The story of a Pakistani girl born in a desi middle class household. Being part of the society that believes Fair is Lovely, Madiha has a hard time settling with her brown skin and ordinary looks.
All her mother wants, like every other desi mother...
"Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving."
~Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky
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Time moves fast when you're not counting, and faster when you're actually trying to catch up to it. However, wish for it to pass quickly and it will test your patience as each second bleeds by at the pace of a snail, even slower.
Funny how that sounds, none of it is actually real. Reality is a funny concept because there is no singular reality. Everyone has there own reality. The seconds rushing by for you, so fast they are making you sweat with the effort of trying to match it's tempo, for someone else may be passing by so slowly that they scream with frustration.
Sometimes you let yourself imagine a reality for you. A fantastical reality where everything is exactly how you imagine it to be. If you imagine happiness; it is untainted by depression and if you imagine a sad reality there will be no sign of happiness, such that even the weather would be gloomy. .....................................
For Madiha Khalid, the rightly imagined fantasy would proceed as such.
Landing upon the foreign land of California, USA, her heart beat danced to a different tune as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings, gaping in awe at the beauty around her. Stretching her arms up she released a low yawn, feeling her muscles relax after the day long flight and smiled brightly moving along the immigration line.
The security was strict but respectful and afterwards she rested her eyes for a while in the bus that took her to her university. Entering the gates of Stanford, she squealed with delight, disbelief filling her eyes at the sight of her dream so near to her. She was here! The guidance counsellor met her at the entrance lobby and she was soon given the necessary maps to find her way in the years old building. She was led to the dormitories, pleasant smiles everywhere she went and then she sighed in relief seeing the beautiful interior of her dorm.
How quaint... But reality begs to differ. .......................
The plane ride to America was extremely difficult as this was her first time traveling for such a long duration. Naturally, she got nauseous and threw up. Thankfully, only once and at night when most of the passengers were dead asleep so it was a bit less embarrassing.
Sleeping in the crammed seat was not easy and she hated the neck pillow that offered no relief. When she did land, her head spun after coming back on her feet and her ears popped each time she yawned, which was a lot.
The immigration line was extremely long and her legs were about to give up when she finally reached the checking counter. What was worst, was thanks to her green passport the checking was a bit prolonged for her... Because surely all Pakistanis were travelling with time bombs in their bags ... She tried smiling back at the security lady who smiled at her before performing the body search but all she could do was bite her lip hard before another disgusting yawn escaped her mouth and she would be giving them one more reason to be disliked..
