Dreams That Fly in the Sky: A Royal Tale of a Mother
Chapter One: The Broken Cottage and the Father's Final Farewell
On that day, the endless rain of Shravan was pouring down. Water dripped through the roof of the worn-out house made of split bamboo and fell into an aluminum pot placed in the corner of the room. More intense than that gentle “ton ton” sound was the groaning inside the chest of the elderly Mr. Rahman, who lay on the bed. Liver cancer was slowly consuming him. There was no expensive medicine in the house, not even enough money to call a doctor.
Twenty-five-year-old Sohel sat beside his father’s head and cried. He had only seventeen taka in his pocket. Even after wandering through every corner of the city for two days, he could not find even an ordinary job. His honors degree certificate seemed to be nothing more than a worthless piece of paper.
With a very weak hand, Mr. Rahman held Sohel’s hand. His eyes were filled with guilt. In a faint voice, he said, “Sohel, my son, I could not leave you anything. I am only leaving your mother behind. Paradise lies beneath your mother’s feet. I have only one command—never cause your mother any pain. Take care of her even more than I did.”
That very midnight, Mr. Rahman breathed his last. There was not even enough money for an expensive burial shroud; with the kindness of the neighbors, his funeral prayer and burial were completed. Standing beside his father’s grave, Sohel felt for the first time an immense emptiness and the burden of a mountain-like responsibility.
After his father’s death, Mother Rabeya Khatun became like a living corpse. She cried day and night in grief for her husband. And Sohel struggled desperately for a livelihood. His father’s final command pierced his heart like an arrow—“Serve your mother.” But how could Sohel serve her? In their poverty-stricken household, if they managed to get rice for the morning, they could not afford curry for the night. Whenever his mother stitched her torn sari, Sohel’s heart broke. He would tell himself, “I am a failure. I cannot even fulfill one of my father’s wishes.”
Chapter Two: The Dark Days and a Mother’s Tears
The next three years were the darkest chapter of Sohel’s life. He found a job as a salesman in a small clothing shop for a very low salary. Even buying rice and lentils with that meager income was a struggle.
One day, Mother Rabeya Khatun developed a severe fever. Her aging body and lack of nutrition had weakened her greatly. Sohel took her to a government hospital. While standing in line for a long time, she became so tired that she sat down on the floor. When Sohel brought her a glass of water and held it to her lips, she smiled faintly and said, “Don’t worry so much, son. I’m fine.”
That faint smile pierced Sohel’s heart like an arrow. He thought to himself, “At an age when my mother should be resting on a soft bed and eating nutritious food, she is sitting on the dirty floor of a hospital because of an incapable son like me! If necessary, I will work twenty-four hours a day, but I will bring a royal smile to my mother’s face.”
Because of poverty, even relatives had turned away from them. They were not invited to weddings or family gatherings. Some wealthy relatives looked at Rabeya Khatun with pity when they visited. Though she said nothing, Sohel could clearly see the humiliation hidden in her eyes. Standing before his father’s photograph, he would cry alone and say, “Father, I am failing. Forgive me. But I will not give up. I will change my mother’s destiny.”
Chapter Three: The Turning of Fate and the Story of Rise
Sohel realized that hard labor alone or working under someone else would never change his mother’s fate. He had to do something bigger. With his small savings and some borrowed money from a friend, he bought an old laptop. Night after night, he taught himself freelancing, coding, and global IT business skills.
Working in the shop during the day and sitting in front of a computer screen at night, Sohel had a dream greater than sleep itself—to bring a smile to his mother’s face. His mother would wake up at night and see him working with his head bent over the table. She would stroke his head and say, “How much longer will you work like this, son? Your body will break down.”
Holding her hand, Sohel would reply, “Just a few more days, Mother. Just pray for me.”
Hard work never goes to waste. A software project created by Sohel caught the attention of a major American company. They offered him a large one-time payment and a long-term contract. For the first time in his life, Sohel saw a six-figure balance in his bank account.
