Roshan zindgi ka chiragh

Silence prevailed the room,  she  wasn't liking it  at all,  each  moment ticking past  was  making her more uncomfortable,  her  eagerly waiting eyes  staring at nafos before her sitting in his bed,  but  he was  diving  in the  deep ocean of surprise  , wide eyed he  carefully looked at the  eager waiting eyes,   he failed to catch  any trace of softness  in his mother's eyes 

His gaze moved from his mother  to his father  sitting some distance away,  whose  expression was  of sheer surprise but no hardness , his heart felt a little better,  he  mustered enough courage to sit upright  and  took a sip of  his tea to   remove dryness in his  throat  and opened his mouth to say something  but his mother lifted her hand to keep his mouth shut 

How dare you  speak to me like this,  her voice was  flared up 

Ammi,  please try to  understand let me explain,  please  think it over once again, for my sake  my happiness , 

But  in this matter  I am not willing  and not ready to cooperate,  it is absolutely impossible,  better  to change your mind 

Change my mind  but what about my heart,  he turned to look at his father for some support 

raston me bikhar gayi

She thought her younger siblings  were  deprived of the  taste of sweetness of father's affections because  their abba jan  had left this world many years ago  , yet  the brightness of his lovely eyes  and his adorable smile   and his strong arms  and the  grip of his hands  had been  guiding her all along,  she always felt his protective presence around her,  the only  benefit of being a first born is you get to live more with your parents,  you gain more  and have a bigger treasure of memories  and then  responsibilities  befall  reducing you to  nothing,  amna hyder  was a new member in the staff,  tall and wholesome,  complete personality  and beautiful,  silent searching etes  this was  amazing hyder 

How deceptive is the   matter of friendship,   their unknown  bond started  by their likemindedness,  both  were similar in nature kindhearted and virtuous,  amna  hyder and noshin nazir

Noshin was   a teacher of urdu literature,  amna of physical education  extraordinary and  matchless 

Why don't you simply relax sometime always  riding a flying horse,  sweating and dusty and tired  amna lifted her eyes up

Can't this fan  move any faster  she pointed towards the fan

Not at all,  because it's already  on its maximum full speed  

Let's go to the computer lab,  there is room  air-conditioning 

, 

page 151

....when  one of the most  brightest of brainy person is happy  or unhappy  in both  such extreme conditions  his  mind wavers away from  the  important and  matters of priority,  in this way  jivan also was  going through  similar problems,  David   hit his back  in a manner that he dared not commit a sinful mistake of displeasing  David 

It is considered  normally a crime to go against what we really like,  our weakness are not known to our idealistic  minds,  and  they remain  forever  perfect in this idealistic state, , our blind faith,  deaf trust, mute honesty pushes us very far away from reality and truth,  it leads us to a dangerous situation and  it is quite  a worrying  matter,  idealistic state is non existent  and  brings more harm  and loss to humanity,  you are  free to disagree with my opinion 

Sir, I am standing   by the  well , the compass is showing north  west,  informed jivan  

Fine,  do you see a tunnel in the wall   continued David  giving him instructions  , this is the  tight narrow route  that would take you directly to the  spot  inside the  basement  where  you will find what you are after 

page 149

...jivan left the statement incomplete,  David asked him in a stable manner to tell him of his  thoughts  jaisal

The participants in that reality t v show were given dummy name  like  jasam was  jibran , jivan was jaisal, , right now David was discussing  those dummy names  with jivan I think  jibran never  got down that well  explained jivan his viewpoint,  right, I think   reaching the well he changed his clothes  and  threw the bag and the clothes and  shoes into the well and left  to find  a new pair of shoes  not difficult for him 

Of course,  your story  is so very interesting  but let me tell you jaisal it's unbelievable said David  frankly,  jibran must be  there inside this well,  go and find him,  David  s manner  of speaking of jasim s presence in the well suggested just one thing  for certain David had been  monitoring every move  jasim made remotely from long distance,   it was only possible if David had secretly  hidden a tracking device in jasim s bag 

This queen idea sent a shiver down jivan  s spine,  David s reality t v  was  proving  horrifying 

deher

...one should always raise a point to keep it secure in mind  to work on it later 

And what is that  important point  asked Jeremiah  showing his deep interest 

This point has two aspects explained Jeff  maintaining his  seriousness intact,  firstly  they  would go through lots of painful experiences  crossing the desert to reach luxor  , loosening up all their integrated  bones  to sheer exhaustion,  naturally their first priority will be to  recover their lost  strength and have a wholesome sleep,  secondly,  their group leader has  informed  they plan to use the hotel as their base,  so there wasn't any need to  run away from the hotel,  by then within a couple of days they would have  restored  their vigor  and rested enough  and re-energized 

What conclusions  to do you come up with that intervened   Gerard asking Jeff before he could complete his  statement 

Do explain in  plain words said Jason 

 How can we  go about your point 

What if someone mixes something in their breakfast to make them unconscious  , whether they all sleep in just one room or two , it will be quite easy to rob them 

page 145

How long can you stay here in hiding,  the smuggler is sheltering you  along  with the cash amount of ten lakh  there were also  diamonds worth five crore,  I want those diamonds and the typewriter 

What is this new point  cropping up of diamonds,  I don't have any idea about it  responded  Shahid angrily 

Mrs harun demanded the diamonds from you that she had  kept with  the Seth Karim bakhsh from the fear of Income Tax raid you both  killed ali fir them , let ne tell you  I shall  get the noose around your necks said the inspector  Ahmed khan  threatening him

Offcer you are an experienced investigator,  we did ask for ten lakh from that old man,  his mood git spoiled  how could it be possible for him to keep the  cash and the diamonds  worth a treasure with him  explained Shahid truthfully 

By the evening if you don't get me the typewriter and the diamonds  that smuggler s den will be  attacked with this  line the inspector turned away and left 

Shahid became extremely troubled and  hitting the table   he asked himself how could he  get himself out of this  problem,  he put his head down on the table and broke into an uncontrollable burst of  tears 

typewriter

....youth is passionately crazy,  everyone knows that,  this  phase of life  provokes the youth to enjoy  in their own way  no matter what,  Shahid, ali and tehrim  sat in the college canteen  planning  new mischief,  ordinary in studies   they always  stayed ahead  in  wicked ways,  they were  notorious  three  of the college,  now they were  busy discussing  new ideas sitting together in the college canteen 

Last year it wasn't any fun  on the April fools day,, so something new and different must be done this time  it was  a spark of a flare   from Shahid 

But friends these are commonplace old fashioned ways no longer considered  entertainment  expressed  her views  tehrim 

Whether people  celebrate it or not  we must make  it interesting and modify  it  for  us added  ali his  opinion 

If I hadn't  arranged this  practical  joke  our college cricket team would have certainly been defeated 

page 47

.... Laila got married without any obstacles,  the guests departed and the  scattered house was  gathered again  though it took several days , the hangover  of  the exhaustion  of a wedding  season wasn't  really over  that suddenly  human s mother  was struck with a stroke leaving her paralyzed  and bedridden,  to enquire about her condition  people began pouring in,  human arranged for a full time  caretaker for his  ailing mother  but  samira  was  burdened with extra work  and  doing overtime,  her days and nights were  spent  looking after the guests and their children,  cooking  cleaning and furnishing,  special  food for her bedridden mother in law,  trying to find solace in ammi s instructions,  arfa was a different type of a woman altogether  who  took no interest whatsoever in household  tasks,  she frankly showed her displeasure in her husband's susters visiting them, , she locked up herself inside her room resting and not letting anyone disturb her,  Amar was  completely  under her magic spell doing  things for his wife,  following only her wishes and commands,  speaking her language and seeing the world through her eyes 

