Dhaka, March 8 -- The following is a work of fiction

Tamim grew up in a home where nothing was simple, though everything appeared orderly.

Their apartment stood in a quiet, tree-lined neighbourhood of Dhaka. Inside, framed Arabic calligraphy hung beside abstract European prints. His mother recited verses in the morning and watched Western crime dramas at night. His father spoke gravely about moral decline but encouraged debate about global politics at dinner. The children attended an English-medium school where Valentine's Day was celebrated discreetly and Shakespeare quoted more often than scripture.

At home, free mixing between unmarried men and women was described as dangerous. Outside, it was ordinary. No one named the tension. The...