page 55

....Romanya was a naturally tolerating type of a person but not meek that amma could  press her into a corner,  her personality was strong and she was matric , she no doubt grew up in the houses of relatives  and who were these relatives  her  real khala married to real chacha   , related doubly  and both  loved her madly and their four sons  adored her like a their real sister,  khala and chacha wished she was married to one of their sons  and she settled down amidst them like a moon casting its  light  because the sons were younger she became elder bhabhi and came to stay with them 

 Khala had trained elder bhabhi  very well  because she always believed she belonged to them, bhabhi  quickly within a week  changed from her newly wedded bridal to practical   gear and took full charge of tge whole household  though  she remained lonely all her life,  amma instead of  giving her elder bahu  credit for being so  strong  kept her under her foot treating her like dust, bhai sahib  remained helpless silent witness  watching his beautiful young bride being  ill treated  but the bride would simply smile and shrug off  she was accustomed to such a hard life 

hum bojh nahi

....where are you,  where to find you  arises spoke out loud to himself,  it was his  habit  to think aloud,  he would  sit in a chair  tired after his work  with his back  resting against the back of the chair  he spent  time thinking aloud  with eyes shut, she was also so lost that didn't   turn to cast another glance   , he  looked for her every where  but   he couldn't find her, three years  passed  and he couldn't find her,  there wasn't any clue of her whereabouts  and  no track of her location , wasn't she  aware of his  sentiments,  if course she knew of his feelings for her, arise had  openly  expressed his  feelings to her,  he looked at her picture in his wallet..zonash, you are very bad,  all this was included  in his  daily routine 

Sometimes  we  unwittingly  treat our  children  unfairly  just because we don't trust  almighty  s judgment  and  we take  control  of all the plans and decisions  in life  and that is exactly what amma did  after abba s  demise  amma  took full control of her elder son and trusting nobody not even almighty she took her son's support in all the matters 

page 49

..,.sge began twisting  her fingers her hands kept in her lap,  she could find nothing to say to him,  zen was absolutely right,  blinded by  impatience    one  forgets what  is right and what is not to be done,  he  interprets others lives  like stories  spinning imaginary  events  pushing tge reality and facts  in the  background 

In future  we hope you won't repeat your mistakes 

Her face blossomed with genuine happiness 

Sge promised silently never to  do something like that again to break  the trust  in one's relationship  , that loses  all meaning and importance leaving it hollow,  she couldn't afford to lose it 

Zen smiled and turned his attention to driving and she turned hers to bhai sahib and zibya story, the truth was out,  , they didn't deserve  that kind of life,  who was in the wrong  she couldn't tell  or perhaps nobody was wrong  but  both of them needed to be reformed,  tasbiha  could  get a complete family   and she herself would be set free from  all her responsibilities,  she hoped  she wasn't being selfish,   she  was satisfied with her self 

page 153

....she said she wanted a good life,  was it wrong of her to want it,, she hated  being an orphan in her childhood,  Claudio gave her security and warmth,   she  gave him the satisfaction of having a most beautiful woman  by his side,  both of them  were equal beneficiaries,  

Several marriages   are based on mutual interest and are great success and  life becomes   comfortable 

She bit her lip she had never done this kind of fun trip before,  it wasn't absolutely right but it wasn't  absolutely wrong either  , John was  a  faded memory,  , he said all he wanted was a sensitivity  that is  forever,   she  pulling him towards herself declared he was just  at the right place,  he pushed her aside  , he didn't want to leave her but larya must trust him he will come back for her again,  larya was  certain  Fred could give her all that she wanted  before Claudio returned  next week,  except that he wasn't  rich enough 

from previous

... on the  Monday morning larya  had her breakfast at the bakery,  this time the weekend was  different  in many ways,  she felt Claudio  wasn't  warm enough like before,  he was charged,  , he  on a point  spoke up he wasn't anymore  that young,  larya turned on her side with hatred  thinking when it was so apparent   there was no reason to be so explicit 

Sge became happy  with Fred within minutes  because she liked his natural cheerfulness and body language  and he was  far more handsome than John,  how long could she have  fooled herself for that loser who didn't even say hus final goodbye leaving her 

page 151

....larya sighed a long  sigh coldly,  he  always had an excuse for not spending more time with her 

Claudio patted her shoulder  did she really believe it he was making excuses,  she  grumpily  explained if she didn't trust him  that's what she would think  that he was meeting another woman in Naples 

That's absolutely correct 

What, she exclaimed shrieking as if he had slapped her face 

He smiled and replied who else could be there besides his adorable mother,  he was a loving son

If she comes to stay with them  said  larya  she would like that    in fake voice,  she was certain  his mother will never like to live with them 

But she is too weak and dislikes  traveling 

Perhaps you should  persuade her  added larya  against  her wish holding his hand  she said they could be good friends and how much she missed him 

Really?

