The Letter of Doom

I thought I wouldn't have to worry about my enemy. But I was proved wrong. Life never stops to give you troubles. They will always come looking for you, whether you like it or not.

I stared at the letter in my hand. I could faintly hear Fareeha and Sarah dancing and skipping in delight. My head felt heavy with the thoughts of being with Fareeha. It took me a while to justify it with myself.

'You said you will help her out. Why are you backing off now? She needs you and you will need her. Don't think that you won't. Don't underestimate her. This is not the end of the world.'

I walked away from those chaotic people and went straight to my bedroom to read the details and instructions of the programme. I realised that my thoughts about the program were absolutely wrong.

I had thought that it would be fun and safe since it was a sort of camping session. But they weren't going to care for our safety; it was us who were responsible for it. The fun in the camp would be forming friend circles to hunt down the enemies. There wouldn't be killing as such but some blood would have to be spilt. It was about the survival of the fittest - those who lagged in any of the criteria were sure to be hunted down by the wild animals or die in the freezing weather.

The horrors I had to face weren't just these. I sat down on my bed and wondered what to make out of Fareeha. Was she to be my mate or my foe, after what she had done? I was so deep into my thoughts that I didn't realise that someone had entered my room until he sat next to me.

"What happened, Hamsa? You look pale," said a worried Arhaan.

I sighed before I explained to him the trouble I had fallen into.

"I think it wasn't a good idea to join this academy. It's a bit scary that my friends would become my enemies. I feel like my heart will break into two to look at them suffer. It's more of a competition than a learning experience," I replied.

"Listen, Hamsa, everything in life comes for a reason. There's much to learn from everyone and everything. Your heart will be broken multiple times but you need to be resilient and get back on your feet. You can't wait for the right opportunity to come. You need to grab it and take risks if you have to succeed. Just do what you are doing. But I'm warning you, never trust anyone there except yourself. You don't want to be fooled and then pay for your foolishness with your life."

I looked up at him and saw the seriousness on his face. If he was there, he might have helped me out. But he wouldn't do it until he saw me take the action myself. That way, he always forced me to be independent. I realised that he wouldn't be there all the time.

"Don't worry too much about it. I know you can get through it. You are not the type to give up and leave. I know you will fight for it till the end, brave woman," he said after a few moments of silence. Then he planted a kiss on my forehead and gave me a tight squeeze. I returned it with much enthusiasm. He knew how to boost up my confidence.

I went ahead and signed the paper. Then we headed downstairs for my parents' to give their consent. I was slightly nervous since they would know the dangers that lied ahead of me and would probably not sign the form. But I was also relaxed about the fact that they may keep me here with them and not let me face any of those dangers. To my immense surprise, they agreed to the conditions on the form and signed it. Should I be happy or sad?

I inserted the form into a new envelope and wrote down the address. Then, I walked out of the house to drop it at the post office. Just as I opened the main gate, I bumped my head onto someone. I looked up to see the person's face.

"Sam!" I exclaimed in surprise. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, I came to wish your brother," he replied, showing me the gift-wrapped box. "And I have something important to share with you."

"That sounds like news to me," I said. He never really has much to share about unless it was very important. After he gave my brother the gift, we set off for the post office since we didn't have a post box near us. Plus, it was closeby.

After I chucked the letter in the correct post box, we made our way to the pond where most of the residents went for a paddle. We went to a nearby bench and sat there silently for a few minutes.

When I couldn't bear the awkward silence anymore, I broke the ice.

"What was the wonderful news you had to tell me? Your eyes were shining with excitement. I'm guessing it's something really important."

"I got into the Winter Academy," he responded with a beam of pleasure. "By the way, why did you go to the post office?"

"Oh, the same reason as you. I needed to send the letter right away before I completely forgot about it."

"Are you coming? I read that it's dangerous."

"Yes, I am. That's the only way I can pave my path and profile to get into that college or university," I said with a sigh. That has been my dream for a long time.

"Ah, that. That's a tough one. Since you are going, I will come along too."

"Why would you risk your life for this when you have to take care of your family? Besides, you don't have to go with me. I will be fine."

"Even if Fareeha is going to be there?"

I froze at his statement. "How the hell did you know she was going to be there?"

"Well, we are neighbours and it was my mum who saw it and sent it here with the postman. When I saw the cover, I knew that it was going to be the academy. And fortunately, you confirmed my suspicions."

I wanted to slap myself for letting that piece of information slip out of my tongue. I couldn't bear the ease with which he said it. His face even bore a teasing smirk.

"Let's just go already, idiot. You spoiled my mood."

He laughed before he said, "Hey, let's have a match of badminton, shall we?"

"Maybe after the barbeque. You arrived very late as it is, so why not have the BBQ and then go play?"

He gave a nod of approval and we started our way back home.

When we reached the back gate of the porch, we saw that everyone had gathered around the little campfire so we gathered around too. The host of this show was the birthday boy himself.

"Good evening to you all! I'm Arhaan, your host for tonight. Since it is a special day, I thought to make it different from every other day in our life. Tonight's show is called 'Express Yourself', where you have to write a heartfelt poem or letter to your beloved person or a group of people. In the end, you have read it out for all of use here and then cast that paper away into the fire for long-lasting memories," he announced.

