The First Step: Part 1

 Little Shad was standing outside the big iron gate to his house for the first time in his life, at age four. His little fingers held onto the bars and his eyes seemed to be standing at the doorstep of a new world.

He'd known only these four walls, where he could hear all of his familiar sounds. The sound of his mother calling him, the whir of the fan and the clinking of their eating utensils. That's all he knew. However, today, outside the gate, he could hear something different.

It was all new to him: the roar of cars on the road, the giggling of children, further away, the call of the vegetable man, “Buy potatoes!” He looked at her with astonishment. With every sound, it felt as though his heart skipped a beat.

Slowly, he pushed the gate open a little. It was a cool breeze that brushed his face. This was a dream moment for him. He stepped out, stepped out. Then he awoke to the immense and multicolored world.

He spotted the children playing nearby. There was a smile on his face but there was a hesitation in his eyes too. He doubted—was this world ready to accept him?

Then his mother's voice came from behind, "Shad, don't go too far.

He stopped for a split second and then turned around again, smiling. He was starting to realize that the story outside the walls of home was a different one, and one that he would need to live.

Today, Shad didn't just come face-to-face with the outside world for the first time, he also found a new courage in himself.

By : Danish 

The story will continue…