By Asra Sajid

“ALIYA beta, give me a glass of water!” said Aliya’s grandpa.

“Yes, I am coming, Dada ji,” replied Aliya politely.

Her grandfather was an old humble man. Aliya used to call him Dada ji. Her mother had taught her to obey all his commands and to take good care of him even if she had to put herself in trouble and she did so happily because she loved her grandfather and always wanted to make him happy. Her grandfather was very happy with the love and she showed towards him and would always pray for her.

Annual examination had started, it was her science exam day. When she was leaving for her school, she said goodbye to her parents and grandfather and asked them to pray for her.

“Goodbye, may Allah save you from every trouble with His Grace and may you do the best in your exam!” her grandfather blessed Aliya and smiled and hugged him in return. She happily left the house and ran towards her school which was not very far.

During the examination when she was solving her question paper quietly, one of her classmate, Nadia, sitting behind her, threw something under Aliya’s desk. It was a crumbled paper, with a few solved answers to the question paper and smiled wickedly.

Aliya was good in her studies so she always secured good marks and everyone was happy with her progress. But there were few students like Nadia, who were too jealous of Aliya’s success. Nadia was always doing mischievous acts and this time she had the most cunning plan in mind.

So after throwing the paper under Aliya’s desk, Nadia called out to the invigilator and told her that Aliya was cheating.

At first, the teacher didn’t believe Nadia but when she saw the crumbled paper with answers near Aliya, she got angry.

The teacher then asked, “Aliya, were you cheating from this paper as Nadia said? You should know that this is your annual exam! You will not be spared and you paper will be cancelled!”

Everything happened so suddenly that Aliya couldn’t figure out what to say or do for a moment. She was in a shock. It took her a few seconds to accept the graveness of the situation. Finally she managed to say to the teacher that she was not the person who had written on that piece of paper and she could match her handwriting with that in the paper.

Their teacher took Aliya’s answer sheet and the piece of paper and went to the principal’s office while another teacher remained in the class to keep an eye on the students.

Aliya was relieved as she knew she was guilty but Nadia seemed worried, she was fretting and looking at her friends in anguish. It took a few minutes for the teacher to return to the class. The teacher returned Aliya’s answer sheet to her and asked her to continue with the exam. She then turned around and looked at everyone, finally coming towards Nadia. The teacher took Nadia’s answer sheet and matched the writing with that on the piece of paper. One glance showed her who had been the real ‘cheater’.

She stared at Nadia angrily and said, “You should be ashamed Nadia, not only for lying but for playing with someone else’s future. See your handwriting matches with that of the sheet of paper with the answers. Now your paper is cancelled!” She then took Nadia to the principal’s office.

Aliya returned home happily. She narrated the whole incident to her parents and grandfather. Her mother then said, “Dear, this is all because of the prayers you are surrounded with. And I think it is mainly because of your grandfather’s prayers that you were saved today from such a big trouble. He prays for your progress all the time, even more than us.”

Remember your parents’ prayers are always there with you but if you are one such lucky person who has the blessings of grandparents, you have the most precious treasure in the world. So respect your grandparents and show them your love.