He clutched her hands,  he  feared she might  find someone else   and  forget him 

from previous

....She got up and went inside the room,  the stench   in there  made her cover her nostrils,  a strange  smell  filled the room,  intolerable  it was to breathe she opened the window for ventilation,  sun air and light  filtered in and diluted the  smell, she  picked up tasbiha  sitting amidst  dirty clothes,  tasbiha looked at her and  blossomed   as if she was waiting only for her,  it was the first time ever  she felt a  strong  bond existed between them 

page 45

...ammi , where is azgar , she asked  cutting the vegetables  from her amma,  in the middle of the week she gad persuaded  zen and  come to stay with ammi  because of  parents in law  she  got little  time  to stay out  but God bless  fauzya appa   who came to stay  with  her parents and paved the way for her too to go spend time with her ammi,  one day later she  actively stood up to fulfill the purpose  she was there 

Where is Saturday

Ammi in a lost manner replied she had sent him to get meat must be on hi way back home  , then seeing  she was  ready to leave  asked if she was going somewhere , wasn't zen coming,  was she leaving , ammi asked so many questions in one breath  

Uff amma,  zen is coming in the evening and she was going to meet one of her special friends,  she  explained she had forgotten to  tell her and  patted her shoulder lovingly 

Ammi wasn't certain if it was right  8f zen knew of her plans 

She felt guilty  for not telling him , it was breaking his trust  and  he will not trust her again,  she was taking a risk  but  tasbiha  was also  a worry  in her life,  once   her brother  s character was introduced to her in laws  all would be fine,  she  nodded to ammi she had informed zen and picked up her mobile to call safer,  as she left ammi reminded her zen was coming at seven 

do rukhi kahani

.....narmin make tea

 knead the dough 

Fold the clothes 

Clean cook and run errands 

 These are tge ringing voices all day around in houses  usually  directed towards the girls,  she being the only  girl in the family she was the main target  ,she quickly  completed all the tasks,   ,she was not scared of doing anything nor did she ever shirk from  hard work,  she became  an  accomplished expert  in house management  by just practicing  before marriage,  she was prepared to win over all her in laws  but reaching  the in laws house  all her dreams  were wrecked  , the matter wasn't to make a special place in their hearts  the problem was doing those tasks she had no experience of and that task was to take care of that one year old girl 

Get ger feeder ready

Give  ger a bath 

Put her to bed

So practically all day long  her mother in law  constantly kept her running  around tasbiha, she tried her best to please her mother in law,   she was  getting weirdly crazy  with the responsibility of the whole household management with  tasbiha s responsibility 

Her hopes of going out with husband 

Late-night movies 

Romancing  all were  erased from her newly married life and instead after two months  a n infant girl was placed in her lap with her responsibility  for which she wasn't ready nor willing 

from previous

...then  what happened 

He said he would build a brand new house  on modern style  but that takes time  and  meantime  they would  travel  , the reason they were there,  the town was most beautiful  and  very close to the airport 

Fred showed his surprise how could he stay away from her 

Larya looked at her watch and stood up thanking him for seeing her, Fred  expressed the pleasure was entirely his, she left without telling him her name 

Next day  she was back  again there,  Fred was  busy working in the bakery,  she kept  an eye on him from a distance,  he was kept extremely busy and couldn't speak to her but they managed to exchange  smiles 

She again reached the street at afternoon one of clock,  crossing  the open door of the bakery she stopped,  he was talking to a customer,  he just  happened to glance her way just for a moment, 

She  began walking away  and felt her whole body quiver  realizing it was  just a game,   she was attracted towards him  after John had left she had stayed    safe

On either side of that road  there stood  stone houses  and  the  road  was tightly squeezed  for the walkkers, larya reached the pizza shop, she got herself an ice-cream and sitting  under the  shed enjoyed having it, it was then she observed Fred crossing  past the fountain,  he waved at her

behkawa

...larya happened to cast a glance  taking a stroll  on the road  over there,  every time her husband  was out of town she went to the restaurant  or Cafe to have her breakfast  and  if hungry  enough  would  eat  just bread and fruit  followed by a cup of coffee before leaving , , it was a temptation street  where passers by    window shopoed looking at things with deep interest wanting to buy  something,  she herself went crazy  by the smell of leather and longed to  own  a pair of shoes and handbag  though she didn't need one 

Crossing  the bakery she would always  take a peek inside,  whether hungry or not,  the snacks in the display window  looked  fantastic,  seeing John sitting there her heart was  again  tempted  but he was gone  without saying a word  

For past two weeks a young attractive  woman was seen  sitting at the  bakery counter  , that day she  saw a stranger  s face,  it was  a twenty five year old young man s face  , he had black hair,  he resembled John,  ,  he smiled  when their eyes met, she didn't stop there , she had  no wish to go inside,  she knew men are quick to  misunderstand 

page 142

....Rahim got himself  worried  seeing the huge house  as he sat alone in a large room,  doctor arfan  s son sultan showed him around  now they all were sitting together in the room alloted  Rahim,  doctor arfan said from now onwards he was to stay there  with them like a son ,  arfan affectionately asked him to tell them whatever he needed,   the next day they were to go to  the school,  , 

Rahim had  agreed to come along with arfan  to live with him in the city  persuaded by the  villagers,  he was given admission  in sultan s school,  both  were driven in the same car to school  every day,  sultan was three years his senior,  both became  close friends and share  their secrets with each other,  , Rahim  tried to reform  sultan  fir his unpleasant habits,  sultan  would  merely laugh  off his suggestions 

