page 137

....hello , he spoke on the phone

Aslamalekum,  a female voice answered  asking if she was speaking to kamal sahib,  her tone  was demanding walekum salam he replied in a cultured  voice,  who was  she  and how did she get his number,  the sim he was using was just bought yesterday,  after  Sharman town  episode he needed a new number,  for the new sim he even got a back cell phone,  he gad cautiously stored his  important previous numbers in the card, his second phone was also currently working  that is what was so surprising  tge new number he didn't give anyone  how did this woman unknown to him get it above all she knew him by his name, 

Just for a fleeting moment he thought of  denying his real identity  to the stranger woman caller but now  it was too late   , he had to handle it delicately  and cleverly 

All this argument flashed through his mind  in a fraction of a second,  next  minute  the woman introduced herself  she was taken Fatima,  the person who gave me your number  I have come to live in his luxury apartment  could you please visit me today sometime  at teen taller high rise  building fifth floor  , I am not permitted to share more with you  there is a most important urgent matter to discuss 

page 23

....the bell for the third period  rang  and she felt her legs trembling,  she also held the heavy load of copies,  she drank  cold water from the tap of the cooler outside tge staff room  , taking small steps  reached the stairs,  these stairs were right outside  the principal  s office  , he always kept an eye on  who was going up and down  , she stopped outside his office,  hoping he would see her and remember her , he was already  there waiting for her,  one more old staff member  and Ma'am sadya were with him,  she   was taken to class fifth  where the whole class stood up together and  greeted them,  the principal   asked them to  wait 

Who is the class monitor  he asked 

Maid came out 

What is your name 

Maid sir  he answered respectfully with his head lowered 

Maid take off your monitor s badge and put it on the  table there and go back to your seat , suppressed  humiliating  laughs made ripples , just one stare from Ma'am sadya  was enough to silence them 

Now the students whose names will be mentioned  will come here and stand up in a line near the  board all the rest on their knees in their own places, the list of names of students she had given  was read out  , six girls and four boys  all stood  there in a line , 

Now anyone who  would  like to tell  who did this 

page 21

...   not certain of the time  she fell asleep  thinking  about her  unsolved matters  , she even missed her fajar namaz  , she felt  bad the day had begun on a  bad omen,  she began  getting ready,  she asked one of the sisters to iron her dupatta  but sge instantly  denied  offended she wasn't  a servant,  there was no time to argue  or she couldn't have  ironed it herself   , she also  had to eat her breakfast,  fajar was missed  and on an empty stomach  ger day was  sure to  doom,  she quickly folded her dupatta and pressed it  , briskly  walked towards the kitchen  where amma already was  having her breakfast,  greeting her  she sat down  , thankfully her breakfast was ready  or she would have  spent some more of her time cooking it  and  the van  would have reached her door 

What makes you so upset,  mothers have a special  x ray eyes  CT scan and whatnot to see directly through their children 

Not at all,  who said so,  she swallowed mouthful  and washed it down with a long sip of tea  , she tried to give a satisfactory answer  nothing to worry about 

Was one of your younger siblings  rude to you,  she asked firmly   with her eyes sharply looking at her

Mother  now they don't even  relate to me in any way,  don't you worry,  it's a small  matter in the school,  it should  resolve by itself 

What kind of matter it is  that  gave my daughter a sleepless night  , that she even missed her fajar 

deher

....   he was the ruthless    rough man  who had harrassed the senior judge,  in his own  style he completed the  conversation  before shutting off  and putting the phone  in his pocket  and then he turned towards his companion  to speak  in his  crude manner  that  he would  ring up the old man after one hour  , what do you think  will that  judge give us jasim  s whereabouts 

Shakoor, I don't think he would  give in  shaking his head  mansoor gave his opinion to shakoor m in fact  there is no way he could ever know  the location of jasim 

Then  he is a dead man  he gestured towards the unconscious man,  if he is useless   he won't live another hour 

Shakoor left  his sentence  unexplained meaningfully,  mansoor  curious asked how long would it take for him to regain his senses 

The shot we gave him into his neck 

   Works for two hours at least  but kamal is no ordinary man  didn't you see his  confidence and  spirit,   how  enthusiastically he had entered that health  spa  , one more hour and he he will be up

Mansoor looked at him questioningly  what till then 

Shakoor shrugged his shoulders .. wait until he is up

He must live to finalize the process with the damn judge 

page 125

...wife says   slog and roast yourself 

Husband goes to work 

Boss says go to hell

Husband goes home 

.

.married women talk  over an hour  with their mothers  finally  they say they will talk later when they have time 

.

.  Woman's  five minutes of getting ready  is equal to man s five minutes  of coming 

.

. Very hard  strict rules  make things happen  but relationships are damaged,  distance increases between hearts, to lead an integrated life together  thinking should be thoughtful and flexible,    drop  some  points let others agree on some  on other times you agree , this is right attitude  to maintain  refreshing  relationships,  always remember egotistical attitude  is followed by regrets and bitterness 

.

.Husband was teaching his wife English   when it was time to lunch 

The wife brought food and said  dear eat your dinner 

You fool   this is lunch  mid day meal 

You are the fool dear,  this is leftover dinner from last night 

shaad baad

...he was then posted at shahadra  police station,  on his first day    arrived the weirdest and  sensational of the cases , it was  winter chill morning,  the sun was disappeared  somewhere,  after fajar he sat down to have his breakfast  ,  there was  someone knocking at his  quarter's door,  leaving his food he walked up to the front door 

He gad only last evening moved into this quarter with his luggage,  he took charge from his previous  colleague in charge  followed by  a wholesome  meeting with his new staff , he had returned after dinner out, , the staff consisted of one asi, one  senior  constable  three constables  now he was also included in the  staff,  in those days  on the staff were  not seen  an army of hang around youngsters like these days,  times change so do  things and rules, 

He opened the door to find   constable wahid standing there,  he looked extremely  worried  and nervous 

Why and what makes you so upset so early in the morning 

A milkman  just reached and informed about a complicated  crime,  two  persons are found murdered some distance away from the station 

shaka

...year  1723

Capiz--Phillipines 

  As the  night  settled  whole  capital was   pelted by  storm and  rain 

Renuz  drew the curtains aside and looked out,   torrential rain  and crackling  lightning   turned the  scene  mysterious,  the chariot was  passing through the forest   unmade roads half sift half hard  almost impossible to find way , the speed was   difficult to maintain,  stormy winds blew around   lashing  everything 

Usually people  shut themselves up inside their houses before sunset  surrounded with  forests and  small islands   the area was   located on a few  thousand  miles,  the natives mostly  were  fishermen,  they either spent the day fishing  or collecting seashells,  women folk  carved out and beautifully polished the seashells  turning them into  exquisite shapes 

Sea foods of capital were  famous in entire Phillipines,  the hunters  prided in their muscle power,  they threw fishing nets   onto the seawater singing songs  , pulled out  nutritious  sea foods  consumed  it and  showed gratitude to the sea  before going to bed,  perhaps  this was the most peaceful  and satisfying place in the world 

page 69

....five signs of good fortune 

1  waking up at fajar

2 getting interested in religion  mindfully 

3 staying patient during  bad times 

4  face begins to glow 

Hazrat ali spoketh thus he whose face glows  good fortune smiles on him 

5  he who spends little  and stays fulfilled 

,

,a woman of goodness  fills up her family with positive energy 

. Getting full attention from her husband  the wife is blessed 

.

.anyone who sincerely takes care of people  not his relatives  is  undoubtedly  a kind person. 

.

.

