Short Stories (Waseem)

Echoes and Sketches" follows Shahnawaz, a seventeen-year-old qawali singer and painter from Lahore, as he journeys to Gilgit in search of silence, inspiration, and a place to belong. With a sketchbook in one hand and a harmonium in the other, he captures the soul of Pakistan-its people, its music, its aching beauty. His verses ripple through valleys, stirring hearts and opening doors he never imagined. After a breakthrough performance at a cultural festival, Shahnawaz earns enough to support his mother and glimpse a future beyond borders. Venice shimmers in his dreams, not as escape, but as arrival. This is the story of a boy learning to trust his voice, and of art becoming a prayer for something more. Amna Waseem is a multi‑genre author, creative entrepreneur, and MPhil scholar in Political Science at Kinnaird College for Women. With over forty published eBooks, she writes across children's and adult fiction as well as educational non‑fiction, blending imaginative storytelling with accessible insights.Her short story The Widow and the Whispering Cup is part of the digital eBook collection of the New York Public Library, while her coloring book is included in the Dubai Public Library. These international placements highlight her growing global presence and the cultural resonance of her work.Away from her desk, she embraces simple living-finding inspiration in quiet mornings with coffee and the calm of sunlit garden corners.

Gulab's Longing is a poetic tale set in the quiet vastness of the Cholistan Desert, where silence speaks louder than words and longing becomes a sacred companion. Gulab, a young girl burdened by an unnamed sadness, searches for meaning in the dry winds, the moon's silence, and the stillness of a shrine. Her world shifts when she meets Shams-a mysterious traveler whose presence stirs something dormant within her. But when he vanishes without a word, Gulab is left with only his memory and the echo of his wisdom.As she returns to the shrine and begins to rebuild her life, Gulab discovers that longing is not a void, but a source of strength. Through quiet transformation, reconnection with her family, and the resilience of her spirit, she learns to live with the ache-and finds beauty in its persistence.A lyrical meditation on solitude, emotional growth, and the sacredness of yearning, this is a story of desert winds, moonlit prayers, and the kind of love that leaves you changed, even in its absence. Amna Waseem is a multi‑genre author, creative entrepreneur, and MPhil scholar in Political Science at Kinnaird College for Women. With over forty published eBooks, she writes across children's and adult fiction as well as educational non‑fiction, blending imaginative storytelling with accessible insights.Her short story The Widow and the Whispering Cup is part of the digital eBook collection of the New York Public Library, while her coloring book is included in the Dubai Public Library. These international placements highlight her growing global presence and the cultural resonance of her work.Away from her desk, she embraces simple living-finding inspiration in quiet mornings with coffee and the calm of sunlit garden corners.