THE PAPER WAR - I

THE PAPER WAR:

“Happy birthday Aalia” Hussain was saying to his wife. “You turn 70 today and its our wedding day too” he added. “That’s rubbish, waking an old woman at this time of the night just to wish her birthday” his replied in a weak, sleepy voice.

“Oh come on, this is what we do every decade, you feel it boring now? Okay, let me tell you something” Hussain paused “We have reached our half century together now” Hussain added smiling. Aalia now opened her eyes completely and read her 76 year old husband. Except for the wrinkle filled face and a huge reading glass her husband was still young.

“We don’t have kids to remember these special days and make us smile, we have to do this on our own” Hussain said turning his back towards his wife. “Okay, you sleep” Hussain added.

“I’ve got you” Aalia said. “This day wouldn’t have been so special if my son wishes me or daughter cuts the cake, it’s so special when you hold my hand and wish me” she added. She got up and gave a kiss on Hussain’s cheek. “Okay okay, no more cinematic dialogues, come on let’s celebrate” Hussain said walking outside the room.

Hussain returned with a bottle of whiskey and a glass after a couple of minutes. “Ah, now I know why the old cat has been scratching my feet in the midnight” Aalia said blushing. Hussain laughed aloud and had a couple of shots quickly.

After half an hour, Hussain was in Aalia’s lap, snoring. Aalia was stroking his hair. “Getting old is beautiful” thought Aalia. She placed her husband in the bed beside and walked to the other room. She reached the cupboard in which she had collected and saved all her husband’s items.

Inside the cupboard were a couple of certificates and awards stating “THE BEST JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR”, an old magazine in which her husband’s first article was published and an old fountain pen which was too sentimental that her husband wrote all his articles with it.

Aalia took the pen and had a look at it. The ink tank in it was dry as it was a decade since Hussain’s last article. He stopped writing when Aalia had her first heart attack. Aalia took an ink bottle and refilled the tank. She shook the pen a few times and took a scribbling pad and scribbled, the pen was not writing. She again shook it a couple of times and tried again. It worked. She scribbled something, smiled to herself and went to sleep.

She got up earlier the next morning. Hussain was still asleep. She thought of preparing some special dish and decided to go to the market herself. She didn’t want to wake her husband. Aalia completed her shopping within the next hour. She was walking swiftly to home in the excitement preparing her husband’s favorite dish. At that instant she noticed a speeding vehicle approaching her.

She closed her eyes in fear and then something hit her in the belly. She was thrown into the air for a moment. She was experiencing extreme agony, she wanted to scream and when she tried so, the ground hit her across her face. Then everything went dark.