Zainab's Writings

Hello. Here's a story that I wrote. :) It has been inspired by some of my own life experiences and feelings about them, which is also why the narrator bears some resemblance to myself (it wasn't intentional). ---- "Sannaaaa!" Ammi called from the kitchen. Reluctantly, I put down the book I was reading and went up to her to hear what she had to say. "Put on fresh clothes. Your phuphi is coming to visit." I was instructed. I frowned. "Samra phuphi?" "No, your other aunt -" she said, pausing to taste the kababs she was making. I racked my brain. As far as I could think of, I had only one phuphi, one who came over almost every weekend with her two sons who would mess up the whole house each time they visited. "Which phuphi ?? " I asked, perplexed. "Sameena phuphi, your father's other sister. The one who lives in Canada. Remember?" I recalled. Yes, I did have another aunt whom Abbu sometimes mentioned wh...

Here's the second chapter of the short story I'm writing ( click here to read Chapter 1 if you haven't already). Those of you who often read my short stories will by now be used to the frequent food references in my writings (yup, I'm a foodie, and what my protagonist had for lunch is as important to me as my own lunch, lol). In some of my recent writings, though, I have been resisting the urge to include anything food-related but in this piece, I finally gave in (maybe I even went a bit overboard). :D Anyway, I do hope it did this chapter some good. ---- Chapter 2: Halwa Fareeha pressed the bell. She waited. It seemed like the old lady was taking longer than usual to open the door. Pressing her ear to the gate, Fareeha listened intently for the sound of footsteps. She could hear none. Should I ring the bell again? she wondered. Just then, she heard the front door swing open, snapping her out of her thoughts. As she stepped into the kitchen, Fareeha could...

This is the first chapter of a short story I'm working on. I will hopefully post the other parts soon, or as I get done with them. ----- It was an early Sunday morning, and after a hectic week of work, the neighbourhood slept uninterrupted. Everything was still and silent; everything except for the branches of an old neem tree that swayed in the wind - and the sparrow that lived on it - which went about their usual business, oblivious of the fact that it was a Sunday. Next to the neem tree there was an old house (the oldest on the street, perhaps even older than the neem tree itself). For years the house had stood alone next to empty plots on the street, and it had seen the deserted region grow into a neighbourhood that buzzed with life. But now, it wore a tired look; it seemed like it no longer wanted to carry on with life. The yellowish paint on the walls once used to be white, but now it was peeling off; it seemed as if the people around had stopped caring for it. In...

Hello there, I'm back! I was unable to post for the past month or so because I was out of country (on a trip to Turkey!) but now that I'm back and full of ideas, I hope to post more often. :) Anyhow, this post is the first installment in a new series I'm starting on this blog, Stories that Never Made It . As someone who loves to write, I have notebooks filled with stories that never saw the light of the day. Often this happens when I get distracted, when something else more urgent/ important comes up, when I run out of ideas or am unsure where exactly a story is heading. Although a lot of these stories may be underdeveloped or neglected plots, or results of sudden brainwaves, (sudden brainwaves. i get them so often, lol) but I'm sure they could have turned out better had they been given more attention. Some of these excerpts may be very short; around 100-200 words long, while others might be around 500 words in length. However, I believe they all deserve to be displa...

So here's the last part to the story! This one is 509 words long, making the story a whopping 2268 words long! (this is the first short story I've written that actually made it to the standard short story length! All my short stories are generally too short, even for a short story!) Apologies to anyone who I've kept waiting! :) Click here , here , and here to read Parts 1, 2, and 3. ----- I felt like I would faint any moment. My head was throbbing with pain from standing out in the scorching heat for so long, my throat was prickly and dry, my shirt was still stained and there were merely nine minutes to go until the interview began. The drive to The Prestige Bank’s Central Branch would easily take fifteen minutes, and that too if the roads were clear, which they would certainly not be at this hour of the day; when majority of the city’s population were commuting to their offices. I sighed. I was defeated, and I knew it. Out of nowhere, a tear appeared on th...

Okay, so I remember I promised I would complete the story in three parts, but somehow I couldn't just get enough time to work on this, so I'm having to post this in four pieces, plus this excerpt is a short one (only 446 words!) I'm sorry for this, but again, I'll try to return with the last part for this as soon as I can! I've tried to end this with a cliffhanger, do let me know if it actually seems like one Click here to read Part 1. Click here to read Part 2. ------ For awhile I just stood there, looking remorsefully at my blemished shirt, wondering what I was going to do with it. Then I had an idea. I fished out a wet tissue packet out of my trouser pocket. It was just something I had slipped absentmindedly into my pocket, otherwise I rarely carry a wet tissue or even a normal tissue with me. I tore open the packaging and started rubbing it vigorously on the stain in a desperate attempt to do away with it. A minute later, the tissue had been reduced t...

