The nights are the hardest, the silence of the house amplifying the noise in Muzammil’s mind. He lies awake, staring at the ceiling, his thoughts a chaotic storm of fear, anger, and despair. He replays the day’s events in his head, searching for moments where he could have acted differently, wondering if he could have avoided his aunt’s wrath. But no matter how hard he tries to find fault in himself, he knows the truth: it is not his actions that are wrong, but the cruelty of those around him. This realization, though painful, fuels his determination to survive.
Muzammil begins to see the cracks in the façade of his tormentors. His aunt’s cruelty, his cousins’ mockery—they are not signs of strength but of insecurity. He recognizes the emptiness in their words, the hollowness of their accusations. This knowledge does not lessen his suffering, but it gives him a sense of power, however small. For the first time, he begins to see himself not as a victim, but as someone who can endure, someone who can rise above the pettiness of those who seek to break him.
But this newfound strength is fragile, easily overshadowed by the relentless tide of cruelty that surrounds him. His aunt’s accusations grow more absurd, more personal, as if she senses the quiet rebellion growing within him. She accuses him of stealing from her, of disrespecting her authority, of being ungrateful for the “kindness” she has shown him. These lies cut deeper than the insults, for they twist reality into something unrecognizable, leaving Muzammil questioning his own perceptions.
Despite it all, Muzammil holds onto the flickering ember of hope within him. He knows that the path ahead will not be easy, that the darkness may grow even deeper before he finds the light. But he also knows that he has survived this long, that he has endured more than most could bear. This knowledge, this quiet resilience, becomes his anchor. No matter how hard the world tries to break him, he will not give in. He will survive, and one day, he will rise.
YOU ARE READING
ILLITERATE
General FictionThe story of an orphan teen boy who is snubbed by relatives and waits for his imaginary friend to take him away from these miseries. As the story evolves, problems in the boy's life increase, taking viewers on a roller coaster ride of emotions. "Ill...
