Chapter 1
Even though the house is named "Shanti Kutir" (Peace Cottage), seven-year-old Raisa has secretly nicknamed it "Fight House." Her father, Akbar Chowdhury, is a well-known businessman in the country. To spend the weekend beautifully with his family, he built this duplex house away from the city. He named the house after his wife, Shanti. However, when the wife comes here with their daughter during the week, they hardly do anything except argue. At this very moment, for example, the husband and wife are neck-deep in a fierce argument, their throats swelling with anger.
Akbar Chowdhury said, "That day at Sarwar Bhai's party, why did you have such a gloomy face? Seeing your expression, everyone's enjoyment at the party vanished. Didn't you care about my honor at all?"
In response, Mrs. Shanti said, "Why would I have a gloomy face? My face is just like this. Didn't you see it before we got married?"
"No, no, no! Your face isn't like that!" Akbar Chowdhury raised his voice. "Whenever your cousin Makbul comes to visit, your real expression shows. You're all smiles with him all day long!"
Mrs. Shanti shouted, "Akbar, are you crossing the limit? What do you mean by that?"
"You know exactly what I mean. I've given you everything you want. I've never held back in anything. Then why so much unrest in our home? I can't live in peace with you after marriage."
"Unrest? You're the one causing it! You have a twisted mind!"
The argument continued to escalate. Little Raisa sat on the bed, feeling sad. During her parents' quarrel, she felt utterly helpless. Her school teacher had taught her that quarreling is very bad, yet why hadn't her father and mother learned this despite all their education? Young Raisa could not understand.
Eventually, Raisa got up from the bed and left the room. Her quarrelling parents didn't even notice her at all.
Raisa started going down the stairs of the duplex house. After reaching the bottom, she looked around the huge living room. She was very hungry. She walked toward the massive double-door fridge. Pulling the steel door open wasn't easy at all. After a lot of tugging, Raisa finally managed to open one of the doors.
She could see a few ice creams on the top shelf. Rising on her tiptoes, Raisa tried to reach for them. Next to her, the cap of a sauce bottle was loose, and it fell onto Raisa's shoulder. Her entire dress got smeared with the sauce. As she tried wiping it off with her hands, it only spread more. She was already wearing a red frock—her favorite dress—and now the sauce had left strange patterns all over it.
Raisa didn't dare try reaching for the ice cream again. She closed the fridge door and looked around. All around the room, various toys were scattered here and there.