Meaning of Life// By Zohaib Ahmed
It was a snowy night. His hands were trembling while cutting the branches. He had to come a long way to find the birch trees. There were pine trees all around. Oh, the lovely pine trees. He just can’t use pine trees for burning because they produce a lot of smoke and he doesn’t want to suffocate. The darkness was spreading as the sunset. He hurries to collect enough wood for the night. His horse shakes his head, in order to ring the bell that was around his neck. It was as if he was asking to hurry up. It was a legit concern as the snowy breeze was getting inside his woolen clothes and sending chills up his spine.
It was almost dark when he reached his house. It was a beautiful cottage. The house was situated on a hilltop. The house was made of wood however at certain places; there was the use of brick pillars. There was moss decorating several areas of the house. He crossed the front yard of the house. As it was a steep place, he has converted this area into a garden where he used to plant vegetables and fruits. It was a terrace farm. There was also a small backyard which was heavily fenced because his daughter was a baby and there is a deep ditch leading to a ferocious river on the back of the house. The backyard was simple grassy with several trees around the boundary. He planted those trees when he first came here to stop the land from eroding and falling down the river. Now he has lit the trees with lights. He wanted to light them with multicolored lights but his beloved wife; made it all shine in white light and he is grateful for that because now this place looks nothing less than a magic land. They usually have their lunch in their backyard. The frontal garden was fenced properly with a stone wall, which was four meters high to stop animals from sharing the garden. There was a garage at a corner at lower step but on the higher steps, there is a stable and a barn where he has kept a couple of cows, four goats, and multiples chickens.
The house was situated in the middle of nowhere up the mountains. There was a town nearby though but overall this place was in a place away from society. This was all that he wanted. He used to live in an expensive villa back in the city. He was known for his reputation. He used to work for fifteen hours a day and was living a luxurious life when he got married. He found this girl on his cruise tour of Europe. This crazy girl was sitting beside Seine River. She was unlike any other person he met. She was sitting on a bench with a notebook in her hand and was staring at the river and smiling. She wasn’t even French. By her looks, she looked different, a Muslim. She was wearing an Abaya and her head was covered. She was definitely a tourist. It was so hard for him to digest that a person, a tourist to be exact has chosen to admire the Seine instead of the ever glorious Eifel tower. He just couldn’t resist that feeling and walked towards her. He was on a business tour in France. He wanted to start a cruise of his own and was meeting few investors along with a Michelin Star Chef for his cruise. Michelin Star is the highest achievement for a chef and this man has two stars. There was a lot going on his head but this girl, she looked so innocent and away from the life that kind of held storms that were going inside his head.
This girl was simple, wearing a grey Abaya and blue headscarf. She was also wearing a woolen white sweater over her Abaya. Her eyes were hazel but it was something inside her eyes that was important, it was happiness, satisfaction, a sense of bliss. Her wheatish color was looking so attractive and was making her stand out among the entire crowd. She was insanely beautiful. There was a smile on her face, a Reminiscent smile, more of a smirk while her eyes were lost in the waves of the river. He started walking toward her silently.
It was only six months later that he married her. She was not just a girl, not just a person in fact but a personality. Her views on life were different. The luxury, the money, the brands, nothing inspires her. She was inspired by little things. A river, a tree, and even a leaf make her smile. She finds the meaning of life inside the colors of nature. She used to hold a ladybug and stares at it for minutes; she holds fireflies in her hand and dance with pleasures. Her life was on another dimension. The expensive branded bags means nothing to her but a dandelion that just bloomed was worth a lot. He not only just fell in love with her, but he was also fallen from everything he was standing on. He was fallen from his reality.
