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Showing posts with label Soulful Narratives. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soulful Narratives. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Bayaan – The Body Went, The Voice Stayed | Afsana Wahid’s Poetic Story of Silence, Memory & Echo






Bayaan – Next Chapter: “The Body Went… The Voice Stayed”

That Saturday, there was something different in the Café.

The girl — the one everyone now called “the Bayaan girl” — was sitting in front of the Map of Silence as always.
But this time, the old book wasn’t in front of her...

Instead, there was a recorder.

A small one, with a blue button.
On it was written a name: “Zayra Fatima”
And below, just a date — “14 July 2004.”

“Does this recorder work?” Naira asked.

The girl smiled,

“No… not anymore. But its voice is still alive.”

Then she played it — not by pressing the button, just by touching it.

And a soft tinkling sound echoed through the Café — as if an old raga had struck the walls.

"If someday my voice remains, and I don’t… then take it as my silence.
Because some stories don’t want words — just existence."
— Zayra’s voice


“Those Whose Tongues Are Silent” – Page #21:

That girl added a new story — this time, about a radio jockey.

One who spent her whole life preserving other people’s voices,
but never told anyone that she had been born deaf.

Her eyes used to listen.
Her hands used to feel.
And when she spoke, every word came borrowed — taken from someone else.

"You can’t imagine… when I speak, who is really speaking."

"I have stolen every voice — from a mother’s call to her son,
from a fiancée’s laughter, from an old man’s final prayer."

💔 “The one the world called — the Thief of Voices.”

Now, on the wall of Bayaan Café, there is a new photograph —
a picture of an empty chair with a “Z” carved on it.

Every Saturday, under that chair, a small speaker is placed.
No sound ever plays from it…

Only sometimes, a faint vibration passes through the air —
as if someone said something, but it wasn’t heard.

☁️ The New Question:

Now a new question has been added to the book “Those Whose Tongues Are Silent”:

"Have you ever lived in someone else’s voice?"

People stay quiet,
but the answers are often left before that empty chair —
someone leaves a tear, or just an envelope,
on which it is written:

"Give my voice to the one who still knows how to listen."

🎙️ Podcast Episode Title: “The Voice That Was Borrowed”

Tagline:
Sometimes your voice is the one someone else lost.


🕯️ Bayaan – No. 1: “The Face That Wasn’t in the Mirror”

That evening, soft rain droplets were tapping on the Café’s windows.

Naira was there, as always…
But today, “that boy” wasn’t in front of her.

Instead — there was the page he had left behind.
On it, a single question was written:

“Have you ever seen someone — who never existed?”

Naira kept reading that page for a long time.
Then quietly, she walked toward the mirror —
the same old mirror still standing behind the shelves of books.

There was something strange on its surface…
as if someone had drawn a face with their fingers.

But the face was incomplete —
one eye was missing.
One smile was half.

“This face… it isn’t his,”
Naira whispered to herself,
“Maybe… it’s waiting for someone.”


🔮 The New Mark on the “Map of Silence”

That night, on the Map of Silence, a new line appeared.

Someone — without speaking, without leaving a name — had drawn just a single scar.

It was the kind of scar that remains
when a hand lets go… and something stays behind on the palm.


🎧 The Mysterious Recording

From the old radio kept in the Café, a voice suddenly echoed:

“I’ve come back.
But this time, not to see you — to remember you.”

Naira didn’t flinch.

She already knew —
some voices don’t return, they just change their paths.


💙 A Last Keepsake

On the fourth chair of the Café that day, a blue handkerchief was found.

It had a faint trace of perfume —
as if someone hadn’t said goodbye,
just paused for a while.

Naira picked it up —
and added a new question to “Those Whose Tongues Are Silent”:

“If you had gone away… would your fragrance have stayed?”


Tagline:
Some people don’t appear in mirrors — because they’re not behind us, they’re standing inside us.


On one wall of Bayaan Café hangs a mirror —
small, a little worn at the edges,
but the reflection in it
often looks clearer than reality.

That evening, Naira was alone.
A light blue dupatta was slipping off her chair,
and in front of her sat a cup of tea — cold,
like someone had gotten used to waiting.

She looked at the wall —
and the mirror seemed to breathe.

“You come every day,”
the mirror said for the first time —
its voice silky, like an old song hiding in dust.

Naira didn’t flinch.
In Bayaan Café, strange things often felt familiar.

“Do you want to say something?”
the mirror asked.

Naira smiled, very softly.

“I do speak… by writing.
But sometimes, it feels like no one listens.”

The mirror stayed silent.
Then, on its surface, an old face appeared —
the old man who once recited couplets on Bayaan’s radio,
the one who used to say,
"More than knowledge, what matters is the decency of expression."

“Your voice still echoes here,”
the mirror said,
“on this wall, in this silent tea,
and in the tapes of that recorder.”

Naira quietly asked —

“How many things have you heard?”

Something rippled across the mirror’s surface.

“So many…
that if I begin to speak,
every wall will start to write 


 

Hello beautiful readers,







I’m Afsana Wahid, the writer of this story. 🌸







No matter which country or corner of the world you’re reading from —







I’d truly love to hear your thoughts.







Please send me a message or leave a comment and tell me how you felt about this story.







Your words mean the world to me! ✨


Friday, August 29, 2025

“Bayaan Café — Stories That Don’t Ask for Names, Only Listen to Souls”




5. “The Woman — Who Wished the Train Never Stopped”

The train slowed down as it reached the station.

A woman stepped out —
a simple cotton saree, faint weariness in her eyes,
and a small paper envelope clutched tightly in her hand.

No one asked her name.
Perhaps she didn’t want to tell.

Only one thought kept echoing in her mind:

“I wish this train never stopped… just kept moving —
until I could find myself again.”

