sheh maat

....he wanted to get rid off of his wife  but in this way nobody could point a finger on him,  ! He owned immense wealth,  he could  use divorce option  and get Laila siddiqui  out of his life,  but it posed several dangers  because  then Laila could  speak up  against him   so he wanted to play it safe  

He for quite  some time had been scheming  how to tackle his situation  but there wasn't  any proper solution found  till one day  he got an answer as he sat in his office his secretary informed him on the intercom a man was there waiting to see him,  that the visitor had  many times before also had come but due to  his very busy schedules a meeting couldn't be arranged 

Wasif Kareem asked her the name of the visitor and his purpose of coming,  coincidentally was if Kareem was absolutely free at that moment  perhaps naghat had for that reason  discussed the matter with him,  she was closely acquainted to his nature,  the visitor was naved ali  sent by a reputed  insurance company 

He didn't like  insurance company agents who were  suckered and impossible to  deal with  

She was ready to  send away the insurance man, wasif  stopped her changing his mind  and asked her to show him in, within two minutes the man was inside his cabin  absolutely different from other agents he had seen,  well dressed pleasant and tall handsome  smart and interesting  wasif  playing the hist formally asked him what would he like to have  something cold or hot

Naced  replied,  life was heat and cold is death 

fareb dil

....it was a Sunday,  month of March had begun,  , the weather was dry, , the sky  was  covered with inky clouds, the clouds seemed ready to  rain,  midday was settled  but it felt like late evening,  tge whispers of cold winds could be  heard 

New Yorkers  unaffected by the interesting changes  around  were buried in their daily routines  mechanically,  some tourists were seen  enjoying their  surroundings,  that was a father son duo  Yorkers indeed,  owners of a magnificent apartment on the third floor  , the flat consisted of three  bedrooms  a lounge  kitchen 

Zaya Ahmed started his Sunday not before ten with his breakfast followed by doing laundry in a washing machine,  cleaning  furnishing ended by  midday 

Zaya Ahmed  took credit of being an only child,  when he was just four his mother  died of a first heart stroke suddenly,  Ahmed sahib was unduly attached to his wife,  he was left shaken and needed time to  gather himself emotionally and took care of his son and got into  raising him,  he was a one woman man  he never remarried 

from previous

....he chose to revisit the site again disguising himself  he had to reach home  to finish his   very important  matters within  a few hours,  it was  mid day one of clock,  he sped homewards on his bike  to  his  relief,  Sabar was waiting for him,   because he had informed him  on the phone on his way,  he had just touched the door bell and the door opened  with sabar standing there,  he lifted his  traveling bag and carried it inside,  in the lounge  food was already  laid out on the table  he hoped  his children would  be  getting  their  meals on time  as it was  corona lockdown phase  and their whole  scheduled routine was  spoiled,  he was hungry,  Sabar had prepared  separate  dishes for him and his life  companion who was  busy  getting ready to go out  with her female friends to attend a social group meeting 

qatil kasauti

....he was in his balcony  relaxing in a comfortable chair reading his newspaper  not realizing how much time had passed,  when sabar suddenly appeared before him holding his hit black steaming coffee did he started on his calling out for his attention 

He instructed him to put it  there 

Sabar again called him  his tone sounding  nervous, 

Sabar was his friend,  his secretary his housekeeper  you could say  without Sabar  mir Hasan couldn't have been  mir Hasan unable to solve any of the crimes 

Sur ji,  again  said sabar

I am listening what's the matter 

Sure ji, nawab meboob always is dead,  he committed suicide 

Whatever for, mir lost his balance almost falling down in his chair  in that sitting position 

Sir ji, news Channels are highlighting the news in headlines 

Mir Hasan  pushed his coffee aside before running towards the  television in the lounge where  everyone was asleep,  the channels were  giving away the breaking news  half hour ago the police found  the nawab  s  dead body in his farmhouse 

from previous

....next morning jasim found time to talk to dada about what happened last night  in detail,  , dada heard him   carefully  in silence  when  his  story was over dada  said  dear, it is so nice hearing what you have been up to, , in fact  your  unexpected  step  is fantastic to  not kill your deadly enemy in one  hit but letting him  die a slow painful death praying for mercy  and not getting to live a normal happy life,  that's what you did to Raju, it's admirable  indeed 

