Bowled Over By The Broken

Chapter 9: Infinite Possibilities

2nd August, 2016

A quick update but a short chapter because I wasn't supposed to write today, but then I came online, read all your comments on the last chap, interacted with some beautiful readers and decided, I'd surprise you all. Enjoy and let me know what you think of this (Sh)amazz-ing chapter! xD

"Truly man is in loss - except for those who believe, do right actions, urge each other to the truth, and urge each other to steadfastness. "

[Surat al-Asr, 1-3]

Chapter 9:

Infinite Possibilities

"I have three children of different ages, but I'd dare say they are all but whining toddlers!"

"Mamma, I turned 11 last week! That's not right!" Aafia sulked.

"And I'm eight and I agree it isn't right!" Hussain added.

"I think you're absolutely right, Mamma. But shouldn't you be happy that we're all so young at heart?" Shamaaz grinned in all his glory.

"Grow up, Shamaaz, grow up," Tanzila replied wearily, eyeing her eldest child.

"Not if that means you want me to behave like a boring old man who talks about the amount of time he wasted being boring!"

"The stuff you call boring is what you need to do in life," Tanzila replied. "You're 24 Shamaaz, 24! What are you waiting for?"

Shamaaz looked at his mother, raking his mind for ideas to help her snap out of this mood. While she was a happy go lucky person, God save the world when she landed into the mother mode.

He walked up to her, placing both his hands on her shoulder and looking into her eyes, he said, "Remember when a friend of yours said she thought you were looking old? I think she was right!"

"Shamaaz!" Tanzila yelled, grabbing the roti's rolling pin from the counter and whacking her son's arm.

There were only two rules in this house. One, you weren't allowed to be sad for more than five hours without venting it out and two, no one was allowed to call Tanzila old.

"If I'm growing old, then it's all your fault. Look at this grey hair, look," she pointed out, annoyed of her son's antics.

"Oh so now I'm being blamed for the natural process of aging?"

As Tanzila attempted to raise her bangles from her wrist upwards, an action that showed she was getting ready to free her hands to whack someone, Shamaaz sighed and said, "Fine, I won't skip the exam."

"Promise?"

He hummed his response and Tanzila continued, "A degree is the minimum qualification a boy must possess. You graduated from college last year and you still have back logs. Clear them and then focus on cricket as much as you like. When four people asks what my son is doing, I can't tell them he has half a degree which he plans to finish soon."

Shamaaz blew a breath in impatience and said, "You always keep saying when four people ask me this when four people ask me that, who are these four people and what do they have to do with my life?"

"We live in a society where we are concerned about our surroundings."

"More like we live in a society where everyone wants to gossip about the other."

"Shamaaz," Tanzila called, chiding her son.

"Mom, I truly believe one must do something that makes them happy. Life is too short to fulfil the never ending expectations of those around you. Set your own standards, chase your dreams and don't let the world dictate your life. Because a hundred years down the lane when I look back, whether I've won or lost, I want to think of my life as a journey I've lived on my own terms, not worried about what people think of me," he ended his rant with a questioning look and it was Tanzila's turn to sigh.