A courageous boy on a nocturnal adventure (Part-II)
(Continued from: A courageous boy on a nocturnal adventure)The young boy crossed their garden and avoided the pond. He turned left and reached the 'ghat' (bank) of the Padma. Mighty Padma was roaring and black water was flowing. The angry Padma in the monsoon session can make anyone afraid, but the young boy was experienced and used to such nocturnal adventures.
He took out one of the two fishing rods, examined it carefully, adjusted its angle and reach, put earthworms at one end and placed the end in the water. The fishing rod was foreign-made and was a prized possession of the boy, who was almost an expert in fishing sport even at such an young age.
The courageous young boy was enjoying the silent nocturnal beauty of their own ghat of the Padma. The sweet smell of flowers of the garden and cool breeze from the river changed the night to a mysterious lady. The moon was floating in the sky. Not a single soul was there. 'Ruposhi Bangla' (Beautiful Bengal) was present with all her enchanting beauty.
Suddenly a harsh pull of the fishing-rod made the boy very alert. Perhaps a very big fish got stuck! The force with which it was pulling the rod, made it evident. The boy applied all his fishing knowledge and started to apply every technique to bring it near the shore, but he realized that the movement of the fist which was stuck , was not like a normal fish. In the water, its power got manifold and it moved inside the river in a different manner than that of a fish.
In this tug-of-war between the boy and the fish, gradually the fish was winning. The boy was slowly forced to move towards the river. Eventually, he entered the ferocious Padma at the dead of night, but even then the thought of leaving the fish didn't cross his mind.
In the cold and fast-moving river, the courageous boy suddenly realized that it was not a big fish, but a very big Gangetic turtle which got stuck in his fishing-rod. It was an unexpected event for him and would be a much better hunt. He tried to hold the turtle with his left hand while trying to maneuver the fishing rod with his right. But, the rod gave away.
The fishing rod could no longer take the fight. The 'Made in England' fishing-rod broke into two pieces. The fight between the boy and the turtle in the river at the dead of night continued in which the boy was slowly losing.
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Samsuddin was returning to his humble hut. He was dejected. He failed in his own nocturnal adventure. He could not steal anything that night. He suddenly noticed that something unnatural was going on in the river. He ran forward.
In the dim moonlight, he saw a young boy inside the river wrestling with something. Samsu didn't wait further; he jumped into the river and reached the wrestling-site. He was stunned.
The young son of the freedom-fighters' family ('swadeshi-bari') was floating in the river. But he immediately realized the boy was very much alive and fighting with an animal. He said: "Samsu, I must take it home; help me out."
Now, the turtle started losing the game. After more than thirty minutes, the young boy and Samsu brought the gigantic turtle to the shore. Bringing it to the shore they immediately 'turned the turtle', so that it couldn't flee or attack.
Very slowly but with utmost satisfaction, they reached the boy's residence with the turtle. The elders were astonished and stunned! Samsu got cash and kind much more than he ever imagined (but no turtle meat which is prohibited for the Muslims).
The little girl was awe-struck by the exploits of her elder brother. Her brother became the hero for the rest of his (brother's) life.
[Entry: Flash Fiction Writing: Re-opening]