Once upon a time in my future … I am at peace with all the facilities surrounding me. I am in no fear of being destroyed by an attack, I am in no fear of being ill-treated by injustice, I am in no fear of being robbed by cruel men … I am relaxed!

Once upon a time in my future, I see happiness and joy as my partners! I have forgotten the word ‘depression’.

My present is completely different from the past. The world has progressed and humanity restored. The oppressions on helpless Kashmiris, the oppression on innocent Palestinians and the oppression on all other innocent and helpless inhabitants have come to a halt, a permanent halt!

All the countries, literally all the 215 countries in the world, have joined a peace agreement and nuclear weapons have ended. There is no more fighting and, in fact, the military expertise of whole world is on decline – there is no need of military power! There are no more millions of dollars wasted on being armed. All nations exist with complete tranquillity! The Asians back the Europeans, the Africans back the Arabs, people live with unity, peace and harmony. No one is an enemy.

The justice system is fully developed and fair. There is no injustice and favouritism carried out in any part of the world. All the citizens of this planet get their rights and share. They all are satisfied!

Once upon a time in future, I realize my present is heavily contrasting my past!

When I go out of my home, or when I return home, I have no fear of being looted. The robbers and thieves are extinct!

Once upon a time in my future, I will write my daily diary as following:

“Today is Saturday, December 26, 2076. I woke up at 6:00 am. I ate breakfast, made by my robot, and then he took me to the park. I had a walk there with my four friends -- an American, an African, an Arab and an Asian.

I returned after sometime and left again for some office work. I left behind my robot to prepare dinner for me. After finishing my work at the office, I sat on my Google Car and then travelled to the neighbouring countries, just for some leisure. In the evening, my Google Car brought me back to my house and I ate dinner. While on my electronic bed, my brain whispered in my ears, ‘Hey Qasim! Just remember your past. You are in a different world now!’

I agreed to it, the world has indeed changed!

Published in Dawn, Young World, July 24th, 2021