Keep ya head up

“Eventually I Knew I Would Find My Way,
After the Darkest Night Always Comes the Brighter Day.
------ Tupac Shakur, Strictly 4 My….

A broken heart, a shattered dream and an unfulfilled wish, all go hand in hand. All three are a common occurrence in everyday life and the only difference is the aftermath of such an incident. How a person deals with the “holocaust” of such a calamity reflects the person's passion for the object or person desired, that was denied to that person.

There was a time when I dreamt of receiving the best player award for my part in the school's basketball team. I practiced diligently and worked to the best of my ability. During the tournament, I played really well and we became champions. During the award ceremony, my much desired award was handed over to someone else in front of my eyes. I felt crushed and I had no idea why I was denied my right to materialize my dream. I didn't question God, I didn't feel the judgment was prejudiced and I certainly had no complaints about myself. I performed to my potential and my team had won and at the end of the day I felt personal achievement would always be dwarfed in front of team glory. Therefore, I headed for my house, with a smile. There's always next time, I thought to myself and I would work harder.

”In this life you could lead if you only believe And in order to achieve what you need You can never give up.”
------- Shaggy, Hope

I have been refused numerous objects, over time, by my parents, my teachers, my peers and my siblings. A valid reason for the refusal was not always available, but neither was a valid reason for my urge to own something, that I could do without. There were times when I took the refusal to my heart and I used to sulk for days and days. But eventually, I realized that by working as hard as I possible could, I would be able to get the things I needed on my own. When my brother was not given a gaming console, he took it to his stride. He saved up money by doing minimal chores and added the money which he got on his birthday and he finally had enough to buy the console of his dreams. He did buy it and his patience taught me a simple lesson, which I had never learned. At such a tender age, he had managed to influence and change my manner of thinking and thus I was determined to save for things that I needed, instead of asking my parents to provide it for me. As I fulfilled my own wish, completely by myself, I felt more happy and satisfied than I had ever felt before.

“Whatever It Takes,
Or How My Heart Breaks,
I'll Be Right Here Waiting for You.”
---------- Richard Marx, Right Here Waiting

Patience is virtue. Uttered by someone extremely close to my heart, this sentence forever engraved itself in my mind. At one glance, the phrase may hold no real value or significance, but upon closer inspection and after relating it to reality, one will see the depthless truth behind these simple 3 words. This can be applied when a person is trying to recover from a broken heart. The test of time has broken down some of the strongest men, therefore the test of time is exactly the test needed to prove the strength of one's love. The wait, the hardest part of any relationship, is also the most vital. Even if a person sways, s/he should be given a chance to return. But one must, under no circumstances, give up; just because a person you love does not love you back. It is up to you to make that person love you and even if you fail, just being in love is a beautiful experience in itself. Many examples of heart-break can be provided but the feeling in each one is different in its own way. My heart-break came but my heart mended on its own, upon realizing that, I could not give up. In fact, I would prove that the love I felt, the love once shared, was true and even if I failed, I believe that I would still be in the truest love and that would be enough. So if you love truly, deeply and madly, just wait, because whatever you are waiting for, will come for you on its own. Believe in your love and you will be rewarded.

“Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining.”
Indeed it does and similarly every ending has a new beginning, much like a fruit, when it its eaten and its seed is discarded, the seed has the potential to give birth to a brand new plant. Therefore, stop being depressed, work for tomorrow, wait for the brighter day, go out there for what you want and always keep your head up!

By Osama Rahman

Falling

At the time that I had contemplated this little plan, I had imagined I wouldn't be able to do it. I had imagined that my hands would be trembling furiously. I found to my surprise that I was completely alright- calm, composed and collected and not shaking in the least bit.

The gun was cold in my hand, yet somehow it felt warm, almost soothing in a twisted sense. I followed the shape of the deadly contraption, bending it slightly so that I could stare into its muzzle. It felt like staring into the abyss… I straightened up again, and I took a step back. And just infront of me, she took a step forward- a step back would be a long fall.

I wish I knew what sort of expression was on my face. I wish I knew so that I could think on it, instead of having to stare into hers- into her expression of sadness and despair, into her eyes- yet another pair of abyss-, and into her bare naked soul, burning brightly. I wish that I could hear my own furious heartbeat, just so that I didn't have to hear the silence that had enveloped me. Her. Us…

I wish that I my hands trembled, just so because it would show her how scared I really was. I wanted to walk away, there and then, leave the poor girl to herself, and taking all the troubles I brought along with me. I took another step back, and she took another step forward, very cautiously, as if afraid the cliff might give, any moment.

