The Dawn Is On Us

E P I L O G U E

H O O R stood on the large, raised platform. Looking down on the people that all sat, staring at her. Their breaths had, as if, stopped. Waiting for her to say something. There was a stillness in the air. Nothing like the hubbub a few hours before. The sun was high up in the sky. The trees still. The marquee, had quite a few chillers turned on, fighting the August heat.

"Assalamualikum everyone. I would like to thank the Dean for giving me such a shiny introduction. But I promise you, I am just like everybody else!" Hoor began to speak.
The shy girl long gone, instead in front of the large crowd stood a woman who knew what she wanted.
"It has been an honour this past year, being a part of the student council at NCA. Let me tell you, it was something I had never imagined for myself. I was once a girl full of dreams. Dreams, that were impossible to fulfil". Her eyes roamed through the massive crowd.
"And then, I found a man who believed in me more than I believed in myself. He taught me what it was like to have wings. He helped me in my times of weakness. He was the backbone that stood upright, even when I wanted to loose all hope! My husband Mustafa Kamal. The man who made it all possible!" She smiled at him, holding direct eye contact with him.
"And to my beloved daughters, Qirat and Mirat. Thank you so much. For nor hating me for being different. For understanding me. For helping me out with the basic of things. If it were not for my family, it would not have been possible for me to stand here today!" She paused.
"I don't want to take more of your time. I hope that you guys let me, a forty something years old woman, be the reason why you follow your dreams at any stage. Shukriya!" Hoor passed the crowd a blinding smile, stepping off of the stage.

She joined the batch that sat infront. They were all graduating. And all of them could not have felt more proud of themselves. Hoor had continued with her formal education. Eventhough at times she felt like quitting her education and focus on being a full time house wife, her husband and daughters forced her to do things.

Five years ago, after she was done with her A-levels, Hoor had started a small business. It was a small boutique that sold eastern wear. And that had surprisingly, taken off. She had named it after her two daughters. The sitara's of her life. "KAASH" was a brand that had taken over the wedding dress monopoly in Lahore. With each dress bringing dreams of brides to reality.

And so she knew she wanted to study Textile Arts. Reason why she had taken admission in one of Lahore's best art schools. NCA - National College of Arts. There she had found an atmosphere so supportive that she could not believe it at first. All her supervisors and classmates treated her with utmost respect not looking down at her for being a mother to two teenage daughters.

Now, her girls were both Twenty-three. They were non-identical twins. Both blessed with the kindest and most generous of souls. Qirat Mustafa was a woman with big chocolate-brown eyes. Long eyelashes protecting her doe like eyes. Her golden skin tone and long, thick black hair made everyone around her swoon. She was a student at a medical university, studying hard to one day become a person who served humanity. Her pink heart shaped lips, always pulled in a wide smile, allowing the masses to see the perfect set of white teeth. Her voice was soulful and raspy, the most satisfying combination of her parents voice.