page 12...

...he was a self-respecting  man,   , , but it was wondered  who was the daughter like,  she  must  be  like  her mother  all made up  and dressed up though a widow 

Not at all Mrs gazi  . Who likes  to see a  showy widow,  you are just  a new  arrival  in this neighborhood   i have  seen  the widow  lost her mind  long ago,  , it is said  her husband  had a second wife  that triggered this problem,  , she  really  possessively  loved  her husband a lot  , she couldn't  accept  the second woman in her husband's life,  the voice now  had a serious  note  soaked up in sheer  sincerity 

But dear what woman  would not  love her own hu, the ones  who marry  also  begin  loving  their husbands  and  honestly  8f the man can afford to have  second  or third wives  he won't stop ,  other women around  stared at her

Dear appa  fear almighty,   bhai jan is no more  but  you  remained  silent  during his lifetime,  , you ought to have  raised  objections then   for our support,  a blunt woman   silenced her,  is it true  that daughter  was interested in someone 

Anar jannat ka meva...

.... pomegranate juice is  a tonic for good health and  a healthy heart   it is  used for strength and  removing  fatigue  , this  increases  stamina  and focus,  experts   prescribe   pomegranate  for positive effects  on mental and physical well-being 

Pomegranate is used  besides  as a fruit  in a variety of dishes  , added to sweets and cooking,  in several  cultures  meals are not  served  without  it , , Iran includes  pomegranate  to all  their meat  dishes with  dry nuts without  it the food is incomplete 

from previous....

.....sarfaraz asked  zavyar to stop staring  at him  and help himself  with  the  grilled chicken    that he specially had  cooked  himself  with  his own hands  just for  zavyar,  after all it was a farewell  meal,   in fact  the rice was also cooked  by sarfaraz,  he looked  as usual  relaxed and cool,  proudly  he  was elaborating   his culinary  skills   extending  the  dish  that  zavyar  halted and asked where was his wife  Natasha 

She has gone away 

And what exactly does it mean 

It means  women are narrow minded  and can't share their  husbands  with anyone 

Right,  but you live separately in independent  house just the two of you without  any other family members  so what about this sharing 

Natasha is not ready to share  her husband with  his second wife 

Hus calm composure  was remarkable  and  his  statement a direct hit

 Zavyar was shaken  , sarfaraz had a second wife and expected his first wife to be accommodating,  that was absolutely  unexpected  and illogical 

Who did he marry,  who was she  , his eyes were wide  full of surprise,  he thought of kalshum that simple plain middle class  girl utterly unsuitable for highly educated  well off man like sarfaraz 

Screaming zavyar  said he must be mad to marry  kalshum

from previous...

.....restart your life from that point in life 

Where everything was exceptionally beautiful 

We both were absolute strangers 

They were the dreams of heaven that we carried 

Dreams of flowers 

Those  adorable  dreams of love 

But where are they gone 

The  attractive  attachment is lost 

Restart  your life  from  that point in life 

Perhaps  the time  tricked us apart 

Bonding of faithfulness  turned   blight 

Better the  cheerful sun from  moonlight of tears

Restart  your life  from  that point in life 

page 233...ravayya

....our attitude  defines  the significance  it has  on our physical and  mental health and well-being  adding  importance to our personality,  so sow the seeds of  positive  attitude  in your life,  see  tge glass is half filled  and not  half empty,  try see   lights in black  ha, avoid  throwing tantrums  over  petty little  things,  ,  do be positively  cheerful  and  stay  calm  in all sorts of surroundings,  be  grateful for  all the  blessings  you enjoy,   let the mysteries  unfold  each new day,  be more receptive,  observe  more rather than  merely  watching  unaware, wipe  your  mind  stream clean  of  all the  hurt and negative thoughts  that  prevent you to be  real you,   don't be annoying  nor blame others  for your own actions 

page 231...

