THE OTHER WAY ROUND (3a) CONT'D

The roof of the building where he lay looked familiar. He wasn’t sure where he was and wasn’t glad either. It must mean that he is alive; why is he alive? He had wanted to die though he wasn’t behind his wife’s death. He knew that if he lived, he would have to go through the ordeal of marrying his wife’s younger sister. It was the way of tradition that as part of the properties of the fallen, her husband must be inherited by the younger sister or a near kin. The husband usually has no say in the matter but to simply be grateful for the privilege to be taken in by the sister of his late wife; no one else would want him.

Now he was lying in this room, many awful thoughts racing through his mind. “How could he be alive? Why in the world would he be alive?” he asked himself. He turned around on the bed and searched with his eyes.

After a while, his eyes rested on something. It was white or whitish and round. Oh! It seemed someone had been taking care of him and apparently washing him. He knew what the soap was made of and if only he could reach it.

 It was already down his throat before he could think about his two little daughters. He tried hard to vomit it out but it was already in. He could hear their tiny voices outside playing. They seemed happy, with no care in the world. Their voices became a little louder it seemed they were in the room now. He tried to turn his head to see them one last time but he felt immobilised. His vision was blurred and just then, he felt a touch, it was Sansar his last girl. Her touch felt so tender and sweet. He tried to smile but he couldn’t, he heard her call out to him. His voice was lost and then he heard her scream. He was foaming from the mouth. Her screams pained his heart and then the voices became really low. Maybe he was getting better and that’s why they stopped screaming. Or so he thought....