The tragedies of our lives
It
was the 9th of June, 2014. I and my wife, Maryam, were coming back from a
holiday in Switzerland. It was our first holiday since we got married two
months back. Our minds were full of the beautiful moments we had spent in
Switzerland. Finally, my dream of a happy family was shaping into reality. Our
plane was about to land at the Karachi International Airport and we prepared
ourselves to get off the plane.
The plane's wheels touched the runway and it came to a standstill in few minutes. We got off the plane and started moving towards the exit. I heard a loud sound which apparently came from a gun. All of a sudden a group of Airport staff came to us with shades of horror distinctly visible on their faces.
“I am sorry sir but you people cannot make an exit from the airport right now. A group of terrorists have attacked this area. You’ll have to come with us immediately!” an airport official said.
“Terrorists?” I exclaimed, trying to comprehend the situation we were in.
“Yes sir! The armed forces have been informed. They’ll be here any minute. Currently the airport security team is trying to combat.”
They escorted all the passengers to a room nearby.
“Please don't try to get out of the room unless somebody comes to the rescue,” they instructed before leaving.
For the next few hours we could hear the sounds of gunfire and explosions. On every fresh explosion the faces of the passengers shrank, with drops of perspiration oozing out of their foreheads as if they had seen the ghastly figure of death standing before them. Every single face in that room had the mixed expression of horror and hope on it.
“Will everything be fine?” Maryam asked while reciting some aayaats from the Qur'an.
“Yes, my love,” I replied, trying to give her the optimism which I myself was not confident of, but a word of support from another person is always a mountain of hope.
After few hours of horror the explosions seemed to have come to a halt. We thought that this was the end to the chaos but decided to wait for some time before making an attempt to get out.
A few army men came to our rescue and we started to move out of the room with them. No sooner did we come out of the door than an explosion occurred. We were confronted by a group of militants, all of whom were wearing Islamic symbols. It was ironic to see them; they were destroying the name of the same religion which they claimed to be ‘the warriors’ of.
Firing resumed from both the sides.
The army men tried to cover us from the on-going rain of bullets. The sparks were blinding everyone’s eyes and the sounds were deafening. A bullet was fired which would have hit my wife in her heart had not a soldier dashed forward and pushed her to the ground. The soldier himself was not that lucky though, another bullet hit him on his forehead and he was immediately reduced to a corpse. Call it fate or destiny but my wife could also not live off that miraculous save for much time. Another bullet hit her, blood gushed out of her body and I saw her precious soul leaving me, forever. I couldn’t bear it anymore and fainted.
I woke up in a hospital after few hours. I knew that all my dreams of happiness had been shattered by this hellish incident.
“Why God? Why! Why did you do this to me?” I shouted at the top of my voice.
~ Few Days Later ~
I believed that I had suffered the greatest loss in the incident until I turned on the news channel.
The plane's wheels touched the runway and it came to a standstill in few minutes. We got off the plane and started moving towards the exit. I heard a loud sound which apparently came from a gun. All of a sudden a group of Airport staff came to us with shades of horror distinctly visible on their faces.
“I am sorry sir but you people cannot make an exit from the airport right now. A group of terrorists have attacked this area. You’ll have to come with us immediately!” an airport official said.
“Terrorists?” I exclaimed, trying to comprehend the situation we were in.
“Yes sir! The armed forces have been informed. They’ll be here any minute. Currently the airport security team is trying to combat.”
They escorted all the passengers to a room nearby.
“Please don't try to get out of the room unless somebody comes to the rescue,” they instructed before leaving.
For the next few hours we could hear the sounds of gunfire and explosions. On every fresh explosion the faces of the passengers shrank, with drops of perspiration oozing out of their foreheads as if they had seen the ghastly figure of death standing before them. Every single face in that room had the mixed expression of horror and hope on it.
“Will everything be fine?” Maryam asked while reciting some aayaats from the Qur'an.
“Yes, my love,” I replied, trying to give her the optimism which I myself was not confident of, but a word of support from another person is always a mountain of hope.
After few hours of horror the explosions seemed to have come to a halt. We thought that this was the end to the chaos but decided to wait for some time before making an attempt to get out.
A few army men came to our rescue and we started to move out of the room with them. No sooner did we come out of the door than an explosion occurred. We were confronted by a group of militants, all of whom were wearing Islamic symbols. It was ironic to see them; they were destroying the name of the same religion which they claimed to be ‘the warriors’ of.
Firing resumed from both the sides.
The army men tried to cover us from the on-going rain of bullets. The sparks were blinding everyone’s eyes and the sounds were deafening. A bullet was fired which would have hit my wife in her heart had not a soldier dashed forward and pushed her to the ground. The soldier himself was not that lucky though, another bullet hit him on his forehead and he was immediately reduced to a corpse. Call it fate or destiny but my wife could also not live off that miraculous save for much time. Another bullet hit her, blood gushed out of her body and I saw her precious soul leaving me, forever. I couldn’t bear it anymore and fainted.
I woke up in a hospital after few hours. I knew that all my dreams of happiness had been shattered by this hellish incident.
“Why God? Why! Why did you do this to me?” I shouted at the top of my voice.
~ Few Days Later ~
I believed that I had suffered the greatest loss in the incident until I turned on the news channel.
“Many soldiers have sacrificed their lives
while saving the Karachi International Airport but one of the stories is the
most tragic. Soldier Zubair got martyred in the violent struggle with the
terrorists. He got married just a year back and her wife just gave birth to a
baby girl. The girl will never be able to see her father’s face. The tragedy
however does not end here. Her mother could not survive the delivery and the
baby is left alone in this world – an orphan.”
~ 5 days later ~
"So, Mr Muhammad, are you sure you’re going to take this step of adoption? I mean you’ve just lost your wife. Will you be able to take up such a great task all alone?” the manager of the orphanage asked me.
“Yes, indeed. I’ve no one else in the world and on top of that her father died saving us.”
“You may sign here sir. I wish that you both remain happy for the rest of your lives.”
“Thank you.”
“Before you take her I must tell you that she has not been named yet. What name shall we put on the papers so that we can go on with the official process?”
“Maryam,” I replied.
~ 5 days later ~
"So, Mr Muhammad, are you sure you’re going to take this step of adoption? I mean you’ve just lost your wife. Will you be able to take up such a great task all alone?” the manager of the orphanage asked me.
“Yes, indeed. I’ve no one else in the world and on top of that her father died saving us.”
“You may sign here sir. I wish that you both remain happy for the rest of your lives.”
“Thank you.”
“Before you take her I must tell you that she has not been named yet. What name shall we put on the papers so that we can go on with the official process?”
“Maryam,” I replied.
Is it a real story?
ReplyDeleteNo, Krsna. It's a work of fiction.
DeleteIt's really good. Had tears in my eyes by the time I finished.
ReplyDeleteI did read other stories too. You write really well. Keep writing ! Best wishes and May God Bless ! :)
Thank you Krsna for your kind words. It means a lot. :)
DeleteTrue or not, it is beautiful. Tears.
ReplyDelete