The night was very young. The wind was hissing like a snoring grandmother. The sky was filled with countless stars and a beautiful moon. Everything was at solace. It was peaceful.

Well, if you ignored the small sobs of a girl.

She was crying heavily as she sat on the roof top of her house. She was cursing her fate and questioning her existence. She would have given up on her life if there was not a fear of religion, norms and culture.

She cried and cried heavily, mentally rewinding the turn of events which had brought her to the dump over and over again.

Suddenly a warm little hand touched her face. She looked up.

It was his cousin brother standing right next to her.

She immediately got up and took off her shawl. She wrapped it around him.

"What are you doing here? It's cold you should be sleeping right now kiddo," He was silently wiping the remaining tears off her face.

"Isn't it cold for you?"

"Yes it is."

"Why do you cry so much?"

"Because my heart is broken."

"Who broke your heart?" and then there was an awkward silence. It was hard for her to explain to him who had broken her heart. It was hard for her to find the culprit; her parents, her teachers, her friends, the doomed educational system or herself.

She had been a star at the school. She was a good learner and a hard working student. She had an ambition, a dream and a purpose in her life. She wanted to become a doctor but she failed.

Now she was just a white crayon. One the educational system had failed to inoculate with any colours. She was a living example of the failure of the educational system.

The hand touched her face again but now his hand was cold.

"You should not be sitting up here kiddo. Let's go down stairs and get some sleep."

"No stop."

"What's the matter?"

"I have something for you."

"Well give it to me then leave."

"Promise me that you won't laugh at it."

"Ok, promise."

"Don't tell anyone."

"Ok."

He opened up his palm in front of her. It was a small pink ball. It was filled with stars and a white colored teddy bear was gazing at her with naughty eyes. He handed her the ball and told her to keep it. When she asked for the reason, he said, "It's my lucky charm. I always keep it with me because this bear looks just like you. You have always been my role model. Beautiful, happy, smart and obedient. My father told me in order to become a good child I have to follow you."

She was surprised. He had always been a naughty, careless and mischievous just like a boy should be. She felt bad, because she knew that comparisons and contrasts by parents always put the children under stress. It was because of this that a nine year old child adored her and wanted to become like her.

It is the dilemma of our society that parents do not pay attention towards the talents their children are born with. They are more inclined towards turning them in a more successful person like someone else. This practically ruins the life of a child. All our lives, we are busy running after an illusion and deceiving ourselves.

For the first time in her life, she felt devoid. Devoid of the basic purpose and practically lost. She wanted to become a doctor because she was taught from the very beginning that doctors earned more money and respect.

She was not allowed to think or speak on her own. She had to fit in society. She had to adjust to its obligations, rules and norms. She was 18 years old but she did not have her own say. She was like a puppet who only knew to act and think. For the first time in her life, she wanted to know and discover more about herself. She took the ball from his hand silently and tossed it off the roof. This angered his cousin and he ran in that direction. She caught him and held him up in her arms.

"Sister what did you do that for? Now the evil cat will eat it up," the innocent soul was crying over the loss of his charm.

She took him and sat down.

She asked "What do you want to be?" and he re-told her the same tale.

She asked him whether he wanted to become greater than her, the child nodded unknowingly.

She pointed towards the sky and told him, "Become a star that shines brightly."

"How will I get there?"

"Build a ladder."

"Can't you make it for me!"

"Do it yourself, the one you will build will be the strongest of all."

"How?"

"By discovering yourself and finding something which interests you."

Then both of them went downstairs. This simple conversation turned the tide in their lives. The next morning she was packing her bag.

She wanted to get back to her parents, to her friends, to her home. She had failed to pave her own way. Now the only way left was to go with the flow of destiny. The creator of the universe might have some plans for her. She just had to be patient and wait for good days to come.

Before closing her bag she threw in that pink ball, and she left her grandmother's house. She went back to her parents and apologized for all her misbehavior. After some time she took the entrance test of a local university. She passed the test with flying colors and got selected on merit basis. The first year was tough but later on she settled down.

The name of that girl was Alia. She was born in a middle class family. Alia's father, Mr. Saleem, was a salesman and her mother, Ms. Humaira, was a teacher. She had one brother, Osama. Even though her family wasn't well off, she had an awesome life. Her parents provided her with everything.

She was a polite, kind, emphatic and jolly person. She also loved to write. In academics, she was an average student but she excelled with her hard work. She had a dream to become a doctor. The life was going pretty good for her until she failed in the entrance test.

At first, she could not face her failure. In order to escape from the grim reality, she ran to her grandmother's home. Begum Zareena had six children including Alia's mother. She was an educated yet hardworking woman. She brought up her children very strictly and diligently. She lived with her eldest son, Sarfaraz.

Mr. Sarfaraz was also a school teacher. He had two sons, Irtaza and Abu Bakar. Irtaza was nine years old while Abu Bakar was only two years old. Irtaza was a naughty and jolly boy who was in class five.

Alia went there for some unwinding. Everybody understood her and that's why they were giving her time to accept. Irtaza and Abu Bakar adored Alia and they enjoyed her company a lot. Alia was unaware of this fact until that night when Irtaza gave her that ball. Love from family is definitely hard to replace. That little encounter changed the meaning of life for both Irtaza and Alia.

Alia always kept that ball with her because it was a core source of motivation for her. She learned a lot of new things. She made good friends. In a short span of four years, she bloomed into a beautiful flower. As Alia completed her degree of BS (Honors.) in Environmental Sciences with good grades, she also mastered many others arts like karate, cuisine, blogging, etc.

Right after her convocation, she got the job of an assistant researcher in her own department and she started working there. She worked there for quite a while then later on she got recommended to WWF.

There she kept working hard as responsible environmental scientists. In the mean while she completed her Masters. After completing Masters she got sent to the GIS station of WWF. She kept stepping it up with her hard work. She now stood in the list of the youngest GIS specialist.

In the meantime a lot of things changed. Children grew up. The old got older while the young lost their youthfulness. Abu Bakar grew up. Irtaza grew up and lot of her cousins as well. A conflict spurred up between Mr. Sarfaraz and his eldest son Irtaza and consequently Irtaza attempted suicide.

The main argument was that Irtaza wanted to pursue Computer while his father was pressuring him to take up mechanical engineering. When the word reached to Alia, she felt really sorry for Irtaza.

Although parents only wish the best for us, sometimes they end up ruining the life of their own beloved children. Money does matters but what matters the most is happiness and inner satisfaction. A person born with the talent of writing cannot be a good doctor or engineer.

Alia knew it was a time to stand against this system. She took a leave from office and rushed to her grandmother's house. She had a long debate with uncle Sarfaraz. Finally she won over him. It was a great success for her.

The bliss to pursue your dream is always the greatest of all. So far she was successful but there was always something missing in her life. She never wanted something like that for anyone else.

After he recovered from his injuries, Irtaza enrolled in LUMS under BSCS. He worked hard continuously with great zeal and enthusiasm. He prospered rapidly. After completing his bachelor along with some friends, he formed a gaming company. In their very first attempt they made such an innovative and interesting game. It hit to a capital of 1 billion.

In his excitement, he rushed to the WWF headquarters to see Alia that very evening...

Thank you for reading ❤

Part 2 will be coming soon.