Arfan also had one married daughter shazya who was a third year medical student,  she was married to her cousin,  , who was away abroad studying for two years, , shazya was a  wise smart girl,  , she  was sister to Rahim, , she also helped him out in his  homework,  Rahim was quite respectful to her,  Rahim was now family to arfan 

from previous

...he woke up to the bleating of the little goat, Rahim had left his  small  herd  to graze in a green  grassy piece of land and  fell asleep under a shade tree, startled he stared at the goat  that was shrieking impatiently  constantly with its head turned towards other direction,  Rahim followed the gaze of the screaming goat   , he saw a boy his age was picking up and  carrying the goat  away rapidly climbing up the slope,  Rahim  clenched his fists in rage and  rushed to rescue the goat from being stolen  , soon enough Rahim caught up with him, the boy was clad in city clothes  and reaching the riad above he spoke to tbe man bent on the bonnet of a car  ...papa papa save me  Rahim had managed to grab him from his collar,  the man turned quickly and wiping his dirty hands with a piece of cloth walked towards the boys

Rahim said  sir  look your son has stolen my little goat 

The city boy denied the  accusation saying he didn't steal it but liked it and picked it up and brought it back with him 

, no dear son, never pick up things that belong to others without their permission 

zamir ka sauda

....he sat crying in the dark room on the floor with his head pressed between his knees,  there was a wooden cot  on which  peacefully slept a girl child of five dressed in extremely expensive frock and shies, her face was innocent like an angel s,,  her appearance  suggested she beloned to  a wealthy family,  he  lifted his head crying to look at the child,  his eyes shed tears uncontrollably,  he also wanted to  empty his emotions through  washing  away his tears, they were the tears of guilt  of being partner in crime,  he was not active but passive partner but  equally guilty of the  crime,  he  wanted to cleanse his conscience  therefore he had brought the child to his own village,  there was another reason  and it was to complete his  task  smoothly,  the child was no unfamiliar,  she knew him and  trusted him  , she was surprised where was she taken 

Uncle where are we going  she had asked the moment they boarded the bus

He patiently explained  he was taking baji  to the village where  there were birds sparrows and parrots to see

The child  happily announced she liked parrots  then  after a pause she asked when will they go back home 

He said her mom was informed and   by the late evening they will be back, she nodded  and began looking out of the window 

from previous

...Alexander never fell down on the feet of chances

If falling  the star never falls on the earth 

Rivers  enjoy naturally falling into the seas 

But never does a sea fall into any river 

There is no yard without a fruit tree consider

If the yard is not hit with pelting stones 

Benefit of no rains is now so much 

That nobody anymore  in town slips down 

muntkhab ashar

....that person  with whom  I am not in love 

Meets me every day  without  disgust 

Now that I am a captive  hang me up

True though I am yet   not ready to argue 

Why did you  pardon a sinner in me o lord 

The judge never favors  anyone  at all

from previous

...who is there 

Throw lights 

They are tied up

They are injured 

A group of four five men stood near by surrounding them and  commented on them , the barking of the dogs had faded  with the arrival of these men,  apparently their duty was done by locating the  captives 

Oh God They are the guests someone  shrieked  recognizing them and then  suddenly the whole  thing changed,  quickly they were  freed , the blindfolds removed,  gags  pulled out,  for quite a while they couldn't see for the blindfolds had numbed their senses,  , tge throats were dry and tongues were leather

The comfort was nobody asked  questions  before  they reached to safety,  the  safe haven was the same haveki like house of nataz shah from where they were abducted 

page 113.

..helplessness leads to fear, , they were tied up and gagged , they couldn't call for help,  their etes blindfolded   they couldn't see a thing but the barking  of the hounds  in frenzy  was a sign of trouble,  they were not cowards  but  they couldn't just  move,  , scare   sweated them drained them of the whatever energy was left, , all that they could see for themselves was a painful death  amidst the hounds, death  by a being shot or a quick exact knife stab wasn't  painful at all as  the  feeling of becoming  meaty morsels  being transferred to the  empty tummies of tbe deadly hounds 

page 111

...he stressed on each word saying he never did  anything meaningless,  

are you married,  

the other man  declared he was of course married  did it bother him , 

not at all,  in fact  the apartment building he was  president of the residents   were  bothered,   some of them were even present in the court  right now 

He looked around searchingly at the  audience  but the  person  he was looking for was out of view, undercover  property agent shafiq

Takmeel arzoo

...she was anabya , eldest of the five children,  brilliant in studies and disciplined who took care of all her family members,  supporting  herself  financially to pursue  higher studies privately  she raised funds by giving home tuitions,  her father knowledge seeker,  mother frugal natured  made a wonderful pair for life,  a anabya  worked from home,  studying in spare time,  household management,  kitchen work  and helping her younger siblings  in their homework and running around  paying the bills and school  fees  because abba a clerk  left for office early with  children  and returned home later than  others, abba defended  her fir being overworked  as other children became lazy and totally dependent on  her but amma  defended her children  saying  anabya was stay home person with nothing much else to do  so it was  her own wish  to  complete all the tasks, 

She successfully completed her  graduation and on a friend's advice joined a B.Ed course,  doing her masters privately and  giving home tuitions  besides her household tasks,  abba prided in her accomplishments and  said she was his son,

Soon enough in blink of an eye  two years passed by and her friend annya  helped her get a school teacher's  job on a decent salary  , the management of the school was with  annya  s brother and father 

Abba  now worried tge younger two girls reached college and she was to be married and she would give her entire salary to amma and she herself managed to get along on the tuitions 

Only abba a appreciated anabya  s hardworking  nature but her siblings and amma  believed it was their right to enjoy on her fruits of labor 

page 263

....hazrat Lukeman  all his long life lived  without  building a house for himself   

He was asked afterlife why didn't he build a house for himself 

He replied when He is watching and monitoring his every heartbeat  what was the necessity  

