Childhood memories, younger brothers playing marbles

Assalamu Alaikum, how are you all? I hope you are all doing well. I am also doing well by the grace of Allah. Today I am going to share with you a childhood memory, a marble game.

This afternoon, I stopped to watch my younger brothers playing marbles in the open space next to my house. I stood there for a long time and watched them play, and to be honest, I really liked the scene. In this day and age, where young children spend all day with their mobile phones or computers, seeing these teenagers playing on the ground and dusting themselves like this made my heart feel good. Seeing their genuine joy reminded me of my own childhood.

As I stood and watched them play, I noticed how deep their attention was. One of them was kneeling on the ground and carefully aiming the marble with his fingertips, while the others watched with bated breath—to see if the marble hit the right spot or not. Whenever the target was missed, their screams and laughter seemed to fill the entire area. The pure joy that is in this game cannot be found in any expensive video game. A long time has passed since I watched their fighting and winning and losing battles.

This simple village environment, the mud yard and the little brothers' playfulness next to the haystacks created a wonderful atmosphere. Playing marbles is a very old tradition of ours, which has almost disappeared from the city now. But I found peace in seeing this pulse of life still alive here. After standing for a long time and sharing their joy, I felt that this is what childhood should be like—mixing with the mud and being with friends. These simple moments are the best achievements in life. May this laughter and play of the little brothers remain like this forever.