page 194

....tge extremely  injured policemen were  moved out of the crime scene  as the ambulance rushed towards the hospital,   , the  investigation began,  the senior officer who was following jasim  gave his statement,  that jasim  stole a car to escape,  he pointed towards the car  his tone was strange,  they chased him , the crazy man   left his lane and  reached    the oil tanker 

Just a minute,  who are you talking about  , who is the car robber,  there  is no burnt body inside the crushed car

Sir , it's disappeared  I have no clue about it, he looked around in sheer disbelief,  his tone now was  worried,  when we were chasing him he was  driving the car,  he was present in the  driving seat,  we were all shocked  why did he commit suicide  after all he was fleeing  away 

page 40

..look here  dear brother  God made man to do outdoors  duties  and protect woman and family  , woman was made to work indoors  take care of family needs and bear children  raise them  its  a responsibility their duties are different and they are different from each other,  look at me  I am your elder sister would you  say the same for me 

I knew it the moment I will share my thoughts  you all will humiliate me  but when I was not speaking nobody let ne remain silent  you all provoked me , appi you  just tell me what is my  fault  if I am a male , why have all the  stress and struggles of life  burdened onto me , women enjoy more  the journey of life than I do,  she desires social status and  stability as much as I do  then  why doesn't she  support me and  together  we work to achieve our goals , she is ready to enjoy status  but nit ready to share responsibility 

perfect couple

.... amma  put down   the tea cup on the table  and Farakh quickly  picked up the hot steaming cup to take a sip

All that the parents wish is to see their son  do well in life  to become qualified and responsible  followed by another dream of his getting married,  raising him was a lifetime  achievement,  parents want to retire and keep their life peacefully,  daughter in kaw would take over  the entire household chores,  she us expected to take care of the elderly,  tgey would also  be able to relax for the rest of their life,  amma speaking her mind  out sat down  supporting her paining knees with her hands  beside him 

No amma I am not going to get married he banged tge tea cup down on the table 

Why not dear son why don't you want to get married fir heavens sake amma looked at him  worried 

It wasn't the first time  the topic had come up,  every time amma  spoke of marriage   he would   get annoyed 

Because amma you won't let ne choose my bride,   so why should I  

Now just look at this   is this any good reason  you tell me about your  choice  I will let you marry anyone  you want just let me know and  you will be married to her  amma managed to find the solution in seconds 

Amma you wrongly think I have selected someone it's not like that,  I have spent all my life  studying and eating I never got a chance to like any girl  it's final I simply don't want to marry anyone of your choice  that's it

page 181

....amen said was an intelligent  and clever girl,  she was busy studying in her college,  Ahmed  hasn her class fellow was also there with her,  their finals were near,  he was now and then also  looking at his messages on the mobile,  amen  scolded him fir being distracted  but he always found  a way to receive and read the messages,  both were good friends besides classmates  , most likely they  were compatible and like minded  drawn to each other,  this could  certainly lead to their marriage,   but his  circle of friends  were not good,  they weren't serious about their career  and future  , they enjoyed  loafing around  getting drunk and   drugged,  after college they liked  wasting their time  on the road,  their bad habits    lead them to meet more of their types and  quickly they became addicts,  amen tried to convince him out if this Nasty  web , she wanted to protect him from the wicked world,  but he refused to  listen to her , he was the only son of his mother,  if he didn't bother about his mother  who was amen  to her , simply nobody   , all the addicts were sending him messages  he was   looking at,  they were calling him to join the squad , amen  had some  power to control him  but he made some excuses and left,  she  accused his rascally friends  for his uncaring  behavior 

zehrrnak

...mahim was in her cabin scribbling on a pile of paper,  on one side of her  files were kept  on the other side a laptop,  m looking  at the texts on both sides  sge was  quickly taking down notes , she was so busy she was not aware her boss abrar s presence,  he  coughed to catch her attention,  sunk  deep into her work sge looked up startled 

