“Zoya beta! Clean your room! Your cousins are about to arrive in an hour, be quick,” her mum, Sidra, called out to Zoya after tidying up the entire house.

Zoya, a 12-year-old, ignored her mother because she thought there was still a lot of time in her cousins’ arrival and she could just clean the room in ten minutes. Zoya continued watching her favourite TV show.

After half an hour, when her mother saw that Zoya hasn’t moved from the couch yet, she realised that her daughter was not in the mood of doing anything therefore she went herself and cleaned Zoya’s messy room. This was a regular feature in the house – Sidra would ask Zoya to do something and Zoya would delay it so much that finally Sidra would do it herself.

After some time, Zoya looked at the clock. She saw that 20 minutes were still left. She thought of getting up, but decided to continue watching the show until the next commercial break.

Time flew and the door bell rang. Zoya jumped up as she realised that her cousins had come. She quickly turned off the television and ran upstairs to her room to clean it as she thought it was still untidy. To her amazement, she saw the room clean from the bed to floor. Dirty clothes were no longer lying everywhere and books were arranged orderly on the study table. The comb and hairbrush was neatly placed on the dresser.

The only person who could have cleaned the room would be her mother, since she was the only child of her parents and her dad was in the office. She felt guilty for not obeying her mother as she did not intend to disobey. She had just been lazy and careless.

Suddenly, they heard a painful scream from the kitchen. They all rushed there and found Zoya’s mother in agony as she had burned her right arm. There was a gas leakage from the stove that had resulted in a little fire.

When Zoya went downstairs to greet everyone, she had a guilty look on her face but she soon forgot that as she started chatting with her cousins and aunt, Zainab. All of them were immersed in talking and having fun. Suddenly, they heard a painful scream from the kitchen. They all rushed there and found Zoya’s mother in agony as she had burned her right arm. There was a gas leakage from the stove that had resulted in a little fire.

Sidra’s sister, Zainab, started tending to her. The burnt area needed urgent attention so she took her sister to the hospital. On the way they called Zoya’s father, Salman, and informed him about the situation and also asked him to come home to be with the children.

All this time, Zoya felt very worried. Her mother had been working hard all day preparing for the visit of her aunt and children. Zoya felt very guilty that her mother, beside all the other household work, also had to clean her messy room while she kept watching TV. Her mother had always been cooperative and never told her twice to do anything, instead did everything by herself.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, the doctor informed that the injury would take some time to heal and the burn marks may remain for long. After giving her medicines and dressing the burn, he allowed Sidra to go home but with the instructions she would have to rest and take care of the arm for it to heal well.

Aunty Zainab brought Sidra home and told everyone what the doctor had said. Everyone was glad that nothing very serious happened to Sidra, especially Zoya, who even promised to herself that from now onwards she would help her mother with all the chores.

Sidra felt very sorry that she had spoilt everyone’s day and the nice family gathering. But everyone assured her that she should not be worried about anything except for her own health and should rest.

After making sure that all was taken care of in the house, Aunt Zainab left with the promise to drop in the next day to check on Sidra and do any chores that were needed.

Once everyone left and the house was quiet again, Zoya came to her mother and hugged her. Zoya whispered an apology for being a spoilt child and not helping her in anything. Her mum smiled and patted her.

“My dear, if you have realised your mistake, than there is nothing to apologise for. You see, it is important to be a responsible person and do what is required on time. Delaying things is not a good habit as it only increases the work and what you do in haste is never done well. I am glad that you are becoming responsible and I can really do with your help right now as I have to rest,” Sidra assured her daughter.

“Yes mother, don’t worry. If you need anything, just tell me and I will get it for you. I will make sure that I help you in everything from now on. Good night mother,” saying this Zoya went to her room.

The good thing was that Zoya realised all her previous mistakes and made an effort to change. The next day, Zoya was up early and she quickly made her bed before leaving the room and went to her mother to check on her. With Zoya’s care and attention, her mother quickly recovered and from then on, Zoya was always by her mother’s side, learning from her and helping out in whichever way she could.

A mother is one of the pillars of a family, who always cares and sacrifices her needs. On the other hand, we don’t always realise the effort she puts in to make our life comfortable without expecting even gratitude in return. We should always be mindful of her needs and keep our mothers happy since they are the ones who make us who we are today and what we will be in the future.

The bond between mothers and their children is one defined by bondless love. A mother’s prayers for her children are unending, and she remains their guide throughout their life with her wisdom, grace and strength.

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 21st, 2021