Reality Bites by Wahija Qureshi

by Hiba (Sudan & UAE)

Esra’a, I must say that this place has thrived since I’ve last been here:)

An entirety spent protected….each day created to the best never realizing that there lies a world full of strained faces,aching emotions and dreams that are never ever secured.

A sea of people with lives so close to reality lies beyond the grilled concrete wall….separating the protected me from the exposed to the core commonalty.

Ever wondered what life is like for the dry-eyed and blanked-faced child that flocks around our pompous four wheelers trying in vain to gain our attention for just a moment…..to quench his burning thirst.

Ever tried looking into those somber eyes that demand nothing more than just a smile…..a hand that can help breath and view the life that prevails above the thick smoke and insect infested air.

Ever touched those cracked and soiled palms…those palms that have never touched a plush toy or leafed through a storybook….never touched clean.

Who cares what lies beyond the grilled concrete wall….let those innocent young girls scream….let those old haggard murmur on and on until their throats bleed.

Who cares let this vicious cycle grow….until one day it shall reach the concrete wall and i would have to succumb to its wrath…its screams piercing my ears,its eyes looking at me,through me….deep into me,its hands around my throat and its voice so very sinister so very sharp with pain,agony torment,distress…..

Crying out to me…salvage me,cure me,befriend me…ever wondered when it all shall stop….how it all shall stop…will it ever stop….could you and i help put an end to the never ending….