Friday Fiction: Slice of Life 9

Chapter 9: Only the Most Exotic Place

“We’re leaving for Africa day after tomorrow,” Maya told her friends. Her tone was indifferent, but the excitement shone in her eyes.

“You’re so lucky,” Sarosh said, with a dreamy look on her face. “I’ve never been to another city, let alone a different continent.” Her parents weren’t much of travelers. “Since grandma came to live with us, my parents have become even more boring than ever. It’s like they fear something bad would happen to her if they so much as blinked.”

“Well, she needs constant care and love. Dementia is brutal. I can understand their concerns, besides I don’t think I’m lucky. I don’t know why my parents love to travel,” Maya said, shrugging. “But this time I’m actually excited.”

“Why?” Sarah asked, interest shining in her eyes. She knew her friend had travel anxiety and if not for her parents, Maya wouldn’t even leave the town for anything.

“Because it’s Africa!” Maya exclaimed, twirling around the room. She was having a hard time sitting still.

“So?” Sarah said, not understanding the significance.

“You say this because you don’t know where in Africa we’re going,” Maya paused dramatically.

“Where?” Sarah and Sarosh said at once.

“Madagascar.” Now the girls looked thoroughly impressed. After all, it was the world’s most exotic place. They could imagine the stories Maya would have to share when she got back. They would want to know everything. Through her, they could also experience Africa.

“Take a lot of photos.”

“And don’t forget to tag us in all your posts.”

Sarosh and Sarah said at the same time, and then the three of them burst into uncontrollable laughter. Their friendship was beautiful and there wasn’t a thing they would change about their lives. As long as they got to share it with each other, they would keep smiling.

© 2022 Fizza Younis. All Rights Reserved.

Read chapter 8 here.

Read previous chapters here.

Friday Fiction: Slice of Life 8

Chapter 8: It’s Not About Her

“How old do you think it is?” Farida said, looking at the antique clock in her grandmother’s room. The ticktock of the piece always fascinated her.

“Don’t change the subject,” her grandmother said from the sofa she occupied at the moment. “I know something’s been bothering you and I want to know all about it.”

“It’s nothing really,” Frida sighed. “I just feel like a misfit, and no one likes me.” She was bad at making friends, and truth be told, Maya had been her only real friend, but even she hated her now.

“You are an amazing person. Then why are you having a hard time? Is it about Maya?”

Her grandmother must have heard her thoughts, but she wasn’t ready to face the unresolved feelings she had about Maya. “Why would you bring her into the conversation? We aren’t even friends anymore, and it’s not about her. I just don’t know how to connect with people.” She shrugged, unable to explain her emotions.

“And maybe that’s the problem.” Her grandmother seemed to understand more than she thought. “Maybe it should be about Maya. You girls were thick as thieves once and you can become friends again.” She smiled at Frida in encouragement.

“You’re right and I know that it’s partially my fault, but I don’t know how to get her back to my side.” Frida plopped down on the sofa and her grandmother hugged her.

“Then maybe you need to go to her side,” her grandma said matter-of-fact way.

© 2022 Fizza Younis. All Rights Reserved.

Read Chapter 7 Here

Friday Fiction: Slice of Life 7

Chapter 7: Something is Afoot

Sarah stood near the gaping hole in the ground, looking into the bottomless pit. All she saw was the pitch black darkness and an overwhelming sense of emptiness.

The building size hole had appeared in a vacant lot a few days ago.

“What do you think it is?”

“How deep is it, anyway?”

“Can you see anything?”

Everyone had a question, but there were no answers. Even after days, authorities could not find out anything concrete about it. They advised people to stay away from it and there were scientists and researchers coming to the hill station from all around the world just to study the hole and solve its mystery. The first team that went down to investigate had vanished and since then, everyone was on edge.

“Hey, Sarah,” Sarosh shouted from across the street, “don’t stand so close to it.”

“Why isn’t anyone stopping her?” Maya muttered under her breath.

