Short Story: A Lacerated Heart by Abdullah Rayhan

In this short story, Abdullah Rayhan gives us a glimpse into the lives of women from different strata of a society capturing their desires and challenges with equal elan.

Amina can’t feel her legs anymore from standing up all day. The clatter of the pots as she washes them, the slurping sound water pouring on them, strong smell of cumin, fumes of diced purple onions, and the loud laughter of the guests from the drawing room merged together into a nauseating chaos. Her day seems to keep stretching as her fingers kept getting wrinkled for being wet for too long. The cooking and cleaning for the third dinner party this week is a lot more work than what she gets paid for. But she cannot complain. What if they fire her? What will she do then? They will not have to look far to find another maid within a day. In each corner of this city, Maids swarm like flies, feasting on the little bit of the spaces that’s left.  

Just last month, Amina was a bit late as her daughter was sick and she almost lost her job. Amina couldn’t leave home on time because Fatema refused to eat. Her small mouth remained close; she kept pushing away the mashed potatoes because she doesn’t like the smell. Amina couldn’t force her as the glistening eyes of her daughter kept her tied. She couldn’t even leave her be because the thin hands of Fatema weighed like a sleeping mountain on Amina’s heart.