Chapter 6: Exams, Ramadan, and a Promise
1006 Words
The days passed too fast.
One morning, the notice board said it.
“Half-Year Exams start next Monday.”
Tension filled the hostel.
Books were everywhere. Notes were everywhere.
And everyone was stressed. Especially Ayesha.
“Why are you biting your nails?” Rebeka asked, looking at her.
“Because I’m scared,” Ayesha whispered. “What if I forget everything?”
“You won’t,” Rebeka said firmly. “We studied together. We will be fine.”
Anuvob was joking to hide his own fear.
“Bro, if I fail, I’m blaming the Tangor Haor trip.”
Soccho just smiled. “Then we all failed together.”
But Ayesha was not joking.
She took everything too seriously.
Day and night she studied. She barely ate. She barely slept.
“Eat something,” Rebeka would say.
“I’ll eat after this chapter,” Ayesha would reply.
But the chapter never ended.
Finally, exam day came.
The hall was big and quiet.
Rebeka, Ayesha, Soccho, and Anuvob got seats together. Side by side.
Before the question paper came, all four of them closed their eyes.
They prayed. Quietly.
“Allah, please make it easy.”
The bell rang. Papers were given.
And Alhamdulillah, the questions were common.
Everyone had studied them.
No one looked at anyone else.
Pens moved. Pages turned.
For three hours, the only sound was writing.
When the exam ended, everyone sighed in relief.
“We did it,” Anuvob said outside.
“Allah’s mercy,” Rebeka smiled.
Soccho looked at Ayesha. “How was it?”
“It was okay,” she said. But her eyes looked tired.
One by one, all the exams finished the same way.
Prayers, writing, and relief.
But Ayesha paid a price.
She had not eaten properly. She had not slept properly.
No one noticed how pale she looked.
They were too busy being happy that exams were over.
Then Ramadan started.
Only three days after the last exam.
The first Sehri in the hostel was loud and fun.
Everyone woke up at 3 AM. Cooking, laughing, eating together.
But Ayesha struggled.
Fasting from Sehri to Maghrib was hard when your body was already weak.
She tried to act normal.
But by Asr, her head was spinning.
“Are you okay?” Soccho messaged her.
“I’m fine,” she typed back.
But she wasn’t.
Eid shopping happened over group calls.
The four of them sat on video call for two hours.
“Show me what you bought!” Rebeka squealed.
Ayesha showed a blue dress.
Rebeka showed three.
Anuvob showed a panjabi.
Soccho just showed a watch and said, “That’s enough.”
They laughed. They teased each other.
For a while, they forgot about exams and stress.
Then Chand Raat came.
Muslims celebrate it with lights and joy.
Fireworks in the sky.
Girls putting mehndi on their hands.
Ayesha was putting mehndi on Rebeka’s hands.
The smell of henna filled the room.
“I wish I had someone’s name to write on my hand,” Ayesha said softly, then laughed.
“What? Whose name?” Rebeka teased.
“Nothing,” Ayesha said quickly. Her cheeks turned red.
Anuvob and Soccho were on call. They heard everything and laughed too.
At 12 AM, messages started.
“Eid Mubarak!”
From everyone. To everyone.
The next day was Eid.
It was crowded outside. But the four of them planned to go anyway.
They met in the afternoon. New clothes. Smiling faces.
They walked around, ate street food, took pictures.
For a few hours, life felt perfect.
The day after Eid, Ayesha invited them to her house.
Rebeka, Soccho, and Anuvob all came.
Ayesha’s mother cooked a lot.
They ate, they talked, they played cards.
Ayesha made tea for everyone.
It felt like a family.
Two days later, everything changed.
Ayesha didn’t come down for breakfast.
Her mother went to check.
And found her unconscious on the floor.
Panic.
Rebeka was called. She came running and started crying.
Anuvob was silent, his hands shaking.
Soccho didn’t say anything. He just took charge.
They took Ayesha to the hospital immediately.
The doctor did many tests.
“She is very weak,” the doctor said. “Lack of sleep, lack of food, and stress. We need to admit her.”
Three days.
Ayesha was in the hospital for three days.
Rebeka stayed with her every night.
Anuvob brought food and sat quietly.
Soccho prayed. A lot.
He also sat outside her room, every day, until visiting hours were over.
“Please be okay,” he whispered one night. No one heard him.
Slowly, Ayesha got better.
On the fourth day, the doctor said she could go home.
“But she needs rest. Proper food. And no stress.”
Everyone was relieved.
At home, Ayesha slept for two days straight.
When she woke up, there were messages and calls.
Rebeka: You scared us to death. Don’t ever do that again.
Anuvob: Next time you don’t eat, I’m feeding you myself.
Soccho: I’m glad you’re okay. Rest. We will talk when you feel better.
Ayesha read them and cried.
Not from pain. From love.
One week later, she was finally well enough to sit outside.
The four of them sat in her courtyard in the evening.
The sky was orange. The air was cool.
No one mentioned the hospital.
No one mentioned how scared they were.
Instead, Anuvob said, “So… next tour?”
Rebeka hit him. “She just got better!”
“I’m fine,” Ayesha smiled weakly. “And yes. Next tour.”
Soccho looked at her. Really looked at her.
“Ayesha,” he said.
She looked up.
“After everything… exams, Ramadan, Eid… I just want you to be okay. And happy.”
She nodded.
“And I want us to be okay. Together.”
Ayesha’s heart stopped for a second.
She didn’t answer. She didn’t need to.
She just smiled.
And in that smile, something new started.
In Shaa Allah, the next chapter would be about that.
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