The cherishable remnants of the memories of his happy family loomed large on the canvas of his mind. Once being the apple of his parents’ eyes he used to have all the privilege and joy in his life; his studies, parent-teacher conferences at school, his participation in his co-curricular activities, family gatherings, friendly get-togethers and outings, all seemed like a dream when his mom and dad were happily together to support him enthusiastically.
Crestfallen, Ali turned uncomfortably in his bed in the middle of the night. Sleep had escaped his eyes and his nerves were tensed as if they would break under the pressure any moment. The drawn curtains filtered the light from the lamp posts outside. The unimaginable nightmare haunted him- his beloved parents were getting divorced!
Ali had become as weak as a lamb; despite looking fine physically, he was all battered and crushed form inside. Not talking much, staying aloof from his friends and peers, falling behind in studies, all pointed to the fact that the nightmare was eating him up just as termites eat up wood.
Ali opened his eyes in a closely-knit happy family where he found his parents sharing many years of great love, understanding, respect and mutual trust until he become a happy and healthy teenager. But now, very first time in his life, he could sense everything going ruined for him. He was at the verge of losing his parents.
It has been only a year when Ali’s father started coming home late from work. He started missing dinners with the family. He started smoking heavily. What Ali noticed the most was that while talking to him, his father did not meet his eyes as before as if he was hiding his guilt from him. He was surprised to see everyday fights breaking out over trivial matters; why was the milk not warm enough? Who was supposed to pick Ali from school? Why wasn’t the shirt ironed properly, etc. His mother seemed heartbroken, resentful, and even in tears many times until the verbal abuse lead to physical abuse by Ali’s father. Things started getting from bad to worse, until they finally ended up in the decision of ‘divorce’. Then, he was exposed to the truth that his father had an affair with his own secretary and wanted to marry her. He felt as if the whole world around him had crashed down. How could he allow someone else to replace his beloved mother? A turmoil raged inside him. He decided to talk to his father and he did, but there was an endless silence as an answer. Very first time he doubted the love of his parents, unable to figure out if anyone of them really cared about him?
Even at 17, he felt like a baby, longing for the attention and care of his mom and dad that he had been receiving since he was born. In fact, now, he needed them more than ever when he was already going through the critical time of his life; his O-level exams were just around the corner and he was unable to concentrate on his studies. He was afraid and angry to see no one cared what trauma he was going through…But could he let the things drive him crazy and ruin his future? It was a question that brought some strength to him to face the facts and get ready to deal with the coming unseen…Life might be offering him to learn some precious lessons….
Shehryar Nadeem
Sec: Y
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