Bhabhi it's just you who can  survive these  girls presence,  why don't they stay in their own place m this is a modern day  and  married women have so many other choices besides coming back to parents homes permanently camping  there 

manjhli bahu

....the house was  full of noisy   chaos,  Laila samira s youngest sister in law  s wedding date was to be announced today,  guests were to  arrive in the evening,  the  food arrangement was  given on contract to the professional catering service  but  her elder and younger  brothers in law and  both married sisters of her husband  were  already  reached home at midday,  sisters  directly entered the kitchen  to see her, and lend their hand,   where she was  cooking  for the family,  the  children party quickly took off with their  playing   creating a  nuisance,   running around shouting screaming  on top of their voices  dirtying the floors that had been recently  swept and mopped clean and spoiling the  decorations  , scattering their  toys everywhere,  empty wrappers of biscuits and chips , turning  the vases down or sideways,  cushions from the sofas picked up and thrown at each other,  nothing was  left  alone  safe in their  presence,  within minutes the whole house looked  a   defeated battle field ,  yet  without a frown samara good naturedly kept on doing  things  she was supposed to do,  now  soon enough  Laila will be married off and sent away,  thank God their final responsibility was also  successfully done,  cleaning up the  mess in the  lounge she thought,  she  will now  get  sufficient time to take  care of her own children,  wasi was small but the other two were  growing up, how time flies by,  if she saves today  only then can she  use it to properly give   them good education in future 

page 107

.......Your progress is showing  commented danyal  his tone laced with hidden envy  to faruq, within three months your  paunch is flattened and  and built a muscular body,  both were s I in the crime task force gossiping 8n the  office,  both were  free of the  police department  management working independently of the force yet for it,  like the f b I they worked  to catch the serial killers,   successfully solving   the highlighted  on the  media cases,  the  command of this special force was  in the  hands of inspector nazya kirmani,  most competent  and reliable and  brainy , invited to all high profile meetings arranged by her seniors,  her  presence  was quite important and impressive,  the head  office was situated in a posh area  in a beautiful attractive location,  in a hall of the building   a wooden partition  was  raised   to  run five  cabin offices and in one of those cabins  sat chatting  faruq and  danyal,  other cabins were  not occupied that time,  their colleagues were on the field work or outside job

Faruq was stepped into his forties,  for some time  he was  given desk job instead of field work the  reason he  had put on weight  , including danyal all his  cooffice staff  expressed their concerns,  he was himself  a fitness  fad , he was number two after nazya for every mission  , field work and action , physically active  ready to jump  on the slightest of gesture  and tip off 

Come on, this is not a police station  where nobody bothers how much  fat layers you have put on you said danyal  in low tones,  anyway madam  nazya   from her last experience likes her force agents to be  perfectly fit in every way 

Graham was nazya  s husband  who was martyered  in action,  they worked together,  she had brought him to this special force  but  he wasn't  physically fit for  c t f

rah e maqtal

...his hand came down with a slash and the  flesh and bones  separated,  he began  quickly  with  ease and expertise   chopping  the flesh  into neat chunks with a sharp knife,  using his  sharp knife he passed it through the  tough bones  as if it was  warm soft butter , tired  faces  and eyes  he was gathering  his  own scattered  self  into small pieces  

It was  a wooden  cabin damp a stuffy stale , in the  dim lit lantern  just his  face and the floor was  barely visible,  his  appearance was  all sprayed in blood,  his  face showered in blood was horrifying,  though  a window or two were open  but the whole wooden cabin  stank of blood  flesh and bones spread over the entire floor,  if someone  at that point  stepped in he would be dead of sheer shock  but  he was  calm and quite relaxed,  with every  chopping sound he  uttered  all was finished,  a quivering choking  sound was stuck in his  throat,  slashing  was  ending  and with the last chopping of the chunk he collapsed  as he fell  

It was  stark midnight   , there was no moon  as far as one could see,  the government buildings were  enlisted for power cuts and  the  museum  was  therefore  in the dark  and not illuminated,  the  men in black hiding  at the  back of the  museum  merged in the shadows  and were  unseen  , they waited eagerly for the  right moment 

page 95

....the three of them   came to the garage  so that they could  get their luggage in and arrange it, he was surprised   to see  Charles   give him helping hand  to carry his luggage to the walt,  a large table was specially  placed in the  center  on which Martin and  and he began  putting the pieces of treasure,  Charles   began  elaborating about each item,  but the other didn't pay any attention to that,  , Martin   attached his flashlight and laptop and to check if it was working right he pressed a button,  the blinding light flashed stopping Charles and Martin in the middle of whatever they were doing 

What was this asked Charles  

Nothing to worry,  I was just checking the connection 

Did you take any pictures 

Not at all 

Please delete this file , coming close to the laptop screen said Charles 

Definitely,  the image on the screen was showing the inside of the walt, he  pushed the delete button 

Now  empty the recycle bin,

Martin  found the  image and  deleted it also from the bin,that done  both  got to working,  and he began setting background paper

The photo shoot was  going on nicely,  Charles would  carefully  pick up each piece  one by one   from the wall, Martin was  there assisting the storyteller,  each  baseball was  given full  detailed information with all lights focused only on it, carrying it from one spot to another,  quickly clicking and keeping another baseball  for another quick shot,  but the last one  had  thick brown layer  over it  as if it had been used throughout the  entire match 

gale ka haar

He was startled to see an update on the newsreel, Robert Charles,  old Town home,  found dead,  he read the  full story  and then checked it  on other six web sites , almost similar  in  the  sense , , in the morning  the house cleaning maid  arrived to find him dead,  according to the police report  he  succumbed to head injuries  but  there wasn't  anyone suspected for murder  or foul play  but investigation was being made,  he messaged Martin  if he had heard something about Bob,

 no, what happened 

Check the local websites 

Five minutes later  he messaged again  if the police had  questioned him

Not yet and did they contact you 

I don't know,  I spent the night at the   Delavan  lake 

Martin was a night club band member besides a photographer and printer,  it was  his  hobby  that  became a priority  with  increasing age 

Just a month ago Martin had  invited him for a photo shoot  through email,  Robert Charles  had a rare collection of famous basketballs,  a valuable treasure,   and Robert was planning to get them picture documented by some professional photographer  but his condition was to shoot his treasure at his place and not in the studio,  he never carried his  precious  collection outside his home 

page 68

....they were moving forward  at a fast pace  to catch up with nazir traveling on a cart , he was turning  into the shopping lane, Nadar asked to stop tge scooter, the narrator  questioned why was he asked to stop he was  ready to beat up nazir  and  get the information out about  fauzya, his each pore was  outright aggressively  eager to smash his foes up, 

Don't get so overwhelmingly excited  Nadar tried him  to  see common sense , there wasn't any need to break his bones because  nazur was already pathetic  and not easy  to Crack but a tough nut

So, what to do next,  should we drop our plans 

Listen,   I have a perfect   way  in my mind  to tackle rascals like him, 

Let's simply go along with him playing the game he wants us to play 

What's that

Leave it to me , then in a slow  whispers  he told me the  whole  strategy,  what an awesome  brainy scheme,  

First of all  we reached a mechanic  and  one and half liter  petrol   got filled up in the scooter  and kept following nazir,  villagers glanced  at us before  getting about their  life 

Everyone was  busy doing something important for his living,  the day  was spent  and  now  the threat of police and enemies  increased,  they  must stop somewhere  to take some rest   but  they couldn't afford to lose  nazir, but he  turned round  by the evening  headed towards the village  southwards  which was an uninhabited area and quite secluded 

page 27

...hadya was married off and  moved to  Dubai,  samaya  s exams were over,  she had done wonderfully,  she was certain to get admission in the medical college,  she even joined  an academy to prepare for  her entry tests,  shakil  was  giving her full attention and support  , it was his ultimate dream,  she also  was  deeply involved in her studies,  , she reached home just to  get hadya  s missed call,  she was online on Skype,  she quickly joined her on her mobile 

How are you hadya , how are you doing 

Perfectly fine and what about you all , daughters after marriage  miss their parental  side more intensely and if married and sent abroad  the girls  get emotionally stuck forever  in her maternal  family,  no matter how nice the in-laws are she  can't  wipe away her sentiments for her affectionate memories,  hadya smiled sadly 

No worries,  mamma, bi ama, tahya bhai and others all are well,  she mentioned each one,  to  let her sister  know  everyone was  counted 

Umar showed up on the screen  smiling naughtily  that samaya  forgot to mention one name,  she wished him and in surprise asked who did she miss  mentioning 