He reverendly  explained all that he had learned about killing was only from dada, his tone was  ringing with serious sincerity,  just one more year in jail was left,  seven years were spent and only one year remained  that too will pass off quickly and then he will be a free man to breathe freedom 

God willing that will happen soon, dada spoke  good heartedly,  he informed him as an afterthought he was  going out of station for  almost a month  meantime jasim must take good care of himself 

What's the matter,  if it was so important 

Of course,  dreamily dada replied it was  a most important thing,  it was  a  call of duty 

dehr

....those were extremely  awkward and  astonishing moments, jasim was  erupting volcano  highly reactive to David s unpredictable  act, he was now merely  a helpless puppet in the hands of merciless  time,  before he could take  some  extreme step, najya  came to sit  in the  chair  beside him and asked in a confused  manner  what made that person leave  so suddenly unexpectedly 

Perhaps he didn't like my face answered jasim irritated 

But where did he go  she enquired 

To he'll

His  behavior was putting her into  a deep thoughtful  state,  unable to understand what was bothering him so all of a sudden,  hardly had he spent five minutes speaking to  the hist that his fuse blew up, it wasn't definitely a normal situation,  she looked into his eyes and said jasim you are here to meet David  who  gave you  ten thousand  advance  for some  television reality  show,  you both were to discuss the details of it here and the man who just got up and left couldn't be him if he isn't David who is this man 

mailey hath

...nagina had put him into  a severe  test,  he  would  frequently think  if she was  really a mentally ill  woman,   but  he quickly  shake off the idea polluting his mind,  naghina was his first and last choice,  his only love,  he was  crazy fir her, , no matter how was she  he wanted her,, love is not just liking the good things about someone but longing to  accept your choice  as it is, if she was in any trouble  he ought to help her,  problems in life  trap and restrict  lives , remove  problems and  one is free from all  sufferings,  , he wished naghina had at least trusted him  tried him to solve her  problems and   he would sincerely  helped her in all circumstances,  he was  talking to himself,  , he held his cell phone in his hand  thinking aloud,  the letter she wrote to him  was whatsapped him , this was the only  way she knew of to reach out to him  quickly  before she   shut  her number down,  he tried to contact her  but it was hopeless   and couldn't  find her online,  he asked himself if it was possible to cut off sentimental  bonds  just by shutting off their numbers,  he was  crying  helpless to  explain himself to her , to help her was impossible,  how could he find her to get her out of her  problems  confining  her 

dard e mashtarak

...marya   stood at her ice cream truck counter  when she heard  a voice  pouring into her ear..hi sugar mama, do you have  something interesting in ice-cream for me 

Marya tried not to  roll her eyes,  rayan like a rogue  smiled,  in her eyes his was  a rascally  gesture  to draw attention towards himself 

She had sweet rolls,  pushup pops ice-cream bars and sandwiches snow cones besides a large  range of  varieties  the list of which was  displayed on the board,  she pointed towards the  boards on either side of the truck,  she kept  all the varieties  for the children  but  sometimes  grown ups also  arrived  demanding childishly  for something  sweet  as rayan  

Scratching his  chin  he said  she had made it impossible for him to choose  , he  was fond of all  that she sold but today he would go for  something different,  marya found it surprising  ge wasn't like  ground middle school students she taught,  if they troubled her she could take them to the  principal  s office  but in this case it wasn't possible,  a pleasant smiled  adorned her  face  , fifteen years experience  of being a science teacher  she had learned to control her expressions,  equipped with this she had  also  learned to handle  difficult parents and   indisciplined children but as misfortune would have it this  person was her  house owner 

page 59

....all her vacation  got over after marriage  in surprise and  argument,  she rejoined  the college  , from the first day  onwards  electricity bills, cooking gas,  and entire kitchen  expenses  shifted on her, shazya  s college was rather  a  long way from home,  agad always sahib didn't even have a bike  to drop and pick  his beghum  to college and back,  shazya bought him a bike  and extra for it's maintenance and fuel  now that too was included in her responsibilities 

