Prava

The ruins reconstructed

The stranger knocked on the door. Alok whispered to the others, "Do not open the door!"

"Why? Who is he?"

"He is from Kolkata-"

The stranger knocked again impatiently. Savita opened the door after Alok nodded. The stranger entered the room and looked around with a furrowed brow. Then he sat down on the only chair they had. With a little cough, he told a terrifying story.

Here it goes:

The stranger is the son of a Zamindar family from Kolkata, and he was once friends with Alok. Alok lost one bigha land to him in a game of gambling. He now wants the land Prava's family lived on, as per his due.

He left and gave them three days to clear the land. The sky fell on their heads. Tara collapsed. Naresh tried to bring her back to consciousness. Meanwhile, Savita and Alok talked about what they could do. Prava sat on her own, wondering how their lives had changed in an instant. They were poor before, but now they would be poorer!

Alok presented everyone with the plan after much discussion. In Prava's family, he is always the most influential person.
Now, the plan was to rent a small hut belonging to Dadu's friend who had a house renting business. The money saved will be enough. However, there is no land with the hut. Therefore, farming would not be possible.

Savita came up with a solution. She offered to do housework in any house in the Bardhhaman suburb. By doing so, they will be able to collect enough money for food. Grandmother and grandfather's idea was to open a fruit stand in the nearby market. It should also bring in some money.

Prava sighed in relief and said, "Everything is alright now. I was so frightened!" Now the voice of Savita came strong, "No! You are forgetting something. You are only nineteen! You have to study more! That is your dream, right?"

Prava's mother Savita was the closest to her heart. Despite her strength and confidence, Savita was not independent. Though she insisted on her own opinions at every turn, at the end of the day, she obeyed whatever her in-laws said. Her studies were interrupted by the birth of her daughter, and she could not complete them, so she dreamed how far her daughter would study. Still, everyone was surprised by this sudden outburst. 

"It's my dream to study history at a big college or something, but I don't think it's possible at this time...!" Prava exclaimed.

Savita began, "We have to make it possible! You will go to Kolkata."

Alok interrupted, "How is that possible? She is not a boy! She can't go there alone!"

Savita continued, "One of my cousins stays there. He should shelter you. I will send you as much money as possible each month. And dear, so sorry to say, you have to earn the rest of the money on your own."

Prava was crying with joy. "Don't worry! I can go there on my own, Ma! I'll ask the headmistress if she can write me a letter or something so that I can get a discount on my college fees. I did really well in HS, you know."

It was now father's turn to speak. There was something he wanted to say. "You may think that all problems are solved, but that is not how our lives work. There remains a problem."

What is that problem?

Could Prava fulfil her desire to study further?

Keep reading, and read how Prava reaches the city, and enters into a strange world, alone, in the next Part. :D