Sarah realized that her best friends were the only two people who could see her. No wonder she could move around freely without interference from the guards, whose duty was to keep people away from the mysterious hole. Yet, there she stood and when she thought about it, she couldn’t figure out why she was there.

“Don’t worry, I’m safe.” At least, that was one thing she was sure of. “You two stay where you are,” she said when she saw her friends trying to cross the boundary line.

“Come back, Sarah!” Sarosh said, fear clear in her tone. She looked at the guard and pointed towards Sarah, speaking softly so Sarah couldn’t make out her words.

She looked away from her friends and, once again, her attention was on the hole. Not knowing how long she had been standing there when a strange noise startled her. It was coming from down the hole.

“Hello, is someone down there?” she asked, hunching over to look better.

“Sarah, is that you?” the voice replied, making her gasp.

Whoever was down there, they knew her. “Yes, it’s me who are you?”

“It’s time to come home. You have been stuck on this godforsaken planet for long enough,” the voice said. “Just jump and you will finally find your way home.”

Sarah thought about it, considering the words. If she was honest with herself, she would admit that Earth had never felt like home. She was a misfit on this planet, and she might find peace once she was back where she belonged.

“Don’t do it,” Maya shouted at her.

“Stop!” Sarosh cried out.

All Sarah wanted was to return home. Her friends couldn’t hold her back. The voice beckoned, and she took a step forward, ready to leap, and then she woke up with a start. Her heart pounding, she placed a hand on her forehead and tried to calm her breathing. As she looked around, she sighed in relief to find herself abed, safe and sound. There was no hole in the ground and no voice telling her to jump.

© 2021 Fizza Younis. All Rights Reserved.

Read Chapter 6 Here

Friday Fiction: Slice of Life 6

Chapter 6: It All Happened on a Sunday

It was the first Sunday of their Summer Vacations and the three of them made plans to spend the day in the city. After all, what could go wrong on a sunny day like that? They were excited as Maya recently got her driving license, which meant they wouldn’t need to take the bus.

“Where should we go first?” Maya asked, as they spotted the first landmark, showing they were entering the city.

They lived in a small hill station, and the only nearby city was in a valley. Summer meant the roads were clear of the snow and they had an unobstructed view of the sun shining upon them.

“I say, let’s go to the mall. I haven’t shopped in ages and I’m dying to buy summer dressed,” Sarah said, smiling from ear to ear. Just the thought of spending her parents’ money could put a smile on her face, but then, if they wanted to give her access to their credit cards as a compensation for ignoring her most of the time, so be it.

“Okay, and then we can head to the library,” Sarosh said.

Her remark put a frown on Sarah’s face, but she said nothing. It was a rare treat for them to be on their own, unsupervised, and she had no intention of wasting it in a library. Silently, she made a promise to herself that she would keep Sarosh away from the dreaded place. Besides, her friend had enough books in her personal library.

They were crossing the bridge to enter the city when their car broke down, right there, blocking the narrow road. The tow truck arrived pretty quickly, but now they were without a car. They took the bus to the mall, because Sarah insisted that’s the most important stop of the day.

“Sarah, come on. Just buy one of these shirts. They all look good on you.” There was a hint of irritation in Sarosh’s voice. They had been roaming from one end of the mall to the other, but Sarah still had bought nothing. Everything was out of fashion, too pricey, or just not her style.

After about three hours, she finally gave up and, without sounding apologetic, told her friends that nothing good enough and they should do something else. By then, the girls were starving, so they went to a nearby restaurant for lunch. Everything they ordered was bland or under-cooked. None of them was happy with how the day was going.

Maya wanted to check out the art museum and afterwards, they went to a public park where they ended up getting their bags stolen. Now, they were stranded in the city without money and mobile phones. Fortunately, a nice old man let them use his phone and they called their parents.

“What a dreadful Sunday.” Sarah sighed, unhappy because she bought nothing.

“The worst Sunday of the year!” Sarosh was sad because she couldn’t go to the library.