.....meerab  had a natural   aptitude for fashion designing,  she  was a well dressed  and  attractive woman,  her first love was her passion for  fashion  design,  but as luck would have it ger mother's demise   put off all her brilliance aside,  on the other side   sadya began promoting  arsla , sadya  s mind  was gripped  by  the term  fashion  design  that was repeatedly  hammered into her midstream  by  meerab, , arsla had improved her skin complexion  rubbing in  facial creams  regularly,   hearing of  warin  she got a special dress made for arsla, arsla was worked upon  and given  a special beauty treatment  of a bridal  on her head hands  feet to make her look  better,  after which  arsla  never would emerge  without    her full dress performance  heavily made up to give  her  guest appearance  to convince  warin arsla was  natural beauty  and he was the  lucky one,   equipped  with   all beauty and  trendy  aids  she was  merely   just  treated like another domestic  help  and  she  had  no  regrets whatsoever   the  little fool   never ,  thought of rebellion,  her prayers and efforts were made for  them  and their  betterment,  their  attempt was to settle her down  , to  wipe her social stigma  and cleanse  her emotional    blemishes 

page 229..

...she was then  a student of seventh grade  when her father  died in an accident meerab was an only child of ger parents,  dada abba was still alive,   he planned  her ammi s marriage with tanvir his elder son,   but ammi didn't  give her consent  at all and  came to  live with her brother  izhar, izhar waher only family in this world 

Tahina beghum  frankly  spoken her brother  she wouldn't get her share in the  parental  property,  if she was there to stay  for security  for life 

gazal ...Rahat indauri..

...no life companion  nor co traveller can pull out

Thorn stuck   i can't  pull out from my feet

I knew it all along  venomous  reptiles 

From my sleeves  will ooz out your dignity 

In that  street lived  long  the old beggar 

Look for the hidden treasures  you'll find there 

The elders said one day  it would happen 

The sun shall rise from where it set 

Stay  alive  wounds of bygone years

Processions  will  again  cross from  here

fun e zaiqa..

...Turkish pullao 

Chicken  pakatta

Special  jheenga

Pyazi seeks jebab

Khasta machli

Chicken  chowmien 

Sarso saag   with makki roti

Paniri pizza omelet 

Pyaz baingun  handi 

Nawabi  zarda

Kashmir chai

 What an interesting menu  to try out 

page 189...

...shehrina  thought  for a while and then sent him a message  accepting  the invite  , she was coming,  jehandaad asked her to fix a time so he could send a car , she refused politely  ,she would  reach  there  by herself,   but how  would  she manage  was asked promptly,  she explained she will  come with her sister 

Did she  remember the place  location 

She needed a brush up and  he could resend the address 

Jehandaad  instantly  texted the address,  she  saw the message  and   switched  off her mobile,   she heated up the  food and brought it to hamida beghum  s room , she  had done her namaaz  and seeing her enquired if  someone had come,   ammi  of course it was atya who had come  by,  but  why didn't she stay to eat , it was time  to lunch,  that too without meeting  ammi, hamida beghum   took her plate and scooped out salan from the dish bowl  

Shehrina explained  she had stopped her but  atya was tired  just returned from her school  , she promised to come again,  just after she left  sir Jehandaad  messaged  his mother  is  back  home 

Hamida  asked how was ger condition now 

Shehrina  hadn't  asked  him  details of his mother's  condition  but  was going there to see them,  like  hamida  beghum  she  also  got  busy  in serving herself  food 

page 185...

.... atya Keaton had  just two  sons  named and  shehzad  and for them  she brought  saima and  shehrin   turn  by turn  , the brides  were compatible and  adjusted well  8n their  new married world,  atya Keaton also overlooked and  ignored  small  little  differences  and the family   smoothly  got along,  the three women  because of their non interfering  nature    avoided   arguments,  practicing  patience   big issues can be  solved  and   big mountains can be raised from  insignificant   mole hills,, tge boy's were good sons and  nice husbands  both  saima and  shehrin  were  happily  settled  down  

Saima occupied her rooms upstairs,  it was a two room  kitchen  bathroom  compact  set, shehrin  got herself busy in the ground floor  portion,  the upper kitchen was good for snacking  and fixing quick breakfast  , the downstairs kitchen was the main  family kitchen   where  family  meals were cooked and served  and atya s  room was located  downstairs,  she spent  most of her day and night  praying  after her husband's death,  she contributed  her expertise  in family matters when  asked for  so she was passing her time  quite peacefully 

Even today  from early morning both saima and  shehrin  were  kept busy  working in the house  preparing for  the shabb baraat 

page 184..

