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 It's
very painful for me to think of my school life. I was
the most mischievous boy in my class. My report cards were
full of remarks about teasing, scoffing at and brawling with
other students. My parents were called to school following
some of the incidents.
One such day after school,
I was standing at the gate of the school with some
of the boys. All of a sudden, I saw a girl coming towards
me. She looked straight into my eyes. After going past me,
she stopped a couple of yards away, turned around and came
back to me and asked me the way to the Principal's office.
I told her, but I could not stop looking at her even after
she had walked away. Never before in my life had I admired
a girl so intensely. I was totally fascinated by her.
I had never heard a sound
as sweet as that which came from her
bright red lips. Neither had I ever seen anything as beautiful
as her big dark eyes full of wonder and innocence. The whole
day I felt weak. Again and again, images of her kept coming
to my mind. It appeared as if some hidden force was pulling
me towards her, even though we had hardly spoken.
The next day, I was amazed
to see the same girl sitting in my classroom. The class
teacher introduced her and asked her to sit beside me! During
lunch break she asked me my name in a sugary sweet voice.
I asked her the same thing, and she said, "My name is
Aneeza and I'm from Afghanistan. I have come to India as a
refugee under the United Nations. I'm new here and I don't
know anyone." I promised her I would do my best to help
her.
As time passed, we came
close to each other. We shared lunch, I helped her
with her studies. Sometimes, she dropped me home in her UN-numbered
car. I could see the fear in her eyes when she told me about
the critical condition of her country. I don't know when it
happend, when I changed. I don't know when we crossed the
border of friendship. According to the rumour in school we
were in love with each other, but I didn't care.
On the last day of school
before the beginning of summer vacation, I asked her
to meet me after school and she said yes. In the evening,
we met near a lake. She looked so gorgeous in a churidar-suit
that I was scared of looking at her. Breaking the long silence,
she said that I looked like a gentle, innocent and good guy
(but God knows I was never that). Then she said it, "I
have loved you ever since the day I saw you standing at the
school gate." I held her hand and also confessed to loving
her. We stayed in the garden until daybreak. I could see the
love in her eyes. That was the most beautiful day of my life.
The next morning she boarded
the flight to Afghanistan. She promised that she would
be back for the summer vacation. I wrote letters to her and
she too replied to every letter, except my last letter. Then
the summer vacation got over and I was eagerly waiting for
her. Each day I would reach school with a wish in my heart
that she would be there, but each day ended without her. A
week passed. Neither did I get a reply to my letter nor any
news of her coming. This made me worry. I thought that she
had forgotten me. I assumed that she had lied to me. I contacted
other students from her country, but no-one knew about her.
One morning at school,
I was wildly excited to see Khalil, her cousin. In
one breath, I rapidly fired lots of questions about her, 'Where
is Aneeza? When is she coming back?' He said that Aneeza would
never come to India. I was surprised at his words. I responded
angrily, 'Why, what's wrong with her?' He had tears in his
eyes when he looked at me and told me that Aneeza was dead.
I was shocked to hear
this. I started to cry, my legs were trembling. Khalil
told me that Aneeza, along with her mother, was shopping in
the Piazza and they became targets in a fierce encounter between
the local rebel group and the Taliban militia. She, along
with other civilians, was badly injured. After struggling
for her life for two days in a hospital, Aneeza died. Destiny
parted us like a leaf from a tree, never to be reunited, only
to mix with the soil.
This is what I have written for her:
I remember those days of happiness
Whilst life was full of liveliness.
Sharing food with you during lunch break
And enjoying the picnic at Badkal Lake
I also remember your smile with a dimple
Always cheering me up with a smile so simple.
Suddenly, you left me in distress
My eyes filled with tears
You will never come back
I am gearing up for my life which is now off-track.
If dying at a young age was her destiny
Then why she was sent by the Almighty?
When my soul from this earth will leave,
I'll ask god this question in heaven.
After a month I received
the letter she had written-"I miss you very much and
will be back soon, to talk a lot and to be with you. And no
matter how long we have been apart, you still live in my heart."
My dream rose has been
crushed by a barbaric act. The whole world looks like
a place of hatred, but when I think of her sweet smile and
those eyes full of innocence, it refreshes my soul and gives
me reason to live. Aneeza, now you are safe in my heart, where
no bullet can hit you, you are in and within me and will remain
alive in my thoughts forever.
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