In Bangladesh......

In the early morning of summer, at seven o'clock,In a room of a three storey apartment, Zara a 18 years young girl was sleeping peacefully,cradling a pillow to her chest.The morning sun rays peeping through the curtain and falling on her face .Her black long tussled hair was sparkling in the sunlight.

The room was peacefully silent .But a sudden sharp noise broke the comfortable silence of the room.

Her face twisted in annoyance and eyes slowly flutter opened.

The alarm clock was buzzing insistently and She reached over to slap the snooze button.

Shutting off the alarm,she sat up in bed and stretched out her upper body.

Sliding her feet into her smiley faced slippers; she makes her way to the bathroom which was connected to the bedroom.

After freshen up,she came out and walked to the window.

She gently pushed open the window and a fresh, fragrant air rushed over,making her smile.She closed her eyes against the bright sunlight to absorbed its warmth.

After enjoying the morning nature ,she turned and looked at her younger sister who was sleeping on the bed.

"Sara,get up."Zara called her out .

"Why is it so early?I slept just a while ago."the little girl groaned.

After offering fajr prayer and reciting Quran for half an hour,both sisters had slept just an hour ago.

Waking up early was a simple task for Zara.She was a morning person after all.But her sister ,Sara was her complete opposite.Everyday ,Zara has to waste a lot of energy and time in order to wake her up...that too twice.First time for fajr prayer and second time for the school.

"It's time for your school.You need to get up now !"Zara stripped the blanket from her body.

"Appi,5 minutes only."the girl requested, covering her face with a pillow cushion.

"No!get up right now.Otherwise you'll be late for the school."Zara said,  crossing her arms over her chest.

Sara huffed in annoyance and slowly crawled out of her comfortable bed and carried herself to the bathroom lazily.

Zara shook her head, smilingly before she made the bed, arranging the sheet,blanket smoothly and neatly, with the corners tucked under the mattress.

By the time she finished arranging the bed,Sara came out of the bathroom and started getting ready for her school.

"Get ready quickly and come out for breakfast."Zara told her sister before getting out of the room.

"Good morning,Abbu.Good morning,Ammi."Zara greeted her parents as she pulled a chair out and sat on the dining table for breakfast.

"Good morning,dear."Mr.Niaz Khan,her father said as he kept the newspaper aside from his hand and looked at her with a smile.

"Where is Sara?Did she wake up or still sleeping ?"Saira,her mother inquired while serving a flat bread on her plate.

"Yes,Ammi.She woke up already.She is getting ready for the school."Zara replied.

"By the way,Your result is going to be publish tomorrow, isn't it?"Mr.Niaz Khan,her father asked , sipping at the cup of his tea.

"Um..Hmm."Zara nodded before gulping down some orange juice.

"What?Are you really serious?Are you really going to send her to India?"Saira asked, staring at his husband in disbelief.

"We've already talked about this, haven't we?"He narrowed his eyes at her.

"I'm still not agree with this.We never let her stayed away from us even for a day . Now , you're talking about sending her far away that too for years ."Saira's eyes got moist as she spoke .

"Ammi !"Zara mumbled in a saddest tone , couldn't find words to explain her mother.

She looked at her father for help.He understood his daughter's unspoken plead and gave her a nod in assurance.

"Saira, It's about her dream, about her career.We have to send her away if it's necessary to fulfil her dream."Niaz  said .

"Don't be adamant.Let her follow her dreams ,reach for the stars .Let her shine in the sky."He added, placing her hand upon his wife's hands.

Saira heaved a defeated sigh"Fine!Do whatever you two want to do."

Saira accepted defeat as she knew there was no point arguing with this father and daughter duo knowing how stubborn and head strong they could be when they set their mind to something.

**********

The next day Zara woke up at 5 am even though she slept at 3 am.She spent every minute tossing and turning.Like every other student she also got the jitters on the result day.

"I'm nervous right now.I can't see."Zara said, sitting in front of the laptop, trembling with nervousness .

The result has published just a while ago.But she wasn't ready to check it.Nobody was.Except her relatives,ofcourse who started calling her from the early morning.

"Come on,click it already.The result is already there.No matter how long you wait , the result won't change."Saira said agitated.

"Zara,Have faith on Allah and go for it."Mr.Khan said encouragingly.

"Appi,go for it."Sara said, encouragingly.

"Alright, Let's do this!"Zara nodded , placing her fingers on the keyboard.

With shaky hands,she typed her roll number,put in details and press 'Enter'.

She could feel her heart pounding heavily against her chest while her eyes fixated on the screen, waiting for the page to be loaded.