Reporter,: how did your husband die

Wife:  He swallowed poison 

Reporter: what are these  injuries on his body 

Wife: He wasn't swallowing poison 

page 103

....the  biggest achievement in life is to accomplish that which  seems impossible 

Dream of skies but remember to  be practical with feet firmly planted on the ground 

Useless arguments  kill friendships 

To remove  ego behave  humble and be polite to tge lesser beings 

It's easy to obtain something   but difficult to maintain it

Rectify your mistakes accept your responsibility  but don't misbehave that is unpardonable 

When envy and jealousy takes over  the brains leave to make room for them 

page 29

.....hearing her point Ahmed  jumped up with surprise,  how could this be possible 

Why not , marriage is not a sin, almighty nowhere commanded that single  women widiws and separated cannot remarry, had8sh mentions several  such marriages,  she spoke confidently  and he became thoughtful 

He assured her he would think up of something  but it was debatable,  ammi  could definitely react negatively 

Sge promised to take care of everything if ge was with her and supportive of her plans,  he certainly could never  leave her  he was always beside her, he spoke in a dramatic  manner 

She reached shammo khala  who chanted  just three  names of bhabhi bhata and baji , if she  agreed  all would be taken care of , , she will be married to a compatible  person just like her, he had a woman in his life  but fir a short time  but khala  with you and him it will definitely work out for life 

page 91

Wahialdin was satisfied with the advocate s presentation and asked how much fees to pay,  the advocate  divided the fees in two halves for one half for the son 8n law to pay, agreeing  with him  wahidaldin paid him one half of the amount,  he left thanking him, this was the first part of the case settled out of the court,  the advocate  had a solid  reason behind this settlement to stress  on the point the relationship of husband wife was more  finer than hair strand and more delicate than silk, nobody had a right to interfere in man woman  relationship  because all the world s wisdom knowledge on one side and   the bonding between a  life long companion  on the other side    the entire  weight  leans in the favor of the couple  and all logic  argument and  evidence  fail before it

Wedlock is one of tge weirdest locks  that if once broken not just the couple  but their  clans and species  are destroyed,  husband wife are like  smoke and fog  therefore the advocate  wanted  them to stay together and keep their family connected ignoring each others  nastiness 

page 28..

...it was ber first  ranzan after marriage  , soon the eid will arrive  , like every new bride  she missed her parental family,  specially  she missed her baba very much  because he was left alone  she married off and ammi  dead, 

She was their only child and at twelve lost her ammi  , their life  and family  became a turmoil,  ammi remained sick for two years before she finally succumbed to her  worn out health. 

Abbu never  remarried for her sake though his siblings  tried to persuade him to  make their life easier  but be adamantly and determinedly  performed the duties of both  of a father and of a mother  quite efficiently,  she too tried her best to be a good girl  and by the grace of God  she succeeded in it, in a function  she met Ahmed and  both  liked each other  followed by  his proposal,  she came back home to tell  abbu all about it, she frankly told him she liked the guy but if abbu  found him not right she won't  marry him,  he smiled for he trusted her wisdom and his own  discipline in raising  her so her choice couldn't be wrong,  he will be left alone  that was  saddening them both 

page 87

....two days later hyderaldin rang up the advocate who was  then in his office  after  formal  greetings were exchanged  he asked  him how far his efforts were  effective,  the advocate meaningfully said he had sent her away and she must be on her way to reach her destination  for this   hyderaldin s   help was needed,  

He asked the advocate to explain his point  in simple  words  because hyder couldn't  grasp it and was rather confused 

The advocate explained he had net his  son in law  now it was imperative to see his daughter,  when  he will gear them both and their versions  only then would he be able to decide  what to do next  whether  they could  get along together or khula was the only  alternative,  he continued in a more sombre note if prevention is the best cure and  just by  swallowing a pill the sickness can be  controlled  why go in for  a surgery 

Agreed  wahid sahib promising  to arrange a meeting  between the advocate and Farhana 

That settled  the advocate said during the day he  is kept busy in the court room,  the meeting with Farhana  must be  after court hours in the evening  and in privacy 

page 84

....the  husband wife relationship is the most amazing of all relationship in the world  , delicate  strange  and  difficult,  third person  must always remember the pros and cons  of jumping  between them,  once into the fray then impossible  it becomes to think over  what exactly happened  nor is there  any safe escape 

Adil mehmood was thirty five,  he was married to Farhana seven years, , he was medium built dusky complexioned,  a normal ordinary looking man, , he  worked as marketing and sales agent, these days ge was with  Raza foods company,  Raza foods was actually an import export business  firm, , they   worked  with  a wide range of  foods  selling and buying products  , their office was situated in newchali area and the name of the owner was ali Raza

Since Adil was  working in the  marketing department  he spent  most of tbe day outdoors after showing up for awhile  in the office and after a long day's work he was back in the office to give his report and  completed the closing process  before leaving for home,  he lived in gulshan iqbal thirteen d,  , he  had a bike  from the office to run around for the office hours and  tge office paid for the fuel,  he was handsomely paid,  he  was  living a decent life quite well

According to tge advocate  amjad beg Adil next day ought to have been in his office,  his surmise was absolutely right,  he was contacted telephonically  and the advocate introduced himself 

yaqin

...that case  arrived twice  to him,  first time the wife brought the case second time the husband  , the first phase he managed to tackle out if court  but the second half was quite tough and  sensational  and   was presented in the  court room,  

