Sleepless Beauty and the Jinn Who Wouldn’t Leave


Once upon a time — not in a magical kingdom, but in Karachi — there lived a modern-day Aurora named Zara. Unlike the fairy-tale princess, Zara wasn’t cursed by a wicked witch. She was cursed by something worse: chronic sleep paralysis.

Every few weeks, it happened.

She’d be lying in bed, blanket up to her nose, phone vibrating under her pillow, when suddenly  

BAM.
Awake. Eyes open. Can’t move. Can’t scream.

And hovering in the corner of the room? Him.

Tall, shadowy, slightly dramatic — like a jinn who did theatre in college.

He didn’t say much. He’d just press down on her chest dramatically, like he was trying to put pressure like a ghost gym bro testing her core strength.

Zara had named him “Prince No-Charm.”

Unlike the classic tale where the prince kisses Aurora awake, this jinn-prince was more like:

“I shall sit on your chest and radiate cursed energy until you hyperventilate.”

Every episode followed a pattern. Zara tries to sleep. Blanket over face for a false sense of security. Suddenly feels a presence. Opens her eyes. Cue shadowy jinn-prince.

She once tried asking, mid-paralysis:

"Bro… why?"

One night, she finally had enough.

In her dream state, caught somewhere between REM sleep and rage, she conjured up her nani’s voice whispering:
“Sooraj dhal jaaye toh Ayat ul Kursi parhna na bhoolna.”
(“Once the sun sets, don’t forget to recite Ayat ul Kursi”)

Zara mustered every ounce of sleep-deprived sass, blinked twice, and mentally screamed the verses.

The jinn gasped like he’d been slapped with a spiritual chappal (sandal), tripped over Zara’s pile of laundry, and disappeared in a swirl of offended smoke.

She never saw him again.

Now, Zara sleeps with a nightlight shaped like a mini Kaaba, a bottle of attar (perfume) on her bedstand, and a Post-It on her headboard that says:

“No jinns after maghrib. No exceptions.”

They say in some realm, Prince No-Charm is still emotionally spiraling, wondering why she never wrote back.

And as for Zara?

She lived (mostly) happily ever after

Comments

  1. Arooma hasanJune 12, 2025 at 9:10 AM

    Dar lag gaya mujhe tou

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wania KhayyamJune 12, 2025 at 9:35 AM

    "(mostly) happily ever after" AAAAAA

    ReplyDelete
  3. user8920June 12, 2025 at 9:49 AM

    So well written

    ReplyDelete
  4. vorpJune 12, 2025 at 10:08 AM

    We're pulling an all-nighter with this one chat

    ReplyDelete
  5. vorpJune 12, 2025 at 10:10 AM

    Prince No-Charm would probably be having an existential crisis somewhere in the corner

    ReplyDelete
  6. TalyaJune 12, 2025 at 10:31 AM

    the "bro... why?" was too real 😭😭

    ReplyDelete
  7. TalyaJune 12, 2025 at 10:40 AM

    love how male jinns are setting the bar higher than actual guys 🙏🏻

    ReplyDelete

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