A story of a little girl who wished to be an architect and build the big projects
By Saparboyeva Laylo Xajibay qizi
“Mom, when I grow up, I’m going to be an architect. Grand houses will be built based on my projects. You and Dad will live in the most beautiful of those houses…”
“What a blessing, my dear girl. My heart is already filled with joy. May God grant you a long and prosperous life!”
“Mumtoz, my dear, if it were up to me, I’d rather you became a doctor…”
“Dad-aa…”
At that very moment, something crashed violently, and their car shook with a terrifying force…
A truck coming from the opposite direction lost control and collided with Baxtiyor’s car. People immediately rushed to the scene and surrounded the vehicle, which had been crushed from the front.
— “We need to open the car door!”
— “How can we open it? Their bodies are pinned under the metal…”
— “Call an ambulance! Quick, call an ambulance!”
Shakarjon Xo’janiyozova, the chairperson of the regional women’s committee, who passed this road every day in her service car, saw the crowd and, sensing something terrible, immediately got out of her vehicle.
“Qadamboy, call the ambulance right now!” She directed her driver.
She hurriedly made her way through the crowd. Those who recognized the official made way for her.
“What happened? Are there any casualties?” Shakarjon asked, her heart racing with concern.
“Hey, look over here! The woman in the car is saying something.”
“Speak up, we can hear you!” someone shouted, leaning toward the shattered windows.
“My… my… daugh…ter…” the woman whispered before falling silent.
“Oh my God, look! There’s a little girl lying over here!” shouted a woman in a state of shock, pointing to a flowerbed by the roadside.
Half of the crowd rushed in that direction. At that moment, sirens wailed as an ambulance and a police car arrived one after the other.
It was later revealed that the truck driver had fallen asleep at the wheel, causing him to lose control and strike the oncoming “Moskvich.” The husband and wife inside the car tragically passed away at the scene. Their 13-year-old daughter, Mumtoz, had been thrown through the car window during the collision. When the medical workers confirmed that the girl was still alive, Shakarjon felt a small spark of relief in her heart.
“Poor little girl. Thank God, the Almighty spared her young life,” she whispered to herself.
***
“What will become of that girl now? To lose both mother and father in a single day… It’s such a heavy tragedy. Who will give her motherly love now? Who can fill this void?” These restless questions haunted Shakarjon. Staring out the window until dawn, she skipped breakfast and headed straight to the hospital where the girl was being treated.
The parents had reportedly grown up in an orphanage, completed their higher education, and then started a family together.
“Poor thing, now the girl will be sent to an orphanage too…” people murmured.
When the girl opened her eyes, she could clearly hear the voices of the people in white coats around her. However, her young mind could not yet grasp where she was or what had happened.
“Assalomu alaykum, is my daughter Mumtoz here?”
Shakarjon began visiting Mumtoz at the hospital every day. She had grown truly fond of the girl.
During the funeral services for the girl’s parents, Baxtiyor and Zeboniso, Shakarjon stood shoulder to shoulder with Vera Borisovna, the director of the orphanage. Friends from the orphanage where the parents had grown up also arrived from near and far to pay their respects.
The years flew by like birds…
Read: The Lost Young Man – Short Story
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Hailing from Uzbekistan, Saparboyeva Laylo Xajibay qizi (born in 2010) is a student of the Ogahiy School of Creativity and a young writer.