What  happened 

Sir, I am working on drug smuggling 

page 175

....fragrant is forest  in bloom where are you 

Boughs  green laden in spring  where are you 

Tales innumerable in books where are you 

World follows  faiths  where are you 

Nestled on the blossoms are tears of dew

First  Sunrays are casted where are you 

Disheartened by the wicked world where are you 

Merciful  Master  of ruthful  speech where are you 

The world is divided 

Where do we belong 

page 162

....now what is going to happen  asked  ghulam Muhammed  s wife  

It will happen like this  answered he  those who have to make allotments will  go to higher courts 

Then 

Inshalla  everything will work out in our favor 

How long 

Let's see 

In this  case of allotments  a most suitable  match  for Samna  slipped away  spoke  mona  unhappily 

Don't you worry,  let's wait for the plot , after selling   half  of it off  we would have sufficient amount  to find even better  match 

Marriage proposals are not kept on sale  that you can buy when you have money 

I will  use newspapers  to catch a match,  after all Sam and will be  the bride to be from a well off well to do family with money,  just wait and watch  long lines of  suitors 

What hopes  let's see 

Of course  modern marriages are  made thus people don't have time  to look for  life companions for their children  door to door 

page 161

...you did say didn't you 

I will always be there for you 

Putting your hands on my eyes 

You will  fight the world for me 

Never will you change  l

ike unpredictable weathers 

I shall constantly protect you 

Trust me wait for me I will come back to you 

Helplessly  I believed in your words 

Trusted you  unmindful of consequences 

Believing you were mine 

Invested complete faith in you 

But my dear foe of life

Your lies defeated  false weathers 

You never came back as promised 

But seasons did return  once again 

On the new year  you declared 

I will come back 

You didn't  but see

Another new year has arrived 

shaka

... during the ceremony  the  warrior  dancer entered the  thick forest  where he met shaka   who on the first glance asked him who was he 

Clad in leather outfit   braids hanging on his shoulders,   a garland of ivory beads  round his neck  and one metal  dagger ,  long and rounded  ear rings , nose was pierced  cheek  tattoo  showed a half moon  crescent , weird appearance  suggested  he was not a natural  native   above all his height and heavy built  body was completely different 

Shaka not answering  moved forward 

Wait my friend,  today  because of you  I am alive 

The man  stretched his arm  forward,  shaka stared for a while at the outstretched hand  before  holding it

from previous

....this happened  just before  aslam arrived,  when barkat  bibi came to her room,  she who wasn't  getting out of her room  because she was so scared  seeing her instantly jumped  up  to stand  attention 

Why didn't you  send for me instead of climbing upstairs on your paining knees 

Doesn't matter much,  I had to speak to you urgently,  her face  looked  serious,  she sat down  on the bed  supporting her knees  , sge also sat down  quietly next to her with her eyes lowered 

Amma I am not lying  I tell the truth,  I am   innocent,  she choked on her words , something salty stuck inside her throat 

Whatever you said I have heard it carefully,  you know why,  her tone was questioning,  she  lifted her head to look at bibi 

Because I know you are truthful,  when you went into the room with Ahmed  I went out shopping  necessary  things,  not to disturb Ahmed  I didn't tell you,  today ashraf was home,  he didn't go to work,  I told him and left for the market,  half way  through I realized I had forgotten the money  home,  the purse I carried was empty,  without money  it was useless going any further  so I decided to go back,  one duplicate key to the door is always inside my  purse,  of course you know it but ashraf doesn't 

page 33

...when aslam  stepped into the room  bano was packing  her luggage,  her hands were moving  fast  ,  it was  unexpected and sudden  trip,  so many  small little things  for manna  she was repeating  the list mentally over and over  again and again  as she  put them   aside 

Aren't you ready 

Almost done,  all necessary  things are put together,  small  not so important   ones that  were sill  not  arranged are also  packed up  she explained without looking at him  in a matter of factly manner 

