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Never too Late – A Story Submitted by Raima Imran

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Raima Imran is the student of the Creative Writing Program by Author Ayesha Marfani. The author conducts online classes for the kids and this is what they have written during the class. The kids also practiced the art of storytelling. This is the original unedited work of the kid.

Please appreciate it by commenting!

If you wish to be the part of the class then contact +923138997470.

Never Too Late

 

Kevin gazed at the final present. It was a present from his Aunt Leena for turning five years old. It was covered with a blue metallic wrapping paper and a pink ribbon with golden 5’’s on it. Kevin tore the wrapping paper and inside was a beige teddy bear. He named it “Teddy”. He knew right away that he and Teddy were going to be best friends.

All of a sudden, everything faded into a blur. And Teddy found himself staring at the ceiling while lying down on his bed.

Teddy jumped out of his bed and turned to his closet. He scurried out of the house and glanced around. “Empty as usual!” sighed Teddy as he crossed the road.

He peeped through the window of one of his friend’s house. Inside he saw his friend, Bunny the stuffed rabbit, sitting on the sofa looking glum because he wanted to be played with.

“Everyone ….” Thought Teddy, “Everyone in PettyVille is glum”.

He was right. PettyVille, the home for old toys who are not being played with anymore, was a gloomy place. The inhabitants rarely left their houses or interacted with each other. The weather wasn’t a big help either. It was always cold and gray.

As Teddy gazed at the small houses on the street, the chilly wind swirled around him, making him shiver. He remembered how he used to love the wind on his face when Kevin used to make him zoom all around the house on a toy airplane. He could never understand why Kevin gave up playing with him.

He nearly slipped on the wet road because he was too lost in his thoughts. Drops of rain came down splashing on Teddy’s forehead as he walked back to his house. His house was small and gray, just like all the other houses in town.

Before he entered his house, he glared at the hole that connected PettyVille to the real world. “My only hope to meet Kevin again is through that hole”, whispered Teddy to himself.

“No!” said Teddy, “It’s too risky … I can’t do it without a thorough plan”.

He glanced at the tiny shop a meters away. Maybe he could visit the shop to get ideas of how an escape from this gloom hole be made. So he went in.

The shopkeeper was a monster with six eyes. He didn’t talk at all. He just made gestures in response to Teddy’s questions.

Teddy sprinted back to his home. He rushed inside his house and flew towards his bed. He was hopeful but also exhausted and soon dozed off.

He startled awake as the first ray of light hit his face. The cogs in his head started spinning as he clumsily headed towards the window to examine the hole.

“Aha!”, Teddy cried, “There’s a nail sticking out from the edge of the hole. I can easily throw a lasso to grab on to it.”

After a couple of hours of fine-tuning, he came up with a spectacular plan. He was happy with himself. He could finally meet Kevin. At the same time, Teddy heard a creak from the door and he saw Kevin through the hole, tossing stuff around and mumbling something about not being able to find the TV remote.

Teddy woke up the next morning all excited because it was almost time to meet Kevin. He grabbed the lasso and hurried outside. He bumped into the fence and got scratched by a shrub in his haste. But nothing slowed him down. Upon reaching the hole, he threw up his lasso but it was only after a few failed attempts that it finally got hooked. He swiftly mounted and moved towards the top. Once he reached the top he leaped down into the real world.

Teddy heard Kevin watching TV in the distance, so he followed the sound to find him. As soon as he found Kevin, he jumped in front of the TV and shrieked, “Why won’t you play with me anymore? I never could understand why you stopped!”

Kevin did not reply for a long time and just stared at Teddy in fascination. When he did find his words, all that came out of his mouth was “What?!!, Whaaa … How?!, Who are you?”

This made Teddy even more agitated. He unplugged the TV and stuttered in anger “How can you not know who I am? I am your best friend!”

Kevin’s face turned red with fury and he screamed “I DON’T even care anymore. I am not a little child who plays with Teddy bears and monster trucks. Now go away. You are making me miss my program!” He stomped over to Teddy, snatched the plug from him and threw him all the way to the end of the corridor.

Pain shot through Teddy’s body but he somehow managed to get back on his feet and walked all the way back to his home. With a heavy heart, he limped towards his bed and sat down. He could have never expected what had just happened. But he felt even more determined to get through to Kevin and so he started pondering over a plan B.

