FEATHER Khadiza Binte Mostafiz

She was beautiful. No, she wasn’t fare. Her skin was not white. She was skinny, didn’t have a nice figure. She didn’t have long silky thick hair. But still she was beautiful. She represented beauty in her words, in her writing, in her work. She was honest. She was polite. Her parents weren’t rich nor poor. She was always content with what she had. She treasured her family. But do you know what I loved about her? She was very hardworking, she was so honest, so polite, such a genius and very beautiful. I loved her smile. I loved how she used to go to school carrying her bag. She wasn’t insane. She wasn’t an idiot. She wasn’t a fool. In fact, she looked brilliant with that heavy bag on her shoulder. How she used to cover her hair to dress modestly. I loved her. I loved everything about her. She was wonderful. She was amazing. “I am amazing?!? Hahahaha did you lose some screws haha” is what she used to say whenever I called her amazing. One more thing, she was strong. I’m not talking about physical strength. I’m talking about her mental strength. She was patient. Her parents, her siblings and everyone around her had high expectations for her. Very high expectations. And she had dreams. So, can you imagine how she felt when that result board showed that she got 4.63 in HSC exam?!? Yeah it was just a result. Some genius students got even less points. Call it a bad luck. Things like that happen. But! But! She did work hard! She wasn’t the best student in the class! But she really did work hard! It was her only chance to get a scholarship!! It was her only way to fullfill her parents’ expectations. Now, every guy of this developed society will look down on her, won’t they? No beauty and no brain. That’s what they will say, right? Won’t this be a barrier when it comes to getting a good job? What about her little siblings who looked up to her?! What about her parents? Now they’ll be questioned by all. People will say bad stuff to them just because their oh so brilliant daughter didn’t get a GPA 5!! People will humiliate them too, won’t they? This is what she thought. And then she became weak. Her mind became blank. She couldn’t think of anything. And so she did something she always hated. She knew it was wrong but she did it. She wanted to disappear. She lost sight of everything. Everything! But now, if she opens her eyes again, she’ll remember everything. She’ll remember what she treasured more than anything. And those people around her already understood. They understood everything very clearly.
Our students are precious. They are very delicate. They are very strong but sometimes a feather is more than enough to break their heart apart. Don’t underestimate that feather. Don’t call them a fool. Love them. And reassure that you will not create that feather just for a little benefit. Yes. I’m talking to you! The one holding that red pen in front of a pile of board exam answer sheets! I’m talking to the authorities! I’m talking to the one who sells the questions before the exam just for some papers called money! I’m talking about every criminals who are responsible for creating that feather. Please you might not know but she has a dream too. But alas! Most of them don’t open their eyes again. Because You killed them. And because of you, I might never see my little sister’s smile again.