Chapter 9
"Back Home, Back to Trouble"
The first rays of dawn had not yet appeared, but the presence of the full moon had spread a soft, golden glow across the surroundings. From different places, the sound of the Adhan echoed throughout Peshawar, as though its beautiful call made every believing heart long to bow before its Creator.
At exactly 3:30 in the morning, Driver Shahab's eyes opened as the name of Allah was being raised in the Adhan. He immediately thanked God for giving him another chance at life after coming so close to death, and for choosing him among countless people to stand in prayer before Him.
Driver Shahab remained seated quietly for a while, lost in thought. Then he got up and began waking Kato, Lulu, Kiwi, the host's children, and his friend.
Once everyone was awake, they went to a nearby mosque. There, they offered the Fajr prayer with complete devotion and humility. Afterward, they prayed for themselves and for their loved ones before returning to Driver Shahab's friend's sitting room.
A faint light had begun to appear in the sky, signaling that the sun would soon rise. A slight chill lingered in the morning air.
Everyone sat together around the dastarkhwan ( Meal spread) and had breakfast. Afterward, they hugged Driver Shahab's friend and his children and asked permission to leave.
Driver Shahab's friend and his two children repeatedly asked their guests to stay a little longer, but they eventually could not convince them.
Driver Shahab then took his seat behind the steering wheel of the Datsun, while Jahangir sat beside him. Behind them, Kato, Kaku, and Kiwi stood in the back of the vehicle.
Before they left, Driver Shahab's friend lovingly gave all of them beautiful traditional Peshawari shawls and Peshawari chappals.
Kato, Lulu, and Kiwi became extremely happy when they saw the shawls and Peshawari chappals.
And so, their farewell journey from Peshawar finally began.
Kato, Lulu, and Kiwi remained standing in the back of the Datsun all the way until they reached Swabi. They kept looking around at everything along the road, enjoying the journey immensely.
After nearly two hours of traveling, they finally reached their village.
A short distance before entering the village, Driver Shahab stopped and dropped everyone off. After saying goodbye to them, Driver Shahab headed toward his own village, while Jahangir and the three children started walking toward theirs.
At around eight o'clock, after walking for another five to ten minutes, they finally entered the village.
Kato's father, Akbar, and Kiwi's uncle, the Principal, were standing there waiting for them. The moment the two men saw them, they immediately came toward them.
Kato's father angrily said,
"You little rascal! So you've finally come back! You were enjoying yourselves in Peshawar while we were here turning the entire village upside down looking for you useless children!"
As soon as Akbar finished speaking, the Principal angrily said,
"Kiwi is also becoming just like the two of you useless boys! Do you have any idea what everyone here has been going through because of you?"
"We had announcements made in the mosques asking people to search for you. We even asked the mosque imam to make announcements, and then we searched the entire village and the areas outside the village with all the children and adults. But there wasn't a single clue about where you had gone."
"It was only because Jahangir called us that we finally found out where you were..."
Jahangir quickly explained,
"I only found out about these three after reaching Mardan. They were secretly sitting in the Datsun. As soon as I saw them, I scolded them properly, and then I called the Principal and informed him."
Kato, Lulu, and Kiwi were already extremely tired, and they were becoming even more exhausted from listening to everyone scolding them.
So Kato quickly said,
"Principal Sir, we're all really tired. Tomorrow morning, we'll become rooster's as punishment at school, but please let us go home now."
As soon as he heard this, Kato's father walked over to him, grabbed him by the ear, and said,
"You're definitely going to become a rooster, but for now, come home. Let your mother and grandmother see what you've gotten yourself into so that they can finally have some peace of mind."
And with that, he grabbed Kato by the ear and took him home.
Meanwhile, the Principal did not say anything to Kiwi. He simply took him by the hand and quietly led him home.
On the other hand, as soon as Lulu reached home and stepped inside, his mother came running toward him with tears in her eyes. She hugged Lulu tightly and said,
"My son, where had you gone?"
Meanwhile, Lulu's father was still extremely angry.
Lulu's mother had prepared some delicious kheer for Lulu and his father. Soon, the three of them sat together and happily ate the sweet dish.
On the other side, the moment Kato entered his home, his mother hugged him and scolded him at the same time.
His grandmother, however, did nothing except shower him with affection.
She told Kato to go to his room and sleep.
Kato was completely exhausted, so after meeting his family, he went to sleep.
...
(The Next Morning)
Morning came, Kato and Lulu were walking to school together.
Lulu asked,
"Hey, Kato, did you get scolded at home yesterday?"
Kato replied,
"Yes. Both my mother and father scolded me, but Grandma supported me as always. She didn't scold me at all."
"What about you, Lulu? Did anyone scold you?"
Lulu replied,
"Dad had already taken out all his anger on me in Mardan, while Mom didn't scold me yesterday. Instead, she hugged me and then made delicious kheer for me with her own hands."
