Kainaat: Sara, Ammad ko sula dou please? I have shit loads of work to do.
Sara: Apii, aik tou ap ka bachha be na. Mera mood bohat sarra hoa hai, please don’t make me.
Kainaat: You’re never useful when you come around! Bus beythi rehti ho ankh munh bandd ker k.
Sara: Oh, hello? Masla kya hai? You PMSing or something?
Kainaat: Nae yaar. Acha na, behan nae hai? Please na.
Without replying, Sara, walked out of the kitchen, one hand tucked in her faded blue jeans’ pocket, the other clenched up in a fist save the middle finger.
***
Ammad: Sara khala, bedtime story please? Koi King wali.
He sat in his bed with the Superman poster glued to the wall behind him. Sara looked up at him, then at Superman, then back at him.
Sara: Ughh. Hmm, acha ruko.
She looked around for a good 5 minutes, trying to remember some movie story she could spin off and pass as a story meant for a 6 year old. But all that came to mind was Silence of the Lambs. Appi might not approve of that.
Sara: Acha, once upon a time, in a land far far away, lived a king. Apkay door say two times lamba. Aur uski white beard itni lambi kay uskay knees tak jati thi.
Ammad: What was his name Sara khala?
Sara: Hmm… Phattu.
Ammad: Phattu? Ye kaisa naam hai? Kings kay aisay naam nae hotay.
Sara: Iska hai. Masla hai apko? Anyways. So, King Phattu had this kingdom on the top of the mountain called Set. Aik chota sa cute sa kingdom which had only 20 people living in it.
Ammad: Itnay kam log nae hotay mama ki stories main! You’re telling it wrong!
Sara: Ammad,apka wo scary wala bunny kahan hai? Bed k neechay tou nae hai? Hain?
Ammad: …
Sara: Good boy. Tou king Phattu ruled over his 20 people for 20 years. And life was great. He was a quiet and happy king. And Set was doing pretty well too. Na unkay paas kabhi famine aya, na koi flood. They waged no wars and all the people were peace-loving. Sub k houses aik line main thay aur sub log aik jaisay kapray pehantay thay. Grey jumpsuits with black underwears on top.
Ammad: Oh like superman?
Sara: Haan keh lo, superman ka less ridiculous version. Sub self-reliant individualistic citizens.
Ammad: Individualistic citizens’ kya hotay hain?
Sara: Jo apki tarah cry babies nae hotay. Apna kaam khud kertay hain, because that’s just how they have been brought up.
Ammad: Acha, King k be yei kapray hotay hain? Kings kay tou golden hotay hain waisay. Ya atleast uskay red and blue ker dain like Superman!
Sara: Nae. King k be same thay, grey with black underwear on it. Acha tou haan, all the citizens liked the way their life was. Quiet and planned out..
Ammad: And his queen and prince?
Sara: Nae. No queen, no prince. Her king kay fancy clothes hona zaroori nae hota and he doesn’t always need a queen and prince. You have to be more open to other perspectives than that Ammad, Kings are very much capable of living on their own. Clichés nae marnay tumnay zindagi main.
Ammad: Ab ye clichés kya hotay hain?
Sara: Jaisay, if you say Sara khala you’re my favorite wo cliché hoga but if you give me a list of reasons for it, wo nae hoga.
Ammad: You’re not my favorite waisay.
Sara: Apko nae pata, you’re too young to decide. Anyways, tou King Phattu. Haan, King Phattu was the kinda guy jisko easy life pasand thi. He hated change. Every Friday he’d go out and rent the cheesiest chick flick and watch it till he dozed off. Phir Saturdays ko he’d barbeque for everyone in Set and though a couple of them might end up with diarrhea Sunday ko but overall, people loved his barbeques.
Ammad: Oh you did a barbeque yesterday too! Aur phir baba ka paet be kharab ho gaya tha!
Sara: That’s because he overate, meray barbeque ka kasoor nae tha. Acha tou haan, he loved studying and he was doing pretty well in class too.
Ammad: Kings kab school jatay hain?! Wo be old Kings!
