Fall n’ Love
Thursday
“I love you, Rakeshi,” Shantha started
speaking after a long embarrassing pause “but I don’t think we can live
together…”
“but…” Rakeshi was groundless. He had been
preparing for proposing for weeks. “I thought that we could…”
“No!” Shantha interrupted him. “I know you,
Rakeshi! I know your flaws… It’s my fault that I let this situation reach this
far…”
“I thought that we could overcome this
together…” He took a deep breath. “…that you would help me…”
“You know that I tried! You know that I spent
the last 3 years trying to understand your mind, but I concluded that you
cannot control yourself!” She walked away and checked her watch. 10 past 3. She
had only twenty minutes left for her break. “Rakeshi, look… We can talk better
Saturday…”
“I see…” He checked his own watch. “Where?”
“Can you show up in my place?” Shantha took
her seat beside him. “Tom and Delu won’t be at home… We can talk in a quiet
place…”
“Ok. I’ll be there…” And Rakeshi watched
Shantha go back into the Rana Plaza, a huge building, where at least 5 garment
factories were set. There were also hundreds of stores. It was said that five
thousand people would be there every day, working or shopping.
Rakeshi went back home walking; He had no
money to pay for the subway tickets. All the money he had he was saving to rent
a house to live with Shantha IF she accepts his proposal. He was not angry by
what she had said. It was a difficult decision Shantha had to make and he had
to give her some time. Rakeshi was different and he knew that. Shantha knew
that.
It was not possible, though, to take any
subway in that crowded city; people would literally go on the trains. It was
the end of an important period for the Muslim people: the Ramadan, a month in
which they have to practice self-control, self-discipline and try to be better
Muslim. Most people go back to their hometowns in the countryside when the
month is over, making a holiday. Neither Rakeshi nor Shantha were Muslim; They
were part of a small group of Christian people living in Dhaka. So they used
the holiday to make money.
Shantha became a seamstress after her mother
died in a big fire in India and by necessity she got a job into a factory. She
had many options there: Bangladesh was making clothing for the world, “We are
the wardrobe of the world” some would say, and by the end of July that year,
she was in her third company. She was never happy. She could barely find a good
place to work because she was not Muslim. To get better jobs, she used to
pretend to be Muslim, and by the time of the prayers, she would leave and take
a rest. It was in one of these breaks that she met Rakeshi.
…
It was nearly 7 pm when Shantha left the Rana
Plaza and headed home. She was starving – the last meal she had was 7 hours
before and she had worked a lot. Fortunately, the building where she lived was
located “only” seven blocks away from the Rana and she got there fifteen
minutes later. Tom was watching TV on the sofa and Delu wasn’t at home.
“Where is Delu, honey?” Shantha asked the
little boy after kissing him in the head.
“She answered a phone call and left.” The boy
spoke in a very Indian accent.
“How long?”
“Five minutes… I don’t know….” The voice of
the man speaking in the television took back the boy’s attention and he looked
back into it. Tom was Shantha’s 5 year old brother, and he came from India
still a baby. Delu was her sister. She was 16 now. Shantha had asked Delu to
never let Tom alone, but every day she had to ask it to remind her.
Shantha washed her face and started preparing
the dinner – normally food enough to last until the other day. She could not do
certain kinds of movements with her hand because of the repetitive job she used
to do in the factory and cutting vegetables was a painful task. She always
asked Delu for help, but Shantha had to do all by herself.
“TOM!”, Shantha called the boy from the small
kitchen when she felt tired of countless unsuccessful attempts to cut some
carrots. “TOM!”
“Yes?” Tom answered, entering the room.
“I need your help with the veggies…” She
placed him on a chair and gave him a small knife. After some minutes he was
cutting vegetables well. Then a noise from the front door announced Delu. She
headed the kitchen.
“Where have you been?” Shantha asked,
preparing to shout at the girl.
“It’s Fahad. He’s dead.” Delu said that and a
tear shed.