He kept thinking, “If only I can make Kevin see what it is like down here in PettyVille! If only he could see what his carelessness is doing to all of us, I am sure he will change”. Just then an idea popped into his head. He had seen Kevin tweaking toy machines and had learnt a thing or two about them himself. He worked all night to make a machine that would help him carry out his plan. He seemed very happy about how clever his plan was. He couldn’t wait to carry it out.

After all the hard work, Teddy laid down on his bed and gazed at his amazing creation. He named it “The Shrink-a-majigger”.

He scurried outside with his masterpiece and tied a rope to it. Once again he threw up his lasso a few times until it was strong enough to carry the Shrink-a-majigger up. He used all his strength to pull himself and the machine up towards the hole.

He hopped down and saw Kevin, slouched on the sofa, playing a game on his phone. He crept up behind Kevin and shrunk him to the size of a toy.

“What do you want with me now?” screeched Kevin. “You’ll see.” was Teddy’s reply. He dragged Kevin into PettyVille while Kevin squirmed and kicked.

As Teddy hauled Kevin through the streets of PettyVille, Kevin saw a one of his toy robots, Buzzer, sitting alone on a bench staring into space while gray clouds thundered. It soon started to rain but buzzer did nothing to save himself from harm. He had the gloomiest look on his face. But he wasn’t the only one in town with that look. Everywhere Kevin went, he saw a sadness in everyone’s eyes. It was very troubling for Kevin.

By the end of it Kevin was almost in tears. “I didn’t know what I did that could cause all of this. I feel so sorry!”, he sobbed. Teddy put his hand on Kevin’s shoulder. “There’s no reason to cry,” he said softly. “Follow me”.

Teddy took Kevin back out of Perryville. He asked Kevin to stand straight while he hit the reverse button on the Shrink-a-majigger. Soon Kevin turned to his normal size.

Kevin was relieved to be back to himself but he did not leave right away. He hurriedly moved some boxes around from the corner of his room until he saw the dusty lid of his old toy box with a hole on the side. He opened the lid of PettyVille with a smile.

The sun started to shine brighter as Kevin took his old toys out of the box and remembered how much he loved playing with them. He thought about how foolish he was to think that he was too old to play with his toys. He now realized that you are never too old to play.

Check out books and booklets by Author Ayesha Marfani:

 

Story Submitted by Rumaisa Saify – Sara’s Mission

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Rumaisa Saify is the student of Creative Writing Program by Author Ayesha Marfani. The author conducts online classes for the kids and this is what they have written during the class. The kids also practiced the art of storytelling. This is the original unedited work of the kid.

Please appreciate it by commenting!

If you wish to be the part of the class then contact +923138997470.

 

 

 

 

Sara is a ten-year-old girl with dark blue eyes, golden long hair, wheatish complexion and the most interesting thing that adds to her cuteness were her chubby cheeks. She is a kind, friendly girl and has an impressive personality with a soft voice. That’s why she was the class leader. She was born with a silver spoon but she knew that her family won’t help her in her mission to save the earth so she was nervous yet anxious

Sara’s greatest fear was the destruction of the earth through pollution. It has scared her since she learned about it in science class in grade 3.

Sara hated the garbage thrown on the road. People throw-away liter from their cars’ windows and even in the school canteen, students leave their leftovers behind. Thinking of all these, Sara was lying on her cozy small sized bed with her favorite cartoon character, twilight, painted on its headboard. This was the place where she felt most confident as her father’s aggressive stares don’t follow her in here. She had pasted her drawings on the wall of her childhood and a few pictures of her family and friends. Her room is the place where she writes about everything that affects her like, Global warming. With all these in her mind, she fell asleep.

Suddenly, Sara had nightmares of burning garbage, cutting trees, black clouds due to vehicles smoke and dirty sea with dead fishes on its shore. She had a shivering body from her scary nightmares. She woke up and vowed to herself to save the world from pollution.

She sprang up from her bed and ran down the stairs with her feet thumping on the wooden steps, making a loud thudding sound. Hearing that, her father, sitting on the breakfast table,  gave her a long stare and nodded his head with disapproval. Sara thought in despair that she gave him a bad morning. I should have walked properly and presented myself beautifully with an endearing hug to my mostly aggressive father. Ignoring her inner-voice, she decided to present her idea to her rarely loving dad. She wished her dad was rarely aggressive and mostly loving. But she knew that this wish will never come true!