.someone said. You are so good 

I said. That is bad

from previous

....do you really think you are deserving,  how do you know that  asked the principal 

Sir, it's my education and training,  after completing my education  small part time jobs in schools gave me  extensive experience to handle children   and to reform them,  she kept her feet firmly  clutching the floor beneath and hands tightly gripping each other,  they all were closely watching her minutely  in detail  her each and every move 

How old are you  miss aksi  asked the vice principal 

Ma'am it's mentioned in my documents on the table 

Give straight answers to what is being asked,  she was rebuked and miss aksi turned red

Twenty seven Ma'am 

Miss aksi I am   seventy  and still learning  and  there is no end to learning  but you say after completing your education  at Twenty seven  , all eyes  turned to stare at her

Absolutely right you are sir, what I mean by education is the formal  school  college and university education   she was quick to respond 

I believe  whenever the teacher goes into teach the class  he himself learns more 

Well said sir I will try to change my outlook 

dosti esa nata

...madam sadya  the voice of the principal sahib rose , if you are free look outside,  miss aksi  is standing there,  perhaps  there is some matter  with her, before  you leave  l come and listen to me,  she was  walking up and down  outside the principal  s office  for very long,   sadya also happened to be his wife  and  the vice principal,  she saw sadta the wife of the principal  and herself the vice principal  go into the office  and then soon after go out,  this specific  office was   almost located in the middle of the  building,  all the walls of the office were   eight feet high  glass  and above the glass the material was  9f unidentifiable  substance either it was wood or   something,  both the offices had a connecting doorway  that remained always open  until  parents of students  were present   to give them privacy,  one could see the entire school building  from the office  and  the hidden corners  were  on  camera 

What happened miss ajsi, is everything  alright 

Mam I have something  personal to discuss  ,  the shrewd principal must have already  told her  outside whose office she had been waiting and walking up and down 

For personal matters go to the  staff room  where  all kinds of emergency services are available 

Madam I am here to make a complaint  a student did this to me  when I was busy writing on the blackboard  , someone threw  red ink  in such an embarrassing manner 

Miss aksi tge culprit student would not confess but other  students can tell  who did it 

from previous

...azhar khan also belonged to a modern family,  his wife was known as Mrs khan,  they had an only daughter zombie shortened from zorba

Zombie was extremely happy that evening,  it wasn't  for the feasting, it was because sharab was coming  to their place for the first time,  they had been friends for over a year now  and  most of on close informal terms,  they had met each other  through  farhana  in the club,  the women's club was  established by a woman,  it was  just for women  but male members also were registered,   they were carefully handpicked only from good family backgrounds,  rules were strictly followed and decorum  respectfully maintained  

izhar e muhabbet

.... young sharab belonged to a  modern family,  his father Jamal mia was a musician,  trained in playing different types of musical instruments like the sitar , he enjoyed   his music sense, , one day he was  sitting on the floor carpet  in the drawing room and  playing a melody on the sitar  , it was early evening  and a peg of liquor  was placed on a side  from which he would take a sip now and then,  taking a sip he removed his hand from the strings and turned to look at his son  sharab who also had a glass of drink in his hands,  both father and son were  so informal  that they  could  drink together  in each other's presence,   in this matter they were quite frank  both  were  very cautious drinkers , sharab drank very little  

Swallowing the sip the father spoke to his son  asking about his new tune 

Dear father  you ought to be a musician  sharab smiled  though it wasn't  to his liking at all 

It is rough  and still needs developing  father explained 

Dad , please  continue  working on it I have to go to my room 

He put his empty glass down 

Jamal mia  nodded  cheerfully and   enthusiastically  began    playing the sitar

A few minutes later beghum Jamal happened to  cross the room and saw the mobile  kept near Jamal ringing  but the musician was absolutely engrossed in his  music 

Pick up the phone she  told him,  he couldn't hear her because he was  lost in his own  music,  scowling she picked up the phone and put it on his ear, hearing the ringing he   came out of the  magic spell  

from previous

....just at the right time  a well dressed man  from the back entrance  appeared on the stage  to stand before the Mike on the daise,  the bell rang  and the program started,  the man  slowly  began asking questions  one by one  from the girls,  the first question  went blank without any response from anyone  including her, second question was answered by four participants,  hers alone was  the right answer,  as Shyamalan had  tutored her she waited and didn't hurry to answer,  she had put her hand on her forehead  and answered thoughtfully 

The announcer declared  on the Mike her answer was correct , the hall echoed with excited roaring applause,  fifteen  questions were  asked,  two other girls gave three right answers  one more gave two right answers and hers were twelve  found right,  she was declared the winner   amidst whistles  shrieking  noisy clapping  for ten  long minutes,  she was handed ceremoniously  two return  flight  tickets to Goa and khandala along with a signed check for sixteen lakhs  a travel bag full of the company  s branded  dresses with monograms , she was requested to show up in the company dresses on stage  for  pictures,  later she packed them up again 

People were going crazy,  runners up also congratulated her on her  win , so she was ready to go first to goa then khandala and lastly to agra on her pleasure  leisure  business trip 

muqabla

....seven girls were to participate in the competition,  it was a competition of a different type  sponsored by a company  , the winner girl would get a chance to see agra khandala and gia  , the  free trip  arranged by the company,   eight sat stay in a hotel  with  sixteen lack   cash for allowance  , it was a publicity  competition to promote  their attire  considered one of the  best designs,  the winner girl  was to wear them  around  on her trips 

It was  a most  attractive  offer  and not at all difficult,  yet sge never thought of  taking part in it,  she didn't really think she was  extraordinary beautiful  nor so brainy  but shyamchander insisted   and she  registered herself for it 

He was there in the super store  to buy  things  for him self,  where sge worked as a sales girl and  was marketing  for a cosmetic company,  her pockets were stuffed with   the products  promotional materials 

He was a handsome young man,  very quickly hus good nature  etiquettes and  behavior   attracted her to him,  both became very good friends,  several times they went out dating dining  on the beaches and restaurants,  he only drew her attention to the unicare company and  encouraged her to  participate in the competition 

She had laughed  she knew how beautiful she was mockingly  and so brainy  she forgot the name of the products 

Asan shikar

....it was very difficult to speculate,  she wasn't a young beautiful girl but an old  aging woman  Mrs  harmin,  then why were the two  boys  revolved around her,  perhaps because sge had just emerged from the bank   or the  bug bag hanging on her shoulder was their main concern,  the old woman clutched the shoulder bag  as if it was her life also because now she  was  walking on a tight  street secluded section of road absolutely  away from the city crowd 

Whatever was the real reason tge boys were following her for one reason or the other,  perhaps the old woman was an easy prey for them,  both of them  looked  completely  untrustworthy and   vague,  both of them  came closer to the old woman   from behind  and moved to her left and right  sides,  one of them suddenly held her by her hand  the other quickly snapped off the  strap of the hanging shoulder bag  , they tried to snatched it from ber clutches,  the old woman  lost her balance,  the boys waited for her to  stretch out her hands  to regain her balance and protect her face  from  getting injured 

Their  hopes were shattered,  she did the unexpected  , she  tightly clutched her bag,  she even fell down,  she was  fragile  and weak,  something  cracked inside her,  but she was strong minded  or was it her will power she simply refused to let go of the bag 

One boy wrapped up the broken strap and pulled it  the other kicked on her side  she neither  screamed nor did she call for help,  both boys  would not leave  without their  prize but she  wresled and  fought  and struggled  and  didn't  loosen her grip on her bag 

Unfortunately  Mrs harmin   proved  nit equal to the strength of the young boys,  sh fell unconscious  and the boys  fled with the bag 

page 17

... fast winds from the valley blew against the car,  rains lashed mercilessly  , he sat in his seat looking at the vacant seat next to him,  his heart began to sink 

Where is Daniel gone 

Perhaps she regained her consciousness  when he was changing the tyre,   debating with himself he opened the car door  to search for her around  the car, it was pitch dark and   visibility on the road was extremely poor,  he turned the headlights on, , the strong flash of light found her, , he spotted her walking towards the valley,   though  her walk was not stable,  her arms were stretched out before her as the blindfolded  move in a dark room,  she was just a few feet away from the car,  he quickly got out from the car  and  ran to catch her, she had sensed it that someone was following her, she stopped and turned to look 

Chad,  dear  I am so glad you have come  she spoke in a soft voice and moved towards him 

She explained she hit her head  injuring herself in an accident,  she wrapped herself round him in a tight embrace 

She continued how she injured herself she didn't remember,  he held her firmly removed her hands from his neck 

She began  retreating her steps  , did he injure her, she was confused,  she couldn't  understand  his new  and different  manifestation 

The  moment  suddenly transported him to his childhood,  it was  during summers,  his father's pet dog turned aggressive,  the dog bit him on his arm,  father killed his own  favorite dog 

from previous

..I am coming  he said 

It would be better if you didn't 

I ought to I must,  he shut off the phone,  he emerged from his room  and made sure nobody was around walked through the long corridor to reach her room 

Eva looked nervous,  the taperecorder was resting on the side table,  

Gosh you look as if you have seen a ghost 

I am alright 

Eva you better be fine  or I can't do this work without you,  your support is needed,  as I have told you often before  you have to be very strong and careful,  this plan s failure and success depends  entirely upon you 

I know it, don't you worry I will get better,  Eva said nodding,  he lighted a cigarette and began  walking up and down the room 