In the month of December  one winter day,  tge date forgotten  he sat in his office  dealing with his clients when an  aged person came to see him just before  dusk,  after  initial  exchange of   polite talk he asked him professionally   how could he help him,  he introduced himself  as hyder sent by his  friend  Arshad,  , he explained  he was there because  he was worried for his daughter, 

Arshad was a long time friend who kept  on referring  him cases and clients,  he took out his rough pad and  pen and  sighed  before asking the details about his daughter  and what was the nature of the problem 

page 81

....samya get up,  what happened to you 

Uncle was she with you  the girl asked him

, she must be sent to some  mental institution  for the safety of the  society,  the girl  became rather  aggressively  argumentative,  in Bilal s mind something flashed,  a safe haven  for samya  came to his mind,  he got an idea to get rid of her , he called for an ambulance,  a young man  came closer holding a cracked  mobile  shouting foul language for the female who damaged his phone,  an elderly man suggested to get a new one for himself  when they reached Lahore,  the young man  seriously said  he had even made a video of the female and was about to upload  it on his status,  wonderful  let us know of al the updates and comments  said the wife  admiringly,  as the four of them  began discussing about the video  Bilal dragged  samya to  lay her down on a bench  and waited for the ambulance  that could arrive any minute 

page 79

...a man  said he married twice and both wives were dead now what should he do 

Have mercy on women said the listener 

The husband returned from job quickly washed his hands appropriately he was hungry,  suddenly the wife  appeared before him,  she harshly said  what was he doing  , the husband feeling  embarrassed said he cleaned his hands to pick up the child

A famous English dramatist  George Bernard shaw  one day spoke to Churchill  the secret of his  intelligence  health and long life was that he stayed away from women, wine and meat and smoking  all he consumed was vegetables  milk and fruit 

Churchill replied 

Mr shaw I drink twenty-four hours, cigar is always held between my fingers, married   and meat eater and  have a good appetite  and  yet  in no way  I m less brainy  nor  shirt lived nor my health is any worse than yours 

nehle pe dehla

....a shop slogan reads

We can't help  relieve your heartaches but we certainly can  help with your headaches 

Electrician s shop board

whether the lights in your mind  turn on or not  but  our bulb definitely will 

At  a Teashop counter 

So common I may be but my tea is super special 

At a restaurant 

Please  enjoy the meal it's not home-cooked 

At an electronic shop

If you have no trust  get it from here 

At a golguppa stall

To eat golguppas a big open mouth is needed not a big pocket 

At a fruit vendor 

Just be patient 

The sweet fruit of hardworking is provided here 

At a watch shop

Keep check on the slipping time 

Hang it on the wall or tie it on your wrist 

At an astrologer  s

Come and see just for 100 rupees your future episodes here

At a bar

A wine bottle  empties itself to keep the drinkers full

At a hair company 

We save life  by every hairline 

from previous

...she had understood there was definitely something  troubling  shammo  khala  to make her tense and depressed 

She suggested if khala was not interested in sharing her problems it was her decision but  it would  certainly  help her  a lot and much of her emotional lead will  lighten  , khala must know by now she could keep secrets  so her secret remains a secret  and never will it be exposed 

Khala looked at her decisively before sitting down in a lawn chair,  she gestured her to sit down opposite her, , from her etes khala  s trembling  was not hidden,   khala was in a state of  emotional  chaos  and  her broken emotional debris was pulling her  down,  khala was bravely trying  her best  to show herself composed,  she took her chair  looking at khala,  what she was going to narrate  darkened her mind,  her heart filled with sorrow 

Khala said her name was shamma munib Ahmed

She was the  first ever female in the clan to graduate,  she was applauded for being thorough and efficient,  ammi  adored her daughter,  shamma had made her proud  but then  suddenly all that changed,  love  trust and  pride  were overcast and shamma  s new journey from  earth to the underworld began,  her ammi died and  darkness descended on shamma,  brother  mother and shamma were the only family members,  elder sister was married off long time ago and settled down,  , others began  suggesting  shamma and her brother  must    find suitable matches and get married respectively,  shammo will go away to the  in laws and brother will  get the bride to take care of him,  shammo was not ready for her own marriage  or leave her brother alone,  meantime  elder sister finalized  a bride for brother and for her  a  suitor settled in Canada  was  suggested,  life will change for good  elder sister said 

page 63

.....you are extremely  simple  she said standing up,you sit there drinking your beer and someone  fools you with his smooth talk believing every word he said 

Did you tell your parents you are here 

No, she walked towards the door  saying  if he had an extra brain then also he would be so foolish 

That night  Eric  dreamt of different faces  , of them all who visit  uncle Sam s bar regularly,  Vera pointing her finger before scolding  , his  eighth class teacher  emerged in his dream  and the bar turned to his class room,  he was singing  with the chorus,  the object that goes up also comes down,  the classroom was housefull with each desk occupied,  everyone was different in structure and gender but they all had Catherine's face,  the first ray of sunlight  woke him up, he began believing it sge was hit by his bullet 