Her dad rejected her idea straightaway and said in his hoarse voice:  “you are too young for this” and left for his office. While Sara half-heartedly finished her breakfast, drinking her mom’s special homemade juice, feeling that she was sipping her own tears.

She dressed up for the school quickly and rushed for the bus as she was already late. She arrived at her school gloomily, searching for her best friend, Eman. Her eyes moved to-and-fro looking for a blond hair girl with dark green eyes. She soon found her sitting on the bench near the basketball area. Her eyes lit up when she saw her. Her sadness resided when an idea struck her. Yes, my solution is my best friend. She cursed herself why didn’t I thought of it earlier. Sara had no time to discuss it now but she was determined to give details to her friend during break time. Sara anxiously waited for the break time. Finally, the bell rang and she was super excited to share her feelings.

Both of them strolled towards the canteen as it was already crowded and they could not walk faster. They finally got a table in the right corner of the canteen close to the Hand-washing area. They ignored the wet floor and rushed towards the table. They didn’t bother to order food instead of focused on the problem discussion. Sara started her conversation with her nightmares, going on to explain her idea for stopping the pollution. She got so excited that her voice grew louder and louder. Everyone else heard what she was saying and everyone stared at her for some moment and then the room was filled with the greeting sound of students laughing at her idea. Few commented that “You are too young for this”. She held her tears back and went to sit at the corner of the canteen. With her hungry stomach growling, she attended the remaining classes and ran to the Bus area.

While she was waiting for the bus, she saw one of the school girls waiving to her but she assumed it to be her illusion as her vision got blur with her tears. That girl came closer and said to her that she will drop her at home. She realized that girl was her classmate, Dana who lives close to her home. Sara agreed gratefully as she had no stamina to wait longer for the bus. This day was the most exhausting and humiliating for her!

Gloomily she moved with Dana to sit in her white sedan car. But suddenly, the red logo labeled on the cars’ front door caught her attention. How can she forget that Dana’s father, Uncle Moiz, was the Manager at the Environment Management company?

Uncle Moiz was the kindest father Sara had ever known. He was already briefed about today’s incident so he spoke to me in his pleasant tone. “I will not say that you are too young for this. But your mission will take time. You are a well-groomed mature girl, so Dana and I will help you in this task. I am giving you 48 hours to think of a solution to solve your mission”. With this, Sara felt that the car has stopped moving and realized that she was already outside her home. She waved him good-bye with the promise to meet up again after 2 days with a proper conclusion.

Sara drafted her plan to present it to Uncle Moiz. She wanted it to be perfect and very impressive. Her plan was to make a contest, that whoever uses fewer plastic bottles will be the winner of the Steel Vacuum bottles. She will also paste posters on the notice board to create awareness about the causes of pollution.  Her major task was to conduct a project named “Go Green”. Under this project, she will ask the students to plant trees with different seeds. These plants will be decorated in the school corridor. She was sure that this project will bring success to her mission.

With goosebumps in her stomach, she woke up the next morning. She hurriedly got ready for school. To her surprise, Dana’s father was waiting for her at her doorstep. Dana was as excited as Sara. They both greeted each other cheerfully. She started explaining passionately to Uncle Moiz all about her plan. Dana’s father was glad to hear that. So he said in his pleasant voice that “I will talk to the Principal about your idea and convince her.

Fortunately, the Principal loved Sara’s brilliant idea and appreciated her. Sara was then allowed to paste posters on the notice board. Those who laughed at her before were now running behind her for participation in the contest. One whole day at school was spent drawing posters. Everyone came up with brilliant ideas such as, Say no to plastics, Save our Earth by 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle),  Don’t destroy our planet, Save Water, Plant More Trees and finally, a special one designed by Sara and Dana was : Say no to Pollution, Say yes to Solution.

The next day, Sara and Dana distributed pots and few seeds, arranged by Uncle Moiz, to every student. This was done to encourage planting, a solution for pollution. The contest was successfully conducted in the break time where everyone participated happily.

Sara’s struggle was very successful. Everybody after that used Vacuum bottles and avoid plastic as much as possible. Her school was the greenest school in the city. Even Sara’s father was now proud of her and became her rarely aggressive and most loving father. Finally, Sara’s wish came true.

This story teaches us that you are never too young to work for any good cause. It always leads you to success.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Story Submitted by Habiba Noman -The Big Change

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Habia Noman is the student of the Creative Writing Program by Author Ayesha Marfani. The author conducts online classes for the kids and this is what they have written during the class. The kids also practiced the art of storytelling. This is the original unedited work of the kid.