....she  had just descended from her portion  to find her younger  sister in law  s glowing  with happiness  face  , bhai has come  the younger woman explained before  she was asked  enthusiastically,  it was shabb baraat so the whole  kitchen counter  was overloaded with  packets, , five kilos of traditional sweets baskets full of fresh seasonal fruit all were  brought by bhai for the festive  night  added  sgehrin following  the direction of ger senior  s gaze,  shehrin and aqab were also given  their new pair of suits,  she invited her in to show her what all bhai had got for her,  

The senior  not  quite pleased  with it all asked shehrin to wait sge would come back later  , seeing her own brother  s face  in her mind,  Farah would not even  remember  it was shabb baraat  and if he did  he wouldn't bother,   because he wasn't interested in anything at all  except his  beloved wife  a bitter  feeling  crossed her mind   contaminating  her  day with depression, ,  both senior  junior  sisters in law were  in raport  and supportive to each other  in domestic  tasks  specially  when  the  guests arrived how  fortunate  shehrin was to have such  loving  caring  brothers,  her heart filled with  envy and  burnt in the  fire of jealousy,  she helplessly  nade comparisons she started  at her mother in law  s  voice  reminding her for  a cup of tea,  she quickly  kept  a kettle to boil 

page 145...

...rayaz Ahmed was a middle class  family  man , an ordinary worker  in a construction company  but he had an active mind,   so after four years of work  and six  months of marriage  he  invested  all his savings and wife's  gold   on small scale rayaz builders  company,  either it was rafya s luck or his own  within  no time  he rose  as the  most    sought  after  construction company,  wealth  rained on them and their social status  shone bright,   they shifted to  a high society  colony,  rafya had  never dreamed of such a    luxurious life,  she couldn't  maintain  her old relatives  and  new friends  together from whom she learned  how to look trendy,   the more she updated  herself on the latest styles  the crazier she got,  she was ready to throw money  to become a copycat of other popular ladies,  she was an upstart exhibitionist  with a  show off nature  , she couldn't let anyone call her old-fashioned  for not being  trendy, ber daughter  soha was her product and specimen  of their  new style  , all her friends were  long time rich  who grew up in  the lap of luxury  and all of them   were  on the same page  and soha couldn't  think of  being left out  , rafta eversince  came to know  of mannat daughter of beghum  motiwala had one million plus followers  rafya  just wanted  to stop every passersby  and make them  like and follow  soha on Instagram,  rayaz adored his daughter for she was his life  but  he always from the beginning was against  tiktok   rafta supported   soha on tiktok and he couldn't   stay firm on his  own decision  but  he grabbed every chance to  advise soha  of the harms of  tiktok  where youngsters  were immature and active 

page 144...

....rafya almost ran to the  car  porch  holding the bill in her hands  , rayaz had left it on the dining table,  then recalling added  he was still  there   standing and not driving  , rayaz Ahmed hit the wheel   the car was not starting  again today,  she was  since  November  asking him to  get a new model,  he was already  tired  and irritated  by her showing off nature and  disliked  the  topic  of  buying cars so early  morning,  her false  pretensions would  certainly one day get them all in trouble,  her desire to appear modern    and impractical  ideas would definitely prove disastrous one day , he placed the phone to his ear, he asked shaqab to come home to pick up the car , shaqab and  chachi were   eveready  to please them must reach  them within minutes   it was rafya reminding him of shaqab s nature  in her fuming bitter tone,  , and   shaqab actually reached the gates dragging his bike inside  in less than ten minutes,  he was exchanging  greetings  when soha  cut in with her loud good mornings,  shaqab  opened the bonnet  to check the engine holding the lid and bending over,  rayaz turned to soha lovingly  why was she  up and ready , the college  was closed,  she  wanted to make tiktok video  on good morning  , Father  showed  his active  displeasure on making tiktok videos but her all friends were active on tiktok and if she didn't participate  she would be  not accepted as one of them  and  branded as an old fashioned outcast 

kam ki batein...