“I can’t believe everything went wrong. What a disaster this Sunday has been!” Maya was annoyed at the whole situation.

Just then, they looked at each other and burst into laughter. At least, it was a Sunday to remember.

© 2021 Fizza Younis. All Rights Reserved.

Read Chapter 4 & 5 Here

Friday Fiction: Slice of Life 4 & 5

Chapter 4. Spring Time

“You know spring is here?” Maya said it as a question, but it was more of a statement.

“So?” Sarah looked at her friend, intrigued.

“So, my dear friends,” Maya paused dramatically. Her eyes held a mischievous twinkle, as if anticipating something good.

“What is it?” Sarosh said, unable to wait for her friend to continue.

“Well,” Maya said, clapping her hands excitedly, “it means that it’s time for strawberry picking.”

They were sitting on the patio at Maya’s house, soaking up the sun. The weather was mild, and the girls were enjoying their first day of spring break. They lived in a small town, hidden away among the mountains, where winter lasted longer than everyone’s liking. That’s why spring meant time for celebrations and festivities. Their town was famous for its strawberry orchards, and strawberry picking was a tradition they all loved.

“Oh, I almost forgot about it,” Sarah said, shock evident on her face.

“I don’t understand what’s the big deal,” Sarosh said, sighing, “I’d rather just stay in and read a book or two.”

“You did not just say that!” Maya shrieked, “How can you not love the chance to be out in the sun, eating strawberries, and having fun?” Then she seemed to realize something. “Oh right, you don’t like strawberries,” she said sheepishly, “It’s still fun to pick them and make tarts.”

“Strawberry tarts are to die for,” Sarah said with a dreamy look on her face, “yum!” Everyone knew about her sweet tooth.

“OK, stop imagining tarts,” Sarosh said without humor. “I suppose, as long as we’re doing it together, strawberry picking isn’t a bad idea, after all.” Because to her, that was the only important thing; to be with your best friends. When you were with friends even the most mundane tasks could become fun.

***

Chapter 5: Tarts

“It’s not that I consider myself perfect,” Maya said as she put the last batch of strawberry tarts in the oven. “Because, of course, no one is perfect. I just think that I am exactly how I’m supposed to be. That doesn’t leave much room for change, you know.” She shrugged as if it should be a well-known fact about her.

“Don’t you tire of self-praise?” Sarosh said, only half-joking.

“When did I praise myself?” Maya asked, shock written on her face. In her mind, that was never what she did. She considered it stating the obvious. If she said she was good at something, and she was, then was it praising herself or telling it as it was?

“You just said you are perfect,” Sarosh said, smiling, “and used way too many words if you ask me.”

“I’m just pointing out that I’m who I am…” she said lamely. “That sounded bad, right? I didn’t mean to sound vain.” On second thought, she realized Sarosh might have a point. Most people would consider her a snob if she kept saying all these nice things about herself, even if they were the truth.

“It’s all right,” Sarah said, as the three of them group hugged. “We are used to your tartness. To be honest, Frida’s comments were unprecedented. You may be many things, but you are never unkind.”

Frida said some things about Maya that led to her tirade. She considered nothing wrong with being who she was, but their nemesis had a problem with everything they did or said. She was especially rude to Maya, for some reason. The girls had yet to figure out what Frida’s problem was. Usually, they ignore her and mind their own business. The three of them were enough for each other.

“Anyway,” Sarosh smiled at her friends, changing the subject. “Soon, you two will be savoring the berry tarts, so what am I supposed to be doing?” She pouted, feigning displeasure when, in fact, she was having fun watching them work in the kitchen.

“Watching us savor them, of course,” they chorused, bursting into laughter.

© 2021 Fizza Younis. All Rights Reserved.

Read Chapter 3 Here

Friday Fiction: Slice of Life 3

Chapter 3: A Treasure of Her Own

 “It’s silly,” Sarah said, laughing, and looked at her two best friends, hunched over their respective notebooks. They seemed to take it more seriously than she would have thought. “You can’t possibly believe the rumor.”

