If you ever asked Rabia a question, she would answer with her head bent down in a book. Rabia’s whole world revolved around books. It was impossible to find her without a book in her hand. She would spend hours in the family library, devouring book after book.
Things changed when her friend Nimra visited her house, bringing a new tablet she had received with her. Nimra was the kind of girl you could talk to about all the new gadgets and trends. She showed Rabia a meme, and Rabia found it pretty funny. Nimra showed her more funny reels and they had a good time together.
However, after Nimra left, Rabia began to wonder about these things because she never bothered to give time to memes and TikTok trends. She had always considered them a waste of time. But a short visit from Nimra raised curiosity in Rabia.
That evening, Rabia looked up different memes on her mother’s mobile phone. She found them so hilarious that she spent two hours on it without even realising it! When her mother reminded her about the time she had spent, she couldn’t believe her ears and felt so guilty. She immediately returned the phone and went to her room, got refreshed and picked up a book to read.
The next day, she felt the urge to watch some reels. She took the mobile phone and spent quite a lot of time on social media. This continued for the next several months.
Books now seemed boring to Rabia; she preferred spending time on the mobile phone rather than reading.
One night, Rabia had a dream. In it, she saw a golden light emitting from the library. She peeked in from the door and saw the strangest sight. Instead of books, the shelves were filled with many colourful gems. They glittered brighter than the stars.
Rabia approached a shelf and touched a purple gem when a soft voice spoke, “These gems are the knowledge in books. Keep reading books to keep these gems.”
There was a flash of light and the books reappeared.
The next morning, Rabia’s mother was surprised to see her phone lying on the table, untouched. She walked to the library and saw Rabia sitting there, writing notes from books.
Rabia did allot herself some time for online fun, but she didn’t forget that books were her priority.
Published in Dawn, Young World, June 28th, 2026