Shazya wished to make herself a normal home  where  each member  came back home to a warm family  instead of staying  aloof as an independent individual  who worked  to make a living for  just himself,  that the family would discuss  their problems and feelings  with each other,  sympathize and understand   and show affection  and spend time together  instead of counting money they made  but  reality was different  , shazya  was  solely responsible for arranging things 

page 91

...taimur s  walida went into a deep depression ever since they had moved into the new house,  always staying  worried for her only son, years ago  her husband was murdered by his elder brother,  now taimur was her whole family 

He returned home after ten at night  completing his  recording in the haveli to find she was still up and not eaten her meal waiting for him,  she didn't eat after he was back,  she was annoyed and upset,  at eleven  she got a stroke,  next three days she had to spend   in the hospital,  he was with her all the time  dead worried taking care of her,  his legal  issues and  recordings  got affected,  only when walida came back home  he rejoined  his  job to quickly catch up, five days later he reached the haveli to begin his serial recording again in shekhopura where the entire crew and cast was present along with hashya 

page 88

....as if silence was  an expression  and said it all,  it wasn't  rebellion  but if this is what  some people thought  so  let it be 

In a corner  a senior actor  rehearsing his  character of murshid  repeated his lines  ...He is present  in different innumerable forms around us, His will is included in all our activities  and intend He becomes us and we become  Him

Recording of raz started,  the next day media  coverage   made it public  that hashya the daughter of sajjad was playing the lead role in the serial,  the publicity was slightly troubling her firstly  because without taimur  s support  support it couldn't be possible,  now she had to face the challenges full on, she couldn't back off now,  it was her mission impossible do or die 

aqalband

...trailing winters are proven tonic for good health  and this applies to every season,  the old wise say whatever season it is brings with it sicknesses and allergies  and so more carefulness is  necessary  and  the fading away season wind up with itself all the illnesses therefore  to maintain health parameters   one ought to be ready to say goodbye to the  staleness  to welcome freshness 

It was the month of February  ,  warm refreshing  chili  was left behind by the going  out  winters and this chil in the air was to soon end too, he was busy as usual schedule in his office,  three people were announced in by constable  saif Allah,  they had come from Lahore , two of them were from their department,  during then he was posted in gujrawala police station just forty miles and one hour away from Lahore 

page 47

... progeny like all other  blessings from almighty is a gift bestowed  on whoever  He wishes to show His mercy  and not give  to whoever he chooses not to 

Progeny is again  is gendered His wish alone  matters who gets a boy or a girl  and how many 

From Yasmin  also daud had no  progeny,  they tried prayers, charity medical treatments  but without almighty s wish  nothing happens,  as time passed by daud became even more attached to Yasmin ignoring his first wife   who had nothing to do with  her smoothly  functioning  household by herself efficient staff so she spent time waiting for him to come home,  he  never found enough time to visit  her,

Yasmin was younger more attractive and compatible,  more likeable,  zarina s husband  house and married life was now  in complete control and possession of Yasmin, nilofer also didn't contact zarina anymore,  perhaps  all was fine with her, if only  blessings and joys were sold and bought  she would  sell off all she owned  in exchange for the desires fulfilled 

haqq haqqdar tak

....aslamalekum, you are certainly extremely beautiful,  though I had  no plans of getting married  but amma convinced me and now I am sure I didn't make a mistake,  you will definitely prove  a perfect wife for me,  by the way  this is a gift  on unveiling the bride s face,  said ahad always to his just married bride as he  handed her a gold ring 

