Ugh! A young man, almost six feet tall and so strong, and crying like this? And he’s a trainer too.
That trainee boy, who was staying alone in his room at night, hiding due to a skin condition, was utterly shocked when he reached the junior officer's room and saw him crying in this way.
Today, the boy felt an extraordinary surge of courage. Today, he wasn’t even afraid of what would happen if another trainer came on their rounds and saw him there so late at night. What would they think? They might even kick him out of training. He’d have to wander the forests again like before. After all, they had already doubted him once.
But today, no matter what, he was determined to ask the junior officer why he was crying like this.
He had come to see the junior officer secretly many times before. He didn’t understand why he felt so drawn to him. He had seen the officer sad and lost in thought many times before, but he had never seen him cry so heart-wrenchingly like this.
He knew that some of his friends were aware of his secret meetings with the officer. They had hinted at it subtly on several occasions, but he had always managed to avoid answering directly, brushing it off by saying, “I just like him, that’s all.”
His friends would fall silent after that. Sometimes, a friend would smile and ask him privately, but he was too embarrassed to explain. Still, no matter what, he couldn’t resist the urge to meet the officer whenever he had the chance. He had taken such risks for him. The officer, too, seemed to long for these meetings. As soon as the boy came, the officer would forget everything and embrace him. It was an inexplicable bond.
He knew very well that his fellow trainees didn’t call him by his real name, Kabir. Instead, they referred to him as "Black Hole." They suspected that the dark spots often visible on his cheeks weren’t from a disease but were marks left by the junior officer. At times, the indentations from the officer’s teeth could even be clearly seen among the marks. But from a distance, no one could tell. Only those who knew could guess that Kabir had once again secretly met with the officer. They had even tired of teasing him and had officially named him "Black Hole." No one dared to say anything to the officer, so they teased Kabir instead.
The junior officer had gotten up and locked the room from the inside. It was almost 2:45 in the morning.
Tonight, the officer finally shared his entire story with Kabir. In truth, the officer was distressed because, after so many years, his wife had come to visit him, along with her parents. The reality was that the junior officer had never considered himself worthy of his wife, and the child marriage that had taken place was just a farce. That’s why he had kept his distance from her.
Tonight, the officer couldn’t face his innocent wife and instead blamed her to defend himself. This very thing was now tormenting him, and when he felt sympathy from his lover, he broke down completely. The officer had also lashed out at his father-in-law for no reason, saying all sorts of things, even though the man had done nothing wrong.
With a choked voice, the officer narrated the whole story to Kabir, even expressing that he wanted to find a good man and arrange a happy life for his wife. He felt deep pity for his innocent wife and was filled with regret.
Kabir lay lost in thought, resting his hand on the officer's chest, deeply absorbed in his story.
“Stay here tonight…” the officer said softly. Only then did Kabir realize how late it had gotten. Morning could break at any moment now. He quickly jumped up and rushed out.
