Colorful Lights -Maream Binte Mostafiz

Nadir is packing his bags. The day has finally come. All the trauma, agony, and suffering are finally about to end. “Nadir, your parents are here,” says someone. Nadir quickly picks up his bags and leaves the room. He breaks down the stairs and moves towards the big, black gate. He stops for an instant and turns his head to give a last look at the building standing behind him, where he has spent the last 12 months of his life. Suddenly, with a flash of light, he remembers how he came here.

It was two years ago. Nadir was so happy when his father was promoted to be a branch manager of his company in Dhaka. It was his long-cherished dream to study at a college in Dhaka. He spent all his life in Dinajpur; now he can be one of the cool city boys and tell amazing stories to his friends back in Dinajpur. Nadir was so excited to embrace the new city life. And it is not just any city; it is Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

After some months, Nadir got admitted to a renowned college. He was very nervous on the first day of college. He was checking his clothes and shoes over and over and fixing his hair. His nervous impression was pretty obvious. He was noticing details of how others were behaving. He was eager to make a cool friend. After coming home, he made a list in his notebook.

He wrote, “Wahid is a serious student, and he already finished the syllabus before admission. Nahid is good at making jokes, and he was making everybody laugh in class. Zafar was the quiet one; he did not utter a single word the whole time. Mishu and Sabbir were the moral police, always correcting everyone and spoiling all the fun.” Nadir did not like Mishu and Sabbir. Nadir was amazed by Rafi. Rafi is the coolest one that Nadir was looking for. Rafi also enchanted the other students. Rafi’s hairstyle and his bold and confident attitude caught Nadir’s eye. Rafi already made many friends on the first day. Nadir decided to become one of his friends. The next few days, Nadir did not waste a single chance to say at least a word to Rafi. Rafi also noticed that, and before the weekend, he asked Nadir to join his gang.

“Hey, Nadir!” said Rafi.
“Nothing special,” replied Nadir.
“Wanna join us?”
“Sure.”
“Meet us at the park tomorrow afternoon.”

Nadir was beyond happy. The day after that, Nadir went to the park just after finishing Asr prayer. His moving eyes were searching for Rafi and his friends. Finally, he found them under the large mango tree at a corner. Rafi waved his hand, seeing Nadir. Nadir, with a smile on his face, moved closer. Rafi stood up and introduced Nadir to everyone

“Everyone! This is Nadir. We are in the same class,” said Rafi.

Nadir nodded his head. Rafi pulled out his mobile from his pocket and asked for Nadir’s phone number. “Nadir, as we are friends now, I’ll add you to our WhatsApp group chat. What’s your number?” Nadir replied, “Oh, sorry. I don’t have a smartphone yet.”

Rafi, along with all the five other boys, burst into surprise. “What!! You don’t have a smartphone!?! Nadir, you are not a child anymore. You can’t use a button phone. It’s a toy, man! You should get a smartphone asap, man! Tell your father. Look at me, I even got an iPhone.” That night, Nadir raised his voice to his mother for the very first time. His mother could not accept Nadir’s sudden demand. But, surprisingly, his father was very calm about it. “It’s ok. My Nadir never disappointed me; he has my trust,” said his father. The day after that, Nadir showed up at the park with a brand new smartphone in his hand and a victory smile on his face. Rafi patted Nadir’s shoulder. “Now you look like a real college boy.”

Soon, Nadir got a notification on his phone. “You have been added to the group CHILL BUZZ.” Nadir became very happy to see that notification. Since then, Nadir has been on his way to becoming one of the cool Dhaka boys. His clothes were changed accordingly. The hairstyle was changed too. Many “cool” words were added to his dialect and accent. He was leading an adventurous life with Rafi and his boys. He bunked colleges many times and felt the thrill. He made amazing scores in Free Fire and other online games. He even attended Rafi’s B.B.Q. party with girls at night. After eating, Rafi pulled out a cigarette from a packet, lit that up, and offered it to Nadir. Nadir had seen Rafi and others smoke many times in previous times but did not smoke himself. This time, Rafi directly offered him. Nadir felt his throat dry. He gently refused his offer. Rafi did not seem happy with his answer. Rafi shook his hands.

