Shibly couldn’t go back to his village this weekend. The principal had asked him to stay and work. Shibly had agreed. Even the new staff members had decided to stay in Marudur.
It was Tuesday evening. In the partly constructed building upstairs of ‘Thajudeen Tea Store’, Minhaj finished his private tutorial class and got ready to leave.
It was a pleasant Saturday afternoon. “Mammy, shall we visit Shakira’s house?” asked Hamdha, her mother. “Her father has been discharged from the hospital”.
It was afternoon. The shadows were growing. Asr, the afternoon prayer had already been performed. After raining for hours, the yellow evening sunlight was awesome.
The atmosphere was too silent. Not a comfortable silent. A frightening silence. More silent than Marudur. Even the sounds of little insects were entirely audible.