He ate his breakfast before leaving for the hospital,  there he kept on strolling around as he was  one of them, he went to the snack bar for a while,  he bought a soda and biscuits  for himself,  he observed people  , he saw the woman  whom he had seen giving an interview on the television , she was  aunt of the girl,  Eric started following her, the aunt sat down with others in the waiting room,  Eric  took position right across her, , he picked up a magazine  and  pretended reading it, , his etes were fixed on tbe aunt  who  sat beside another woman,  both  their faces resembled each other,  Eric  surmised  tge other woman must be Catherine's mother 

page 60

....are you still drunk,  her tone was  tired

A little bit yes but why do you ask,  any special reason 

Were you all alone last night 

Of course and you know it  but why do you ask 

So fourth July function you  celebrated by yourself 

Of course,  and all because of you 

Teasingly said she what else did he do besides missing her

Stayed home and listened to the music to kill time,  went upstairs to look at the fireworks  for a while, what else could I have done,  you always spend your weekends with your parents,  how long will this go on

Vera declared this was the last time,  once she moved into his life and house they shall always be together 

Did you tell your parents 

No, not yet 

They won't like it said Eric 

They can't do anything for she was twenty 

They could create problems 

That won't happen,  did you watch the news

Do you know what happened to the poor girl 

No, he was sleeping,  what happened 

Last night she was shot in the head  as she stood waiting outside her house to watch  the fireworks , her place is less than a mile away from yours,  , 

namalum

.... Catherine's  mother and  younger sister  from the porch saw  her fallen on the ground,  she  stood alone outside the house  by the flag pole  looking at the  sea, she was eagerly waiting to see the  fourth July celebration of fireworks,  it already was dark,  the children gathered  in the  playground  were  engrossed in different games,  the whole area  echoed with  bursting crackers,  from the girl's body  blood flowed  that  turned the  lookers on scared, every one was screaming  , every one wanted an explanation,  within  minutes the ambulance arrived,  her lifeless body was   put on the stretcher  before  rushing to the hospital,  her mother also  sat down  beside her, the ambulance was followed by a long  convoy of cars  with her friends and relatives  who all were  in  a state of utter shock  at this unexpected  happening 

walk krty waqt guftgu

....while walking  listening to the music or chewing gum in the mouth  is  a very common  sight  but  talking while walking  is  absolutely wrong,  because  doing  these two  activities together is very dangerous  as it can  produce  imbalances in the spinal cord, 

A latest research conducted  says  for talking and breathing  the brain uses it's same section  to control them, therefore  putting more emphasis on one of the two activities  naturally  the  control of the other is lost  as a result  one becomes vulnerable to injuries  , talking on mobiles  while walking    is a bad news for  them  and   it blocks the flow  of messages  in the central nervous system  leading to  lower  back pain in the starting 

from previous

...she didn't complain  she had some problems,  she remained silent and all over her face was writ she was lying 

Shammo  do the dishes,  not too many family members  and not so many  dirty dishes,  , before she could stop khala  Shammo  s hands swiftly  were  cleaning  the dishes on her sister's  order,  the moment  mother in law  left  them  sge came closer to Shammo khala  in whose vacant wide eyes were  big fat tears ready to roll down that she wiped away before the  precious salt was wasted,  she asked if she  was upset  the maid was gone and Shammo had to do the  dirty chores, khala  shook her head she was missing her family  , she had always done this kind of work and before she was brought here  she had already known it  what  her condition was going to be,  so she wasn't crying for the maid but  missing her family back home 

page 17

...shammo khala  let's  become friends  best friends   who share  everything with each other,   she washed the cups and draining the water  looked at shammo khala  who smiled back at her  saying  she had nothing to tell but was ready to hear her stories anytime  and she was like a daughter to her  better than  being a friend 

She spoke well and it was  a pleasure listening to her

But friends can share what  mothers don't share with daughters 

So they were to be friends only,  it was  a chance to let her release  all her pent up  feelings,  shammo khala  looked amazed  as if she was for the first time  given a chance to speak up

During the month of ramzan    al mubarak the kitchen work  load increased  , all  things  were  to be  cooked on time  and  strict punctual  schedule was followed,  shammo began   speaking more and  laughed more often 

from previous

...alham felt she was kept in a basement,  it wasn't  a typical  dark basement  but   quite a complete  and modern  style  basement  equipped with everything  she could want,  a middle aged  maid animal was her chaperone,  for the first three days  alham screamed  and shouted  her heart out , Anita   comforted her and began  feeding her  morsels of food  , besides  animals she could  glimpse   another person  in the  basement  , a lean tough like iron  jamshed who was in his  late forties  who declared she was to remain detained there for a few more days  and  spend time watching television and movies 

page 27

....suddenly  Adil s mobile  began receiving  signals,  he was  shaken up completely,  quickly looked at the  screen,  it was the same number unable to locate,  he receiving the call walked into  the other room,  he could hear jamshed  khan  s  extremely  sharp and shrill voice  like  a sword cut, he  without any  frills coldly said  to not  let his police officer friend sheikh or anyone else   put their  dirty sniffing noses into the  matter,   , he had  his daughter  kept with him like a daughter with dignity and respect  until  Adil forgot to  cooperate  his statement  faded  away  with  meaningful  threat 

Adil asked  trying to hide his  shaking voice  what did he want 

Simple,   fight  of eight rounds with the opponent and  his bank account will  increase  in millions of euros

Adil explained it wasn't possible because  of his physical condition 

Jamshed  said whether Adil was interested or not Jamshed wanted this money and win and Adil was  fine  but he was doubting himself, 

