'Memories are a treasure. Right?
  Because it is the only thing that our beloved ones leave behind for us and these are precious, we sometimes smile or shed a tear flicking through their pages.'
I hug the picture of me and my daddy, thinking about him. This picture was taken when I was just five years old and we went to an amusement park.

"You had cried bitterly for this frock." I hear my mother's voice suddenly in a whisper near me. I remain quiet and turn my head in the right direction slightly to look at her. She takes the picture from my hands and rubs her fingers on it.

"We went to a mall once and you ran towards a purple frilly frock. You hugged it in your small arms and ran across the whole shop shouting about how much you love it." Her voice becomes little wobbly and I put my hand on her shoulder.

" He was extremely excited that you had chosen your first dress. He took snaps of you in your cute poses and kept them in his diary." I watch few tears slip down her eyes which she wipes off immediately with the back of her fingers.

" Why did he keep my photos in his diary?" I sound throaty.

" Because he wanted to save you from evil eye. Your innocence and beauty in those pictures were what he would stare at for hours when he was away from you or at office."

We both smile and I hug her tightly. My heart aches to cry but I hold back my tears, I can not worry her because I know my tears hurt her.

" Sometimes I miss him awfully." I look down, holding onto her.

" So do I.... But with missing him we should pray for him and do good deeds so that he can rest in peace." I take my arms off her and nod at her with a smile.

" Stay blessed." She takes my face in her hands and pecks my forehead.

She turns towards the door of my room to leave but stops and putting her hand on her head, she turns around because she had forgotten something.

" Oh God! I came here to tell you that Maheen had telephoned and she was complaining that you are not picking up her call. But it skipped from my mind."

I frown and dig my hand into my college bag.
" Battery is dead." I tell her.

" Charge it and contact her. Oh by the way.. She was asking if you were going to participate or not." she gives me a still stare to force something out of my mouth.

" Nothing.... That much important, it is just a writing competition." I tell her, inserting the charger pin in my phone.

" And you are participating?" She comes near me and sits down on my bed.

*Silence*

" I don't know." A rough sigh escapes my lips.

" What do you mean you don't know?" She says and picks up a paper that falls out of bag when I pick it up to zip up.

" This is huge. It has been always your dream to participate in such a competition and why are you not?" She looks at me showing the paper to me.

" It was dream of daddy also, now it is hard for me to write because it hurts so bad to know that he isn't here to admire every single word written by my hands." I hold my hands together in my lap and fix my eyes on them.

" When you know that it was his dream then why don't you accomplish it?" She takes my entangled hands in her hand and with other hand she pushes my chin upward and I see a twinkle in her dark eyes.

" Your father's dreams were always connected with you and if you will give up, his soul will remain disturbed. Follow your dreams and don't forget the promise you made with your father that you will never give up." She kisses my hands and I in flash hug her.

She is taken aback by this sudden motion but soon retreats and hugs me back.

" I won't give up." I smile pating my wet eyes with my palms.

My phone rings and it's screen lights up.
"Ah! Pick up the phone and tell Maheen that you are participating so that she can sleep peacefully." She gives out a heartly laugh and I join her in it.

" Sure!"

I pick up the phone and before the call can end I hit accept.

" Bless my ears with a good news." Her penetrating voice shoots through my ear and I keep it away from my ear a little.

" Only if you stop shouting. " I can't help rolling my eyes.

" oops!"

I chuckle at this and then clearing my throat, I tell her,

" Yes, I am participating."

" Yayyyyy....." She shouts in joy and I laugh at her. My best friend is silly but best kind of silly.

" Arzu my love, you will win, you will see, no! Whole world will see that Miss Arzu Shahid is one of the best writers." She can not hold back her excitement and I just smile at this.

" By the will of Allah ! I will."

I talk to her for half an hour and I feel much better.
Before going to bed I offer my Isha prayer and picking up my daddy picture from my side table. I talk to him as if he is listening to me,

" I will keep my promise." I kiss the picture and put it back. Then switching off the table lamp, I drift off to sleep to wake up for a new beginning tomorrow.
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To Be Continued........
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