page 10

...the next day  he went to office  and shook himself free of all  the stress  before  diving into his routine,  , there was still some time left  for lunch time,  when he   cast his glance  on the girl in the office,  he saw her  every day  at least  two three times a day  but this time she reminded him of Nilofer,  the dress she wore  was  almost similar to Nilofer s, 

Suddenly shakib thought of contacting Nilofer on the Facebook  , he was himself surprised at the thought,  he had never before taken personal interest in any girl,  but  Nilofer was different  something in neelam  s apparel  reminded him of her , the main issue was  that he didn't know how to open a Facebook account,  for that he decided to take neelam s help,  he called her and explained his problem,  she  offered him her assistance,  she  finished her lunch quickly and   explained him  how to use Facebook,  she added him friend and  he thanked her  

At night at home  after dinner shakib   took out his laptop  and reached his Facebook timeline,  he typed  neelofer in the  search space  and clicked,  more than he had expected  neelofer list of accounts  was displayed before him,  some had  pictures  on profiles  others only had descriptions,  on one account there was a neelofer flower on profile picture,  it drew his attention  perhaps this was it

sharif mujrim

...shakib was driving his car  rather on the outskirts of the town, people had  almost  stopped  using that route since  crime rate had  suddenly shot up, safe crowded  roads were  in and  secluded  roads were  discarded,  even if  they had to detour and  longer than expected  time  was wasted,  people chose  less of this road specially  after sunset   and preferred  better roads,  but shakib was not  worried about it  that crime was on the rise he remained uncaring,  he just wanted to reach home quickly and this was  short and straight  towards home,  he had checked first  and the road wasn't completely  lonely,  he could see  some feet  in front of his car the jeep  

Because it was getting late he  escalated,  reaching the jeep he pressed the horn , the jeep  moved aside and  gave him a pass,  the road was narrow and two vehicles couldn't  drive together,  overtaking the jeep  shakib noticed the two  men in the jeep didn't look  decent,  both were laughing in an odious manner,  both held liquor glasses also as the jeep moved forward,  the man driving the jeep used just one hand to hold the  steering 

page 151

....the next morning was quite pleasant,  light cool breezy,  the air felt  soothing,  abid was  present  there in the  nearby park then,  early morning jogging for half hour was his regular routine,   running on the  park jogging track he remembered  last night function  , the  birthday party and  scenes 

Whole life was spent but I couldn't  change that woman's  habits and mind,  his  speed increased,   now it was almost over  no time to change,  thankfully children weren't like her, not  narrow minded  nor stubborn,  he felt a sense of relief 

His jogging time was up, he returned home  contented , his house was  located  right in the  front,  in his  way of walking he  opened the door and entered the house to his surprise   there were  foot prints made in  wet mud , whose  shoes  made them  asked he  in confusion,  he surveyed the entire  room and spotted the dirty  bucket   used to pick up filthy trash  behind the door,  flies swarming  over it, , he   was repelled by the  sight of it, how many times he  had  told them to  keep it covered  but who cared,  nobody listened,  he grumbled to himself aloud,  in  this matter he completely forgot the matter of soiled  footprints 

page 149

....clad in black  his  etes moved  around  in the hall  searchingly, decorations were definitely  fantastic,  he really loved attending such functions because he would choose a  corner for himself  and observe  the gathering,  he liked watching  otgers faces  , expressions  , emotional display of the eyes, he  could  hear and see the  untold  life stories 

This was  a birthday party function,  shamrin and asma were hosting the party,  he  saw Maria standing directly opposite  the hosts staring  enviously at shamrin and  odiiusly at asama before quickly  bringing a false smile to her lips but the man  in the corner  had seen it all, , Maria was  playing the hostess  going to everyone asking if they wanted something,  she approached the man in the corner  and enquired  if he wanted something  and if the function was  to his liking,  of course it was perfect to the minutest  details,  he liked the arrangements,  Maria  disliked  other women  being admired,  she walked away  , shamrin was  also  taking good care of things,  the television lounge  was    almost  vacant  , the party was over 

