The House on the Hill

1) The House On The Hill The rain; its heavy drops beating on me like bullets in quick succession; the wind; it is trying to blow me down… will I fall? Or will I remain unbeaten, only to be taken down by those monsters with loud and grating voices; those monsters that spew out foul, black smoke; those monsters that took down my friends below me with their humongous claws? Drip, drip, drip. My roof is leaking again. Soon I’m going to rot away until my legs can no longer sustain my weight and finally, collapse. The storm clouds dissipate suddenly; the sun shines upon me, and the memories of the past flood back into my mind, overwhelming me in their vividness. I can hear the sound of knocking and hammering… Echoes of little feet pattering about me reach me and I smile. The man who built me, Abdul, looks at me with pride in his eyes. Clearly, I am a creation pleasing to his eyes. His wife, Siti, stands beside him with love in her eyes as she surveys me, the home her husband had built for her. Their four kids squeal and yell in delight as they run around and about, excited and eager to see what surprises their father had in store for them. As time passed, they all grew older as I did. The children left me and their parents in this wilderness of trees and hills and found jobs and homes in the city. Only one came back to visit often, that was Ahmad, the youngest son. It was to nobody’s surprise that his parents left me to him, and after they passed on, he came back to stay, this time with his wife, Ling. Together, they refurbished me and moved in. A village started to form around me, around the hill I stood on. Ahmad was made Chief and he was much respected and adored by the villagers. Their happiness increased double fold when Ling gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Mohammed. But their happiness was not to last. I felt it in the air before it even happened. Ahmad would pace the floor anxiously each day, while Ling comforted him. Even little Mohammed would be