Responding  pleasantly to her greetings he commented she didn't mention herself,  that was a healthy teasing,  she  agreed  she forgot because  her mind was preoccupied  with her medical entry tests hanging heavy on her,  zarun was  extremely  hard and  strict  about her future,  he was  aspiring  and ambitious his wife  should be  a doctor,  samaya  in love with him  was merely following his instructions  and working very hard  yet she was nervous  and uncertain 

page 26

....smoothen Henna on palms, decorate the carriage to  adieu farewell 

Oh, beautiful  to take you with him,  will come your  groom

The marriage date was fixed and time flew past  so fast  that  Henna ritual  began with  a noisy bustle,  girls were ready with  music and songs and boys were prepared for a dance session,  practice on both sides was on war footing  aggressive  and  energetic,  samara was the sister of the bride  was in the lead,  she was  given leave from studies by zarun for  some days,  raiya and she were  kept busy in the  last minute  function preparations,  saba was  saddened at the thought of her daughter going away abroad  and constantly praying for her  good life and fortune 

Henna was to arrive from  Umar  s house,  both  samara and raiya were dressed in similar  dress,  samara had put on floral   ornaments and felt good as a fresh blossom,  samara was  ready to hit the  dholak  before the arrival of other girls  but  she couldn't find the dholaki, it simply had disappeared like magic 

Calling her mamma she began  coming down the stairs and her dupatta entangled her foot spraining  it, she would have rolled down the stairs but a strong hand stopped her fall, it was  ali cousin of Umar, 

from previous

.....poor woman,  she is a destitute  brought here admitted by the  passersby on humanitarian grounds,  she was  hit by a fast running car while she was  crossing the road,  she is given  emergency treatment and she is still unconscious and  be staying in the hospital until she recovers  and is able to walk  by herself  and the doctors will help her reach wherever she wants it,  ..Yasmin said he was working for an n g o  and they also gave aids to such  needy destitute people,  can he be given permission to visit her anytime 

...of course,  you can come anytime,  the nurse answered   but this hour of the day you will find her  sleeping   on calm pose administered  on her,  if you want to speak to her  you must  visit her in the evenings 

..Yasmin thanked the nurse for her cooperation and exited the hospital,  wasif ali  must be brought  this time,  it was perfect  when the woman slept 

,  he had found  the  right woman whose face was all tied up in bandages,  his  devil mind  was working overtime and he brought wasif ali  to see the unconscious woman in the hospital same time the following day m to reach the  helpless woman  he found no problem and Yasmin stood clinging to the bed as wasif  stood some distance away watching them,  wasif ali  showed his  sympathy for Yasmin  s mother and enquired  why her face  was  bandaged 

..sir, he explained,  mother  has become aware of her  illness,  he  was ready with  answers invented in his wicked mind 

from previous

....five days had passed since his lung cancer post, several  donations  of one and two thousands  were  showered  on his account,  but no big fish  so far gad appeared with big money,  in fact  some of them were  sharks ready to kill him for his money,  when he was about to  give up  after a week or so  he got a phone call from a generous  decent person  in the evening  asking if he could speak to Mr Yasmin,  he explained he was himself Yasmin speaking  in a tired voice 

The man introduced himself as wasif ali who was  running an n g o, his  n g o also helped  the needy, the post he had  posted on the social media of his mother's  condition  crossed his eyes,  he had been abroad  on a trip   that's why he couldn't call him up earlier,  Yasmin was  invited to see him the next morning in  the office,  he promised to help him 

Yasmin thanked him  gratefully  and added rather emotionally  that may almighty  bless him for his  graciousness 

Wasif ali dictated his address and explained the location and ten o clock was the meeting time   okayed

Quickly he agreed and put the phone aside  and  cheerfully began dancing,  his dreams were being answered,  tomorrow six lakh  were to be  added to his account,  it was a success  and he was excited  and thrilled about it,  his plan was working wonderfully,  he spent a sleepless night,  the next morning  Yasmin got ready quickly and reached the office on time to see wasif ali who pleasantly greeted him and explained  his  n g o is ready to help  but  he needed to see his mother once , just a formality 

from previous

Yasmin was about twenty five,  completed his inter in science,  he haled  from a small town,  his parents wanted him to  become a doctor,  that's why he had taken up that stream,  he  was honestly a work hard student,  he left no stone  unturned  regarding his studies  but his bad luck  unsettled his  life routine , not exactly  a misfortune  but a social flaw , Yasmin had obtained eighty percent in his finals,  exceptionally  capable  but  he failed to get admission in any medical college,  his financial condition wasn't   letting him  stand up for himself  and pursue his career,  he was put off his  heart heavy , he put aside his studies  and  started  doing  petty jobs for a living,  when  someone's  dream   glass castle is shattered,  his life fills up with   restlessness,   unrest grips his mind leading to  deep sorrow,  the  turn life had taken  was for him impossible to   get rid off , he became lonesome  arguing with himself  a student couldn't become  a doctor with eighty percent marks  , what a bitter truth   that  medical  college seats are  available to auction  and sold to wealthy sons   with sixty percent of wealthy men ,  when money speaks  nobody checks grammar,  merit is not seen  , poor students  with brains are ignored,  the wealthy  control the play of education,  such worrying  thoughts  incessantly hammered on his sensitive mind

jannat

.....though there were several dangers hidden  in it yet  his work  took off , risk is an essential factor to progress in life,  like a man who sticks to singing  for a living  becomes a singer likewise  after  winning a couple of cases he was branded as the best player in his  field of work 

He was  busy in his computer  lab , he resided in a compact  one room apartment,  this room also was his bedroom  and also his computer lab, his friends and other  visitors  was  controlled,  he hardly invited anybody home or this multipurpose room would have also become  a drawing room,  googling long time on the search he finally found what he was looking for,  it was a picture of a  woman in a hospital bed, on her face  an oxygen mask was  clinging  and hid the real identity of the woman  if she was  a western or of what nationality in such  cases when he would  search for something   he wanted those pictures to match  his  vision,  choosing it he prepared a  post using the  dying old woman's picture as the central theme  and satisfied with his work  he posted it  anonymously  on a social media  on line,  the title of the post was something like...my  mother  mufud beghum is swinging delicately between life and death,  she  is painfully suffering from lung cancer  , medication is ineffective,  doctors   urgently  need to operate on her  within ten days,  I love her, she is all for my family,  but expenses   are high , I am  a coach in a center,  eight lakh is not a small amount 

page 55

....but  shahya murid  was not  found,  he had simply disappeared,  many years passed by,  Hani  kept waiting endlessly for him to return,  seven years later  an occasion to celebrate  arrived 

On that specific day  as the tradition was  competition of sword fighting and  bow and arrow  shows were arranged,   sgahya murid was an expert nobody excelled his skills and style,  his  weapons were  brought  before the public   and  a challenge presented  whoever would pick up his weapons and hit the target  will be  decorated  but so far  nobody could ever prove himself worthy  of  his skills 

That year   a helper was  informed  a  darvesh not only competently  picked up the  weapons but also  with easy expertise   hit the target perfectly 

Who is this darvesh

Nobody knows 

It came anyone except  shahya murid

The helper had already recognized him in the first glance,  it was definitely only  shahya murid 

page 25

....in the hall room  a meeting was held   by the  elders,  baba  alone  facing the rest,   bi amma had  several   arguments to make them see her point  but nobody was  interested in listening to her,  all of them were  pressing  on  first  letting the daughter  complete her education,  faruqi family  was visiting  Pakistani  relatives,  they were to stay  a couple of months  , they had many  other options  but they had  chosen hadya already, when faruq had came to see  bi amma   the first time he had  made up his mind to  get her married to Umar and  bring her back home,  he was in a hurry 

It was  alright she would become a doctor   annoyed at tge stubbornness of her son  who stood alone against the whole  family  defending his own point,  salha appi had  spoken on the phone to  agree with others,  he adamantly refused to  give up,  others  fell silent  tired of arguments  , it was then  bi amma  s voice shrilly  cut the thick silence   , only  then  will she get married,  familiar with amma s annoyance  shakil asked  where  , to whom

Explanation followed from amma  wherever her fate takes her,  so wasn't  Umar  destined for her

