“Not everyone can be a hero, Eshal. Besides, only boys are heroes,” my elder sister Rimsha explained as she ate her dinner.

“What makes you say that? Girls can be heroes, too,” I mumbled pushing the peas into my mouth.

“Dear little sister, Batman is a boy and so is Spider-man, and oh look at Iron man, he too is a boy! So please don’t be silly, just finish your dinner!”

I kept quiet as I could find no way to prove to my sister that girls can also be heroes. She just doesn’t get my point.

The next day, on the breakfast table, Dad was reading the newspaper out so loud that mum could also hear it from the kitchen.

“Oh look at this Aisha. Keep your belongings secure as a gang of burglars are roaming around in the city,” my dad read out the headline.

“Oh dear! That’s terrible!” mum said worriedly. Before dad could make any further comment, Rimsha aapi yelled from the porch asking her to hurry as she would always accompany us to school. I finished my omelette, took my bag and ran outside. Unchaining my bicycle from the garage, I started to ride beside my mum and sister as both of them walked. My bicycle’s basket was filled with stuff like rocks, ropes, torch and some toy handcuffs as me and my friends, Arfa and Aiza, were quite fond of playing “catch the thief” after school.

Our school was very near to our house. So instead of taking a bus, mum preferred walking us to school, she said it is always good to have a morning walk especially when the school is not so far. Those were the early hours of the day so there was not much crowd on the street, except for those taking their kids to schools or getting back.

We kept walking until the rustle of leaves made me turn around. I saw two men approaching. Thinking that they might be here for some school business, I shifted my attention on my mother who was asking me about my homework. I replied to her but was soon stopped mid-sentence as Rimsha aapi shouted.

She was screaming hysterically about the two men who had snatched mum’s purse from her hand. Mum, realising the situation, began counting the important belongings that the purse had and started shouting after them.

I decided to stay calm and view the whole scenario as the after school game I played with my friends. Calming my nerves, I formed the quickest plan of my life. Relying on my instincts, I began paddling towards the thieves, screaming to my mum to stay on the side. Paddling at my fastest speed, I began to slowly close the distance between the thieves and myself. Seeing me at their pursuit, the thieves started to run faster. I took out a few stones from my bike’s basket and started throwing at them.

After several aimless tries, I finally got a few lucky hits that slowed down their speed.

“No one steals my mum’s purse,” I shouted at them as I finally caught up and tried to snatch the purse, a brave yet too risky act. But thankfully, my mum’s cries and the heavy thudding from the thieves’ shoes caused many people to run towards us. Seeing this, the thieves got nervous and tumbled on each other, taking this great opportunity, the people got hold of them. Someone from the crowd called out that he had alerted the police and they would be coming shortly.

I heard one of them ask, “What shall we do till then?”

“Here! You can tie them up until police arrives,” I smiled and handed a rope to the man in the crowd. He looked at me for a second then got on his knees so that he can be my height. “You’re one brave little girl, you know,” he smiled and took the rope. I went back to mum and Rimsha aapi they both hugged me.

“Don’t you ever try to be smart again! You are more precious than the purse!” mum said hugging me closer. She was angry as I had risked my life. I had no words but hugged her back.

When I looked at aapi, she was smiling, “Yea, yea, I know, you are a hero!”

Published in Dawn, Young World, October 15th, 2016