of them.
I turned to my family and said trying to keep my throat clear, "Okay guys,bye now! Pray for me and miss me a lot, okay?" I tried to act all cool but no sooner had mom come and hugged me tightly than tears started cascading down my jowls.
By the way, let me introduce myself first. I'm Shayba. Shayba Ahmed. I have quite a well off family to look after me. We live in a beautiful duplex building at Banani, Dhaka. It's kind of a little piece of heaven to me. In the frontyard, there is an excellent lawn where mom has planted colourful flowers,cactus and money plants. Beside that there is a parking spot for our two cars- one black Mercedes SUV which is usually used by dad only and the other,a white Toyota Corolla, used by the rest of the family. A small servant quarter is attached behind the building where our helping hands and drivers stay. The first floor has a spacious living room comes a dining space, a kitchen,a guest room and finally a study room for us, three siblings.
We all have our personal bedrooms with attached washrooms as well as balconies on the second floor though I and Annaba share the same one.
My dad, Mr. Salman Ahmed is a businessman. He imports electronics mostly from China, Singapore and Thailand and sells them in Bangladesh. We barely get to see his face as most of the time he is either abroad or at his office. In fact he comes home late every night. Mom patiently waits for his arrival with dinner on the table every single night as she knows very well that dad will never have dinner without her. Dad is a disheveled type of guy who is completely dependent on his wife to get all his chores done perfectly. We all wonder how devastated it would be if he didn't have a nifty wife like our mom.
My mom, Mrs. Anika Ferdous is a typical Asian housewife. She is a caring mom and a lovely wife. She comes of a wealthy family. And hush! It's an open secret that when dad went with his father to make some deals with grandpa, he fell for mom at the very first sight when she was spending some playful time with her friends on the terrace. But the truth is in reality my mom has a horrible sense of humor. She laughs hardly and remains serious all the time even when we siblings are cracking ridiculous jokes. Don't know how she gets such negative vibes from everything for which keeps squealing most of the time like every other desi moms.
Mom is someone who got everything she wanted in life. She could easily get spoilt but grandpa's strict observation kept her in limits all the time. She has always leaded a very elegant life since her birth. Being immensely beautiful, grandpa got her married off early to avoid evil eyes. She completed her M.A. after marriage. Her loveliness and elegant personality is enough to earn her charm, except for the fact that she acts like a psycho (I mean a desi mom) sometimes. She is either extremely tensed up about her kids, squealing about our poor health or some evil step mother from daily soaps complaining that we are the reasons for making her life an inferno. Her mood swings are so frequent that it sometimes becomes unbearable.
However, she is called the Mrs. Perfect of our home because we have no idea what magic she applies on all sorts of job by using only those two hands to complete every task neatly and accurately. In a nutshell despite her nagging and yelling all the time my mom is the soul of this house without whom everyone is benumbed.
And then comes my elder brother, Sabbir Ahmed, 26 years old, who has recently completed his MBA. He is handsome, he can sing, dance and play guitar. He had a music band in his varsity life which is dismissed now. In short he is everything my parents could ever ask for in a son. Bhaiya is gonna handle dad's business soon and so he is now working heart and soul to get a clear conception about all these business matters. There's a huge line of girls who are crazy for him and another line of uncles who are dying to give him their daughters' hands. But beside all these, he is a really responsible big brother. He always acts too possessive when it comes about me or Annaba. He can't tolerate a single glance on us from any guy.
Although he can be really annoying when I and Annaba are studying or doing any important work either by continuously poking us or singing aloud or screaming at us without any reason or eating the steak of our burgers leaving the buns for us. Unbearable! But well, that's what all the big brothers do, don't they? I and Anu both feel pity for his future wife.
And then it's me. I'm the middle child of my parents. 20 years old. To be honest I have always been a good girl since my birth. I have evermore been one of the best students in school and college. Teachers are always praising me and telling mom and dad how obedient and talented I am (honestly, not bragging).
Being kinda introvert, I talk less than two of my siblings as I have no interest in singing or dancing or other functional activities that feel like showing off myself. We sisters used to take music and dance lessons in childhood but left that later when my aunts and teachers taught us everything about Islam and we came to know that these are Haram.
Despite knowing about my activities, don't think my life is a complete doldrums. I'm a fun person with my family and the closest ones. I just LOVE baking! I have immense interest in painting too. Whenever there's an occasion, it's my job to bake a cake, print cards, decorate the venue and take full responsibility of the event. My cousins always give the duties of surprise parties to me knowing that no one will suspect or come to interrogate me. Moreover, I am the only one who they can trust with all the subscription money because I'm not going to run away with it by any chance.
Previously I used to draw a lot and upload the pictures in my public account on instagram. But I fear I'll have to stop that now to cope with the students of my university. Probably this little hobby of mine is the reason that provoked me to choose architecture. But I never had the slightest bit of idea that arts and architecture are completely different things.
The youngest one in our family is Annaba Ahmed alias Anu who is only a year younger than me. I don't know how but her character is the complete opposite of mine. She talks way too much with everyone she knows or not unnecessarily unlike me. She can have a very comfortable conversation with a guy or girl who happens to know the word 'Korea'.
She and I keep quarrelling all the time over very trivial things but the real fact is we can't live without each other either. She is more than my soulmate, indeed we hardly have any secrets to hide. She is now in grade 12 but barely studies as she is always busy with her facebook, twitter, instagram, snapchat, whatsapp or thousand other social apps for which she even forgets having food or maintaining her regular routine. Though she follows Islam like me and never wishes to date a guy in the Haram way, she is hardly able to forgo guys' attention towards her because of her way too cute appearance and fickling character.
It was a month ago when my varsity admission results had been published. When I found out that I had got chance to study in the topmost university of our country, my whole life has been a dream since then. Congratulatory parties, praises, gifts and so many more! Dad bought me a brand new crimson iPhone7. Mom took me to shopping several times for all the necessary materials I may need in the hostel (which includes a toilet brush, needles and toothpicks too). Dad kept saying that I don't need to live in the hostel and can go to my class everyday in one of our cars. But mom protested that I should live in the hostel to get along well with other girls as this will help me in the future. Considering the traffic jam, it will take almost three hours to go and three hours to come back home from my varsity which will waste half of my day. That's why I supported her idea and got mentally prepared for this. How long will I be under the constant observation of my parents?
Annaba and Bhaiya(brother) were hubbubing all the time how much they'll enjoy without me and eat all the delicious food mom makes and chocolates dad brings from abroad. They kept teasing me all the way to my university saying that they'll throw a party tonight on the occasion of my leaving home.
But the truth is I know they have already started missing me. Now when I have reached at my varsity, Anu is totally overflown with tears.
"Stop it now you stupid, your eyes are swollen. Just think that I've been married off and moved in to my in-law's place."I said trying to keep my chin up and make her laugh. But as soon as mom joined us, we three burst into tears. Dad tried several times to consolidate us but in vain.
At last hugging them all for the last time, I went up to my Room No. 303. A sister who works here helped me go upstairs with my luggage and backpack where I am going to stay for the next 5 years.
Yes, I'll go visit my family at times but man, this is really gonna be hard...!! How can I live without mom and Anu and my best friends!?!? And that too with totally new people!! How am I going to adjust with them???? I can hardly talk! How are they going to accept me??? I can't talk like Annaba or create a friendly, funny ambience like my brother! Ya Allah I'm scared!! Shed your blessings on mee!!
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Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu dear reader.
Thanks a zillion for giving this book a chance. More fun is to come along the way. Stay tuned.
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