“Hmm, yeah we can.” Sarosh smirked.

Everyone said that if you wrote your secret and left it in a hole in the tree near the edge of the woods, behind the school, the next day you would receive a treasure. Everyone had a different theory about the legend. Some said the woods were haunted and the creatures living their feed on your secrets. When you give them sustenance, they give you a present. Others said there was a wood nymph living in the hole and leaves treasures for everyone who takes the time to give her their secret. And then, there were people like Sarah, who thought it was all a hoax.

“Come on, what’s the harm? Maybe tomorrow we will wake up with treasure chests under our beds, or maybe not. Either way, it’s no biggie.” Maya shrugged, not understanding why her bestie was reluctant to write her secret on a paper.

“Talk for yourself. What’s your secret, anyway?” Sarah said, feeling a little annoyed with her friends who had talked her into doing this. Her theory about the rumor differed from the rest of them. She believed some teen started the rumor to use other people’s secrets. She was sure there was someone at their school who retrieved these pieces of paper and laughed at the silliness of the whole thing.

“Oh, now I understand,” Sarosh raised her eyebrows and teased Sarah, “so, you have some dirty, dark secret. That’s why you don’t want to play along.” She punched her lightly on the arm and laughed with mirth.

“I’m just saying it makes no sense. Why would a paranormal being want to know a bunch of teenager’s secrets?”

“I don’t care. I’m doing this. Come on girls, who is with me?” Sarosh folded the piece of paper she just teared from her notebook and walked towards the oak tree. Smiling at her friends, she threw it into the hole and closed her eyes, praying for it to work. Maya followed suit.

They stared at Sarah, urging her to share a secret with the wood nymph. Sarah dragged a breath in and let it out with a whoosh. Slowly, taking measure steps, she walked to the tree, and with care, put the piece of paper into the hole.

The next day, Sarah came to the school earlier than usual. Dying to learn what treasures her friends found. As soon as Sarosh walked through the classroom door, she said, “So, what is it?”

“Nothing, you were right all along.” Sarosh looked dejected.

Maya walked in just then and confirmed she also found nothing. Hearing her friends, she didn’t have the heart to tell them she found a treasure of her own. It was an unpublished manuscript of the next book in her most favorite series. Apparently, magic worked in mysterious ways. Now, Sarah had another secret she couldn’t tell her friends.

© 2021 Fizza Younis. All Rights Reserved.

Read Chapter 2 Here

Friday Fiction: Slice of Life 2

Chapter 2: A Day Out

“What’s your favorite season?” Sarah asked her friend, Maya. Both girls were lying on the grass, soaking up the sun. Their classmates were all scattered around the garden. It was a rare treat because their homeroom teacher had decided to do an impromptu field trip to the park nearby. It meant that they got to skip the rest of the classes for that day.

“It’s spring, of course,” Maya said as if that should have been understood. “Look how pretty the flowers are.”

“Mine too.” Sarah smiled. “Today is a fine day.”

“What are you two talking about?” Sarosh said, plopping down beside them. “We’re supposed to be studying the plants, not lying around talking. What if Miss Janet sees you? You’ll be in trouble.”

“Look,” Sarah pointed to their teacher, “she’s talking on the phone, enjoying the sun just as much as we are. I don’t think she’ll mind. I bet she orchestrated this outing to enjoy the weather.”

“That’s because she trusts us to do what we are told,” Sarosh said, “And we are supposed to be collecting wildflowers, write down their names, and guess what families they belong to. She said to find at least three different ones.”

“That’s easy,” Sarah said, “there are wildflowers everywhere. Pick any three and be done with it. I, for one, don’t feel like studying botany at the moment.”

“I’m with Sarah,” Maya agreed. “Who studies on a day like today? This is the first day of spring. Live a little.”

© 2021 Fizza Younis. All Rights Reserved.

Read Chapter 1 here.

