Lost Eyes: a short story in Bengli by Banaphul translated into English

 

In the eyes of an ordinary man she was not attractive.  Even I could see she wasn't really pretty, but I loved her. Because in her eyes – oh, I don't know what it was. I had never in my life seen such dreamy, alluring eyes. 

 

Yes, she was notorious for being naughty.  But that clumsy and fidgety Mini had stolen my heart. Seeing her eyes, I was captivated.

 

I remember one day, after caressing her in a secluded place, I said to her, "I wish I could keep those two eyes of yours."  

"Why?"

"Those eyes of yours drive me crazy.  I love those eyes more than anything."   

 

I felt so much love – in spite of that love, I couldn't have her.  A mysterious stranger arrived, and on a splendid occasion, while music was playing, he took her away. 

 

It hurt me deep in my soul.  

 

Perhaps that pain would have gone away if, right after it, another heartbreaking incident hadn't happened. 

 

When Mini returned to her father’s house, I saw she was blind in both eyes.

I heard it was because she was intending to rinse her eyes with rose water but by mistake had splashed them with something caustic. 

 

One day she met with me in a secret place. 

I said, ‘Both your eyes were lost just because of carelessness." 

She replied, "If you can't understand why they were lost, then it's better for you not to know."

 

[Translated from the original Bengali story entitled চোখ গেল by George Truett, Garberville, CA, USA and Subhamay Ray]

 

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