Saturday | 5 October 2024 | Reg No- 06
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Saturday | 5 October 2024 | Epaper
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Echoes of the Storm

Published : Saturday, 5 October, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 180
Kamrul Hasan Shakil
The rain was getting intense as the wind was also rising. It was quite some time sinceit had rained last. Maybe it wasone hour or more that the rain was falling but there was no time to count the time. The rain was a pleasant relief from the heatwave that had been going onfor over a month. The hot and humid weather had been detestably unbearable. For a few months, everyone was habituated to seeing the parched earth with dry leaves and dust swirling on the street. Dry weather drained all the energy from nature and human beings. There was a mad rush to buy ACs and fans. The meteorological department could not give any hope. The chronic anger and despair were evident on people's faces. Losing temper on silly matters became very common on the streets and local buses. And when things were beginning to get more intense the roar of thunder was heard one day. I was about to take a nap in the afternoon beside my open window when the sky got dark, and the wind rose gradually. 

At first, it was the dust storm that made people close the doors and windows. The intensity of the wind rose and fell accompanied by the intermittent thunder. Sometimes the gust of the wind broughtsplashes of rain. As I looked out of the window at the sky I saw the grey foamlike scattered cloud moving above everything.The bed sheet near the windowpane started to get drenched. But I could not close the window as I didn't want to lose the opportunity to behold the magnificent sight that nature had provided. 

The rainwater already got inside the mattress. I remained careless as the splashes of rainwater falling on my warm body gave me an electrifyingtouch. I wished I could go out and takea bath like I used to do about twenty years ago. As for that moment, I was getting a partial view of the world outside. The sky was overcast with clouds, with sporadic lightning and thunder, and the trees outside seemed tohave got a new lease on their life. The branches of the tree, although the rainwater was dripping all over them, seemed to be dancing with the wind.

A lonely crow was sitting on one of the big branches not far from the window. It took shelter under the canopy of the treeleaves. Sometimes it wascawing loudly.Its shrill voice was piercing through the sound of the rain and thunder. It seemed almost defiant as if it werechallenging the storm. I was watching it, being mesmerized by its boldness. I was alone, sitting behind the window bar, watching a lonely crow getting drenched. Was it also seeing me? I felt a mysterious communion with the crow. What if we were the last surviving beings on the planet? How would our life be? Except for rain, wind and thunder, there prevailed anindefinable sort of silence. Where had the other people gone? Was the world really coming to an end? 
Suddenly, a brilliant flash of lightning illuminated the room followed by a deafening crack of thunder. The crow seemed to take flight to disappear into the chaotic sky. But it could not. Would that I could go out and feel the cold raindrops!Perhaps they will fall on my glasses first and obstruct my views.

I turned my attention back to the room. The rainwater hadalready wetted a huge area of the bed sheet, making it uncomfortable to lie on. Ifelt the cold, damp fabric clinging to my skin. The air was filled with the earthy scent of rain mixed with the mustiness of wet fabric. Despite the discomfort, there's something oddly comforting about the storm's presence, as if it was washing away the remnants of the oppressive heat and humidity.I got up and closed the window, but not before taking one last look outside. The rain continued to pour, and the wind howled, but there was a sense of renewal in the air. I stripped the wet bed sheet off the mattress and replaced it with a dry one. As I settled back down, I could still hear the storm raging outside, but it felt like a lullaby that could soothe me to sleep instantly.

The writer teaches English at Dhaka City College



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