Creative Writing Portfolio

Submitted by: Abubakar Aulia

Submitted to: Dr Munib Khan

Date: 29th May, 2023

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................................... 3
Stories.................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Effort and Determination.................................................................................................................................. 4
A Home for Gen-Z.............................................................................................................................................. 9
Wrong Move...................................................................................................................................................... 11
A Sigh of Relief................................................................................................................................................. 12
Power of Decisions........................................................................................................................................... 14
The Pandemic.................................................................................................................................................... 16
Wrong Pursuit................................................................................................................................................... 17
Poems.................................................................................................................................................................. 18
A Wonderful Girl.............................................................................................................................................. 18
Upcoming Promises.......................................................................................................................................... 19
Grandfather....................................................................................................................................................... 20
Alag Asmaan By Anuv Jain............................................................................................................................ 21
Some Buildings Build Our Life...................................................................................................................... 22
Where It All Happened.................................................................................................................................... 23
The OG’s............................................................................................................................................................ 24
Smash The Saviour.......................................................................................................................................... 25
 Introduction

The stories in my portfolio are a mixed range, now whether it be about a detailed essay on

depression to something as peculiar as writing a poem on a coffee place. Within these stories, is

an experience of diverse characters, and captivating narratives. They stem from a faction of my

thoughts and experiences and have equipped me with analytical skills to assess and comprehend

life considering its different tangents. Each story was an interesting lesson that I learnt, and I

believe no school or teaching method could have done so. These stories are my experiences

translated into words. Every topic made me think and evaluate how the smallest of things carry

the most weight. You will see triumphant and depressing times, love and loss, joy and sorrow.

These stories hope to transport you to worlds where anything is possible through vivid dialogue,

detailed storytelling, and thought-provoking subjects. These tales serve as a tribute to the art of

telling stories, their capacity to move people, and the mysticism of the written word.

Almost all of the stories have details of aspects of my life. This was the first time I learnt to

express myself using words and came as a therapy to me. These stories hold a great importance

in my life and are extremely close to my heart.

Stories

Effort and Determination

Once upon a time, there was a young boy named Asher who lived with his parents. His family

moved a lot because of his father's job, which made Asher change schools after every few years.

Asher didn't like the idea of changing schools frequently, but he had no choice but to adapt to it.

The first time Asher changed schools, he was nervous and scared. He didn't know anyone and

had to make friends all over again. The teachers were different, the curriculum was different, and

the rules were different, but he had no option but to adjust to the new environment and carry on

with his life. Asher found that each school had something unique to offer. He was shy and

introverted, which made it difficult for him to connect with the other kids. He was also behind

academically, as the curriculum in his previous school was different from the one in his new

school. However, Asher enjoyed learning new things and exploring new people yet still one

thing that bothered him the most was that he would never be able to have the friendship or the

brotherhood with the new friends like he had with his primary school friends.

However, as Asher got older, the constant changes became more difficult to handle. At the

beginning of his high school, he had to get his school changed again since they moved to another

city. High school was especially tough because the classes were more advanced and he was

constantly going through the same struggles over again that felt like a series of chaos. The worst

part was that it took him many months to finally settle in his middle school and being able to

make new great friends just to lose them all once again. This led to making it harder for Asher to
fit in and make friends, and the constant changes made it difficult to develop long-lasting

friendships.

Despite the challenges, Asher continued to adapt to changing schools. This came as a benefit too

as Asher had always been a very impatient person and shifting between schools taught him to be

resilient and flexible, skills that would serve him well throughout his life. He also learned to

appreciate the different perspectives and cultures that each school brought and to easily interact

with new people which became a good asset to his personality.

Asher’s parents noticed that he had started to feel distressed since the start of his high school and

were worried about him. Despite their many efforts of trying to ask him if he was facing any

issues with his school or personal life, he kept on denying everything and claimed that he was

completely fine. His parents knew their son too well and knew that he was hiding something, so

they decided to take him to a therapist. The therapist diagnosed Asher with anxiety and

depression and recommended that he should be surrounded more with people that he's close with

and his father should not relocate them much as shifting between multiple schools has left a

negative impact on his mental health and the inability to build long-lasting relationships. His

parents agreed and decided even if his father must move to another city, Asher and his mother

would stay here, and they would finally be able to call a place their home.

