Home Sweet Home

NOW, NOTHING MUCH could be said about Mintu, Mr. Dey’s youngest, except that he was a very loving boy. Just as playful as any child of his age, there was something about this boy that was unlike any other. Mintu loved his Mom, his pet dog Sheru, Dad, and his brother Pintu in the given order. He and Pintu always used to fight, much to Mom’s agony. The other thing he loved the most was the house he lived in, or to be more specific, his room. His own, personal room. He wasn’t afraid to sleep alone and had been doing so since the age of three. He was six now. 

Their house was a duplex, with five bedrooms. Whenever Mintu’s friends came to his house, they’d play hide and seek always. It was so much fun. Anyone who visited the place for the first time would be in awe of its dimensions. Mr. Dey, though often out for business trips, took pride in his 'little' abode. Even when the family was out on vacations to places like Maldives, Singapore, Europe, Australia, you name it., Mintu would still miss sleeping on his comfy bed in his superhero-themed room, which was filled with all sorts of toys a kid could wish for. He said his comfy bed was second to none. 

Going by all this, one could say Mintu had a very luxurious childhood. He had everything a child would want. He was a decent student so his parents never pressurized him study-wise. Mr. Dey’s business was thriving at the time as well.

There were children in Mintu’s class that envied him and they expressed so by bullying him. There was no count of how many such incidents occurred, but Mintu, being the sweet boy he was, never complained about it to the teachers as well as his parents. Once when a bully punched Mintu for no reason at all, our boy didn’t say anything. When asked by a teacher why his nose was bleeding, he simply answered, "I fell" 

The years went by. Mr. Dey’s business had sort of fallen apart. After ages, the Dey household was economically troubled. One by one, each of their assets was sold, either to rival businesses or to the bank. The house was what was only left of them. The elder one, Pintu, was already in college, whereas Mintu was about to pass out of high school. 

Mintu, eighteen now, had grown into a bright young man. But with the present condition of his family, they couldn’t afford to send another son to college. Any other boy would have cursed his family and his luck for that, but not Mintu. He was rather supportive and understood the reason for the decision. The pain that Mr. Dey suffered when he realized his boy won’t be able to study further was beyond comparison, yet he couldn’t do anything about it because there wasn’t enough money for them to even have a proper meal for more than two consecutive days. 

The people who used to envy the Deys were now laughing at the poor family as if a battle was won. Hardly anyone dropped by their house anymore. The 'friends' for whom Mr. Dey had done so much had now turned their heads away as if they didn’t know what the family was going through. "There is no good karma, only ungrateful people," said Mrs. Dey to her husband. 

Circling with debt, Mr. Dey now feared that he might have to do the thing he never thought he’d have to; sell the house. Even though it was built nearly two decades ago, the house still had a good market value, and selling it would solve many things. In fact, he still would have some money left, with which he could start a small business. Keeping all of this in mind, Mr. Dey decided that selling the house was in everyone's best interest. He was wrong.

Mintu was devastated by the news, but much like the college decision, he didn’t express any emotions externally. But what else could he do? It was the best and possibly, the only way out for them. He agreed to let go of the only thing that had him connected to his childhood.

In the next couple of weeks, there came several interested buyers to see the house. They would come in and touch things to inspect everything that was in good condition. This would make Mintu furious. The sight of a stranger being in his house and thinking it would be theirs one day troubled him so much, he often cried at nights.

Finally, someone agreed to purchase the house at a good price. The entire process took another two weeks, including paperwork. The first thing Mr. Dey did was to settle all his debts and dues. After that, it was time to go. The Deys took only a few essential furniture and appliances with them and the rest of it was sold with the house. On the last night that they stayed in the house, it got very emotional for all of them. Pintu was back from college to help his family move out. Mr. Dey tried to cheer everyone up saying that this would be a new beginning for them and that life isn’t always predictable. But even he teared up soon.

However, for Mintu, this was completely different. Mintu had spent all his life in that house and for him, there could be no other home other than this place. When he went to sleep in his room for one final time, he couldn't help but cry his eyes out. The room changed over the years - it wasn’t the same room that used to be loaded with toys. It became more subtle as Mintu grew up. The room had seen it all, from the happy days to the not-so-good ones to the worst ones imaginable. Now it was just a room with almost no furniture except the bed. But the thing that remained constant was that no matter how bad the circumstances were, the room always made Mintu feel safe and cozy. So that night, he had the best sleep of his life and when he woke up the following day, he knew he’d never get that feeling again.

When they moved out the next morning, Mintu didn’t even look back. He feared that it would have broken him had he turned around to see the house for the last time. 

The Deys stayed in a hotel for a week. They were leaving the town forever and moving to Mr. Dey’s native. Pintu and Mintu shared a room. However, the night before they were leaving, Mintu couldn’t fall asleep for some reason. Something was biting him inside. It was already four in the morning and he wasn’t even close to getting to sleep. So he just went out for a walk. 

He decided to go to his old neighborhood all of a sudden and so he did. Everything was just the same. It felt like he never even left the place. The sky was dawning and the light of the sun glowed over. He came across his newly former house. Finally, he had a good look at the place. He would have cried, but all his tears had dried by then. The new owners had already moved in. Mintu stood there for a while. 

When he returned to the hotel after a couple of hours, his family was already up and in fact, looking for him. Mr. Dey, who was rather relieved to see his son back, asked, "Where had you been?"

"Just out for a morning walk"

The Deys packed everything up and were about to leave. Mintu wasn’t sad anymore. After all, he was going to start a new chapter in his life and hope of being able to build a house just like his father did. Sitting inside the train, the family set out on a new path to a brighter future.

Meanwhile, Mr. Sanyal, the new owner, who’d just woken up stood at the doorstep dumbstruck. He had no idea who’d left a piece of paper with "GOODBYE" written over it.