Did you hide your car amidst the canopy of trees 

Yes, after lunch I  went upto the spot,  the car is right  behind the thickets  next to the drive board 

Alright,  he strolled up casually to the window to see outside,  the sky was covered with dark clouds predicting  rain 

Eva it could rain 

Yes it is likely 

Hopefully it shouldn't  when we are executing  our plan,  it will be impossible to change the tyrre in rain,  she shivered 

Chad, will you still kill Daniel if it's raining 

Of course even if there is an earthquake,  today I definitely will kill her , nobody  and nothing can stop me from killing Daniel today 

What will you do about your footprints 

The road is metalled don't you worry 

Suddenly he remembered chauffeur Joe, he was forgotten altogether,  his mind was kept so busy in his planning  that the chauffeur was forgotten 

Eva  we have forgotten Joe

I have taken care of that 

from previous

....four days later he sat reading the newspaper early morning in his study  before going to his office,  Eva entered  the study with the letters , she   put down all the post on the table  and   with a glance   passed a silent message  and left the room,  he  checked tge letters in the  middle of the pile there was a piece of paper  , a couplet was typed on it, he began reading it

Daniel has fixed  twenty eighth  Thursday   a meeting at Mrs hanz  the violin store   lady  at her place  at nine thirty  night 

His heart jumped out of his chest,  Mrs hand was  Daniel's  closest friend,  that fat woman was quite talkative,  once started  sge refused to shut up, , Daniel liked  her because she was a great gossip and Daniel got to know what was happening to who in town 

Daniel was desperately trying to contact  Stevenson for past several days  and now the meeting between Stevenson and Daniel was arranged  at hand s house 

mrig nagahan

...he  along with Eva  made a cunning scheme of killing Daniel,  both of them  believed  it wasn't a preconceived  crime,  they simply  wanted to get rid of her to clear their way,  there wasn't any other better option,  apparently it seemed quite an easy task  with  tremendous    consequences  , the  wealth  they would receive was unimaginable 

But  as it is ..nothing in this world is easy to get,  murdering  someone   certainly in not at all  easy,  earning  sixty million dollars in a  wink was not possible,   one's own life is also at stake when  he tries to take someone else's life,  just think what if your attempt fails  the other gers a chance to kill you,  it is somewhat like the last fight between John's and slid

Emerging from Eva s room  he went into his own to fall asleep immediately  to wake up at ten thirty,  in the shower he   decided to first  contact  Daniel,  she wrongly believed he had been with another woman last evening,  if she  got the proof of his  unfaithfulness  it could   become difficult for him,  he must now try to  make her believe he was true to her,  he had  to bring to life  his invented character of sergeant  Jim,  otherwise she would never trust him,   he got ready and sat down to breakfast on the terrace  , meantime he found a way to solve his problem 

nazm

....winds stopped  of course  but 

As if That Evening  was sobbing 

.

Yellow leaves  in the storms 

Heard strange stories 

.

Hearing them  all the leaves

Sobbed rustled  trembled 

.

Unknown  deep sorrows 

Uprooted the old trees 

.

We looked for you everywhere 

In the valley  on the roads

. 

Every climb every slope

You remained unheard of

.then we consoled the throbbing heart 

After the storms we shall  look 

.

.we will find the ways to locate 

But it was a mere thought 

.

It destroyed us forever 

The winds did stop after a while 

.

But  long time had passed 

On the head of our hair

.

.

Had descended  silver beams

Stars in the sky had disappeared 

.

Roses were dead and gone 

The joy that thrilled had dried up

.

All those people were gone 

Most of all and above all

.

.we were   not yours any more

You were not anymore mine

.

The storms had passed indeed 

But  ages had passed by

.

Kalam iftikhar 

.

.

page 283

....baji, he spoke  people  do reach here  to take medicine  but it is not possible to  check  who all came at exactly what time  the boy explained 

Let me show you  her picture she said 

Shamma  showed  sonia s picture saved on her  mobile 

Seeing the picture he was slightly  taken aback  , he became silent 

Shamma again asked if she had come 

No nit in my presence  he replied  vaguely 

Listening to him  shamsher stepped forward  and  bending across and over the counter he grabbed his collar 

Of course you know everything,  quickly answer  when was she here  and how did she go back  he  roared 

He stammered  , he wouldn't do anything to hurt him,  he meekly  tried to release himself from his  tight grip,  shamsher  left his collar to immediately slap him on his face,  shamsher  ordered her to call the police,  he knows  what happened 

Shamma suggested they ought to pick up the boy and question him themselves 

The boy became nervous 

He blurted he didn't do anything,  he wasn't involved,  the Seth had strict orders  to stay out of his way 

Shamsher asked icily where was the Seth 

shalazen

...she  turned the corner  leading to the road  and stopped dead stunned 

The scene had suddenly changed completely,  a few steps  ago there was deadly silence as if time  had come to a stand still , life was stopped  at ease,  on the other side life was a full volume commotion noisy  hyper active,   fast paced   , high rise buildings   fast moving vehicles   illuminated colorful  signboards on shops ,crowds  tightly  moving in all directions,  everything was different 

She breathed  a long  desperate  sigh , clutched her shawl  tightly around her , the weather was quite unpleasant,  inside  sge couldn't have known it, , thankful she had  brought her shawl with her,  she turned to look,  there was still  darkness and very still very silent,  nothing moved,  certainly nobody knew  about anything  so far,  she decided to  join the crowds before the house  woke up and  realized what was  the matter,  she   took a step forward  and quickly  crossed the road to reach the other side,  there was a big mall situated before her, , people were  simply  pouring in and out , it was  surrounded by several eateries and restaurants,  she realized  she was  standing on the food street where  food corners   small restaurants  food courts sold  all types of foods,  air was filled with  aroma of mixed foods,  her hunger was fanned,  but she couldn't  take the risk of stopping there to eat she walked a few more steps and  saw the yellow magnificent car

page 21

...I spent  ten years in different countries,  now I have started an import export business,  zen had brought  her to a Cafe,   after  formally  exchanging  greetings and courtesies  he asked why didn't he get married  adding  so far

Parents were not there,  brother and his wife didn't bother , basically  he was  himself a decent man zen smiled   did he look  over age , his chin supported on his hands 

Not too old  anab commented  casting a glance on him 

I did try my best  to look not so old before reaching here 

If only anab had lifted her eyes  to catch his naughty expression 

How quickly you managed to prepare so much  isn't that surprising  but his  expression was not  showing any signs of surprise  except  mischief 

There is a party in my school today 

Teachers forced me to dress  up, nervously she  rearranged the veil covering her head,  gold bangles  on her wrists  were   absolutely  ignored 

What an awesome  forced  experience   his tone was quite sober 

Zen was speaking to her like they were long time  acquaintances 

If that ugly incident had not happened in her life  definitely sge would have  taken her life  differently 

page 29

....a few days she silently waited for him,  then she  returned to blogging and updating  her channels,  hayat didn't have enough courage to hand over his  earnings to her, , merhrussa  would sulk scowl and become silent  thinking  at least hanya was  getting a good life,  annoyed he would  turn off her channels  , he threw  hus money  on useless  expenses 

This remained invisible unseen yet  perceived scare to her 

She would wait a few more days before demanding her payment,  hayat  again would  cool her off 

She was  surprised at the  men  of dancing girls,   they tolerated all humiliation because   they used the  money on themselves  deprived the women of their earnings to push them into the same business,  she was shocked  to glimpse  traces of this nature in hayat

She was still working  but was hurt for not getting the control of her earnings the freedom to use it as she wanted,  she was given her salary,  she wasn't going to build a palace  for herself with that much  but  didn't she have the right to  keep the dirty money of her hard work , she wished  if only hayat had kept her dignity,  if only  the holy words I accept I do I do  were not broken,  if only  he had as a man  protected the trust and weight  of those words  that are supposed to be maintained   in the nikah

page 229

....did you note down the  car number 

No,  I didn't think of that  but it was a grey car,  Aruba didn't  get time to catch the number of the speeding car   so she shook her head nor did she see how many people were inside  and how did they look 

Sardar nodded his agreement  , she ought not to worry at all,  he assured her he would catch them  whoever they were 

She refused to go home alone,  if only he dropped her there,  sge requested him , she was quite nervous,  it was absolutely new  experience  that left her shaking   , horrible thoughts  surrounded her , she was doing her best to get her mind clear,   but the mind  was not working 

Let me call the driver,  he will drive your car home,  I will drop you myself,  he  asked her to come along 