Tge night was  passing through it's last phase  , the sky was  overcast

munafaqat

...once  hazrat safyan shori  attends his neighbor s funeral ceremony,  all the gathered  one by one stepped forward and  praised the  dead neighbor  who when alive was  actively disliked 

Hazrat asked why everyone was  so untruthful and praising  highly 9f his attributes he never possessed 

People explained it was no use  talking  bad of the departed soul 

Hazrat said  be truthful  in your praises and remain quiet  if no good  point is seen 

page 93

...people say save money for bad times 

Faith says trust almighty  bad times  will never come 

.

Four  divine  mercies the mortal reject 

Daughter 

Rain

Guests

Illness

.

Four evils man enjoys 

Dowry 

Extra interest

Magic 

Untruthfulness

page 76

....eyes of that girl  spoke 

Revealing secrets inexpressible 

It was  dusky dark 

When it rained incessantly 

The rain drops strung a melody 

The night was dark 

When a mud lamp  lit

That  still lights up

In my heart 

That melodic song still

I hear 

In my courtyard 

Some  introductions are odd and there results  stranger still  said noor, I didn't sin nor commit any crime  that destiny wrote a down a person like him who 

Fatah Alam reacted  outrageously,  his blood boiled,  for several days he remained fuming  but then slowly  his rage subsequently subsided,   wasn't she speaking  truthfully,  it was in fact absolutely true,  now his heart was  filled with sorrow and regret,  an irrepressible pang , she didn't like him and this was intolerable to him 

zakhm nahaan

...many happy returns of the day,  let us sing,  may you live long,  the chorus  singing  rose louder and louder,  each and  and every  face shone with pleasure,  enthusiasm and energy  was absolutely fantastic,  , six year old mahin  looked the most radiant of all, she  was exquisitely dressed in a pink  dress, theme of her birthday party was   chosen as golden and pink, , the walls were decorated  with  balloons  and  ribbons in a stylish manner,  in the television lounge   was  placed a round table  on the  golden  tablecloth   was present a five pound  attractive looking cake

Who  ordered this  delicious cake  asked a thirty seven year old woman standing near  the  cake,  she was  a  medium built  person,  she was  shamrin  the only aunt of mahin, asama the father of mahin  the brother of aunt shamrin  confessed  it was him 

page 114

...there was an unknown    heaviness  descend  in his heart  at Karachi platform  when he felt the train move,  extraordinary distances! unseen  fears  spun an invisible  web around him , he felt trapped and choked,  he couldn't react or break away  , he sat unmoving and completely silent in his seat

Noises  on the platform of the  passengers and a strange kind of  mood, he was to return  from shallot immediately  but he felt he was leaving his  own  home Karachi for ever,  the Karachi where he was raised and spent his childhood in the streets  , where he grew up and became a youth  and now that he was  a fully grown young man  and unreasonably felt a pang of emotion  as his train left the platform 

They had occupied  their berths,  fauzya and he  faced each other on window seats and rahela sat beside fauzya,  Karachi  to sialkot was  twenty two hours journey  if the  train wasn't delayed,  trains are normally  late , the three of them silently watched  the  fleeting  scenes flashing past  through the window 

from previous page113

....rahela spoke  and then  kept quiet  before  speaking again to fauzya  , look,  time and  circumstances  denand to  become friends with  the enemy of your enemy,  I think  we must accept saira  s policy m if we both girls decide to stay here  with sehrab , the coward enemy will definitely try to attack first  and you know what will happen then,  sehrab will fir our safety  s sake  collapse before the enemy,  she became quiet,  fauzya began thinking  and  glancing at sehrab  said to rahela  , do you suggest we leave sehrab alone to fight alone with the enemy,  rahela  became speechless and turned her face the other way,  he smiled to fauzya  to pray for his success and  long  life,  it is most satisfying to know someone is constantly remembering him in their prayers 

from previous

yadgar

...in a north American city 

from previous

...the evening  darkened , he kept himself confined  to the  room  for hours , his etes shut thinking of nothing  , someone tried to  take a peek   but  seeing him  resting had turned away,  he was in no mood to speak to anyone,  his mind was  a  hyper  active battle field of confused  conflicts 