Perhaps  not

Hadya had given her consent   going to amma  s room , hiw happy and relieved  she was,  her sharp tone  confused  and  stumbled  him

page 22

....heart  world sorrow  and river  dear 

Rippling  restlessly each moment 

Tidal waves separation  signify

On the shores settled are dreams 

Yet rivers remain thirstying 

Strange is the way

whirls inside whirls 

With endless eddie's 

Each sip of water 

Proves another  wrathful pain 

Heart  world sorrow and river  dear 

She was tossing in  high fever   before   lying down  face down unconscious in bed,  bi amma  was  choking emotionally,  because she was her  most  adorable granddaughter,  her  worsening condition was  weighing  heavily on her

page 53

.....this  love story began circulating  over and over again,  shahya murud was  searching for his  lost dreams,  life for him  was  a bed of thorns,  he cut off his bondings from the social world,  he put away his sword and  placed his  arrows  as decorative pieces  because now his weapons belonged to the past  memories 

He would speak to himself  his love  was  uncomparable  nobody could love anyone the way he  had loved 

Second voice would  respond  no shahya murid  you are a liar,  those who truly love never give away their love  to someone else,  but nurture it carefully like  burns on the palms 

He would reply  he was helpless,  

The second voice belonged to his conscience  and laughed at his excuses  , he had failed to accept Hani s sentiments not realizing what all she was going through 

Shahya murid would then  confess  slowly to himself he was guilty,  he didn't want it that way  but  somehow he was cheated by his own  ego, he had  broken his promise thinking    entire baluchistan was   spitting on him,  time and  history will never  forgive him  , nobody will  ever  since he  shirked from his  ethical responsibility 

page 48

....both of them adored each other,  without seeing each other  life for them was meaningless,  though it was against their rules  but Hani would  secretly  visit  shaya murid, when the moonlit  expanding  sandy desert  stretched  endlessly  they would spend the night  together watching the moon,  

That night  again their  meeting time was fixed,  shahya murid  occupied  his place  he had  reached the spot first but Hani wasn't  come 

..In that  purity of soft moonlight  visibility was  clear for miles, , the  desert  air turned  quite pleasingly cool, 

...shahya murid was  becoming  restless  with every  passing minute,  Hani ought to have come  long time ago  and then  he saw someone  approaching  some distance away  bathed in moonlight  towards him,  it could be only she, covering of a  white  shawl  bathed in moonlight  she appeared  made of moon beams, she came to stop by his side,  he stood up , her being late in reaching  him   was causing  his mind to  think  negative thoughts  as if something  bad had happened 

page 45

....baluchistan is hundreds  or even more thousands of years old  culture,  it is  globally accepted  for its rich heritage and  civilization,  that started sixty thousand years ago historically,  in baluchistan  from Darragh Bolan  some  ten kilometers away    traces in excavations  are found,  they are  dated back to before six thousand years ago,   the natives   kept  cattle  and women wore  jewelry  like  necklace  earrings and bangles,  beads were  used to decorate them,  ,  chains of corals , turquoise  and other colorful  beads and stones were  stringed, from one of the graves two  precious  pearls were obtained  roughly  five to  ten thousand years  old,   experts  scientifically   investigated  one of the pearls  is found naturally only in Northern  Afghanistan  in lapis lazuli  mines, it is speculated  people of baluchistan in those  thousands of years ago times  traded with Afghanistan 

page 17

....some  distance  farther away  a camera record is found 

Yes, after killing Salim Ahmed the   culprit is seen  going   towards the g t road,  there was  thick fog beyond,  tracing  so far  hasn't been possible,  Salim Ahmed was  that  a s I  who was  killed,  , the  writer  shutting off the phone  flung it on the sofa  irritability  and it began  screaming  noisily,  he quickly grabbed it , the screen showed  Imran  s number  , his heart  started pounding  madly, 

Hello Imran where are you,  he  asked 

...In great problem , he  answered 

practical demonstration

...a giant sized muscular man enters a bar and   talks to the bartender  if they needed a bouncer  like him to fight for them  and  throw the unpleasant unwanted  rogues out, the bartender explains of course they could use him if he had any practical experience,  the huge man looks around and spotting a man  speaking on the phone  using foul language  , he picked him up boxed his ears and threw him out, the bartender was very  impressed  by his demonstration,  the large man asked  so what next,  the bartender explains  he had to see the owner  to get his job,  fine said the  muscular man,  where is the owner,  right outside where you threw him  said the bartender 

from previous

.....zarun , where is khala jan

, biryani was cooked at home,  he liked having biryani often,  , saba  had cooked the biryani and  for her nephew  first of all  piled up a huge amount and kept the plate for him and  given it to hadya, who holding the  plate  went around looking for him,  he must be in his room,  nada explained lovingly,  , she  was special to nada  who dreamed of  bringing  her home as his son's bride,  haryana was  quite aware of her feelings for her,  every time  she visited them she was  very warmly  welcomed 

Get going  dear, biryani is getting cold, bhabhi also had emerged from her room hearing voices,  she also was   one  with phuphu   to get  hadya married into the family,  hadya would make a wonderful  bride, daughter in law and  bhabhi s junior, , embarrassed  she proceeded with a smile,  , wao, biryani exclaimed  zarun who had  just  arrived there,  he snatched the plate and  stuffed a generous mouthful  , it was delightfully delicious as expected,  saba khala was expert biryani  chef, everyone liked her cooking 

Girlie, you too learn something from her,  he shouted a slogan in favor of khala  long live  khala,  hadya and zarun were close friends,  he  had informally casually  slapped her on the head and spoken in a simple manner 

koi rastey se Juda na ho

...the busy  city traffic  was  slowly getting   to move forward,  the  noisy horns were deafening,  , the was dropped at the college route bus stop  by the bus  before disappearing,  she failed twice   trying to cross the  road in waves of traffic , a group of mischievous  eveteasers  was  intently watching her every move,  she was unusually beautiful,  she drew attention  everywhere she went,  her  rosy cheeks  were aflame with annoyance,  she  gave them a sharp glance of sheer dislike,  but they also were  seasoned hardcore  diehard eveteasers  and didn't  even blink once,  none of them 

, irritated she  started to cross the road,  a bus horns started her to jump back,  , she  stood up on the  footpath,  the  bus sped off, the boys  echoed  different  sounds of  horns , she was getting puzzled   and this time  a bike horn  right near her  brought her back to alertness,  seeing the biker and recognizing  zarun she thankfully  sat down on the bike  and relaxed,   because it was unexpected   it was surprising,  he opened his mouth to say something  when a watching them go together on the bike an eveteaser  flung a   comment  ,   what a lucky man,  zarun  was ready to pick up a brawl but Samaria  pressed him hard on his shoulder  meaning wordlessly to  avoid   them, , zarun was  rather a quick tempered  young man and she  didn't want to create a scene,   and he always  agreed with Samaria,  he started the bike  looking  fiercely at the gang and  flew away, , he , was silently driving  , he   got  free  early because his practical had  got canceled , he was  on  his way home,  her  homewards timing was same , so he came  to check  at the bus stop and pick her up,  he spoke seriously 

Who are these boys  finally he asked her 

She didn't know anyone  but they always hang around,  explained Samaria  uncaringly 

zehrila taryaq

... this story begins  with  a golden  sunshine  November  chilling but pleasant  afternoon,  it was a Sunday,  he reached the   colony to meet  junior Imran  where he lived,  thinking of spending the afternoon hours  talking to him and  enquire  about him,  no knowing  there already was a matter present  , parking the car at a  modern location  he crossed the  noisy  hustling  market  to reach the door of  Imran  , his friend  informed him  Imran wasn't home,   but he  will come back soon,  he was right,  he was spotted  but  he was holding a two year old in his arms wrapped in a blanket,  he looked  awfully  worried,  a couple  was  running  after him , seeing the visiting friend Imran turned towards him,  on asking he explained the child was  terribly sick,  he must be rushed to the hospital quickly 

