The springing of dawn was adding to the glow of the punching bag hanging on the veranda attached to that wide lawn.
The melodious sound of tinkling bells in the distant atmosphere was making the atmosphere more cheerful and peaceful.
It was early morning and at that place, it felt as if the rest of the world was sleeping sweetly, only the resident of that place was awake at this time and enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.
A few steps away from that punching bag, boxing gloves and other protective equipment regarding boxing were waiting for their owner's attention.
The owner was also not far from them but was present there, in the beautiful lawn area nearby.
It was a cold morning, and the wind was dry, but she still ignored all the physical and mental sensations, dressed in a tight pair of trousers and a full-sleeved shirt, tied her hair in a high ponytail, was running across the lawn.
The sweat drops from her forehead could be seen while running. Despite the bitterly cold weather, the dripping sweat was an indication that she had been running for a long time. Along with physical exercise, if the mind is also immersed in the orbit of old thoughts, then the sweat drops flowing from the forehead are more considered as the boiling water from the burning head than the salt water coming out of the skin pores.
"Ohh! my sweet little doll is still sleeping?" Her mother said, leaning over her while sitting next to her on the bed "Today is my daughter's first day of school," She changed the crotch "You know what, best children always wake up early in the morning and reach school on time and I know that my daughter is the best in the whole world," Mother said turning her back towards her "So get up quickly honey," Mother lovingly pinched her little nose. She opened her eyes immediately and put her arms around her mother's neck with a smile.
"Yes I know, and I also know that you are the best mother in this whole world," Mother kissed her forehead devotedly.
"And what about dad?" The father was standing in the doorway of her room with his arms folded, smiling.
"You are the best dad in this whole... universe," She said sitting up.
"Really...?" The father stepped forward and picked her up in his arms.
"Yes..." She said kissing her father's cheeks.
"Okay, then get ready for school quickly, I'm waiting for you at the dining table," Father said kissing her cheeks back and handing her to mother.
"Let's get ready for school," Mother started preparing her for school lovingly.
The sweat flowing from her forehead completed the circumambulation of her cheeks and was now rolling down her chin.
She had finished running. The fact that she was not short of breath despite running so much indicated that she was a girl with very strong nerves. Continuously running had built up her stamina and endurance to such a level that it was really difficult to make her short of breath.
After a series of runs, she was now jumping rope to warm up without taking any breaks.
Sweat was still running down from his chin to his neck. The thoughts of the past swirling in her mind did not even give her time to wipe away the sweat.
She got ready and put on her school uniform, took her mother's finger and reached the dining table where her father had already prepared and decorated everything for her breakfast.
"Here comes my little princess," The father pushed the chair back for her and the mother made her sit on the chair and straightened the chair.
Mother tied a napkin around her neck, father poured juice from a jug into a glass for her.
"What would my daughter like to eat?" Father asked while sitting right side to her.
"Today was your first day of school, I and your dad couldn't figure out what to make for breakfast for you so we made everything," Mother said while sitting left side to her.
From juices to milk, from sandwiches to patties, from boiled eggs to parathas, from loaves of bread to jams, everything was on the table.
For her, joy and love were emanating from both of their voices. It was not enough for them to weigh her in gold and distribute it to the needy.
She felt the most blessed soul on earth to see their selfless love and protection at that moment.
Now she was doing some stretching exercises to warm herself up.
With each new warm-up stretch, she was haunted by some nostalgia from the past. Such old memories, were like a pleasant dream while enduring but were no less than a nightmare while remembering.
Her mother put the school bag on her shoulders, took her by the finger and led her out to the garage where her father was already waiting for her with the car started. Seeing her coming out, her father smilingly got out of the car and opened the back seat door for her. Her mother sat her in that seat and fastened her seat belt and then went around and sat in the front seat with her father. The car left the house and started running on the long road.
She was swinging her arms from side to side, starting with them outstretched before crossing them over her body and repeating.
The car had stopped. Her father quickly got down from the car, opened the door for her and respectfully motioned for her to get out. A gesture that is made upon the arrival of a princess's royal carriage when the princess disembarks from the royal carriage.
As she got out of the car, her mother held her bag and lunch box as if removing weight from a delicate bud so that she would not shrivel under the weight.
She smiled and looked ahead and saw the children's school building waving.