The result showed up.

711 score!

"Ya Allah,Such a great score! Alhamdulillah! "Saira cried with joy.

"711!Am I dreaming? Is this my score?"Zara mumbled , covering her mouth in astonishment.

The next moment she winched in pain as Sara pinched her arm.

"What's that?"Zara glared at her while rubbing her arm.

"See,You can feel the pain.That proves you're not dreaming."Sara said, grinning mischievously.

Zara chuckled.

"Congrats,Appi."Sara wrapped her arms around her elder sister and gave her a tight hug.

"Thank you."Zara mumbled ,happily.

"With your grades ,You can easily get admission into a good medical college In India."Niaz said , beaming with happiness .

"I'm going out to buy some sweets.Any reference?"He asked.

"Misti doi!"Zara said instant.

"No!"Sara objected"Ras Malai."

"No, Misti doi."

"Ras Malai."

"Misti Doi."

"Kids,Don't quarrel over it now .I'll bring both item ,okay? "Niaz said and both sisters squealed in joy.

Niaz headed out to buy sweets and on the other hand, Saira began calling to their relatives to tell them her daughter's outstanding result.

The next one hour,Zara spent her time replying to the flooding, inquisitive texts which she got from her friends and classmates .

"Ammi,I am going to meet Khusbu."Zara said as she opened the main door of her house.

"Okay,go.But come back before the lunch hour.I'm cooking your favourite dishes."Saira said from the kitchen.

"Okay,Ammi."Zara replied and got out of the house, closing the door behind.

Khusbu is her best friend.They grew up together ,lived at the same building ,studied at the same school,same class and now planning to take admission at the same medical college.

Reaching to her house,she rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer.Within a minute ,the door cracked open by a middle aged woman .She is Salma, Khusbu's mother.

"Assalamu Alaikum ,Aunty."Zara greeted the lady with her sweetest smile.

"Walaikum Assalam.Get in ,dear."Salma smilingly held the door open and Zara got in.

"How are you,dear?"She asked, closing the door behind .

"I am all good."Zara replied.

"What's the result?"Salma asked, curiously.

"I got 712 score."Zara chirped.

"Ma-sha-Allah!You did so well."Salma said happily,caressing her hair.

"What about Khusbu?What's her result?And where is she ,by the way?She isn't picking up my calls."

"She's in her room.She is upset."Salma said glumly.

"Why? Didn't she do well?"

"She got 691 ."

"That's a very good score!"Zara exclaimed.

"But it's not up to her expectation."Salma sighed .

"Don't worry,Aunty.I will talk to her."Zara assured her.

"Yes,Please.She isn't listening to me.You please try to cheer her up."Salma said with hope.

Zara nodded in assurance and walked towards her friend's room.

She knocked at the door of Khusbu's room.

"Ammi, I told you I don't want to talk to anyone right now.Please leave me alone for sometime."Khusbu yelled from inside her room, hearing the knock.

"Khusbu,It's me.Open the door."Zara said .

She knocked at the door again and waited for her to open the door.After two-three minutes ,Khusbu opened the door and let her in.

Opening the door,Khusbu sat on bed ,crossed legged, head down.

"What's wrong with you?"Zara asked as she walked into her room and sat across her on the bed.

"Zara,We'd promised eachother that we'll take admission to the same medical college.But I don't think I can keep my promise now.I may not be admitted to the college of our choice. "Khusbu said glumly to her bestie.

"Why do you say that?"Zara's face fell.

"Because I didn't do well in the exam."Khusbu's eyes teared up.

"But you got 693 score.That's a very good score."

"But it's not enough to get the scholarship."Khusbu replied."My scores just passed the line.I may not get the scholarship and you know that without the scholarship it's not possible for me to study in India ."She heaved a sigh.

"Come on,Don't lose hope before trying.Allah the Almighty answer every call of ours for as long as we don't lose hope.So, don't give up .Keep faith on him and keep praying. I am sure Allah won't disappoint us."Zara said and her words worked like a magic on her friend.

"You're right,Zara.Rather than stressing about things we can't control,I should pray to the one in control. He knows what I want and what's best for me. "Khusbu said , putting on a positive smile on her face.

Zara smiled with relief ,seeing the positiveness in her friend.

One week later,As planned they applied for admission to a renowned medical college in Dehradun, India through online and they got the admission.Both of them got scholarship as well.

And after two week,they headed to India to pursue their dream.

*************

Here is the 1st chapter of this story.I hope you like it.

Feel free to drop your feedback in the comment section.