Never Ending Sorrow

• Abdul-rahman Mohammed, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2013

Based on a true story
It was 10pm Friday night, in the holidays and it was extremely hot in Melbourne. I was bored out of my mind. I wanted to write a story but I had no idea what to write about, so I went to my dad to ask him. He thought for a while and told me a story that had happened in his past. It all started in Raiburti, a small village in the outskirts of Hyderabad which is in India, when my dad’s cousin, Begum got married to a young man named Hassan. Begum had many troubles when trying to fit in with Hassan’s family. She was never treated kindly by her brother-in-law, Osman. Although she gave respect, she didn’t receive it very much from her in-laws. Begum’s three children were also not very close with Osman’s children even though they were first cousins. After a few years of struggles and clashes, her husband gave her a divorce.
And it couldn’t get any worse as Begum’s father past away. But the problem was that she didn’t have any men to work in the house so she had do it herself. In Australia it’s easy for women to live without men as they are independent. However that isn’t the case in India, where if you want a good lifestyle you’ll need a husband who can provide you with your needs. Begum didn’t have a job but she needed money so she decided to be a tailor and that’s how she got the money to finish her son’s education. Habib finished school and then the family of four moved to Hyderabad and Habib got married. Habib got married to a lady named Parveen and had a son and a daughter with her. Habib’s job is a bus driver. Once, his bus broke down so he went under it to try and fix it. Unfortunately, right at that moment another bus collided with Habib’s bus and Habib passed away right that second.
Parveen was given money from the government for Habib’s accident. She didn’t use the money and decided to leave the money for her daughter. Begum got more money by sewing and she used the money for her daughters’, Safia and Afzali’s weddings. Safia had nine kids but she got a disease and she passed away too. Her husband had another marriage and left. Afzali’s husband had passed away too. Habib’s best friend, who was Parveen’s cousin also died. There are no men in the family and there is no-one to work and provide them with their needs. At the moment Begum is diagnosed by cancer and the doctors said there is not much chance of her living.
My dad stopped there and had tears in his eyes just like I did. Our family prays for Begum to get cured and she will forever have a place in our hearts for being one of the strongest and most independent woman in our family.