His shoulders were  bearing  multiple  extra burdens,  rahela,  fauzya and now  sadra besides  his deadly enemies were doing their best to catch him unawares 

Sometimes he thought of shifting rahela and fauzya to somewhere more safe  and come back to sadra to protect her against her foes, he hadn't forgotten the promises he had made to the dying Seth sikander  but  he was terribly overloaded with   rahela and fauzya  s responsibilities  too, he was  in a strange  point  fixed to his spot unable to take any step,  on one hand he was balancing  duty on the other  loan  repayment  , how could he leave sadra to the  mercy of her foes, to protect sadra meant  putting  the lives of rahela and fauzya in great danger 

jungbaaz

...before him stood sadra

Very much surprised he stammered if that was really her, her shining car stood  at the back , she had come all alone,  there wasn't anyone with her 

Can I come in she said 

Certainly,  please do come in and  inviting her  he stood aside,  she walked inside,  in the  courtyard  were present rahela and fauzya looking  awestruck,  they didn't know her but unofficially  Rahela had heard of her 

He  made introductions  ..this is sadra lare Seth sikander s daughter  and this is rahela my sister and that is fauzya her friend 

He was  rather embarrassed to see  a wealthy heiress like the daughter of  late Seth sikander in his place,  his  rooms were in bad shape and quite shabby, there was just one cot placed in the courtyard  where he had slept the previous night,  his  bed was unkempt,  so  he  didn't move  in  any direction  and asked her,  I hope all is well  miss sadra what brings you to my place 

Mr sehrab  cut in she  let us not waste any time in  such  small talks and quite firmly  in a most informal manner walked up to the  cot in the  courtyard to settle  herself in a comfortable position 

He again  stammered  and offered to get a chair from inside,  she asked them to sit down around her but both  rahela and  fauzya brought chairs  and  thanking them sadra shifted to a chair, he occupied the other chair  , sadra stopped both the girls  who were eager to go to the kitchen to make tea for her, she explained she was very worried and didn't need the tea  and wanted to discuss a most important  matter 

page 74

....you were there for three hours  screamed  sheeba  with  mixed feelings of doubt and surprise,  then what did you talk about  with  fatah Alam

Mind your  volume,  it's  not necessary to tell everyone  retaliated  noora annoyed 

Right  smiled  shamefully  Sheena catching her point,  if these people here heard of it noora might  find herself   kept hostage 

Never mind  it because  after all  fatah alarm isn't that  famous 

What do you know of him , it was  your sheer luck that took you there otherwise it was  Sheena who was to go there 

Wasn't I a fool who on your  one  phone call left the house,  noora really  regretted  it 

That's why I love you sweetie,  you are my soul mate,  said sheeba warmly 

You know it well I went there just for you , for your sake,  I was  all alone,   you should have reached there  in rain too, noora  s tone was saturated with  annoyance 

How could I have  without a car and  no taxi  was  in sight  in the terrible weather  and awful rain,  believe me noor  , I didn't make any mistake,  ammi also  didn't allow me 

Fine,  don't  appear so pathetic  noora softened a bit

page 70

....Hasan telephoned  savar to see the  new vehicle,  pictures were good,  sabar nodded  , he was  kept very busy the hese days,  he owned two vehicles and wanted to dispose off the older one,  this was a vehicle used for miscellaneous tasks,  it was  getting  difficult to maintain it therefore he decided to sell it 