....only  almighty can fulfill  your wishes 

Forgiveness is the best  revenge 

Sweet talk tastes  the  sweetest

Keep yourself occupied  to have a quality life 

Call them brilliant to make a fool of them 

Silence  is  the  best  solution  for  the  fool 

Courage keeps you going 

Defeat brings  death 

page 139...

... on the doctor  s face   appeared  signs of  stress as ultra sound test was being done   and she asked sajida if   they had got  the expecting  woman checked up before  this,  before  sajida  could  reply  the mother in law  answered  the doctor there was a first born healthy  child at home  delivered at home naturally   so it was fine 

Second doctor was called  by the lady doctor  , her senior  more  experienced   heard out  the patient's   case history   and  Second time   the patient was examined  through ultrasound,  the patient didn't know what her blood group was,   mother in law  asked  worried  if all was well,  the doctor asked the older woman to sit down in a chair  in the  waiting room and tried to explain  in detail to both  women  whose  sat down quietly with sinking hearts,  feeling  something  was definitely wrong,  , last time  there was no problem,  , the village  midwife  had easily handled the delivery  and  there rose no need to check  her  more than twice   this time also  the  experienced  midwife was to handle  the case,  coincidence  it was that the midwife  came home  on the  seventh month  and looking at sajda she  asked  if the due date was  around,  mother in law  explained  it was only the seventh month,  the midwife  turned  pale and  suggested  they  showed sajida  to a trained  gynecologist,  now  the senior  gynecologist  informed them  the  unborn    had its lungs filled with  water as sajda had a bloated with water  tummy 

page 125...

....sabin pursed her lips and  sat ashamed  offended  after mother had humiliated her , that  adan was leaving home  added fuel to  flames,  it was  his decision,  she looked at sabin  complainingly,  as if asking  her  wordlessly  if she was happy now,  , if sge was satisfied  and rage cooled off, , but not a word was uttered,  adan was also not stopped  from  going away,  , sabin had never  wanted this to  happen,  , she was merely  angry  at his  interfering  in her life and home,   annoyed  that her mother trusted  a stranger  in their house   to let him  control  their  lives,  though mother was so   careful  by her nature  but  the stranger  had somehow managed to  influence mother  that she  seemed to follow all his instructions,  something  was  escaping  from  sabin s  observation,  she was unable to catch    the point  , she felt  everyone had a right to protect  himself  and sge must stop him  from distracting sabin and her mother,   , he explained  he  was not demanding  advance  rent  ,  her situation  became even  more  precarious  , she could not   get a chance  to explain herself,, adan  saw both of them exchange glances,  he nodded  and assuring  them  went back to his room,  sabin was left standing  uncertain  looking  from  him to mother  and back  to him,  the matter was closed 

page 123...

....that had happened  that nobody ever could have  believed,  the unexpected  had happened,  baba had refused to eat,  he had  shut  himself   up in his room  , ,samih was also  very upset  , all the  emotional  filthy  debris  was dumped on faiz alone,   samih was quite certain  baba  sain  can't  stay  annoyed  for long  and  quickly enough  he will  embrace  faiz again,   baba  would   rethink  over the matter  logically and practically  when his rage is cooled off,  shumaila had gathered  what  was going on between  the  father son  duo from  the silent  mystery  situation,   she  instead of brooding over it  began  enjoying  it,, nobody heeded  ramla because  ramla  was not aware  at all  of  what was going on,  but  she  had unwittingly  witnessed and overheard  the whole  episode  and now  she was updated,  she too was locked  inside her room,  , the  maid  went to her room to call her to supper but the door didn't open,  the domestic helper helplessly  informed shumaila , samih was told  about  ramla not opening her door,  samih  who was naturally  affected  by his  sister's   no response  rushed  to break open her door to find her  lying  on the floor  unconscious  with an empty  open sleeping pills bottle  by her side  suggesting she  had swallowed  the pills  in an attempt to commit suicide 

page 118..

