A Flock Would Say ‘It’s Just a Lamb’ - By Najah Ilham

Written By: Najah Ilham

Category: Short Story

Competition: Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026

Presenting Najah Ilham's evocative short story, "A Flock Would Say ‘It’s Just a Lamb’," a poignant entry in Hashtag Kalakar's Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026. With keen insight, Najah delves into the societal pressures and expectations faced by young women, as embodied through the tale of Geetanjali. This narrative serves as a powerful reflection on the role tradition and familial duties play in shaping personal identity and autonomy.

About the Work

"A Flock Would Say ‘It’s Just a Lamb’" explores the intricate dynamics of family life and societal expectations through the lens of a young girl's experience. The narrative is rich with imagery and metaphor, using the symbol of a lamb to represent innocence and societal constraints. The tone is both contemplative and critical, shedding light on themes of empowerment and the struggle against traditional gender roles. Najah Ilham's story invites readers to reflect on the balance between personal desires and external pressures.

A Flock Would Say ‘It’s Just a Lamb’

Original Submission by Najah Ilham

A Flock Would Say ‘It’s Just a Lamb’

She had been told by her father to help her mother in the kitchen with making dinner. He had said that otherwise, it would be difficult for her once she moved into her future partner’s household.

“Geetu, grab that pan and light the stove”, Geetu’s mother commanded her while she hurriedly made tea for the guests who had arrived at their home that evening.

“Haven’t you learned how to use the lighter yet? Don’t you pay attention to anything happening at your own home?”, her mom yelled, grabbing the lighter from Geetu’s hand when she saw her daughter struggling to light the stove.

“Fine. You help with this now. Take the tea to the guests. And take some biscuits and sweets too.”

Her mom placed the tray, with five cups of tea stacked on it, into Geetu’s hands and pulled the end of her saree, tucked around her waist, to wipe the sweat dripping from her chin down her neck and chest. The kitchen was filled with high humidity. There wasn’t a ceiling fan, except for a table fan placed in the right corner, rotating at a slow rhythm.

“This girl, there’s no use of her. She only knows how to tap on that crap phone. What’s going to happen once I get her married and she moves to another house? Oh God.”

Geetu heard her mother blabbering about her from the kitchen as she walked towards the living cum dining hall. She felt irritated by her mother’s words, yet she served the guests their tea, forcing a tight smile onto her face.

“This is my daughter, Geetanjali”, her father introduced her to the guests as she put the other end of her peach coloured, worn dupatta back onto her left shoulder. It had fallen off when she placed the tray on the teapoy.

She looked at the man her father was facing and offered him a smile.

“Arey, Ritesh, she has grown so much. Look at her. See, how beautiful she is. The last time I saw her, she was only this much.”

The man gestured with his hands, holding one above the other to show how small she had been.

“Little and cute. She used to show me her colouring books and make me colour with her”, he continued, turning towards his wife and children.

They all laughed.

“What are you doing now, Geetanjali?”, the man’s wife asked her.

“She’s in twelfth now”, Ritesh interrupted before she could answer.

“It’s eleventh, Papa”, she corrected him.

Meanwhile, her mother came with biscuits and sweets for the guests.

“Do I need to remind you about everything twice?”, her mother whispered angrily as she stood beside her.

“Oh, Swapna, the tea itself is more than enough for us. We’ve already had some before arriving here”, Rekha, the man’s wife, said to Geetu’s mother when she saw the sweets.

Rekha and Harsh’s daughters immediately grabbed the sweets as soon as they were served.

“We visited my colleague’s house on the way here”, Harsh said to Ritesh.

Later.

“It’s good to see you, Harsh.”

Ritesh and Harsh hugged each other twice as they were about to bid farewell.

Geetu stood in the corridor with her younger brother, Gaurav, playing with his hair.

The children waved at them, as the car started moving.

“They seemed like a pretty happy family, right?”, Swapna asked Ritesh, who was sitting on the single sofa in the left corner while she cleared the dining table.

Ritesh nodded, scrolling through his phone.

“Didn’t you see how well mannered their elder daughter was?”, Swapna asked, glancing sideways at her daughter, who was wiping the dining table.

Geetu rolled her eyes and let out a weary sigh as she walked towards the kitchen.

Gaurav walked past his mother with his phone and charger in his hands, heading towards the socket near the dining table.

