Dream Turned Into Ashes

The Sun neared the horizon, after a tiring day. The sound of the sea-waves echoed, the birds flew together to return home making a loud piercing sound and a little lively spirit, Syra with her “Pa” stood at the edge of the sea to watch the Sun until it completely immersed itself in the sea. As they turned around trying to walk back home, Syra asked, “Pa, why does the Sun change it’s colour when it sets?” 

He was surprised at her question because he realized that, his daughter had grown up. He smiled thinking that his daughter was grown up enough to start questioning everything around her. Because in the state like the one they belonged to, girls were not allowed to dream. Girls were always expected to behave, have their heads covered and never speak up unless and until asked to. It was a sign for “her” to bring in her own wishes and desires into her mind. After all, after a few years, she would be married off, have her own family and rear her own kids.

But, this little “rebel”, Syra was somehow gifted and had the audacity to observe, learn and understand. She wanted to be free from the shackles of their so-called society. Their society very strictly wanted Syra’s father to teach his daughter to be more “civilized”. Unfortunately, he knew she was meant for the bigger things in life and wanted to risk it to fulfill her dreams. 

While “Pa” was occupied in his thoughts, little Syra grew impatient and went on asking, “What happened Pa? Tell me”.

He thought for a moment and then replied, “If it hadn’t, then my Syra, would have been sad. Isn’t it?”

She laughed at her father’s reply, forgetting about she was sulking a few minutes back. He was also happy to see his daughter laugh. But after a moment’s pause, he continued, “You know what, you should look at the setting Sun and dream about something”

“Dream!” seemed to be a new word to her growing vocabulary and she asked, “But, what does that mean? D-re-am?”

“Dream means that you want something to come true, may be riding a camel or going to school?”

This little mind heard every word of his father and tried to comprehend them like weighing scales and then she suddenly blurted out with a wide grin spread across her face, “Yes Pa, I dream of growing up, becoming famous and making everyone proud in this village”

Every sunrise saw the same monotonous routine of the native people – Children devoid of education, playing on the streets, fathers bearing the workloads and mothers cooking the leftover vegetables from the previous day in the corner of their huts. It was the same scene every day. And with every sunset, people went to sleep with their hopes and desires dying, one by one, only to wake up the next day, feeling emptier than before. But seeing Syra’s eyes glisten with hope, made him happy. He hugged her and said, “You already do us proud, my dear”.

But she cut him mid-sentence and said, “Pa, look, stars! Let’s count them”. Even before her father could reply, she began, “One… Two… Three… “

By the time she reached “Hundred”, her father was feeling tired and very sleepy. “Let’s go back home, my dear. It’s getting cold, here”, He said.

But by the time they had started walking back home again, a dreadful noise was heard cutting through the night air, bringing everything to a halt for some seconds. Syra’s father’s eyes flung open. He told his daughter, “You stay here and don’t go anywhere else until I return”. He jumped to his feet and ran towards his house.

The twinkling stars no longer intrigued her. But she waited patiently, for she believed that her father was a man of words and would soon take him home. She saw the woods behind the village rise up in flames and few villagers ran towards the seaside for self-rescue. But amidst the chaos and crowd of known faces and tension, her “Ammi” and “Pa” were nowhere to be found. She went in the crowd frantically asking people about her parents. But no one could say anything to her.

After a few hours, the crackling sound of fire came to a standstill and the only sound was of the waves hitting the shore. Unable to wait any longer, Syra rushed to her house and found chaos everywhere. Blood streaming down the window-panes. Her parents’ charred body spread somewhere on the floor, left unrecognized. And her house, where she was born, like her dreams, just turned into ashes.