The groom ahad  sahib had come prepared to give  her long lectures on  domestic  matters he started with  tge rights of family members  each one in the family was discussed as a matter of fact  followed by shazya s duties  enlightening her on financial  expenditures and how  careful she must be

Shazya the new bashful bride sat overawed turning   to  worry  in her full bridal dress thinking over family budget and the horrifying tips given  by the gracious groom  who was  well  versant in  careless expenses   practiced by the housewives,  the bride was a working woman well educated and  believed wrongly  possessed no other talent except  shopping  as a hobby,  tired and bored she fell asleep  as the happy groom  went on  giving lectures on a wide range of topics 

For past several days she  dreamed  pleasant dreams  of herself shazya  and  ahad always married  and made a handsome couple,  that shazya was happily married  for ever after  spending a peaceful life   and today a long lecture was included in her dream about her duties  responsibilities  and domestic chores 

page 29

...harim, calling her from downstairs  abba ji reached  her to hand her the phone,  on the line was  khala, khala informed her  m s c admission forms were available,  she could come to fill them up so that khalu could  deposit the required fees, she looked up at abba ji pleadingly  for his permission and he who was  very  aware of her mental condition  had to give his permission willingly 

For a year instead of staying in a hostel she stayed with her khala,  ammi piled up  gifts and rations and  other things at her place,  Sakina already lived there  till khala  recovered  completely   both Sakina and tehrim wouldn't let her do anything,  tipu was happy to have them around 

One day  tehrim returned from her university  holding  a small school bag, a  lunch box and a small thermos,  khala wanted tipu  was sent to school  so  tehrim  took one day off from her university 

page 27

...the two brothers didn't want to lose the proposal arrived for tehrim,  accepting it was beneficial for them and rejecting it was  definitely a loss but  tehrim  stubbornly    put her foot down  not budging fighting for her right,  like a cool breeze  arrived  khala  , she couldn't walk  much about except with a walking stick  up to  the washroom,  tehrim and her mother  decided to visit her  but kept their program a secret from tipu, believing  they  couldn't keep the child any longer  so better  not let him know  or it would break his heart,  

Ammi  took Fatima along  to stay  back with khala to help her  but right then  Khazar  intervened asking ammi where was she going,  ammi explained both were  visiting  tahira and  return  in a few days 

Cheerfully he enquired if all the  nuisances were also packed up 

Ammi asked for an explanation 

Same  her two kittens or rather one kitten another puppy, his tone turned venomous from sarcastic 

He seemed to be actively  allergic to the little ones pouncing to bite as tipu would  tremble  frightened 

Noo they are not going  anywhere  just now  , poor tahira is not  fit to take care of herself  how would she manage the little ones,  ammi tried to explain him practically 

He argued it wasn't their responsibility nor interest , tahira khala  was  involved in this matter,  it wasn't  for them to  take  over her responsibilities 

page 25

... it s during one of those days  when they were planning to send tipu  in a welfare organization,  tehrim then got a matrimonial proposal  from a  distant village chaudhary,  he was  a rich man,  he was  also politically active and once  become the  m l a, he had  married off his  young  sons,  wife was illiterate  and  ordinary looking,  

Someone  put in his ears the name of  the daughter of chaudhary shaukat that she was beautiful young and well educated,  so the Nika was quickly arranged,  rukhsati wasn't done and the groom who was  abroad  perhaps had a romantic angle there  gave a divorce and walked away 

Tehrim   kept hearing such  arguments around  but she wasn't  involved directly,  Khazar and harun were quite happy with the alliance  because they saw how beneficial it was  for them,  harun believed abba ji would  get a ticket for him,  Khazar  was elder and hoped for favors from abba ji above  harun but the decision lay entirely on who was selected by sayyad chaudhary  for  elections in pind basa , there  were  several  contenders  besides them more ambitious and promising 

That evening  all sat having tea  in the  yard  tehrim was seen  lost and silent  staring at her tea cup  this made chaudhary  shaukat  miserable,  he asked her what happened  dear child patting her head, she  then  startled  came back to her senses,  she shook her head,  it wasn't anything at all 

