The Blanket
Everything was so expensive in this town. Even a second-hand blanket cost 300 taka. And this was the cheapest one Farid could find. Though the initial price was 1200 taka, Farid bargained and took the price down to the final amount. He argued that the blanket smelled horrible, it had a few holes, and there was a big brown stain on it. Finally, the vendor agreed to sell the off-white blanket at the price. He probably agreed because it was the dead of the night and not even a shadow roamed in the misty lane.
Farid was happy to have finally managed a blanket. He had been sleeping with tons of clothes on for the past few days just to fight off the cold. It was hard for him to manage decent protection against the chilling winter as the price of everything was rapidly increasing.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. It was 1 AM when Farid entered his room after cutting through a thick cloud of mist coagulated outside. His small apartment was right by the Buriganga river. Rotten stench of garbage and the distant siren of ships always filled his room with a nauseating atmosphere, but Farid had gotten used to it. He entered his room, took off his clothes, and put on a lungi. He started to prepare a detergent solution to wash the blanket he had just bought, but instantly decided it was too late and that he would wash it the next day after returning from work. Driving a rusty bus all around Dhaka throughout the day, shouting at others, and arguing with passengers drained out all of Farid's energy. So, he immediately went to bed and slept with his newly bought blanket on. The stink of the blanket was too heavy and sharp but it kept Farid warm and that was enough for him. He immediately drifted into sleep.
2 AM. The moonlight had flooded Farid's room, painting the shadow of a laying Farid on the side wall. In the vague light, he slept, wrapped in the blanket.
Suddenly, the shadow became larger on the wall. At that exact moment, something felt heavy on Farid's chest–and got heavier by the minute. Everything was still, and in that silence, a silhouette slowly grew over Farid's body.
But Farid didn't wake up despite the strange weight. In fact, he wouldn't have woken up if it hadn't been for the splash of stinky warm liquid falling on his chest.
He quickly opened his eyes at the feel of something gluey and warm dripping on his skin, and was surprised, irritated, and utterly disgusted. He could tell by the smell that something filthy was smudged on his chest.
He reluctantly got up, annoyed, running to the bathroom. Turning on the yellow light, he looked at the clouded mirror on the basin. In the reflection he saw a stain of maroon liquid drying on his chest. It had a metallic smell.
Farid was surprised. Where did the stain come from? But he didn't give it a lot of thought. He was too tired to think about all this. Moreover, he had to get up in four hours to start his new shift, so he quickly washed his body with soap. The chilling water took away his sleep for a while but he knew it would return.
After wiping his body, Farid turned off the bathroom light and walked back to his bed.
He was still in the shadow when he thought he saw something on the side wall where the moonlight fell. There was a silhouette of a figure above his bed.
At first, he thought it was his blanket and took a few steps towards it.
A moment later, he discovered that he was wrong.
As Farid got a bit closer, he realised that there was a small naked man lying on his belly on Farid's bed. Its hands were put forward, right under his bald head, like a dog usually sits, and there was thick liquid pouring out of his mouth. It was glistening in the moonlight. His unsettling eyes were sparkling too. They were staring right at Farid's motionless gaze.
Farid didn't know what to do. He was unable to scream; the scene in front of him took away his voice. But he wished it took away his sight instead. He couldn't control himself from looking into the pair of watery eyes sitting upright on his bed. The eyes were crying, but beneath them, a wide smile revealed toothless rotten gums. Farid could hear the flies buzzing near the mouth.
Finally, he gathered a bit of courage and asked, "Who are you? How did you get here?"
A broken voice of a child echoed from the gaping mouth. "You brought me here."
"No, I didn't", Farid tried to scream but he could only whisper. Sweats drowned him entirely.
"After my father strangled me and threw me in the junkyard, you were the first person to put me on a bed." A shaking, raspy voice came from the figure.
"No, I did not. Go away", Farid finally cried out of fear. His whole body shivered with fright.
"Yes, you did. My father had wrapped me in this blanket when he tossed my corpse in the dumpsite. Dogs had dragged my body away from the blanket and ate me whole. The only part of me that exists now is the splash of blood on this sheet of cloth."
The voice suddenly broke and echoed gravelly, "Please don't throw me away. Please keep me on your bed. I won't harm you."
Farid suddenly realised what he took to be a smile was actually the absence of lips. The figure had a chunk of flesh missing from his mouth. Just a skinless naked jaw was dripping with thick blood. Farid fainted at the sight of it.
He woke up at the ringing of his phone. His boss is calling. Farid picked up the phone without opening his eyes.
"Where are you? The last bus is still waiting for you. Hurry up." A harsh voice growled from the other side.
Farid opened his eyes. It was morning and he was lying on his bed comfortably wrapped in the blanket.
"So, it was all a dream after all." Farid heaved a sigh of relief and got up to the bathroom. He had to freshen up and get to work.
After entering the bathroom, he turned toward the basin to wash his teeth. But his reflection had him frozen on the spot.
Farid saw a circle of dried bloodstain on his chest. A few flies buzzed around it.
Abdullah Rayhan is studying English Literature at Jahangirnagar University.
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