RIOTS AND ADDICTIONS (FICTION)

It was time of riots 22nd February. People of one community were eager to slay or set on fire people of another community. Power supply of old Brahmpur area was cut, it was fully blackout. There was darkness all over. Roads were quiet and also the fisher market near it. Houses and shops were set on fire whenever rioters suspect that there was someone inside houses or inside shops. People of one community were leading the league using patrol bomb while people of another’s community was using only baton.

Bob was living in the entry side of that area but riot vanguard started from mid side of that area. There were more shops of fisher than houses. It was beside main road. He was living in a rented house with his wife and a child. Though so many people of that area left his belongings and moved to their relatives, Bob’s house owner was also migrated. Bob and his family members confined themselves in a room. In this room only air could roam. Windows closed; lights do not have power supply. Everyone was in fear, fear from being killed, fear from being set on fire and fear of receiving petrol bomb. In this area no one was safe neither inside house nor outside, neither in schools nor in spiritual places.

Bob was a daily wages worker. From past four days he was in his house and went nowhere, did not do any work. It was around 7:00PM evening. He got an urge for cigarette. He was addicted to it. He searched for it everywhere in that room but did not find one. He slowly moved got out of his room, which was in 3rt floor of the house. He slowly moved towards the gallery to see below the house. He saw darkness only one the road but not any person. So, he made his mind to go downwards and he put a matchbox with himself.

Addiction from cigarette led him to roam outside his house though he was in fear. He slowly opened the main gate of the house and looked here and there. He slowly moved towards the shop, from where he used to buy cigarettes. The shop was set on fire but he believed that he could get at least one packet of cigarette. He searched for a cigarette in the fired shop and found one in the stock. While moving towards his house he saw someone coming towards him. It was only moon light present on the road. It was not visible about the person, how many? And who was it? He rushed inside his house and closed the main gate. He was eagerly watching from narrow margin left between gates. He just wanted to see the person; he wanted to judge the dearness of the person. The person was moving in hurry but Bob suspected about the gender of the person though he was not able to see the face of the person. His second addiction started making changes in his chemical balance state of the mind. He opened the Iron Gate slowly and rushed towards the person. He put his one hand on the person’s mouth and grabbed tightly. He took the person inside his house in one of the rooms of ground floor.

It was a girl and his suspicion was right. The room was very dark. He fastened the door with a latch. The girl was crying “don’t kill me.” Bob did not have anything to do with riots or any community but his second addiction was leading him. He said to the girl, “I will not kill you, neither will I burn you. I took you here because outside is not safe for you.” The girl said, “Let me go.” They were listening each other in that darkroom. No one knew where the other person was standing in that room. But Bob was near the door. He again said to the girl, “I will only take you here to safeguard you. If you are not comfortable then I will not light up the match and I will not see your face.” The girl was crying and asking to let her go. Bob sat on sofa and started breathing deeply. He said to girl, “Come near me and sit. I will not kill you.” She did not go near him.

He stood up from the sofa and found the girl in one corner. He unknowingly found his hand on the girls shoulder. He started rubbing her hand. The girl started weeping. To soothe her, he said, “I will not kill you, keep calm. There is no safe environment outside.” The girl was crying and asking to let her go. She was shivering.

Bob angrily left her hand and said, “I’m sitting on sofa, which is four steps forward to that corner. Keep calm and come sit near me. I will not take much time.” It was almost two minutes passed. Bob and the girl were quiet. The girl suspected that he did not take her to kill. She also suspected his intention. She thought; she did not have other way to escape from here. She moved four steps forward and sat on sofa. Bob did not say anything but slowly moved his hand towards her. He found his hand on her ear it was due to darkness, and slowly moved his hand on the cheeks of the girl.

Bob satiated the thirst of his second addiction. Bob while wearing his clothes asked the girl, “Let me drop you outside.” The girl denied. She collected all her clothes and started wearing them. She asked to open the latch of the door. Before opening the door, Bob asked the girl, “Why were you roaming on the road when you know its riots environment?” The girls replied in slow voice, “I went to lighten my spiritual place. I never left the spiritual place in darkness.” Bob shocked to listen her and kept quiet for a while. The girl again asked to open the latch of the door. Bob tried hard but latch was not opened. He thought to burn some match sticks to see the latch. He picked two sticks of match and rubbed on the side of the matchbox. Match sticks brunt but before opening the door he saw something. He was shocked to see. He felt like he was the most devil man on earth. Bob asked himself what a blunder he attempted! His second addiction made him devil. The girl was the school teacher of his child. He saw her daily in the school. He hurriedly opened the door and did not say anything. The girl went outside the house. Bob sat on sofa. He was in deep distress. He was thinking, how he would face his wife and his child after committing such an accident! How will he go to school to drop his child! He lit a cigarette and started smoking.

After almost five minutes some voices of young boys were heard outside his house. He did not react neither stood from sofa but listen a voice of cracking of a bottle. It was a petrol bomb that exploded in room the Bob’s cigarette got fire. He and his house were set on fire…

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