Every time when we speak of a mother, we
picture a lady working in the kitchen, looking after her family and working
endlessly till late night to keep her family happy. But Aisha Begum is
different from all the mothers of the world.
Aisha Begum, a skinny woman with tan face, dry
lips, creased hands and swollen legs lives in the mountains. Every day she
walks miles and miles in search of something very close to her heart and
returns home late night with the hope that tomorrow she will find the drifting
part of her heart.
Like every girl, Aisha also lived in the world
of fantasies. She dreamt about a nice home, a loving husband and a happy
family. When she was 18 years of age, she got married to the most charming boy
of the village. Aisha and her husband Karim loved each other very much and with
the passing time, they fell in a deep love with each other. Karim worked in a
wood factory and Aisha was a homemaker. They lived happily like the two love
birds in a small nest. As the years passed on, Aisha gave birth to the two
beautiful twins, a girl and a boy.
The family was living a good life till the day
when a huge storm of army blew up Aisha’s nest. Karim was killed by an army
officer because Karim’s cousin brother was a terrorist and the army officers
suspected that Karim was also the part of terrorist organization. Aisha
couldn’t believe that Karim was dead and he was wrong. Tears were falling down
from her eyes and her heart was in a pain, her body was paralyzed with the
shock and her soul was already gone with Karim. The children were calling their
father but he was gone very far from them. Aisha had never thought that Karim
would never come back from the work. She wanted to scream that MY HUSBAND WAS
NOT A TERRORIST. She wanted to ask the army officials why did you kill my
husband? But she couldn’t speak a word as if her voice was also killed with
Karim.
The village where once Aisha lived with honor
and dignity also labelled her entire family as terrorist. No one believed in
Karim that he was not a terrorist. But Aisha had an extreme trust on his
husband as Karim was not a violence loving person. He believed in peace and
love and that day when Karim left for work, he told Aisha that he was going to
meet his cousin brother to counsel him to leave the wrong path. But Aisha had
no proof of his husband’s innocence and so she had to leave the village because
the villagers didn’t want to live with Karim’s family anymore.
Aisha went to another village with her
children where nobody knew about her. She worked in the fields at the time of
day and at night she used to do needle work on the shirts, gowns and skirts.
Soon her days of darkness faded away and once again the sun smiled on her. Her
son Khalid and daughter Maryam completed their graduation. Khalid decided to
open a shop in his village and help his mother in earning. Maryam decided to
join a business school and later on open her own small industry. The family was
on a joyful track and Aisha was happy again. The part of the heart that was in
pain from the past fifteen years was healing. Aisha found Karim’s soul in
Khalid’s body and Khalid was exactly like his father, the most charming boy of
the village.
Maryam got the admission in business school
and went to the city for further studies, Khalid worked hard and opened a shop
in his village. Aisha took a retirement from the field work and started to
dream about the weddings of her children. She wanted to gift every happiness to
her children. She dreamt about Maryam’s industry and about her wedding. She
wanted to see her children successful so that she could die in peace. The
dreams that she and Karim used to knit were completing their trails step by
step.
One day when Khalid went to his work, he told
his mother that he will come home late as he was going to the city to buy a car
of his own. On the same day, a terrorist attack killed two army officers and
ten civilians. Aisha was worried about Khalid because she didn’t want to lose
another person close to her heart. She waited for Khalid at the door as tears
were falling from her eyes. Soon the sun went behind the mountains and the
color of the sky changed from blue to black, but Khalid didn’t return. Aisha
went in search for him, screaming and crying. She searched for him in every bus
that came from the city but he didn’t came back. Aisha went her home, crying
and screaming. The horror of that night paralyzed her. She remembered the day
when Karim was killed in a fake encounter. At three o clock in the midnight,
someone knocked the door and Aisha was terrified. But when she came to know
that it was Khalid, she quickly opened the door and gave him a tight hug. She
kissed his hands, face and forehead and held her hand tightly. Khalid never saw
her mother so much worried about him.
Khalid was back with a brand new car and after
he comforted her mother, he told her that he was stuck in the traffic as the
roads were blocked by army. Early in the morning Khalid gave his mother a ride
in his car and told her that he will never leave her alone. Aisha who had
completely forgotten the death incidence of Karim now remembered every moment
of that day and it terrified her. She used to wait for Khalid in the evening
and used to accompany him to his shop early morning. The sight of fear took
away her dreams. She was becoming weak day by day and her health was also
deteriorating. Khalid wanted to take her to the doctor but her mother didn’t
want to leave her home.
As the summer faded and autumn was on its way,
Khalid went to the city to consult a doctor without informing his mother. When
the sunlight went off, Aisha went to Khalid’s shop but she saw the shop closed.
She was worried about her son. She waited and waited for her son but he didn’t
return and after that day he never returned back to his village. Nobody knows
where he went and when will he come back? There were many boys in the village
that never came back. The disappeared people were assumed that either they were
killed by an army or they have joined terrorist organization.
Maryam left her studies after the
disappearance of Khalid and worked in a shop of his brother. She took a great
care of her mother. After Khalid‘s disappearance, Maryam handled all the
responsibilities and she used to miss his brother endlessly. Every time,
everywhere, she used to recall his brother’s laughter and his love for her.
Every night, Maryam used to move into his room and remember every moment that
she spent with his brother. The pictures hanging on the wall, the clothes in
the closet, the perfume on the shelf and the worn out sports shoes had a sweet
memory of his brother and seeing all this used to bring tears in her eyes.
Maryam searched everywhere for his brother, in
army camps, hospitals, police stations but she couldn’t find him. She also
checked the list pasted in the police station which revealed the names of those
people who joined terrorist groups, but his name was also vanished like him.
After five years, Aisha was out of the depression. Maryam and Aisha lived for
each other but they never stopped enquiring about Khalid. Maryam was planning
to join the business school again after her marriage.
Maryam’s marriage proposal was the reason that
Aisha came out of the mental sickness. Maryam was going to marry Khalid’s
childhood friend Zayn. Zayn worked as a computer operator in Dubai and after
their marriage Maryam was going to join the business school again to complete
her studies.
After Maryam’s marriage, Aisha and Zayn’s
mother Raffia lived together and Maryam went to business school. Happiness was
spreading through the fields and the laughter was brightening the dull faces.
As the summer converted into autumn and into winter and finally spring, new
buds bloomed and brought happiness. Maryam completed her studies and was back
to village living with her mother and mother in law. Maryam was going to Dubai
with her husband and establishing her industry in Dubai.
When Maryam left for Dubai, she told her
mother that she will take her to Dubai forever. In the evening, when two ladies
were having tea, a news came flying through the air that an airplane going to
Dubai crashed and all the passengers were dead. Hearing this news Raffia died
of heart attack and Aisha didn’t believe that her daughter is no more. Mental
sickness regained her and she believed that happiness was never meant for her.
The sickness made her remember all the sorrows, pain, and fear of losing everyone.
Every morning Aisha goes in search of Karim, Khalid, Maryam and Zayn. She walks
miles till her feet puff up. Whenever Aisha see a young boy and a girl, she
asks them about Khalid and Maryam. The dream of having happy family touched the
dust slowly and softly. Aisha Begum is going to find her family till the last
breath of her life and may be one day in the after world she will meet her
family.
Points: 215
Reviews: 3
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