Despite it being the first day of school, she entered the school building with a smile full of life on her face, waving to her parents without panic.
Now she was busy doing exercises related to lunges. Through her desolate eyes, one could see the past swirling in her mind.
When she came out of the school building during recess, she found her parents waiting for her at the same place in front where she had left them in the morning. She started running towards them. Seeing her coming towards them, they both sat on their knees. She hugged them both together.
"How was the day?" Dad asked.
"Enjoyable...," She told.
"Did you miss us?" Mom asked.
"A little bid...," She replied.
They all laughed together.
She targeted the hamstring involving bending her at the knee and getting her heel as close to her buttocks as possible. She stood with her feet hip-width apart.
Suddenly a strong gust of wind passed by. Just like the gust of emotions, she had experienced in her practical life a few years ago. The only difference was that that gust had scattered her, while this gust had refined her.
That terrible day of her life, the day she sat between her mother and father at the dining table as usual, waiting to eat from their hands.
"Daughter! Your mother and I have made a decision. We are no longer together," said her father, tying a napkin around her neck.
His words gave her a severe blow. His hands holding the napkin felt as if he were strangling her.
"But why? All the parents of my friends live together. Why are you getting separated?" She felt herself suffocating but still felt it necessary to ask them both.
"Daughter! Not all children's parents are always together, some are separated under some compulsion" her mother said as she put a dollop in her mouth.
"What is your compulsion?" Dollop was choking with tears in her throat but still, she mustered all the courage to ask.
"You're still too young, so you don't understand these things," said her mother, wiping her mouth.
"Tell me who would you like to live with. Mother or father?" asked the father, stroking her hair lovingly.
She looked at her father's face and then at her mother's face in surprise. There was satisfaction on both of their faces. Maybe they were both happy to lose each other. But in their happiness, they both forgot her sorrow.
Explaining the reason for the separation, they found her too young but they were asking her to choose one of the parents as if she were a young independent girl.
The selfishness and double standards of both of them had seized her words. She wanted to shout and ask both of them that if she had to choose only one, then why did both of them give so much trust and love to her together in the first place?
They were both looking at her, waiting for her answer, but she was staring at her mother's suitcase lying in front of her, which she had been eyeing for a long time. She looked up and saw both of their expectant faces in turn. Their faces reflected their hearts. Both wanted her to choose the other.
She quietly left her chair and got up from between the two and quietly came to her room.
Coming into the room, she removed the window curtains and stood in front of them. The way out of the house was visible from the window of her room. She saw her mother dragging a suitcase that way. A last hope that she had in her heart that he might look back and see her, that too was not fulfilled. The mother had crossed the front door of the house without stopping or turning towards her. She did not even see her father there, and he might have stopped her mother.
She could not shed tears even if she wanted to. Only one tear escaped her eyelids and fell on her cheeks, which she also rubbed mercilessly.
Even today, perhaps the same tear fell from her eye standing in front of the punching bag, which she also rubbed with the same brutality.
Wearing boxing gloves, she maintained her balance and threw a powerful punch at the hanging punching bag, which erased all her past memories and brought her back to the present.
After punching the hanging punching bag for a while, she completed her morning practice routine and came indoors, wiping her sweat with a towel.
Coming inside, she ordered the maid to prepare breakfast and went into her room to get ready for college.
Today was her first day of college. She didn't expect anyone to give her best wishes but still, she reached the dining table where her stepmother was busy making her children breakfast. Father was nowhere to be found.
"Zaib, bring my breakfast," She ordered the maid while sitting on the chair.
"Zaib is not available, you are now a college-going girl, so you should make your breakfast yourself," Her stepmother interrupted her.
"Why...? What's wrong with Zaib...? Why is she not available?" She asked while picking up a piece of dry bread lying on the table and chewing it under her teeth.
"Because she is in this house only to serve me and my children," Stepmother clarified.
"Who pays her?" She asked calmly, looking into her stepmother's eyes.
"Of course, my husband," The stepmother replied haughtily.
"Then perhaps you are forgetting that I also have some relationship with your husband. His name is listed in the father's box in my legal documents," Calmness was still on her face.
"Then perhaps you are also forgetting the fact that your mother has divorced him," Her stepmother smiled sarcastically.
"Even though my mother got divorced, my relationship with my father did not end," She also smiled in the same manner.