Daily Times

There is a road in front of our field in the backyard where some cars pass by. Inside the cars, you can see Pathans sitting with their families. The cars went towards the West. Whenever my son saw them, he would ask me, “Dad, who are they and where are they going?” I didn’t have an answer to my son’s question because I was unaware myself as to who they were and where they were going. Whatever cars passed by on the road, we didn’t see the passengers making their way back.

After sometime, people from amongst us saw themselves seated in cars and moving towards the West as well. I reminded my son of his question about the Pathans and the nature of their journey, and today, we were in the same boat. We were unaware of who we were and where we were going. Suddenly, our cars stopped and a person said, “Don’t utter a word, and cross the river silently. We will take you after the river.”

This is the translated English version of a short story written by Assa Bejjar

Published in Daily Times, January 24^th 2018.