But he did not stop there. He used the money to establish his own tech startup and IT firm. After a difficult first year, major local and international clients began joining his company in the second year. Through intelligence, honesty, and his mother’s prayers, his business flourished rapidly. Within a few years, Sohel became one of the country’s leading young entrepreneurs. Financial hardship vanished like camphor.
Chapter Four: A Mother’s Smile and the Crowd of Relatives
When Sohel’s success began to soar, the world around him changed as well. First, he bought a luxurious duplex house in the most prestigious area of the city. He furnished his mother’s room with the most comfortable furniture available.
The relatives who once ignored them now crowded his house every day. Mother Rabeya Khatun now wore expensive silk saris. Though traces of old age remained on her face, a royal glow shone from within.
Whenever she attended family gatherings, she spoke proudly and confidently, saying, “My son owns such-and-such company! My son has built such a grand house in Dhaka. My Sohel treats me like a queen.”
Hearing her proud voice brought immense joy to Sohel.
His mother was no longer concerned only with her own comfort. Every month, Sohel gave her large sums of money solely for charity. She helped the poor, the needy, and struggling relatives with open hands. Providing food to orphanages and paying for the weddings of poor girls became part of her routine. People now stood up in respect whenever they saw Rabeya Khatun.
Sohel spared no expense for his mother’s transportation. She no longer traveled in ordinary vehicles. A Pajero jeep was assigned exclusively to her. Whenever she traveled to the village in that air-conditioned luxury vehicle, the entire village stared in amazement.
Not only that, when visiting her daughters’ homes in other parts of the country, she no longer had to endure the hassle of buses or trains. Sohel always booked business-class airline tickets for her. She traveled by air in royal comfort and returned the same way.
Chapter Five: An Unsatisfied Heart and a Sky-High Determination
From the outside, it seemed that Sohel had brought every happiness in the world to his mother. A son could hardly do more for his mother than what he had already done. Yet, deep inside, Sohel felt a strange restlessness. At night, he often stood alone on the balcony, gazing at the sky.
He would think, “A Pajero? Airplanes? Even ordinary wealthy people can provide those things. But my mother is not ordinary. She is the woman who wore torn saris and stayed hungry for my sake. I could not fulfill even a tiny fraction of Father’s command while he was alive. Father never got to see how happy his wife is today.”
His heart still could not find peace. One night, he entered his mother’s room. She had just finished praying on her prayer mat. Sohel rested his head on her lap.
His mother asked, “What is it, son? Is something troubling you? Allah has given you everything and has kept me happy as well. What more do you want?”
Touching her hand to his cheek, Sohel replied, “No, Mother. I still haven’t done enough for you. Even when you travel by plane to visit my sisters, you still have to face traffic on the way to the airport and stand in lines. My heart finds no peace in that.”
His mother laughed and said, “Are you crazy, my son? What more could you possibly do for me?”
With determination, Sohel thought to himself, “The day I can buy my mother an entire helicopter, so that she can fly directly from the roof or courtyard of her home to the doorstep of her relatives—without traffic, without waiting—only then might I feel that I have done something for her.”
Chapter Six: The Father’s Soul and Ultimate Peace (Conclusion)
Sohel has now begun a new project. His goal is to expand his business internationally within the next two years so that he can buy a personal helicopter and build a private helipad for his mother. He wants her to spread her wings across the sky whenever she wishes and visit her daughters or relatives. People in the village will look up and say, “Look! Rabeya Khatun is flying in the helicopter her son gave her!”
Sohel believes that the day he places the keys of that helicopter into his mother’s hands and she takes off into the sky with complete satisfaction, his father’s soul will finally find peace. From Paradise, Mr. Rahman will smile and say, “Sohel, you did not merely fulfill my command—you raised my head high before the world. You truly earned the paradise beneath your mother’s feet.”
A child’s love for a mother cannot be confined within any worldly boundary. Sohel’s endless journey will continue until he can lift his mother’s dreams to the very limits of the sky. For the value of a single smile on a mother’s face is far greater than millions of dollars or even a helicopter.
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