The mysterious Woman

   'Hey sailor, move your hands quickly! Time flies. And how far is the destination? I am very much worried.'

   'Sit for a while madam, it will take a little more time.'

   'Will it take more time? How long will it take?'

   'It will be almost evening.'

   'And so?'

   ‘Madam, how far will you go?'

   ‘I have somewhere to go, but the destination is not known to me! I will go where my fate will take me.'

   'Why Madam why are you talking like that?'

   My fortune is like that. It lets me float like your boat. But there is no sailor in my life. My life floats at the whim of the tide. When the tide comes again, it floats again.'

   'I didn't understand anything about you, madam. who are you Where do you live?'

   As I said, I don't have a place to live. You don't understand me.'

   'To tell the truth, madam, I am an illiterate person. There is less intelligence in the head, so there is less understanding. If you say a little openly, then I understand.'

   'Okay, what do you want to hear?'

   'No, I mean, nothing like that. But if you say something about you, then don't mind.'

   The sailor wanted to see the face of the mysterious woman on his boat from behind the veil. But she hid her face in such a way that nothing was visible. She dressed like a widow. But she was not like the old-fashioned widow, she was quite modern. She was wearing a full-sleeve blouse, and the part of the body which was normally visible was wrapped with white gloves. There was a veil on the head and a white mask on the face. There was black sunglasses that helped the mysterious woman to hide her eyes.

   The sailor said, 'We still have a lot of time, so you may tell something about yourself if you like so.'

   The mysterious woman smiled. The sound of her laughter attracted the mind of the sailor. The sailor thought whose smile was so beautiful, how beautiful his face would be. The sailor tried to imagine the appearance of the mysterious woman on his boat.

   The mysterious woman said, 'I am a very ordinary woman. You better not listen to me.'

   'Why Madam, why is it better not to listen?'

'For those who knew about me are no longer alive.'

   Hearing her words, the inside of the sailor's chest was seized. There was no one else in the riverbed except for the two of them. In such a quiet environment where nature itself was mysterious, hearing such words from an unknown and mysterious woman causes fear in someone's heart! Still, the sailor thought that the woman was joking with him. He said with courage in his heart, 'Everyone has to die one day. Rather I will die listening to your story.'

   The mysterious woman, said, 'I am giving you one more opportunity! You will not be allowed to break the contract once you finally accept it.'

   The sailor, despite his reluctance, said, 'Well, it won't be.'

   The sailor had seen many passengers in his life, but he had never encountered such a mysterious passenger. The wavering of his heart seemed to him like a boat in the river. Still, he couldn't give up his desire to hear something about that mysterious woman.

   The mysterious woman whom Majhi addresses as a madam began to talk about herself. ‘The name of the village was Latibpur. A very small, green, quiet, mellow, chirping village. A small river kept playing with the tides all day long. There was Cultivation of paddy and sugarcane on the banks of the river. The narrow paths were winding in the distance where the sky and the ground mixed together. It was as if a skilled artist painted the village like a picture on his canvas and established its life with a spell.

   In a village that makes you feel alive, in the calm, cool, silent air, nothing but peace and softness can be imagined. The imagination of an inhumane, disgusting, abominable incident in such an atmosphere is nothing but a nightmare. One just can't imagine. But it is also undeniable that beauty has a close relationship with everything that is terrible in the universe. Keeping that in mind, the occurrence of such an ugly event in such a beautiful natural environment may not be considered impossible.'

The mysterious woman paused for a while. Seeing him stop, the sailor asked, 'Why did Madam stop? You speak very well. What horrible thing happened to you? How did you come here from Latibpur? My boat is not going to Latibpur! So where are you actually going?'

   'Oh stop stop. I cannot answer all your words together. You will gradually know everything. And besides, you have promised me that you will listen to all my words.’

   Hearing the words of the mysterious woman, the sailor's heart became tight again. He had never imagined that he would be involved in such a situation in the middle of words. Still, he thought what will happen remains to be seen. Let's hear her story first. The sailor said, 'Well, you say it as you like, I am listening with my attention.'

   The mysterious woman giggled again from behind the veil. At the sound of the giggling, the silent form of nature became supernatural. The sailor's whole body tingled, and his heart pounded.

   The mysterious woman started saying again, 'My husband's name was Devadatta Sanyal. He was the headmaster of Latibpur Primary School. There are only two people in our house, me and my husband. We were childless. I understood his pain. But tell me what to do, brother!’