Please appreciate it by commenting!

If you wish to be the part of the class then contact +923138997470.

A BIG CHANGE

Alizah, a 10-year-old girl, with peachy lips, dark brown eyes small face and thick blonde shiny hair. She was a bright student, a good reader, and an active sports girl. She used to participate in assembly recitation. Everyone used to admire her voice. She never lied to anyone and was very fond of making good new friends.

Three classmates of Alizah Nida, Saba, and Fatima grouped together. They were bold. Nida was tallest so she thought she’d be a leader; Saba was chubby and always hungry. Her parents were working and she used to bring money for lunch that was not enough so she joined in with Nida so she can share in other’s lunch. Fatima was timid and shy so she just followed Nida as she said so. Nida uses Fatima for her personal favors to get lunch for Saba, complete her homework and stand in canteen queues. On the other hand, Alizah always wanted to be friends with Fatima because she thought she is a nice girl. She wanted to save her from the mean company.

After coming home Alizah used to pray as soon as possible, take a bath and tidy up her room. After lunch, She used to clean the table to help her mother who was busy with her younger siblings. One day Fatima called Alizah’s home and her mother answered. Fatima told her that Alizah is getting punished for talking in class during a lesson and its getting usual day by day. Alizah’s mom got upset and scolded her for being talkative in class and instructed her to be more attentive. The next day Alizah and her friends Huma and Ariba were targeted the same way. Nida laughed at them saying “poor girls! Mama scolded you, very sad: now behave well in class”.

Fatima felt guilty but Nida and Saba took her away.

In school the last unit was PE and Alizah was swinging in the garden when Nida and Saba pushed her hard. Alizah almost crashed on both of her knees. Fatima and her other classmates rushed to pick her up. At the same moment, PE teacher took Nida and Saba to the Principals office and Alizah was taken to First Aid. Sometime later, Alizah was called in the office and was asked to tell what actually happened. First Alizah looked at both Nida and Saba, they were ashamed and guilty. Alizah thought for a moment and told the principal that the girls were just standing nearby and actually it was her own fault because she was swinging fast. The principal asked her again if there’s anything more but Alizah affirmed her that there is nothing to worry about.

Nida and Saba apologized to Alizah for their arrogant and mean behavior. She forgave them and asked them to not to do this ever. They promised her. Alizah said, “We are friends and will be forever”.

A Wish Gone Wrong by Ayooq Fatima

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Ayooq Fatima is the student if Creative Writing Program by Author Ayesha Marfani. The author conducts online classes for the kids and this is what they have written during the class. The kids also practiced the art of storytelling. This is the original unedited work of the kid.

Please appreciate by commenting!

If you wish to be the part of the class then contact +923138997470.

Name: Ayooq Fatima

Age: 8 years old

     A Wish Gone Wrong

10 years old Ahmed is in bed he could not sleep he was thinking that when he could play Fortnite. His black shining eyes were dreaming about the game day and night. He was moving his hands in his black curly hair and thinking an idea to play the game. His mind was awake and he could hardly fall asleep. Ahmed looked at the other bed in the room. Ali, his tall and slim brother was in deep sleep. The game belongs to Ali, Ahmed’s elder brother. He did not let Ahmed touch the game. Thoughts were making Ahmed tired now. So he turned the side and closed his eyes.

 

Next day, while coming back from school he was extremely happy. He got an A in maths exam. He went straight to his mother, who was making lunch in the kitchen. He shouted excitedly mom, mom I got an A in maths exam. His mother replied wow you are a wonderful boy. Tell me what do you want to eat, she said happily. Ahmed said I want to eat pizza. His mom said sure I will bake it tonight. He said mom I want a gift. Mom said, what do you want dear? He said I want permission from Ali Bhai to play Fortnite like him. She said sure, I will talk to Ali.

 

At the dinner table, mom asked Ali Bhai if he can share his game with his younger brother. Ali Bhai refused to let Ahmed play that game. He said firmly that he is too small to play the game, he should play football and cricket with his age fellows. Ahmed shouted out loud and threw the plate. The game had taken over Ahmed’s mind. He was furious and hated everything. He was crying loudly, banged the door. All the celebration of his success was ruined.

