Light Narrative Writing - Essay Example

6 December In Two He wanted so much to light a cigarette, but he figured maybe the interviewer would not like that smell and he cannot risk it. Besides he quit already. He remembered sending his resume for this cashier job last month. He needed the job badly. His wife was due in two months. And they were having twins. Two boys. Imagine that. Twins ran in his wife's family. Many of her cousins were either identical or fraternal twins. A year ago, during his co-worker's twenty-fourth birthday, he talked about having a son. He compared it to having a daughter. A son who does not breastfeed would cry for milk again and again. Your large cans of formula milk would vanish faster than you can buy it. They computed that his wife was better off breastfeeding than taking a part-time job. So she did not work anymore. She was not that happy though, his friend said. His face tightened a little. She liked having her own money, you know. Having that time to be away. They had six kids. She was pregnant almost every year. When Aamir went home, Adeela was waiting by the door. She already received her husband's text message that he would be coming home. She waited patiently and read Aamir's face who entered the door with sweat in his brow. His face was darker than the clouds outside. He did not get the job again. Adeela patted her husband's shoulder. “Did you have dinner already?” “No, I did not.” “I cooked Biryani.” “Vegetables?” “I added some fish.” He went to the table and looked at the dish. He could see a pinch of fish. He wondered how it would be to be a fish. His wife would be having hundreds of twins maybe. “You go ahead and eat. This can last until the morning,” he told his wife. He went into the kitchen and opened the half-full carton of milk. He drank half a glass and went to bed. Adeela ate silently. Aamir turned on his phone's radio and listened to classical music. His mother used to play that to him when they were little. She played the violin before too, before the car accident. Then everything went downhill from there. Their father became a drunkard. They lost their carpet business to booze and cards. Aamir slept and snored noisily. Adeela just washed the dishes and lied beside her husband. She felt her twins kick hard inside her. She looked out the window. It was 10 PM and her husband said he'd be home by 8 PM. Two hours. Where did he go? Two hours ago Aamir walked mindlessly in the dark park. His hands were sunk deep into his pant's pockets. It was cold and it bit him. But he felt nothing. He had been trying to have a job for the past two months now. He wished for a laptop. It would have been nice to try writing again. He heard someone talking about writing online and making good money. He needed that. Good money. It would be nice to stay at home too. He could look after his wife and kids. He noticed two white teenagers had been following him. He thought they couldn't steal anything from him. But if they killed him, that wouldn't be good. His wife would be helpless without him. Aamir decided to walk faster and left the park's darker paths. The snores made her stay awake for a good part of the night. Adeela didn't mind. She slept soundly the whole day, while her husband looked for a job. She went over the classified ads herself. She found two or three jobs that she could apply for. Part-time jobs. But Aamir did not want to hear about it. She wished she was the man instead. The clock ticked longer when it was morning. Adeela received a phone call from her mother, who checked everyday if she was okay. Her mother called twice a day. Sometimes thrice. Or four times. She always hanged up after knowing that Aamir haven't found any job yet. Her mother suggested, “Why don't you come here? You can stay and save rent. Food. He could work at the laundry business.” “No Mama. He wouldn't like that.” “You married a proud man. You cannot use ego to buy food and milk. I have to go now.” Adeela could hear it. The breaking sound of her mother's voice who wanted to help her out. Who was disappointed that her most beautiful daughter married a poor, uneducated man. They were in love since grade school. High school made love more perfect. They married during their freshmen year. She got pregnant too fast. Aamir had to drop his Electrical Engineering course. She had to drop her English course. She wanted to be a teacher. Still want to. But she had a sensitive pregnancy. She could lose them. Or he could lose her. Aamir feared the last possibility the most. Aamir left early and ate a piece of egg and drank two glasses of water. He was applying for another cashier job. The applicant line was two miles for him. He sat quietly near white, female teenagers talking about the iPads they would be buying for Christmas. The one with the high-pitched voice said she wanted an iPhone instead. Someone called her and she dropped it. “That's just mummy. She just keeps on calling and calling and calling.” They laughed. After the two of them left the office, the interviewer said that all posts were filled. Aamir did not leave immediately. He felt stuck to his seat, his core was heavy. Deadweight. He felt light and heavy. His head felt light, but he was heavy inside. Aamir walked to his next interview. This time a typing job. He typed somewhat fast when he made stories about robots and aliens. But his wrist hurt lately, since the