The Third Dimension (2023) #Wattys2024

15-1980

"I think, we have an intruder at the auditorium" said Salam calmly with the loud whisper that triggered the microphone.

"NOT SO FAST, YOU ASSHOLE!" screamed Sohail, by charging himself at the battlefield.

Along with him, Rehana, Chikku and Gyankosh entered the scene with the large auditorium doors, shunned with the cry out of the battle. The people stood up, while some of the students clapped, especially Rahat, Sabeda, Uncle Haleem and Aunt Haleema that shocked the calm politician, with the anger on his face. The joy of the moment, on which the strong wins over the weakest, due to greed and corrupted minds.

Salam walked down from the stage like a cat, stepping down with the paws. The silence horrified Sohail's family darkened the consequence of life. Students' were silenced, due to the moment that created the utmost anticipation. Fast heartbeats, blood thickened the vein and the time ticks, with horror. Salam aimed at Sohail with the pistol, which even scared Sabeda to death. Sohail kneeled down by raising his hands up. The reveal would come into the surface, to the utmost fear which would turn into the thrilling part. Light was dark.

His wicked laugh angered the people. They wanted to hit Salam, but, they controlled because the secrets would be out.

"Do you think that I would be foolish enough? Not knowing your plans? Your father almost caught me, betraying because I was in love with a Pakistani spy. Knowingly. This 'illegitimate' affair considers me peace, because this place, for me, it's full of shitty people. You are same as your bastard dad, who was killed in action during the 21st February 1952, The Language Protest Movement. I won't tell you where his body is. By the time you knew it, you may be dead" slithered Salam.

Rehana rushed towards the scene.

"If you want to kill him, kill me first!" screamed Rehana.

"Well, you must be Rehana Masood Ansari, the daughter of the former Pakistani spy. By the way, let me introduce myself, I am your father. No matter what everyone thinks that you don't have a father, but I haven't cared about your mother much. So, I married the woman of my level, technically, Rahat is your brother. Small world, isn't it?" revealed the hissing Salam.

Rahat got shocked of Rehana's reveal, where Salam added that after the mother passed, she was raised in an orphanage. As for the tape record that had been done by Saleem, it even added the fact that, she learnt martial arts from a Hong Kong sensei, who used to go to the parentless home to teach there. Rehana, Sohail and Saleem were the first batch of Journalism, not only in the Dhaka University but also in Bangladesh as a whole. How did he came to know?

One of his friends used to keep an eye on Rehana, after her mother passed after her childbirth. He kept him in the orphanage, without informing him. Until, Salam came to know it, he secretly sent donations to the orphanage for her welfare.

On the other hand, as a child, Salam was notoriously bullied by the group of kids from school, as a result of being underprivileged. Consequences showed that he eventually became a snake to the independent country, manipulating people to support the opposition. The greed for power, corrupted him. Last but not the least, there were hidden objects to be found, in order to share the 'Rashomon Effect', which means three unreliable narratives based on the one fact could be connected easily.

The tape record stunned the crowd with disbelief and anxiety, which created a sense of silence with the intensity of feelings. It almost broke Sabeda's nerve while Rahat stood up from the crowd.

Rahat's rage turned to angst, who stepped in front of Salam, still aiming at the pistol, while the vengeful Rehana and the kneeled down Sohail stepped at the back in the line. He raised his hand with full of emotions.

"Dad, if you want to kill them, kill me too!! I may be a goofball of a son, even that you forced me to do the things that I wasn't interested of. You are just a bloody loser of a politician, whom I tried a lot to idolize and connect with. But no, your criminal activities are all there!! You are doing a great, pointless job!! All for your money and all for your power!! Do you have that fucking sense of humanity? Do you?" screamed Rahat with the rage that he eventually transformed from an arrogant student leader to a loyal friend that Jawad actually wanted him to be than a typical father in the original 1999 to Jawad.

Salam pulled the trigger off from the pistol, shot on Rahat's stomach. It traumatized Jawad, maybe, losing a father but at the same time, a friend of Sohail, while he was supposed to die in that scene. That infuriated the people, putting off their shoes from their feet and mercilessly thrashed Salam in the auditorium. Even the police arrested him for doing such a heinous crime. Rahat had been taken into the ambulance. Sabeda wept so much that she prayed in the empty corridor of the university.

Sohail down in the arms of Rehana, Chikku, Gyankosh, Aunt Haleema and Uncle Haleem. He had flashbacks of his time with family, the cleaning, the moments from lunch, Sabeda's showering moments, the delightful ways and a shop with Uncle Haleem. All of them burst into a mixture of emotions. Smile for the loved ones and farewell to the 1980 plus jumping on to the new timeline. At the same time, he looked tired, succumbing his wounds.

"Guru, you have made the country proud! I will salute you, sir. I will tell my children about your bravery and courage" said Chikku.

"Jawad, if something defects the future, you are the one to change the present. If you meet your uncle, say hello from my behalf. I know that, you could make it proud of your legacy" wept Rehana.

"We all are aware of your time jump, son. Rehana told me everything about your time jump. But what you did, is the responsibility. Anyway, you are not the only one who could jump through time" said Uncle Haleem.

"How would I know?" asked Jawad, as Sohail.

"You may figure it out yourself" answered Haleem.

"Baba, everything will be fine. You have your uncle's bravery and sincerity. Your grades do not matter, dear. It's just that, you need to tackle some of the issues that might bring your future into the certain element. You are a much dutiful person, than your father ever used to think. Willingly or unwillingly, you are changing your surroundings to the greater good. Be that, my dear" sobbed Haleema calmly.

Sohail had been fainted, while Jawad was falling down from the electric pipe. It scared him so much that the blue light was frightening him. He screamed a lot until, penetrating a fainted body, stuck in the mud and four people were grabbing him. The scratch and bloodstains made the body as heavy as the dead. The blackouts were more different than experienced in the 1980 timeline.