Blowing with the wind.
Chapter-1

II Words.

“Sada Umma…why is Ma still asleep? Doctor asked her not to wake up?”
Little Aman asked her maid with a soft voice. Sada’s teeth caught the end of her shawl to hold her cry. Her eyes were welling. Aman looked at her mother again, and then her confused glance rested on Sada’s reddish face. and then she saw her mother again, wrapped and covered with a white sheet she was peacefully sleeping. She didn’t cough with pain as she did almost every time. but aman hated this silence. She wanted to hold by her mother’s slender shoulders and shake her until Ma woke up and greeted her with that pleasant smile. But…little Aman had no chance for such act. The entire room was flooding with women and she heard them whisper. She couldn’t behave badly in front of such a big crowd.
Her sparkling eyes now met the women who were sat in a corner of the room andwas continuously reading the quran to a rhythm. despite the rhythm and melody of their voices they wer e reading the verses in one breath, too speed for a little girl of six years to understand or continue with them. aman knows to recite the quran but she knew only few verses, not the whole quran. Being amazed she was staring at them with a smile dancing on her tiny lips.
The women gathered in the room with sorrowful eyes watched at the little girl with long hair and a tiny figure. Little aman didn’t mind anyone watching at her. she ran along with her friend Khadija and played with the other children. The only confusion she had was wondering how her mother was able to lye on bed so peacefully in front of such a big crowd. While running back to Sada, aman moved close to her mother and bent to plant a kiss on her cheek for she felt love for her mother, but someone stopped her.
“Please Sada Umma…Let her wake up…I want to talk to her!”
Aman pleaded. The whispers disappeared and the entire room filled with silence. Aman rolled her eyes and watched around at everybody. Someone is related to someone,to her mother or father, that is all what the little mind could realize.
“poor soul!”
Her grandmother touched her with misery and sorrow. Aman smiled and ducked her head.
“why are you crying Ma’Umma? You are crying..she’s crying…what is wrong…are you sick too?”
Her voice could melt the hearts of the others.
“khadija…take her with you…play outside littleone!”
Sada ordered her daughter khadija to take aman along with her. khadija was three years older to aman and she understood what was going on here in this house today. The tall, skinny girl nodded her head and clasped aman’s hand with hers.
“wait a second…I want to show Ma something
She dropped her friend’s hand and touched her mother who was motionless. Aman shook her mother trying to wake her up. But her mother didn’t hear her or feel her. she was numb and blue, she has turned to icicles.
“”Ma…wake up! See who is with us…Ma’Umma…and uncle too…wake up will you? you are laaaaaaaazy!”
“Aman! Don’t, you are hurting Ma!”
Aman wasn’t aware that her mother’s soul was been raised up and she is not with them any longer. Besides she understood less that the deceased body could feel pain although the soul wasn’t there any longer. She was too small to understand what was the real meaning of Death. In fact, the small girl didn’t realize her mother was dead.
“is she still having the flu? I forgot!”
Aman giggled realizing her mistake. Wasn’t her mother sick for sometime? She ran away out joining her little friends leaving the women to continue their whispers and cry.
“last night Doctor injected Ma…now she doesn’t speak or wake up…she must have hurt…is it painful Khadija?”
Aman muttered alone and then asked her best friend. Khadija drew an annocent smile. She was nine years old. She could understand what has happened to aman’s mother. she wanted to explain her little friend that her Ma would never come back, yet she kept silence for she didn’t want to hurt poor Aman. She loved her friend.
Few hours later aman saw her mother was carried to a room and was being locked inside. Now aman felt something strange and different. she wanted to be with her mother. not a single moment she wanted to be departed with Ma.
“I want to go…I want to see her…why aren’t they showing me?”
“you are too small sweetheart…they are giving a bath to Ma”
“Oh!”
Her Ma was sick and it was sada who gave Ma a bath and did every other work for her. so little heart didn’t worry much about that. but why is this…a huge crowd. When the arms of the clock moved faster more people streamed into their house. Aman thought she would be crushed by this massive crowd. She heard the men in the living hall now began to recite the quranic verses with a rapid speed to a rhtym. Sada caught her hand and rushed her toward her mother who was now completely wrapped by a white cloth, leaving only the face being uncovered. She smelled good and aman felt strange. She could feel goosebumps. Aman’s eyes wandered around the women who sniffed and sobbed. A woman or two asked the others not to cry.
“kiss her without hurting her Aman…”
Sada said holding her tears. Aman followed sada’s instructions and softly kissed her mother’s face. she felt as she was kissing an ice cube. A small tear appeared in aman’s eyes, without her knowledge. She felt the absence of her mother. she could feel something was wrong, something wasn’t right. The other days Ma would open her eyes and smile back to her when aman kissed Ma’s cheek. But today she refused to wake up. She didn’t even move a single muscle.
“has Ma got angry with me? but I wasn’t naughty Sada umma!”
Aman’s voice trembled. Why is she refusing to wake up and talk to little Aman? Aman was doubting now. she felt a warm arm wrapping around her nec. She turned back to see her dad. He was different. paled, his eyes were reddish. His trembling fingers ran through her messy hair. Aman hugged her dad’s knee.
“Sada…carry aman away!”
Her dad commanded his maid.
“I cant…I want to see Ma…I want to be with her…”
Aman said being stubborn. Little mind didn’t feel comfortable to be surrounded by strangers who looked at her with sorrowful eyes and asked her silly questions. She saw her dad’s gaze and it wasn’t friendly now. she feared to make her dad angry. Her hands released her dad’s knees. Sada carried aman and walked away from the room. aman heard the quran verses been read continuously. she watched they carry her mother now being completely wrapped with a piece of cloth and placed it in a cane box and covered it with a green carpet which was called a Sandak. They carried the Sanda out of their house, the crowm swam behind it reciting the quran verses loudly.
“why did they put her in it?”
She asked being frightened and confused. she didn’t hear sada’s reply. aman watched sada carefully to know whether she replied her answer because the whole house was noisy. But no, sada didn’t answer, instead she was crying.
“where are they taking her?”
She asked again now with a loud voice, thinking this time sada would hear her. she was right. Sada heard her little voice.
“she is going back to Allah…ask for her forgiveness…Ask Allah to accept her to Jannah!”
Sada said while sobbing. Aman shook her head not knowing what sada said. If Ma is going back to Allah then it’s something good. Why does sada Umma cry. Allah is most merciful, Aman’s Alim has taught her. so the little mind didn’t want to cry. Perhaps the little mind understood that this was a journey which has to be gone oneday.
“wont she come back again?”
Aman watched them carry her mother away. When she saw them gone she asked sada. Sada shook her head but se couldn’t answer. Instead she wept. The woman standing next to them patted aman’s soft face and smile with pity and love.
“can I go with her too?”
Aman asked again. Sada cuddled the girl and wept as she had lost something valuable.
“don’t weep Sada…that is the destiny of everyone…yours and mine…that is the amount of life Deena has brought!”
The woman next to sada said with a sad tone.
“this little one will be left alone!
Sada’s grip tightend. Aman wiped sada’s wetted cheeks with her tiny fingers. Then she kissed sada’s forehead with love and then jumped down and ran out like a free bird not knowing how it would be her tomorrows!