800000000 calculations of what could be done with 200 Pakistani Rupees ran in Fatiha’s head but the conclusions were miniaturisque , a chocolate, a cheap bus ride back home , a desi ( local meal) roti and salan( bread and gravy, a kite, locally made colour pencils?

This was an upper middle class/ middle class category, salon in Lahore. The teenager girl Yala carried Fatiha’s feet on her lap, massaging them with so much gratitude and warmth that Fatiha whisked 200 rupees out of her purse in the foot massage daze and handed them to Yala…as a tip

Yala’s eyes smiled like the sun upon recieving them …her gratitude, in span, was more convincing than the Sahara desert…

Eyes closed , lying on a massage chair, feet in Yala’s lap, strawberry scents in the air , Fatiha went on calculating towards a dead-end, what could be bought in 200 rupees?