Then sardar drove her home in his car,  he rang up his driver to reach the spot  and turned to look at her  whose  face was still white  with sheer fear

Safdar sighed and declared their dinner was to be canceled  or should it

She still wanted to go for the dinner together  because she felt safe  in his company,  he smiled and nodded  his response,  the driver  had arrived 

It was around eight fifteen at night m both safdar and Aruba sat in a brand restaurant looking at each other,  the food still wasn't served  at the table,  she was dressed in salwar kamiz and wore light makeup , her hair  loosely  hanging over her shoulders,  they had just arrived,  he had picked her up from her house,  all the way to the restaurant he was quite alert and observing if some car was following them,  he couldn't detect any  to suspect it

How is your business doing  she asked him 

With a smile he promptly  answered it was doing fine 

Khali hath

....ariba  iftikhar Ahmed  holding her shopping bags emerged from the market  and began walking towards the parking  where her car was parked,   she was clad in blue jeans trousers and light blue shirt,  joggers 9n her feet,  reaching her car she opened the back seat door,  kept the bags on the seat,  shut the door and  took control of the steering wheel,  before she could  start her car and drive off  her cell phone inside her hand bag shrilly  drew her attention,  she pulled out the phone and checked  who was calling,  it was her fiance  sardar 

Hello honey  answering the call she spoke  in a most  attractive manner 

Dear where are you  a male voice  spoke on the phone 

I was shopping in the market  she explained,  now I am just driving back,  why do you ask,  are you missing me, her voice turned  sauce

Simply wanted to ask about the dinner,  could we have dinner together tonight 

from previous

..yes, I had  asked about it he spoke nodding his head, , this strange  incident  had mentally shaken me  and no satisfactory  response  did I get from the reception,  all that they said was that there was a call from  a certain  abdulrehman for me  , permission from me was taken before transferring that call to my room,  this abdulrehman  spoke to me about  what   they had no knowledge of it, , but the hotel management did ask me  if I was feeling alright  and I did my best to answer them as casually as possible  , then  he had gone to his room 

It seems the phone caller  wanted you to leave your room and get outside  but why did this man  lie to you  he became quite serious,  it can't be explained  right now   but hopefully  in near future  the  reality will  be revealed, certainly the caller  abdulrehman  succeeded in his motive, the lawyer  released a deep sigh  and added  so after this unpleasant  experience you returned to your room and ordered  two glasses of Luke warm  milk  , then what happened 

Roughly ten minutes later the room service   arrived with two glasses of warm milk,  the accused  explained  he picked up one glass and handed it to noorin  and took the other himself m it was  hardly warm enough,  instead of sipping it slowly we just  poured  it in one   long sip ,  a few minutes later his head felt heavy,  noorin  moaned with  sheer stomach  pain  before he could grasp the situation and react  he fell unconscious,  he didn't know what happened to Norrington  he was  unconscious  , hus mind became black and blank  , there he stopped  and ended his version with a shudder 

Manzil murad

...before him another  lawyer was handling the case,  eight months passed  but no progress was made,  , then through a common  contact  the case was handed him , going through the details he got interested  in it,  and for the sake of long time friendship he decided to  take up the matter,  the client  was accused of  one and half murder,  

Now all the readers must be  thinking what is meant by one and half murder,  you are right in a way,  this term was invented  for a specific purpose  to describe a certain case

 Usually   murders are categorized as single  double or multiple  types  but here  a murder of another type is explained 

It was a complicated  case of one and half type,  his client quasar Salim was a reporter,  the newspaper  owner hashmi was specially  generous to him  but  after this incident he withdrew  showering favors on him,  

page 165

....kanzal was an image of personified purity,  her beauty was overwhelming,  she was spectacular and breathtakingly outshining in her bridal,  poised and looking enchanting waiting for her wizard her life companion her lord surrounded in enraptured perfumes,  surrounded with flower petals,  her long veil covered her face,   emotions  throbbing dream filled eyes decorated  her soul,  someone entered the room,  who else could it be except her groom wizard, sge couldn't see who was it through the veil,  she shrunk and tightly braced herself 

Kanzal, this was the voice she could identify  amongst millions of voices,  she quickly glanced up, Bilal stood there right before her,  

page 163

...two passengerson a bus  introduced themselves,  one said he was a shayar

The other turned his face on him and said he was deaf

..

Doctor giving  prescription  to the patient,   take two spoons in the morning,  two in the afternoon,  two in the evening and two at night 

Patient horrified pleaded to lessen the number of spoons,  he didn't have so many at home 

.

A student  always studied  sitting before a long mirror 

His younger sister asked the reason  , 

The boy explained the three reasons 

First he was revising  instantly 

Second he could keep an eye on himself 

Third it was like combined studies 

doraha

....for God's sake Bilal,  do something  before my abbu ammi  get me married off to someone else  , she looked at him pleadingly,  including Kashif bhai and  Salma bhabhi,  she was grumpy 

Bilal held her pretty  soft plump hand in his  , he looked fondly at her and whispered  she must trust him completely,  he won't let anything to happen  to make them unhappy,  he was just waiting for baba to give his consent,  he would  send him  to  meet her family as quickly as possible 

When is your father returning from America,  she was about to break into tears 

Very soon  his tone was  confident and reassuring

But  how long  roughly is this when going to come she stressed on her  point 

Dear didn't I tell you it was a business trip,  such trips do take  time 

Whether it's a business tour or trip  , he isn't  showing any signs of coming back,  she slipped her hand  out from his grip and spoke in mock annoyance 

Come on darling,  try to understand,  business matters  are complicated  

Then speak to uncle on phone 

Dear,  personal matters are discussed better between people when they are together 

I fear what if baba has already given his word to someone else 

from previous

...next morning  Anwar siddiqui  at the bus stop  patted mirza  Jamal  on his shoulder saying yesterday  what a  furore was happening before his house,  it was his habit to tell others about them  that they already knew,  even uniformed men were present,  questioning  people about  the murder of the Postman  illyas  answered  Jamal mirza , but it was not clear what was the Postman doing in the play ground

Anwar siddiqui  nodded  thoughtfully he really found it strange there was something wrong 

What made you suspicious 

He was  quite close to the Postman , he was certain  that the Postman didn't  distribute the post  on the first round 

Smiling sarcastically mirza said  he was absolutely wrong  as Sherlock Holmes,  in fact he had cleared  all the post and completed his full round,  police has already  verified and confirmed it, his khakhi official bag was  found empty  there wasn't any letter in it

No doctor Watson  it is impossible,  rubberband can't  deceive 

Entire colony received the letters my dear friend siddiqui 

Anwar spoke rather matter of factly thinking aloud 

But it can't happen  that one  suddenly overcomes his chronic old habits 

You have a point there,  can you explain in detail complete  thing 

page 27

...both meherussa and  hatat  planned a trip to the north,   packing and videos were  going on together,  she commented all the suits had the same style,  she made a face as she packed them,  , those  ladies jeans sent by well dress company  keep them too, , suggested Hayao,  but the shirts are too short 

In the north  all types of dresses  are trendy  he explained carelessly 

She obediently kept all her bew jeans and shirt tops in her  travel bag,  hanya was already  used to dress up in modern fashion 

nafsayati

....both of them were rather   weird when it came to their  behavior and nature,  their friendship was  also  strange,  the long bus  commuted,  eleven c , both   of them used to get aboard the same bus from the starting point  together,  at seven thirty morning time 

At departure the bus would crawl slowly dragging itself towards its destination  ,  passengers  helplessly  would  beat and bang the body of the bus that would  haltingly  move as the passengers  in a hurry  got anxious to reach their duties and businesses   , the  passengers would  engage themselves in small talks  with each other to release their tension 

Now let's come to the point  how we're they both odd, Jamal mirza  forty  plus always dressed in bright colorful clothes,  brown pair of boots,  unironed  sharp blue shirt , either white or pale  salwar   or bright colored,  socks of two different colors  he would  arrive,  his motto was  clothes are worn for a reason  colors don't matter 

from previous

....the taxi service  representative  tried to contact coral villas on a sudden idea that cropped up in his mind,  meantime  the pickup point  showed by the driver  the address and location were traced, the  owner  and his contact  numbers and other details were found,  talal husni the name  of the owner  of the address  should be contacted first  he thought before the police arrived,  he knew talal husni was a famous  high Court senior judge 

