An Incomplete Tale by Avisek Bandyopadyay (book club suggestions txt) 📕

An Incomplete Tale
"Shut Up John !" yelled Martha...
John was irritated seeing his wife go mad over such a trivial issue.
John was a fisherman in the coastal region which was named as Léogâne....He was 35, with a sturdy build and a grey beard that gave him a brazen look...He married Martha when he was 25 and had 2 kids namely George and Michael....Martha was the most beautiful woman John has ever met and he can swear that he could spend the rest of his years just by looking at her ocean green eyes.
The world knew of them as a blissful couple who had all the luxuries and boons that are needed to keep the clock of passion ticking. But what the world didn't knew was the accumulating load of complaints they harbored for each other. John had always been the extravagant type who didn't care much about money and knew to use it lavishly much to the disdain of Martha. Martha like any other responsible housewife knew the importance of budgeting to insulate her family against problems, to secure the future of her sons and them. And that is where all the problems started...
In his grandiose celebrations of celebrating the birth of baby Jesus and celebrating the new year , John overdid the arrangements .The celebrations were feisty as he camouflaged his derilicited house into a castle of color of sorts for the week and brought in gifts for his wife and children. Music blared all along and wine flowed in plenty.Friends added hues to the carnival and the ambience was kept euphoric. And John certainly took great delight in every bite of this.
It was not that Martha was not happy but when she finally doled out the last payment of the fun house organized by her husband and looked at her remaining financial funds...she was outraged. But she didn’t take John to task immediately.
John knew by her wife's reactions for the last few days something was brewing…Something he knew he didn’t like. And it definitely was about his prodigal ways something which he couldn’t change over the years..And he too preferred to shy away from the heat of the moment. He decided to let it thaw till today morning when John mistakenly uttered out.
"Hey Martha, I need to have some money to get a new fishing gear !"
"Oh really ! I thought money was all about feasting and gorging with friends!" snapped Martha
Holy Crap !! Not again and not today. John desperately needed to buy some fishing gear. His fishing gears had become antediluvian and with the competition heating up every day he needed to be equipped to take it on. He knew commercial fishing still hasn't made much of a highway in the countryside and the fishing industry was left to the aboriginals. But still big enterprises did still dabble in it making life hard for the traditional fishers of the coast. And with the coasts bereft of fishes thanks to the intense fishing they had to go deep in the ocean to explore unknown terrains. .And for this he had to have some modern equipments .
John was already in a foul mood as he has already made an appointment with his friend Don to go to the town and get the things but he was already running late. But it seemed Martha would not let him go easily without giving him a piece of her mind.
"Well Martha, not now...I have to go to the town with Don now...Please can we stall this discussion till I return where we can discuss it in length!!”
"Why not John ! Why do we even have to discuss it! I now I am stupid and selfish in my vision of leading life"
"Come on Martha ! Why do you keep doing this to me ?" John was now visibly irritated.
"I keep doing this to you ! Do you know your grand Carnival cost us the money that I have saved for redoing this shabby house."
"I know. The party did cost us a bit much but you know I will compensate." John had to get the money somehow now.
"Compensate !! With what ? You know the coast is drying up and with all those ships coming in our coastal area, they would soon take over the business and then how will we survive ? Do you ever think of the future...Of me...Of the kids...Will you ever grow up and believe life is not only a party but taking up some responsibilities as well !" Martha was hysterical..
"Look Martha !! I don’t know where do you get this crap about my business..And surely you don’t believe that I am the head of the family and I'm fully responsible for it. What the hell goes on in your head Martha ??"
"It doesn't go in my head. Look around..You too will know all about it.."
"Ok!! Mam know-it-all. Now please can I have some bucks so that I can go ??"
"You know John !! I really think I am stupid...I have been trying to put up with you since the day I married you...But when I see back...I never see any of my dreams fulfilled....Every one of my dreams shatter just because you wouldn't give up on your fanciful activities..You know the roof leaks when it rains..The cold becomes unbearable because the doors have developed cracks...Still I cant have them fixed as we wasted all the money on trying to be kings for a day....You know John ! Please leave me...I can’t bear with you anymore...with any of your gestures..." She held her head in her hands and began weeping.
"Martha, you seriously make a mountain of a mole."
"Shut up John !! Will you ??"
"I will...But please give me the money"..
Martha threw the keys at him and yelled "Take it all...I don’t want to be here with you anymore....And keep the keys and the money with yourself"
John was clearly frustrated but seeing Martha act so violently he too jabbed "You know Martha..Neither can I bear you anymore with all those naggings and complaints everyday. And seriously these keys to the locker are mine forever. I am the head of the family and I know how to run the show."
He took out all the money and went out in a fit of anger...He murmured to himself "Why doesn't she die to give me some peace !!!"

He met Don and together they boarded the brightly coloured trucks named "toptops". The ride was going to take the about them an hour. So seeing a vacant corner he went and sat there .He was so enraged that he didn’t speak with Don even once during the travel. But as he bought the equipments he was again back to his chatty ways and his anger subsided maybe at the sight of the new equipments he just bought. He felt hungry and so as he sat at the local cafeteria and ordered his favourite dish "du riz colée a pois" which was nothing but brown rice with tomatoes. While ordering the food, he fondly remembered Martha. She loved this dish. They had their first meal together eating this in a similar restaurant. He remembered her coy smile, them holding hands together, their first kiss. And when he remembered about her today everything came flying back .Suddenly it made all sense. Every word of Martha now pricked his soul. He too knew deep in his heart about the insecurities in the future of fishing. And his wasteful ways of life didn’t help. He had to sort things out. With all the scant money he earns , only God knew how Martha could possibly manage the household. And still save money for the redoing of the house. He had always been acting as a nerd. How could he be so insensitive to the woman who yielded to his every whimsical fancies ? How could he turn a deaf ear to the romantic husky voice that filled his otherwise mundane life with a symphony ? He detested himself and decided to show his gratitude by making the act correct this time. As if he found his calling he ordered another "du riz colée a pois" to be packed and two cakes for the boys. He would go back today and make up for every wrong that he has done to her. Don was also anxious to get home before it gets dark. So they boarded a "toptop" and went homebound. John smiled to himself. It was as if he was a teenager again who fell in love with the most beautiful girl of the class. He decided to take some flowers from the village market before going home. He screamed within "Everything's going to be alright Martha....I will be what you dream of and we will make it right ".
Suddenly there was a tremendous vibration below...Before John could sense the danger...The truck or "Toptop" overturned and he found himself crushing under a gargantuan pressure...His ears were filled with tremendous shrieks which acknowledged pain....The vibrations didn’t stop...It seemed the world has gone for a toss.....Before he knew he felt a acute agonizing pain everywhere in his body and he screamed out at the top of his voice. Then his body went numb. He couldn’t sense his body anymore. As he rolled his eyes he found a huge pool of bloodstained bodies…uprooted trees....remnants of buildings or were they debris cars ? He could look no more. Darkness descended before his eyes. All he could see was his father and mother playing with a child that so resembled him, Martha resting her head on his chest, George and Michael playing in the courtyard.....big white tides splashing in the ocean...As another wave of intense pain cringed his body, he was sucked in more darkness...Suddenly everything stopped..There was no pain...There were no shrieks...There were no cries…There was only darkness....Pitch black darkness....

Publication Date: 02-06-2010

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