Beyond the Hills of Prango

Preface

There are places in this world that don’t appear on maps not because they don’t exist but because no one ever bothered to look. Prango is one of those places a village tucked between towering hills known more for its silence than its story.

This novel is not just fiction it is a reflection of many real lives. It is born from the cries of girls who are told to stay silent the hopes of children who stare at closed school gates and the strength of those who resist darkness with a single candle of knowledge.

Beyond the Hills of Prango is the journey of Mahnoor a girl who dares to dream beyond what her world allows. It is a story of resistance escape cultural confrontation and quiet revolution. It follows her from the dusty silence of Prango to the vibrant fields of Tang and back again not in defeat but in transformation.

Through Mahnoor’s eyes I have tried to bring forward a simple truth education is not a privilege it is a birthright. And when girls are empowered entire societies shift.

This novel is for every girl who has been told no and still chose to move forward.

This story is not just Mahnoor’s

It’s yours.

Chapter 1: Struggling Days

A girl named Mahnoor begins her journey from a very backward village called Prango. Prango is a place deprived of even the most basic facilities. It is surrounded by a gigantic hill with no proper roads no electricity in most homes and a community stuck in outdated traditions. The people here believe in hard work but not in smart work. Most earn their bread from local businesses like farming selling goods or livestock.

In this village girls’ education is considered a sin. No one dares to send their daughters to school. The very idea of a girl reading a book is laughed at or punished. But Mahnoor is different. She is fifteen years old brave curious and full of dreams. She believes that education is her right and that girls deserve to live better lives. She reads books secretly at home and knows deep inside that she is capable of changing things.

Mahnoor doesn’t walk alone. She has three close friends Sania fourteen Rameen thirteen and Shaila twelve who also want to learn and grow. So Mahnoor starts teaching them secretly in her small house every afternoon. They study together whispering lessons dreaming silently.

But soon the whispers grow louder. People of Prango find out about Mahnoor’s school. They become furious. In their eyes she is not just breaking rules she is dishonoring tradition. One of the villagers tells her father. The consequences are painful Mahnoor is beaten and strictly warned. Her father says If you ever do this again you'll face something worse.

Tears fall but Mahnoor’s spirit doesn’t break. She tells her friends not to come for a while but keeps the flame alive in her heart. Days pass. She tries to convince her parents pleading with words like Why can’t girls learn Why can’t I become something But each time she hears the same cold answer No.

Still she waits.

Chapter 2: Escape from Prango

After many hopeless days Mahnoor realizes that staying in Prango means letting her dream die. She can’t accept that. So one quiet afternoon she writes a note to her friends and slips it under their doors.

If you still want to study if you still believe in change meet me this Saturday

Saturday arrives. With trembling hearts and small bags Mahnoor Sania Rameen and Shaila leave Prango. They walk through hills and narrow paths holding hands tightly. Hours later they arrive at a place called Tang.

Tang is nothing like Prango. It is full of green fields clean air and smiling faces. Children play freely women walk openly and education is everywhere. For the first time in their lives the girls feel safe.

Mahnoor finds a small school where she is welcomed. A teacher there offers her books and encourages her to study. She finally begins learning properly and also teaches others in return. Her dream is starting to bloom.

But Tang comes with a new challenge. The people here follow Buddhism while Mahnoor is a Muslim. She is scared. She doesn’t know if she’ll be accepted. She fears judgement rejection or worse.

Yet the people of Tang don’t judge her. They welcome her with warmth. Over time Mahnoor starts to feel at home even though the language food and customs are different.

Chapter 3: A Curious Heart

As days turn into weeks Mahnoor starts learning more about Buddhism not because she wants to convert but because she’s curious. She listens to the monks visits peaceful temples and reads about Buddha under the shade of trees.

What touches her most is the kindness and simplicity of the people. One monk tells her Truth is not always about religion it’s about the way we live the love we give and the pain we heal

Mahnoor begins to understand that faith and humanity can exist together even in difference. She still holds on to her beliefs but she starts seeing the beauty in learning from others.

One day she tells her friends We ran from Prango to escape ignorance Let’s not create new walls here Let’s learn everything science history and even beliefs with open hearts

She starts a small study circle where both Muslim and Buddhist children come together to learn. Mahnoor’s mission is no longer just about girls’ education. Now it’s about bridging differences about hope beyond boundaries.

Chapter 4: Seeds of Change

As the months pass Mahnoor blossoms in Tang. Her small group of learners grows now including both girls and boys Muslims and Buddhists. What began as a secret act of rebellion in a dark corner of Prango is now a symbol of unity in Tang.

