Outstanding Story (Sub-junior) - The Girl Who Loved Reading Books

“The Girl Who Loved Reading Books” is one of the outstanding stories (sub-junior) of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2019 written by Aisha Nazish, Beaconhouse School System, Pakistan.

The Girl Who Loved Reading Books

Once upon a time there was a girl named Sara. She loved reading books. Her dad appreciated her skills and bought new books for her every time he visited the market. But her mom thought it was just a waste of money and she used to stop Sara’s dad from buying books for her. Every time when her mom started this conversation Sara’s dad used to say, “Reading books is really important for Sara. Reading books opens a person’s mind.” But Sara’s mom used to take that as rubbish. Sometimes when Sara was reading her mom would take the book away from her and tell her to do something else. Every time that used to happen Sara tried and tried to explain to her mom the importance of reading books, but there was no use. Her mom wouldn’t listen.

Sara’s teachers were also really delighted with her habit of reading books. Sometimes her teachers would also use Sara to be a good role model for other students. A few of Sara’s classmates understood the importance of reading books, and Sara was really proud of herself.

Sara’s dad was a shopkeeper and his shop was in the main market. One day when he came home he looked very gloomy. Sara’s mom asked the reason of him being glum, he replied,” Due to the court orders my shop is getting demolished in a day or two.” Everyone in the house got distressed because this was the only source of income for them. The next day Sara’s dad’s shop got demolished. He was very sad. Sara’s mom started nagging. Her father said nothing but looked at her angrily.

The next day Sara received a circular from her school. It said that there would be a short story competition and the winner will receive one million rupees by the education department. Sara’s father encouraged Sara to take part in this competition. Not just because of the prize, but because of her talent. Sara did as she was told and got ready to participate in the story contest. She sat for hours and hours and it took her two days to complete the story. Finally, when she was ready she submitted it in school. She waited anxiously for the results to come.

After a few days the results were announced and Sara was really happy to hear that she won and got one million rupees. Everyone was overjoyed, Sara’s dad established a new business and her mom realized what she had done, she apologized to everyone and even saved the surplus money for Sara’s education and books.

As Sara’s mom had now valued the importance of reading, so she devoted herself in teaching children who faced difficulty in reading and provided books to needy children.