But Imran what exactly happened 

Pneumonia   the case is spoiled  by giving him wrong treatment,  , the child  can't breathe normal,  mother of the sick child  looked completely  in need of  help,  her appearance   described her poverty stricken life was difficult m she  folded her hands  pleading  in the name of almighty  to  save her nadim , or she won't live  too, the guest  drew the blanket aside and looked at the child,  he looked like a crumpled flower,  he was  finding it very hard to breathe  , stretching himself  and coughing,  picking up the child they reached the car,  mother and  maternal grandfather followed them inside the car , the guest  drove fast and  reached the main road,  they had come from beyond  the village pattu,  because the condition of the child  was worsening they had brought him to the hospital last night 

page 193

...Charlie was  suffering from dyslexia,  , he had been a professional boxer for ten years  , head injuries and dyslexia  prevented him from  learning  reading  and writing skills,  it was difficult for him to  pay his bills and  he lost his hearing  too, , when his wife was alive  it wasn't  that hard,  but she died last year and Maryam came  back to live  in his neighborhood,  but Charlie didn't  doubt himself and  believed he could  do things  perfectly 

Hello  girls  , are you fighting  for me,  said Charlie  kissing one  on her cheek,  he sat down  next to her on a stool 

, no, Charlie,  we have decided to share you, and that's what we were  talking about,   she  affectionately  patted him on his shoulder,  ,

For next two hours she watched him doing exercises on the machines trying to find out more about him,  he had spent a hard life,  London builders and East end Street gang  defeated by him  he had injured a police man,  charged with  criminal charges he was sent to jail,   released some months later he  started boxing  and  ten years went by   , it proved a successful career,  , followed by reaching America with his family,    during  sizzling summers and  stormy  snows  he  hammered   metal nails on the  roofs , die hard but loveable   man she  understood  what must have really happened to  to his daughter   , though  just speculating  she still had not asked him anything till  she had  spent three weeks  as a friend 

By then  it had become  a national  headline  news , the district attorney  took up the case 

page 191

...next morning  Selina Roger was back at fair haven to interview  the  neighbors  of  Maryam Harris,  , she stood waiting  some distance away from her house  thinking from where to start,  she was about to  step onto the footpath  when the door of the garage opened and a vintage  army r jeep  drove out , it took a right turn on the road  taking the  business  district route,  she was surprised,  the driver was  an old decent looking man,  but that was not alarming,  wrinkled face with a strong defining jawline,  he had a baseball cap on his head,  black  sleeveless t shirt  holding the steering wheel his tattooed   muscular arms  suggested  he wasn't any ordinary weak old man  who depended on others support and care, Selina felt she was watching  a retired version of pop eye the sailor  man 

Selina quickly started her car  and  began following him,  the jeep turned towards the  lake  and stopped in a coffee shop parking,  she waited a while  before  following him inside,  she  noticed he was  huge tall and quuck foot and  straight  back not a trace of weakness   in his  build and gait, 

She kept waiting for him in the parking,  hoping he had come just to get a coffee,  she locked her car and  went inside,  pop eyes sat talking to a blonde at the dinner counter  flirting with her 

talafi

Looking into the rear view mirror she turned right into the vacant lane,  a light flashing  police van followed her , she thought  the noisy siren  meant  it was in a hurry  and would overtake her but quickly her joy was crushed as she was stopped by the driving officer in uniform and asked to show her  registration card and license,  one of them looked quite rude m controlling herself she  asked him  politely  wishing him a good morning what was the matter 

Rudely he answered  the matter was very simple and plain,  her license and registration was needed and she was asking too many questions 

But why did he stop her 

When anyone lawfully specially an officer gives instructions her duty is  to cooperate,  just give your papers and don't move,  his voice  turned hard

If this is deliberate  she  needed  to secure herself first or she could be victimized like the fair haven black foreign tourists  who were shot dead by the police two  nights ago and she was on her way to fair haven to investigate the case 

my evening walk sketches

page 165

....Ishtar was or wasn't a witch   but  every word uttered  by her had a  strong impact  , jasam was  possessed by her charm and extraordinary power,  he  would  simply  agree to every word that escaped from her lips,  he couldn't argue or deny,  his will power was  like his mind  under her spell, he was  as if someone moving  under  her control,  his own nature was  under seige  frozen and disabled,  when he arrived  she commanded him to go back to the sofa and beseated , he mechanically  obeyed her commands , she  waved her hands in the  empty air and  procured  a new fresh bottle of eyedrops  from nowhere in particular,  he felt he was watching  some magic show  sitting  down in some hall, in such stage shows  all performers  produced  strange things from thin air just by a wave of their hands  and  the  audience  applauded  open heartedly,  Ishtar was  performing like an excellent expert,  he  suddenly was startled  he had given his  full consent and support to her , unbelievable  how could he,  sensational  act but he was a puppet , he obediently  like  a good kid let a drop of that magic bottle  drop in his one eye then into his other eye 

He was  flatly  commanded to sit still for a couple of minutes with eyes shut,  jasam obediently  followed her every instruction,  after one minute  she reappeared   and he heard her voice  telling him to open his eyes now,  his eyes flew open,  he was stunned  to find himself in the hotel firoz , the room was lit up the darkness was  wiped away,  he realized it wasn't that high power lighting  that lit up the room but  moonlight   or his eyes had got adjusted to seeing in the dark 

page 25

....aisha  alias Anni  was actually  shammi s khala shammi was exactly her own mother's  image and absolutely different from her sister,  she inherited  her attractive looks from grandmother and  stole her phuphu s beauty,   pure hearted and  dreams lofty she was outstanding and  outgoing,  she was  likeable,  later it was known  outgoing people were egoistic,  she didn't care about the world,  , she had to go to another town for higher studies,  but senior abba got her married to his nephew 

As fate would have it, a few months later her husband died of a stroke,  she was expecting,  shammi was born and  Anni joined a local college  and from this point onwards  her stubbornness started,  she  defied  family views, their wishes,  their sentiments,  , completing her  degree  she  went to another city to get a job, soon after  strange  rumors about her began floating,  senior abba tried to control her and put restrictions on her  freedom,  she left the house to live by herself independently,  older abba felt extremely guilty,  he was shattered,  but he gathered himself for the sake of shammi and Anni,   talking to her they brought her back home,  she was  absolutely out of control,  unstoppable  , financially independent  she had  her own life under her own control and  she took all her life decisions herself,  she  stopped seeing  other family members after older abba,  she became choosy and picky, parents died of  hurt  and  loss for their son, 

She  stopped to take a deep breath  and continued with her tale, because of shaista order abba and his brother  had  broken up their  emotional ties , with he  leaving them everything was  finished,  all contacts were  cut off, they didn't even bother to  enquire about shammi,  seeing the changes in the thinking of family members  older abba decided to support  his daughter and  granddaughter  to make them strong socially 

page 23

...what is your real name 

Shabiya,  it mea beautiful picture,  she had learned it as a child 

Nice 

He wasn't the first one to be surprised  , usually everyone was charmed  

Show me some other beautiful place  where I can take pictures 

Do you like only  natural beautiful places 

Sort of 

She brought him  to a small pond,  that was  completely covered  colorful   water lilies growing in wilderness,  round circular  green leaves  waxy kept aloft on the surface of the water  amidst which  craning their long stems  the wild lotus  in a wide spectacular spectrum of colors  stiffly  filled up the  tiny little  empty spots not covered by the  rounded leaves,  some white cranes  also stood  in between  , what a fantastically  picturesque spot to take pictures 

There was no parapet or bench one could sit , usually  to admire  nature  one needs to sit down  a while  to enjoy the view,  he began clicking pictures  walking around as she stood there  watching him , 

He was  a broad shouldered,  tall handsome man,  his appearance and style was attractive,  his  car, camera taste  and manner  defined him as an affluent person,  he always dressed in sweatshirts,  jeans and  track suits,  perhaps  this place was rather cold for him,  he sat on a chair outside his room or in the restaurant in a vacant corner with his lap top  busy working from there,  he besides this routine  would spend time talking with annior would go out driving,  he was a cultured and   a decent man  , that's why  Anni liked him so much 

deher

...jack   had hit basar so hard if he wasn't dead he wouldn't be able to get up again,  he was bent over the driving wheel  without  a sound,   Jonathan asked Jack what had he done,  there was doubt and confusion,  James asked  in sheer disbelief  basar was  their guide what came over Jack to hit him ,  basar was  going to take them to luxor, now what,  Jack  without answering  Jonathan and James looked out of the jeep and yelled out loudly..boss the job is done,  come back,  the unlucky chapter is dead 