Sara: Ammad apko bus aik he type k kings ka pata hai lagta hai. Kings go to school too. You need an education to lead a people bhaii, kahan rehtay ho ap? Aur as for him being old, tou? Old logon ko education milna haram hai? Acha tou King Phattu’s life was great.. nae, good. He didn’t need a queen or friends because he hated relying on others; he himself was the only support he needed. Why rely on others when they’re just gonna make you tell stories to their little bratty kids? … Acha nae, idher ao give khala a hug.
Ammad: Sara khala where’s mama? Wo aik bohat achi story sunati hain about this King who wins his Queen in a big game and they have a baby prince. Let’s call her and ap aur main dono wo suntay hain instead, hain?
Sara: Baby, mama apki busy hain. And you’re stuck with me and my story. Sunaon ya jaon?
Ammad: Nae nae, sunain!
Sara: Okay tou one day his advisor came to him and said “King Phattu, don’t you think it’s time you got yourself a queen?” and King Phattu went all “Don’t be so ordinary. Not every King needs a Queen”
Ammad: But why khala? Wasn’t he lonely?
Sara: Hmm, now you’re asking the right questions. Nae Ammad, he didn’t think he was. But ho sakta hai denial main ho.. You can never tell. Laikin ap khud soucho, apki Mama ko Baba k liye khana banana perta hai, apki chaan-chaan sunni perti hai, agar mama akeli hoteen tou zada happy na hoteen?
Ammad: Kya!? Mama ko hum achay nae lagtay?
Sara: Not sure… shayad… Ask her tomorrow okay? So King Phattu was doing alright. Except for one little problem. His neighboring country.. “Mumkin”. Mumkin was always in this state of frenzy. Kabhi Mumkin k log were having festivals, kabhi they were celebrating days, kabhi the ruler of Mumkin would just get up and go socialize with other countries. Itna happening country tou Ammad shayad Europe main be nae hoga. Aur is baat per na, King Phattu ki bari sarti thi. He was at an extreme of introversion and he was happy with it but Mumkin was like this ball of energy in his face. Mocking his life choices and his future prospects. Yaani theek hai, kitni Jodi Picoult perh lo gay tum, kitnay grades maar lo gay? But is that really living? I think no one can bear the pressure isolation brings with it…
***
Kainaat: Oye, Ammad ap soay nae abi tak? Acha Sara, kal tumay Ahmed ley jayen gay Neha k ghar. Tayyar ho jana around 10.
Popping her head through the half opened door of Ammad’s room, Kainaat looked straight at Sara. Sara collected her legs against her chest and locked her hands around them.
Sara: Nae, I’d rather go on my own, koi masla nae hai.
Kainaat: We’ve been over this Sara.
Sara: Appi, could you just.. for once.. I can manage these things on my own, I don’t need you to spoon feed me.
Kainaat: Spoon feed ki kya baat hai is main? Mujay be Ahmed ley k jatay hain. I’m not letting you go alone this time.
Sara: Fine. Happy?
Kainaat gave her a smile.
Kainaat: On top of the world.
She looked directly at Ammad.
Kainaat: Wrap this up and get to bed Ammad. Subah jaldi uthna hai.
***
Sara: Acha um, haan tou kahan thay hum?
Ammad: Sara Khala, mujay kuch nae samjh arahai.
Sara: Acha acha rou mat. So One day Mumkin was having this grand party in their kingdom, so grand that that was all Phattu could hear all day long. They were singing and dancing and clapping. And Phattu sat alone in his room, reading his book. At that very moment, Phatt’s advisor came to Phattu’s room and said he had to talk to him urgently. He said “King Phattu, Mumkin has sent an invite for us to join them. They extend trade relations with us. Cupcakes in return for our potatoes.” And the King, already wary of the noise said “We have no need for cupcakes. Tell them we are not dependant on anybody.” The advisor looked uncomfortable. “Sir the people insist that you join them in their celebrations and go ahead with the trade. They want cupcakes or they will rebel.” Phattu started at him. “A rebellion for cupcakes. Do you hear yourself man?” And the advisor shuffled his feet saying “They just want to try something new”
Ammad: Waisay cupcakes konsay thay? Chocolate?