Friday Fiction: Slice of Life 1

Hello friends,

I hope you all are having a wonderful year and reading a lot of books. You are always welcome to share your favorite books with me, either in comments section or private messages. I love to hear about what everyone is reading and enjoying.

I’m starting a new project. I haven’t thought about the title yet. It will be about three teenage friends and their mundane lives. The story will be a slice of life, and I will post a new chapter/scene every Friday. I hope you enjoy it. Let me know your thoughts, views, and reviews.

Introduction

Like any other relationship, we build friendship on love, honesty, loyalty, and willingness to communicate openly. If any of these ingredients is missing, it will crumble like a house of cards. Unfortunately, people don’t always understand this. We hope and expect too much from our friends, believing they should read our minds, give us the benefit of the doubt, and just accept us as we are. Yet, I feel that like any other relationship, friends must also grow together, and if you can’t do that then what’s the point of it, anyway?

Here’s to friends who grow together and stay together.

Chapter 1: What’s in a Name

“Frida is a beautiful name,” Sarah said, smiling. “What do you think it means?”

“One of a kind.”

“Peace.”

Both Sarosh and Maya said at the same time.

Sarah gave them an incredulous look. “Which is it?”

“Let’s ask Frida,” Maya suggested, “she will know.”

“Hey, Frida?” Sarah called out from her seat at the front of the classroom.

“What?” Frida said in her usual rude way.

The girl hated talking to anyone, as if people were beneath her, and undeserving of her attention. At least, that’s how she appeared to Sarah.

“What does your name mean?” Sarosh said, ignoring her tone.

“I don’t know,” Frida said, just as rudely as before. “What does it matter? It’s just a name.”

The three girls looked at each other, thinking the same thing. Frida was odd.

“Do you know what your name means?” Sarah said to her friends after an uncomfortable pause.

“Of course,” Sarosh said, “my name means angel.”

“Mine means illusion,” Maya said.

“And we know yours means princess.” Sarosh smiled at her friend teasingly.

“Yeah,” Sarah sighed. “Only the most common name ever, but what’s in a name, right?”

Just like that, Frida’s rudeness was forgotten, and the three friends were laughing as if they didn’t have a care in the world.

© 2021 Fizza Younis. All Rights Reserved.

Non-Problem Problem (Flash Fiction)

“Alice is having a June wedding,” Jenna said in a way of complaining, “It’ll be hot as hell. I don’t think I’ll want to attend.”

“Well, dear,” her mother said, “as far as excuses go that’s a pretty shitty one. She’s your first cousin. You should be there for her.”

“I hate weddings,” came her next complained, “And let’s not forget, Alice has never been good to me.”

“That matters not,” her mother said firmly.

“Still, June?” Jenna wasn’t ready to give up on her lame reasoning. “I don’t believe in the whole superstition of it being lucky.”

“June isn’t the reason for your not wanting to attend.” Her mother looked at her knowingly. “Look, it’s Alice’s wedding so she gets to decide when or where. That’s not your problem.”

“But…” Jenna couldn’t finish her sentence.

“No buts,” her mother interrupted, “Besides weddings are fun.”

“Fun?” Jenna said, laughing a little, “Not if you are single and have the worst luck in relationships.”

“What does that have to do with Alice’s wedding?”

“Mom,” Jenna said, sighing, “you know how it is. Everyone we know will be there, and all they will do is pester me about when I’m getting married. It also doesn’t help that Alice is younger than me.”

“So?” her mother said, “Let them ask. Why should it bother you?”

“It’s annoying. I don’t understand why people do that? I mean, you are at a wedding, just be happy for the couple in question. Why ask every single person about their non-marriage?”

“Oh, don’t be dramatic.” Her mother smiled at her. “If anyone asks, just tell them that you are never getting married because your one true love broke your heart.”

“Seriously?” That made Jenna laugh. “You think that will make them stop asking?”

“No, but it will be interesting to watch their reaction.” She winked at her daughter as both women burst into laughter.

© 2020 Fizza Younis. All Rights Reserved.