Adil explained only last month his back pain was  back 

Jamshed argued Adil cooked,  jogged  drove  and  did all his  daily routine  himself,  it wasn't  Jamshed but Adil   stubborn to  admit  it, in fact before Adil all his reports reached  Jamshed 

from previous

... tge daylight had  spread but Adil  still felt it was absolute dark, both Jamil  and he were still there in the same house in shekhopura where tabana and her mother were,  his friend  arfan had gone back to Lahore,  one of his officers had called him,  , last night the number from which jammed khan had  phoned was shut off, , Adil was waiting  desperately  for the  unpleasant man to ring up again,  from crying tabana  s eyes had turned red, , but now she had managed to  control herself,  her face was swollen  and  looking at ger made Adil upset

page 15

....your ammi was elder sister and should have helped  them,  he never  spoke against his ammi, he explained  ammi always sent mamu monthly allowance  but she  avoided showing her sympathy to them  because she wanted them to feel comfortable and lead a life with dignity, shammo khala   also needed  attention,  nobody tried to get her married off , in fact she was a full time maid to mami, , she didn't want to lose such a good maid, shammo khala raised their three children,  the children got attached to her and  slept with her, mamu stayed alone in his own room,  to see mamu in a pathetic condition  hurt him, but what could he do for him,  , ammi  stayed connected to them for their sake  and nobody in the family of the in laws  ever spoke  against them 

But when shammo khala  had lived her life so far  there what made you bring her here home to live with us now 

He said just because he didn't share  something with her means it wasn't  worth telling  so it would be better  not to ask much about it but  there was her life  and she in a miserable condition and his conscience didn't allow him to ignore her  so he brought her home without taking permission from ammi and without informing anyone 

from previous

....two  benefits happened of warning  being arrested,  one was  it became easy to trace exact location of tabana  second  warsi could help find her safely,  if alham was really  kept captive by tabana  and  now it seemed possible   in that case tabana was  to be  taken care of  very  carefully,  arfan also reached the barrier  in his private car on a personal unofficial  stand,  plans and strategies were  discussed 

By then it turned midnight twelve,  tabana was located in a new residential colony  in single storey building  in shekhopura,  according to the plan warsi pressed the  house doorbell,  arfan was with him in plain clothes,  tabana herself opened the door,  warsi introduced  arfan as his mamu who purely coincidentally  happened to meet him on the side street turning,  after some initial hesitation  tabana let him come in,  she made them sit in the drawing room,  she couldn't have suspected warsi had brought the police with him 

page 23

....when Jamil and  Adil were  some five kilometers away from shekhopura  arfan  phoned them, he gave them two very important  pieces of news,  the first was  that tabana  s mobile  was  turned on for a few seconds  and that   warning s phone location was traced moving towards  shekhopura , most probably he could be stopped from entering shekhopura, there was already  a barrier  set up at shekhopura, 

It was proved warming had lied, when minutes later  arfan informed Adil  that warning was  arrested  something  lighted up within him, , by the time the two brothers reached the barrier  warning had received   a healthy beating,  he was  looking and behaving  helpless,  seeing them  his  color  changed  several hues

They began  questioning him,  it was  inside  the police van standing in darkness,  his own Suzuki  Mehran was parked on the side of the road 

, all he could  tell them over and over again that one hour ago tabana called him telephonically to urgently reach shekhopura,  he was following her instructions to reach the address and what were the madam and the miss going to tell him was to be told after he reached there 

from previous

...Jamil spoke to Adil   he had instantly  comprehended  seeing the clipping in the news paper  that tabana  s family was not right,  alham   s association with  tabana was harmful for the innocent girl  but  the question is is tabana really  capable of going that far  and take such an extreme step,  at that moment  harfu baba  panting  rushed into the room  , he told Adil  there were  two  flower  pots found broken by the gate,  he asked him to see for himself,  , both brothers  Adil and Jamil followed the baba to the flower bed near  the gate,, the lawn was grassy and  garden lights were on , harfu was right  someone had  stood there  been there  for  the footprints were  all around  and two  mud pots were smashed up, it couldn't possibly be  a cat  because the footprints belonged to human being  s, Adil was forced to think  what alham had shared with him there was one warning the manager in the judo club  and tabana and her mother were  very close to him,  ge us their trusted man  on whom  tabana  leaves all the responsibility of the club,  Adil along with  Jami reached the club, it was a semi commercial area with a modern  building,  the neon  sign if the new age club was shining  over the building 

from previous

....two days later  alham  briskly entered   Adil  s room  and asked her father  if he knew  it tabana was in the hospital,  Adil was shocked  

Alham explained  Tabana  was admitted  she had taken wrong pills,  they must hurry to see her but Adil was reluctant  and not in a hurry,  he was certain  it was a reaction to two days ago argument,  Rahat the maid was sent  to find out what had happened,  tabana  s neighbors said she took   the rat  poison  , Adil tried to explain to his daughter not to be so quick 8n visiting tabana  because   she and her mother  had a bad reputation,  he showed her the newspaper cutting  given him by alham  s chacha,   secretly  Adil wanted tabana to get well  soon but  was scared she could mention his name before the police  but her statement cleared him  to his relief,  , Adil saw for sure tabana drive past in a car high speed several times  , once he was standing at the gate  but she didn't turn to look at him   ,  hus doubts proved him wrong  sge didn't  write him any letters nor did she send him any messages or call him 

page 14

.....what is it

She replied  it was an eid card, she  apologized for not giving it yesterday  , it was  because of the chaos but usually  such festive cards are given  and  the  beautiful tradition is lost  because of digital  messaging  on mobiles,  she enjoyed  exchanging greeting cards  personally,  she  placed the  envelope   by hus pillow 