Hey there! I'm back with Part 2 of the story excerpt I posted last week! ( Click here  to read Part 1 if you haven't already.) This one is longer, with a word count of 820 words.  Have a good time reading this...I'll be looking forward to your comments! :D P.S: I changed my blog design again!  I do hope you guys like it - I am finally satisfied with this template + wallpaper so I intend to stick to it for atleast a couple of months. :) ---- Breakfast was a hasty affair, and because the nauseous instinct was still there, I decided it was best to have one slice of toast instead of two. Gulping down half a cup of tea, I bid farewell to Ammi and left the house. I carefully mounted my bike, ensuring that my posture did not create odd creases on my beautifully ironed suit. I backed out of our narrow street, and, taking the shortest route, headed straight for Frizex Expressway. I got off the Expressway at Clifton. DHA - where the Prestige Bank’s Central b...

Hi everyone! I'm finally back here - apologies for not being able to post in most of October and throughout November! (I really resent this; I promise I'll try to post more often than once in two months) Anyhow, here's an excerpt from a story I have been working on for a while... I had intended to post the entire story in one post but because a major part of it needs to be written, typed, and edited, I decided to post it here in parts. Unfortunately this isn't too long :/ - only 493 words - but I'll try my best to post the sequel excerpt to this one in a week or so. Enjoy reading! -------------------------- Trring, humm, bzz… trring, humm, bzz.. My alarm went off and I sat up in bed almost immediately. Stifling a yawn, I stretched out my arm to turn it off; surprised how it successfully woke me up today. I was the deepest sleeper in my family, and when asleep, even the fiercest of thunderstorms failed to stir me, let alone the soft, monotonous alarm tone of m...

Okay, so here's the story excerpt I promised! I started writing this story back in 2016, I think. Back then I typed only a couple of initial paragraphs and then got stuck. Then after several months I opened the word document and read what I had written. I realized that it was quite good and added more to it. So here's an excerpt:(even though this is all I have written yet, I am calling this an excerpt because this I intend to add more to it). ___________________________________________________________________ THE ART LESSON The tap-tap sound of the teacher’s heels announced that she was approaching. Hira’s hands trembled as she sharpened her pencil. The classroom door swung open, and the tap-tap sound grew louder. A sudden gust of wind bought the smell of strong feminine perfume to Hira’s nostrils. The tap-tap sound finally stopped by the teacher’s desk in the front. “Class! Today we will be drawing a basket of apples,” the teacher’s shrill voice sounded as she p...

Only recently I was looking at an old notebook of mine, reading the English essays I wrote before my English papers. At the end of the notebook I had copied down Creative Writing topics from past papers. As I read the list of topics, I came across one I found increasingly interesting. The topic was: 'Write a story in which loosing a passport OR an identity card plays an important part.' I found it so interesting that I began working on it straightaway. I thoroughly enjoyed myself writing it. It was days  after that I had written anything other than my history, geography, and Islamiyat answers! “Ahem. Your ID card, please,” said the plump, moustached guard at the entrance gate of the university. “The ID card?” I blurted out. “Uh, yes, I do believe I have it somewhere in my bag” I said, half to myself. Just looking at the grim-faced guard made me nervous. I unzipped my bulging hand bag which I had purchased only three days ago at the start of the university session. The g...

I had been attempting to write a story with a word limit of hundred words for several days. But it was extremely challenging, so I loosened my restriction to 150 words. Here is the story(it has no title yet): As I stared between the bars of the prison cell, I deeply regretted my visit to the jewellery shop. It had not been a good idea at all, since I had no money on me. Just as I had entered the store, a dazzling gold necklace caught my eye. It was a beauty; all studded with tiny, shimmering rubies. I glanced at the price tag. My face fell. It was too expensive. When no one was looking, I silently unhooked the necklace from its stand and dropped it into my pocket. Then I casually headed towards the exit. It all happened in seconds. The security guard grabbed me by the collar and started yelling at me. The proof against me was in my pocket, and before I knew it, I was taken off to jail... I could not think anymore. I buried my head in my knees and started crying. ...

This was a narrative essay title: 'Write a story which includes the sentence:'He could never resist temptation.' I had this idea for a long time for a story, but I only got around to writing it the day before yesterday. I had to give it a title, so I named it 'The Chocolate Cake', because it was the one which caused all the trouble! Everyone was out. Only Ahmed was home, lying on the couch, watching television. In the middle of the football match, he realized he was feeling extremely hungry-despite the bag of potato chips he had just golfed down.  His stomach grumbled angrily. Ahmed took to its warnings and went into the kitchen. The cupboards only contained his wife Saira’s dinner set, big canisters of flour and sugar, spices, and other cooking materials. Desperately, Ahmed opened the fridge. A big chocolate cake attracted his attention. It was a huge cake covered evenly on the top and down the sides with creamy dark chocolate. The top was neatly bordered wit...