Setting (somewhere in Rawalpindi)
“Ammi, I can’t see anything,” I cried, meanwhile tracing my little hands on the blanket to find her.
“Where are you? I have become blind…” I was crying and yelling at the top of my voice. I was really scared – I just couldn’t see anything.
“Don’t yell!” she said and started cleaning the crusty pus from around my eyelashes. I was still crying. Finally, my eyes were clean, and I could see.
“Now, go back to sleep,” she said. She was getting ready; it was around 7 in the morning.
“Ammi, can I also come?” I looked at her with eyes brimming with hope and a really fake smile—just to convince her.
“No,” she said.
That “No” broke my heart into tiny pieces. I started crying again at the top of my voice.
“Okayyy,” she said finally. “But you’re going to behave there. No roaming around, no fighting, no shouting, no touching things, and most importantly, not talking unnecessarily,” she said while fixing her hair.
I got up on the spur of the moment, and changed in a minute –
I was really happy. Like sooo happy –
I was excited to go there.
“Ammi, can I come every day?”
“No,” she said.
That No broke my heart again, but I had a really exciting whole day ahead; I was happy.
It was still kinda dark outside; Ammi had a huge Red torch which came in handy. I looked at the rising sun and wished that Ammi would agree to take me there every day.
After a short walk and a long piggyback ride, we arrived at 8:50 in front of a huge Maroon gate.
“Police!” I yelled in fright and hid behind her head.
“Shut up”, she said.
The police opened the gate. Suddenly, the huge dogs started barking. I closed my eyes in fear and held Ammi’s shoulders from behind.
After a while, we were inside the house.
Ammi knelt down, and I jumped off her back.
She whispered in my ear, “Do what I have told you, okay,” and she left me in a hallway.
In a sec, Ammi disappeared, and I was all alone, sitting in the hallway, looking all around in awe.
I sat down and looked at the floor. I started laughing as I could see the two fountains Ammi had made with my hair.
I just followed the aisle, and it led me into a huge room. I walked in. I saw a woman; she was drinking something in a big mug.
Beside her were 3 children, two boys and a girl my age. There was a woman wearing clothes like Ammi; she was making the table ready for breakfast.
I sat down in a corner. No one noticed me until Ammi arrived.
“Why are you sitting here in the corner?” Ammi said—
She held me by my arm and pulled me so I could stand.
She once again left me, but this time on a small chair right in front of the woman and the children.
“Hello, what’s your name?” The woman asked.
It felt like I hadn’t spoken for years. I tried to but couldn’t say anything.
I just smiled at the lady and tried to clear my throat.
“Okay don’t be shy, pretty girl.” She said and asked me to paint with the other children.
I smiled again and tried to get up from the chair, but I couldn’t. I just held onto the cushion tightly with my hands. The chair moved forward and made a creaky sound, which made me feel embarrassed.
The woman smiled and went back to her phone.
The children were painting something, and the other woman was feeding them their breakfast.
Suddenly, the girl spilled some water on the painting. The boy got angry and ran after her. She shouted in fear and hid behind the other lady.
Their little fight continued until Ammi arrived.
“Madam, I’ve got some work; can I leave early?” Ammi asked the woman.
“Yes, sure, your daughter is really well-behaved and also a little shy,” she said, giving a cold look to the two of the children.
“Thank you, Madam”, she said, and her eyes were shining brightly.
I didn’t talk the whole way home. Ammi was glad that I behaved well and didn’t embarrass her in front of the woman she was calling Madam.
“You can come with me every day!” Ammi said proudly.
We reached home. Ammi slept, and I was looking at her uniform. That blue uniform scared me the whole night. I wanted to get close to her, but she was still wearing it.
This was written by our contributing writer, Safoora Bahadur.
Image Source: Pexels, Khalid aljmman
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