The Crown Of Agony

1

The soft rays of the sun has spread the warm and soft rays of amber glow across the sky. The unripe crops in the fields were dancing in europhia on the arrival of the king of brilliance, the source of inspiration.

The chirping of the birds were resonating from the small verandah of a thatched mud house. The pet animals- few goats were resting around the corner of the open passage and some hens were roaming all around the fence pecking the grains spread on the ground. A white cat with golden strips was laying on the rough rug and a lady was seated under the shade of the thatched roof, sewing the dress on the sewing machine and a fourteen year old boy was also sitting beside her with a notebook and a pen in his hand.

A girl cladded in a knee length red frock and a black trouser with a red and black ombre veil, was sitting in the small verandah of her sweet little house, by a earthen stove, stirring the spoon in the potato curry, cooking in the pot and also making the Roti (bread) simultaneously. She was preparing the last piece of bread, when the faint sound of call, fell in her ears. Wrapping the hot Rotis in the piece of cotton fabric, she put it in the basket made up of palm leaves.

When the lady saw her daughter approaching towards her, her face lit up with a small smile. Zarnoor settled down on the rug, beside her mother. Rabiya forwarded the beautifully sewn ruffled sequined gown to her daughter. Zarnoor's lip stretched into a wide grin, seeing the pretty outfit, in her favourite color - Red. Running her fingers through the floral sequin pattern, she stood up from her place and stand infront of the dull mirror, placing the gown in front of her petite figure, examining the beauty, her hands were holding. Rabiya stood beside her daughter and turned her around towards her and said, "Quratulain, it is looking so pretty on you, you'll look like a beautiful fresh flower of rose." Zarnoor hummed in response at her mother and turned to her brother to ask about his opinion on the dress.

The little Zarnoor has always wondered in her childhood, why her parents adores her more than her both brothers, as she has seen in her village, most of the families thinks of their daughters as Burden and treat them not so goodly but the case is totally different with her, as her parents, calls her Quratulain, Noorulain or Noor because she is the coolness of their eyes and the light of their lifes. She did know that her parents love her more than anything in the whole world but she didn't know that they are just being grateful to their lord for his limitless bounties on them, because she is the blessing of Allah, a present given to them by the King of universe in the form of her and they can never thank him enough for this but can do their best in taking care of Allah's blessing- Daughter.

Now when she is mature enough to understand everything, she has felt the deepness the names Quratulain, Noorulain holds and it's meaning. The way her parents utters her name every time it feels like the ocean of love and care is present no where in the whole world but in her parents hearts, their speech and their actions. Zarnoor, was the second child of her parents and their only daughter, hence have all the treasure of love, affection, care and admiration available to her.

Her father, Anwar always called her Quratulain- The coolness of eyes. He was so fond of her, than his other two boys. He would make her sit on his shoulders and take her to the markets, narrating her about his childhood days and buy her some sweets like Gulab jamun, Jalebis, BaaluShahi or Mysore paak as she has a sweet tooth and loves having sweet dish.

He would narrate her about the brave soldiers, religious incidents and historical tales of courageous peoples from all over the world, who has beaten their fear and conquered the crown of victory. Out of all the stories, her favorites were the stories of Prophet Mohammed ‌‌ﷺ, Hazrat Hussain A.S, Hazrat Tipu Sultan, Hazrat Salahuddin Ayyubi, King Aurangzeb, Razia Sultan, and so on.....

He would take her to the fields of mustard, the yellow flowers blooming on the green stalk of the harvest, giving a mesmerizing views to eyes of the viewer, and also to the orchards of the mango, the guava, the jamun, and the tamarind. When there would be the season of sugarcane, Anwar used to take his daughter to the sugarcane fields and Zarnoor would enjoy having the freshly cutted pieces of sugarcane. When the aroma of the sweet jaggery would linger in the atmosphere, she would sit near the place, where jaggery is being prepared and like to have the freshly prepared jaggery. The rice prepared in the sugarcane juice was one of her most favourite one.