Savar gave Hasan permission to take care of  the  deal before shutting off,  Hasan was actually  doing this  business of selling and buying cars with a friend partner,  zulfar was a cunning man and  Hasan  rather stupid,  zulfar  felt it was his right to trick everyone around,  he would  give such  ideas to Hasan trying to convince him to go with his clever schemes,  Hasan and zulfar were  aware  selling off sabar s vintage was  profitable  deal and get them a fat commission,  that's why they were interested in this matter,  actually the party  they wanted to sell  sabar  s vehicle   wasn't  given  full correct information and sabar wasn't aware of this fact  , he was  an honest man and would not cheat,  the bonut and dinky weren't in good condition  but were  painted  nicely to hide the flaws  but  Hasan and  zulfar  assured the buyer  that the vehicle was  in working condition,  with this they managed to make the deal and divided the advance amount between themselves,  sabar was to  be present as the owner of the vehicle at Hasan s place where the buyers came to   make the balance payment and collect the vehicle but with them was their mechanic who checked the vehicle and  an argument  started  that the  two  sides of the vehicle weren't  original 

Sabar was surprised because he already had stated that  two sides of the vehicle weren't  original he was annoyed Hasan had accepted advance amount and divided between the two, sabar from his own pocket returned the  buyer's  advance amount and sent them back 

from previous

...hazrat Abu  prophesied  askar very soon would  reach a  covered spiritual level ,  happy with that askar meets hatim who saw his happiness reflected , both hazrat began teaching  askar  

Hatim explained  his house was  a place he lived in  and  there wasn't any reason  to inform him  before coming  because  askar wasn't  of any high rank whose  permission was necessary 

This world was  a place of uncertainty and  unlimited  temptations  constantly  trying to destroy you,  one must   be sorry for the past and  thankful for today and scared anxious for tomorrow 

There were three points to remember,  praying wholeheartedly,  positive thinking and removing disappointment,  to not be attached to the  beauties of the  worldly things because  the divine is the real  thing 

Trust almighty  for your daily bread, be careful while talking  and learn by observation 

It seemed  hatim hazrat was ready to transfer all his knowledge that day into  askar s mind  through instructions,  one must be  committed  be patient and  be cultured,  prayers  are  connected to fear, how  can  fear be identified,  see if there are  desires  , fears  enter heart through desires 

abutarabnakhshbi

....he was born in a decent family,  parents  gave him  the name  askar, father's name was hasin  so  his   official name became  askar bin alhasn , he  was  given  religious  teachings,  in the religious teachings he liked  that  part more  which  was  related to spiritualism,  he started showing his extraordinary  spiritual  signs from his childhood,  he would  go into deep trance  reciting  religious texts and offering  routine namaz, he  would wander off seeking  other  religious  practices and  like minded  companions  , seeing  elderly people  he would spend all his  time  talking  about  attributes of  almighty enjoying every minute of it, his well where  tried to  explain and control him

In hatim asif s company he  met a new person,  that was an aged man,  hatim asif was  extremely  respectful to him,  he  guessed he was  another  old man,  he wanted to to be introduced  and know him  more like  an acquaintance  but he remained silent  for being shy  but  after  Isha namaz the  old man asked  hatim   about who was  the  young man 

Hatim  introduced  askar bin alhasn  but why  did the old wise man  enquire,   anything special 

The  veteran explained the young man was worrying about  the old man and wanted to know more about him

Hatim smiled  so that was it

Abu ataar masri   the sufi  was then  introduced to  askar bin alhasn 

from previous

....a man  goes to a most  famous  and busy  doctor for a check up,  after  a long wait for over a hour  he got to see the doctor,  before he could  tell  what was  troubling him  the doctor  got a phone call he had to attend  , , like wise  every other  minute  a phone   rang up disrupting  their conversation,  finally  the man got up to leave,  the doctor asked him  holding on to the  phone where was he going 

The man explained to the nearest telephone booth 

page 75

...if you are  illiterate uneducated  uncivil and  unpolished  why blame me for that,  the victim had changed his respectful  tone to more  or less  disrespectful manner,  if you can't  read and comprehend the  agreement  you' ought to have  taken help from someone 