For the first time in a very long time, he was relieved. The sense of finally being able to build a

good long-lasting bond with people and calling a place his home made him feel secure. He was

ready for the struggle of trying to connect with people for one last time. The elimination of the

fear of not being able to build a long-lasting relationship helped him a lot in trying to
communicate with new people and connect with them. Though over the years, the trait of being

an introvert had amplified as he never intentionally let himself get close to anyone. This made it

harder for him to open to people but he still somehow managed to get through it all.

Asher always had the need to have friends who he could depend on and call his ‘bros’. He

thought this was it. The friends that he made in his high school would last a lifetime and he

would never have to struggle with adjusting to new environments or new people. Little did he

realize, Asher’s university was going to be a new chapter of his life. He had set his expectations

so high up and was so into the moment that he did not realize any of this. Even if he did, he

thought that all his friends are going to go to the same university as him and all of them would be

together but what was yet to come was not expected by him at all.

As the end of high school arrived, all his friends started applying to universities abroad. He

wanted to do the same. He spoke to his parents, but they had made up their mind of not sending

him away. Since he was their only child and most of the time his father was away for business,

they wanted Asher to stay with his mother. This shattered Asher all over again. He felt like

history repeating itself and he is stuck in this loop that keeps on repeating. His life seemed cursed

to him. He had no other option but to stay in Pakistan and study here, so he cherished the time he

had left with his friends and let go of the expectation he had built inside of him and prepared

himself for another new start.

Asher knew that his life was cursed, and he would have to keep on taking a new start so this time

he had no expectations. He started to force himself into not having any expectations and decided

to not make any new friends in his university. In his free time, he would go and visit the friends
who were still in Pakistan but in other universities but making new friends was just not an

option. The university started and the entire day he would take classes and during his free time,

he would linger outside the cafeteria and observe everyone. He would not interact with anyone

unless it was necessary for a group project or an assignment. The entire semester went by and he

had still made no new friends.

The second semester started and that is when his life started to take a turn. The entire class

planned to go out for breakfast in their break, but Asher was least bothered about it since he

knew no one so he decided not to go. He stayed in the university, watched an episode of his

favorite show and prepared for the quiz he had after the break. Just like he normally would, he

took the quiz and decided to leave for his home. On his way out of the university, he was

ambushed by a classmate. “Why didn’t you come for breakfast? This better be the last time you

ditch a plan”, Zena said. He did not expect this at all and did not know what to say except that

I’m sorry and he walked away. Asher found it weird, her attacking him with questions when he

did not even know her, but it felt nice knowing someone in the class cares. Sadly, that was the

last day of the winter semester which led him to let go of the thought that someone cares and go

on with his life.

Spring semester started and things instantly changed. During the two-hour break between

classes, Asher would always sit outside the cafeteria on the table with two acquaintances and

they would pass the time by doing their assignments and having a small talk. One day Zena, who

had a proper friend group, came and asked them if they had done the assignment that was due.

Asher didn’t think much of it and continued observing everyone. The next day they came again,
and then again and soon it became a routine that Zena and her friends would make conversation

to pass time till class.

After three days, Zena started asking Asher questions and making conversation with him. That

day, a new hope arose in Asher’s mind; he felt that she's really trying to make friends and that he

should let go of his strict rule of not making friends and give her a chance. Slowly but surely, she

continued making the effort with him and he felt as if he was naturally opening up to her and

being his true self around her. The semester went on and they became a group of fifteen people

who would hang out in between classes and on some days stay back till late after their classes

had ended. Asher saw himself wanting to stay back too instead of going home and isolating

himself to his four walled room. He felt happy, content and he started looking forward to classes

every day. His urge to miss classes had reduced to zero and he felt as if he wanted to interact

with these people who he only got to know a few months ago, but not always everyone;

sometimes he preferred spending time with Zena because he found her the most interesting

person in the group. This was mainly because he was so observant and sometimes he would just

sit and observe her dancing while eating her Mcrispy meal and laugh to himself. He had found

the one person who made university better, who made him miss his friends less, who made him

get better grades, who made him laugh by just being herself.