She was trying to avoid looking at him  to hide her feelings  her eyes swollen from crying  could reveal  , therefore she was  acting  busy 

I still can't believe it amma herself asked me to take you with me  because she was never in favor of  sending you with me,  speaking  so his voice  brightened up as his face 

He had arrived just two hours ago  when amma had called for him  , amma just few minutes ago  decided and declared  bano was going with him,  he was so  happy  he always wanted bano to live with him  but amma  lived alone  so he remained silent 

Bano if left with him  amma would be left behind all alone , ashram was a mill worker,  his working hours kept him away from dawn to dusk outside 

from previous

.... in his early youth  farid was  drawn towards  shakila ,  both didn't take long to get married,  both had similar  middle class family backgrounds,  shakila  had to face opposition from her unwilling parents  who were  against this  marriage  but she remained   quite adamant  and refused to change her mind,   finally parents  gave in and the lovers were  able to get married,  initially  it was  a most pleasant experience and life was filled with love and joy,  sgakila proved it to her parents her decision was perfect  it was  a successful marriage 

To increase  family income  shakila  began  giving tuitions at home  ,to groups of small  school students,  it was a private academy,  they  still had no bloom   in their family  , yet they maintained a healthy lifestyle for more than two years,  as luck would have it, farid  s mother   became sick  and  had to go through  severe treatment  for months   before  her death,  both brothers gad  jointly  taken care of their dying mother and  expenses were shared equally,  farid  had  slightly spent  a little more than his elder brother ,  shakika was expecting  , financial  status was low  expenses were increasing,   stressful life  and unaffordablity  go hand in hand together 

pukar

.... job seekers are taken to place to place  , he was a government school teacher,  just recently  he along with his  wife and two children  moved to Lahore from rawalpindi  , he was allotted a rented house  in a colony,  it was a middle class locality,  it was fifth  day  after they had shifted  there when during the night he heard  the  voice for the first time,  wife and children were  fast asleep,  he was in that half  waking state  , from the street  a  strange voice rose  ,    the voice  belonged to an elderly person  asking to be let in , tge tonal  quality  had an odd sounding  throatiness  and  a mysterious  impatience, tge voice hit his midstream  before getting down deep into his system,  this person was  telling someone he had arrived  but why

A couple of nights later again  this voice  rise  but it wasn't night time  exactly  , it was just after  sunset,  he and his wife were watching television,  similar  themes all soap  dramas   revolve around,  romance,  love stories,  engagement,  marriage  divorce   legal arguments  , on hearing the mysterious voice  he lowered the television volume   and turned to look at his wife 

She explained it must be some beggar,  she woke up   last night to drink water  and heard the same voice  

page 112

..it was  one of the most  important  modern and clean residential area located on Tariq road,  he  lived in a flat alone,   he had arranged  his rooms  in such a way  that   to others it appeared  a small family setup,  master bedroom  for the children  was  fully furnished and equipped for children,  expensive comfortable  sofas in the lounge  were  present,  after all  why not   , it was a doctor's house 

basat had  on several occasions  spoken  lies to the  village couple  it was  professionally correct though,  he was surprised to know even they had nit been  truthful to him entirely,  it must have been definitely their  helplessness,  before going to bed  the previous night he gad sent the reports to his partner 

Today when basat opened his eyes  he found  rabanda sitting in the lounge sofa,  the three had spent the night  gossiping lightly,  then he realized she wasn't  a stupid village  woman  but Salim certainly was  a fool,  tabada  dropped her  naive shy  behavior  and became  more frank 

Salim wasn't seen around,  exchanging  polite courtesies  basat glanced around  and asked for  Salim 

He is gone out   for a smoke 

page 103

....no doubt  fear is a reality  but he had never witnessed such a frightening scene in his entire life before 

Rana Salim was an experienced  police station master,   posted in that station for two years  , he had  seen many strange cases  but a swinging head still attracted to the body was absolutely different,  headless body  was found  I the  cot on the floor  , looking from a distance it appeared  the body lay in a dried up pool of blood  and  the head was replaced by a helmet 