last time he fell. He was changing their bulb and lost his step. Good thing he did not bruise easily. His wife would have found it and fainted. She hated accidents. Her father died from an industrial accident. He was the head engineer in a famous company. Again, there were too many applicants for so few job openings. Aamir prayed to get it. He was getting hungry and he had no money to find food. He could not walk home, because it was already too far. He thanked that the office had free water and coffee. He drank three cups while waiting. This made his fingers tremble a little. He lost the job again. Aamir walked back home. He sent a text message to his wife that he would be coming soon. He went to the park again and decided to just sit at the bench and observe his surroundings. He looked at their happy faces. These people walking and eating at this park. Not one of them showed sadness or anxiety. Maybe this is the park of happiness and he had lost its ticket to gain happiness. Several kids had iPads on one bench. They were talking non-stop about the latest PC game. Then they all played on their iPads. His stomach churned. He wished he could eat. He felt like his stomach acid tore into his heart. And burnt his soul. He did not notice that he fell asleep. It was his dream. A dream he had dreamed many times. He was walking into this huge machine. It was the machine of dreams. People who went there had their wishes come true. The first time he went there, he went out with Adeela. The second time, he went out with a sleek red Porsche. The third time, he woke up already. He always woke up with the third dream. This time, he wanted to stay asleep longer. He was already conscious of this dream. When he went out the third time, he was holding several typewriters. They were the old bulky ones before PCs got invented. There were three. They were very heavy. He typed incessantly. Then money went out from these machines. He looked back and he saw Adeela. She was happy. They had a big dinner together and had their family and friends come over. Aamir woke suddenly when a ball hit his shoulder. A young boy apologized. He noticed it was getting dark and he walked home. He hugged himself as cold wind brushed against him. Adeela was also sleeping. She was dreaming of being a teacher. She had a huge class. College students. They were talking about an old film. It was about the machine that ate people. It promises to give dreams, but it ate people instead when you entered it. They were laughing about the ending. The maker of the machine forgot that he made a phony machine and entered it. He died of course. Adeela woke up. Her husband touched her shoulder. He said he was going to watch TV. Then Adeela went out. She saw the TV gobble up Aamir. She screamed, but no voice came out from her. She woke up in a sweat. Aamir just opened the door. It was 8 PM. Aamir ate heartily this time. He did not think of tomorrow anymore. They watched TV together. The news featured an old man eating different electrical materials. Then scientists x-rayed his stomach and found them inside him. Somehow, these products did not hurt him. Aamir thought if he could make that for a living. Like a circus actor or something. Adeela thought about her dream again. She wanted to sleep once more. She told Aamir she would be sleeping again and he nodded. Adeela slept. Her dream was different this time. She was inside her class, but there was no student. She was reading a book aloud instead to Aamir. Aamir was taking notes, but he was not writing. He was sketching a building with high-tech circus equipment. It was a hollow building with circus acts inside. Adeela woke up. Her husband was sleeping beside her and snored like a cow. Aamir woke early. He drank some milk and left. Adeela was still sleeping and he did not want to wake her up. He heard that there was a job at a grocery store ten blocks away. He knew the store owner. This could be it. When he came to the store, the owner greeted him. He hired him on the spot. He forgot to send a message to Adeela, because he was busy the whole day. And night. His muscles were sore when he went home. “Sorry, I didn't text you. I got a job already.” Adeela smiled. It was all that mattered. But a while ago, she was worried. She dreamed that Aamir went into a PC. Literally into it and never came back. Aamir walked a 14-hour shift six days a week. One day off. He sleeps the whole day. Adeela felt silence even more inside their house. She longed for noise. She was due in a day. The next day, Adeela gave birth to twins. They were healthy baby boys. One looked like her and the other looked like Adeela. Aamir looked happy that time. Their succeeding days and nights were filled with crying babies and changing diapers. Aamir could not sleep well at night, because the babies were constantly awake in the evenings. He wanted to sleep at the store instead. When Aamir left that morning, he had some clothes with him. He said he would sleep over at the store for a few days. Adeela nodded. She looked tired and older. Her babies sucked noisily. The rain fell in heavy sheets that night. All Adeela heard was the rain. And her babies sucking. Her phone rang but she did not answer it. She was already sleeping and dreaming again. This time, she had her students back. And they were discussing the socio-economic implications of the story they were reading. Read More