Khazar and harun exchanged glances 

from previous

....that  woman  daud had  arranged  to stay with Yasmin  as a companion   was dropped by her working son  on his way to work and picked up in the evening on his return home,  both mother and son were quite happy  for his  status and importance amidst the hotel staff had risen,  mother was also  profiting from   the  little favors  by  Yasmin,  her husband was  killed during the riots,  she had somehow managed to escape to reach  Pakistan  with her   teenage Salim Aldin in her strong arms,  she was  a woman of substance from a good family and  both  spent  quite a time  in the  refugee camp to move later to a newly constructed  colony for  the outsiders  also   they became more comfortable with  Salim getting a waiter s job in a  reputed hotel 

namos

..Namos

Nilofer was elder  Yasmin younger  , both sisters came to live in Karachi after partition,  both were  bold beautiful and educated,  their mother tongue was  Persian,   fluent in English,  their father was a pathan, mother Iranian,  both were quite  well versant  in pashto as well

Their mother was a well educated open minded person and taught her daughters relevant  modern life style and typing skills that were trendy and useful  for office workers,  both sisters arrived in Pakistan on their mother's  instructions,  women were conservative  in those days  and father was against  the daughters setting abroad  and   meekly  agreed to his Persian wife's  suggestions,  both girls found it very hard to get a suitable decent job but both were brilliant and hardworking and competent  and expert typists  soon enough Nilofer got selected in a private firm as a secretary,  Yasmin  became a hotel  receptionist,  it was  a famous hotel,  the rich and wealthy  felt  honored  dining there  , every day  different types of functions were arranged  from  wedding parties to Walmart functions to anniversaries,  trained chef's prepared  feasts with  delicious delectable  dishes served for the posh guests,  the hotel staff was kept busy from dawn to late night  with catering and  providing  detailed  attention to the guests,  the staff  was happy with  the left over feasts they carried home  and  the tips they received 

pesh goshi

....it was  autumn   when he fell ill returning from a remote area , the minute he entered  his native town   high fever gripped him, he sent for a doctor, the servant brought  District   doctor home within half hour,  the doctor was a medium  sized  black haired  thin man , he  checked him up  , he then opened his first aid box to give him  some pills followed by an injection,  a prescription to the servant  with instructions to get them from the market,  the servant left 

The doctor was  a talkative person  , he began gossiping with him waiting for the servant to return with prescribed medicine,  the narrator was certain he would ne overcharged 

The night was passing  and the servant was back,  handing the medicines he went to the kitchen to make tea,  both the visiting doctor and the sick host  spent long time talking  as if they were known to each other for ages 

The tea was served by the servant,  they began sipping their hot steaming tea, ,  he asked the doctor to tell him about some unforgettable  incident in his life 

The doctor looked at him  carefully  before   going into a deep reverie,  his eyes focused  into the oblivion on some invisible point,  be sat meditatively  for rather long,  when he spoke his voice was weak and trembling,  he began speaking slowly a narrative 

from previous

....spring season had begun,  he was  in love with a lovely nose  and  a beauty spot , right now his time was not come, , he was rather scared of professor Farooq, , like badaji he too was a sentimental person  who was unpredictable and anytime could marry off his daughter darmann to anyone else 

Man plans and  life  throws something different, something unexpected  with  the hotel built by Marco and shezad was about to happen,  both weren't aware of it,  right now all was fine  and going smooth,  complete  look of the hotel had taken place,  two weeks ago  inauguration also had been done,  from multan  a Kady minister was invited to do the honors,  ever since she had become the minister  her powers were in hiccups, a few days before she was the chief guest  to inaugurate a six storey building,  she  cut off the ribbons  and with that the whole building collapsed,  just she survived with a guard 