 

Ali was reading a book on the reading table. Mom came and asked Ali to adjust with his little brother playing the game. Ali said, no it will affect his study and it is not for his age. Kids get easily addicted to this game and it has bad effect on mind and health. Mom said yes I know but he is misbehaving and not letting him play this game will make him worse. I will allow him for an hour after he has done with his studies. I hope you will b kind enough to share your game with your little brother. Ali smiled and said he is not that little and smart enough to make us do for him whatever he wants.

 

After a while, Ali went to Ahmed’s room and said that you can play the game but after your studies and only for an hour. He was so excited. He ran to the PS4, turned it on and played the game for a while.

Then he saw the challenges in the game, after completing one challenge he was curious about the next challenge and couldn’t wait. His mom came to him and said that it has been an hour, you should finish your game now and turn it off.

He was angry, he felt that it has been some while only not an hour.  His mom said look you started playing at 5:00 and now it’s 6:10. He angrily turned off the PS4 and went to his room. At night he could not sleep because he was thinking of the game. Next morning, while eating breakfast he was again thinking of the challenges. Even at school, his mind was occupied with the game characters and graphics. He was thinking of the game day and night. He left playing with his friends. He was hardly taking his meals on time. He was ignoring his health and studies. Once he starts playing it was hard for mom and Ali Bhai to get him to shut down the PlayStation.

One day at school he was going to the class when he fell down and became unconscious. The principal called his father and told him what the doctor at school was saying. The doctor said that Ahmed has a miserable condition of mental and physical health. He had dark circles under his eyes due to poor sleep pattern. He became weak due to not eating proper food. Dad was furious on Ahmed and he was thinking he has to be strict with Ahmed. Now everyone was thinking about what will his father decide.

Next afternoon Dad called a family meeting. Nobody dare to ask a question. It was a huge shame that the whole school witnessed the principal’s complaint against them. Ali Bhai was also angry at Ahmed. Dad gave a long lecture which meant that nobody will raise a single voice against his decision. He announced that he is going to sale PS4 and both the boys will b enrolled in karate and football classes. Dad also warned that they both have to follow the timetable and diet chart he was giving them. Ahmed was sad and ashamed. He was thinking only if he could keep balance in screen time and other activities, may b they don’t have to follow this strict routine. But this episode at school made Ahmed realize that it all happened because of his arrogant behaviour..his best wish gone wrong showed him the harsh reality and now he had to face the consequences.

 

The End

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Story Submitted by Aayan Aamir

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Aayan Aamir is the student if Creative Writing Program by Author Ayesha Marfani. The author conducts online classes for the kids and this is what they have written during the class. The kids also practiced the art of storytelling. This is the original unedited work of the kid.

Please appreciate by commenting!

If you wish to be the part of the class then contact +923138997470.

WRITER: Aayan Aamir

Age: 11 years

Class: 6

The City school, Dera Ismail Khan

 

 MAIN IDEA OF THE STORY

 

This story revolves around the toxic issues of jealousy, rivalry, intolerance and arrogance in student’s life.

It’s an eye-opening story not only for those parents who push their children into the unhealthy competition by putting undue pressure on them to achieve top position but also for those topper students who suffer from superiority complexes and then face serious consequences in the end.

 

   Dressed in his night suit, Usman came out of the washroom and stood in front of the dressing table in his beautifully decorated bedroom. Looking at the mirror, he saw the reflection of a 12  years old boy with a muscular body, short and well-trimmed silky hair, sparkling brown eyes and fair skin. He smiled proudly to see his perfect image in the mirror and thought arrogantly,

“Oh Gosh! I am so lucky to be such a perfect boy, having attractive looks with an extraordinary brain”

He then moved towards his writing-table, sitting on the chair, he took out his diary and started writing.

Dear Diary!

“Tomorrow is the result day of midyear exams and I am sure that most of the students won’t sleep peacefully tonight due to the resulting anxiety, but I have no worries, in fact I am waiting eagerly  for tomorrow because I am sure that once again I will secure 1st position with the highest percentage as usual. I believe that no one can ever beat me in studies because I am a gifted child and I work extremely hard to fulfill my parent’s highest expectations. My parents always tell me that they can never compromise on my academics and they only want to see me on top position. Honestly speaking, sometimes I feel over-pressurized due to their high expectation but then I work even harder to make sure never to disappoint my parents. My smart brains and my hard work has made me such  a student whom none can ever defeat”

         ***************************

Next morning Usman woke up early and got dressed in his neat and clean school uniform when he went downstairs he saw his mom and dad were also ready wearing their branded attires and waiting for Usman at breakfast. They all started their breakfast and then left for school.

