The Third Dimension (2023) #Wattys2024

9-1980

Sohail continued to blush and stare. Sheela began to notice his youthern smile that made her a little awkward with the friendly smile on the face. Her hair was floating while pulling off the rickshaw while the reflection of the sunshine gave the joy that Sohail, as Jawad always needed found a lot of the delicacy. Sohail's squared frame glasses reflected the sweet sound.

"Are you missing someone?" asked the friendly Sheela.

"Hmm...yes, a girl from our school, just from the other section" answered Sohail.

"Or should I say, a girl from your journalism team, isn't it?"

"May be, the images of her do float, sometimes. She's sweet as candy, though"

"Well, who will marry a rebellious girl like me? Some bunch of conservatives do not want to get in my rickshaw"

"Well, from now on, I am your regular client, is that ok?"

"Aye aye captain"

The rickshaw reached the home. Sohail hopped out of the rickshaw. Both smiled and he paid the fare. He entered the house. Aunt Haleema was standing outside the kitchen, giving him a skeptic look, that quickly transformed her smile. The house was quite empty, except for Aunt Haleema and Sohail. Hence, the food was prepared in the table.

"Aunt Haleema, where is uncle Haleem, Delwar and Sabeda?" asked Sohail.

"I dropped Delwar to school, while Haleem is on his sweetshop and Sabeda just got back to her hostel. But you have some chores to do, would you do that for me?" answered Haleema.

Sohail, for the first time got irritated on the chores, but for Jawad, it's an uncountable number of times. Whenever his father-the arrogant and hypocritical Rahat used to force him to the hardest of the chores, while at the same time, pressurized him with studies, which could may be transformed him into an emotional wreck! But, at least Sohail got a job and gave him some rest. So he could ease the chores off, but could be tough for the 90s kid to be the 80s adult.

He had a little bit of a hiccup.

"Yes" said Sohail in a high pitched voice.

Aunt Haleema smiled at his awkward voice that she gradually accepts.

"This is not your first time doing the chores, in your pre-memory loss days as at least you got a bit of a recovery. Anyway, I want you to clean the house, especially your room. It's quite a mess!" said Aunt Haleema.

Sohail went to the washroom and have taken out a steel bucket along with soap and some torn cloth plus handkerchief to clean up the mess. He tucked into his room and picked the papers inside the desk. Thus, the room has been cleaned. The stunning and shining results of the cleaning room shocked Aunt Haleema that fainted her as if a cartoon character had fell down from the sight. Sohail took the water out from the bucket and threw it to her face. She woke up with a strange and unexpected expression.

"WOW! WHAT A CLEAN ROOM!" complimented Aunt Haleema with a cartoony woobly facial expression.

Sohail laughed as if he found a warmhearted family.

Suddenly, Uncle Haleem arrived at home, looking at Haleema who laid at the floor, confused. He laughed along with Sohail, to look at Aunt Haleema's facial expression. His handful of groceries dropped while laughing hysterically.

"Why do I get extremely excited?!" said Aunt Haleema with her tongue out.

The night passed, all dined well enough for lunch. Uncle Haleem washed his hands, while Sohail hopped into his room. Uncle Haleem walked into the house with a questioning presence. It concerned Sohail whose forehead became wavy with curiosity and anxiety.

"Son" said Uncle Haleem with a deep voice.

"Yes, uncle Haleem?" asked Sohail.

"You seem different, since you have partially lost your memory. At a time, I saw you being a workaholic, and now, that you are being youthful, have you missed anything?" asked Uncle Haleem.

"I am not sure what I missed. I kind of feel, fresher! Since, I regained my consciousness, the life before was a history and this present is making it-a history on which I could never expect" explained Sohail.

"Well, then, ready to expect the unexpected. Tomorrow, you need to be in a shop. We need some things to do, dear" said Uncle Haleem happily.

To the adjustment of Sohail, where the suspiscion started to increase, while as Jawad, he knew that something ominous comes that way. Time might flow again or may be it might change into something that might come into consequences. A lot were juggling on Sohail, or Jawad's mind on what would actually happen.

The next day, they sat in a shop where it was attached with the heritage-like apartments or the crowded neighborhood. That was the area where people used to walk around, with the addition of certain kinds of rickshaws. One of them where the pull, on the other one, the cycle. While, Sohail was looking at the records of the everyday calculations, while an unexpected customer arrived at the scene.

"So, here comes the journalist, looking at the calculation of a grocery-sweet shop, aren't you?" said the customer.

Sohail rubbed his eyes and looked at the customer with a familiar orange kurta, white pants and square-framed spectacle with a beard, that has itched him. His smirk do charm a lot of people, especially for a simple girl like Sabeda.

"RAHAT!" exclaimed Sohail.

"Hello, brother" said the charming Rahat, the unexpected customer.

"Pretty unexpected for a student and politician to come to our humble place. What brings you here? My friend?" said Sohail in a confident tone.

Rahat smiled with an ease that comforted Sohail. It seemed that his arrogance was faded for a while due to the simplicity of the former, while the later understood that something was knocking on his way in. May be something wicked.

"Well, I would like to invite you to our university as a Chief Guest of the Bangladesh Journalism Council Meeting For The Uprise of The Narcotics. The drugs are traded secretly that influenced a lot of youngsters. I heard that a lot of experts analyzed the case but kept it confidential" explained Rahat.

"So, why have you chose me as a guest?" asked Sohail.

"As far as I know, you, Saleem and Rehana were the teams who investigated the case. But as you have that partial memory loss, at least that you have the basic idea of what actually is going on during the mysterious imports. Hence, some of your investigation might prove the consequences of the imports and expose those people" said the joyful Rahat.

"I wish I could know them. I think, I have to make a consideration then. So, anything to buy?" said Sohail whose thoughts are running off.

"A pack of vermicelli, sugar, milk and some chocolate bars" answered Rahat

"Well, is it for Eid Celebrations?" asked Sohail.

"Sir, it's my father's birthday" said Rahat.

Sohail, with greatness gave all the groceries, that Rahat requires, with the handsome amount of payment. Rahat, as Jawad, took it as a reward, while on the contrary, Sohail's pre-memory loss stage would not do that according to the journalism ethics. Rahat left with a greeting and he was about to wait for the consideration, just for the madness that was waiting for Sohail, that might greenlight or have a red alert.