I.

Little Raihan quietly entered his parents' room and tiptoed to their bed. He gathered some books lying around and carefully placed them near the bed to help him climb up. The smell of his parents immediately gave him a sense of comfort. He then very gently wiggled his way into the little space left between them. Their warmth made him sleepy again. Raihan was finally free from all his nightmares as he now secured a spot in the safest place on Earth.

"Sweet dreams Raihan." He whispered to himself.

by Muntaha Afifa Fatima

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‘Street’: Sehri Tales selections, Day 14

II.

The strong smell of cumin hits me as soon as I enter the house I grew up in. I couldn't help but feel like I was being entranced. As if once I get in, I won't be able to get out again.

I wonder if that's how my mother felt when I first entered her womb.

Captured.

It's strange how this town works. It expects complacency.  

Same  goes for my mother. It's acceptable if you blend seamlessly into the crowd but if you refuse at all, you become a vessel for her unrealized dreams.

Break your back trying to shoulder their weight but it'll never be enough.

I don't blame her. The price of leaving her by herself is supposed to be high.  Built out of the same loneliness, resentments and regrets that I am, I don't know if it enters into our bloodstream through our umbilical cords as roots from our family tree or if it's this town's, bearing fruits of poison.

When you are deciding between being your mother's regret or your father's extension, you have to choose to survive.

As I enter the house and see a broken woman looking at me as if I'm holding a mirror to myself, I feel glad that I didn't choose to be an extension.

When you are choosing between pitying or hurting the woman that raised you, the answer seems obvious.

I wait as the minutes pass, for her to start speaking to remember why I left in the first place.

by Faiza Ramim

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‘Last Words’: Sehri Tales selections, Day 15

III.

I started looking for my best friend as soon as I entered the gate. We lived together on Earth, now we will be together in hell as well.

by Sanzida Sharmeen