   The sailor said, 'Truly you have nothing to do. Then, what happened then?'

   'I see you are in a hurry to hear my story. Ok, listen. My husband was an educated person. He did not like quarrels. But I knew that he loved a lady from his school. Gradually doubts arose in my mind about his changing behavior. Shy just me? All women are supposed to have doubts. Although I never saw my husband making love with the lady with my own eyes, after hearing about their relationship from many people, my doubts were rooted in my mind. Although I was barren, I could not bear to see my husband having sex with another woman in front of my eyes.'

   The sailor asked again, 'Then? What happened then?'

The woman seemed to be a little offended by the sailor's question. He said in a slightly bitter tone, 'I see you are in a big hurry, brother. But know that as long as my story continues, it will be good for you. Then...'

   'Then what Madam? What happens when your story ends?'

   'You will know when my story is over.'

   The sailor's hand seemed to loosen from the anchors. The black shadow of the evening gradually began to engulf the riverbed in its darkness. On the night of the new moon, the existence of the moon had completely disappeared from the sky. Tiny stars just began to seem to survive in the sky in some order. It seemed that the distance was too long to reach. It was supposed to reach the destination before evening. But the sailor seemed to have slowed down the speed of his hand while talking to the woman without his knowledge. Seeing the darkness approaching, the sailor tightened his grip on the anchors again. The boat immediately started moving faster toward its destination.

   The mysterious woman started saying again, 'Her house was a few miles away from the school. I heard that she was brought up by her uncle. Her uncle worked in a big merchant company. After the death of her only uncle, she lived alone in the huge house. One night I had an argument with my husband about the woman. My husband did not want to accept the illegal relationship with her. He repeatedly tried to convince me that he actually loved her like his own sister. His love was innocent. But in my opinion, a man's love for a young woman can never be innocent.'

   The mysterious woman became silent again. But the sailor did not want to know what happened after that. Maybe he was scared. The woman herself the asked the sailor, 'Don’t you want to know what happened then?'

   The sailor replied, 'Yes Madam really I want to know, but in case you get angry, why else...'

   The girl laughed at the sailor's reply. Her laughter echoed from one end of the river to the other. Her laughter made the sailor's heart dry.

In that laughter, the sailor did not find any similarity with ordinary woman’s laughter. Yet he restrained himself. He pulled the boat harder so that he could reach his destination faster.

   The woman began to say again, 'Then one day my husband did not return home until late at night. I was very worried. He usually doesn’t go anywhere without telling me. I tried several times on his cell phone but could not contact him. It was switched off. Doubt had already turned into my mind like gunpowder, now the incident worked like a fire connection on it. I left her house immediately. That day was also such a new moon night, just like today. Walking along the country road in the pitch darkness, I proceeded to her house. After walking for a few miles, it was almost midnight when I arrived in front of her house.

   With the pull of the story, the sailor felt that he had crossed all the boundaries of fear. He asked reluctantly, 'Then?'

   The mysterious woman then suddenly stood up on the boat and the boat began to rock with the speed of the storm. The sailor could not control his boat straight. Wave after wave came crashing over the boat. The speed of the wind gradually took the form of a storm. Suddenly the sailor was shocked by such a freak of nature. However, the sailor could not resist his indomitable will. That day, it seemed as if he was addicted to the story. He asked unconsciously, then?'

   Then the mysterious woman unveiled her veil. The fiery figure of her seemed even blacker in the dark of the new moon night. She immediately held the sailor's throat and said, 'Then I killed both of them with my own hands, poured kerosene on them, and set fire to them as well as on my own body also.'

   The anchor slipped from the hands of the sailor; the boat became swaying on its own. The mysterious woman had incredible power in her hands. The sailor's breathing was getting blocked. Still, he asked again, as if someone forced the sailor to say, 'Then?'

   The mysterious woman laughed and said, 'Then…?’ without answering the questions of the sailor she started laughing. Her laughter echoed from one end of the river to the other.

   The boat slowly sank into the river amid loud laughter. In the black darkness, none but the mysterious nature remained only a silent witness to that event.

2

   Hey driver, drive your car a little bit quickly! And how far is the distance? I don't see anything with my eyes.'

   'Sit for a while, madam, it will take more time.'

   'Will it take more time? How long will it take?'

   'It will be almost evening.'

   'And so?'

   'Madam, how far will you go?'

   ‘I have somewhere to go, but the destination is not known to me! I will go where fate will take me.'

unfinished