 They are legal documents with your signatures on them,  they are not made to throw  into  trash,  the ďocument  clearly states  the flat was  given to the tenant 

from previous

. The narrator  lawyer  begh sahib  had a hearty lunch    before  going to the specific  prison where Qasim was kept,  usually it is impossible to see inmates but the narrator had  learnt several tricks  along  his long time professional career  how to get things done  and  soon enough he was  granted  half hour  private meeting  arranged  with Qasim  sitting before him, talking to him personally  cleared  all the  doubts  and cobwebs from  the lawyer  s mind,  he was  certain  Qasim was  absolutely innocent and  trapped 8n a conspiracy against him 

Qasim was in his fifties  and never  was sent to school  but  he owned  immense love for  learning and  he had educated himself  sufficiently   and  signed the  legal documents in urdu  , his handwriting  though scrawly  was quite legible 

That evening fariha also reached his office,  he gave her  detailed  explanations  before  sending her,  when she had  come she was  confused  ignorant  ready to  make mistakes  and nervous  but  on exiting his office she appeared confident  and in charge of herself 

Naturally  courts and  legal procedures   easily shake up normal  beings and  simple people  find it too difficult to handle 

Only two types of people  remain stress-free  involved  in court cases, firstly  the powerful  and secondly the faithful 

zangar

...it was coincidence that the  murder case of his  colleague  was brought to him  and the accused was one of his  old acquaintance  whose wife  requested  him to  take up the case 

It is said  not to   ruin the name of the dead because after death all spirits become purified  but  without discussing the victim  the lawyer couldn't tell his story  properly,  the victim  God may have  mercy  was a famous and  successful lawyer himself,  he made  a big name and money in his professional life 

It was the month of October  still  summer   hot days but evenings  quite pleasant and cool,  the narrator was busy reading his books, his land-line phone rang  , during that Era there weren't any cell phones,  putting away the  book on the  bedside table he reached for the phone,  to his  hello a nervous  female voice   asked  if it was  begh sahib,

Who else would answer  her phone to a private lawyer at midnight,  of course it was  him himself,  honestly he had not  recognized her, who was  she  by the way he asked  and  what  happened  that she  phoned at  that midnight hour 

Fariha explained  she was  Qasim  s wife 

badi qurbanii

...are you worried 

Nadya observed  her husband was  for quite some time  looking worried,  sabar s eyes  apparently  were fixed on the television but  he was definitely   mentally not there,  hearing  Nadya  s gentle tone he turned to look at her  sighing deep he nodded,  though nothing so specific,  he put down the  remote he held aside,  Nadya had brought tea, offering him the tea she asked  if all was well  and she also sat down beside him

It was a Sunday today,  he had spent the entire day at home,  all their four children were very happy  to be together,  by ten at night all the children  were sent to their respective rooms,  it was then  both  sabar and  Nadya got  time  to talk to each other 

fun e zaiqa

Peshawari chana pullao

Tandoori chicken kebabs 

Fried chicken with green spices 

Khatti chutney 

Chatpatta murgh

Kheema paratha

Mirch pakodas

Bhuni Marshall daal

Masaladar arvi

Mango pudding 

page 18

.... when the door bell  rang sanbal  quickly thanked  and opened the door,  there stood Farah her close friend , , smiling they hugged each other warmly,  sanbal holding her beautiful hand  brought her inside 

Farah  carefully watched everything from the entrance to the drawing room,  keenly noticing the details,  actually Farah belonged to that particular class that believed in obtaining anything and everything  with money such people  are great show offs and  typically narrow minded,  Farah was one of those,  she in a most delicate  manner  chose to sit down in a  very expensive sofa,  she looked at the  maid bring in the tea trolley  with  a stylish attitude 

You have   arranged your house  in a better improved  way, , her throat choked  enviously  but somehow she sputtered her feelings,  sanbal smiled cheerfully because for some  months she had  dived deep into setting her house to her satisfaction 