“Gaurav!”, Swapna yelled, “Go to sleep. Don’t you have class tomorrow?”

“Mama, can I go too? I’m so tired”, Geetu asked Swapna.

“Tired of what? Tapping on the phone? Help me stack the plates now. Go.”

She pointed towards the kitchen.

Geetu turned back towards the kitchen.

“Can’t you see your son tapping on his phone?”, she muttered.

“Hey! What are you muttering about?”, her mother shouted.

“Nothing”, Geetu shot back.

“You aren’t the only one who’s tired in this house. What’s with you anyway?”, Swapna turned towards Ritesh and continued, “It is all because everything was done for them.”

She leaned against the dining chair, gripping its back.

“Let her go and sleep, Swapna. She has school tomorrow too”, Ritesh said, his eyes still fixed on his phone.

Swapna, irritated with Ritesh’s response jolted back to the kitchen and shooed Geetu back to her room.

As Geetu prepared for bed, she heard her parent’s chattering outside the room.

“You don’t know how unnerve she is”, Swapna told Ritesh, who stood beside her.

“Yeah, but Swapna, there’s still time for her marriage to happen”, he told as he patted on her shoulder.

“You don’t need to be this worried now”, he continued.

“But Ritesh, she is a girl. It’s so difficult for an unmarried woman to survive in this society without letting impacting her reputation.”

Geetu shut the door with a dull thud.

She sat on the chair, took a notebook and pen and started writing.

When eyes follow a lamb everywhere,

Does a lamb except to behave?

When a lamb is born into this world,

Is it taken care to be kill someday?

I had a lamb, little and white,

She is sweet, she is kind.

She dreamed of wandering,

To wander a vast meadow.

Yet she is always tied to a rope,

A rope that’s itchy and controlling.

She wants to escape, to breathe,

Yet she is fed to slaughter, someday.

She put her pen down and laid the comforter, bedsheet and pillow on the floor, taken from under the bed.

She looked at her brother sleeping peacefully in bed, his mouth slightly parted, as she yawned, tiredness filling her eyes.

She fell off onto the makeshift bed on the floor the next second.

On another fine day, it was a Thursday. Geetu and Gaurav were walking to the bus stop to go to school. On their way, on the other side of the road, two men seemed to be twenty or above were standing beside a bicycle, staring intensely at them.

This wasn’t the first time. They used to watch Geetu every morning. She was very intimidated by them.

But that day was particularly distressing for her.

One of them, light-fair in complexion, a black undercut hair and green shades on top, wearing half-opened white tucked-in shirt paired with blue skinny jeans, walked towards her.

He blocked their path with his right hand. Geetu was stunned. Gaurav felt foolishly awkward.

He glanced at her from top to bottom.

“Hi, I’m Arnav”, he introduced himself to her, offering his hand for greeting.

She felt embarrassed. She felt an unusual heat spreading from her ears down to her chest.

She hesitated to greet him back.

“Don’t you give greetings to this poor brother?”, he asked, pointing at himself.

Geetu stood there without knowing how to act.

She looked around, only to see some people nearby were staring at them.

Her left hand gripped the strap of her bag tightly.

“There’s an empty shop on the other side of this. Shall we go?”, he pointed towards a narrow passage between the kiosks.

She shook her head in disagreement.

“It’ll take only a little time. Come, please”, he insisted.

She repeated the same gesture.

Suddenly, he grabbed her hand, forcing her to go with him.

She struggled to free herself from grip.

The people started looking at them, watching the scene suspiciously. Yet no one responded. Instead, they made themselves an audience, treating the situation as entertainment.

His grip tightened around her hand.

Finally, after struggling through the pain, she somehow loosened his grip and slapped him across the face in an instant reaction.

Without waiting for his response, she ran towards the bus stop, holding Gaurav’s hand.

Later, that evening, when they arrived back from school, Geetu noticed a new pair of sandals outside their home. She wondered who they belonged to.

As she approached the open main door, Gaurav ran inside quickly, and she heard a familiar woman’s voice talking to her mother.

“You should see how embarrassing it was for me. How can I admit that this is the girl that I know in that situation? Swapna, you shouldn’t untie the rope from your children. Especially, she’s a girl. You must be aware of it”, Kaju aunty said to Swapna.