Sir I am speaking from the private car company  office,  a few minutes ago  a taxi from the company picked up a ride from your house,  the office man opened  an introductory  line when  husni spoke,  the name of the passenger is Nisha saba  , destination  time apartments,  there is urgent  information that I would like to share with you 

Is everything okay  officer,  husni  s voice sounded  worried,  Nisha saba is my  special guest,  I can't hear  anything  bad about her

It's not about good or bad,  nothing is predictable at this point,  the company man frankly explained the situation,  that the taxi driver was stopped by a fake police officer  on pretext of   checking his license he was commanded to get out of the car and the taxi was driven away by two other unknown people  and a biker came and picked up the fake police man 

All the taxi drivers are trained and law abiding and from the tracking system the  taxi is located,  to reach them  we need to call the police  so I thought of informing you  first,  if they were merely  car robbers the passenger would have been dumped,  in that case  our customer Nisha saba  your  special guest would have contacted you  but this didn't happen 

page 142

...on the pretext of checking the papers  the traffic police man took  taxi driver aside  and  it was during that time  two men high jacked  the taxi with the passenger,  the taxi driver  spoke to the police officer someone was driving away his taxi,  he asked him for his help,  the passenger was also  inside,  it was a serious matter 

You just hold these documents,  we shall look into the case later,  the officer  handed the driver his license and other papers,  that moment a bike stopped by the police man,  who  was ready to leave,  the taxi driver appealed he wasn't doing the right thing,  he would report him , the police man  uttered dirty foul words as he flung the papers on his face,  the bike left , the driver quickly understood they all were  together  in  stealing his vehicle with the passenger m , his mind was actively working  properly m the taxi he was driving  belonged to a famous truck company,  he immediately rang up his company and informed them of the situation,  the officer listened to him carefully and then asked him if the GPS  tracking system was on 

Yes sir,  I always  turn it in on during the ride 

Very good 

Where exactly did this happen 

From what location was the passenger picked up by you 

from previous

....two touring sales men met after a long time one of them  moaning  said it pra most defeating day , people were rude rebuked and scolded,  some were abusive,  others scowled frowned and yet others shut their doors to him , several others  roared and growled  but he couldn't sell a thing,  

The other door to door salesman asked what was he selling 

Books on how to be polite 

page 107

...a woman   complained to her husband  that she was surprised  how before marriage he used to  admire her saying she was his whole world 

Husband cut her off statement  quickly adding  when he thought her his whole world he was not well versant of geography now ge was an expert who had excellent experience and knowledge of different worlds 

from previous

..... there rose a mournful uproar in babu mian  s house,  mother fell nearly dead, neighbors gathered,  women  tried to help  shajayat  s mother   and sprayed water on her face,  men  surrounded the grief stricken father,  two elderly men  held johar and  gave him instructions what he was to do next,  he had to be strong  and support his old parents and    endure  his brother's   death,  life goes on with or without endurance 

Shajayat  was  buried,  his funeral over johar began thinking what job should he take up,, luckily   he was given his brother's  job and he joined as a police constable 

The first time he saw himself in the mirror  in uniform he spoke to his reflection    to promise to keep  his  brother's  dignity,  to work honestly  but he found it was next to impossible to stay honest in this job,  on every step he was presented with new challenges,  he was posted to a certain police station where the incharge was a sub inspector who was known  as raja who was  dashing and  infamous for  accepting bribes,  he couldn't get along well with johar because  johar couldn't  catch  prey , there was just one person abbas head constable  who  encouraged  johar and admired him for his  honesty 

from previous

....it didn't take long to reach the medical store on bicycle,  there it was a  scene of chaos,  the air was filled with smoke,  police and firebrigade   surrounded the whole place,  thick fat  water was pouring 

Shekhu screamed  johar  and entered the burning  inferno,  two police men tried to stop him but failed,  an ambulance  owned by a welfare organization stood there,  the  workers were  busy working  rapidly,  the injured were  carried out on the stretchers to the ambulance,  by chance johar  took a glimpse of his brother  on the stretcher,  who was alive but perhaps injured 

Shekhu screamed johar and started running beside him as he was taken away 

Johar  ...spoke shajayat  in an inaudible voice,  the two men  pulling the stretcher asked  them if they were friends 

We are brothers  answered johar emotions choking him, his funky nature suddenly left him , shajayat  s etes were half closed,  he spoke haltingly  that now johar must become more serious  , because  this was a major turning point in his life,  entire burden of responsibilities were  shifting onto his shoulders,  he must take care of their old parents 

page 90

...babu mian s house wasn't  poor but  it was rather well off,, his wife was not well,  two  grown up sons,  one with more serious sober nature   was shajayat, the other was more fun loving,  he was not interested in education but playing cricket,  both brothers were just  one year  apart therefore the younger called his elder by his name,  both had cleared their matric,  both were together in their first year college because  the elder had failed  fir his interest in cricket  more,  shehzad was seriously  looking for a job , he wanted to join night classes  if he got a job,  he was betrothed  , , hus conscience did not allow him to get married  until he got a job and was self reliant  and financially sound,  johar had found a girl razia in college and was  determined to pursue  his own  romance  , he was a carefree  and uncaring of his career 

One day shajayat entered the house  cheerfully,  he was selected  as a constable in the police department,  hus parents were  delighted,  johar also  expressed his joy 

In the evening at five  johar wax putting on his shoes in the  veranda,  his hat was  placed beside him,  shehzad entered the veranda and handed johar an envelope  saying  he wished to inform his betrothed about his job so johar was to deliver the envelope at her place 

Both brothers  frequented the girl's house  and after  their marriage was fixed shajayat  stopped visiting her 

from previous

....hello Ronald 

He had thought sge would start quickly but she waited  till the meal was over and then she burst  out,  she was banging her head against a hard brick wall , computer programming was difficult and there was nobody else to help her,  she was feeling hopeless,  there was an interview to attend,  she broke into tears,  

Her tears melted him, he wanted to help her, 

Catherine,  he said  he knew she didn't  believe in such things  but it was possible to get things done with the crystal he possessed,  it had proved extremely lucky for him,  , taking off tge crystal from around his neck he placed it into her delicate hands,  he instantly noticed a change in her attitude,  she brightened up and looked cheerful 

She thought that crystal couldn't help anyone,  she was hesitant but her eyes were glued  on the crystal 

He  raised his eye brows,  couldn't she  at least give it a try 

She dully nodded her head 

And remember the results will start appearing  same day 

khush qismat

...around his neck  swung tge crystal  when he stabbed his partner Samuel  with a knife straight into his heart,  he felt a deep sensation of freedom,  

This is true  personally he wasn't against Samuel  nor was there any other reason of deadly animosity,  for six years they were business partners and smoothly  running  good fortunes,  it was a successful venture but soon enough  Thomas began  embezzling  he decided to take care of him 

Thomas was his seventh victim in the past few weeks,  , he prided in his killing his prey, he was a serial killer,  , he found pleasure in playing with  his victim's blood,  for instance last time he deliberately left his blood stained footprints , it was so exciting,  leaving his finger prints blood stained, challenging the police department to track him down  but  the detectives failed to find him  he was Ronald darling 

page 81

...where is Glenn right now 

He is at home  unconscious  spoke Ruth,  after badly beating her up he fell down  drunk on the floor,  she picked up the car keys  and reached them, perhaps he still lay unconscious there on the floor 

Just you take care of  Ruth  said Marley  looking at his friend,  he didn't mean to trouble him and he would be back soon, it's okay jp responded   nonchalantly,  don't worry  I am here with Ruth  take your time,  she is safe with me,  he paused for a moment before  sighing deeply,  then  added sensationally,  Marley wherever you are going  whatever your purpose is finish your task 

Marley  nodded and left the house,  his pickup truck stood between  jp s truck and Ruth s coupe  car, he climbed up his truck and  drove off stormily to reach  the damp musty small cottage where lived Ruth a miserable life with Glenn 

Marley  parked his truck on one side and  reached the entrance door and knocked hard also  pressed the door bell and banged the door constantly but no sound of any activity was  heard so finally he gave a push with his shoulder  on the third try the  door gave in and succumbed to his force,  next  moment he was inside 

aks mazi

...in a large hall room  owners of dairy farms  were  urgently   gathered for an important meeting,  around twelve people were present there,  not a single person was seen with an expression of satisfaction on his face,   first of all the outside weather second the  temperature of the gathering  s  mind was increasing and and rapidly rising,  distributors  had brought this situation down on the owners of the dairy industry,  they were forced to call for this urgent meeting  to find some suitable  solution in their favor 

