It was a pleasant Saturday morning. I was the first in my family to wake up and I wondered why I felt so excited. Then it sprang to my mind that it was my friend’s birthday party that day. When I remembered this, I jumped with joy and rushed to wake my parents up.

When my parents finally woke up, I told them about the party. To my horror, they declined to let me attend it. I was overwhelmed with grief and felt as if I might die from disappointment. I argued with them desperately, begging to be allowed to go. It felt as if, if they didn’t let me go, the world would end.

I think my parents could see how devastated I was, and they tried different ways to cheer me up, but I wouldn’t budge. At last, they gave in and allowed me to go.

Eager and excited, I felt as if someone had put a thousand jackrabbits inside me. But as soon as we drove onto the main road, we were greeted by a huge traffic jam due to some rally taking place in the city. We were moving so slowly that even snails could surpass us. I knew the party would soon be over.

After two hours in the jam, my dad was angry and said, “There will be no party. We’re two hours late, and nobody is going to wait for you. Call your friend and tell him that we were on our way but are stuck in a traffic jam. And since it’s already late, we’re going back.”

I felt gloomy and depressed, on the verge of breaking into tears. I called my friend and told him everything. To my surprise, he laughed out loud and said that because of the massive traffic jam, everyone was arriving late, so there was nothing wrong with me being late. To make things easier for everyone, his parents had adjusted the schedule, allowing people to leave early if they wanted. But the party was just about to start when we arrived.

The party went well, but I felt sorry for making my father wait and endure the frustration of the traffic jam. They could see that I was genuinely sorry for troubling them. I realised that our parents do everything in their power to make us happy, but sometimes we become selfish. This was a lesson I learnt, and I promised myself that I would never pressure my parents for something once they said, ‘No’ to it.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 22nd, 2025