He
lately got admission in the public school baramulla in the 7th
standard where he got new pals and rang by rang he forgot with whom he had
spend almost 10 years of his life. UMERR his name; was the average student till
yet his percentage has fluctuated around 70%. But now he is the student of the
institute where his maternal uncle is one among his teachers and because of
this reason he did start toil and with the passage of time he got 2nd
position with 86% in his class. After winter vacation, he is in ecstasy as he
is going to join the new class [ 8th ]. And now he is enumerated in
the bright students in his class. UMERR is shy in real but not an introvert. He
is amiable and familiar and much conscious about his hair style, now he has got
the nestle and attention of the teachers. Besides an intelligent boy, he is the
kind of joy fellow, crazy and idiot typed person and has got the tag of
DISTURBING ELEMENT of the class. Love affair is not his cup of tea but is loyal
and trust worth pal too. UMERR belongs to a middle class family in District
Baramulla and brought up by his Maternal Grandparents. Since his childhood he
used to do all his chores by himself. From the little age he is interested in
PHYSICS and desperately wants to become a good WRITER and usually he used to
narrate his poetry in between his classmates. SAIF is the first and good friend
of Umerr in Public School, they are now good comrades. They mostly spend the
time with each other and used to sit on the same desk [right next to one
another]. SEHAR is the cousin sister of Saif and the intelligent among all girls.
God knows why she used to smile while ogling towards Umerr and as usual Umerr
used to put down his head in shyness. Umerr used to sit in the second row or
boys and Sehar in the first row of girls. And no-one ever saw him talking to or
staring at any girl but now he has started talking with Sehar but in presence
of Saif. Sehar is a tall, whitish girl with round winsome face with a golden
heart.
It was the 3rd day of week, early dawn grandmother of Umerr got
seriously ill, his maternal uncle and Aunt took her to hospital, and because of
this catastrophe the meals even the breakfast was not prepared in his home and
he went to school with empty stomach and finally when the time came the peon
rang the bell for luncheon break, everybody picked up their lunchboxes and
leaned towards the lane, where students diurnally used to take their meals.
Saif was absent because of his home chore and Umerr remained seclude in his
class, keeping his head down and is keenly solving the math’s question. Sehar
used to take her lunch with other girls right behind Umerr & Saif as she
didn’t see Umerr in the lane, she leaned back towards the class with her lunch
box in one hand & the water bottle in the other. Sehar dithery asked Umerr;
have you had your lunch? It startles him and he replied only no in the answer
and narrates the whole incident on her asking. Sehar walked a few steps and sat
right next to him, closed his books, handed over the spoon and told him to eat
the food first. Umerr sans narrating anything else ate the food and kept half
food in the Tiffin for her and asked her to eat and Sehar ate the rest of food
and this was the time when Umerr gazed her with interest and intentionally. And
they gossiped in the whole lunch break and finally became good pals. After the
next few days changes started to appear in Sehar. In a wee-time they became
bosom pals now they used to share everything. One thing was there whom Umerr
was unknown of, that Sehar has fell head-over-heels in love with him and there
was nothing like that from the side of Umerr. But she was sacred while
admitting it in front of Umerr . Time goes on and it was the day after a pretty
long time for Sehar when she was going to see the face she used to see
diurnally. It was the day when both Umerr & Sehar are going to collect
their report cards of board exam. [ 8th class ]. Umerr & Sehar
had got 89% and 83% respectively. What the bliss it was on the cheeks of sehar
and umerr was also feeling debonair; both welcomed each other, start gossiping,
exchanging smile and frequent glances. Both decided to take their tuition
classes from the same tutor. And the winter came, Sehar was not happy as it’d
been long time of 25 days when she'd seen the face, she had fallen for.
Sehar wants to speak his heart out; she wanted to tell him how much she is
changed due to him. She wanted to depict him her notebook where she had
scribbled his name. She wanted to ask him whether he had done the same. She
wanted to ask him what his giggles and what his care meant. She wanted to tell
him how much she loved him & how much she would be happy with him, she
wanted to ask him whether he loved her too. But now after tuition classes they
both used to go restaurants and coffee shop 2-3 times a week and used to come
back in the same buggy as the village where from Sehar belongs to was at a
distance of one kilometer adjacent to the village of Umerr .