A shiver ran down his spine  on the first glance  shudders followed,  he froze   but he remembered  he was there to investigate  very carefully he stepped into the  crime scene   not wishing to unwittingly  destroy any evidence 

He  scanned  the surroundings  professionally,  for furniture in the room there was just one cot   placed on the right  next to the entrance door  , the room was otherwise bare

from previous

... in the city center  jahangir  mirza s  grand majestic   house  was situated,  he stopped his car  near the gate  and pressed a finger on the vell button,  a servant opened the door,  mentioning  afzal sahib he asked to see  jahangir mirza  and  walked in , what a regal lifestyle  scene   that room presented,  what could  gave  been the reason he was called,   why was he alone  selected  , some time later he emerged  and asked him to bring the car inside  there was a  hard road through the  trees leading to the house  , he brought the car onto the road,  the road was lined with trees on either side,  blue patch of a swimming pool became visible  , outside the building there was a massive veranda  decorated with  excellent expensive  furniture and sofas , walls mounted with trophies of hunted beasts and  their  skins , the car was stopped near tge canopy of trees,  he was asked to sit down in a sofa,  then the servant opened the door and went inside,  he sat down and looked around,  each and every piece  was saturated  with quality and money,  , every thing highlighted  he was going to meet a hunter who had spent millions on the trophies  surrounding him, , he had not even seen half of the stuffed animals when jahangir mirza entered the hall holding a cigar in his fingers 

page 94

....afzal sahib spoke in somber tone,  one of his students needed his help he couldn't reveal his name though,  but  he had done  lots of favors for him,  it happened during his  young years  when he was  a college lecturer,  he git the job because of the student's father 

, besides this also there are many more  times they had  helped him,  now it was his turn to pay them back   and show his  gratitude,  that was the reason he had invited the lawyer,   he looked at afzal sahib  in awe as he finished his own last sandwich 

Afzal sahib smiled at him encouragingly,  his student was married,  he is happy with his marriage  but a few days ago in sheer rage he gave her a triple divorce,  wife naturally left him to go back to her father's house  she frankly told her father all about her situation,  her father 

from previous

....she was weeping incessantly  her arms wrapped around  her knees,  her heart trembled  like an autumn  falling quivering leaf thinking  about her uncertain future,  amma had not spoken to her yet but she kept on silently looking at her 

She thought what if she didn't believe her narrative, it would be impossible to explain  if she was asked,  what if amma  told aslam every thing,  would he consider her innocent or discard her , what if aslam  found her guilty and threw her out of his life,  where could she go, she had no other choice  no other place except this one,  what if aslam  took away her son too  , she looked  at her three ear old  Ahmed sleeping by her side  with  deep motherly  affection 

Her eyes were  constantly  pouring,  surrounded  amidst those   unhappy   thoughts  when a knock on the outer door drew her attention,  at that time she was upstairs inside her her room  from that window she had jumped out

She heard the door opening 

It was  a small house  barely  built in a few square feet,  the house also   had an open yard,  the voices from downstairs were easily carried upstairs,  without  taking a peek she could tell  the  curious womefolk  from the neighborhood  who were  waiting outside  were now standing there in the yard 

ainey ke peechey

...khla barkaty s daughter in law  jumped out of  her room window,  this was the latest news today  reaching  every household like a jet airplane,   broadcasting  with speed in the street

 The majority of population of that street  were residents from lower class , everyone knew everyone,  , they all were close  together  , whatever occurred  even the slightest of   occurrence   within seconds   became common knowledge  this was  really an outstanding news surprising and and important 

How innocent her looks are  hardly twenty and yet so daring unbelievable,  bano became  the talk if the  street community,  safya khala even bit her own  finger 

It was certainly a suicide bid , it was definitely  a case of depression,  nobody could imagine what was going on 

