THE BRIDGE

The Tale of a Blank Page by Ayesha Irfan - Pakistan

This story starts with, well, the world. It is a big place. Thousands of cultures and countless variations. It is home to writers and artists all around. It is easy to think that they are all different, they are, really. Except for one significant similarity. There is a magical thing out there that makes their heart throb, their breathing shallow and their minds race. And that is the mere thought of encountering a blank page. Apparently its not a very substantial thing to a normal eye but it certainly holds great importance in the world of writers and artists. They imagine the world they are going to create, a world however they would like. Their mind already running a marathon about what they are going to do and how are they going to do it.

Then, the time comes. The time that they’ve been anticipating. They come face to face with a blank page. There is no need to wait anymore. The pencils start scribbling, the brushes start stroking. Then the blank page is not blank anymore.

The end.

This my friend, seems like a tale of every blank page. But that is not the case...

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The Vibrant Vibes of a Virus! by Ayeza Yousaf - Pakistan

The nature brought a brief hiatus to heal itself. It wanted to bring the distanced human souls together, to throw a spotlight on the raw and healthy food that was replaced by packaged or canned food, to bring the attentiveness to climate change and pollution, to make humans sense the peace of simple life that was substituted by material, mechanic life and above all to make them thankful for a healthy life and the world around them. Favorably, the viral pandemic proved to be as ellipses and not a full stop to the existence of humankind.         

It was late in the evening when my aunt called to confirm my presence at their son’s engagement at Sahiwal on Sunday. After making several excuses, I agreed to be there. Being an introvert, it was no less than a death sentence for me. But I was planning in my inmost mind to avoid that event somehow. I actually wanted some time to create new excuses. In dismay, I was sitting in the lounge, watching television with my evening tea when out of habit I turned to ARY news to hear their 7pm bulletin. Unexpectedly, that news bulletin changed my life because the rumor about outbreak of COVID-19 in Pakistan got confirmed. Every country in the world was announcing lockdowns and closing their borders. It was Thursday. I had hope...

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