Today was Sabika’s last exam. She was excited as she would be doing all the things that she had been planning to do.

“Pens down!” said the examiner and a wave of relief washed over the faces of all the students in the examination hall. Sabika discussed the exam paper outside the hall with her friends and then headed home.

That day, Sabika returned home with a gleeful smile on her face. Upon entering the house, she immediately ran upstairs to her room and tossed her bag onto the couch as if its purpose was over. She took a quick shower and threw herself onto the bed, pulling the sheets over herself and drifting into peaceful sleep.

An hour later, her mother entered the room.

“Sabika, your father and I won’t be home tonight, which means you and Adil will be here on your own. You both are big enough to manage, but don’t worry, I’ll stay in contact with you,” she said, kissing Sabika’s forehead before leaving.

Sabika dozed off again. All of a sudden, she was jolted awake by the sound of the doorbell. As she was still gathering her thoughts, the bell rang again.

Anxiety set in. If the door hadn’t been opened yet, it meant her brother was out, and she was alone in the house. He had a key, so there was no reason for him to ring the bell. Even if he had forgotten his key, he would have called her first.

She got up and slowly walked to the window to peek outside. The front door was not visible from there so she could not see who was outside at the door. The streetlights were on, but the street was deserted. Just as she turned away, the bell rang again, this time continuously.

Panic-stricken, she ran back to the window and saw two people walking away in hoodies, one slightly shorter than the other. She couldn’t see their faces.

Cold sweat broke out on her forehead. She couldn’t think of anything except calling her brother, who was expected to arrive soon. However, he didn’t pick up the call, leaving her anxious. She then called her mother and, as soon as the call connected, she recounted everything.

“Don’t worry, dear. Just don’t open the door. We’ll try to reach home as soon as possible,” her mother consoled before hanging up.

Sabika locked herself in her room and prayed for her parents to arrive quickly. Every minute felt like an hour. It took them around 25 minutes to reach home, but during that time, her mother stayed on the phone with her.

When her parents arrived, they saw no one at the door. They entered the house and rushed to their daughter’s room. Sabika unlocked the door as soon as she heard her mother’s voice. Her father brought his laptop to check the CCTV footage captured by the front door camera.

Sabika’s face flushed as she realised she had completely forgotten about checking the camera.

As soon as her father viewed the footage, he looked at Sabika and said, “It seems like some of your friends were over, Sabika.”

She was embarrassed, having completely forgotten that she had invited some friends over for a sleepover. She rushed to check her phone and saw 11 missed calls and dozens of messages from them. It was only then that she remembered that earlier that day, when she came home from school, she had been so excited that she put her phone on silent and took a nap to stay awake in the night with her friends.

Now, her friends were also upset and frustrated, having waited outside with no response. Some of their messages were filled with confusion and irritation.

“I’m so sorry, Mum and Dad. I completely forgot about the sleepover,” Sabika apologised.

Her parents looked at her in dismay and said, “It’s okay, dear. Your safety is our top priority, but you also need to take responsibility for your actions. Now see your friends are also disappointed.”

Her weekend was ruined by that minor lapse in memory. The joy of finishing her exams vanished along with it, replaced by guilt and disappointment.

Published in Dawn, Young World, June 14th, 2025