Islamabad nights

Sept. 26

If someone asked me what we do for fun here in Pakistan, what would I say? The pace of life is entirely different than back home.

Evenings, we sit on the roof and watch the rain. We watch the storm clouds gather in the sky, observe the lightning, wait for the thunder and try to determine how far way the storm is. Our rooftop seats are piled up bricks, four bricks to a seat, just the right height for tea and conversation.

We watch the moon is all its phases of brightness, shining in its glory as it waxes, beaming its holy rays in our direction. We marvel at its halo when masked by the clouds.

An hour before sunset, we bring the charpoy, small table and chair outside to the veranda to enjoy the cooling air. We catch a breeze or two and watch the kites launch from neighboring rooftops, enjoying their dips and rises.

If a storm develops, we move the furniture closer to the house, or back inside, and watch the rain soak the new grass we are struggling to grow. We watch the water flow from the drainpipes and cascade as a waterfall down the steps that lead to the roof.

In the morning, just after fajr, it’s the birds’ playtime. We watch them swoop down on our grass, picking up whatever scraps they might find. We witness their morning conferences on the telephone wires just above our gate. We admire the bird who chooses to stay behind when others fly away. He’s the one who serenades us back to sleep.

We also watch Diana, our adopted street cat. I named her after the Roman goddess who loved to hunt, and hunt she does! She chases and catches frogs and large bugs, then lets them go in a wonderful game of cat and mouse. She amuses us as she holds a creature and bats it with her claws, grasping and releasing it to run for its life, only to be caught and toyed with again. She will only put it in her mouth if challenged by a larger cat, or if she is actually hungry after the milk and scraps we’ve already fed her.

The pace of life is different here in Pakistan. Somehow there is time to unwind, reflect and observe, time to experience the open book of Allah’s universe and offer a prayer of acknowledgement and appreciation.