Marco and he  named the plain boring hotel  doob-- sink, nobody knew  the full form was money drowned..money  drowning hotel 

page 11

...some days later it happened,  it was evening time,  shehzad sat  in his room smoking cigarettes  in a sad mood,  unshaven,  he looked down the window,  his father  getting out from his car was walking into the house,  along with him followed his two  guards,  shumaila his secretary  a trouble maker walked with him,  badaji had brought her home from office like before her  other attractive women were  but this shumaila was  kind of pasted to him

Five minutes later a uniformed  staff came to inform shehzad  badaji was coming to see him,  he crushed his burning cigarette stub into the ashtray before  brushing  hus hands through his  hair,  every time badaji entered a room hus paunch  preceded him, today again he followed his  protruding belly, , seeing badaji  behave  so inappropriate shehzad  would speak up his mind  and his  couldn't supress  his outspokenness  badaji why girls  stick to you,  isn't she too thin and young for you 

Badaji  argued  if he was  objecting  to her thinness or her being his secretary,  his objections on her slim essence was absolutely wrong  because everyone beside him looks very thin 

from previous

...tahira khala reached one sizzling summer afternoon holding little tipu s hand  followed faithfully by their little domestic pet  kitten at their house,  interesting thing was that she  took more care of the kitten over tipu, worrying over much about nothing about the pet she was to give to Sakina along with instructions how to raise it, feed t clean it and  keep it,  ammi and others were given pet doctor's numbers and address  where the kitten should be taken for a check up,  ammi wasn't happy about  khala  s dealing and this development,  the little boy in blue knickers and red t-shirt socks and  joggers  holding a jeep in his hand  stood  clutching her, tehrim felt  the child was neglected and khala wasn't bothered about him,  ever since  he had opened his eyes he had believed  her his whole world,  he stood  was  tagging with her holding on to her  dupatta, it was tahira khala  s last night  of stay in the house,  tipu  whose real name was abbas was sitting  glued to her,  she had no maternal feelings  no affection for him,  she had   showered all her maternal instincts on her own progeny,  tipu was kept separate and alone from the beginning 

page 13

....he had said  the day she would come to his house  all the   new York  flower shops will  be sold out and he will  decorate all the flowers available in new York  to welcome her home he poured sweet honey in her ears 

But she didn't like flowers at all they quickly   die, she would rather prefer flowers were kept growing on their stems in nature,  looking cheerful and bright,  she explained herself to him 

Fine,  he added he would then fill up his whole house with flowers,  all around colorful  flowers will bloom 

Then where will  both of them live  with house full of blooming flowers occupying every inch of it , teased she,  he insisted she come,  he was alone without her,  the house waited eagerly for her 

She argued if the bricks and stone missed her at all

Right,  brick and stone building would come alive to life with her presence 

from previous

...darmann breathing deep asked shehzad what was all that drama about,  why didn't he instead  remove eight chores from ten and hid it here and there  for later  use  like investing in business 

That's the matter darling he explained  abadaji had taken his word of promise   to waste it all in business and  the only person  I love  in life is you and on your name I took  that step,  she was surprised that he told uncle so, he nodded,  amazing that uncle had  given his consent  but  he would still  push him  to marry  sheikh  s daughter,  the phone  signal  alerted them,  he answered  to his  friend   Arslan alias  marco who blurted  there came a golden opportunity  of nvestment worth  seven eight chores, but  till March April  some loss was expected 

Never speak of chores on the phone,  reach this restaurant,  darmann is also here 

Ok, fine, I am coming  said marco,  Mike was on darmann  was listening to them, picking up her shoulder bag she  announced was leaving,  he insisted she stayed,  she smiled at his  melodrama 

But pay for the bill before you leave  his tone was meaningful 

No payment  she replied  saucily,  he for no reason at all felt she had reservations fir him and uncertain about them,  as if she  was backing off increasing the distance between them,  all this started  two years ago,  it was  not just her but his business also   wasn't  doing well,  after she left marco arrived  , his round face was  glowing,  showing his  expensive mobile screen to shehzad  a map of a location of disputed land through which  two  drains  crossed  was on sale 

karobari chal

...shaehzad was a wealthy billionaire  father's son, good looking and young,  there wasn't any problem to find a  suitable match  but  his heart had turned  away from the delights of life . arman was a bsc student   eldest child amidst all siblings,  her father Farooq sahib had great hopes  of her doing well in life 