He soon found himself being his true self around her only, he was able to talk about anything

with her and he had become more expressive with her. He finally realized that he had a group to

rely on, he had Zena to rely on. However, he only truly opened up to her, he only had

expectations from her, and the group was just the most authentic and enjoyable to be around. He

realized that he was naturally interacting with people in the group and made more close friends.
He was content with his parents not letting him go abroad and realized that he was destined to be

here. Because he was so observant, he understood the effort and determination Zena put to get to

where they were but to this day, he never understood why she did what she did but he was

grateful for her because mentally and academically he was doing much better than he ever

thought he would.

A Home for Gen-Z

A place close to our hearts that fills tremendous joy and happiness, which most Lahori’s have

heard of if not visited, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf or mostly known as “CBTL”. This place

doesn’t just hold significance for me but for the most of my friends. It’s a place for everyone.

Every time you visit the place, you can see a long line on the ground floor of people waiting to

place an order of their favorite and refreshing coffee or dessert. As you go up on the second

floor, you can usually see meetings being held or some old friends catching up over a cup of

coffee and enjoying the amazing view of the sun and greenery of DHA. The third floor I feel like

is the most useless floor since it’s only used when there’s no table available on the rooftop. The

rooftop was the hype and the main attraction to visit the coffee shop. It’s just a basic rooftop with

some tables and a few rotating fans but the view is very calming and peaceful.

CBTL displayed the two sides of Lahore where in the front is the rich and elite class with

beautiful houses and an amazing infrastructure while the back shows a different side of Lahore

that includes the ring road and small old houses. This shows the types of communities that

coexist in Lahore, and it made me realize how behind everything there could be different realities
that we must always try to understand and search. Moreover, this place has its own significance

to Lahore as every roundabout has its own name for example, Wateen Chowk, Lalik Chowk but

no one calls the Chowk close to Coffee Bean by its actual name rather it’s called “CBTL wala

chowk”. Hence, it becomes the best drop off and pick up spot for the Gen Z in Lahore phase 5.

Despite it being just a coffee shop where people go to either to get a cup of coffee to freshen up

or catch up, for me it held a great significance because of the memories attached to this place and

the things it reminded us of. Every single time us friends would visit the coffee shop, the aroma

of freshly brewed coffee wafted through the air bringing back all the good time spent at that

place. From bunking classes during our a levels just to chill on its rooftop, to cycling all the way

from our homes to CBTL which was at least a 10km journey just for a cup of coffee during the

covid pandemic. This place has always been there for us and helped us all reconnect. Most of our

friends had changed schools during a levels and they were all busy with their own lives, but this

coffee shop became a meeting place where we could catch up and take a breather from our hectic

lives. It was a place that you could visit even if you had no company because our entire friends

group knew that we’d end up bumping into someone we know because it was a hotspot not just

for us but like most of the Gen Z. A thing we all agreed on that was peculiar about CBTL was

that we’ve been coming to this place since the past 4-5 years and never did we get to experience

its elevator functional. We would always have take the stairs and ended up with our legs aching

trying to reach the 5th floor. You could also always find a couple at this place trying not to get

spotted whilst being at one of the mainstream places of Lahore.

This coffee shop has witnessed many important moments in our lives. It shared stories of our

travels, our dreams, and our fears. And through it all, this place provided a safe space for us to

gather. As time went on, most of us all went our separate ways. A few of us got busy with our

own lives, some moved to different countries, and a few pursued their passions. But the

memories we made at the coffee shop was an indication to the power of our friendship and the

importance of the reminiscence created in the simplest of places remained embedded in our

hearts and minds forever.

Wrong Move

I being a car enthusiast knew everything about cars and loved driving at high speeds. It was a

usual weekend midnight, 5am empty streets, when I reached Phase 6 boulevard, my inner racer

woke up and made me push the car to its full extent, the RPM accelerated from 1100 rpm to

6000 rpm, the torque of the car pulling me against the seat, I could feel the adrenaline rushing

through my veins, when I suddenly felt like I saw my friend, Hammad who passed away a few

years back, he was flying right by the car in the air. I kept staring at him and lost my focus of the

track and when I took my eyes back on the road, the car was headed for the sidewalk, and it was

too late.

