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Imagine waking up at 7 am to the earthy smell of muddy fragrance that spreads before the rain, accompanied by the refreshing touch of a back-to-back cool breeze. Sounds dreamy, no?
No, welcome to reality where the irritating buzz of mosquitoes disrupts the tranquillity, and your mother is screaming at you to bring back the clothes from the terrace and corridor. Setting your eyes outside, you see the sky adorned with dark greyish clouds, inviting cats and dogs rain. And you know it will be a hard day ahead in Dhaka city.
Upon bringing the clothes, you hear your younger brother watching Ninja Hatori as he doesn't need to go to school, but it will be a long day as you have a mid at 11 am, and you can't miss that.
Being heartbroken, you try to connect to WiFi, but as soon as a drop of rain drops to the earth, you know there's no WiFi in your area. And calling your WiFi uncle won't help, as he will ask you to turn off the router and restart it again.
When you start preparing for your next nap, you see a blackout. Yes, what could possibly go wrong? You decide to take your mid-preparation, voila; you didn't save the slides previously and now can't open it.
You bought a data pack, but the signals aren't that great, so you must go for a book on your almost dark table. It's a cruel twist of fate, as you rely on handwritten notes and textbooks like the ancient scholars. The struggle is real, and you can't help but yearn for a stable internet connection.
Somehow, in the dark, your mommy made you breakfast, and you started the impending battle with an umbrella. Upon stepping on the road, you see they are swamped with knee-height water.
You fold your pants and start crossing the temporary river rain has caused. As you step outside, the rain drenches you from all angles, turning your once-dry clothes into a soggy mess.
The fabric clings to your body, taking forever to dry and emitting a less-than-pleasant odour. It's like wearing a wet blanket, minus the comfort.
And for someone who wears spectacles, rainy days present an additional hurdle as the rain causes glasses to fog up and become watery. You continuously struggle to see anything clearly, and removing the spectacles is not an option either. It's a blurry world that leaves you navigating with impaired vision.
But now you need a rickshaw, and guess what? Mama charged double the usual fare.
Having limited rickshaw options, you agree to pay double. Finally, settling on a not-so-reasonable amount, praying that the rickshaw doesn't break down midway, leaving you stranded in the pouring rain. And you think your miseries are over. No.
There's the infamous Dhaka traffic jam. The rain transforms the already congested roads into a chaotic mess of honking horns, impatient drivers, and vehicles seemingly stuck in time.
In the middle of this chaos, you somehow managed to reach the exam hall 30 minutes late and hurriedly fill your script. Well, here, too, rain god had something in mind, and your script soaked the water from your dress.
You stare at the smudged ink and water-soaked pages, contemplating how to salvage your answers. It's a true test of your improvisation skills and ability to decipher illegible handwriting.
After the disastrous midterm, when you are up for snacks, you see the rain pouring and no food stalls to fill your tummy. And when you are in your canteen to have a cup of tea, you find yourself in a long queue.
Due to the rain, the students are unwilling to leave their seats, resulting in long lines, overcrowded tables, and a sticky, sweaty hot environment with a weird smell. And you somehow managed to escape that with a cup of room-temperature masala tea.
Amidst a heart-wrenching struggle, you finally secure a seat on the bus; you try to scroll social media. And your timeline is swamped with clichéd rain captions accompanied by pictures of lovey-dovey couples at TSC.
Meanwhile, some K-drama enthusiasts put sad status with a melancholic proclamation: 'Goblin is sad.'
And after the horrendous bus journey, when it's walking distance from your home, you see the roads are covered with mud. With each step through the muddy, creaky roads, your dress succumbs to the mud, transforming into a canvas of dark brown splatters.
Not just that, those slippery roads made you tipsy twice, made you lose your balance. Exhausted yet wearing a warrior smile, when you finally reach home and finally up for a good hearty shower, you discover the dresses you previously collected now stink, spreading a pungent odour, and somehow they are wet.
After dinner, when you are in bed, it's still raining, and you enjoy its gentle symphony, captivated by the cool breeze and the delicate raindrops adorning your window like shimmering pearls.
As the night deepens and a flicker of uncertainty creeps into your mind, will tomorrow bring another rain-soaked adventure?