“What’s wrong? It’s just smoke! You have to inhale sooner or later. It’s a sign that you have grown up.” “No, I’m sorry. My father will be disappointed,” Nadir replied. Rafi and others started laughing. Rafi came to Nadir’s face. “It’s ok. My dude is afraid of his baby. Let’s do something, guys. Let’s eat his baby then.” Everyone seemed to agree to that. Nadir started to sweat. Rafi put his hand in his pocket and took out a small plastic bag filled with small tablets. “What are you doing? It’s illegal, man! We will get arrested!” said Nadir with a cracked voice.

“Relax!! No one’s getting arrested! There’s not a single cop who can land his hand on this body.” Rafi said it as if he were joking around. “Don’t you know Rafi’s father is the local MP?” Said a voice from the crowd circling around them. “You have to make a decision today, my friend. Smoke it or swallow it, Rafi said as he hardened his face and gave Nadir a cold look.

Nadir knew there was no turning back. So he did what was less harmful. That night, Nadir had his first cigarette. The more Nadir was becoming “cool,” his study grades were becoming low. Nadir could not manage much free time to study. He had to make TikTok and YouTube shorts and reels with the Chill Buzz group. The earnings from the videos were being spent on their trip around the country and expenses. Rafi explained to Nadir that one does not need to study and get good scores to become successful in this era. One must be famous, and there are hundreds of ways to earn money from online platforms.

“Once you start earning dollars, even your parents will dance in your video.” Said Rafi.

Nadir’s parents were very upset about Nadir’s activities. But they could not restrict Nadir, as he shouted back at them and started to break things and make a scene. One evening, Rafi called for an emergency meeting. All sixteen members of Chill Buzz gathered around the big mango tree at the park. Rafi’s face was red, and his wrath was evident. He was sitting on a pile of bricks. Asad, one of the right hands of Rafi, stood up and started to speak.

“My brother called all of you for a reason. It’s very serious. Stupid Mishu informed the college principal that Rafi gives us drugs. And the principal complained to Rafi’s father. Uncle shouted at Rafi. My brother never felt this much embarrassment in his whole life. We must do something. He must pay for what he has done!”

Rafi stood up. His eyes were red. It was visible that he had taken drugs earlier. “Let’s see this son of a bastard. How dare he stand against  me? “Rafi said it with a cold voice. Everyone yelled together, “Yeah. Let’s go!”

Then the group of sixteen teenagers divided into two groups and marched in different directions in search of Mishu. Nadir was on Rafi’s team. Although he was scared, he could not refuse or walk away. Soon they found Mishu on the Masjid Road. They assumed that Mishu would be there, as he never missed prayer. Noticing Rafi’s gang coming his way, Mishu quickly felt the danger. He started to run backward. Rafi’s gang also started running. On one hand, Mishu was alone, and on the other, Rafi was with six other boys; it was not long before they caught Mishu. And as soon as they got in touch with Mishu, they started to kick and punch him. Mishu was doing everything to save himself, but he could not. He was beaten very badly. Then, on a sudden note, Rafi did the unbelievable. He took out a knife from his pocket and stabbed Mishu. Everyone started to run out of fear and leave. The current flow of Mishu’s blood coloured the small alley on Masjid ad. Nadir also ran out of fear, but something kicked inside, and he came back to Mishu. He took Mishu over his shoulder, although he was shaking. Soon, Nadir managed a rickshaw and took Mishu to a nearby hospital. Nadir remembers how the police came and arrested him and all the other boys, including Rafi. Mishu was injured badly but did not die, so the court lessened their punishment, especially Nadir, because he helped Mishu and saved his life.

Nadir was in the Child Development Centre for one year. Today is the day he was released. Nadir walks forward and passes the big black gate. He sees his parents standing for him with tears in their eyes. Nadir hugs them and cries.

“Sorry, ma, sorry, baba. I am really sorry. I made a great mistake. I should have listened to you. I will never do such a thing in my life. Please forgive me. I was running to catch a star, which was actually a mirage, and some colorful lights were hiding the truth from me. I have learned the truth now. Next time, I will choose a friend based on his moral values and not on his posh get-up.”

Nadir’s father wipes his eyes and, with a soothing voice, says,

“Let’s go home, son.”