This happened seventy seven years ago so there is no need to focus on the quantity  quality and the price of the milk,  in March nineteen  forty seven in new Orleans in Louisiana America  milk distributors demanded  from the  dairy owners for forty five plus litres  for seventy five cents , from six to fivedollars , it wasn'ta big issue,   , the protest started from  new Orleans and like forest fire   enveloped entire Louisiana,  the members gathered in the hall appeared extremely stressed  and  annoyance fir the milk distributors,  they felt it was  a conspiracy  to steal  the morsel from their children's mouth  to deprive them of food and to destroy them  completely 

himaqatein

...it is said the best comedian is he who can laugh at himself because laughing at  oneself is quite difficult and not funny  , laughing on others is hilarious and easy,  today we shall  discuss  our stupidity in writing  , opponents can  use them against us , thankfully  we have  crossed the marriageable age or nobody would  invite us  to cheer them up

Life is a common  stage for all, the successful and the unsuccessful all get equal chance to perform,  not that we comedians have none right to defend  ourselves  because  besides comedy  we couldn't  make it big

We are not champions  on the list , it is actually futile  and useless to speak of our failures  and  stupidity because Islamabad is self aware on this subject matter thoroughly,  big people have big stories of failures and stupidity  with dramatic  after affects , small people make small mistakes  according to their  size of status  untimely  uncolored ineffective shapeless 

Just that if such experiences are reminiscent  during idle hours   they bring  unexpected smiles  and making someone  happy is a kind deed indeed  next to godliness 

page 15

.... hayat was gone already one and half months,  all the money was spent  , the gold ear rings had gotten,  starvation  continued   humiliation  and  taunts   showered besides it, , now it was Mehran s turn to get ganged on the cross,  not a single dry roti was received   that she could swallow with the humiliation and insults  thrown at her by her in-laws,  during the night she slept on  the thought of Hayat  

Two months later he came back  with his hollow empty self,  nit a penny  on him,  he had not eaten  for a while,

  he had worked for a month at a shop ,  earned a pair of shoppers and was ready to leave for Islamabad 

Mehrma shot up like an arrow  and folded her  hands before him  pleading him nit to leave her she would be content with daily single dry roti, staying together  was more important than going away to make a living,  he would find  small  jobs  around  

You are the one who doesn't let me do anything,  he smirked  her responsibility  from him 

from previous

...what is this  he asked Murad

On weekends  shits are given  and on Tuesdays too he  spoke  simply 

What for 

A worker on his left explained  brother  the sand we work with is no normal sand , , , deadly games are released from it, for protection  injections are given to the workers 

He couldn't  digest it but he remained silent and didn't argue,  his sixth sense  alerted him of   imminent danger,  after some thought he agreed to  let them give him a shot

Whole day with other  same age group of workers he worked hard seiving tge yellow sand and picking up yellow  pieces,  meals were served  on time during the day  and night,  all the workers returned to their  living compound,  followed by gossip entertainment and  aimless  loafing , he realized  none of them was aware of their whereabouts in Lahore  and if it was really Lahore,  no glimpse of Imran  was seen so far  yet Murad  was  certain he must be  well wherever he was 

By next   afternoon all went off well  enough,  then he felt fever was gripping  slowly on him,  he shared his discomfort with master  gayash,  he was expecting and  waiting for something like this to happen and  immediately called his  mute foreman,  he was taken through a clean corridor to a place  somewhat  like a hospital  , fifteen beds fir patients were  arranged,  two beds were already occupied by workers  one of them hardly seventeen 

page 15

...next morning  after  same informal breakfast  consisting of paratha and  omelets in  the hall they reached the work place,  there were some twenty two middle aged workers ,  this was also a big hall,  he was surprised to see a pile of yellow colored   sand , apparently just unloaded , , several  strainers were  also kept on its side , all the workers  in a semi circle  sat down  by the side of the  yellow sand pile, 

His friend Murad began to explain  how they had to  start the work stepwise  giving a demo,  all the yellow sand was sifted through the seive  leaving some pieces on the mesh, Murad explained  the pieces were  more yellow and were to be picked up and kept separately  in special  containers specially allotted for them, he pointed towards  large glass jars 

It is quite an easy task  Murad like  domestic women   pick out  little   bits of dirt out from  lentils  but do tell us what exactly are these  tiny pieces  size of mustard seeds so yellow 

You talk too much,  as if your ancestors were police men, why do you need to know all the details,  just do your work and slip the money in your pockets I  swear if it wasn't  for  my younger daughter's marriage  I would have stayed there doing that jib fir several more months 

Zeini khuda

....anaab got down from the vehicle  hung her long strapped bag on her shoulder and gestured sara to come along,  both of them crossed the road  to stand  outside h p l , alert security guard opened the glass door from inside,   she took her checkbook out from the bag and moved towards the  cashier on the counter  and asked him to tell her the amount  in her account 

The good looking cashier busily asked the account number 

Forty eighty ..anaab uttered the last four digits 

Get your I d card checked 

She was putting her signatures and the  date on the check on the glass table,  she took the card out from the  outer pocket of the bag  and handed it over,  she turned the check  to put two more signatures on the other side,  Sara came close and said give me thirteen thousand,  within a couple of days I shall return it 

It's okay,  take twenty  anaab also  whispered 

Forty eight rupees  said the bank worker

What,  exclaimed  anaab  shocked,  she couldn't believe her ears 

Ma'am,  Forty eight rupees are in the account,  you can check it for yourself,  he  moved the screen towards her 

from previous

....returning home  the first thing he did was to ring up his  close friend inspector Zahir  and  gave him the car number  noted by him  of the blue  van,  within  ten minutes  Zahir called him back , the number   wasn't of a station van but of a Suzuki  Mehran,  the first  thought  flashed I mind was  it was a fake number  but Imran  suspected  something more,  it was a four digit  number plate,  the third number  because  it was either  five  or six  , so it wasn't  an easy job as earlier they had believed it,  it was definitely going to take  a lot of running  to find the blue van 

They were helpless  and  couldn't  reach the  four  labourers, , he looked at Imran  meaningful  , today  he certainly had  successfully proved  himself as an excellent lip reader, it's really like magic , it was  a soundproof  airtight  all shut vehicle and from a outside  from a distance  in a traffic jam  you managed to catch what was she saying  so accurately 

Imran declared  with a finality he possessed  several amazing skills  

qatil masiha

....this story  started  in s most strange manner,  it was a foggy morning,  Imran was accompanying him, , one of the resident  of Imran  s  neighborhood  an old man was admitted in the hospital,  they were going  to see him, , reaching the main road they got stuck in the  traffic,  long lines of vehicles  stood unmoving,  , they both sighed briefly  to cool off their helplessness,  , that day another  of  strange  thing unfolded  , , Imran could  expertly  ip read people  talking,  he had several times  exhibited his skill in the past,  , perhaps fir some readers it is a new term,  lip reading isn't a fictional or imaginary   word,  it is a modern  technique,  , one learns to watch people carefully  speaking  but the voices are not carried  to the lip reader but  what is being spoken is  understood,  how one speaks,  his way of talking and  body language  perfectly conveys his conversation,  it's not easy  but  still  there are lots of people deeply interested in learning this art of lip reading,   many of them became expert   masters of lip reading  and   thrilled  tgeir audiences 

So we were speaking of Imran junior,  vehicles were  stuck in a traffic jam,  some feet away from their  vehicle  stood a new model of blue  station van , all it's windows were shut, a pretty  golden blond  stylish  and wealthy sat in the back  seat perhaps she was in her early thirties,  she was  speaking to the driver, , Imran  casually looked at her, Imran silently  gestured him not to disturb,  meantime the blue van crawled  a bit forward,  Imran  in a dazed  way  turned to him and said  the fashionable lady was  speaking about a murder,  he was lip reading 

page 193

...they  cling on to stories  for life 

Because  all is lost  nothing  survive

.

They are most egotistical  and 

We have burned our boats   untied

.

Spontaneous smile is missing on lips 

Something definitely  is hidden a mind

. 

You fear  soaking in rain and 

Look at my house built on tides

.

This mirror shows just the face 

Why are you shying off disturbed pace

.

This time again  topic was half said 

Gazing fixedly  in the oblivion  dazed 

.

It's merely a habit not a necessity 

Holding the begging bowl upside down finitely

.

