Old memories are very precious. Whenever we are surrounded by memories, we just want to bring those days or time back. It’s human nature. The human brain saves the memories that are of some sentimental value for us, and their importance never decreases.

It was a Saturday morning, I was doing my online course on my laptop when suddenly my mum came into the room and told me to do some chores. As I was busy, I told my mum that I would help her out the next day.

Surprisingly, I got my work done early at 3:30pm, so I decided to help my mum. She told me to clean the windows, balcony and storeroom. It took a lot of time to clean the balcony because it is huge. I took a break after cleaning it. It was 5:00pm when my break was over and I went to the storeroom with my mother and started cleaning it.

While I was cleaning the cupboards, I saw my old books and my all attention was on them because I spent my childhood reading those story books. Whenever I read them, I enjoy myself and feel very relaxed and satisfied. I have even read the books twice or thrice. As soon as I picked them, I was taken back to my childhood, when they were a part of my daily life.

The books were both in English and Urdu, of almost all genres suitable for children. The books were not dusty because I remember when I was putting them there, I had asked my mum that they should be protected and kept nicely. So, she had given me a big cloth and I had covered the books well. I wanted my books to be treated well because I love my books. They were not simply my books, but my best friends.

The books I used to read were still in good form. Among them were The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Gulliver’s Travels, David Copperfield, The Gifts & Other Stories, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Oxford storybooks, Fairy Tales, Disney storybooks, and many others.

The Urdu titles were Khattay Meethay Faalse, Meow False, Meri Guriya, Purane Waqt Ki Kahaniyaan, etc. Some of the Urdu books were religious ones and there were a few interesting stories based on moral lessons. I also used to read comics, newspapers and magazines, some of which were among this collection.

They all are so special to me and I felt so happy seeing them and took many out to read again.

Reading helps us a lot. We should read daily because reading is always beneficial for us. Among the benefits of reading are that we get to know sounds, words and language, and develop literacy skills. Reading also helps to spark our imagination and stimulate curiosity, besides building our ability to focus, and helping in the development of social and communication skills.

Published in Dawn, Young World, June 5th, 2021