While on way to school mom and dad kept talking about how lucky they are to have a son like Usman who has always made them proud with his marvelous academic achievements and they were sure that once again they are going to get the special protocol at school being the parents of Usman who is the star student of the whole school. Usman was listening to their conversation with a proud smile on his face. When they reached school, soon the resulting ceremony started and all the position holders from all classes along with their parents were called on to the stage to collect their result and then the time came for the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT which was to announce the name of that High Achiever who got the highest percentage in the exam. Usman was confident to win this title and he was absolutely right because when the principal announced the name of High Achiever with Highest percentage, it was none other than Usman. Usman and his parents smiling big and wide went towards the stage and Usman with his chest sticking out and shoulders arched back, received his High Achiever prize.

After the ceremony, many students congratulated Usman but he just responded with a cocky smile on his face, without even bothering to talk to them and kept thinking “It’s only me who deserves this title, none else can ever win it”

 

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 (Usman writing his diary before going to sleep)

Dear Diary!

“Today was another fantastic day for me. Yes!!! One more time I have done it, I have made my parents and teachers proud of me. I won the High Achiever award once again leaving behind all other competitors disappointed who can just dream of winning this award.

Khadija,  my class fellow, who studies day and night and has become a bookworm in order to beat me someday and secure 1st position, but that poor soul doesn’t know that she can’t get the brain like mine. Umar, another bright student of our class, is also considered as my competitor but he is just a carefree fellow, who is a genius but he doesn’t take his studies too seriously, rather he is more into sports and extra-curricular activities, I heard him calling me “ARROGANT” while talking to his friends. It really made me laugh out loudly in my heart because I know all students are jealous of me. They can’t ever reach the level where I am standing. They want to befriend me for their own mean reasons but I know how to keep such losers at a distance.

I am happy that I haven’t let down my parents expectations and I am sure I will always make them proud of myself.”

*********************

Usman’s mom was sitting in the lounge with her friend Mrs. Marina, who had come to visit her after a long time. She was actually a psychologist by profession and has come back from the USA to settle back in Pakistan. The phone bell rang and when mom picked it, it was Usman’s classmate Umar on other end and he wanted to talk to Usman. Mom called Usman to attend Umar’s call, Usman came, picked the phone but just hanged it down after 2 minutes. Then he greeted his mom’s friend Mrs. Marina. Mom inquired Usman that what was Umar saying to which he replied that Umar has invited all the classmates to his home for the New Year party tomorrow as they all wanted to chill and enjoy before the winter holidays are over and start of 2nd term in school. Hearing this Mom immediately said that “ I hope you have already refused to Umar for attending the party as I don’t want you to waste your time in such silly parties.” Umar replied,” Yes mom, I had told him that I won’t come to the party.”

Here Mrs. Marina interrupted and asked Usman’s mom that why she didn’t want Usman to attend a party at his friend’s place. Mom said, “You know my dear friend, Usman is very studious, genius and hardworking child and I and his dad never allow him to waste his time in such things. We both want him to excel in life and it is only possible if he values his time today. As you can see that these days there is very tough competition in each and every field and a student can enter into a reputed college only if has a bright academic record. Usman is our only child and we want the best for him and expect him to always do his best”

Hearing all this, Mrs. Marina smiled sadly and said that this is actually the dilemma of today’s parents as they have put such undue pressure on their children in order to secure top position, which has many adverse effects on child’s psychology. She added that Usman must spend his free time as he wishes and must be allowed to enjoy with his trustworthy friends. But she was surprised when Usman said, “Oh No aunty, I myself prefer to spend my time in something better than to waste it by attending parties and chilling out with a bunch of stupid fellows”. Saying this he left the lounge and went to his bedroom where he took out his Science book and started reading it, thinking that only two days are left for reopening of school.

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It was the 1st day of the new term after winter break; all the students were sitting in the class in a relaxed way, chatting with each other. Then their teacher entered into the classroom along with a new boy who was holding his shoulder bag on his side and stood confidently beside the teacher. He was a good looking boy with a very pleasant personality and a friendly smile on his face. The teacher introduced him to the class that he was Muhammad Hadi, who was being migrated from the capital campus to their branch due to his father’s posting. The teacher added that Muhammad Hadi has been the brightest student throughout his academic career and he has won’t many titles for his previous school in different co-curricular and extracurricular activities.