I had kept the gun aimed at her chest, never shaking, always dead accurate. I began to move the gun, and relief showed on her gentle features. Despair crept back like a monster when the gun pointed at her heart.

Behind her to the left, the sun was setting, the clouds were a colour of golden, of heaven, and the sky was heavenlier still.

I felt my eyes stinging. Tears? No. Sunlight.

Bang. I didn't realize when I had done it. But, I did do it. And I saw her stagger a step back, determined to be still standing- so strong for such a slender creature. I think I missed the heart- she had her hands on her stomach, her white shirt turning scarlet. She was looking down at her wound, and her flowing black hair covering her face, her beautiful eyes…

Bang. I got it right this time. A spray of blood, and I saw that I had hit my mark. Her breasts heaved in shallow breaths, and she staggered back more, at the edge, her front entirely scarlet…

And right there, infront of me, she fell, through the rushing wind.

And as she fell, I felt another sting at my eyes… Feeling cold and weary, I whispered to no one in particular, “Damn sunlight…” And I turned on my heels, gun at hand by my side and I strode off… Walking on, never looking back…

By Emil

“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”

The gravestone of Lily and James Potter
So it ends. A journey spanning some ten years for readers and sixteen for the author finally culminated on July 21, 2007. To universal acclaim Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows saw print completing the seven-book cycle that author JK Rowling had always promised.

And what an end it is.

Seven is said to be the most powerful magical number and it makes sense for Rowling to finish on seven books. And once you go through Deathly Hallows, you just know it's the end. All six books of the series have worked to this point and Rowling provides a fierce and breathtaking finale action-packed, deep, character driven, complex, moving and most importantly, satisfying.

While the first six books worked to build up an image of the wizarding world, Deathly Hallows rips the heart right out of it.

The playful tricks and spells of the earlier books are replaced by unforgivable curses. Quidditch matches are reconfigured as aerial combat sequences. Night-time adventures in the Hogwarts corridors and escapades under the Invisibility Cloak are transformed into operations in espionage and treason. And of course there is death. Plenty of it.

But don't say you weren't warned.

The story takes off at a roller-coaster pace as if Rowling realizes that the fans have been waiting long enough.

Everything moves faster and there's even no stopping to mourn. Even the darkest previous books led up to one major death. Rowling teased us by saying two would die, but more than a dozen named characters and more than fifty others die in various stages of the book.

As Harry, Ron and Hermione travel far and wide for the remaining Horcruxes, the journey tests their friendship and fellowship beyond anything they have ever known. The homely feel of Hogwarts is thrown out the door. The world, with Voldemort's swift ascent to power, is a very different place.

And for the first time we see the Potter world whole, the details filled in, the entire map drawn. It's a sight that doesn't disappoint.

The stakes have never been higher. The magical world is truly in peril and the trio we have come to love wage an increasingly lonely battle as they struggle to piece together a mass of clues and a quest left to them by the recently deceased Albus Dumbledore.

More often than killing characters, Rowling rips the rug out from under who we thought they were. She has done this before but it doesn't lessen the blow any as Rowling reveals to us in whole many characters we have come to love. With vital names subject to important plot twists on the theme of love and loyalty, it leaves us with complex and troubled impressions of their characters in the book's final pages.

In Hallows, Rowling manages to answer almost all the questions that were on the readers' minds and lips and then she manages to surprise them. That is the mark of a great author.

She asks numerous ethical questions. We go through weddings, babies, arguments, reconciliations and the ethical question the second theme after death of things being done or not done (or most often, not said) “for the greater good.” Should Muggles be under wizard control for their own good? Is it okay to leave your family behind to pursue your own (noble) endeavours? Is it right to conceal the truth in order to not hurt others or achieve a larger purpose?

Deathly Hallows is the emphatic finish that Rowling promised us when she enchanted us on Harry's 11th birthday. It has taken us six wizarding years and ten Muggle years (and an epilogue) but the end is upon us.

No fan wants to say farewell, but as death comes to us all, so must endings. May they all be as magical.

By Quazi Zulquarnain Islam