,but Farah had not seen the whole house yet,  first let us have tea comfortably then  she would take her around the house on a conducted tour she promised  enthusiastically  and Farah nodded  her consent  elegantly,  she  rarely liked  anything but the interior of the house  really  drew her attention, encouraged  by Farah  s words of praise  sanbal began  elaborating  the details 

Farah  commented  there wasn't any painting by any famous artist  in the house,  concluding  sanbal was not  interested in arts, Farah had managed to find fault  and sanbal smiled,  there were  several paintings 8n the corridor and the lounge 

from previous

...resha  went to bed and within minutes  when  her door was  knocked,  , she walked up to the  door before asking who was there,  there  was no answer  so she went back to her cot, a few minutes later  again there was a knock at the door,  on the third time  she  opened the door angrily,  this wasn't the right time for  playing pranks,  she was hit on the head,  she regained her consciousness  in steward s apartment  tied to a chair,  Roger had kidnapped her to ask her about the missing diamonds he himself had  hid in the pots , he doubted Arthur, Arthur suspected Roger so it must be her who somehow  saw the diamonds  , when she refused to talk Roger was ready to kill her but  he realized it was a trap in which he had walked straight in , her statement and confessions were recorded and so were his  before the ring  of police  tightened the grip around him , driving away to prison he regretted his last mistake of kidnapping her 

from previous

....where are the diamonds  you fraud, asked  Roger in a low but threatening voice,  , he had come to see Arthur in prison,  Roger suspected  in fact he was very certain  Arthur  stole the diamonds from the  pot with the help of accomplice in mate, 

What rubbish you talk you useless man,  Arthur explained he had been in police custody all that time,  how could he had  stolen  anything  at all  when he was under strict surveillance,  perhaps  Roger himself   stole the diamonds  when  Arthur was in prison, but Roger was  a free man who knew where the diamonds were hidden,  it was more probable 

Roger accused him for using his  partners who were at large,  whom he easily could have messaged 

Arthur quickly cut him short,  wasn't Roger trying to act over smart,  police was investigating  and  both of them were  long time friends after all,  only the two of them knew the exact  hiding place  of the packet,  resha s house was also searched thoroughly and nothing from there was found  so only Roger  alone could be doubted 

Roger argued he was actually planning  to get Arthur out of prison but that wasn't worth it,  he better  rot in he'll there for his   crimes 

from previous

...Arthur looked quite worried,  nervousness  casted all over his face,  Roger came to ask him what was wrong  , Arthur had just a few minutes ago  stepped into the bakery  now both were in the back corner talking,  he had  gestured him  to follow him  quickly  before he sat down in a chair panting heavily, 

Arthur explained something had happened and he came to him to discuss the matter in the hope of  finding a solution 

What exactly happened 

Roger,  , a bag full of diamonds  I got 

Without asking how and from where  Roger his partner in crime just said so what, Arthur remained silent  not clearly understanding  what did he mean 

Arthur explained he was supposed to deliver them to a smuggler but  the  shine  changed his mind,  instead he sent them a message  the bag  of  diamonds  fell off somewhere  and  he  was looking for them but they suspected  he was telling a lie because Arthur was a veteran experienced  man in this line and nobody would ever believe it that he had by mistake dropped the bag of diamonds or misplaced it,  in their opinion a clever man like Arthur couldn't make any mistakes,  now the  sender party and the  receiver party both are  chasing him,  more dangerous than all this  the two parties have involved the police to whom  Arthur's  information is reported 

chakkarbaz

....resha was  arranging the  potted plants in neat tudy rows,  the six bigger ones together   to keep them  few days  in one location to rearrange the  positions a few days later,  this  set of six were  kept right  in the  front of  her flower shop directly  in the  sun, her parents dead she found life was difficult,  her younger brother Johnny  couldn't  take it anymore and   left her alone to fend for herself  to  seek  better life in another town,  sometimes  he would ring her up and the siblings spent long hours talking to each other,  he thought she was  still  helpless and  had  no other place to go  , the house that brought misfortune  was her only companion,  , he  poured out all his  bitterness  of  failures and hard struggles on her, she would  unhappily  shut down the phone 