Kato sighed.
"I wonder what is going to happen at school now."
Then Lulu looked around and asked,
"Hey, where's Kiwi? Isn't he coming to school today?"
Kato looked at him as if he had forgotten something obvious.
"Have you forgotten? He goes to school with the Principal on his bicycle."
Lulu smiled.
"Oh, right! We stayed in Peshawar for only two days, and we've already forgotten everything!"
Kato grinned.
"Whatever happens, I had a lot of fun."
"Me too," Lulu replied.
...
A little while later, Kato and Lulu finally reached school.
As usual, they were late again.
Their teacher immediately punished both of them by making them stand like rooster.
After standing in that position for a while, Kato said,
"Actually, I wasn't in the mood to do any work today anyway, so I kind of like being made to stand like a rooster."
Lulu nodded.
"Yeah, my friend. You're absolutely right."
A short while later, on the Principal's instructions, some older students began going from classroom to classroom throughout the school, announcing something.
Soon, they reached the classroom where Kato and Lulu were being punished outside.
When the older boys saw them, they laughed.
One of them said,
"I bet you two had a great time in Peshawar."
Lulu immediately replied,
"Yeah, we had a lot of fun."
Hearing this, the two older boys laughed again before entering the classroom.
Kato angrily looked at Lulu.
"You idiot! They were making fun of us!"
Lulu looked confused.
"But... what does that mean?"
Kato became even more annoyed.
"Are you seriously asking what that means? They were mocking us!"
Lulu began to reply,
"But..."
Kato quickly interrupted him.
"Shhh! Listen to what they're saying."
Inside the classroom, the two older boys announced,
"The Principal has announced that there will be a program at the school one week from now. During the program, awards will be given to the students who have passed this year's examinations."
"In addition, if anyone wants to participate in the program, they should give their name to their teacher and also tell them what they are going to perform on stage."
After giving the announcement and taking permission from the teacher, the two boys left and went to inform the other classes.
Lulu turned toward Kato and asked,
"Kato, do you think we'll receive any awards?"
Kato shook his head.
"I don't think so. Considering the way we attempted our exams, even our teacher probably couldn't understand what we had written."
Then Kato smiled.
"It'll be enough if we both just pass."
The two boys smiled at each other.
After a moment, Kato said,
"Even if we don't receive an award for our exam results, those boys said that whoever gives a good performance during the program will also receive an award."
"So, to win that award, we're going to give it everything we've got!"
Lulu looked thoughtful.
"That's all well and good, but what are we going to perform in the program? We need to choose something that can actually help us win that award."
Kato thought for a moment.
"For that, we're going to have to think of something really amazing."
Afterward, the two boys went back into the classroom when their teacher told them to sit down.
After a few classes, the break finally began.
Kato, Lulu, and Kiwi went together and sat beneath the shade of a large tree.
Lulu looked at Kiwi and asked,
"By the way, Kiwi, you must know what we can participate in during the school program."
Kiwi nodded.
"There are many things we can participate in, such as speeches."
Kato immediately shook his head.
"That's not for us. Tell us something else."
Kiwi thought for a moment.
"Songs, national songs, Naat, poems, and even poetry."
The moment Kato heard the word poetry, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Yes! Poetry! Lulu, we'll both perform poetry!"
Lulu immediately looked worried.
"But, Kato, we don't even know how to write our names properly on an exam paper. How are we supposed to write poetry?"
Kato looked at him with great interest.
"It seems you've forgotten about one of the greatest poets in our village."
Lulu blinked.
"Oh? Who?"
Kato gave him an exasperated look.
"Oh, you truly are Mr. Useless!"
Kiwi interrupted them.
"He doesn't write even a single word for anyone without getting paid."
Then Kiwi leaned closer and said,
"If you ask me, I have an idea that could help us win the award and also make us famous throughout the entire village."
Lulu immediately replied,
"We were already famous when announcements about our names were being made in the mosques!"
Kiwi rolled his eyes.
"You idiot! That's not the kind of fame I'm talking about. That was humiliation!"
"Those announcements were made because we had gone missing, while we were actually in Peshawar!"
Kato looked at Kiwi curiously.
"Okay, Kiwi. Tell us what your idea is."
Kiwi smiled.
"Then listen carefully."
"We'll write the poetry ourselves. All three of us will work together, and then we will..."
Kiwi continued whispering his plan to them.
Kato listened carefully and became extremely excited as Kiwi explained everything.
However, Lulu looked doubtful.
"But how are we supposed to write poetry ourselves?"
Kiwi replied,
"The three of us will come up with something together. We'll manage somehow."
"But remember one thing—no one can find out about this."
"Kato, today you should ask Teacher to write all three of our names down for the program."
"And make sure you tell him that the three of us will perform at the very end."
"Is that clear?"
After hearing Kiwi's plan, both Kato and Lulu finally felt satisfied and reassured.