"Aww," said everyone in disappointment. Throwing that precious paper away made us lose our excitement. That was one piece of paper we all would have loved to keep.

"You have fifteen minutes before the contest ends! The winner might get a special prize. Wishing you the best of luck!"

Everyone was silent in those fifteen minutes. Even the babies were intently writing something for some special people. For five minutes, I sat and racked my brain to think of someone special. And the only special people I could think of were my family and friends. So I wrote it down with my heart.

After fifteen minutes, my brother asked everyone to put their pens down. Then he said, "We will start with my two entrants from the previous game, 'Guess the Cupcake'. Fareeha, we will start with you first. Please put your hands together for her."

A shaky and surprised Fareeha stood up while everyone cheered for her with a warm round of applause. Once everyone had quietened down, she cleared her throat and read aloud her piece.

"Dearest Friend,

"Even though we live apart from each other, I hope we remain friends forever. We have drifted apart due to circumstances about which we can't do anything. We have lived for years in each other's arms, standing as one through sunshine and darkness. I thought nothing could break us apart but eventually, we had to say goodbye. The promises made were broken and the bonds that bound us cut. I have never felt so empty in your absence. But now, I realised your worth. So I'm sorry for what I have done. Are you willing to forgive me? I promise to be my best and give you anything that I didn't give you. Will you be my friend?

"Yours lovingly,

Fareeha"

"Wow, that was a heartwarming letter. I'm touched," spoke the host, placing his hand over his heart.

I agreed that her letter was a beautiful piece. But I felt a small disappointment that she had written it in the memory of Lily. It seemed like they had fought before she left the community.

"Moving onto my next contestant, Asmah. Applaud her to the echo! She needs some confidence and motivation."

I stood up, half-nervous and half-confident, of getting through it well. I straightened my dress and heaved a sigh before proceeding to read out my poem.

"A Souvenir

"I may not remember the day I met you,

But I am surely grateful that I have,

If you weren't by my side from time to time,

Would I have known where to stand?

"I may not remember your face or your name then,

But I do remember who you are and what you are like,

The things that we shared in common

Grew bonds that strengthened our souls.

"Now that I have you here with me,

I couldn't ask for more,

For you have taught me what is right from wrong,

And what is love from hate.

"I detested you at times and liked you at other times,

But I know for sure that my love was stronger than envy,

And whenever you are beside me, which I hope is forever,

I know I would always be safe than sorry."

"Wow, Hamsa, that was a touching poem. A round of applause for her please."

Throughout the evening, confessions were made by different people. We heard each of them and every piece reminded us of an event from our past. How we resolved the conflict, how we became friends. Even the little ones nearly moved me to tears. I realised that as different as we were, we were united as one.

"What about you? Haven't you written one too?" we all asked the host in unison after the whole crowd finished reading theirs.

"Yes, of course, I have. I will be reading it out to you presently," he said to calm the crowd's down.

"A very good evening to my friends and family present here. It has been a pleasure to meet you all on an important day of my life. I'm grateful for having you here as my guests.

"Today, I have an important message for you all. Today, I want you to think about the importance of the closest people in our life, and then the people we like the least. What do they have in common?

"They are people like us, who have come into our lives for a reason we know not. We learn something from each one of them. The difference only lies in their change. People we liked the most became those who we hated and vice versa. Sometimes, that person was ourselves. And we abandoned them, cursed them and let them live through their dark times.

"What is this petty grudge we hold against some people, when all of them have helped in defining us, finding ourselves and making us get back on our feet? Wasn't it because of them and yourself that you reached the mountain top? Wasn't it because of them that we are here to face reality today?

"I want everyone to realise that there are special people out there who care for you. Even if hope ceases to exist, one's love will never die away. We mustn't abandon those who have helped us succeed in our lives, even if they have changed. Be optimistic and love everyone around you, especially yourself. For without you, we wouldn't have made today's show a success. Thank you and good night."

The whole crowd stood up on their feet and clapped enthusiastically.

His words hit me a bit hard when I realised the harsh reality of my life. Whatever he said was pretty much comparable to my life. He was one good orator and his words were having its effects on me.

"Giving a prize to one of you is tough," he spoke again. "Since everyone has done so well, I surely couldn't give a prize to only one of you. And the winners are..."

There was dead silence. Everyone was so impatient to know the winners. I could see the host smiling and waiting for the tension to slack.

"Everyone who is sitting here has won first place. So let's have some BBQ to celebrate your victory."

They all cheered in happiness and set off to collect their BBQs to cook them themselves. We sat on the benches and devoured the food while chatting with one another.

"Hey, Asmah. I have got some news for you," said a voice from behind me.

I swivelled around to see Sarah patiently waiting for my reply.

"Sure, what is it?" I asked curiously.

"I have good news and bad news," Sarah said nonchalantly. "What would you like to hear first?"

"How about we go with the good news first?" I replied in an excited voice.

"I'm coming too!"

"Oh wow! Congrats!"

Internally, I was thinking, 'Why was everyone from my school getting selected? It's driving me insane. I wouldn't be able to choose between them.'

"What's the other news then?" I asked in a chirpy voice.

Sarah shifted on her feet, revealing that this was not a comfortable topic.

"If you can't say it, it's fine. I under-"

"The thing is that... Lily is coming too."