I am Aisha and I hate maths. It’s like the worst subject in school! I wish it didn’t exist, it’s so complex and hard. I don’t understand why it exists and why it is so important. The truth is, the more I think about this subject, the more I dislike it and the more it affects my mood.

“Aisha, Aisha, wake up. It’s time for school,” Ammi called out.

“What time is it, Ammi?” asked Aisha.

“I don’t know the time. Since this world got rid of the subject and concept maths altogether, you should know that we no longer have such things. I can’t tell you, and you might be late!” said Ammi.

Aisha got up and started getting dressed. She felt relieved to finally be rid of maths. After getting ready, she waited for her van, which arrived after a long wait. She then realised she had actually come out to wait too early.

At school, she felt as though she were living in a dream, with no maths classes to attend at all! But little did she know that having no maths was going to trouble her more than ever.

At lunch, she went to buy food from the canteen. When she asked for two packs of crisps, the canteen owner gave her more than two packs. Aisha tried telling him she had asked for only two packs, but he simply said he didn’t know counting and did not understand what she was talking about.

When it was time to pay, he asked her for more and more money. She told him he should charge her for just two packs, but the canteen owner took all her money and said, “I think this is enough.”

For a moment, she regretted wishing for no maths, but she quickly reminded herself of the peace she had felt earlier.

She got home, changed her clothes and sat down to have lunch. Aisha asked her mum for two chapattis, but her mum said she did not know what “two” meant, so she placed a dozen in front of her. Aisha was irritated by it all.

In the evening, she went to the shop to get some snacks. She asked the shopkeeper for two jellies and two packets of biscuits, but he did not understand her.

He said, “You can take whatever you want, but you have to give me as much money as I want.”

She was taken aback. She asked him to charge her only for the things she was buying, but he replied that since he did not know maths, he could ask for as much money as he liked.

Out of despair, she left the snacks there and went home crying. When she got home, her mum tried to comfort her, but she had absolutely no idea what was going on.

Aisha went to her room, sat on her bed and cried. She prayed to God Almighty to bring maths back. She did not know how long she had been praying before she finally dozed off.

When she woke up, it was time for school. She ran to her mother, hugged her and said, “Mum, I was so wrong. I hated maths. I thought it was ruining our lives with its calculations and mind-boggling sums, so I wished for maths to disappear from the world. I realise now that I was wrong, and I want it back. Mum, what should I do?”

Her mother looked at her and said, “What are you talking about? Where would maths go? I think you are still half asleep. But dear, wake up. It’s 7 am. The bus driver will be here in 15 minutes.”

Aisha looked at her mother in disbelief. She was so happy to realise that it had all been just a dream.

That day, during the maths lesson, she was more interested in learning than anyone else in the class. It was as if she had finally understood how important maths is in life, and how difficult life would be without it.

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 14th, 2026