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The park
Saira was the only daughter of Mr And Mrs Khalid. She had been brought up with every possible amenity that a child could possibly wish for. Having grown up as an only child, she felt alone and companionless. Books were her refuge and nature her companion by the time she was twelve.
Her garden at home was extremely beautiful with all sorts of different foreign varieties of flowers and plants. She spent most of her time in the garden and talked to herself as well as the insects moving around. One day, her mother took her over to her friend’s house. On her way, Saira noticed the community park. The park which had been clean and full of pretty flowers and towering trees a few days ago, was now bare with no trace of the grass or flowers. The only things left there were some really old trees. When she came back from the visit, she felt really sad for all the flowers that had disappeared and for the poor children who wouldn’t be able to play in the park anymore.
The next day, Saira went over to the park. There she was trying to enter, she noticed a really old man sitting at the gate. He kept looking at the bare grounds with sorrowful eyes. Saira went up to him. “Assalam-o-alaikum babaji! What happened to the park?” She asked.
The old man looked up. “Betaji, some rich person bought the land and is building a branch of his store here. I am the gardener. They took away all the flowers and sold them and are planning to cut off the trees tomorrow. These trees are very old and have been here since I was a kid,” he replied.
Saira was pretty disturbed at the idea of such beautiful old trees being cut off. She felt depressed and her mother noticed her daughter wasn’t in the best of spirits. At dinnertime, Saira’s parents asked her what the matter was. At first, she hesitated but then decided to tell them about the park. She was shocked when she discovered that it was her father who was building the store. She pleaded with her dad to put off his plan and get land somewhere else.
“Dad please! Trees and greenery form an integral part of the earth’s ecosystem. We already have a very small-forested area in Pakistan and the last thing we need is trees being cut off like this! What will become of the innocent, poor children whose only enjoyment is playing in the park? What about the darling insects that depend on the food from the plants in the park? They would be dislocated. Please don’t get the trees cut! They are really old!”
Seeing that their daughter was intelligent and thoughtful enough to show concern for the environment really warmed them. They consoled her and sent her to bed.
A few days later, Saira’s school started, the vacations finally being over. She was delighted to see the community park being restored. It had even more flowers than before and there were new swings as well as new trees there. The face of every child in the park, even the ones dressed in rags, radiated pure, innocent joy. The scene spread a smile across Saira’s face and her mother’s.
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