THE BRIDGE

A Walk on the Moon can never be the same! by Anum Khalid - Pakistan

A walk on the moon can never be the same

As a walk on the moon lit earth, where you are not for a moment alone

Even on the darkest of the dark nights

Even when aloneness with its sharp teeth bites

Even when no one is there to hold your hands tight

Even when everything seems not at all right

Moon with all its affection gazes...

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Anamnesis by Anum Khalid - Pakistan

“And yet again, a writing activity! I cannot even count how many times I have written these things for the writing activity and here I am writing once again. Every week, the doctor gives all of us a blank paper and a crayon to write or draw anything we want to. I usually write my memories of the past to run from the suffocating truths of the present or, to be honest, to revive my past so I don’t forget it, which I think I might as I am on drugs since 6 years. My past was not so mesmerizing that I don’t want to forget, but actually I don’t want to let go of my mother’s memories, the feeling of her lap, the way she loved me and protected me, the way she used to wait for me to get home every evening. I also don’t want to forget my birthdays when my mother used to bake me cakes with so much love even though later my step brothers used to destroy my birthday every time. I don’t want to forget the day when I first rode a bicycle on my own, which brought such happiness to my mother’s face even though my stepbrother pushed me later and the wounds on my chin had to get stitched. I don’t want to forget those days too when I got good marks in exams and when my mother kissed me on my forehead with tears and so much pride in her eyes, even later my step brothers burnt my certificates to ashes in front of my eyes. While sitting here, on a concrete cold bench in an open green area of a well-known psychiatric hospital, I can still feel her presence beside me; I can still smell her jasmine scent from my clothes which I used to get after every time I hugged her...

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A Broken Promise ! by Anum Khalid - Pakistan

While collecting the shattered pieces,

Of your broken promise and my broken heart.

I injured myself, but I didn’t bleed.

My eyes were stinging, but I couldn’t even shed a tear.

With body, shaking and mind engulfed in a blinding haze,

I started collecting the remains of us...

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Lost and Found by Anum Khalid - Pakistan

It was all going smoothly until that day, the day Rania Kamal would never forget till her last breath, the day when her life took such a turn that might make people think she was crazy but for her she took the best step of her life. That was the day when she was going to perform for her 50^th concert. After unstoppable hard work, striving day and night, that day had come when she was going to perform for her 50th concert. It would not be just a classic celebration of 50th concert, but that was the occasion by which she was going to reach a whole new level of fame and glory as it was her first concert that was not only going to be live on national TV but will also be broadcasted live on an international platform. 

The day started with a usual excitement. She woke up early, took a last look at everything which was organized for the ceremony, got her makeup and hair done by one of the most famous makeup artists and hairstylists of the country. But just when everything was going perfectly with a luxury car standing outside her door and people from everywhere around the country gathered at Gaddafi Stadium just to hear her sing live, she went through the first panic attack of her life...

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