But now shrinks the place where you stand: Where now, stripped by shade, will you go? — Paul Celan

Rain on the Window

I am in the back of a car. It is late at night. Outside it’s raining. Outside it’s Monsoon.

As the car passes through small village bazaars there are flashes of light from shop lamps. The light scatters through the big droplets rolling down the glass of the window.

A little child lying on the backseat of the car, I am counting the seconds. I have discovered a new way of measuring seconds. I say, `Ei ek, ei dui, ei teen …’ I try it again and again checking the validity of my method against the car’s digital clock (which is green).

We are coming back to the City of Chittagong from a trip to the University. It’s a long trip — how long? I don’t know. Although I now know how to count the seconds, time is still a mystery for me. Long, I know that much, longer than the typical trip I go on within the city…

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