Ali was lost in his world of thoughts. As he looked at the beautiful garden from his room’s window, he felt the deepest spark of nostalgia. The memory of him playing with his cousins came flooding in his mind. Ali’s sister, Areeba, broke into his thinking bubble.

“Brother, what are you thinking?” she spoke.

“Nothing. I just wanted to spend this Eid with our cousins like we used to do before,” Ali replied sadly.

“Well, we can meet them today as well. They will be coming for a short time and will maintain social distancing because of this pandemic,” Areeba announced.

Ali grumpily went to the living room to watch TV. He was longing for Eid so that he could meet his cousins again, but he was heartbroken because things were different due to the pandemic and people were not socializing too much.

It was 4pm when the doorbell rang. Ali dashed towards the door to find his cousins with his uncle and aunt. Suddenly, the smile on his face vanished seeing that his cousin did not show him his toothy grin as he was wearing a mask. He stretched his hand forward to greet them with a handshake, but all he received in reply was, “Dear, you need to follow the SOPs and maintain a safe distance.”

Ali tried to hide his disappointment by sweetly inviting them into the house. They met with Ali’s family whilst Ali silently crept out of the living room and he headed to his room.

“What a boring Eid this is! I want to play hide and seek, or perhaps tug of war, but this pandemic thing is suffocating me,” he sighed as he closed his room’s door.

He jumped into his bed and began playing some video games. A knock at the door interrupted him. He groaned as he took long steps to open the door. There stood his favourite cousin, Umar. Umar waved to him at which he just nodded slightly.

Settling themselves on the bed, Umar asked Ali why he had shut himself in the room. “Come on, Ali, tell me what is bothering you?” Umar inquired again.

“Ah, I feel dejected because of this pandemic. We are restricted in every aspect of our life because of this pandemic. I am missing our happy and carefree days,” Ali bust out.

“You are missing happiness?”

“Yes”

“Okay, then shall we play a game? It’s called ‘let’s pretend’,” Umar explained.

Umar then went to Ali’s mother to seek permission to go for a walk in the neighbourhood. He also went to his mother only to return with a big shopping bag. As soon as the permission was granted, both boys wore a mask, sanitised their hands and stepped out of the house.

“What’s in this bag?” Ali curiously asked.

“You will know” He replied An awkward silence surrounded them. Ali followed where Umar was leading him. There were only a few people in the streets and few stray animals. Umar walked until he reached the gates of the neighbourhood park.

“Do you see that?” Umar pointed, but Ali’s sparkling eyes were fixed on the park. He was about to enter it but stumbled over a rock and his eyes met Umar’s who was staring at him. Ali sensed that he was not asked to go to the park, so he immediately stood straight.

“Look at the poor kid sitting there,” Umar repeated with more detailed explanation.

Ali looked at the child sitting at a little distance. He was a boy almost the same age as they were, his baggy shirt with patches seemed as though it was hanging on his shoulders. His hair was messy. Ali estimated him to be an underweight teenager.

“Let the game begin. It’s simple. I got some of my old clothes that are in good condition and some edible items from our home. We had brought them along to give to someone on the way. We will give it to that kid over there,” Umar broke the silence.

“Okay,” Ali nodded as he grabbed his cellphone from his pocket to take some pictures of the things they were going to present to that kid.

“We won’t be needing it. You need to help him very casually and in a way that is not humiliating for him,” Umar explained to Ali, who now looked confused.

Umar gestured to Ali to follow him. They quietly went up to the kid. Umar sweetly greeted that poor kid with a warm smile and, “Eid Mubarak”.

He then held the shopping bag to the kid, who seemed to be overwhelmed when he received it. Both boys then turned back to walk towards their home. Upon reaching home, they washed their hands and face to be free from any germs they may have contacted when outside.

“How do you feel now?” Umar asked.

Ali began to speak, “I found happiness.”

“Where?” Umar enquired.

“Here” Ali pointed towards himself. “I felt contentment when I saw that boy smiling. I wanted to savour the moment by talking to him but I was too shy, so I just smiled back to him.”

“So, you see, joy comes in so many wonderful flavours. You do not need to waste time in playing video games to enjoy yourself. You can do so by helping someone, which will make you glad. After all, happiness is in seeing someone happy,” Umar explained.

“And that someone can also be your mum,” Umar teased with a chuckle, “Go help her, she has to serve food to your guest.”

“You are right,” Ali agreed.

“But remember, after helping anyone, do not embarrass them later on by reminding them that they were in a vulnerable state and you helped them. Pretend it did not happen,” Umar finished speaking.

“Okay. Mum, here I come,” Ali sang as he sprinted to the kitchen.

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 13th, 2021