The car jumped in the air and flipped a few times until it stopped next to a tree. When I gained

consciousness, my phone was nowhere to be found. Unable to recall properly as I felt dizzy,

seemed that a strange man on a bike stopped by while I was unconscious and took my

belongings. I tried getting out of the car but was unable to do so since the car was upside down
and my seatbelt was stuck. A while later, a family was crossing by and saw the car in a miserable

condition, so they decided to stop by. They called me an ambulance and took me to the hospital.

The strong painkillers given to me at the hospital, put me to a long sleep. When gained

consciousness, I was in the emergency ward at National Hospital, my tests showed a blood

intoxication. I looked around and saw my phone on the bed assisting table of the neighboring

patient who had been in a hit and run accident a few miles ahead from me. I had crashed because

I was intoxicated and the biker had crashed because he instead of helping me out, stole my

belongings and ran away. While disappearing, he smashed into a car and injured himself.

A Sigh of Relief

One day when I returned from the school, I felt a weird pain in my back like something was

stuck between my spine. I thought maybe it could be due to sleeping with the wrong posture

which I usually do or maybe the pain is because our school chairs are extremely uncomfortable. I

did not pay much attention to it. After a few days, it felt like the pain has worsened. It became

harder for me to breathe as I felt a weird sensation in my spine which made me uncomfortable

and breathing just irritated my back. I went to my mother and told her about it. She blamed it on

my excessive use of cell phones and so I remained quiet as I did not want her to confiscate my

cellphone. I did not realize this at the moment but staying quiet was the worst decision that I had

taken. It did nothing but worsened the issue.

A while later, my father started noticing that I’ve been walking in a weird way. He told me about

it, however I did not feel like anything was wrong with my walking style but he was concerned

about it and kept on questioning. I told him that ive had a weird back pain since some time now

and maybe that is the reason why I’ve been walking this way. He took me to the hospital in the

area to get a general checkup and the doctor told me to get a X-ray done. I thought it was nothing

and my father’s just overreacting since he gets really concerned when he feels like the health

might be in danger. We got the scans done and revisited the doctor a day later and that changed

everything.

“This is serious. Your son has a spine abnormality called ‘scoliosis’ due to which there’s a bend

in his spine that is about 55 degrees curved which is concerning and he might need a surgery. “,

said the doctor. My legs started to tremble, and everything seemed unreal. For someone who has

never gotten a single stitch, hearing the word ‘surgery’ was a tremendous shock. I became really

terrified and did not know what to do. We came home, told everyone about it and decided to

consult a few more doctors before we take any decisions. I was aching all over. Feeling feverish,

I relaxed in bed and had no appetite. My father consulted a few more doctors and every one of

them told us that the only solution to fixing this is a surgery. I had no other option but to get it

done. My father did not want to waste any time, so we took the first appointment we got for the

surgery and started preparing for it. After a point I just got frustrated and wanted to be done with

it and get rid of the fear of this surgery that haunts me during the day and night.

Then came the day of the surgery. I was really scared but my parents gave me a hug and told me

that everything’s going to be alright and that I should stay strong. It gave me a light of hope.

They took me to the operation theater, and I don’t remember anything after that since the
anesthesia really had an effect. I got the surgery done and all my fears just vanished, and I was

glad that this was dealt with before it got any worse. Obviously, there were moments where I got

annoyed because of the pain due to the surgery but more than I just wanted it to be over now so I

could home, lie down on my bed and have a night of a good peaceful sleep.

Power of Decisions

Since I was a kid, I was passionate about table tennis. It was something that meant a lot to me

since I practiced for it almost my entire life. Also, my father played table tennis on a national

level so I wanted to live up to his expectations and he might not have said it out loud, but I knew

he wanted me to play it on national level too if not internationally. After years of hard work and

practice, I finally got chosen for the Inter Pakistan National Table Tennis Competition and it

meant a lot to me. I started practicing day and night for it because all I could think of was

winning that competition and let the years of hard work pay off.

