📖 Framed: Ayesha
Episode 1: An Unknown Face in the Frame
The city seemed unusually restless that afternoon.
Red and green buses collided in chaotic motion, rickshaw bells rang endlessly, the smell of fried samosas drifted from roadside stalls, and the distant call to prayer blended into the air—turning the city into a trembling canvas of noise and life.
Amid that restlessness stood Rowshan.
A camera in his hand.
By profession, he was a photographer—not someone who merely captured pictures, but someone who captured stories.
He focused his lens toward the sidewalk—an elderly woman selling flowers, a little boy walking hand in hand with his father. Suddenly, a girl walked slowly across his frame.
A black hijab.
No makeup on her face.
Yet her eyes—strangely deep. As if hiding countless unspoken words.
Without realizing it, Rowshan pressed the shutter.
Click.
The girl didn't even notice.
But Rowshan felt something—there was something inside that picture.
At the Office
As night fell, he returned to the office.
While editing photos at his desk, that particular image suddenly filled the screen.
His boss, Mr. Arman, was passing by. He stopped.
"Zoom in on that picture."
Rowshan zoomed.
Mr. Arman said slowly,
"Who is this girl?"
"I don't know, sir. I took it on the street."
"This face will go viral."
"Sir… she's just an ordinary girl."
"People aren't ordinary. Stories are. You create the story. I want a feature by tomorrow."
Rowshan froze.
"Sir, without permission…?"
"If you want to be a photographer, reduce your emotions."
He didn't like that.
He stared at the screen.
The girl's eyes seemed to say—
"Don't turn me into a story."
In Front of the Library
The next afternoon, he returned to the same place.
Strangely enough, he saw her again—standing in front of a public library.
He gathered the courage to approach.
"May I speak to you for a moment?"
She looked at him. No irritation in her eyes, but no interest either.
"Yes?"
"I'm Rowshan. A photographer. I took your picture… without asking. I'm sorry."
Her eyes hardened.
"Delete it."
"I will… if you want. But the photo turned out very beautiful."
"Just because it's beautiful, does that mean it's for everyone to see?"
The words struck him directly in the chest.
"May I at least know your name?"
"You don't need to."
"Still?"
She stayed silent for a second, then said—
"Ayesha."
And she walked away.
Rowshan stood there.
It felt like she hadn't just walked away—she had left a question inside him.
The Bus Incident
That evening, they met again on the same road.
Ayesha was getting on a bus. Rowshan stood at a distance.
Suddenly, shouting erupted inside—
"Thief! Thief!"
A man was pulling at a college girl's bag.
People were watching—but no one moved.
Then Ayesha stood up.
"Take your hand off!"
The man smirked.
"What's it to you?"
In one swift motion, Ayesha grabbed his wrist so tightly that he cried out in pain.
Rowshan watched everything from outside.
A strange wave of pride rose inside him.
The thief fled.
The trembling girl held Ayesha's hand.
"Ap… If you weren't here…"
"It's nothing. You just need courage."
At that moment, Rowshan stepped onto the bus.
For the first time, surprise flickered in Ayesha's eyes.
"You're here?"
"I didn't take a picture today. I just watched."
Ayesha smiled faintly.
"You don't need a camera to see everything."
It was the first time she smiled.
Rowshan felt that this smile wasn't meant to go viral.
It was meant to be kept in the heart.
A New Introduction
The girl from the bus introduced herself.
"I'm Riya. Can I call you 'Apu'?"
Ayesha smiled.
"You can."
Rowshan stood there listening.
Riya looked at him and asked playfully,
"Are you her…?"
Rowshan laughed.
"No, no. I'm just a photographer who made a mistake."
Ayesha looked away.
But in that moment, unknowingly, an invisible thread tied the lives of the three of them together.
Final Scene
Night.
Rowshan sat in his room, staring at that picture.
The cursor hovered over the delete button.
But his hand stopped.
Slowly, he renamed the file—
"Unknown Light."
A whisper escaped his lips—
"Ayesha…"
Outside, the call to prayer echoed through the night.
And somewhere in the darkness,
a pair of eyes was watching all of this.
👉 In Episode 2:
Is Riya truly just grateful?
Will Rowshan delete the photo?
And who is the person standing in the shadows?