Not an Orfinary Day

It was not an ordinary day. To Rifat, it was like all other days but still, it was his birthday. He used to live in the university hostel, in the same room with 50 other first-year students. Its hard for you to understand I know but that's the reality of first-year students in Bangladesh. Either you live outside the university campus if you have enough money to afford the expenses or you live in the hostel under some conditions. Those conditions were you live with 50 people in the same room, go to every political meeting and beat the opposition whenever your seniors tell you to. But Rifat was a soft-hearted boy but like each of those 50 other students with a poor family background.
But days were not bad at all. They used to play cards all night long and around 3 am, go outside and eat until their throat and then comes cigarette and tea. He still remembers that night when some porn video of a famous actress was leaked. She ran away with another actor and her angry boyfriend leaked their private sex tapes. Poor girl.
Shahid was the first one who brings the video in the room. He was religious in nature but could not avoid the temptation to watch what lies under her Saree. But anyway, after watching the full video he ran towards the mosque to ask for forgiveness. So, you see life can be fun in misery.
Let's go to the topics back again. Rifat had a friend, Fouzia who loved him like brother and she used to call him early in the morning on his birthday to remind him it's his birthday.
Although Rifat never celebrated his birthday he had a routine on that special day. He used to walk how far he can and where his eyes take him and look around and talk with the poor homeless kids or kids from the slums. He used to feel a certain kind of peace within himself when he used to talk to them or to eat with them. There were no boundaries or any egos. Poverty can bring the feeling of equality between to two completely unknown people and bring them closer. That day he was walking and saw one lady and her baby probably a few months of age, laying down on the footpath. They had some empty sacks as their mattress and pillows made of some wood and still, the kid was sleeping as the happiest kid in the world. That day he understood no matter where you live in a palace or in the street, there is no safe place as your mother's arm.