Talat

"Ayesha Madam! I want you to write my story in this. My hafiz-ji gave this to me."

I smiled breezily, relishing my victory of finally hearing her speak.

"I will, Talat. I will."

As I held the frayed old diary, I could see a saga chiseled on its grimy brown cover, as if it was a witness, a faithful friend, an unfailing narrator.

On the first page, it was written in Urdu-

"You are gifted, my child. With his blessings, insha'allah you will go a long way."

Encapsulated in a world brimming with limits and restraints, Talat heard these words with strange trepidation, she doubts whether she has the authority to determine the length of this "long way".

Meet Talat Sheikh, an ordinary 16 year-old girl who hails from a tiny village named Rasoolpur. Accompany her on a journey of persevering, transitioning, discovering, losing and conquering.

Married at 16 to a man named Aftab who belongs to one of the wealthiest family in the village of Karaundi, read how a young Talat goes through a jagged path, grappling with her own feelings, challenging the lines inscribed on her palms, abandoning her girlhood, her identity, belying her love for her first sweetheart Mahib.

Did she win? How long did it take? What did she lose? What did she gamble?

There are a lot of questions. So go on and see for yourself.

Set up in the years 1998-2015 , Her journey is equally poignant and beatific. It will inspire you and it will unusually shatter you. Have a great read!