Have you ever seen a bunch of ants dragging a grain of sugar, which is much bigger than all of them? Or a united pack of wolves that stand up for each other when attacked? Well, this is exactly how a society works — if united, nothing can break it but when divided, each soul is accountable for his/her own actions.

I am blessed to live in a society which is just like the example of ants and a pack of wolves. My neighbourhood has some places to play and spend time with family and friends. Here, we see cluster of joyful children and toddlers bouncing around enjoying and sometimes fighting with each other daily. Each evening, these children emerge out of three blocks. The first Block ‘A’ is believed by some to be haunted, where diabolic shadows live. But to some, it’s just a childish hoax.

Block “B” is the noisiest block as most of the children live there, chasing each other and competing to see who can jump from the highest stair as there are no elevators. Finally, Block “C” is where I, and fortunately, most of my friends live too.

Every evening, the children jump around impatiently, waiting for the cyclewala who, as soon as he enters the society, is surrounded by the innocent souls as he sells all types of chips, biscuits, chewing gums, etc. and returns with a lot of profit after infusing excitement in the little hearts of the children.

He never needs to sing or play music to attract his customers as children’s attention is easily seized by the treats and junk food he brings. After all chasing each other and making jokes, these little joyful humans leave for their homes as the sky darkens.

Weekdays are usually busy for us, the older kids, but when the weekend comes, I also come out of my house, breathe the fresh air of joy and unity. At night, we sometimes play cards with friends. Playing cards is another fun activity in which if you know the tricks, you are the winner. But if you don’t know any, just like one my friends as he uses his King without even knowing who has the Ace, thus you probably are the dumbest player.

Sometimes, we arrange barbecue parties and do all the fun stuff like climb up the rooftop just to take pictures and enjoy the enchanting panorama, losing ourselves in the soothing breeze, which washes away all stress, and sometimes just to have a chat.

In our apartment, no one possesses the diadem, everyone is equal but there are some people who are respected by everyone. One of them is Imtiaz bhai, who is called Chacha by probably everyone in the apartment, including myself. He is a bearded person with a cap always on his head and usually wears a shalwar-kameez. He is the person who takes the responsibility of everything or every problem, and is very helpful to everyone.

All in all, no one in our neighbourhood is at loggerheads with anyone and there are no backstabbers. We are always united just like the ants and lethal when messed with just like the wolves.

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 19th, 2019