...she needed  her boss  s signatures on the report  but he was busy in a meeting  and for half hour  she was trying  to contact  his secretary  but every time  the same  response  that the boss was busy,  finally she got the answer she waited for  that the meeting was over,   carrying the files  she reached his cabin,  his office was cut off from the rest of  the  office  located in a different  direction,  , there was a huge reception area  before  the cabin,  ,sabin  from a distance  had seen him standing  outside his cabin in the  reception  and the person  standing with him  with whom he was engrossed  in talking  seemingly enjoying himself  laughing   frequently  made her stop dead , adan was there  and what was he doing there,  it was strange  to see her good for nothing boss see off adan , what an amazing experience to witness,  after all what was it that he was there,  her mind was in spirals taking signatures from the boss on the papers,  he was  invading   in her life,  occupying  her thoughts,  her house  and now her work place,  perhaps  he was complaining  to the boss,, she returned to her seat  with a worried mind,  sara noticed  how pulled down  she looked  suddenly,, sara thought  she got a scolding,  sabin  left early  without informing  sara 

She reached home to ask  mother where was he,  besides the two of them mother daughter  it was only him  and he was just back  and be found in his room 

ek lafz muhabbet ka...

....faiz returned from the   university,  samih waited for him at the flat, , he was  shaken surprised,  a guilty feeling  enveloped him,  , for very long  he gad been ignoring  his polite  good natured  courtesies 

You came  unannounced lala, at least you ought to have  informed me on the phone 

He smiled  bashfully  overcoming his feelings,  controlling his temper smiling softly  to tell him  what was the point  because  he was not  picking up the calls and  rejecting  his phones 

!page 111...

.... God actually wants to wipe out the poor,  she was telling  amma, the poor  population   was decreasing , survival on starvation is impossible  , her comment  made amma  offer a silent prayer before she explained  almighty was the only provider  and an insect also finds something to live on, bugs in hidden nooks get their grubs,  He alone is the Master  of all species So there was no chance  He would  overlook  humans  specially  tge faithful,  she must mind ger tongue   said zeenat 

Amma  He is already getting rid off them 

Zeenat  had believed  Rahat was quite  wise but  what turned her so against  almighty  that she  was endlessly  complaining 

Because He is unfair 

Saying her line she stuffed her mouth with  the last morsel   salted and dipped in spices

Go on your knees  ask for  His  forgiveness almighty   is all powerful    praiseworthy,   we must be delivered from the evil 

Amma  almighty is choosy and  favors the rich and ignores the kind of us

Zeenat was stunned helpless  at rafat  , what had set into her awful mind 

from previous...

....though  it was a small  soap factory  and his pay was meager,  but it was just the beginning  of shamma  s journey of  life  , it was a turning point  from where started her second  life  , from  this point  she earned  and fed her whole  family  and  sge managed to hold  on in the factory for two years but  somehow   she found herself    tired of the whole thing,  the owner  rana  Bashir was quite generous  and God fearing   but 8n her life  there was a wide  gaping  space  for not God fearing  and politeness  but for  money  , she needed more money  , for  past couple of years she was working  on same salary  no increase  , all the other  girls   had reached higher status , better positions  and  improved their overall appearance,  she quickly picked up several  tricks   from  such successful girls  who  used their  surroundings  as social ladder,  sgamma was impressed and  influenced  by these tip offs, shamma  began looking  for more  paying   jobs around  and then her gaze got fixed  over   intekhab Walid jehangir 

page 90...

.... moon is seen so are the stars

Also the sun  for  ages

But when  you were  seen

Nothing was left  to be  sought 

Heart  bubbled with  joy

O sage for heaven  s sake

All is lost   for your love 

But  when would you  learn of it

O sage ...

kinar khwab jo...

