When the gates of South Town High School appeared before Mitu, it felt like more than just a school; it was her daily escape from a suffocating silence. In the ninth grade, Mitu was a girl whose lively eyes and simple, innocent smile could charm anyone. But behind that smile lay a profound emptiness— a void that only Mitu truly understood.
Every morning at 6:00 AM,as the city baegan to stir and stretch,Mitu's parents were already rushing out the door,headed for the garment factories.All that remainded on the dining table were cold breakfast scraps and a hurried note.Her elder brother, Rathi, would already be submerged in his books behind a closed door. Rathi was the brilliant one, the quiet one, the pride and joy of their parents.Sometimes, standing before the mirror,Mitu would whisper to her reflection, "Am I even apart of this family?"
It was only on the walk to school with Sadiya that the weight on Mitu's heart felt lighter. Sadiya was her soul sister, the keeper of her secrets.
"You know, Sadiya....that boy was standing at the corner again today," Mitu said in a low,hesitant voice.
Sadiya stopped in her tracks, firing off questions in a single breath, "who? What's his name? What does he do? How long has he been brothering you? "
Mitu couldn't help but laugh at her friend's intensity. "Slow down!Take a breath before you ask.If you get exhausted, who will i have left to talk to?"Though she teased, there was a quiet plea in Mitu's voice.She was desperately,searching for someone who would truly listen to her.
Obce inside the school,the lectures and the chatter of tiffin periods buried the thought of the boy. But as Mitu walked home alone after school,her heart began to throb with a strange anxiety. Back at the house, the same routine awaited her: scrubbing the dishes, sweeping the floors, and folding laundry braught in from the yard. Since her parents wouldn't return until late at night, the responsibility of preparing dinner fell entirely on her young shoulders.
In the evening,as the Maghrib Azan echoed through the neighbourhood, Mitu sat on her prayer mat. Her eyes grew misty as she prayed. She wondered if anyone would ever hold her close and ask," How was your day,my child?"But there was no one to ask.Rathi remained a silhouette behind his bedroom door, lost in his world of equations.
At that moment,Mitu's phone vibrated with a message from an unknown number :
"You looked so beautiful in that blue dress today.Don't be sad... I am here for you. "
Mitu'sinnocent heart felt a sudden spark of light. She didn't realize that this"light" was actually a falme—one that had the power to turn her world to ashes. She simply thought, "Finally, there was someone who notices I exits ".