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 

gumshuda lamhey

....ghaika had  walked just a few steps  outside the college  whea car stopped by her side 

Hello,  she heard a familiar voice,  he was in a hurry,  come on in quickly said Jacob occupying the driving seat,  opening the side door gaika took her passenger seat next to him,  , she was surprised,  she was in the college to attend a function,  she hadn't told him if she was attending it or not 

But he cheerfully explained he already knew there was  a college function  and that she was definitely going to be there 

She had herself not been sure of being there for the function  because her abba wasn't keeping well  , so she could have  skipped  it, , tge family  was aware of the  function though  and  therefore abba had insisted  she  attended the gathering  for a change and not miss being there,  he was also  feeling  better today 

He didn't know the condition of her domestic affairs  but was  certain she will be in the college,  he also wanted to give her a surprise 

She was relieved  because  catching a bus to reach home was  a waste of long time  now she can be home earlier,  she on abba  s  insisting  had  left him for  some time but her mind was  stuck  at home 

What happened,  is he sick,  gaika sighed deeply and explained she didn't  like to involve anyone in her  family problems  but  had told him she  belonged to  a poor family 

Yet he had never ignored her

She  appreciated   his words,  she liked him,  more than that  she  was really in love with him