There was a small attic on the upper floor of her flower shop,  she occupied that room, before her  her father  run the flower shop and  she took over it after  his death,  it wasn't making much but she had no other option 

Roger who had a bakery  directly opposite her shop mocked at her for constantly  changing the  position of potted plants  and  laughed at her  because that wasn't helping  her change her luck 

page 47

...he   finished  giving  suhana  English grammar and comprehensive  lessons  of the day  when she told him her father wanted to see him , he   looked surprised,  she showed her ignorance and shrugged,  he had   only two and half months ago started  giving her home tuitions and during all this time mallick sahib had not  tried to see him,  after all there was  no reason to see the tutor  because the  master of the house was always surrounded with an army of servants and trying to contact  ordinary  common people anyone like a tutor was considered below dignity,  all the rooms in the mallick house  were  fixed with  surveillance cctv cameras,  definitely he was  strictly under watch while he taught the daughter of the house   , he  always maintained  distance and discipline  and stayed  alert , it was bothering him because he was invited inside  to talk, perhaps  cctv caught him  doing something  they didn't like,  perhapshe was answerable to his actions,   secretly he was  attracted to Susana,  he didn't  try to convince  or express his feelings for her but she had  quite boldly   expressed her feelings for him 

He got up  from the  tution room to walk towards the  living rooms,  it would be  useless to describe the  show of  wealth in  the house,  mallick sahib  was a powerful  political figure,  sir gashmi had  assisted him to reach  that house  to give tuitions,  

Suhana had said  her father wasn't keeping well for some days,  had some health problems,  doctors prescribed him complete bed rest 

page 17

...where  have you been 

The moment she opened the main door with her key to the apartment   a harsh voice   hit her, she got a jolt and stopped mid way about to step into the room,  the shoppers she held dropped  to the floor scattering the foods  around,  scared she looked  directly before  her in the lounge sofa sat he, she became nervous,  his eyes were scary,  she remained silent 

I asked you something 

He flung the remote and stood up,  she felt  she would drop down dead,  she bent down to pick up her things with trembling hands 

, suddenly her hands stopped  because she turned to stare at the pair of  black shining shoes  that approached her to stand there 

Go and shut the door first  the command  was given 

 She faltered  let me pick up the things first,  her head had remained  lowered,  she  had  no courage to lift her face to look straight at him 

didn't you hear me  he growled  , he  feared  someone might  appear on the scene  and  get  bad impression of the estranged couple 

Frightened she quickly got up and shut the door 

Where did you go , he  repeated his question 

from previous

...harim was just her room    lost in reverie,  she was  her parents  first born,  amin and Aruba raised her most reverently,   a wince from her  and her parents  would  go crazy  , every spare moment was lovingly spent with little harim , barely and mahin were born siblings to her, both parents  were equally dedicated to them all,  but  they were  more  attached to harim  and this harim knew very well,  , when she grew up a little  her father began   planning her future  speaking often to Aruba  he wanted  harim to become a doctor  no matter how impossible and expensive,  he  had  bought and kept a polt ready for sale for such times,  harim was  in matric  and  her Taya  asked for harim  for his elder son , asif was  a student of engineering,  both were familiar to each other  and  were cordial,  harim  s  parents  liked the  proposal  on all  aspects,  families agreed, and  harim also gave her consent  and  she got betrothed  to asif,  would be  couple  began  talking once a week and  happened to see each other on festivals  and marriages and other functions,  asif was genuinely in love with harim  and   wished her well,  he could due for her  and  he could kill for her 