Then the teacher asked Hadi to take his seat and he started his lesson of the day.

At break time, many students came towards Hadi welcoming him to their school and introducing themselves but Usman didn’t even bother to introduce himself or meet Hadi. In fact, he got jealous when the teacher was telling the class about Hadi’s excellent academic record and his achievements and in his heart he was meanly thinking that may be Hadi has never had a competitor like ME, and now in my presence securing the first position would just be a dream for MR. Hadi.

                                       ******************************

But in the coming days, Muhammad Hadi proved himself to be the true competitor for Usman but unlike Usman, he was not a proud and arrogant boy. In fact, everybody at school liked him due to his friendly and down to earth nature. He was very helpful towards others and never refused if somebody asked for his support. He was excellent in his studies but at the same time, he was very good in other activities like debates, sports and quiz competitions etc.

Soon all the students who were fed up of Usman’s arrogant attitude started admiring Hadi and even sometimes they used to appreciate Hadi in front of Usman in order to irritate him. Even the teachers who once used to admire the intelligence of Usman had also started appreciating Hadi’s superb performance and above all his conduct too. This situation was quite unbearable for Usman and he developed extreme hatred in his heart for Hadi. He always kept on thinking how to degrade Hadi and spoil his image. On the other hand, Hadi tried his best to befriend with Usman and despite his extremely rude attitude, Hadi never misbehaved with Usman.

The situation got terrible for Usman when the midterm assessment’s result was announced and it came out that Usman and Hadi had got the same percentage in the midterm assessment. This was a big shock for Usman and his parents were also very disturb and even they did not bother to hide their feeling from Usman. In fact, his mom kept asking Usman that “how come a new student can get the same percentage as yours? She added,” I must tell you that now you have to work even harder and you must get a higher percentage than Hadi in the final exam”

This made Usman very depressed and that night he wrote in his diary.

Dear Diary!

“Today is the worst day of my life, my mom and dad are sad because of me. I have lost the honor to make them proud of me always. It is really very painful. Muhammad Hadi has become a headache for me. I don’t know how he manages everything so well, he is not just a bookworm like Khadija and neither is he a carefree fellow like Umar who despite having smart brains, never takes his studies too seriously. Initially, I didn’t take Hadi’s achievements very seriously, when he won the debate competition and when he was selected as the new caption of the football team as well as when he won the general knowledge quiz. All these achievements seemed not that BIG to me because I kept thinking that whatsoever he can never beat me in academics. But today he has proven that he is excellent in his academics too.

Now I must study harder because I can’t bear to see Hadi come equal to my position. Yes I just can’t tolerate it, it’s really very painful”

Then Usman started spending even more time in studying but at the same time, he was very stressed because he could not snatch that fear of BEING DEFEATED BY HADI from his mind. He used to sit all day and even till late night revising all his subjects again and again but his mind was not focused like before. His concentration in studies was badly distracted because of this fear that what would happen if Hadi would get a higher percentage than him and what if Hadi would get the Higher Achiever Award instead of him, he used to keep thinking of all this which gave him panic attacks. He had lost interest in all other things. Slowly he was losing his appetite and sleep. He used to spend all his time surrounded by books and seeing all this, his parents were satisfied that he is working very hard to remain at the top position. But in fact, Muhammad Hadi had become Usman’s worst nightmare, which was badly affecting his life.

Soon the date for final exams was announced and all the students started studying seriously, keeping aside all other activities. But this time Usman had quite a different feeling while taking his exams, he was not at all confident like always. He had the best preparation but he was very nervous, having severe exam anxiety for the very first time. But he did very well in his exams and was hoping that Muhammad Hadi won’t be able to get some percentage like his.

Then the result day arrived, Usman along with his parents were on way towards the school to collect the result but this time Usman was very nervous, unlike all the previous result days when he used to be quite relaxed and confident of his excellent result.

When they reached the school, the result ceremony was about to start so they went to the auditorium where the principal soon started announcing results of all position holders from all classes. Then came the turn of announcing Usman’s class result and at that moment Usman’s heart was beating very fast and his nervousness was clearly revealed from his face. Before announcing the Topper from class 6 the principal looked at the audience with a smile on his face and said,” Now I am about to announce the result of that class about which we all always used to be certain that who could be the topper and high achiever from this batch, this is indeed one of the best classes as since past few years THE HIGH ACHIEVER AWARD with the highest percentage has always been won by Usman of this class BUT…..”

