It was a Friday night and I was scrolling on Instagram silently on my bed. I didn’t want to talk to anyone in the house. I was feeling sad because it was my birthday and not a single person in the house wished me a happy birthday.

After a while, my younger sister, Nino, came into my room and exclaimed, “Saad, Mama is calling you for lunch, come quickly.”

I dragged myself downstairs and asked what was for lunch.

“It’s chana daal,” my mother replied, trying to make it sound appealing.

But it was enough to flare me up in anger and I burst out, “Daal! You cooked one yesterday. Why do you keep cooking daal and vegetables that I don’t like?”

Saying this, I stomped into my room, pushing the door closed with force. I flopped on the bed and started scrolling on my mobile in anger. I don’t know when I fell asleep.

After a couple of hours,........

© Dawn Young Magazine