Otherwise friendly are we not

What  is hiding inside your sleeve 

.

page 191

....I will find out more about this app when I am free  to check  from where were the groceries  bought online,  she was praising  that all the things were of very good quality, it's better for me too  , I can  comfortably  get groceries online instead of going out of my comfort zone to the super stores  tiring myself out,  her hands were working  as fast as her mind , she  even  sorted out her matters as she worked and talked  , she finished her kitchen work  and  put the meat on the grill to soften  it before  sitting down with her laptop  to attend to her office work,  it was quite satisfying,  she thought  just a little bit trouble from  babar , then she  got so engrossed in her work  this problem also erased from her mind  busy with office work,  two hours later  she stopped to take a break,  she  observed babar still wasn't back,  she went  to look for shah zen , hus session had just ended  and second session was  starting in between  he git a few minutes to make a call 

She  dialed babar  s number,  on the other end no signal  no power  message was  given,  this wasn't usual,  frowns appeared on her worried forehead,  she began  thinking of other ways to contact him,  his number was saved in her mobile,   but would it be  right to contact him 

Mamma  give me the mobile,  my next class is on  the call , shah zen  began making a noise before she could come to any conclusion 

Perhaps  their battery is low  from all night use and  forgot to put it on the charger 

page 189

.... cartons of oil and evaporated  butter , lentils rice  wheat flour packets,  spices and other groceries for daily routine use  he was picking up from the store and arranging inside the car dikky,  the storage space was  almost  full, , his wife  amara standing in the porch was watching him  silently,  just  a couple of days ago  she had spent  several hours  shopping  them , hoping   it would suffice two months,   because it was troublesome and quite tiring  to go out shopping frequently for small things,  besides  fear of corona  was  there,  both as a couple  worried about their children  s health and wellness,  they avoided  outside  contact  and were very cautious  , they  would online  and telephonically  speak to their  relatives and friends,  they had learnt  it by heart to stay safe  they must avoid direct  outside contact 

Sorry,  I realize  your precious time is invested on this shopping  but  I can't  delay it any more 

It's okay,  I know how important it is , as a  good wife she supported her husband's decisions 

Midnight phone call was  followed by his all night tossing and turning,  he passed the sleepless night somehow,  every time she opened her eyes she saw him wide awake,  now  at fajar he was ready to leave with  a full dikky full of groceries, among other things he had carefully kept a fluffed up envelope in his pocket 

What time will you be back 

I won't take long,  I will have my breakfast at home with children 

from previous

....during the next week Danny      moved into a rented flat some distance away from Langley Virginia,  telephone was installed and a car  drove him around to and from the agency,  he rang up the fishing camp and gave them his new address and phone number for any emergency  situation,  

A few days later  he visited  Sam Green  a companion in his flat,  he worked in the detective department,  conversationally  the topic of previous agents and agencies names rose up,  specially the ones who were  suspended,  some two hundred fifty  of them were  discussed  , most if them turned against the agency,  present director was the deputy director then , Danny explained some of the  seniors were still  working in the agency  and only he has the access to the classified information he is leaking 

from previous

....Larry was  going to Canada from New York, in the last phase of his journey he hired a helicopter   that was flying northwards  towards  a fishing camp , the pilot  gestured downwards  , that was  the camp black well,  helicopter landed  , Larry looked around,  he spotted the jeep that would drive him to his destination,  half hour later on the drive Larry saw a cottage beyond the canopy of trees,  the cottage was  absolutely  vacant,  a man near the river  was cleaning his small boat,  Larry reached him and asked him where was Williams dans 

Danny is gone fishing up the river I can take you there if you want 

Larry readily occupied his seat inside the boat,  after one hour  he saw someone  fishing , he got down and going closer declared  Danny I have to speak with you urgently 

I am not at all interested in what you have to say 

I know you love your country for the sake of  it listen to me 

I can die for my country but I am not working for the agency 

But the agency is part of America and for its  safety you must listen carefully to me, I bring deputy director  Dickson  Handley s message 

I retired seven years ago and lead a peaceful life 

Come back just for six months 

ghr ka bhedi

....it was one  cold  winter morning in Vienna Robert Stine was   facing the winds  holding the paper carry bag  close to his chest was heading towards his house,  he lived in s small flat on the third floor of an old skyscraper,  he made coffee for himself  and sat down to eat his breakfast 

There was a good phase of his life  when he sold  information to different  international agencies,  but now he was paid just eighty dollars by the American, his wife was a bar maid , his life was  rolling on 

He hoped to make  a huge amount  from his latest project for the Americans,   he through a secretary of an American agency  was working on coding machine card chip  copy, walisa was to meet him next day in a park,  he had   been working hard on walisa to agree , if walisa brought the copy  he could  get that desired amount from the Americans 

Tge door bell rang  as he was having his breakfast,  who could that be this hour,  his wife's timings  were  different in the evening,  reaching the door he asked who was there 

Postman,  a most urgent letter 

Robert peeped outside through the peephole , right there stood the familiar figure of the regular Postman 

jungbaz

.just drop this topic said sehrab , amma simply tell me if I shall  recoup  within four days,  amma looked at him with her old dry eyes and smiled,  God willing  you will recover  with the first dose  after the final fourth  you will want to cut down  mountains,  chameli teasingly asked if he will become Tarzan,  he glared at her he will become a monster not Tarzan,  chameli giggled,  amma also smiled  seeing both chameli  and sehrab happy , she meaningfully looked at them and  gave them her blessings,  her profound feelings   made them both speechless,  a  color passed  across her face , cahmeli rebuked amma for speaking thoughtlessly , she slowly began moving towards her corner,  amma was rather surprised  at her girl s annoyance,  after sge left amma turned to sehrab and asked if both of them had quarreled , he explained  poor she  wouldn't  have quarreled  in fact  she took great care of him , his voice became soft,  amma  thought  chameli was silly and shy, not completely.  Satisfied with her own  statement sge followed her girl 

He was forgetting  the  genuine feelings of a mother for her young unmarried  girl,  he had skipped telling amma and chameli  all about himself,  mothers of Yong girls are exactly like this,  they  are only worried about their own daughters 

from previous

....Tara saved herself from falling down  but she couldn't escape from his  influence,  it is usual adolescence thinking  that someone specially follows you notices you observes you ,,for you he goes up to the terrace every day,  he shows his deepest interest in your life,  he takes care of you,  you can't think properly,  your mind likes to  think about just him , something  natural  growing up  and Tara was experiencing it,she was liking his proximity  , she couldn't ignore him as before,  she spent more time listening to friends romantic life stories and began reading more love stories,  she felt it made life beautiful,  she felt tge difference  between indifference and close warm relationship,  she now  spent extra time up on the terrace waiting for him after fajar  before leaving for college 

page 29

...living in fear  was killing her,  all that she wanted was  freedom from her confined life,  life was suffocating,  she wanted to do things  her way to her liking  as she wanted  of her choice,  her other classmates  were free to choose and decide,  they all dressed up  trendy,  wore makeup  , listened to music,  going  for drama shows  but her bhabhi was  barring her from enjoying life in its simplest moments 

Is this how you treat children,  from now  you must know how to cover yourself,  how to dress up properly how to walk and how to eat, if she learns all the right things and proper behavior  soon enough she will  take off to soaring but trendy attire,  modern music  going out to theaters will certainly spoil her , she ought to be kept tightly under  control,  bhabhi would  doubtfully  look at her,  telling ammi what all dangers  round the corners await  , bhabhi indirectly   let ammi feel guilty for not raising her daughter  correctly  and the correct way only bhabhi  knew 

Ammi tried to explain  to Tara  this wasn't the right age to dress  fashionable,  later on she could  have as much fun as she could,  that bhabhi was right about drama shows and loud music,  these are merely sinful distractions,  stay away from temptations  because they are worthless  

hajamat

.....some people  are  very fond of getting  their  shave done  and to fulfill their  passion they discover  new ways , if you carefully look around you seriously  innumerable  people will be found in every colony and area , rafuq bhai was one such weird character,  age sixty  medium height,  dusty complexion,  white capped head, no work routine,  the days spent  roaming aimlessly  through the streets  before returning home to sit in a chair  outside his house m the only one thing he did  right was to get groceries  fir his household  and  obediently  follow his wife's instructions,  a two storey building was made during his good times,  he lived with his wife on the upper floor and rented out the ground floor,  from this amount he was running his household,  two daughters were happily married and settled,  sometimes they visited their parents 

Rafuq bhai was universal bhai , children  elders and tge aged all called him rafuq bhai,  men and women  unanimously accepted him just as rafiq bhai,  so he was just rafiq bhai  to all equally,  