It was hard for him to understand her but when he learned that she was from Islamabad and only lives a few kilometers away from his house, he started visiting her frequently. He was a rich businessman with everything you can imagine at his disposal yet he found peace around her. He made her understand the meaning of life. The Happiness and success never lie in victory, he knew that but he learned that it never lies in the materialistic world and all this money, the brands; the luxurious life is just a part of the cycle. Happiness and satisfaction come when one breaks the cycle and see what is beyond that. In short, she taught him that happiness is not eating an expensive fish from the top-notch hotel of the world but a fish you eat from fishing after several hours of fishing on an isolated area in a small boat. He disagreed with her. It was true though, he tried that with her and that evening was incredible, even the silent hours they spent sitting beside each other staring at river hoping for the fish to hook up. It was that night he decided to marry her and somehow that girl agreed.
She picked the date to be 30th of December to get married. She wanted their Walima to be on 31st so after that, they can start their journey on a New Year night. She playfully said that the world will celebrate their Anniversary. Since their wedding, two years have been passed and the world has changed. The rich businessman left his business, his luxury, his villa, and everything and moved to this isolated area in the north. They want their daughter to see the world differently. To ride the horses with the speed of the wind and to play with chicken and goats. This was heaven for them now, their own small heaven where they spend every day being grateful to God who blessed them. They both are now globally known writers and they own a restaurant back in town which they hardly visit but their tales have kept that alive. They live in their sanctuary and live each day to its fullest.
He smiled as he knocked the door. He readies himself for his wife to throw her in his arms. She was crazy but that crazy lady means the world to him. She had taught him what the world could never do. The education, the living, the food, and the jobs, they are all part of a cycle. They feed the system which goes round and round in cycle and one after one human fell in that cycle to gain something that isn’t even there. Once you get out of this cycle, life is changed. You think it is hard but it is not. You just have to fully accept it. You will understand the meaning of life. You will understand that education doesn’t come from institutes that are the biggest lie in the world. It comes from the journey of life, the colors of nature and from empathy of relationships. The real education gives you peace, satisfaction and everything opposite to the institutional education. It makes you understand the secrets of the world, the life of philosophers and artists that are known globally, they all have one thing in common, they broke free of their circle and did a wonderful thing. The way out of the cycle is everywhere around us but for him; It was those hazel eyes that kept staring the Seine River. Now their daughter has those eyes and the same spirit to explore things. Now for him, life has a meaning; love has a face and his living has a vision.
Orignally Published by The Meraki Magazine
https://www.themerakimagazine.com/meaning-life-zohaib-ahmed/?preview=true
It was almost dark when he reached his house. It was a beautiful cottage. The house was situated on a hilltop. The house was made of wood however at certain places; there was the use of brick pillars. There was moss decorating several areas of the house. He crossed the front yard of the house. As it was a steep place, he has converted this area into a garden where he used to plant vegetables and fruits. It was a terrace farm. There was also a small backyard which was heavily fenced because his daughter was a baby and there is a deep ditch leading to a ferocious river on the back of the house. The backyard was simple grassy with several trees around the boundary. He planted those trees when he first came here to stop the land from eroding and falling down the river. Now he has lit the trees with lights. He wanted to light them with multicolored lights but his beloved wife; made it all shine in white light and he is grateful for that because now this place looks nothing less than a magic land. They usually have their lunch in their backyard. The frontal garden was fenced properly with a stone wall, which was four meters high to stop animals from sharing the garden. There was a garage at a corner at lower step but on the higher steps, there is a stable and a barn where he has kept a couple of cows, four goats, and multiples chickens.
The house was situated in the middle of nowhere up the mountains. There was a town nearby though but overall this place was in a place away from society. This was all that he wanted. He used to live in an expensive villa back in the city. He was known for his reputation. He used to work for fifteen hours a day and was living a luxurious life when he got married. He found this girl on his cruise tour of Europe. This crazy girl was sitting beside Seine River. She was unlike any other person he met. She was sitting on a bench with a notebook in her hand and was staring at the river and smiling. She wasn’t even French. By her looks, she looked different, a Muslim. She was wearing an Abaya and her head was covered. She was definitely a tourist. It was so hard for him to digest that a person, a tourist to be exact has chosen to admire the Seine instead of the ever glorious Eifel tower. He just couldn’t resist that feeling and walked towards her. He was on a business tour in France. He wanted to start a cruise of his own and was meeting few investors along with a Michelin Star Chef for his cruise. Michelin Star is the highest achievement for a chef and this man has two stars. There was a lot going on his head but this girl, she looked so innocent and away from the life that kind of held storms that were going inside his head.
