(Published in The Nation Pakistan)
The young woman looked out of the narrow slit in wall that served as a window in her house. She saw the sun rising over the brick city and the far off fields of wheat and barley, signaling to her to start her day. She stepped out of her brick house and used her favourite earthenware jar to get some water out of the well. The jar had been made by her sister, who had painted pictures of animals and geometrical designs on it. She washed her face and hands, not paying attention to the dirty water flowing into the drain outside the living area. Later, she will go down to the Great Bath before heading towards the temple for the evening prayers.