It was the time when Usman felt like his heart is sinking, his face turned pale and sweat appeared on his forehead.

The principal continued,” BUT this year I am proudly announcing that we have got another bright student in this batch, who is a true ALL ROUNDER. He is a gem and star student just like Usman. Yes, Muhammad Hadi and Usman have a very minor difference in their overall percentage as Muhammad Hadi got 97.5 and Usman got 97.35 percentage in the final exams, so I proudly announce that this time our High Achiever Award goes to Muhammad Hadi of class”. Hearing this there was cheers and a big round of applause in Auditorium. But then everybody was just surprised to see Usman standing up from his seat, his legs trembling, tears rolling down his face, he seemed to be completely unable to control his feeling. He rushed out of auditorium followed by his parents who were trying to stop him. But he went out of school and there his dad just grabbed him and made him sit in the car. Usman was crying loudly repeatedly saying, “I am failed… I am a loser… how is it possible that someone can beat me… I am failed…let me die… I should not live with this disgrace…I am the loser”. His body was shaking badly and completely soaked in sweat. His mom was in a shock to see her beloved son’s condition, she was crying too and trying to comfort Usman by hugging him tightly but shortly he got fainted and his mom started screaming asking her husband to rush to the hospital.

When they reached the hospital, doctors urgently started checking Usman and gave him treatment but he was still out of senses. After an hour the doctors told Usman parents that their child had a mild nervous breakdown and he seemed to be in extreme depression. The doctors told that his condition was then stable but they had given him some relaxants so he was sleeping. The parents were also told that their child would be kept under observation in hospital and he would need psycho counseling session to overcome his depression.

It was such a terrible situation for Usman’s parents because they never ever imagined that their high expectations from him would put such undue pressure on their only child that it would have such devastating effects on his mental health. They were completely broken to see their child in that condition.

                                                                    ***************************

In the evening Usman was back in his senses completely but he still seemed to be in great shock, neither talking to anyone nor opening his eyes. He was just quiet not responding to whatever his parents and doctors were saying to him. But the doctors consoled the grieved parents that it would take some time for him to accept the situation and after counseling, he would be alright.

Usman was kept in hospital under observation and during all this time his school principal, teachers, classmates visited him but it was only Muhammad Hadi who daily came to visit Usman and spend time with him. Hadi was trying his best to heal the pain of Usman in any possible way. After one week doctors discharged Usman from the hospital because he was improving gradually but his parents were advised that he must be treated by a psychologist.

Usman’s mom contacted her friend, Mrs. Marina who by then had established her own clinic of mental health with the best possible facilities in the town. It was decided that Usman would have pyscho counseling session with Mrs. Marina in her clinic until and unless he would be cured completely.

Gradually Usman was coming out of his emotional meltdown condition with the support of Mrs. Marina, his parents, and Hadi who never missed a day to visit Usman and tried to stay by his side in this critical phase of his life.

Mrs. Marina held one on one counseling sessions with Usman and also combined session with his parents. She guided his parents, not to over pressurize their child by expecting too much from him and telling him always that he must be on top always.  She told Usman and his parents that being Muslims we should be moderate in all our deeds and that we should try our best to achieve success but must leave the result to ALLAH.

After two months-long sessions with Mrs. Marina Usman was finally back to normal life and his parents had also learnt a life lesson and they firmly decided that they would never put their child under pressure for the sake of 1st position.

                                                           ********************************

It was the last combine session of Usman and his parents with Mrs. Marina and when they came out from the clinic they found Hadi waiting for them in the car parking. He tightly hugged Usman and congratulated him and his parents for safe and complete recovery of Usman. Hadi told Usman that his mom asked him to take Usman’s study pack too when taking his own from school. Hadi added that now he would accompany Usman to his home and there they both will label all their books and notebooks together as summer vacation were about to end and the new academic year was to be started in just two days. Usman hugged Hadi and told him that he was just short of words to tell him how thankful he and his parents are to Hadi for all his support, sincerity and kindness. He said, “ Hadi I am lucky to find a wonderful friend like you and we would always stay together all our lives”.

Hadi replied with a sweet smile on his face,” Insha Allah my dear friend”

The new academic year started and all students were back to school with new hopes, new dreams and new plans and the best thing of this new academic year was the much better version of Usman who was no more an arrogant fellow but a very friendly, polite, humble and ambitious boy with his best friend Hadi by his side.

                                                                               THE END