Zaineen Karim Chowdhury

Zai, a bride-to-be in present-day Dhaka, is in love with her groom and dreams of a fairytale wedding, but secretly struggles with her body’s resistance to wedding rituals. As stress and emotional pain intensify, a mysterious woman with long hair begins appearing in Novera’s imagination.

While cooking Badhakopi’r Ghonto – a mixed vegetable stir fry—, Laila reflects on the act of cooking, loving, and what it means to find and keep a good man in a world of monsters.