As she walked out of the station, her gaze fell on an old board:

Bayaan Café — 300 meters

Her heart skipped a beat for a moment.

“Bayaan…” she whispered softly —
as if an old forgotten voice had called her name again.


6. “Bayaan Café — A Place That Waits for No One, Yet Belongs to Everyone”

When she reached the door of the café,
the air still carried that faint, familiar fragrance —
the one Helena had left behind.

Inside, there was silence —
a few chairs,
glass jars filled with folded paper notes,
and in the middle, an old bench where Baba-Bayaan sat.

The woman quietly stepped inside.

On the table nearby rested an empty cup,
as if someone had just set it down moments ago.

She softly asked Hashir:

“Do people still… write their thoughts here?”

Hashir smiled and nodded.

“Yes… and sometimes, they’re even heard.”


7. “Her Letter — The One No One Had Ever Read”

The woman opened her bag.

Inside was an old letter
the paper had turned yellow with time,
and on it, a single name was written: “Syed.”

She placed the letter gently in front of Baba-Bayaan.

“I never sent this…
because the day I was supposed to,
he left… forever.”

Baba-Bayaan lowered his head slightly without opening it.

“Some letters are not meant to be answered…
they’re just meant to sit beside a cup of coffee.”


8. “The Girl Who Always Sat by the Window and Looked Outside”

The woman chose a seat near the café’s window.

Outside, a few neem leaves drifted lazily to the ground.

She adjusted her scarf over her chest
and took the first slow sip of her coffee.

Her face still held a thousand untold stories,
but her lips… remained silent.

Hashir walked up to her and asked softly:

“Is this your first time here?”
“No,” she said, gazing outside.
“I’ve been here many times…
just in my thoughts.”


9. “The Piece of Paper — That Became a Poem”

Baba-Bayaan picked up the old letter
and quietly scribbled something on its corner.

Then, without a word,
he handed it to Hashir.

“Pin this on the wall —
don’t write her name.”

Hashir looked at the words on the paper:

“I won’t stop you from leaving —
but after you’re gone,
this window will stay open every evening
towards the same direction.”


10. “Bayaan Became the Name of Another Story…”

When the woman finally got up to leave,
she placed a tiny wooden bird on the table —
its little eyes carved shut.

And she said softly:

“If anyone asks,
tell them…
I’ll return someday.
Perhaps when my answers start questioning me.”


🌒 “Bayaan’s Nights Still Move Slowly…”

Now, on the café’s wall,
there are no names —
only three things hang quietly:

  1. Helena’s little bottle of perfume
  2. Baba-Bayaan’s notebook
  3. The corner of that unnamed woman’s letter

No names are written on any of them.

Because at Bayaan,
names are never asked…
only stories are heard.


11. “The Boy — Who Was Running Away from His Own Voice”

That day, the café’s window was wide open.

The neem tree’s shadow had grown longer,
stretching lazily across the street.

A soft knock came at the door —
and a young boy walked in,
around 22 or 23 years old,
wearing simple clothes,
a sling bag over his shoulder,
and eyes carrying quiet exhaustion.

Hashir looked up —

“A new story?”
The boy shook his head slightly.

“No…
perhaps a very old one.”


12. “All He Had Was a Blank Diary”

The boy walked inside and sat at a corner table.

From his bag, he pulled out a thick, new diary
its pages untouched,
not a single word written.

He took out a pen,
stared at the blank page for a long time…
then quietly put the pen back.

“Sometimes I feel…
I can’t write myself down.”

Baba-Bayaan had been watching him from afar.

He slowly walked over and sat across from him.

“Do you want to write?”
“Yes… but I’m scared.”
“Scared of what?”
“That if I write it down…
and it turns out to be me
what will I do then?”


13. “Bayaan’s Rule — No First Page Ever Stays Empty”

Baba opened his notebook
and placed a single slip of paper in front of the boy.

On it was written:

“If the first word scares you,
it means…
that’s your truest one.”

The boy read it carefully.

After a long pause,
he opened his diary for the first time
and wrote on the very first page:

“I don’t know who I am.
But today,
for the first time…
I’ve accepted that I exist.”


14. “The Girl Sitting by the Window… Was Listening to His Story”

By the café’s window,
a girl sat quietly, holding a book —
its title read:

“Bayaan: Short Stories, Long Silences.”

She had been reading…
but suddenly paused.

Her eyes drifted toward the boy —
watching him
as he tried to have a conversation with himself
for the very first time.


15. “The Collision — Between Two Silent Gazes”

When the boy got up to get coffee,
the girl caught a glimpse of his diary.

The boy noticed
that she was reading it.

“You have no right to read my words.”

The girl smiled softly.

“And you have no right to be afraid —
when your words are so true.”

The boy froze for a moment.

For the first time,
he saw permission, not judgment,
in someone’s eyes.


16. “Bayaan Café Became a Bridge Between Two Strangers”

Evening began to fall softly.

The boy returned to his table.

The girl walked over and sat across from him.

“I’m Anaya,” she said.
“And I…
I guess I’m just a word for now,”
he replied.

She smiled.

“Then let’s write a story together.”
“Where do we begin?”
“From the moment…
you stopped being afraid.”


Now, on Bayaan’s wall,
two new shadows of coffee cups
joined the old ones.

Baba-Bayaan whispered to Hashir:

“We’ll need a new poem for the next wall.”

And then

he wrote softly in his notebook:

“Sometimes, two strangers
share a single page —
and become an entire book.”


Hello friends! I’m Writer Afsana Wahid. 🌸

Please read my story, share it, and don’t forget to leave a comment.

Also, let me know who you are and where you’re from so that I can know from which corner of the world my story is being read. 🌍


https://bitli.in/51hZ5p7

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