(1) Dearest Seemi

Author: Rizwan Ahmed Memon

Akil Village

Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan

June 26, 2013

Dearest Seemi,

          From the day I saw you, I have tried and wished to write to you, but when I put pen to paper, my hand would not move. I don’t know why. I remember when I saw you for the first time after our engagement. My eyes stopped blinking, and I felt tongue tied. I just kept watching you. The world around me had disappeared.

          Even though we’re engaged now, we still can’t see or talk with each other. As you know, the conventions of our society forbid men and women from coming into contact even after they are engaged. However, I don’t care much for these traditions that exist to tell us what we can’t do.

          Though we are apart, our trust keeps us together every moment. I have always missed you. Three years ago I left home and came to the university, and since then I have often thought about you. I’m surrounded by girls in my class, but I have always thought only about you. In my lonely nights at the hostel, I go up onto the roof and watch the twinkling stars and shining moon because they remind me of our childhood days: sky being the Flower House, stars being all the village children, and the moon being you. In my evenings, I often go on walks and see the sunset. Observing the slow descent of the sun into the horizon comforts me with the knowledge that my days of loneliness and isolation are ending.

          It is my last academic year at the university. After this year, I want to start a new life with you. God willing, everything will be all right.

Yours forever,

Rizwan