Jerry reached the jeep  as endless questions were showered on him  by James and Jonathan,  they weren't aware of what  Jack and Jerry were up to, why they  attacked basar, both were  awfully confused at this recent development 

Jerry patiently heard them out and  firmly  explained  basar was   David s  clever agent,  he had deliberately  got them stuck into that sand storm  and wasted their several precious hours  or by now they would have  reached luxor, it was  necessary to tackle him at this point  

Jonathan  meaningfully  declared   basar was never again  pose any problems for them,  Jack and Jerry had  decided to keep their plan of getting rid of basar  from James and Jonathan  but now  they owed an explanation to them 

That basar was  working for David  was  actually  a mere suspicion of Jerry and Jack 

from previous

....she  had seen nothing,  no other car  nor anyone else,  was the murderer  present  , hidden somewhere and from where watching her,  did he know it she had  found the necklace  , a horrible idea cropped up in head  , if she had  spoken  to the murderer  unknowingly,  she had noticed that gruesome shine in the eyes of Charles,  what was the meaning of it,  , he was at home,  yes but since when,  he could easily have come back home driving his car  while she was going on her bike,  she must  call up the press though she had not witnessed anything,   fingerprints of Laila,  herself and of the third person must be present on the broken necklace,  she trembled,  if the murderer was  watching  her he knows it she has the necklace,  her door bell rang at that point,  she  tried to take a peek outside through the curtains,  all right  she  embraced herself if there is Charles she is calling the police,  if it's not him she is safe,  no need to worry,  only he knows she has the necklace,  , with the help of a tissue paper she picked the necklace up and  placed it in an upper shelf  of the dining room and returned to the sitting room,  she picked up her cell phone before going to the door,  she felt secure,  at least that's what she thought she opened the door to Dorothy 

Amanda  did you hear the news  asked Dorothy looking at her 

Come in, 

Dorothy followed her inside to reach the  kitchen to help herself to a soft drink  to come back to make herself comfortable in the sitting room sofa 

page 150

....a glance on the necklace and she was certain it belonged to friend and neighbor  Laila,  on that day on the  beach  there was a strong  windy weather  blowing  sand around  that made  visibility impossible  , if Laila had dropped her diamond necklace on the sand it would have been impossible to find it , it wouldn't be visible from  anywhere buried underneath  but the diamond necklace was  found near the light house, on a foot path,  she bent to pick it up and looked around for Laila who wasn't  there,  surprised  she stuck it into her jeans pocket,  Laila went for walks from her place to the lighthouse  or drove a bike up to that point,  she enjoyed  a stroll on the  sands that refreshed her particularly on that stretch  , she was dressed in long  green silk dress looking  divine,  people  admired her looks and  thought she was a mermaid  floating on sands in a sandstorm 

But her broken diamond necklace was  found on the footpath so Laila wasn't  walking on the sand  when it fell,  but  one part of the necklace was  lost,  didn't Laila hear it fall and hitting the footpath,  it must have made some kind of sound on the concrete 

She took a deep breath and to  protect herself from the strong winds she pulled up her blouse collars,  it became suddenly  quite so chilly  after sunset,  she decided to reach Laila quickly 

page 137

....when she reached the drawing room the inspector  spoke to her  expressing  it was  important to work on the case  and it was  a critical  turn  , he was sorry to disturb her at this hour 

She was quite mature and understood the importance of his visit,  she  gave him her consent to ask whatever was necessary, 

He explained he was there  on javed  sahib  s complaint,  because he was certain   in the  murder of mahim your ex boyfriend  was involved 

He wasn't my boyfriend 

, Mona s face turned red with rage 

Sorry madam but this is not my opinion but your own husband's personal opinion and  accusation,  said the inspector carelessly 

What else men can do except  blame women  , their own character is  no matter how low  they want a wife who is blessedly  pure, at that moment  ashna entered  the room carrying a coffee tray 

Do you want to say  javed sahib  s character wasn't  good,  the inspector looked at her carefully 

, not at all,  I made a general statement 

page 125

....the woman dressed in the latest style of  fashion  was herself a beauty  but  climbing up the  stairs in the shopping mall she appeared quite nervous,  she had arrived  there in an online cab , though her expression was of emotionally disturbed   woman yet she  was  completely comfortable  with  the ambiance of the  place,  her confidence level  was showing she had been there before several times,  that she was familiar with each turn and nook and corner,  stepping inside the shopping center the first thing she did was to go towards the ladies department  and from there quickly  bought two pairs for herself and got them packed,  from the jewelry section  amidst all those gold sets , precious gems and  purses and clutches and  expensive collections she didn't waste a moment  longer and got  herself a purse,  true sge didn't  load herself with  lots of shoppers  yet  about her was  something  different,  she was doing things in a great hurry,  she reached the counter to pay for the bills,  it was  too early  before rush hour so the counter was  easy to go through,  the man at the counter quickly  gave her her bill, she had already  called a  cab online,  , she paid the bills and hurried outside  and within a half minute the cab stopped before her,  the cab  left with her towards her destination,  slowly  her facial expression relaxed  but her eyes were still  filled with  anxiety 

page 21

....when she was  hanging the board of  closed outside that  the car stopped,  he had  last evening  memorized the name and location  and  spending a half hour googling  on lander and  defender he shut the phone  saying bloody rich 

Will I too get dinner or not,  emerging  he addressed her loudly  because there was  quite some distance between them 

Of course you will,  but a good guest is he who is considerate  to the  host 

But who dines so early at eight,  he had locked the car before walking towards the restaurant  

Rest house  rules are displayed there  she pointed towards the counter   

Hadi followed her inside  stopped  by the  wall  began reading out loudly the rules of the rest house,  she  sharply looked at him  from behind the counter 

But there is no tea time mentioned,  he  turned to look at sonu who was  wiping the tables clean 

Sir, tea is always anytime readily available,  sonu cheerfully  added more to his information 

Fine,  get ne tea then,  instead of choosing to sit down at a table he preferred to stand at the counter with his elbow   as his support 

He declared he needed a guide looat shammi who was  cleaning up the  mess at the counter 

page18

.....their morning started early,  ,soon after completing  her fajar anniversary would  get her vegetables and  groceries  to begin the day,  tai helped her out in her  tasks  by cleaning  up and  by eight  the closed sign  board was turned  aside,  Shahid rafiq  appeared   on waking up  at nine,  all those who  came before him  were   afriz and Anni served them meals , this way they also were kept busy, ,  they also went to bed early  tired from the day s work,  , Anni slept quickly  after ber eisha namaz,  jabber bhai  and   afroz remained  glued to their routine television and mobile for an extra hour or two before    tucking in for the night 

This had happened for the first time in life  that    recently  worries  gripped her mind  , she couldn't  relax  , financial matters and  expenses and salaries given to the staff were  getting out of hand,  she had enough  to lead a comfortable lifestyle  but   but   all their savings were spent on Anni  s two operations,  of  stone and before she could completely recover  she fractured her  hip , it was  during monsoon,  , coming  from the other side of the restaurant  she slipped  and  she fell down headlong on the floor  , she was admitted to the  best hospital in town for her treatment  and the  bill was  very long and wide

After her operation Anni had become  a nervous wreck,  but the fear  was    unknown  and unreasonable,  financial matters were taken care of by Anni alone,  she  seemed to  lose interest in   life  

page 123

....what should I do,  should I tell it , she asked the  tree trunk  talking to it, ,  she continued  speaking to the tree  that it wasn't  something normal  she must  silently  tolerate,  deception and cheating and faithlessness  in the society  and  religious practices are   blown up  by  the wicked  and  staying silent is empowering tgem as you become their partner in crime,  exposing them is difficult  and  she was confessing to the tree 

She  looked at the leaves of the tree,  it was  a  lush green  old mango tree that stood  staring back at her , out of season  devoid of fruit standing there sad and  lonely 

But from where  will she  acquire  the vocabulary  to narrate such a big thing,  her tongue   would  become speechless  bashful because  what she had to tell was extremely bitter acidic and  shameful,  she  was becoming nervous  and weak  just  by the  thought of it, , brought up in a conservative manner  that girl  who had never seen any bollywood movie  in the company of her father and brothers  was  profusely sweating   just at the  idea of having to tell it 

