"Why Read?"

Twelve-year-old Zayan sat on the rooftop of his small home in Karachi, eyes fixed on the glowing rectangle in his hands. The phone was old, cracked in the corner, and the battery barely lasted a few hours. But for Zayan, it was a portal—one filled with games, videos, and endless scrolling. Books, on the other hand, sat forgotten in the dusty corner of his room. His schoolbag hadn’t been touched in two days.

His mother often said, “Zayan, read something useful. Books open minds.” He would nod politely, only to return to his phone as soon as she left.

One evening, during a long power outage, Zayan’s phone finally died. With nothing else to do, he wandered inside, bored and annoyed. The candlelight flickered against the bookshelf—stacked with his father's old novels and schoolbooks. One cover caught his eye. It had a golden dragon wrapped around a sword, and the title read: "The Last Reader."

Curious, Zayan pulled it off the shelf. The pages smelled old, but the story began with a boy not much older than him. The boy in the story lived in a future where people had forgotten how to read. Books were banned, words were disappearing, and those who still knew how to read were called "Readers"—protectors of knowledge.

Zayan meant to skim a few pages. But before he knew it, hours had passed. He didn’t even notice the lights come back on.

The next day, Zayan took the book to school. During lunch, while his classmates scrolled through videos, he read about the Reader's secret mission to save the last library on Earth. Slowly, something began to shift in Zayan. He started visiting the library near his home, a place he had always walked past without a second thought. The librarian, an old man named Mr. Rafiq, welcomed him with a warm smile.

“You're the first kid I’ve seen here in weeks,” Mr. Rafiq said.

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Zayan grinned. “I’m looking for more books like The Last Reader.”

With Mr. Rafiq's help, he discovered worlds beyond his imagination—hidden kingdoms, time travel, survival stories, and even mysteries that made his heart race. Each book made him think, feel, and wonder. His vocabulary expanded. His thoughts grew deeper. He started doing better in school, surprising even himself.

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One day, Mr. Rafiq handed him a worn-out diary.

“This is not a published book,” he said. “But I think you’re ready for it.”

Inside were stories written by Mr. Rafiq himself—tales of his youth, poems, and lessons from the past. Zayan read every word. And when he finished, he asked, “Can I write too?”

“Of course,” Mr. Rafiq replied. “That’s what reading does. It gives you something to say.”

Inspired, Zayan began writing his own stories. He wrote about the dragons he imagined, the dreams he had, and the life he lived. Slowly, his phone became a tool—not for games or noise, but for research, editing, and sharing his writing online.

His first short story won a local competition. At the award ceremony, he stood on stage, nervous but proud.

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“They asked me, ‘Why read?’” he said. “Because it showed me who I could be.”

The applause that followed wasn’t just for the award. It was for a boy who had changed.

Years later, Zayan became a writer, publishing his first book titled The Last Reader’s Son—a tribute to the story that changed his life. He visited schools, talked to children, and told them that reading wasn’t just for exams—it was for building dreams.

Now, whenever someone asks, “Why read?”, Zayan smiles and replies:

“Because books are more than paper and ink. They’re maps to places you’ve never seen, mirrors that show who you really are, and wings for minds that dare to fly.”


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