My parents-in-law never talked to me although we were living in the same house, because we married without their permission. It is difficult for parents to accept when their only son chooses his life partner by himself. They never talked to me but I overheard a lot of yelling about me from the next room year after year.
My father-in-law first talked with me the day my husband had died in a ferry accident. He asked me; “now what will happen to us mother?” I could not answer his question rather I was selfishly thinking about thousands of questions for myself! How will I live without him? How could I live without him? How is it possible to live without him?
He was the only person earning anything to uphold the family. After his death it was like ‘we were in the middle of the sea.’ The first six months I was like a crazy person. But after realizing the practical side about my family and son, I see now that I hold the handle of the boat of our lives. Now I work as a daily laborer in our village with hundreds of male workers where my husband used to work. I work there 6 to 12 in the morning then I go for fishing in the river. I have been maintaining my 5-member family for the last two years.
I miss him every night; I wish I could hug him for a last time to show and to share my pain with him. To let him know how I am surviving without him. I cry insanely every night. I feel like giving up. Then I embrace my 3-year-old son and it gives me the strength to fight for the next day- Moushumi Akter 