As soon as they saw Geetu standing in front of them, Kaju aunty changed her tone instantly and acted like a caring, sweet aunt.

Geetu glanced at them and walked off to her room.

After Kaju aunty bid farewell and left, Swapna walked towards her.

She pulled Geetu around to face her as she took her lunch box from her bag.

“What interference you’ve with that boy, Geetanjali?”

“What Mama? I don’t know who he is?”, she answered.

“If you do not know him, then why did you talk to him today?”, Swapna held tightly onto Geetu’s left arm.

“Mama, he used to be there always, staring at me. But today, he asked me to come with him. I didn’t do anything”, Geetu pleaded helplessly.

Swapna stood expressionless for a moment, trying to digest what she had heard.

Meanwhile, Gaurav was watching television.

She walked towards Gaurav.

“Hey, Chittu, what happened at that junction? Why was that boy talking with you and your sister?”, Swapna shouted at Gaurav as she dragged him off the sofa.

“How can I know, Mama? He came to us and blabbered something, and then he held Geetu’s hand when she refused or something?”, he defended himself.

By that time, Ritesh, came home.

“What’s happening here?”, he asked politely.

“You ask her”, Swapna said, pointing towards Geetu.

Ritesh glanced at Swapna in bafflement.

Geetu stood looking down, her mind convincing her that she had done something wrong.

After a brief moment, she raised her face towards her father and cried, “Papa, I haven’t done anything wrong. It’s just that a stranger asked me to come with him and I refused. That’s all I know. I didn’t even realise Kaju aunty could be there”.

“If you know, wouldn’t that have happened in front of everyone. Is that what you mean?”, Swapna raged at Geetu.

Ritesh tried to comfort Swapna, holding onto her shoulders.

Swapna whispered something to him, placing her right palm on her forehead. Ritesh whispered back.

“Geetanjali, child, go to your room for now. We’ll talk later”, he told her calmly.

When the clock struck 7:32 that evening, Ritesh entered Geetu’s room. She was sitting on the chair beside the table.

He sat on the bed and gestured for Geetu to come near him. As she did, he held her hands and asked, “What really happened today, child?”

“I am saying the truth. I don’t know who he is. It’s just…”, she cried.

“Ok. These things happen. All men are not good. Now you need to listen to me carefully…”, he interrupted her as Swapna entered the room.

He continued, “Girls should know how to protect themselves from men. Only then, you can get a good match when the time comes. Society is very harsh on women. Now when you go outside the house, you should be careful about the clothes you wear, the way you walk, the way you behave, and everything. These things matter. Only when a girl doesn’t know how to take care of herself in society, things like whatever happened to you, happens to others”.

“But, Papa, I didn’t go…”, she said.

“I know, child. I understand. But I am only saying that you need to be careful about these things. Okay?", he said as he looked at Swapna.

Swapna nodded.

When he looked back at Geetu, she nodded as well.

Later, everyone had dinner and it was about to go to bed.

Gaurav entered inside his room in darkness. He saw that Geetu was already lying on the bed, as he noticed her diary left open on the table.

He read it.

No matter, the lamb seems innocent,

Wounds are to be stabbed upon her.

No matter, the lamb is white,

All want to paint her black.

She hurts, she cries, she suffers,

A flock would say ‘it’s just a lamb’.

She falls, she rises, she strives,

A flock would say ‘it’s just a lamb’.

Every pain and every endurance,

Is for her to wear a red dupatta.

A red dupatta is the guilty,

That defines her fate in life.

Gaurav, who had no clue about what he had read, threw her diary away into the dustbin and went to bed.

About the Competition

The Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026 by Hashtag Kalakar is a celebration of literary artistry and creativity. This prestigious event invites writers from diverse backgrounds to submit their original works, offering a platform to share unique voices and compelling narratives. Participants engage with themes that challenge societal norms and inspire thought-provoking discourse through the power of words.

Thank you, Najah Ilham, for your insightful contribution to the Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026. "A Flock Would Say ‘It’s Just a Lamb’" is a compelling exploration of societal expectations and personal growth. We appreciate your participation and the thought-provoking narrative you have shared with us.

About Hashtag Kalakar

Hashtag Kalakar is a creative platform dedicated to providing artists, writers, singers and other creative talents with opportunities to showcase their work and reach wider audiences through competitions, features and creative initiatives.