Ajmal stood by the fence, his hand on the barbed wire hung around it for security purposes, his interest in the games the boys in the next house played. He missed these boys who were almost his friends in school. He remembered their names - Shahid, the oldest, Karim, the younger and Omar, the youngest who was in his class.

Ajmal's family moved into the neighbourhood a few months back and his father immediately enrolled him in school. It was an all boys school and he remembered asking his father why he could not attend mixed school. His father hushed him and instructed him to hurry to class.

Getting to class, no one paid him attention except Omar who saw him enter the class and smiled at him. They connected instantly. Omar patted the empty seat beside him and Ajmal sat on it.

"You are new here," Omar said. "I saw your family move into the house close to us."

Ajmal nodded, too shy to speak. They did not talk much and when they closed school, they walked home together. The next day, Ajmal's father told him he could not attend school because the country was on immediate lockdown due to the covid-19 virus.

Ajmal became a little sad. He very much looked forward to seeing Omar and his brothers in school again. Now he could not. What's worse, their parents forbid them from playing together because of the government lockdown order.

The three brothers laughed and pursued each other in circles around their house. Ajmal had never felt more alone. He waved at them from his side of the house, hoping they would see, hoping they would know he missed talking with them.

Omar stopped suddenly in the middle of the game to look at Ajmal. Karim and Shahid bumped into him, wondering why Omar stopped. Following Omar's gaze, they saw Ajmal too. The three boys waved at him, grinning. Ajmal waved back and chuckled. He wished the lockdown was over and the scare of the virus over so he could play with his new-found friends and neighbours.

What I See

I see a young boy on the fence of a house and something interesting on the other side caught his attention. I see the longing in his eyes. The barbed wire feels like a cage holding him back.

What I Feel

I feel the young boy wished he was on the other side and participating in whatever was going on there at the time the picture was taken.

I hope you enjoyed reading this story. This is my entry to A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words Contest. I heartily invite Hive account@deeanndmathews and Hive account@hillarypowers to participate.

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