When Anwar was working on the fields, she would climbed the tree and enjoy the view of the surrounding from there. Or sometimes she would ride on the swing, tied on the branches of the neem tree, near the tubewell.

In the summers, she would go to the riverbank with her friends and would play in the water till the evening. It was one of the day of summer, she was sitting near the riverbank with her legs dipped in the water, seeing the other kids enjoying in the river, when she felt something creeping on her legs and soon that feeling changed into something piercing her flesh, tears formed in her eyes as she screams loudly in pain. The people working in the field came running to her and saw the leech stick on her lower leg, sucking the blood. Then one of the friend of Anwar, lit the dried stick of the wood with the matchstick and kept it near her leg then due to the heat, the leech left her flesh and the one of the man, killed it with his slippers. Later she was taken to the hospital and doctor has examined her wound and prescribed her some medicines.

Her father told her about the nearby villages and the cities, he visited to sell the grains and other stuffs. She would always listened to her father and uncles attentively, admiring their knowledge about various things and places.She would often feel like her father is a quite literate person but he was seven class drop out. Whenever her father used to return from the places, he would bring her sweets and gifts from there, giving her a chance to feel happy and smile widely. Zarnoor has lived the twelve years of her life wandering around the nook and corners of the village. When she has turned thirteen years old, she has once gone to the city with her parents to her brothers house, when her nephew was born. She has stayed there in the city for one week, but she has missed her countryside life, strolling around the fields of crop and the orchards of fruits or going on the riverbank with her friends or playing in the open ground of their locality, near her house.

Anwar has returned back to home, from the nearby town after selling the seasons harvest. He was holding a small handmade cotton bag in his hand. Zarnoor greeted him, taking the bag from his hold. After he sat down on the cot, made up of twisted ropes of dried trees roots, Zarnoor offered him a glass of chilled water of earthen pot. He took the glass from her, patting her head and giving her blessings.

Anwar is the ordinary farmer, owning some piece of agriculture land, some livestock and two plots which he has inherited from his ancestors. Anwar was a hardworking, generous and kind hearted person, always ready to help, those are in need. On the last day of the month he would take Zarnoor, her mother, Rabiya and her younger brother, Mustafa, to the market to see the movie and but them some sweets and snacks.

It was the last day of the month of May, and they all were present in the small theatre like area of the village, where movies would be played on the large white screen and all the villagers would come there with their families to enjoy the program.

After the programme was end, they all were heading back to home, when Zarnoor spotted the Kulfi vendor and she asked her father for the cold dessert.

Anwar smiled at his daughter and bought four kulfis, and gave one kulfi to each one of them. Zarnoor quickly finished her kulfi in once, craving for more. Mustafa, her younger brother, sense it and offered his Kulfi to her but she refused it with a small smile dancing on her pinkish lips.

Rabiya smiled at the bound her both the younger kids shared and prayed for their bond to grow more stronger every passing day. "My dear kids, always look after the comfort of your dear ones and the lord will look after your needs." She said stroking the cheeks of little Mustafa, who loves his sister more than his life. Anwar looked at his childrens faces, went away from there to come back with the packets of their favorite sweet- Hot and crispy Jalebis. "Mustafa, always respect your sister and never let them down, because a sister has lot of expectations from her brother. And after we both are gone, you have to look after your sister always." Zarnoor's heart cried, hearing the words of her father, which was yet nothing but the harsh reality and the thing which no kid wishes to go from, the separation from their parents.

"If a daughter asks for a star then the father gives her the sky full of stars and moon and if a sister asks for a star, then the brother should, atleast try to give her the little source of light, if not the star." Rabiya said, remembering about her late father, who has always given her immense love and care. Zarnoor and Mustafa were looking at the face of their parents, who was teaching them the lesson, they have learned from their life.

Anwar locked the small wooden gate of their house, sat on the wooden cot, with his wife and son. Zarnoor bought the Jalebis in the plate and kept it on the cot, in the centre and sat beside her mother. They were enjoying the bliss of happiness, having the jalebis and chitchatting with each other.
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