But  by not tell it there  was  again  deliberate  cheating intended,  after effects   of it would be a long shameless hangover  ethically,  criminals  would become more  daring  and insensitive and  hard,  , she picked up a yellow leaf dropped by the tree  and thoughtlessly  crushed it

But if she  shared  what was troubling her mind   that could  aggravate  the matter,  if  some extreme step was taken   she would lose  her standing,  she began thinking  at the  matter in her mind  from  a different perspective 

araz arz

...whatever  Era,  whichever  age, man  remains  the same,  his manner  behavior and  nature  is unchanging,  it happened  some sixty years ago  but it feels like it happened just yesterday  and  might be repeated  tomorrow again,  in those days the narrator was posted  in district shekhopora at muridkey where  wholesale grain  market is world famous,  it was then the month of May  with  summer heat on  its full swing,  wheat was  being harvested,  , nature  is surprisingly  perfect in its  superlative natural course,  April  and  may  usually  are hot months  during this period  wheat  ripens golden  naturally,  it was  one such summer morning  when the narrator came to sit down in his room  when  constable hafiz khan  approached to  give him information  of three or four men  waiting to meet him,  to report  about a missing girl,  hawaldar sahib is speaking to them  

Mallika sahib commented  the constable had  informed him  andto send the men in ,  hafiz khan was  the junior most   constable  in the police station  who  obediently  and smartly   agreed , he was just twenty two,  the narrator liked him for his  attentiveness and sincere hardwork and  his habits  certainly would    make him a success,  four people entered the room  within  one minute,  one woman and three men,  firdaus bibi her husband  iftikhar  and their two neighbors  accompanied them  for their  sympathy and support because  firdaus and iftikhar s daughter  fifteen years old zubeda  had  disappeared somewhere,  

page 95

....they  had  thought soon it would be time for fajar, some  imam sahib would   give azan  and with the  azan they will open their eyes but it did not happen that way,  in fact someone was trying to wake him up in a most  civil cultured voice,  

He opened his eyes  but the  dazzling sun blinded him, first he could see nothing,  then he shook his head  several times and sat upright 

Close by a man sat crouched,  Nadya too was wide awake,  she was  grooming herself and  tidying herself up,  the day was  bright and  up and  the weather was quite  pleasant,  the sun shone  , the blue sky accommodated  puffs of  moving  clouds 

Freshen up and come inside the  room , the breakfast is kept there ,  that  cultured man spoke very politely to us, , he quickly   wished him  his salam ,  tge decent man  replied  to his salam with  wallekum aslam  rehmetulla wabarkatu

He  thought tge cultured man was in his early fifties,  he was rather dark complexioned,  clad he was in a simple plain Grey salwar qamiz and on his shoulder was a scarf, a white cap on his head,  one hand held a table, perhaps he was the imam of that masjid,

He showed the  corner where  Nadya and he could  freshen up before  having their breakfast 

from previous

.... decide now,  haggled Nadya with babu for his  vintage  Vespa  , good for long drives but it's smaller than  bike tyres  made it more difficult to ride through  gravel  and fields  but it wouldn't be possible for them to reach the  city without  it , babu s eyes brightened at  the thought of getting five thousand for his  discarded scooter  but he looked at their sweating bodies  suspiciously  before asking where was their bike,  Nadya could easily spin up tales and assured him the bike was returned to the owner from whom they had borrowed it, but if babu didn't want to sell his old Vespa it was alright,  they were leaving for the city from there they would  get a brand new one  for the same amount but she wasn't ready to pay any more , she stood up looking at her companion who knew it was a bluff play on  babu who immediately gave up and agreed to give his scooter up to them, she asked him to quickly check it's headlights and fill up the fuel tank to full,  he happily went out to take care of the deal as they both quickly  swallowed some food maussi gave them mausi also was keeping the suitcase  safe with her from which  Nadya took out her money,  five thousand  she gave to babu and  extra five hundred for being cooperative,  her companion  was eager to get going to find fauzya,  Nadya sat down with a walking stick  explaining mausi  there were too many  stray dogs  during the drive  in the dark 

page 82

....that's what I was   also thinking,  but an idea has come up in my mind  ,  for that we must  walk up to reach  chakk bhura,  , we will  meet mausi there,  , borrow  a scooter  from babu,  we will  use inside lanes to reach  eisha  s village,  

He liked her plan very much,  it was  also practical,  so they  began walking towards their  destination,  they crossed the graveyard  they   stepped into a waving  foot path  amidst  wilderness  surrounded with   thickets and foliage m a side  parapet  was running along,  , everytime  they saw a bullockcart  approach or bikers  coming from anywhere  they  would quickly jump over the parapet and hide themselves  behind the thick foliage,  

His heart was filled with  active  disturbances,  mind was distress, worries   pulled him down,  , negative thoughts  pressed him , situation was  absolutely against him,  in fact  his   situation was  worsening more and more  rapidly,  now  he yet had to find out who the heck was bijli about whom  the yellow eyed old  gravedigger had  just said was  a terror, after all there was something  that didn't let him give them the details of the terror  because he had fallen down with a stroke  that  very moment 

page 17

....she was familiar with every inch of her township  because she grew up in that small compact  township,  coincidentally  that spot was acquired  and municipality  converted it to Lake view  point, she  would  still  go there  now and then with danyal,  the Lake view point  became a restricted area only for tourists,  one  day  a traveler  before them  all jumped to his death  , after which the tourist spot was closed for the  public,  very quickly  strange odd weird stories  started floating about the Lake point and it became a forgotten thing,  it became  a   neglected  haunt  for silence  and solitude,  she liked being there,  standing  at that point  and watch the whole township  , what a sight  it presented to her admiring mind,  after danya s marriage also she  continued  visiting her favorite  perch, the bench was all hers, and the enjoyable scenery  became her full time  companions  of solitude,  no matter how busy she was kept in the restaurant she made it her religious habit of getting to that favorite  spot for a while every day 

page 79

....he was   extremely  worried  about rahela  but  he was  getting  information  first about fauzya  so  he turned towards it , fauzya could also  help   him later,  dada  explained  she didn't  say  she could help  with rahela  , just that  some dangerous people were after them  and  she needed protection from them,  she was very sad and   stressed  , perhaps she  wasn't given enough time to explain  because she was brought here 

But Rahim happened to know   the  details of her whereabouts,  that  a girl had come late last night  at your place  for refuge 

..dada explained  he had  made a mistake  when he  brought the girl here   he  told his mother  he was  taking the girl  somewhere for help, after  he left his house with her Rahim came by, his child  had  a painful  sore , he came asking for dada s father who is an expert  in treating such boils and sores, mother casually  mentioned  the case of the  damsel in distress,  on dada s return home mother  asked more questions about the girl fauzya  and  also  explained  she had spoken to Rahim about the  girl who came for help,  he was  very annoyed at mother's  foolishness  but he was  himself to be blamed and he had to tell her all the story truthfully 

Jungbaaz

....for  several moments he felt  horrifying  screams  filled up his  inner self,  as if someone was buried alive  in a pitch dark  grave  and he was shouting  for help,  his breathing became uneven  he began panting breathlessly,  his skin shivered  it was hair raising experience,  for a while he became unconscious 

Not just him but the entire surrounding of the  hut in the cemetery  came to a  dead standstill,  Nadar also turned motionless, ,  the  gravedigger had yellow eyes  a hollow voice and  terrible appearance,  perhaps his conscience   shook him up or was it his greedy expectations  , in that sizzling  strange  summer afternoon  outside the hut in the cemetery  the silence was  alarming,  amidst the many Graves around  on the  leafless  trimmed branches of trees  tiny little birds  inaudibly chirped  a silent sorrowful note 

Outside the  gravedigger s hut uncanny silence prevailed  as if the air  was saturated with    mysterious   unheard echoes 

page 69

....they crossed the   smaller riverlet   to reach an open grassland,  there stood a white house  beyond,  white house with red  roof  covered with moss and overhanging  green branches of the surrounding trees,  the windows  looked dusty and  not been cleaned for quite a while, on the  ground  several heaps of  cut grass and weeds were  left  around 