The day of the tournament, I was one of the kids who qualified for the quarter finals and that rose

the anxiety. There were many struggles, and the opponents were good but I still somehow

managed to get to the quarter finals. The quarter finals was really tough. I managed to get win

with a lead of just a point. A single point. It was a close call. The next day was my semifinal and

the finals after that if I managed to clear through the semifinals. Besides celebrating the victory, I

went back home early to get rest as I wanted to show my full potential for the semifinals. I got

home and as I was on my way upstairs to my room, I tripped and fell. My left arm was hurt, and
I was not able to move it. At that moment, all I could think about was my tournament and how I

could not let this injury let my dream unfulfilled. I rushed to the doctor with my father and

luckily, they told me it’s just a sprain but would take time to heal. Time is what I didn’t have. I

went back home and talked to my father. He told me that I shouldn’t be playing tomorrow and

that its okay if I cannot complete the tournament, but I could not let this happen. I argued and

convinced him to let me try my best. I went to sleep. The next morning, I woke up and checked

my arm and it felt better. The pain was less but it was still there. There was a fear that it might

make it harder for me to play but I was still determined. I went to the sports complex and when I

saw my friends and family cheering, it gave me a light of hope. I could not give up, I knew it.

The match started and it was a good start. After the first six points, my arm started to ache, and it

was a lot. I could not bear it anymore. I started losing hope. My coach called a break and asked if

I was doing alright. He told me to give it my best and even if I win or lose, they’re all still proud

of me. I managed to keep my arm still and play. Miraculously, I have no idea how, but I still

managed to win and let the years of hard work pay off. If I did not win this or would’ve let this

injury make me give up on my dream, I would have been shattered and might not have recovered

from it but I am glad I thought wisely.

The Pandemic

The Covid pandemic was nothing but a tragedy which led to the loss of thousands of lives. Not

only did it just result in the loss of many lives, but it also drastically changed the lives of millions

of people all over the world. There were some people who were lucky enough to protect

themselves and their loved ones from the deadly virus, however it affected their lives in many
ways too. In order to protect themselves, people stayed home for months which led to anxiety

and depression. Most of the businesses also got shut down which led to unemployment of many

people leaving them hopeless and thriving. For some people, the pandemic had a great influence

too as it helped families reunite, stay together and catch up with all that they had missed due to

their work obligations or a fast lifestyle.

I was one of the blessed ones to see their friends and family safe from this pandemic, but the

death of a very close friend’s father made me realize how hard this was for a few people. As hard

as it is to lose your father, what’s even worse is having the guilt of not being able to do enough to

ensure the health of your own father. During the pandemic, most of the hospitals in Lahore were

full and did not have enough ventilators to facilitate everyone so my friend decided to treat his

father who got affected by covid at home but over time his symptoms worsened and affected him

badly. It was so bad that he could not even breathe so they took him to the hospital but

unfortunately, they were unable to find a free ventilator and they did, it was just too late.

The guilt, loss of his father and being away from his friends and family due to the pandemic

made it very hard for him to get over his depression and mourn in peace. Many people after the

death of their loved ones require affection and love from the people, they are close with or

someone to talk to but he was unable to. This was not just the story of one person but many

people who had to go through the death of their loved ones. I cannot feel what they felt or how

lonely they must have been, but I could never forget the condition of my friend after the death of

his father and how this tragedy changed his life.

 Wrong Pursuit

A few years back, laptops were considered a luxurious item since they were newly introduced on

the market, but over the years, this luxury has become a need. Ashraf worked as a driver in

Karachi and lived in a small servant's quarter in the house of his occupation. His family lived in

Sargodha and forced him to work in the big city to earn a better income. Ashraf’s boss, whom he

calls ‘Fahad bhai’, was very sweet to him and treated him like family. One day, he bought Ashraf

a laptop so he can enjoy watching videos or shows in his free time. Having never owned a laptop

before, he was overjoyed when he got one. After that, Fahad bhai introduced him to the

innovation of a thing called WIFI and the Internet, which surprised Ashraf since this facility was

not available in his village.

Ashraf tried out the laptop in his free time and surprisingly he learned how to browse videos

through YouTube and use what’s app to text his boss without any charges on the laptop. One

day, he was assigned to stay home with the boss's son, Abbas. Abbas was busy playing his

favorite online game PUBG at the time on his phone. Ashraf was fascinated by the game and

carefully observed him. He then asked Abbas to install the game on his laptop because he wanted

to play it, but it was not possible to download the game on his laptop and he had to get a

cellphone in order to enjoy playing the game. It didn't take long before Ashraf was pulling

money out of his paycheck and saving it on buying a smartphone for himself. He managed to do

this with the help of Fahad bhai’s eldest son and grandmother. They helped him out of him

generosity. He immediately stopped sending his salary home and told his parents that he was

saving for the future. But he preferred to use the money to buy his new smartphone. One day his
father called and told him that his sister had suffered a heart attack. His father asked him to send

his savings as he needed them for his sister's treatment, but he had no money because he spent it

all on getting the phone.