Shehzad sat in the  wet cold weather in his room against the window  watching tge nature  in the rain,  images of innocent  darmann would  emerge and  disappear in his heart  s corner,  he would feel  he would lose her forever somehow,  cursing his luck for giving him  a father like his , since morning he was  upset on something his father had said and  he couldn't  make any sense of it and  with a spinning head he spent the day to finally call his  friend   Marco to help  find a solution  to his problem 

Marco too was a rich man's  son,  both were friends from college time,  Marco arrived and was equally surprised at the disturbing matter,  Marco suggested he ought to have argued,  shehzad explained he had  

They thought perhaps it was Father's  decaying health  , shehzad had refused to  agree and  his father had shaken up his  conscience 

His father had said..look  shehzad I am getting old and decided to hand over  all I have  to you before leaving  for  a long trip,  shehzad doubted father wanted to settle down abroad,  usually parents  test their  would be  heirs if they are ready to shoulder the responsibility,  he  was  reminded of  arranged, akbar, jahangir  reflected in him 

Mera Tann mann

....it was  a moonlit  night,  she was upstairs   in the attic room  aimlessly restlessly  walking around,  her eyes  distant from sleep,  it was then that  she  heard  the crying of  the child from  the other side of the high walls, she  craned her neck to look down,  she got even more disturbed,  shanu was trying to quiet the infant  nestled in her arms  , she was  frequently glancing upwards towards her direction,  suddenly their eyes met  and sganu turned away,  shanu s husband  shafuq also got up  , now both began  taking turns to  quiet the infant  and before she could ask them to let her hold the infant both  left the back yard to go inside 

She  looked at the  hardworking  woman  longingly,  who worked during the daytime in a brick kiln   and during the evenings took care of her two kids, guiding and kaka , spending time with her husband happily,  she was envious,  tehrim shaukat who was the daughter of chaudhary sgaukat  who was  the land lord of  vast lands,  who had  tens of servants at home,  she was envious of this hardworking honest woman 

She kept  strolling around on the terrace looking into the far  dark distant night roads where  traffic passing by made  patterns of  lights 

angoor

....eat  grapes without hesitation,  they are most favorite  colorful berries considered by the west consumed as in between snacks  ,   not bothering to argue over grapes  like tomatoes if they are vegetables or fruit,  found in green purple and red juicy varieties   their sweet and sour taste  refreshes  salads and  garnish 

from previous

....naushaba  had worked with them just one year,  it wasn't for money though,  , her father was a successful business man,   welcoming them both she  she said seriously she was aware what brought them to her 

Neelam commented  in such circumstances  she ought to 

Was zaid aware of this development 

No,  he had already taken his decisions 

Smiling naushaba asked but won't that  affect him,

  .he had shown his annoyance speaking on the phone certainly it wasn't much of a threat,  he loves me  passionately,  he can stay away from me but he can't give me a divorce 

What  if he  remarried 

Another empty threat, 

Right now he is planning to see a lawyer to get a divorce 

What!!!exclaimed naushaba,  this can't be true,  it can't be happening 

Absar has just spoken telephonically  explained neelam speaking to Absar to  let naushaba know of his decision 

Avsar held his phone as an expression of confusion appeared on her face,  he turned the speaker on to let her hear him

Zaid spoke up laughing what was wrong,  just now he had hung up and right away second call 

Just wanted to clear up something,  where are you 

Almost ready , just leaving from house to see a lawyer 

So today only naushaba will get the divorce papers 

Right 

Wait for a few more days 

No, had I come to the office I could have explained better but rima is ready to marry me 