All tge way  he had kept his mouth shut  and the other two too had remained silent,  the moment the driver stopped the car   , the hooded man  patted on his shoulder,  pointing towards the narrator  with his thumb asked him to speak to him,  he said he could speak English 

What's your deal asked the man in the hood 

No deal 

..hen what were you doing there in the  town 

...He was looking for the bus station 

...Rubbish,  his tone was soft,  you work for Jose  zamora

..He got a shock, that hooded man was smiling now,  he gestured  and the driver got down from the car and started  walking towards the  red roofed white house 

page 67

....what do you think  asked June stuffing rice into her mouth 

..I think they are made for each other 

..They are not so bad  added June  just that they are worried

..Is that so, do you trust them and their story 

..thee story Jose and   his mother had narrated   was absolutely unbelievable,  his father  received a huge amount of money  of more than  one million  dollars   hidden  amidst  a canopy of trees  

By a protruding rock  where he would  stop a while  on his daily walk,  , according to them tge old man had  prayed for  it in the church in fact he shared the information with  others 

Perhaps topica had just two options,  first to leave the money there  hoping  the real owner of the money  will never know  topica had taken it  lest someone stole it or  drug peddlers  would  take it away,  that's what must have happened because it's gone,  disappeared from that hidden spot , Jose  tried to convince them , there was a rule,  he traveled  all over the country pretending to be  poor and the natives  help him

.,then why are you  collecting money asked June,  why did you  decide to give a reward  if your old father is really not missing 

...because  explained the mother one million dollars  won't last long 

badlah

.... truthfully  he had no need for an  office so much,  he used to meet his clients in parks and  cafes  and stayed in touch with them  on line emails and  telephonically,  but this office was available on just eighty dollars a month  , quite nominal  and rody  allowed him to use his wi fi  for free, 

So many of his friends and  ex footballers   John,  and others  believed he  got himself the rented office to escape his  nagging  wife and ber free himself from her control,  this office was his refuge,  his wife was  uncaring  disrespectful  woman  possessive and  not ready to tolerate him

The man sat   before him  and looked very  enthusiastic  as he procured a piece of paper from his pocket,  it was  a bad photo quality  black and white picture  yet it didn't fail to impress  him, , he carefully read the  words written  below it, ..this man is missing from  25th December  2016, name. Topicupana,  age ,, sixty nine, contact number, 1-800,  reward  fifty  thousand dollars 

So,, he returned the poster to him and  then what 

Let's  find him 

The detective looked at his  old friend  and couldn't help smiling 

page 57

....crossing the lane  a woman saw a neighbor s boy smoking a cigarette  leaning against a l street light pole,  enraged the woman walked up to him and slapping him and twisting his ear  asked what would  his father  say if he knew of his   smoking habit 

The  ten year old stood up straight  and asked her what would her husband  have to say  if he was told  his wife  picked up   petty fights with  resident  children 

.

Once  Alexander the great  along with his massive army found himself stranded amidst  a desert,  for miles and miles surrounded by sand and heat and not a drop of water,  from somewhere  a bottle of water was brought and given him,  Alexander  looked at each man's  face tired thirst and hungry  , he  alone without his men was nobody  and  the bottle was not enough for them all, he threw tge water into tbe sand,   strength is one for all, all for one 

from previous

....why should I sin, one could easily slip, her eyes   turned towards hadi s shoes  that were  placed  in perfect condition on the  ground,  she wanted to  give some name to it, but nothing appeared in her blank mind,  her tongue  ready to utter something,  his presence here  besides his talking,  today his manner and style  was  put in a different shelf reserved only for  foes and was kept empty  so far 

Oh, dear,  why was I not taught to  fling dirty words  and use abusive language,  the brand tag  showing  on shoes  brought scowls on her face,  and  suddenly a phrase escaped from her slippery tongue...bloody rich

 She repeated tge term  silently again to herself,  she felt  it very satisfying,  he spoke so softly  it was almost inaudible,  certainly he was one of those  tourists  who pass from there  or a traveler crossing  there , usually all are strangers  who arrive  there,  , his back pack  was on the ground  leaning against the bench,  but this wasn't the place  with accommodation for tourists,  who could  rest there and spend the night  and expected cordial  atmosphere with boarding and lodging  and moved on the next morning,  this man was there since yesterday in town,  perhaps his car broke down,  perhaps he was waiting for someone,  her mind  became hyper active  spinning  out reasons and chances  of his  being there 

mujh mein hy qayaam tera

...thank God  he won't be there today,  she thought satisfactorily  going up , yesterday's episode won't be repeated 

The reason behind this  satisfaction  was  this hilltop was  his find,  the rest of the world was not aware of it or forgotten about it,  if someone  reached there astray  won't  climb up the  broken missing  thirty steps,  unless he was daring or damaged crazy,  only some holes were dug to step into  for a long climb up and down,  therefore it was certain the stranger  hopefully whom she had seen there yesterday will not come back,  standing on the last final stephold  her hopes were    proven wrong with his back the crazy guy stood there right before her,  all her ideas crashed  , she  screwed up ber beautiful etes , her facial expression changed to an  a challenge,  unlike yesterday sge refused to give up  , she liked spending time alone there,  but to go back everytime  finding someone there was also  not so tolerable,  after all she was the Columbus of the hilltop,  the man on the bench turned on the  sound  she had made ,  her ego  inside her exploded,  she won't  share the bench with him,  sge would rather  sit down on the  ground or remain standing behind him , from the past there still existed a rusty  iron  board  in a corner  that read   Lake View Point 

muskn

...this house  is  infamous for being haunted  that's the reason  the rent is so low  explained the estate agent  looking  scared  , estate agent  was definitely telling the truth tge condition of the house  and  its  vacant look suggested,  , it was  a vintage  haveli  for sure,  unpainted  unkempt   , walls flaking off , doors not proper repair,   smelling of dampness the rooms  felt occupied by invisible  ghosts,  silhouetted  trees in the dim surroundings appeared scary,   the haveli  felt  rotating  vaguely  , it was head spinning experience 

So is this really haunted  or just  rumored  around  asked sayyed  closely  taking a tour of the  house,  he was  an  adventure  writer on a trip of life seeking fame  along with others,  his  works were  stories  frequently published in magazines  and  digests , his  was  a strong  impacted  full of life  style of writing,  readers  enjoyed his  stories  therefore  he was  sought after aggressively by the  publishers  for top columns,  he was well paid,  he was  in a different town come to complete his higher  studies,  through a  friend he had contacted an estate agent  , there wasn't any other  house available on rent,  the estate agent had cheerfully  declared there was just one house  perfectly right for him with  the rent unexpectedly low

page 11

....but abba jan...

 Walida explained  abba already  had  had two  heart strokes  and gaika must realize the  delicate  situation  and abba  s condition before speaking,  at that moment  ghaika  felt helpless  , she had decided never would she get married and now this new development in life that her Walid  won't survive the third attack 

She faltered but words weren't coming out,  she covered her face and began crying  and  rushed out of the room,  she overheard her walida saying  the idea of leaving parents and parental house   always makes the girls cry 

But what had made ghaika cry,

Only she was aware of that 

She entered sonu s room and hugging her tightly  broke into   uncontrollable  tears,  now she  understood what was sonu saying  before the matter was discussed with ghaika,  she finally  took charge of her emotional  breakdown and tried to get sonu to  sleep,  dinner time was still  a little while,  she would  wake sonu up then , she also  snuggled beside sonu, her  flooding emotions were   stopped,  her heart was heavy,  she wanted to get rid of this heaviness,  two names  cropped up in her mind  jazab and Shahid, Shahid was  a  very  dear college friend of hers,  nothing between was kept secret,  and talking to Jacob would be impossible for her,   pondering  over it for a couple of minutes  ghaika    contacted  Shahid on mobile,  Shahid quipped she was just going to call her

Can you come right away to my place,  her  tone  sent some  warning signals  to Shahida who asked what was wrong,  ghaika sounded so stressful 

Stressful and sad  confirmed ghaika 

I am coming  declared Shahid before cutting the line