Poems

A Wonderful Girl

There is a girl in the class

Called Juliet to the Romeo

Don’t like her earing

But the heart still burnt

This is love or war

There was a whisper from within

The heart pulled in

Another heart break was foreseen

But still wanted to rush in

A beauty like no other

Had my heart wanting more

Though as time went by

Distance start to increase

Hearts grew apart and the lesson of the mind is remembered

Fool me once, shame on you

Fool me twice, shame on me

 Upcoming Promises

The urge to work

Don’t know where I got it from

Maybe my dad

Maybe my dada

But I plan

I plan and plan

To make my parents happy

To make my family happy

To get my mom years with my dad back

To get my dad

Back in lahore

To work with cousins

To work with friends

But mainly

To work

To work for my own future family

But most importantly

For my parents

Who sacrificed

For me,
My siblings

Just so we could have a better life

And I have to repay them

Grandfather

Watch on his hand swiss made

Hearing aid in his ear barely functional

A long kameez with white cap he wore

Sat on a chair as dark as the surly blackthorn

A wooden textured cane with a silver handle always next to him

The wall behind him filled with memories of his children

He would sing to the songs of Rafi and Kishore

Get his body massaged every morning

Enjoyed his sun bath along with the daily newspaper

Loved the boots sent by his grandson from the states

Never did he ever plan to shave off his moustache

Spent all his life hating the fast food culture

Alag Asmaan By Anuv Jain

No one knows if we meet again

So stay here for a moment

Like the ignited engines of these cars

Your heart is also pounding

So what if we distance apart

I am the traveler of your heart

So smile for me once more

And look into my eyes

I may capture our every moment

And every word that you say

You are vanishing away

Like mountains from a window

They look tiny

But once in front, they are enormous

Standing so far away

To them our lives too

Look small like the butterflies

But actually are vibrant

And they don’t know

The empty house of yours

With echos of dangling keys

It scares you but don’t be terrified

I am right next to you

The sky seems different

The earth too seems far

But whenever we meet again

You will learn

I’m not very different but the same

Some Buildings Build Our Life

The red brick building

Taught us beyond subjects

Taught us life

Taught us loyalty

How to be loyal to the ones closest to you

How to stick with the right people

Even if the world is against them

Forever grateful to that school

And that part of my life

As it led me to the friends I call my brothers

The friends I would put before myself

The friends I would die for

The friends I would prioritise

Because as taught by my school

Nothing compares to loyalty

 Where It All Happened

In defence of Lahore

There’s a spot

A place we love

It’s the CBTL

Its ambiance is cozy and inviting

A perfect setting for conversations exciting

The aroma of coffee and freshly baked bread

Makes it hard for anyone to resist

Surrounded by schools and universities

CBTL’s become a hub

The crowd it draw is unique

From students to professionals, it’s a place to meet

For its influence on the culture

Its given birth to a market

For me it’s a spot that

Holds dear memories and laughter

With my friends I’d find myself there

Bunk classes and hide there

Sit for hours and relax

Making memories we knew would never end

It’s a place to belong

A spot that’s become a part of our daily song

 The OG’s

Dani, smoll, mair, balla

The ones who keep me entertained

The core group

The ones who make Lahore enjoyable

Most are gone abroad now

Leaving Lahore to be a boring place

But Dani and I

Wait for them to get back,

Wait till the gang reunites

Till “Good Stuff” reunites

We’ll relive our school memories

Cruising aimlessly around DHA

Making new memories

Talking about the future

How we can invest together

If we end up being that rich

We’re all still the same when we meet

All go or no one goes rule remains

The loyalty remains

 Smash The Saviour

Never been a fan of beef

In burgers or nehari

But the beef burgers at smash

Those are the best ones

Whenever I get cash

Be it eidi or just a little extra

I always count how many smash burgers I can have

Even if I miss out on opportunities

Like not getting permission for a trip

I look at the positive side

Like a glass half full

That I’ll be more satisfied

By eating smash burgers

With the same cash

Winter nights

After university

The gang outside smash

Is the best time