Life

I was 12 years old and admitted to a boarding facility in Murree. We belonged to Lahore and lived in a posh area. My father had an export business and usually stayed abroad. He would spend very less time at home and therefore sent me to a strict educational institution to keep me disciplined. I hated him for one day only. It was a cold Sunday morning of the month of March when I was dropped by my parents in the boarding school. We had started travelling at night and reached the school at 9 am. We were served with hot breakfast in the dining hall and it was not long before my father announced to leave as he had to catch a flight at night. I started crying and did not let my mother go. My younger sister who was only 10 also held me tight. Seeing our hue and cry, my father promised me that he will come back after three months to take me home for summer vacations and then it will be totally up to me whether I return to this place or not. It made some sense so I let my family depa...

Hamid was an outstanding cricket player. As a child, the first thing he held properly in his hands was a bat. He then did not let it go. He used to practice hitting a ball all day long. He would tie up the ball to ceiling fan and kept hitting it till the thread broke or his arms gave up. Everyone around him knew that he will earn a good name in this game. He captained his school cricket team for three years and won many trophies. He had the ability to single handedly win a match. He was not only a good middle order batsman but he could bowl too, and his ferocity in fielding was unmatched. He was a perfect all-rounder. Hamid belonged to a humble background. However, he always had full support of his parents and siblings in pursuing his dream. After school, he got admission in a good college on sports scholarship and also started playing for a local club. His performance in local matches was outstanding. He broke many records like fastest 50 and fastest 100 in T20 matches ag...

Short Story by Nadeem Alam She had not yet opened her eyes when her mother died due to delivery complications. She was declared a curse in the family and her father married again. Her step mother always kept her away in a small store room adjacent to the kitchen. She was not even formally named. Soon she had two half siblings. A lot of celebrations were held at their arrival. She was unaware of the happenings as she was still too young to understand the life. She was made to do all the cleaning in the house. She washed clothes of her siblings, polished their school shoes and did all the dishes. She wore the old and discarded clothes of her half-sister, ate the left overs and slept on store room floor. She never questioned the disparity between her and them. Her father was too busy with work and her step mother ruled over the house. Her half-brother started calling her Masi and thus she got the name. She was fast in learning. Her siblings made her do their homework too....

10.15 pm. Barat has arrived but the bride is missing. She had gone to a beauty parlor almost four hours ago and was supposed to be at the ceremony by now. Bride’s mother calls his son Ahsan who had gone to collect his sister from parlor but his number is not responding. Bride’s number is switched off. Bride is accompanied with a friend who had come from abroad but her number is not known to the mother. As the time is progressing so is the anxiety. Mother then gets parlor’s number from a relative and dials. Receptionist at the parlor tells her that the bride Kalsoom left almost an hour ago. It is hardly 15 minute drive from parlor to the marriage hall. Where has the bride gone? 10.45 pm. Bride’s mother is now clearly upset. She calls her husband who is in gent’s portion of the marriage hall and expresses her concerns. He tells her to relax and sends his brother’s son Hamid to check on the bride. Hamid works in police department so he goes in the parlor and talks to the lady ...

Sohail and Hina were twins. They were born 21 years ago in a superrich family and had everything one could wish for except for their parents’ love. Their father was an industrialist who spent most of his time in business activities. Their mother was an ex model who would seldom be present in the country. Their early childhood was spent playing with each other and with their pets. They often saw their father on Sundays who would have brunch with them and then leave for playing golf with his buddies. Last time they saw their mother was almost a month ago that too in a television show. There were many wall sized pictures and murals of her in the house. They would secretly talk to her before going to sleep every night.     They were admitted to the best school in the city. Their school life was the usual. They went to school together, had the same tutor in the evening and then watched television. Their favorite cartoon show was ‘Dexter’s Laboratory.’ Throughout the schoo...