One day Sehar saw Umerr talking to a girl studying at the same tutor in a nice
and friendly way; the moment shattered her inwardly and for awhile razed her
dream to be with Umerr. After ending up the classes, she plunged towards Umerr
and asks him to step aside; I need to talk to you in a curious way and now
while walking in the main market baramulla. Sehar proposed him in a very modest
way while looking down on and intimate him, how much she is madly in love with
him & wants to be with him till the end of time, Umerr got shocked awhile as
she was unknown of her feelings but when he turn his looks at her the thing
that melt his heart and made him fall in love with Sehar was the tears in her
eyes and her wistful look. He clenched her hand & rid her tears on her
cheek with his handkerchief; with the same footsteps the lunged on & both
remained staid. Sehar was waiting for the moment; the moment that is gonna make
her life good or worse. But it was really the miracle for her when Umerr nodded
YES for her proposal while wayfaring towards their dwells they both were in
euphoria. Time moves on Umerr & Sehar were happy in being with each other,
there was not a bit bad influence on their studies due to their relation,
infact their percentage accretes might be their love has taught them to get
rise in love instead of falling in it.
After completing their 11th examination, Sehar seriously fell ill
and it was their last board exam. Of 12th class and they both were
the science students and they had to toil to grape the good percentage. It was
the Tuesday’s morning when she buzzed him and asked him to meet. Umerr took his
breakfast and got dressed up and went to meet Sehar. When looking towards her
face Umerr got scared and ask her the matter & Sehar with wet eyes told him
that she is suffering from the serious kind of heart disease and is running on
the last stage. And the Doctors have announced a life of month for her.
Moreover she told him that they’ve to break this relation and you [Umerr] have
to move on, for your kindred’s and urge him to return that everything that
she’d gifted to him as soon as possible, she don’t want him to remain wandering
in her memories, in the time that was going to end. Phew! What a love she had
for him. After harking her words bolt from the blue or earthquake like words
might have acoustic less powerful for Umerr to describe the predicament then.
He was shattered and his hope of watching her with him in the rest of his life
was perished and what Sehar has narrated to him broke him completely now he
wanted to tell her let this month be the last of mine too, let’s live the rest of
life in this month, let me be with you,let me be with you only, just with you
but his lips were paused after listening to her and he couldn’t utter a word
back. After consecutive day he passed all the things she’d gifted him to his
friend Saif and told him to handover them to Sehar [as Saif already knows about
their relation, infact before Umerr because Sehar told him the matter when
first moment she felt something for Umerr, when she was scared to admit in
front of him ]. This tragedy brought the drastic changes in his life not even a
single word stays in his mind sans Sehar. Sleepless nights and mournful days
became his pals now.
Finally the day came, Umer was in sopore with his childhood pal Farhan [his
neighbour and classmate too] to bring some medicines for his grandfather, it
was near around 10:20am when Saif buzzed Farhan and said in a sobbing voice “SEHAR
DIED where you are? I didn’t call Umerr” Farhan replied I am in sopore and
Umerr is also with me. Are you coming here to attend her funeral Saif said;
this conversation happened when Umerr was inside the medical shop and Farhan
was waiting for him outside on the bike. Farhan told him that we’ve to go
direct to meet Saif. Frahan Lied and said he is ill when Umerr asked him for
the reason. And when they came, Saif’s home was just right next to the Sehar’s
one. Saif was waiting for him outside the main gate of his home and when Umer
saw the hustle and heard the wail acoustics of womens there he went in the
state of chaos and asked Saif, what is this all? Where from this wailing sound
is coming and Saif replied “Sehar Is No more”. Tears slowly rolled down on the
cheeks of Umerr, whole world seemed depopulated for him as Sehar was his only
world & to spend the rest with her was his only dream he dreamt of. Umerr
swallowed the stern pang for awhile and leaned to the front lane of her home.
Some women were bathing her last, some others were preparing the beautiful tidy
white grab for her and Umerr was watching and reminiscing the time, the sunken
yore they had spend together. Time came to take her for her last journey.
Saif’s and Farhan’s hearts were numb too and they got shocked when they saw
Umerr supporting the coffin where inside was the corpse of her beloved, he
offered the funeral patiently and lastly he put the handful of soil with his
fist on her grave, there was the mixture of memories, moments and love they
spend, they had and they’ve for each other in the every bit of soil and is
gazing her grave staidly with teary eyes. Everyone came back after buried her,
even her kindred’s are now happy in their life they moved on but the boy
[Umerr] for him SEHAR was his only love, his only world where he find himself
alive and debonair and that world was perished unfortunately...
FICTION