Human life is like an endless battle. And perhaps, someone has purposely created this battle so that humans remain trapped in it — to be played with and controlled. The proof of this battle lies within every human: the two forces that live inside us — emotions and mind. From the very beginning to the very end, they fight. Sometimes one wins, leaving the other restless for revenge. Then the tables turn, and the first one loses its peace, gathering strength to strike back. This fight only ends with death.
One day, I came home and felt like going for a walk. I put down my bag and stepped outside. I had barely taken a few steps when I felt my emotions wanting to say something to me. But I ignored them and kept walking. My silence annoyed them, and in anger they said, “Don’t you realize I want to talk to you?”
I asked, “What now? What news have you brought?”
They stayed silent for a moment, but when I smiled, they decided it was the right time to speak. Then, with a sly tone, they said, “Do you know that today, I have given your heart to someone?”
Startled, I placed my hand on my chest — it was indeed empty. I sighed deeply. At that moment, the mind also found out and became furious. The mind grabbed the emotions by the collar and demanded answers:
“Where is my heart? To whom have you given it? What price did you get for it?”
The emotions ignored the questions. So the mind attacked, and the two began to fight. My eyes could not bear the sight, so they poured out tears like heavy rain. But even this flood could not cool the volcano burning between them. I stood there, nothing more than a helpless spectator.
This war felt harsher than any world war — for those end after years, but this was like a civil war that lasts a lifetime, robbing me of peace. Eventually, both grew tired of fighting, and the mind decided to make peace by bringing in the rare person who was at the center of it all — he/she who had bought the heart.
Soon, that person entered the battlefield. From their words, the emotions realized that everything promised during the deal had been a lie. They had been deceived and had sold their precious heart to this person. Yet, the emotions refused to admit their mistake, still clinging to the sweet words that had once won them over. The mind stayed silent for a while, then asked that person to return the heart. But how could they return something that no longer existed? They had already fed it to the dogs.
The mind trembled, the emotions wilted, and their hatred for each other deepened. Months turned into years. Eventually, the emotions accepted that they had been wrong — but by then, all they had left was disappointment. The final wound came when he/she who had bought the heart became friends with the mind.
The emotions, though still alive, became nothing more than a breathing corpse. That person and the mind began mocking them, and though the emotions watched in despair, their pride and stubbornness kept them from bending. The mind, feeling a flicker of pity, tried to guide them back many times, but they refused, believing that in matters of the heart, profit and loss mean nothing.
In this war, their legs were cut off, yet they still would not surrender. My body weakened, my hair turned white, my skin grew pale. Sometimes I slept under the heavy weight of worry. One afternoon, as I napped, a terrible sound woke me — the mind had strangled the emotions, and the Imam was preparing for the funeral.
I rushed to the funeral. When I saw the poor emotions’ face, dry tears still glistening with hopelessness, I stood frozen. Then, they covered the face with a cloth and carried the body away to be buried. I could not let the killer go free. I dragged the mind to the gallows. The mind begged for mercy, but I ignored it and placed the rope around its neck.
Just seconds before the mind’s death, the door opened — and in came he/she who had bought the heart and ruined it. The mind looked at them, lips trembling, voice weak, and finally said:
“One day your cruelty will take my life. Think for a moment — what does loyalty truly mean?”
Hearing this, tears rolled down that person’s cheeks. Shaking their head in regret, they said, “If only I could do something.” But there was nothing left to do except close the mind’s eyes and quietly walk away.
Write By Muzamil Ahmed
