14th August Special: Homeland

This is a story which I have been working on for months. Although this was meant to be a Novella ( a short novel) it turns out to be what they call 'a short story'. This is 1,196 words long, making it barely a short story. Because the topic is a patriotic one, I decided to post it today on 14th August. I hope this will make people realize how valuable Pakistan is.

Pakistan Zindabad!

Mr. and Mrs. Khan lived in Karachi but they were always saying how good America was.

“Just like a dream”, Mr. Khan often said and his wife agreed. America was very much more luxurious, safer, and better in every way than her own country. She longed to live there. After all, who would want to live in Pakistan?  A poor third world country with dirty streets, load shedding, an unjust government and unfair laws. And no hope of things getting better, either. 

Mrs. Khan knew America was the best option-and she dreamed of going there all the time.

* * *

The alarm sounded, waking them up. Mr. Khan woke up and disappeared into the bathroom while his wife went to the Kitchen to make breakfast.

Mr. Khan emerged from the bathroom and dried his hands with a towel. Then he picked up his phone to check his emails.

Mrs. Khan hummed to herself while making Pancakes.  She made the tea and poured it into teacups. Then she put everything on a tray and took it to her bedroom. She took a pancake and poured on some syrup.  Mr. Khan picked up his cup of tea without taking his eyes off the mobile screen.

“Listen,” he put down his phone and told his wife a while later. “I just got an email from my travel agent. I had applied for an American visa some time ago, and” –he paused to take a sip of tea- “he says he got it!” Isn’t that great?

“It is,” said Mrs. Khan, dazed.

* * *

They shopped for new clothes and shoes.  Mr. Khan arranged for plane tickets and booked a hotel.  The Khans were really excited.

They were in America within a week. There stay was in Florida, but they visited a few other states too.  Mr. and Mrs. Khan loved America. It was just the sort of place they wanted to live in!  And there weren’t any problems there either.  It was just Perfect.

* * *

Their  two-week stay flipped by. Very soon they were back at the Karachi Airport. They found a cab and went home.

They paid the taxi driver and he helped unload the cab. Just as they stepped in and switched on the lights, they flicked on and off and then it blacked out completely.

“Oh NO,” groaned Mr. Khan.

“Damn that load shedding!” shrieked Mrs. Khan.

“I’m tired of all this!” exclaimed Mr. Khan.

“Let’s book a hotel room,” suggested Mrs. Khan. “I don’t think we can live here!

But the lights came back within half an hour, before they could book a hotel room and soon they were relaxing on comfy armchairs, sipping warm cocoa.

“America’s Perfect,” Mr. Khan kept saying. “It doesn’t have all of these problems,” even  though there wasn’t any Problem at all.

* * *

One day, when Mr. Khan returned from work, he found his wife in a bad mood.

“I’m tired of all of this”, she grumbled. “I think we need a change.”

“A change?” Mr. Khan raised a brow.

“Yeah, you know- maybe we could move to America” she said excitedly.

“Oh.” Mr. Khan fell into an armchair and began taking off his shoes and socks.

“Maybe we can,” he said suddenly. “It’s possible”

“Do you really mean it?” Mrs. Khan jumped up.

“Yeah- you know, my company has branches in America. He replied. “so maybe they can transfer me.

“WOW!” said Mrs. Khan excited.

“OK, OK. I’ll ask my boss about it and whether it’s possible or not. And if he says that is, I’ll look for an apartment somewhere around San Francisco.”

He paused for breath. “But for now, please set the table for dinner. I’m starving.”

* * *

The boss said yes, that was possible and that he could be transferred to America easily. He added that the company needed more staff for the American branches as they were short of staff over there.

Mr. Khan broke the news to his wife who told all her lady friends. She was delighted that her childhood wish was finally coming true.

Mr. Khan applied for an apartment. It was near impossible, he discovered.  Most of the offices he contacted said they didn’t have any empty rooms. The Khans were very worried. Finally, they found a suitable two-room-apartment. He paid a hefty price for it and got it for rent. Now all that was left was to go to America.

* * *

The Khans left for America within a months’ time. They put their house on rent and arranged for their car to be shipped to America.

They lived in a hotel for the first few days while they got their apartment furnished.  They moved into it soon.

Even though it took a long time to get used to living in their tiny apartment after living in a mansion, the Khans were determined to enjoy living in America. Little did they know that America had it’s own problems too.

* * *

One day, Mr. Khan returned from work to find his wife sad and quiet.

“What’s wrong?” Mr. Khan inquired. “Aren’t you enjoying here?”

“Well”-she sighed. America is good, but there’s nothing like Karachi. I miss everything, and now I realize the value of our homeland.”

Mr. Khan was quiet for a moment. “You’re right.” He said quietly. “There’s no peace of heart here.”

“I don’t even have any friends or relatives here! It gets really lonely!” Mrs. Khan complained. “And who says it is safe here? This isn’t any better like we thought. Pakistan is much better. After all, Pakistan is our homeland!

“Yeah.” Mr. Khan said slowly. “I’ll try to do something about it.

* * *

Mr. Bilal was in his office, working on his computer when his secretary came in.

“Mr. Khan just phoned to say he wants to return to Karachi.” He informed his boss.

“Mr. Khan?” Mr. Bilal raised both his eyebrows. “Back here?”

“Er-yes, he asks whether he can be transferred back here or not.”

“Hmm… I’ll call him and ask what’s wrong.”

He picked up the telephone receiver and dialed Mr. Khan.

“Hello, Mr. Khan?” he spoke onto the phone.

“Yeah, Ali said you called to say you want to return back to Karachi?”

“But that costs a lot, you know” he said, irritated. “We can’t keep transferring people here to there!”

He raised an eyebrow.” You’ll pay for it?”

“OK,” he spoke into the phone. “I’ll arrange for you to be transferred. As soon as possible.”

* * *

Two weeks later, Mr. and Mrs. Khan were aboard a plane and going back to Karachi.  Everything had been arranged. Mr. Khan’s company had finally agreed, and as nobody was living in their house yet, they could easily go to live there. Although Mr. and Mrs. Khan had been very excited to go to America, they weren’t sad at all about leaving it.  They were determined that it had been a good decision.

Finally, the plane landed and their journey ended. Mr. and Mrs. Khan were delighted to be back to Karachi. Very soon they reached home and were relaxing on comfortable chairs.

“You don’t miss America, do you?” Mr. Khan asked his wife.

“Not at all”, she replied happily. “I’m just glad to be back to my homeland.”

* * *