ANT IN A BOX by Alifiyah Ghadiyali

“Responsibility finds a way, irresponsibility makes excuses” – Gene Bedly

On a breezy, windy spring day, the just graduated 18-year-old Aliza was looking for an extraordinary job. That ambitious, determined and enthusiastic girl of Egypt wandered in the busy streets of Dubai. All through the hot afternoon sun, blazing on Aliza she finally stumbled upon the door steps of ‘PET CARE’ that had a help wanted sign and decided to risk her love for weird and take a simple job to take care of a pet.

Chimes blew by the wind when Aliza opened the door of the small, cozy place that smelled like water lilies. An old man sat behind the counter dozing off into dreamland. “Excuse me, I’d like to work here”, Aliza said. “Ah! Come in my dear, but you need to prove you are worthy of this job.” The old man replied in a cracked and shaky voice.

He ducks under the bar, reaches out to a small, dusted wooden box, and hand it over to Aliza. “Take care of this box and what is inside of it and come back to me within a week.” Aliza was slightly disappointed as she needed the money urgently, but it was weird so she took it and skipped her way out.

Sitting down on her hard and crummy bed with blue blanket, Aliza opens the box only to see some sand and an ant that looked sick and tired. “What am I suppose to do with an ant!” Aliza muttered to herself. But being Aliza she decides to feed and take care of that ant and see what the old man meant.

3 long days later when she saw the ant it had turned bright red in color and doubled twice in size since the last time Aliza fed her. The ant looked jumpy and it sprinted out of the box and through the window. Aliza also sprinted out in search for the ant. After trying the whole day to search the ant, Aliza gave up and went to the old man.

“You’re early dear!” the old man said as soon as she entered the shop. Aliza took a deep breath and told the old man the entire story of her feeding the ant properly and the ant jumping out and how Aliza tried to search for it yet couldn’t find it.

“Well my dear, you have shown me you are a responsible individual. The ant that I gave you was no ordinary ant but the most jumpy creature that had fallen sick. And to know that you took care of it and it became healthy again I can tell you will handle all the animals carefully and like your own.” The old man said and gave Aliza the job.