Description
My father used to say we do not own things; rather, they own us. We are merely their custodians for some time. As a young boy, I often heard him say that just like humans, everything in the universe has a soul and consciousness. Even things crafted and shaped by human hands acquire consciousness—just like living beings. To him, this phenomenon applied to machines such as cars and structures such as buildings and houses. This consciousness improves, amplifies, echoes, and resonates with the human connection. The longer the connection endures, the stronger the bond. It even interacts, reacts, and acquires emotions such as joy, happiness, pain, gloom, and grief. They laugh, weep, and cry. But this mostly remains one-sided. Humans, with their endowed and acquired characteristics, are still incapable of establishing a tangible bond, but that doesn’t mean they don’t speak, cry, or laugh with you. However, one with an inner eye can always feel the vibrations. Yes, you can conceive, hear, and even see them lamenting, crying, or laughing.
This book encapsulates such bizarre stories of the ‘souls’ that we, entangled in our own social problems and the perpetual race for money, power, influence, and status, hardly ever notice. But these souls do exist and play a significant role in our lives. These are the 'Bricked Souls'.
About the Author
Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad ArslanQadeer (Retired) was commissioned in an armour regiment of the Pakistan army in 1988. Emerging from a family steeped in literary traditions he embarked on a diverse writing journey, exploring travelogues, historical narratives, and articles on foreign affairs in numerous English dailies and journals since 2003. A regular contributor to esteemed publications such as The Nation, South Asia, and Hilal magazines, his literary footprint spans across various genres. This is his second collection of short stories that showcases his profound insights. His first book, By the Autumn Trees, was published in 2019. A compilation of his selected works translated into Urdu was released in Karachi.
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