She wore a loose silk  night gown  yet her figure   looked good

Adil   was quite   bored but still thanked her  for being so thoughtful,  she must   take care of herself  for how long  will she sit there  rubbing his head,  he was down with  a bad flu,  it is quickly  spread

She smiled  strangely before adding  she would be happy to catch  his flu,  with that she  left the room 

Adil was  even more  confused and embarrassed,  he slit opened the envelope to see the eid card, a pleasant evening  with a tall evergreen tree by the  trunk of it sat a girl looking at the  earth touching  boughs and right below  there were printed  a romantic couplet 

Adil took a long sigh and  put away the card  , he wasn't a naive  man, , he was  a man  of the world,   he was  very aware of the  path  Tanana was walking on,  she was approaching  like  an unleashed  uncontrollable  flood  totally unaware Adil actively disliked it

bhabhi bhaya aur baji

....she asked Ahmed if she could speak  to him  , her tone was sweet   as he watched   Shahid afridi , her question   was heard but his eyes were still glued to the television screen  as he rapidly  began   delivering  a memorized  speech 

Does you worry,  you are looking gorgeous,  his gaze stuck  on the television  he added  she  looked  a divine creature  today  in fact  more ethereal  than  the divine,  certainly her hair suited her so much,   he was testifying  her tresses  were  silk, her hair do  was  so good  she must always   appear in that style 

She heard him out , it was absolutely  useless chatter,  she wanted to hit ger head somewhere  but  checked herself  or ge would have given her a cool look and said  dear that action looks so good on her 

She was ready to argue,  all the points he praised her were   not  valid,  but he always  responded  by admiring her whenever she used sweet tone  and asked him  if she could speak with him 

He had learnt by heart  several  poetic metaphors  to make her happy  but watching the television  specially  afridi Shahid  he forgot his lines well learnt and   mismatched  some phrases 

She glared at him and at that very moment  Shahid afridi  was  declared  caught out 

from previous

....catching  ber point  Adil explained his injury was quite complicated  , surgery for  such  was not  easy, thankfully  he could  manage to walk around,  suddenly Tanana asif  scowled  wasn't something burning,  now  Adil too could  smell  the burning    , he was heating his food when  he had heard  the door bell  , he forgot  all about it  engrossed in talking to her,   he quickly  reached the kitchen  , his chicken  potatoes were destroyed,  holding the dish with a napkin he removed it from the stove,  some  of tge gravy spilled over his trousers and feet,  he felt burning  sensation  on his left foot, Tanana had followed him into the kitchen,  the kitchen  was  smokey, Tabana  quickly turned on the exhaust,   ger gaze fell on his  foot, she exclaimed  the hot gravy  had  fallen on him, sge sat down  on the kitchen floor to wipe his foot with her shawl,  embarrassed he pulled back his foot, , she insisted and took off his chappals  to clean up his toes, did he have an ointment,  he pointed  towards a cabinet 

page 9..

.....Adil  once more  looked at her from head to toe,  she had an openness  to her  way of talking  walking  and  dressing up, she was strong  and  flexible,  players  usually have that type of a body,  she was also  watching him assessing him,  she  began showering compliments on Adil, he felt  probably she wasn't aware  of how much  she knew  herself,   his entire  career depended on it, , on what dates when where  between which teams  the competitions were held,  how many  knick outs and who all declared  mot outs,  she  had memorized  scoring and fines too, how remarkable  she was 

She was an enthusiast,  if her dad was alive how  amazed he would have been to see him, suddenly remembering something she asked him   if he was badly hurt  in the accident,  it was said he was to for life be in the wheelchair  but God forbid  you look  well 

Adil smiled  he wasn't as well as he looked,  he takes lots if care  while  walking and sitting down,  he had a special  bed for him 

But sir, you look so handsome and young still,  spontaneous her statement   was realizing  what she had said  turned her red, , she  carefully  added  orthopedic and  physiotherapy streams were  quite advanced,  she hesitated   why didn't he  go abroad  for a treatment then she  fell silent 

mukeybaz

...life is a river  that constantly  flows,  making  turns and taking turns  and never  stopping,  sometimes   life  brings new  turning points  in life   that  leaves  one  in a state of sheer shock,  the flow of life   keeps it moving  and  it keeps making new changes  these changes sometimes  leaves one  in a state of shock 

Adil was in bed on his side,  he habitually  lay on his side,  on one wall  hus dead wife's portrait was hung,  some seven years ago she  left him alone  to reach another destination  , it was a motorway accident  that took her life and  made him a cripple,, their   symbol of love  Alhambra was safe,  the presence of Alhambra their daughter  kept him alive and looking forward  for something to hope for in life 

He was tired  staying on his one side in bed for long,  he turned on his side  now sambal his wife's portrait was before him,  every time he looked at it he felt she was encouraging him to live,  in fact  now he truly   found  courage  to stay alive 

He carefully git up, the wall clock showed one of clock mid day,  the maid  Rahat was on leave today,  she  had though  cooked  for him and left the food  properly  kept in the fridge,  Adil very carefully  bent and took his food out from the fridge  and  carried it to the kitchen to heat it, at that very moment  the door bell  startled him,  he waited a while  on the third   bell he crossed the lawn  to reach the door, 

He asked who was there 

A sweet voice asked him to open the door,  he craned his neck and stood on his stretched toes to see a good looking  young woman covered in pretty shawl stood outside  the door