.....nana ji  sawar bhai is here

Fakhra had seen him  on the climb going towards the tea shop from a distance,  nazar hasin also quickly wiping his face with the turban  over his shoulder   enthusiastically   came out, sawar who had left  a day before  early morning  was returning  next day evening time,  from tge shop of mushtaq khan  to reach   azmir hotel  and back  from appearing  for his interview    it had taken him two days,  the hotel manager   rafuq Ahmed had expressed  his   happiness and satisfaction  on meeting him,   but  the owner of the  hotel  javed sahib was to arrive    not before four, , so he spent time  roaming about,  , by five   he was  appointed   on the  spot,  he joined immediately to help  rafiq and  Sadiq till late   night,  he spent the night in  Sadiq  s room, for the  workers there was a  small room in which two  single  beds were  arranged for Qasim and  Sadiq at the end of the ground floor corrido next to the  store room,  he was supposed to  stay there  till Qasim  was expected to  come,  his bag was kept with mia ji from day one,    he had  wisely  kept  an extra  pair of clothes  , he was expected to pickup his  luggage  from  there today,  , even if he was not to  pick up  his carry  bag he was ethically bound to come back to inform  them  and   he was thankful for  for mia ji s support and fakhra s prayers ,  temporary  it may  be he was comfortable  for at least one month,  he reached  them  with sweets and chocolates  to announce  his  joining  the hotel  as a worker  , he was given  a noisy cheerful  welcome 

from previous...

....the girls  made  gazal  s life  terrible 

Heavens  , phuphi  was so greedy,  she was trying  her best to  win but all her arguments were  futile, it was her right, najma  caught the point  precisely,  you too follow  her foot steps  though  she ought not to have done it,  gradually  that friendship came to an end,  each and every resident  became  silent  terrir stricken,   tge season  to grind  red pepper  never returned,  pickled  chickpea  and wild fruit  were wasted,   oratory  and poetic  competitors   turned  speechless 

Magazines that were brought  from  trash pickers in  piles  and  sacks . ! She  would  sort them out neatly  in dust ,, now all was merely  a dream  of the past,  this time   when he reached the haveli  all loaded with  Magazines  he was sent back 

from previous...

....lives of the residents of  the haveli  were  never  proved worthwhile  and wonderful  each one of them  sold off his  share  for expenditures,  now all that they had was the  regular  income from shops  rented out, , men spent their time  gambling  and  ate chicken kozi hakim  only and did  no work  , women of the haveli  were going crazy  , trying to run the  system  of their household  smoothly  without wages,  tge girls  were second  backup  support worried  for them all,  dreams of  golden future  kept them  going,  mostly their dreams were based on life after they got married happily ever after 

page 60...

....salma was swinging  on the metallic  swing   that was quite  rusty  and noisy  , she  expressed herself   abbas was a rascally person   who was pursuing  higher  and  higher  studies  but had no manners  she froze  on the spot  holding her glass of sherbet  , it was June heat but mausuf loved to have tea, , who  could    keep him happy,  only a bamboo  tree could  stand  before  an appreciative   admirer,  both agreed he was a rascally man  who had ballpoint stuck in his brown hair when he reached his in laws  place 

She explained salma can't understand  how much she was  in love with him,  and  she was certain  he was good quality  saffron   that is fragrant ,  salma looked at her pathetically  for it was she  who was pure saffron,  murid abbas  was in comparison merely  an ugly patch in refinement,  love  may be blind  but  for gazal  s fate was  her love  was contaminated,  her love  was one sided mute deaf and blind and  real disaster,  unaware  intoxicated  subconscious 

from previous...

..the  haveli was a blot on the  havelis,   it looked older than  the Raj  era, , sold walls stood strong  till present,  in some  patches  tge leaking  water was caught in containers by the girls  to keep the interiors  dry, tge old haveli was divided into three portions,   strange it was that  each portion  accommodated  three girls,  little  middle  elder and....

But all of them were  fairies,  , flexible like  mulberry  boughs, , tresses  like  black serpents  and gait  so magically unbelievable,  , the most  enchantingly precious  was received by gazal  iftekhar in his share, if anyone  of them had ever seen  temple  dancers ethereal  and  graceful 

page 58...

