“Iqra, what on the earth are you doing?” mum pulled out the plug of computer from the socket and exclaimed, “My goodness! You have been on the computer from three hours and you haven’t even switched on the light!”

“Mum! You just messed up the whole thing, I was about to cross the highest score,” Iqra shouted on her mother.

“Iqra! Is this the way to talk to your elders? You are misbehaving!” mum corrected her in an annoyed tone.

“No, I am not. You always mess with my stuff,” Iqra kept on her argument.

Her mother had been concerned for Iqra since she had been suffering from headache for a week and the doctor said this ache could be because of her weakening eyesight. But Iqra usually responded with rude and harsh words that disappointed her mother. Her mother then stopped keeping checks on her and remained reluctant to advise her; while Iqra went on doing what she wanted.

Her routine was to directly switch over the computer after coming back from school. After using the computer, she turned to the smartphone to chat with her friends and at night, in really dim torchlight, she read story books; trying not to get caught by her parents.

Iqra’s headache was increasing with every passing day. She became accustomed to it and continued her rebellious routine. It started getting difficult for Iqra to view objects clearly but she ignored the graveness of the problem.

But one night, on the dining table, a sharp piercing pain rose in her head that she couldn’t control and she cried. Mum and dad rushed her to an eye specialist — after examining and tests, the doctor prescribed her spectacles.

“These spectacles are pathetic!” Iqra cried with tears trickling down her cheeks.

“Well, you have to wear these specs always,” said mum in a concerned tone.

Iqra spent the whole night awake, thinking how she would look with those heavy, colossal glasses, which made her eyes magnified thrice.

Next day in school, everyone made fun of her, making her heart-broken. When she returned home, she hugged her mum and burst into tears.

“What happened dear?” asked mum. She told her everything and begged her for help. Then mum said, “I can’t do anything dear.”

“But why?” asked Iqra.

“Because you always get angry whenever I advise you.”

“No mum! Never again, I promise.”

“Okay, then I might help you on the condition that you will do as I say.”

“Okay,” said Iqra with a great zeal.

“Wearing glasses is not a big deal, if you notice most people who are considered as genius wear glasses and the world is proud of them. However, what is sad is that you have not damaged your eyesight by studying hard, you spoilt your eyesight for games, mobiles and computer… which nobody will be proud of!

“Iqra, my dear, you need to take care of yourself and accept these spectacles. You should own them, as they are an aid to you. And if you don’t like the frame, there are so many marvellous ones available in the market, you can try those out and I am sure there are many that will suit you and which you will also like. I have a plan for you; make sure you stick to it!”

Iqra did as her mother said. She stopped playing video games on computer, chatting with friends on smartphone, and reading novels and stories at night in dim light. She took her medicines regularly, cut down her habit of watching television. She also ate healthy food and rinsed her eyes whenever she felt tired.

She also bought a nice frame and everyone in her class praised her new look. By adopting all the good changes in her life, she started to notice that her eyesight became more blurred in her ‘spectacles’. She was worried, her mum took her to the doctor and, to her surprise, her eyesight had improved and now she needed glasses that were of lesser power than the one prescribed to her earlier.

This whole experience made Iqra learn how to take care of all the blessings she had been lucky to have and she never took them for granted again. She also learnt not to misbehave with anyone, especially her mother as she realised no one could love her more.

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 30th, 2015