The Third Dimension (2023) #Wattys2024

17-1952

"What were you saying? Brother? You are the one who led us up to this!" exclaimed Haleem.

It made Mamun shocked and blank. He doesn't have the answer that the original Mamun had, the anxiety almost gave him a panic attack but controlled his feelings.

"Boys, calm down! He just gained a bit of consciousness. This man had spent too much of the cost, because he 'unknowingly' bribed the soldiers, as he was blackmailed to save me and for both of your mother's disappearance. Since, he arrived from abroad, he forgot the culture. The Partition made it a bigger mess for both of you!" said Sayeeda.

Jawad felt ashamed that, his grandfather was just like him, who spent unnecessary money for his friends and family. His uncle, Sohail was really a lucky bastard, due to the change in timeline, where he supposed to die in that process. What may become of Mamun? Could he find his mother and Jawad's great grandmother with this new timeline?

Back then, Dhaka may have been crowded but also peaceful. It had a lot of cultural heritage, such as a cinema hall with a lot of painted posters, most people had the least but vintage transports and rickshaws were treated with respect. On the other hand, they were staying on the isolated house, surrounded by trees and it almost looked like an isolated village. It was a safe-house for all of the rebels back then, right before the protest. Since their mother disappeared and the house had been taken by the opposition government, Sayeeda sheltered him.

In the present, Sayeeda was preparing for food with fried fish, salted mixed rice porridge (khichdi), lentils, spicy mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables, with soya beans. When she served food, she snapped "lunch!"

It calmed their temper more, by relishing their meals. The fried fish was spicier than expected, the vegetables were smooth and savory and the mashed potatoes plus the lentils mixed together with khichdi creates a more effective take on the Bengali cuisine. Honestly, food could calm anyone in the world, because when we are hungry, we are angry. Sayeeda's way of cooking was quite exceptional than the other cooking standards, according to Mamun and Haleem, as well as the other students who visited them.

"Bhabi (sister-in-law), your food is excellent!" complimented Haleem.

"After a long time, I am falling again for the grandmother's recipe, which actually inspired you!!" said Mamun while swallowing wholeheartedly with joyous moment, as if he was eating after a long time.

"Hey, are you really Mamun or what?" exclaimed Haleem and Sayeeda.

The food was so tasty, that he was eating like a child. He was sucking his fingers to take the rest of the food, which delighted him with the heavy rain. Jawad's innocence became a lot more sincere after entering Sohail's life but similar to Mamun, he had a worst habit of spending more than an amount, only the difference is: one who spends it without any cause or effect other than partying and buying things, the other spends them with too much of food and a tip on the toe. Mamun was acting more of a teenager, in contrast to the original timeline. Sohail was late but also ate in a similar manner as Mamun.

"Maybe, the curfew made him a lot hungry" said Haleem.

After lunch, it's raining cats and dogs till the evening, which all the trio took a nap. Haleem slept in the sofa, Rehana and Sohail slept in the bed, while at the other hand, Mamun was sleeping on the other bedroom. The cloud was dark plus the cool breeze flown much better than the Air Conditioner.

Few hours of nap till the evening led to listen to a radio from the transistor, switched on by Sayeeda. They jumped out from the nap and heard some news, which was shocking. The Radio News Announcer's voice was clear and the accent was more British-mixing with the American accent, similar to the commentator in the American Football sport and an advertiser.

"Hello,

This is from 'Bangladesh Radio (Bangladesh Betar)', 693 AM Radio, it's your Radio Presenter, and today's breaking news is the government, extended the curfew by scavenging the rebels. The second story is one of the rebels, by the name of Sattar Murshid, was shot at sight by the military, while protesting against the language, which had been declared as the official language of East Pakistan".

Without listening to the rest of the speech, Sayeeda switched off the radio. Haleem and Mamun got shocked due to the death of one of the rebellions and their team members. She was strong enough to hide her emotions, until she wept in the prayer room.

Haleem stayed silent.

Mamun was just speechless, surprised and shocked and as Jawad, he quickly realized the pain that his grandfather went through while losing his loved ones in the original timeline. Until, he had something in his mind, as a contrast to this timeline, Mamun could not find his mother and his recklessness in the protest led to his death.

In the present, Sayeeda finished her prayers. Haleem and Sohail were playing chess that had been gifted by Mamun's mother when he was a child. Mamun just found the impregnated Sayeeda, sitting and relaxing with a lot of happiness. Despite the fact that, he found some joy in Sohail's life, while on the other hand, handling her was quite tough. There was no one to take care of her than Mamun himself. Even that, Mamun used to buy things from his mother's support in abroad.

Hence, he had the least money to get expense of the education, furthermore, the curfew increased more. Mamun got near Sayeeda, where her baby bump hurts with delight. She sighed but smiled. Mamun wowed!

"Look! She kicked!" smiled Mamun.

"How do you know that it's a she?" asked Sayeeda.

"Happiness comes from a daughter's grace!" said Mamun.

"Also the strength of the son, but I prefer daughter more" replied Sayeeda.

"It's The Almighty's hands, I suppose".

The conversation interrupted, when someone knocked the door. It was softer than that of Haleem's. As Sayeeda was tired, Sohail calmly opened the door, and in the darkened times, while the stars were glittering, a man, similar to the authoritarian from the 1980s but not as stout looking, as Mamun previously saw as the older Sohail. He was gentler than his older counterpart but not as charismatic as his older self. Just a goofball, who can't be predicted as a future ruthless politician.

"Salam!" exclaimed Haleem.

"Hello Uncle Salam!" giggled Sohail.

Mamun's joyful face turned sour and saddened with the fact that, what had he seen in the 1980s was quite traumatized by that. Even in his sleep, he was watching flashbacks of Rahat, who got accidentally shot by him. Was it the same Salam? He snarled at bit. He got off from the sofa and grabbed his collars like a teenager.

"You traitor! Why have you-!" growled Mamun, but Haleem calmed him down, patting his shoulder.

"Calm down, bro! Have you lost your mind! He's Salam who helped us getting through this hideout, remember?" said Haleem calmly.

Mamun controlled his anger and just let his collar go. It was an engrossing moment for both Mamun and Salam, which might go to the respective timeline again, the 80s. As Gyankosh said, before going to the new timeline the past have to be renewed. Otherwise, certain characters could not be redeemed. From Jawad's perspective, the classic Ben Hur story played a huge role in Mamun's arc. All the characters are the variation of himself. It was a terrifying moment, he was literally biting his fingers, while drinking water.

"Mamun, you are acting a little strange, is anything okay with you?" asked Salam.

"Actually, since the accident, I am just enraged a bit. But it's fine" said Mamun.