.....I am  a practical  twenty first century  woman  on whose  one hand  is placed burning  iron and on the other  side her sweetheart is  bidding adeu  ,  she would  choose  to  get rid off  of her  physical pain,   and let her sweetheart go away 

Two  years later   on the first day of the third year  the haveli was shaken up by something the whole family had deliberately   forgotten,  all were left  in  a state of shock,  amma was getting  series of fits not from consuming  something  allergic but  it was what gazal iftakhar khan had said,  her eyes became  monsoon  rivers,  apparently   nothing  but  on second thoughts   reality,, now  sohni  mahiwal  , shireen   Farhad  were buried silent  in history  with their love stories 

from previous..

....what happened  , is everything alright 

 Saima has brought  Farhan  s matrimonial proposal  for you 

! What a Scorpion  who  bit mahi and sucked up all her blood 

Mamma  you ought to have declined   she leaned over the cold metallic  railing  and stared at the road before her  saying it in a careless tone  but her efforts  failed  to convince 

She felt  the  darkness  kept her secret secure,  but her inner self  was  shaken,  

But why mahi after all he is likeable and   I accepted it for you happily 

Mamma he is a witness to that   what I myself  avoid  recalling,  what if he  he tries to remind me of things  i don't like 

Farhan interrupted    them and  doubted uncertainly  8f he had overheard  their conversation  , he was cheerfully  asked to come in , neha  gestured  mahi not to discuss  anything before him, his ammi  was calling her , Farhan had seen  her going upstairs  so he was sent,  it was getting cold  neha asked them to go downstairs  , he wanted to speak with  mahi with your  permission,  Farhan  s statement   transported  neha  down the  memory lane  by the river side  where  ashman  was with her,  shaking her head  she was back  in the present moment 

page 43...

.....give me some money  said Qamar

Without a word she opened her purse   took out three hundred  and handed him

He was not begging for alms , it was merely a pittance,  Qatar demanded for more,  because she didn't want to create a scene  she put tge three hundred back in  to her purse to hand him one thousand  note this time,  he looked at the  money and then at her , she never  had before given him so much  so easily 

He enjoyed irritating her , had  her cell gone low on power, she remained silent,  she argued she had given him the money  now  what was his problem   ,  he needed her assurance  from her from  her tongue  that was uncomfortably  long and wagging,  mahi was shocked  at him, was this  Qatar, what did he care, something gad really changed in this one week,   he shrugged and left her to herself,  she went to stand before the mirror,  the phone on her bed began buzzing,  it was a secure number so she  answered it, , asking rashid  how was he sge sat down on her bed,  hearing  something from him  she sprang up to her feet, shutting off  she quickly called  manwar telephonically  , when could he come  she asked  seriously,  feeling the urgency he decided to reach  her place  as quickly as possible 

from previous...

..... with a click  the  room unlocked  and before shah mir could  understand anything  Taya  abbu  entered the room,   looking around  ge turned his face away,  Farhan followed him, shah mir got out of bed and  tried to run away  but  Taya abbu  caught him by his collar   , Farhan  saw 8t happen  and  his eyes started, , hearing junaid  he had sped off  to reach  the spot   he was aware  mahi will be found  only there,  so  he  had  taken  Taya named in confidence  , they checked  all the  connecting  doors on the  roofs and the stores,  then  shah mir  s name   popped up, all of them  were  still  with shock, shah mir was amongst the group  looking for  missing  mahi and  just  had left  to go to his bedroom  to rest  for he was ill suddenly, 

Taya abbu was  involved  to check  just once  shah mir  s room,  it was imperative to save  a girl  and her life and dignity,  nothing  was above it,  but  what if it was a baseless  doubt, Taya abbu  was an experienced man of the world  and  understood the  importance  of tbe moment   or was it a request  pleading or  his decision  he took out his  set of room keys and  picked out shah  mir s  

Get out of my sight,  or I might  lose  my  patience,  Taya abbu  declared in his old shaking voice  he could kill him , shah mir  disappeared from the room,  mahi was  trembling,  crying  hiccuping   all  at once 

page 39...

