A Treasure Box Story
Uzair was still in bed when his sister wasila came and said, “You have a phone call from Karachi. Bashir is on the line.” Uzair got up and walked towards the telephone set. Bashir was his cousin. His uncle Amir lived in Karachi. He was a forest officer.
Uzair picked the receiver and said, “Hello Bashir, is that you? Where have you been so long?”
Bashir said, “I have been busy. That’s why I couldn’t dial you. Would you like to visit us in summer vacation? We will go campaign.” Uzair said, “I promise that I will visit you in summer vacation.”
After he hung up, he told his father and mother about Bashir’s invitation. They allowed him to visit Karachi during the summer holidays.
He eagerly waited for the summer vacation. One day, he went to school and the teacher said, “Dear students, we are going on summer holidays. Please do your work at home. We will see you in August now.” Uzair was very excited. He came home and said to his father, “Abba jee, I am now on holiday. Can I visit Uncle Ehsan?” His father said, “Wait only for two days. Your uncle is coming to Quetta. You can go with him. ” Uzair went to his room and packed his things. He had been dreaming about camping since Bashir said they would go camping.
After two days his uncle Ehsan came to Quetta. He had come on an official tour. He visited them only for one day. Uzair was ready so Uncle Ehsan took him to Karachi in his car.
They went by the motorway. After 4 hours they were in Karachi. Uzair met Bashir and they both were very happy to have been together.
Uzair slept in Bashir’s room and they had been planning camping throughout the night. The next morning at the breakfast table Bashir said to his father, ” When are we going to the forest, father?” “Tomorrow,” said his father.
The boys were very happy. They were going to the forest to camp for two days. They were going to have a new experience. On the following day, uncle Ehsan made them ride in a jeep and they left for a forest near Islamabad. They left at 10 a.m. After almost three hours they reached the forest. As the jeep entered the forest, the boys started looking at the clusters of trees happily. Deep inside the forest, near a stream, Mr.Ehsan stopped the jeep. He had decided to camp there.
They fixed tents and arranged necessary things. They had a stove. Uncle Ehsan lit on the stove and began to make coffee. The boys wandered to look around. They reached the other side of the stream. There they saw ruins of a mansion. They came back and told Uncle Ehsan about the mansion. Uncle Ehsan said, ” I know the place. It is the ruins of Haveli. It was once resided by a Nawab who was much fond of hunting. He died and then nobody came to live in the forest. It lay vacant almost for a hundred years and thus turned to ruins. Some roofs have also collapsed. ” “Can we visit the mansion uncle?” Asked Uzair. “Yes you can, but first let us have something to eat.”
The boys visited different places of the forest with uncle Ehsan. They came back to their camps late in the evening. Then they rested in the camps. The next day, the boys got up, took breakfast, and went towards the mansion.
They reached the main gate. It was open. They stepped in. They could see the inside of the building. There were many rooms. They saw all the rooms one by one and then went upstairs. Some parts of the roof had collapsed. They came round handle. He turned it. Suddenly they heard a big clattering voice. A part of the wall left its place and made a big hole visible. There they saw inside the hole a small wooden box. They carried the box to the camps. Uncle Ehsan broke its lock and found costly jewels and gems in it.
He said to Uzair, “You found a treasure.”
They were happy that they had found treasure. They came to the city that evening Ahmed was thinking how parents would feel when they heard that their son had found a treasure.