Mahnoor and her friends start attending school formally. Sania becomes passionate about science. Rameen writes poetry in the local language. Shaila paints murals on the school walls. Each of them in their own way finds their voice.

Mahnoor however feels a deeper calling. She wants to go back to Prango one day not to live but to plant seeds of hope where none existed.

Years pass. Mahnoor is now eighteen confident educated and still driven. She returns to her homeland for the first time. The same hills still stand. The same silence greets her. But she is no longer afraid.

She meets a few young girls in Prango who have heard stories about her Are you the one who ran away to study they whisper

Yes she says with a smile But now I’ve come back to help you stay and still learn

With time Mahnoor establishes a small learning center in Prango. She faces resistance yes. But this time she doesn’t stop. Some parents begin to listen. Some girls begin to dream.

And Prango starts to change slowly but surely because one girl believed it could.

Chapter 5: The Walls Begin to Crack

Mahnoor's return to Prango did not shake the village but it rippled through it quietly like a soft breeze before a storm. At first, people just watched. Some stared with curiosity, some with anger and some with silent respect. She did not argue or challenge them. Instead, she built a wooden bench outside her childhood home and started reading under the sun.

Little by little the girls began to come. One sat on the ground beside her. Another peeked from behind a wall. One came just to ask what the word school felt like. Mahnoor did not force anyone. She just read stories, spoke about stars and drew maps in the dust.

Then something happened that no one expected. Her father stood behind her one afternoon. He did not say a word. Mahnoor paused her heart racing. But instead of shouting or striking her like before he just asked,

"These girls... they really want to learn?"

Mahnoor looked up. "Yes Baba. Like I did."

He nodded slowly. "Then teach them. But... quietly."

It was not full approval but it was a crack in the wall and cracks let in the light.

Chapter 6: Tang Sends a Letter

Back in Tang life moved on. Sania had become a certified science teacher. Rameen published poems in a youth magazine. Shaila painted murals in government schools.

They never forgot Mahnoor.

One day Sania wrote a letter:

"Dear Mahnoor, Prango was your prison. Now you have turned it into a classroom. The fire you lit here is still burning. We are teaching too. You taught us more than math and writing. You taught us courage. We miss you. Forever your student, Sania."

Mahnoor read the letter aloud to her students. Their eyes lit up.

"So girls really go to school there?" one whispered.

"Yes," Mahnoor smiled. "And one day you will too."

Chapter 7: The Sky is for Everyone

Months passed. Mahnoor’s learning center became a real classroom. Just one room with mats on the floor and books stacked on crates. But for the girls of Prango it was a universe.

She began teaching science, language and geography. But also confidence, questions and dreams.

One evening a girl named Gul asked her,

"Apa do you think I can be a pilot?"

Mahnoor looked up at the sky. "Why not? The sky does not ask your village's name before letting you fly."

They all laughed but something in that sentence stayed with them.

Chapter 8: When the Hill No Longer Matters

Mahnoor’s journey had started as a lonely rebellion. Now she was not alone.

Parents began to allow girls to attend once a week. One boy started asking to join the class too. A health worker in Tang offered to help Mahnoor open a small clinic for girls.

Her father now sat quietly by the door listening to lessons.

She did not remove the hill that surrounded Prango. But she changed what was inside it. And that was even more powerful.

Final Chapter: Mahnoor, the Name That Meant Light

Years later Mahnoor stood on a stage in the city. She had been invited to speak at a national education summit. Cameras flashed. Reporters whispered.

She walked up to the mic and began:

"My name is Mahnoor. I come from a place many of you have never heard of. It is called Prango. It is not famous. It does not have roads or schools on the map. But it has girls who dream.

I was once told that girls should not study. That our minds were made for kitchens not books. But a book does not ask about your gender. A dream does not care where you were born.

I did not leave Prango to escape it. I left to understand it and I came back to change it."

She paused.

"You see a hill can block your path but not your vision. And a village can raise walls but not against hope."

The audience stood. Some clapped. Some cried.

But Mahnoor simply smiled. She knew the real applause waited back in Prango. In the eyes of the girls holding pencils. In the hearts that had once feared but now believed.

Final Words to Readers

Some girls are born in cities with schools at every corner. Some like Mahnoor are born in places where education is forbidden. But both hearts beat the same. One just has to beat louder.

Be like Mahnoor. Do not ask for permission to dream. Just dream and t

hen walk toward it. Even if it means climbing a hill.

Because the world does not change with laws. It changes with people like her. And people like you.

— The End