Life

Big Bang was a weekly game show and its host was notorious to do something outrageous, spectacular and thrilling every week. The show had continued for almost ten years but it was now getting monotonous and boring. To bring back the viewership and to boost its rating, producers of the show promised the next show to be astonishing, mind-blowing and breathtaking. This week, a large crowd was gathered in a stadium of a small town to witness the game of Russian roulette and there were several million viewers watching it live on television sets worldwide. Selection of the show site was done carefully to avoid intricate legal issues in the big cities. The game selected for the show this week was Russian roulette.   In the actual game of Russian roulette, a person would be loading a bullet into one chamber of a revolver, spinning the cylinder, and then pulling the trigger while pointing the gun at his head. It is a lethal game of chance where a player bets his life to try his luck....

Short Story by Nadeem Alam It is not funny at all, not for me at least. I found a bag full of cash and felt like the luckiest person alive but what happened next has nothing to do with luck. It was Monday evening and I heard police siren outside my office. I came out in the parking area and spotted a man standing near my car and fiddling with its door. As soon as he saw me, he ran away. I hurriedly reached to my car and found a bag placed on ground near driver's door. At first I tried to ignore it but then I had to move it to open the car's door. It was heavy and it made me curious. I opened its zip and peeked inside. It was difficult for me to hide my excitement. I put the bag on back seat and drove past a police party which had arrested that man. As our eyes met, he glazed at me and few drops of sweat appeared on my forehead. I sped away and reached back to my one room rented apartment. Without changing clothes I sat down and opened the bag. It was full of cas...

Short Story by Nadeem Alam My world consisted of a few yards under a bridge. I had not seen my father. My mother was all that I had. I spent all of my time playing with a small toy and looking at my sky, which was actually the belly of the bridge. One day, when my mother was not around, someone picked me up and took me away from my world. I was too little to protest. I did make some noise, but nobody paid heed to my sobs and whines. The man who kidnapped me took me to his home, which was a little bigger than mine. He kept me locked inside a room and only came thrice a day to feed me. My world was changed. The sky was now a roof with a noisy ceiling fan and a gigantic spider web. I missed my old world and I missed my mom. I felt lonely and scared. I cried most of the time. My kidnapper did not have any marketing sense. He showed me to many people, but they all rejected me. I was kept very untidy. I smelled bad, too. But one day, a lovely, old couple came and ...

Short Story by Nadeem Alam I knew this day will come but I had not imagined that it will come this soon. It was like another ordinary day. I came to office at 9 and had just concluded my morning meeting with the staff. My secretary informed me that there is some person from special branch of police who wants to see me. My heart jumped into my throat. I started feeling tremors in my body. Although I had prepared myself physically for this day but mentally I was always in a state of repression. Fifteen years ago, I along with my two friends had come to this city to earn our livelihood. We were fresh graduates but had no skill. We started off with odd labor jobs which kept increasing our frustration day by day. At one occasion, the city was shut down on a political party’s call for consecutive three days and we literally had nothing to eat or pay for the night rent at a dera hotel. So we did what hungry and desperate persons would do - we snatched. We liked doing it as with ...

Short Story by Nadeem Alam He was the only child of his parents and a lonely child. He spent his entire school life without making a single friend. In college however just on the very first day, he met Amjad. They both had different subjects and studied in different lecture halls but they soon became fast friends. They daily met in college cafeteria, spent spare time together, played xbox, went on drive together and even prepared for tests at the same place. He knew everything about Amjad but had never been to his house. Amjad however visited him occasionally on weekends or holidays. They both enjoyed their time on sea view. They have been friends now for an entire semester. Final exams were near and Amjad started coming to his home and helped him in his preparation for exams. He was surprised to see that Amjad knew everything about his subjects although he had different courses. He had recognized from the beginning that Amjad has a brilliant mind so he very often took his h...

Short Story by Nadeem Alam They were class fellows and friends. Final exams were over and they decided to go on excursion to Swat which was quite peaceful now. So they packed their bags and started off from Lahore at nine in the morning and through motorway they hit Rashakai interchange in the evening. They had been taking breaks in between otherwise they would have reached much earlier. Anyway, they had evening meal in Mardan and decided to move on. They had booking in Mingora which they did not want to miss. So here they were on road to Mingora. Google map assisted them and they were now only three hours from their destination. From Mardan, they moved at 8 pm on Batkhela road. Their phones went silent at 9.30 pm. Nobody missed them on that night or even on next day. By the morning of following day, their parents contacted each other. Nobody had heard from them for the last almost two days. They were now worried and decided to contact the police. They had been kept in a...

Short Story by Nadeem Alam 7.45 am . She is getting late and he is still asleep. They both recently got married and it is her first day to work after two weeks’ leave. She teaches in a nearby school which commences at 8. He works in a multinational company and has few more days to enjoy. So she leaves him sleeping and proceeds to her school. 8.30 am . Assembly is over. She is receiving facilitations from everyone at school. She thinks of her sleeping hubby and smiles. Her thoughts are soon shattered by the voices of children who are now running all around her. She could not think of anything else for next two hours. 10.30 am . Break Time. She sends a text to him. No reply. She sends another text. Still no reply. She thinks of his casual attitude and smiles again. 10.50 am . Break is over and she gets busy like a bee. 01.30 pm . Home Time. She hurriedly collects all her stuff and rushes towards the gate. She is intercepted by a peon who tells her to report to Pri...

Short Story by Nadeem Alam He was in bit of a hurry today as it was her daughter's birthday. She was five years old and had asked him for a doll which he intended to buy after his last trip from Quaidabad. He was a bus driver and plied on route F13. It was about 8 pm and he was nearing his last stop at Saddar where he daily parked his mini bus which was owned by Akram Khan. After all passengers stepped out, he hurriedly took the bus to his designated place of parking. He rushed out after throwing keys to the conductor and almost running out he reached a toy shop he had spotted earlier on. With all his saving of this month, he bought the most beautiful doll for her daughter Reshma who would anxiously be waiting for him at his neighbor's house. His wife had died six months back and he was faced with the challenge of raising his daughter alone. He had admitted her in a small school of their mohallah. He would drop her at school in the morning after making breakfa...