page 11

...Adil alias adi was  his family's only son, his father a  famous  Supreme Court lawyer  and mother a  vice principal of a famous English medium school,  both parents were  passionate about their career that they ignored their only son,  they forgot what their duties were as good parents  ,  they wrongly believed  they had given him freedom  and it was his right to stray away aimlessly,  Adil was now a university student    on register  because he paid the fees but didn't attend classes,  all his  childhood  friends  mostly dropouts were his constant companions,  his parents didn't bother his staying the nights out thinking he was  preparing  for exams with friends  grown up like him,  his  mother  had hired a full time chef  cum domestic  help and become  guilt free,  the maid every time  when cleaned his room dustbin  found  cigarette butts and tiny empty glass bottles  that smelled  strange  wrapped up in paper and thrown into the dustbin , labels were torn,  she realized  to keep them from unidentifiable,  the poor maid  tried to  alert the mother  in suppressed  tones but was  rebuked for interfering in Adil  s personal life,  that she was a maid  not a detective to search his room in his absence,  he was an adult and a university student 

page 8

...it was a most  shining  pleasant  December evening,  there was less rush on the roads,  Aruba was  enjoying her driving the small Suzuki  even more,  today her daughter  harim was  turning twenty one  on her birthday,  she was out  there  shopping  for the occasion,  she wanted to reach home quickly,   because   the time of asar namaz was   passing,  she  opened the lock of the gate  when she reached home,   she brought her vehicle inside,  her eighteen year old  teenager son perhaps had gone out to play cricket,  he  was impatient crazy  to reach the playground  after returning from his college,  Aruba left her shoppers in the vehicle  carrying just a few with her inside 

Harim, dear where are you,  Aruba called out loudly  her daughter   , not getting any response she walked towards her room,  harim s room was locked from inside,  she softly knocked the door,  open the door harim,  when  the door didn't open on the second  count she  stuck her ear to the door,  from the washroom  sound of running water was heard,  harim was in the  washroom,  Aruba looked at the wall clock,  very  little time was left for asar namaz, she kept the  shoppers aside  before quickly  going through wazu and  sat down to perform the namaz,  she completed her namaz  and  finished   doing the dua , but harim  s door was still locked,  it was slightly disturbing,  she got up  and  again knocked at the door and shouted  more loudly  asking harim  to open the door,  what was  taking her so long,  footsteps followed  a series of coughing  and the door opened,  apparently she had been crying,  the room was  unlit kept in the dark,  the first thing that came to Aruba  s mind was  perhaps  siblings  bickering  was the cause but  on looking closely  Aruba  noticed  harim s face was  pale , , she  wouldn't let the room lights  were switched on,  she  wanted to rest , she had a terrible headache,  no doctors were  available that time of the evening  a lame excuse  for her chronic migraine,  Aruba knew studying hard always ended with a migraine,  she must  swallow her pills and rub her ointment 

darr

....I feel  there is  just darkness and nothing else in my life,  she sat in a comfortable armchair with her eyes closed,  her face  simple and innocent was distorted  by disturbed emotions  that reflected her mind s condition,  her voice merely a whisper in that peaceful  atmosphere,  that was her usual tone,  she spoke in that  kind of weak  listless voice,  her voice,  her tone,  her  talking  her memories all were absolutely devoid of hope,  it felt  her life was certainly full of disappointment,  her life was a complete miserable  black and white  fabric  absolutely colorless  not a trace of any other  hue marked her wretchedness,  her face a lifeless  image,  her future   uncertain  painted  in just one  identifiable color black the  color of gloom  and fear,, that evil fear  that was  hidden in a corner of her mind   had  got itself  loose to spread all over her personality and taken full control of her except a spark of desire  invisible and invincible slowly  struggled to defeat the terror that had its grip over her  , she needed  to go on patiently 

She was just eighteen when  she was married  to a thirty five year old man for  the  simple reason  of either she was extremely beautiful or the man was extremely wealthy,  she could never find out if her  marriage was  for a normal relationship or a profitable alliance, a business deal,  her tone sounded like shattered crunchy glass trodden on,  her spirit was broken and  soul wounded,  she was  lost in that point of time,  perhaps her husband had secured the  future of his four children  but  her life was  put to  stake,