Outstanding Stories » Hard Work Pays Off

“Hard Work Pays Off” is one of the outstanding stories (sub-junior) of the second biannual International Short Story Contest 2018 written by Ali Furqan, Beachonhouse School, Pakistan.

Hard Work Pays Off

Wohoo!!! His eyes sparkled with happiness. He felt like he's on the top of the world. He was surrounded by glittering lights, holding hands with his parents, the happiest any person in this world could be. But suddenly, a white light sparkled so bright and everything was vanished. He heard his mother's voice "Henry, Henry, come on now, wake up it's time for school." And Henry realized that it was all a dream.

Henry was an ordinary boy whose father died when he was an infant. His mother used to live with her parents in a small city of poor Asian country. Henry had an elder sister. His mother used to work very hard as a maid in the houses of rich people as she wanted her children to be educated and be capable of living their lives well. His grandfather had a small grocery store which was the means of living for their family. Henry used to do all the house work with his elder sister before his mother got home. Henry was a sensitive child as he spent his whole childhood in deprivation. His mother was an ordinary maid; she could hardly afford the education expenses of her children. Henry loved his mother very much. He very well understood the situation and hardships his mother had to go through to make their future better. Henry was a bright child; he used to study hard and used to get 1st position in every standard. His sister was also a brilliant student. They both got scholarships from school. Henry was an ambitious boy; he wanted to get good education and become well settled to support his mother. He also wanted to eliminate poverty and ignorance from his city. After completing his 10th grade Henry opened a street school for poor children where he himself and his sister taught children who couldn't afford school. They taught children at day and used to study themselves at night. When their street school started gaining fame, some NGOs also joined hands with them in that noble cause. After so much hard work, dedication towards studies and by the grace of his mother's prayers, Henry became an engineer and his sister became a lecturer. They became successful and lived happily ever after.

After the entire struggle he went through, he still saw the same dream but now he understood the meaning of it.