Snowber And I

I started going to school by myself after I received detailed instructions by Ammi on what to do on the road. ‘Nomi, always look both sides of the road before you cross it’. ‘See that motorcycle…it is too close…step away and let it pass’. ‘Always look at the traffic while you walk and do not take any laddoo (my favorite mithai) or any sweets from a stranger.’

I loved walking to school. I did watch out for the traffic some but mainly I looked at the houses along the way. There was one house with a gigantic umbrella built on the top of the roof. The umbrella was painted with a rainbow of colors…red, blue, and yellow and others. There was a sign on the house, which I read with great difficulty. It reads ‘Chattar Manzil’ (Umbrella House).  When I see the Chattar Manzil, I know I am about halfway to school.

One day, as I had just passed Chattar Manzil, I saw one of my classmates standing on the roadside with her mother. She was fair complexion with hazel eyes, blackish brown hair tied into two ponytails. I had seen her in class but did not know her name. She reminded me of Snow White from my storybook. Her mother was smiling as she asked me what my name was. When I told her, she said ‘Nauman I have seen you walk by everyday to school all alone. Why, you must be a brave boy’. I liked that compliment and felt very comfortable. She was no longer a stranger. Then she asked me ‘Is it okay if Snowber went along with you to school?’ When I said yes, Snowber took my hand and said ‘Well then, let’s go’. So we walked towards school hand in hand while her mom stood watching, smiling and waving.

Along the way, we passed a nice house. Snowber pointed to the house and asked me ‘Do you know who lived in that house?’ I told her I did not know. Then she said to me in an incredulous tone ‘Everyone knows that Intikhab Alam lives here’. ‘You mean the famous Pakistan cricketer, lives here’ I said with astonishment. She said ‘yes indeed’. I knew Intikhab Alam, I had seen him play at the National Stadium but did not know much else. After that day, on my trip back home from school, I would linger a bit in front of his house to catch a glimpse of him but alas, I never saw him.

Now my new routine was that I walked to school alone until I reached Snowber’s house. She would be waiting for me with her mom. From there we went to school together. It was about this time that Miss Lulu picked me to recite ‘Baera seven days in a week’ (See my blog O… The rhymes I Heard). She had also made me the ‘class monitor’ for a day as she went out for a meeting. As soon as Miss Lulu left, the class was no longer interested in the lesson and started to talk. Initially they talked in whispers and then became louder and louder. Fearing that this noise will soon land all of us in trouble, I asked and then pleaded with them to keep quite. When that did not work, I decided to use my singular ‘authority’ to punish the troublemaker by asking them to stand up on the bench. I looked around and saw that Snowber was making the most noise. Therefore, I asked her to stand on her bench. She gave me a look that made me realize that I had made a big mistake. Still staring and with her face turning red, she stood up slowly on the bench. The classroom was quite now, but I had a very uneasy feeling. After a couple of minutes, I asked her to step down, which she did, but her expression did not change much. Soon the bell rang to announce the end of the school day.

As was our routine, we started walking home together. Today however, she was very quiet and I tried to make conversation as though nothing had happened. We were soon in front of her house. Suddenly she turned around and punched me hard, right on my nose. Before I could react, she hit me again. I was stunned. But now it would be my turn. I started to raise my hand and then suddenly remembered my promise to my mother. I had promised her that I would never hit a girl.

With that thought, I let my hand down.  By this time, Snowber’s mom was running towards us and saying ‘Snowber… stop!!!’. When she reached us, she admonished Snowber for hitting me and then she looked at me. My nose had started to bleed and tears were running down my cheeks. I could see empathy on her face. She told me that it was bad of Snowber to hit me like this. Then she said to me, ‘Come inside Nauman, I am going to tidy you up. With that, she held my hand, took me inside the house, and washed my face. Then she gave me some water to drink.

As I was leaving she said, Nauman I saw that you were about to hit Snowber but then you did not, why?  I explained to her, ‘I had promised my mom that I will never hit a girl’. At that, she held  me close and kissed me on the cheek, and said ‘You are a good boy Nauman’. As I was walking home, I made a mental note to myself. ‘Nauman never hit a girl and do not make her stand on the bench either’.