“What? How? When?” Shantha felt guilty.
“People were protesting against the poor
working conditions in Dhaka downtown…” Delu’s chest was moving quickly “but the
police came shooting everyone…”
“Oh, my God!” Shantha held Delu in her arms.
The girl couldn’t hold herself and cried. “I’m so sorry!”
They spoke nothing during the rest of the
night; Delu didn’t have dinner and went sleeping early. Shantha was preoccupied.
There were big cracks in the walls of the room she worked in the Rana Plaza and
she started wondering their causes. The reasons for being preoccupied were
legitimate: a week before a building collapsed killing 334 people – they were
also making clothes in there. She decided that she would talk to the company’s
manager the following morning.
…
Friday
Shantha woke up before sunrise, and left home
15 minutes later. She was late – it took her a lot of time to sleep – and she
had to run down the streets. When she arrived in the building, there were
thousands of people outside the building; a firemen truck parked in the parking
lot. Shantha saw no fire.
“What happened?” She asked one of the passing
by.
“Some workers from the night turn felt a vibration
in the building and more cracks appeared.” The man responded.
“Is the Rana opening today?” Shantha asked.
But before the man could give her an answer,
one of the firemen announced in a big speaker that no one would be allowed to
enter the building – only after a careful inspection. She went back home,
slowly. Shantha knew that she would have to work the next day; she would have
to set another day with Rakeshi.. She entered the small apartment, had her seat
in the sofa and watched the sun rise. Tom woke up, followed by Delu.
“Why aren’t you at work?” Delu asked,
confused.
“There are some cracks in the building. The
fireman said it was not safe to be there.” Shantha said, trying to figure out
something to do that day.
“Will you be able to go to the park tomorrow?”
Delu asked. “Tom misses you.”
“I don’t think so…” Shantha felt guilty again.
“If they say we have to go back and work, we have to…”
“You’ve never been this kind of employee,
Shantha!” Delu was imploring. “Come to the park!”
“Let’s see the reports from the firemen…”
Shantha rose up and started preparing the breakfast.
Delu turned the TV on.
“No,” Shantha said, staring Delu with a
serious expression. “please.”
She turned it off.
…
Saturday
“Shantha?” The voice from the man from the
other side sounded worried. “Are you alright?”
“Yeap…” She was not fine. She woke up from a
nightmare that night and wasn't well. “I’m at work…”
“Ah!” His voice turned to a sad intonation. “Can
I meet you in the park, just like the other day?”
“I don’t think I’m having breaks today…” She
wanted him by her side that moment. “There is a lot of accumulated work from
yesterday…”
“Well…” Rakeshi didn’t know what to say. He
spent the last two days waiting to speak to her. He had made a decision. “Ok.”
Shantha turned the cell phone off and went
back to her sewing station. Ten minutes later Rakeshi showed up.
“What are you doing here? How did you get in?”
Shantha was whispering. She did not want to lose this job.
“There’s no one watching the entrance of the
factory, today!” He was really happy, but his happiness was having problems to
overcome Shantha’s bad feeling.
“Ok…” She said, leaving the sewing station and
heading to an old room used as warehouse. “Quickly! Come in! Someone can see
you!”
“Shantha, listen,” Rakeshi started speaking as
soon as she closed the door. “I’ve come to a decision.”
“So, what is it?” Finally his happiness had
affected her and she felt good.
“I decided not to be…” Before he could finish,
a strong vibration hit the ground. “I decided that…”
“Please, hug me!” She was crying. Another
vibration shook the building and they fell. A big crack appeared in the ground
and the sound of metal being torn invaded the room. They hug.
“I love you” he said.
“I love you” she said.
There was no time for any other word; the
entire building collapsed.
Photo by Taslima Akhter. It was taken a day after the
Rana Plaza Collapse
in Bangladesh on April 25, 2013, in which 1129 people died.
The couple was not identified.