This girl was simple, wearing a grey Abaya and blue headscarf. She was also wearing a woolen white sweater over her Abaya. Her eyes were hazel but it was something inside her eyes that was important, it was happiness, satisfaction, a sense of bliss. Her wheatish color was looking so attractive and was making her stand out among the entire crowd. She was insanely beautiful. There was a smile on her face, a Reminiscent smile, more of a smirk while her eyes were lost in the waves of the river. He started walking toward her silently.
It was only six months later that he married her. She was not just a girl, not just a person in fact but a personality. Her views on life were different. The luxury, the money, the brands, nothing inspires her. She was inspired by little things. A river, a tree, and even a leaf make her smile. She finds the meaning of life inside the colors of nature. She used to hold a ladybug and stares at it for minutes; she holds fireflies in her hand and dance with pleasures. Her life was on another dimension. The expensive branded bags means nothing to her but a dandelion that just bloomed was worth a lot. He not only just fell in love with her, but he was also fallen from everything he was standing on. He was fallen from his reality.
It was hard for him to understand her but when he learned that she was from Islamabad and only lives a few kilometers away from his house, he started visiting her frequently. He was a rich businessman with everything you can imagine at his disposal yet he found peace around her. He made her understand the meaning of life. The Happiness and success never lie in victory, he knew that but he learned that it never lies in the materialistic world and all this money, the brands; the luxurious life is just a part of the cycle. Happiness and satisfaction come when one breaks the cycle and see what is beyond that. In short, she taught him that happiness is not eating an expensive fish from the top-notch hotel of the world but a fish you eat from fishing after several hours of fishing on an isolated area in a small boat. He disagreed with her. It was true though, he tried that with her and that evening was incredible, even the silent hours they spent sitting beside each other staring at river hoping for the fish to hook up. It was that night he decided to marry her and somehow that girl agreed.
She picked the date to be 30th of December to get married. She wanted their Walima to be on 31st so after that, they can start their journey on a New Year night. She playfully said that the world will celebrate their Anniversary. Since their wedding, two years have been passed and the world has changed. The rich businessman left his business, his luxury, his villa, and everything and moved to this isolated area in the north. They want their daughter to see the world differently. To ride the horses with the speed of the wind and to play with chicken and goats. This was heaven for them now, their own small heaven where they spend every day being grateful to God who blessed them. They both are now globally known writers and they own a restaurant back in town which they hardly visit but their tales have kept that alive. They live in their sanctuary and live each day to its fullest.
He smiled as he knocked the door. He readies himself for his wife to throw her in his arms. She was crazy but that crazy lady means the world to him. She had taught him what the world could never do. The education, the living, the food, and the jobs, they are all part of a cycle. They feed the system which goes round and round in cycle and one after one human fell in that cycle to gain something that isn’t even there. Once you get out of this cycle, life is changed. You think it is hard but it is not. You just have to fully accept it. You will understand the meaning of life. You will understand that education doesn’t come from institutes that are the biggest lie in the world. It comes from the journey of life, the colors of nature and from empathy of relationships. The real education gives you peace, satisfaction and everything opposite to the institutional education. It makes you understand the secrets of the world, the life of philosophers and artists that are known globally, they all have one thing in common, they broke free of their circle and did a wonderful thing. The way out of the cycle is everywhere around us but for him; It was those hazel eyes that kept staring the Seine River. Now their daughter has those eyes and the same spirit to explore things. Now for him, life has a meaning; love has a face and his living has a vision.
Orignally Published by The Meraki Magazine
https://www.themerakimagazine.com/meaning-life-zohaib-ahmed/?preview=true
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