Every time he would leave the house wife enquired where was he going 

Just up to the barber's 

 For a shave

The wife looked surprised and confused 

Didn't you go to the barber's two days ago 

Yes of course but it was a Monday,  putting on his shoes he spoke helplessly 

teen andey

...Suzy after a long time finally decided to clean up the house  thoroughly,  during the past twenty years of her married life a  huge pile of unwanted things was stored under her bed,  she moved her bed and  found a square clean box,  surprised she looked at the rather clean box not covered in layers of dust, , curious she opened the box to find  thre eggs and  ten thousand dollars 

In the evening on her husband's return sge discussed about the box , he rather apologetically  explained every time he  cheated on her he put an egg in the box , Suzy thought  just three times  in a period of twenty years is forgivable,  her next question was about the dollars 

Honest husband  truthfully explained  the box was too small so he would sell the eggs and kept the dollars there 

page 123

....Rachel was on the sixth floor,, sky burj looked devastated  asif bombarded,  all the window glasses were shattered,  the burj itself had tilted slightly to a side and lost its balance,  a massive hole had appeared in the  top ceiling  through that  sunlight was revealing the picture of destruction,  tge floor too was hole ridden completely  water level dropped fifty feet ,  fortunately tge burj still stood there,  but it was certain to collapse in the second wave 

On the other end of the rock way sixty feet away  the shipwrecked family was present,  the father had hus eleven year old daughter  up in his arms,  elder son and second daughter were  clinging to their mother,  they had not  been inside the sky burj 

aabi qayamat

...11.14 am

Eight minutes to go

 Tgey were moving towards that spot hurriedly  from where jet skies were available 

What is your name asked Kai 

The boy replied Jack

I am Kai,  Lanny my daughter , they stopped near the jet skies, all aviation was public and open , no specific  beach was allocated to grand Hawaiian jet skies , hotel arranged trolley  and water bikes for them , jet skies were of two kinds , in one  of them two passengers could  sit in a single file and in the other two passengers could  sit right behind the driver,  the staff had  run away leaving the jets behind,  three out of the four  had seats available,  in the fourth  there was capacity for four 

Where are the girls Kai asked Jack,  Jack pointed towards the diamond head , he had emerged out of the water near the Marriott 

Can you see them,  Kai looked at briad 

Yes briad made a cup of his hands and put it on his forehead to look more carefully 

Can you drive jet skies Kai asked Jack 

page 105

...problems were  aggressively  growing,  no good news  was received,  one day coming back from the factory  her head began spinning badly,  she sat down on the ground clutching her head,  shopkeepers  gave her water to drink , she gathered herself and dragged herself back home,  later in the evening she visited the clinic in the neighborhood,  the lady doctor checked her condition,  her sugar level had increased drastically,  , she could either take insulin shots or insulin pills,  uncaring  she returned home,  she had sufficient amount   but she didn't want to use it on herself,  she was keeping it for her children,  Ada enquired  about her visit to the clinic,  she  explained  untruthfully  it was weakness  and she was sick she was advised to take rest , Asa then informed her wasim spends whole day lurking around,  he says nothing but his  attitude is threatening,  perhaps  fuda and  he might start another brawl,  Mrs jafry defeated dejected slumped on her bed, , rawa rushed to get her some water 

from previous

....he finished his night  namaz before coming outside into the yard , suddenly he had a fleeting glimpse of definitely her  veil,  she was going upstairs once again but after a very long lapse he wondered what took her upstairs this odd hour,  several suspicions rose inside him,  her dubious activities must have drawn others attention , certainly  she was caught  , whether she was innocent or guilty he had no idea  but such  behavior made her doubtful character 

He decided to follow her upstairs silently,  she sat in a corner of the terrace  without any mat doing yoga exercises,  completely focused on her deep breathing and   she looked relaxed and comfortable  filled with inner happiness,  he  never had seen her so radiant before 

Murtaza was ashamed of his low thinking,  how wrong he was  , she was after all a human being and needed  fresh air , it must be extremely boring and tiring staying indoors all the time 

page 13

...when  he arrived a week ago  in this house after ages  at night  he immediately kept his luggage in the drawing room cum guest room,  freshened up and emerged in clean pair of clothes  before sitting down to eat dinner with others  in the hall,  traditional dastarkhwan was spread out on the floor,  there wasn't any table,  just a medium sized table to complete the sofa set , it couldn't be  practically used for dining,  the food wasn't quite  formal,  meal consisted of chana pulao, raita salad kheema alu but for him it was equal to a grand feast, home cooked food is always  tastefully  served,  he had learned to appreciate home cooked food  within the first week of his stay in the hostel,  bad spicy stale  mess meals quickly spoiled his digestion,  he had  come to live in this house only, naturally  formality is quickly dropped  and one is expected to feel free  and comfortable  while eating,  he was a simple  person and didn't fuss about food , he happily  accepted  whatever was  cooked 

What about others  aren't they joining us for the meal just need baji and ali bhai were present at the dastarkhwan with him 

from previous

....it was  an unknown  hour of the night,  there was a knock  on the door,  Mrs jafry was a light sleeper  , her eyes flew open instantly,  She glanced at the wall clock,  it was turning one past midnight,  who could that be this hour,  perhaps Tahir sahib had brought police,  flustered she got out of bed,  both Rawat and Ada were fast asleep  in their beds by her bedside,  fuda was inside  the other room,  the door was once again knocking,  putting on her slippers she reached the door,  once again the door was knocked,  she  worriedly asked who was there 

A male voice was heard  saying he was jalaluldin , a friend of jafry sahib,  I have something the matter to discuss with you,  open the door 

She was doubtful  whether to open the door or not,  anything could happen  at this unexpected time  specially in a house where the number of women were more 

The male stranger's voice rose  he had some years ago taken loan from jafry sahib and he wanted to return it , next morning he had his flight to Canada  therefore he arrived this unusual hour 

As far as she remembered  the factory was  in loss , jafry sahib practically couldn't have given any loan to anyone 

page 101

....in the families with  young grown up girls such   behavior  is not acceptable,  if  you don't reform yourself  your sisters will  be affected negatively  spoke fida bitterly 

You are pouring out all your inner rage on me,  why don't you ask who is the wrong doer, who is talking against Ada  blackening her reputation,  he even  laughed at me in a sinister manner when I was passing by , I fuming slapped  hard on his face,  all the neighbors  gathered to take his side and began  accusing me and showered dirty abuses on me , thereafter what a hearty  bashing I gave him you saw that with your own eyes,  Mrs jafry added  dogs nature is to bark but it's not advisable to bark along with the dogs , wasim shall be punished for the crime  he has committed soon 

Fida Sar down on the bed,  around his right eye black circle appeared 

Mrs jafry  worriedly   looked at Ada  and  asked her to warm up a piece of cloth to press it on her brother's eye,  the two girls were sent away to the kitchen to also get warm milk,  Mrs jafry  began pressing his eye with her veil  corner , he shook away her hand,  

In the  morning  land lady had come,  she threatened to vacate the house,  the grocery store refused to give groceries 

waham o guman

...vegetable market was close to the  bus stop,  in the evenings  vegetables were sold  very cheap Mrs  jafry   by five   would  finish her factory work,  it took another half hour to reach the vegetable market,  the rates of the vegetables dropped after seven,  two hours from five to seven  she spent in the market,  at seven  she  would buy three days vegetables and return home,  she didn't like overstaying  outside  unnecessarily,  just recently  in the past  she had to  go through a bad phase,  her daughter Ada fell  sick,  she was vomiting,  Mrs jafry s experienced eyes recognized tge problem,  but still she  visited a doctor,  the lady doctor thoroughly checked her and confirmed her doubts  that the girl was expecting  but it was possible to get rid off the pregnancy through pills,  coming back home Mrs jafry asked her what had happened,  it was  wasim the neighbor s boy

Mizaj pursi

...after a lot of thinking  he decided to take up the murder case,  the wife of the accused said something that made the lawyer  rethink on the matter seriously,  they met for the first time in the city court  corridor  stairs,  he was  going down from the second floor court when the woman  close by stopped him,  she wanted to discuss something important if he could give her just ten minutes,  such requests are common  and the lawyers are used to it , besides the lawyer community and the groups of judges  two other kinds of people are seen  actively moving around from here to there,  one of them are somehow related to  the cases  second type  are those who are looking for some  lawyer, they are desperate to consult a lawyer  either to escape the law or to receive their lawful  rights