A Choice of Fate
by
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ZILM (exhales deeply, smiles and then speaks softly): Ok, so you are sent here to be assembled. You will be given flesh, a personality and your fate will be written. Then you may go to live the life that you chose. Right now you do not have any of that. You are just a black silhouette! Silhouette motionless ZILM (laughingly): By the way, you humans look funny before you are given flesh. After that you look funnier! (Zilm grins) Silhouette moves his head as if looking around the place. Then the silhouette bends its head as if looking at itself. Then moves its head as if looking directly at ZILM. Zilm grins ZILM (chortles): This is such an awkward position. You have no facial expressions for me to guess what’s happening inside you. You will have to speak up, boy! Zilm pauses and then continues ZILM: You are curious about yourself? (Zilm asks with a slight nod) The silhouette nods too. ZILM: Ok, you are a silhouette. You don’t know what that means? Zilm pauses for a while to think and then continues ZILM: Hmmmm…..a silhouette means a simple black figure which is nothing but a simple black figure. I don’t know how to explain it. Silhouette motionless ZILM (showing signs of discomfort): Ok boy! Enough of this discussion! Let’s get down to business. Let’s start! Should we? (Zilm asks with a slight nod) The silhouette nods too ZILM: Excellent! Ok, so it is very simple. You just tell me whatever you want and I just do it for you. Simple as that! Understood? (Zilm slightly nods his head) Silhouette nods his head too. ZILM: Excellent! I will do this and then I can have a nice much-needed break. Ok then! Let me fetch your file. Zilm stretches out his hands and suddenly he has a file in them. ZILM opens it and stares at it for a while. ZILM: Hmmmmm……so from where should we start? Silhouette stands motionless. ZILM: Speak up boy! Where do we start from? Silhouette motionless ZILM: You have to tell me! Silhouette motionless ZILM: This is your chance boy! Ask for whatever you want! Zilm reads the contents of the file aloud ZILM: Name. According to wish. Gender. According to Wish. Parents. According to wish. Oh that’s interesting! (Zilm smirks)
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About the Book
We all have our dreams in life: the fairy tale that we want to live. It holds us together. It provides us with a direction in this chaotic world. It drives us through life! For most of us, there is already some person present in this world living our fairytale just because of random events happening because of cosmic luck. We would have been living in a utopia only if we were given the chance to choose our time and place of birth. So up in heavens, where all human beings are fashioned, a person is given the opportunity to choose the life he/she wants to live. All the angels are excited to see what he/she chooses, but that person stands there expressionless. There is a problem. In fact, several! How does he/she make a choice for him/herself?
About the Author
Troubled by the injustice of cosmic luck, unfairness of life and meaninglessness of our pursuit of our dreams, Hassaan Usmani is a writer who sets about to imagine a world which is more just, fair and full of meaning. He strongly believes that fiction should be written such that it provides active commentary on the world around us and attempts to act as an agent of social change. He comes from the vibrant city of Lahore. A Choice of Fate is his first publication.