A Village life

The sun is shining brightly today. The three-day darkness that surrounded us is being dispelled by the intense heat of the sun. Everyone in our village has left their homes to go to work.

Our village is about 40 kilometers away from the city. Our village still does not have electricity, nor is there a paved road. We are surrounded by trees and bushes. In the morning, we all wake up to the chirping of the doyel bird and the crowing of chickens.

At night, under the beautiful moonlight, everyone lives in peace. Everything is going well in our village. Everyone is working together for the village, relying on each other's shoulders. Suddenly, a dark shadow falls on our village.

There was a commotion all around like a thick black cloud in the sky. That day, there was a water festival in our village. This day is very popular and peaceful for our Chakma tribal people. When everyone was returning home after the festival, they saw a body lying not far from the road.

Everyone ran to that place. Everyone was surprised to see the body, the body of the son of Dimitra from their village. Everyone's faces were wrinkled in fear. Dimitra started crying hysterically. The village elders started predicting that the monster that had been around for many years had reappeared in our village. That's why this murder happened.

This demon will kill everyone. So they told him not to go out after dusk. Now no one leaves the house after dusk. The village mural temple priest said that this demon is more active at night. So no one should leave the house in the dark at night.No matter where you are, you have to return to the village before dark. As he says, now someone comes out in the evening. Now strange screams can be heard at night. When I asked my mother, what is that sound, mother? I have never heard such a strange sound.Mother said, "That's the sound of that monster. Hearing this monster make such a strange noise when it doesn't get food makes my whole body tingle. The hairs on my body stand on end. I feel so scared that it's going to come down on them right now." It is now completely forbidden for anyone to go out at night. In the morning, when we hear the sound of chickens clucking, we all open the door together and go out. This morning, everyone in the village woke up and went to work. Me, Rupam and Anindya are sitting together. We are discussing about that monster. I told them, let's go around the whole village. Let's see if there is any damage anywhere. I took them and went to go around the village. When I was about halfway to the village, I didn't notice anything suspicious. Suddenly, I saw the scary mound my mother had told me about. Why was it standing so strangely? It was scary to see, like a haunted mansion. My body seemed to move on its own. A strange fear settled over my mind. Something was lying a little ahead of the mound. I told Rupam, go and see what it is? Me! No, father, I can't. I'm scared! You should tell Anindya. I looked at Anindya. I realized that she was not willing to go. The look of fear on both of their faces was clear. As if they were about to run away in fear. I said, "Okay, let's go together, the three of us." The three of us stepped towards that direction. The closer I got to the thing, the more fear I felt. My heart was pounding inside me. My heart was beating faster. When I got closer to the thing, a horrible human face appeared before my eyes. The face of Jagadish Chaka. It was as if some animal had crushed him. The three of them kept shouting in a loud voice. Tears were rolling down my cheeks from my eyes. No words came out of my mouth. My lips were trembling. I kept thinking about how much my uncle used to love me, how he would sit me on his lap and tell me various stories. He used to talk about the heroism of our nation. He was a small history book to me. I couldn't imagine seeing him like this. Why did uncle go out at night? So many questions arose in my mind! Uncle knew everything, so why did he go out in the dead of night? This question kept sowing seeds of doubt in my mind? Everyone in the village was standing around the body. Morol also arrived then. Everyone was gathered next to my uncle's body. Everyone had a look of panic on their faces. A young man our age who had come from the city on vacation. He said, "I said, 'What will this village give us? What is there here? No food for two days, no clothes to wear. Death is always around the corner. We should all go to the city.'" No one said anything. Everyone stared at the young man's face. Everyone was saying that the monster had done this. That monster lived inside this mound. I was worried, what could be done? If this continued, our village would one day be empty. No one would be left alive. Our village will be shattered. We will no longer hear the calls of animals, the bright light of the early morning sun, the enchanting breeze, all these things will be gone. We won't be agitated anymore. There will only be people crying. What will happen if everyone moves to the city? What else is there in the city, people cutting down trees and building buildings. The sound of machinery is all around! I don't know what to do. Everyone is bringing Jagdish uncle's body. I saw something on Jagdish uncle's hand. It is common to see this, such a mark is made when someone tries to attack someone with a blade. I understood that the people of the village were very scared after seeing his body. But it can also be murder. Because if you try to kill an animal, it will claw at it with its claws. It will eat its flesh in a horrible way. But nothing like that happened to Jagadish Chacha. His eyes have been taken out, his heart has been taken out. There are no insects in any part of his body. It's as if someone has taken everything out. Something is going on inside this mound that is not the work of a monster but of a human. Previously, a man used to guard the village, where did the man go after this monster came? No one knows where he went. Everyone suspects that the monster killed this guard. After Jagadish Chacha's last act, everyone went about their business. No one seemed to want to worry about it. They believed that one day they would have to die or else they would die like this. Me, Roopam, and Anindya sat there. Fear was still working between them. It was clearly visible on their faces. I started walking again with the two of them. This time the destination was to go to Jagadish uncle's house. Because uncle's house is right next to the hill. If we go to his house, maybe we can solve some mystery. The three of us stood in front of uncle's house. The mound seemed even more terrifying now. Rupam said, "Come home quickly, I'm afraid to stand outside." Uncle lived alone in the house, so there were no special belongings in the house. There was nothing to see except a bed, a water pot, and two clothes racks. Two or three beads were made of palm leaves. Uncle was the only person who knew how to read and write, who had a lot of knowledge about scriptures. If there was any discrepancy in the area, he would ask questions. He had an extraordinary ability. He would help everyone, if everyone learned something new, he would tell them how to do something. He had completely changed the face of our village. I couldn't understand who would benefit from killing him? No one had any enmity with him. I looked around the entire house and couldn't find anything worth seeing. I looked around the whole house twice. I couldn't find anything. Just a little. One thing caught my eye, he had marked a spot on the palm leaf scrolls. I couldn't understand anything from it. I went and stood by the window, from here the face of the mound could be clearly seen. Uncle might have seen something through the window, or maybe he saw the monster himself. I think he came out because he saw the monster. The seeds of doubt started to grow stronger. I took the palm leaf manuscript with me. I took the manuscript and appeared directly in front of the pujari. Rupam and Anindya went back to their room. I could not have imagined that they would be so scared. I went to the priest and bowed down. I handed the manuscript to the priest and said, "Please explain the manuscript to me. Please analyze each meaning for me." He was happy and I understood. I used to look at him with suspicion, so today, with hope in his eyes, he eagerly accepted my offer. The priest read the page in Sanskrit or some other language. I did not understand anything. He then said the meaning, "Everything in this world.

Author: Nuhas Rahman, student.