....how could you  leave  without meeting me, shah mir stood near ger demanding  an explanation  , he had something   to say,  , tiny little   shimmering lights still were there to illuminate  tgem , both were bathed in glimmer,  soft winds blew  chilling them to their bones, 

Mahi controlled her  rising crazy emotions  and in a flat tone asked  what work did he have  her do , he invited her to see his room,  she felt  like her he too was trying to hide his feelings  and appear normal,  , sge began  to wrap herself around  to warm  up in her half sleeve  dress, 

His room wasn't visible from that spot  ,  to show her his room  they walked up to  the small door followed by her, , all the roofs of five siblings   were joined   by a connecting door like a train  corridor,  it was  in the darkness  and she refused to come closer to the door  and turned to go back,  her mother would be worried  , she was scared  for some unknown  reason,  it must be  the darkness and  the isolation  descended  on her worrying mind,  he called her  by  her name,  she stopped and he in a moment  a chloroform  soaked  kerchief  was placed on her nostrils  till she fell swinging  like a falling  log

from previous..

....mahi  kept  sitting  silent,  how could she have explained  that  plans  of  years efforts  were wasted  and  it was shocking,  sebdctge child home  , look at her condition  worsening,  someone suggested as others agreed  but mahi wasn't  following  she argued  with phuphu  she would go away  but  not before  meeting her mother,  if all was well  why was not she  allowed to see mamma since  morning,  silence fell  on her  logic, , true it was , all of them were around  but nobody had seen neha, , a nurse appeared,  mahi  stood up  stressed,  saima phuphu also  stood by her side,  

The nurse  declared  they could  see the patient  but must remember to remain  silent and  not disturb  and step in one by one 

Mahi  moved forward  asking the nurse to let her see mamma  , otgers nodded their consent,  the nurse turned to  go see the patient  with  mahi 

Neha lay 8n bed, , the drip was  about to  finish  , neha  was  awake  covered  in  a warm sheet up to her neck 

Mamma,  said mahi  softly   going closer to her, mahi  began  how much   worried she had been  , how much  neha had  been careless,  holding her hand  she kept on  speaking  soothingly 

Neha spoke  8n a tired tone  not to think unkindly  of her 

page 35...

.....she had answered her  ammi bitterly  it was her life and  wherever she went  whatever she did  it was her fate from which there was no escape,  some days later  saima informed her of ammi  s demise,  against  ratan s  wishes she reached  mother's home to see ger face for the last time,  there she happened to  see  ashman,  he was still there  having discarded her, , sending  off ammi  to her final  resting place  she  had left,  she  had a grudge against  saima  who had  been  telling her all about her family  but kept  it from her that  ashman was accepted as family,  she broke off all ties with  them all once again 

Rayan thundered  if she  had met her x  and  told him how much she missed him and how much  rayan  harassed her  hitting her before  qamar  their son accusing her abusively but this time she didn't stay silent,  she hit him back and  called him names,  throwing back tge same  things he had flung  at her,   the  four year old  hid himself scared 

from previous...

....getting down in Lahore he had hissed into  neha s ear, it wasn't Lahore but he'll  for her, , in the beginning  he  was verbally abusive   but she had silently  accepted  her  fate and this vegan to irritate  him,  now he began  physically  harassing her, , sge cursed  ashman as much as she could,  sge would  get up at odd times  to offer  prayers  praying   he had a girl child  and  whose fate was exactly like neha s

Then  sge stopped after a while  praying  and   started  to think of taking revenge  from  ashman,  she spent  day and night  seeing herself  as ashman  s murderer,  different methods  in her mind  passed,  she could burn him alive  or stab him, she was blessed with a son, , she for some time  hoped  rayan would change  but  he turned  even more  cruel  and  worse,  he didn't care nor took responsibility of her ration grocery  and clothes,   as years passed by  all her ties were  cut off from  her relatives and friends,  nobody knew where  did  neha live  with  rayan, he turned to drinking and if she  demanded  basic things for  Qamar all she got was a beating and   bad 

words , now she  also had to change  and didn't stay silent,  she  would retaliate,  ratan gad completely  left her helpless  destitute,  she was angry with her family for  abandoning  her, she could  sew and asked her neighbors  who pitied her and  gave her work