Heavenly Shaista

Saima Rashid

I had a dream. Last night. Well, you might ask, what’s new in that? We all dream almost every night, right? But no, it was a different one. I am sure none of you dreamt this dream so far. It wasn’t just a dream but a message, which I must spread.

I saw a place full of fairies and princes. They called it paradise. The moment I entered that world, I started flying. Trust me, it was nothing, but a dream. A dream worth thousands of realities.

I saw a girl with a mirror in her hand. She was showing it to her friend. But it seemed, as if, they were watching a video. I got a bit closer to them and overheard someone calling her Shaista.

“Hey, look here, in this mirror. You remember this man, who killed me? See, he hasn’t been able to sleep from that day. Even, his kids left his home. He pierced that bullet in me once, but that murder guilt would kill him, again and again. He would die every day. He would plead for death, but he will never die. He may get a medal of honor, but that medal would scare him with every passing moment. He would never forget me. But I wonder who would tell my parents that I am in paradise living a life of bliss. Do you know, what excites me more, is the fact that I am immortal now.”

Shaista’s friend asked her with a lot of excitement, “Hey, you didn’t show me your family! Please show me now. You talk lot about your family, university, friends… but you never showed them in visuals.”

This made Shaista a bit sad. But then, like a magic, she flipped the mirror frame and the family scene started. All they could see was Shaista’s family mourning.

Shaista suddenly spoke, “hey, see! That’s my professor. I was always his favorite student. My friends envied me so much for this. Why are they crying? I am so happy here. Why don’t they understand that the person who killed me is dying every day! And, I am, on the other hand, blessed with an eternal life. See, how lucky we are. We died once — so as to live, forever.”

Her friend interrupted her, “Hey, you remember that guy? What was his name? The one who wrote Death not be proud. Oh yes, John Donne! You know, he was my favorite poet. He would inspire me a lot. Death would always scare me, but when I read his poem, it changed my perception completely. He says in his poem that death, you should not take pride of your powers… you take our life once and then we are blessed with immortality. After coming here, even I realized that life is in afterlife, actually.”

The dream didn’t end with these two girls only. I saw a lot of familiar faces there. At a distance, I saw a hamlet dwelled by the purest form of women. Their modesty, beauty, attitude was worth impressing. A little girl was passing by and I stopped her, “Hey pretty girl, do you know which hamlet is this?”

And she replied, “Yes, it is my hamlet, Kunan Poshpora.”

I was numb for a moment. The scene of 90s started playing in my mind. I entered in the hamlet and asked one of the fairies, “How do you manage your life now?”

She smiled before replying, “You must have seen we are the purest women in this world. God has given us the higher status. So how come a devil’s touch can turn us impure? I wonder, do they ever think of their afterlife? I have all the sympathies for them. Their own hands will turn against them on the day of resurrection. And for now, their soul is still restless. If they are alive, I am damn sure, they never sleep. Every moment of life is hell for them. But then, see how happy we are! That so-called world calls us impure, but tell them, that God has made us the purest.”

Wow, this literally made me happy inside. I never wanted to wake up from that dream. I saw a message written there on the board, “You killed us once, God gave you infinite deaths. You raped us all night, imagine the day when your bodies will be a road for snakes, crabs and such deadliest creatures.”

There was another board on the next stop, which read, “Death won us paradise and we gifted you hell in return.” And then I returned from the dream with a different mindset:

Dear killers, murderers, rapists, I am here to tell you that a very deserving world is waiting for you. The snakes have filled their stomachs with the deadliest poison. Mr. Spider is all set to make your body blue with its stings. Some of you must be scared of centipedes and bedbugs. Well, let me tell you, they are in abundance there. Why are you worrying? They won’t kill you once for all, but again and again. You know what, almost 100 snakes will be trekking on your chest. Spiders have finally agreed to attack your face only. And yeah, dogs will be biting your legs. Listen, I don’t know who told them that you people taste good. Kindly, be the good host of these guests. I have personally promised them that you will be as hospitable as possible. Let you face your worst now.

Dream over.

(PS: This short story is author’s tribute to Shaista Hamid who was killed in forces action in Pulwama on Sunday.)