Neelam was closely watching  naushaba whose face was suddenly drained out of all color 

sangin khatma

...parents never consider their daughters burden  though they get overly concerned when she reaches marriageable age and  worried when she crosses that age but of course that's natural  said neelam with a faint smile,  something odd has happened 

And what is that 

Only yesterday you both decided to get married and just yesterday absar and I also discussed  our matter 

About what,  your marriage.  Asked rima shocked 

What else 

That's good,  happily chirped Rima

Won't that be interesting to get married together 

Perhaps  we will get married within a week or rather before tge week is out, absar is busy with his reports  and only when they are finished can we get married 

Even my parents would hurry me up  though they have to do nothing at all,  all my dowry is ready  and  parents have to arrange nothing 

In my case  dowry is no problem because it's going to be a plain simple wedding 

Whatever we both will  have our weddings done on the same day 

Neelam  laughed softly yet it was  worried  for rimmed was over,  it was time for them to leave,  neelam  gestured to the waiter standing some distance away to get them the bill,  before the bill arrived  rima  s phone rang , her mother was on the phone , neelam watched rima speaking to her mother,  sheer surprise appeared on her face as she promised she was coming,  rima explained to neelam  smiling  perhaps  ger parents for some unknown reason had called her for a week,  most probably to arrange her marriage 

qatil dildar

...he was  speaking to mehek on the phone when he heard her turn to speak to someone else by her side in a frightened voice,  she was now asking the intruder who was he and how did he manage to get into the room,  listening to her he quickly decided to go home  and quickly  rushed towards his car,  he was at that moment in his first mobile shop he had opened,  he asked his staff to take care as he himself started his car and sped homewards, his mind  resonated with her last statement to him saying. Sajjad shut the phone  down let me handle this man her , on his way home he rang her up several times but her phone was not answering,  his car was   speeding forward  and mind  echoed her last sentence  ..who are you and how did you manage to get into the room,  usually the distance between the house and the shop was covered in a car within twenty minutes  but that day he reached home in ten minutes,  seeing the  main gate was locked from inside he pressed the car horn,  honking,  usually  humayu would open the gate on the first honking  but that day  the gate didn't open  even after several honkings , he got down from his car to reach the gate to find it wasn't locked  just a push  and it was wide open,  how could humayu khan be so irresponsible 

wazahat

....dear after marriage I shall  share all your problems 

Dear, I am quite happy and free and have no problems in my life 

Dear,  I am talking about after I am married to you 

from previous

...you left without even seeing me,   said Alina  sitting in the waiting room when he emerged from the   recording studio,  he was startled on hearing her voice,  he gestured hus companion and waved him good bye,  she complained  as he glanced at her  sulking  manner, 

He explained  dryly he was there just to see her ,  his  comment  put her off and she got confused,  it wasn't  right  standing  in the  middle of the  road,  though  sometimes    roads prove to be the ultimate destinations,  not heeding to her babbling he gestured to cross the road because he was new in town,  Lahore was once had been his old acquaintance,  his etes expressed so much  unsaid  but he quickly  put on his  dark glasses,  she had  learnt from one of his  interviews he had spent a . Long time in Lahore,  how could he be a stranger here, , they were walking on a footpath  lined up with  shady trees, sometimes it so happens  that   places become  one's own or distant because of association with people,  she lifted her head to look at him,  his  only half face was visible,  he was walking with his hands in his pockets 

So what he meant was  he had  had a terrible experience with the people in this town,  her tone was asking    he smiled,  both were walking briskly,  people  can't  matter  much,  just one particular someone hurt him,  who was so emotionally close and he was madly in love but  all don't deserve  sincere love and respect,  tge worthy  alone receive  sincere love,  the misfortune  reject  it,  he sounded casual unconcerned  but she  understood he had been through a heartbreak 

Then what made him turn so aloof,  they reached the restaurant  which was customarily  crowded,  they chose a window seat,  tge waiter was given an order,  she asked if he was hoping for love to enter his life afresh 

Not hoping but trusting  he answered