Sara: Haan woi. King Phattu was trapped. Never before had his people acted this way. But he loved his people and after all, all they wanted was more interaction with the outside world. And cupcakes. But King Phattu was so uneasy with the idea of being dependant! “Look, tell the people I will decide by tomorrow and let them know okay?” The citizen nodded his head and left.
Ammad: So did he go then?
Sara: He thought “What if I refuse? Will they really rebel? No, they’ll just give me a headache. But they hardly ever ask for something. Maybe they really will rebel. 20 years of peace threatened by cupcakes. Ridiculous.” But he didn’t want to make his people unhappy, there were so few of them. And slowly and gradually Phattu made up his mind to go. “I’m just doing this for the people… But maybe it was time he tried out this socializing too” He confirmed “I’m not lonely or anything, I just think I should explore this area of life.” So King Phattu stayed up all night making a plan. He was going to go to the festival and befriend the ruler of Mumkin! He couldn’t help but think of many more celebrations to come and many barbeques where he’d invite Mumkin to join them too.
Ammad: Can I name the ruler please?
Sara: Haan, ker lo.
Ammad: Um um, the ruler was a beautiful queen with and her name was Saleena.
Sara: Saleena kaisa naam hai? Nae, uska naam tha “OOR”, short for “out of reach”
Ammad: Apkay names bohat buray hain. I don’t even know what that means.
Sara: Doesn’t matter. Acha tou Phattu thought he would wear his best blue suit and take 15 white roses for OOR. He would tell her about her about.. well he didn’t have much to tell her. “OOR, I come to befriend you from your neighboring kingdom Set. And to take your cupcakes in return for my potatoes. Will you be my friend?” was all he basically had. So the next day, Phattu, all dressed up, 15 white roses in hand, got into his best carriage. His advisor beamed at him and got in the driving seat and they both started the journey to Mumkin.
Ammad: Ohhhh, I bet he’ll like the queen and phir they’ll get married!
Sara: Patience. Tou throughout the way Phattu talked to himself. He said: “Am I making the right choice? What If she is a horrible evil queen? What if she casts a spell on me for coming uninvited? These people know nothing. Why am I making a decision based on them? What if she makes fun of me? Why should I change my ways?” His advisor sitting in the front said, “King Phattu, humans embody change, they evolve. We must let go of our old ways. Interaction is not a bad thing”. To which, Phattu said “But. The old ways have kept us safe. Who knows if ours is the correct way or is theirs? Why this pressure to fit in with the society? To be reliant on others, to exchange with others?” King Phattu’s face was wet by now. Tears streamed down his wrinkled cheeks. Mainay bataya tha apko k he was old?
Ammad: No! But Sara khala please!
Sara: Be strong bachhay. Tou the advisor said “But King Phattu, are you not lonely?” to which Phattu said “I do not like change.” The advisor said “Sir there will be no heir to Set, there will be no joy for the kingdom.”
Ammad: Please convince King Phattu Sara khala!
Sara: And Phattu said “so be it. I cannot change my ways. Turn the carriage around.” And the Advisor said “Sir, what if the people rebel?” and King Phattu said “You and I both know they won’t.” Advisor bohat sad hoa laikin he turned the carriage around and they went back to Set. Phattu went to his room and didn’t come out for 2 days. He cried and read his novel and barbequed and cried more. On the 3rd day he came out the same as he was before and ruled for 20 more years.
***
Sara walked out of Ammad’s room into the adjacent guestroom. It had a single bed with a black comforter on it. A side table with 2 drawers stood next to it. She sat down on the bed and opened the uppermost drawer to take out a Motorola cell phone. She opened up a half typed out text which read “Hey, let’s meet up tod…”. Sara sighed and pressing the back button, put the cell phone back in the drawer.
She propped herself up on the bed and opened a copy of “Lone Wolf” sitting next to her pillow.
