A brutal place to survive, a wilderness that bites and brews on its own. For orphans like us, it’s nothing or everything. Loud noises scare us and every look is interpreted as an invitation to get out and to be on our way!
Life can be scary but it’s the people who scare me more. When I go to their air conditioned cars to sell my humble wares, it’s the looks that gets under my skin. Most of the time, I ignore and go about as usual but at night, when I lay down on my stone cold bed, that’s when it gets nasty and everything is replayed one by one in my over worked and fragile mind; the looks, the hits, the curses, the unpaid money and my stomach rumbling with its usual calls of hunger.
Out of every single thing, that I experience every day, my hungry stomach is the worst! I rather wish for a life of ease and who wouldn’t? In my situation, where everything is painted in grays and blacks and opportunities are scarce, I wish to have a life where I’m not hungry anymore, where I have plenty on my own table and more to share with everyone around me.
A wishful thinking that’s quite comedic in my situation. Nevertheless it’s my only source of happiness and my lullaby to a peaceful sleep. Thoughts of better tomorrow are enough to dull my senses like the glue and cheap drugs my companions use. I just hope and wish for a better future for my friend and I, as I close my eyes and try to drift into oblivious slumber over the whale cries of my growling stomach.
S. Batool Mujtaba