Sharta khala  s  daughter in law  who was the only highly educated in the entire clan  was  a school graduate,  , a student of psychology  sge rightfully  believed belonged to a psychologist  s  profession  spoke her mind out that she didn't like  the depressed woman who had attempted to commit suicide  ever since she was married  into the family 

from previous

...hamira was eagerly waiting for him at home,  she usually  is back from college  at three afternoon but perhaps that day she was on leave  she spoke bitterly  she was aware he was  number one liar  but fatal sahib was hopeless she had met his driver  he was forced to go on leave  to the village for some days  she was  falsely told the driver had left the job,  she demanded an explanation what exactly was going on  and where  had the two of them been 

He shook his denial  he didn't know anything  perhaps the driver really had gone to the village,    and he was in the morning attending  meeting  and he returned with afzal sahib 

Hamira  explained  director education murtaza sahib was her known  and he informed her that the meeting was to be held the following day  and now  truthfully tell her quickly what important secret meeting  was held between just the two of them 

He swallowed before answering  the meeting is postponed   it used to regularly held on this day  before  , the date was changed a few days earlier  now really the meeting will be held tomorrow  afzal sahib was not aware of the latest developments 

nadida wajud

....how  strange it was that he was madly in love with her yet  completely  unaware of her  being,  what age was she  he didn't know he had never seen her  only   experienced her presence   and  spoken to her sometimes,  she  had become his guide in darkness for some hours  next morning  early she Was removed from there,  now she was  gotten into his system,  he would shut his eyes to see her in his mind s eye as a dark  apparition  that doesn't have any particular face and features 

khabardar

...   soon  it was  going to be sunset but the blazing sky was not surrendering  , it was  the month of May   some  dare   and usual  very still , no breeze  absolutely  stark eye piercing  heat , it was completely  impossible to breathe normal  in that sizzling air,, it felt tge tongue had dried up   and turned to a piece of leather  and  the throat prickly, summer on its superlative  climax  , wheat was in its last phase of harvest  he was present in his office   carrying out his professional  responsibilities 

picture texts

..from the times of Pharaohs  the ancient civilizations  used  pictures  as scripts,  these hieroglyphics  are  kept in British museums   as relics  of historic past , one stone found by napoleon    explains  how to decipher  the pictures to understand the contents,  

 The Greeks also  are said to have  been using hieroglyphics  on their walls  

page 55

...life is a beautiful butterfly  that attracts everyone fluttering its colorful wings  before disappearing amidst canopies of blossoms 

.

.every person who  leaves you is not necessarily a cheat  likewise everyone who supports you isn't yours 

.

.love  is intrinsically  possessive  doesn't let go , won't release,  will not easily free   itself from its love

.

.some can never  understand the world,  they are lost forever in the crowd 

.

.he who gives  wants quick  profitable returns  this idea alone contaminates the quality of life 

.

.

from previous

 It was a Sunday,  full of energy and   activities,  Reza was  removing  cobwebs,   another one was arranging the cabinets,  nimmi was busy in the kitchen  banging up the utensils 

Reza did you  deposit the electricity bill 

Yes mamma 

Tipu did you arrange the things properly 

Of course yes his strong voice was positive 

Reza  dear , what is the result of the academy  you are going to 

A one mamma  he  answered  wiping the fan,  he taught at the center 

Nimmi was busily  preparing  vegetables now,   Nani was watching the whole scene  rejectedly, the reason   nimmi  s beauty 

Why this office like  setting  finally Nani scolded her daughter,  these are the times for the  children  to play  and you  ...she rebukingly  glared at her daughter  , you are pushing them into  groceries,  settling the bills and  employment  vicious circles 

Isn't that good ammi,  starting from now   learning to be active  will be helpful to them in practical life 

humein udney do

....the sky  was draped in  black, the weather turned  exciting,  elusive winds merrily  flirted with surroundings,   f g college  walls were soaked wet , the trees began  swaying  drunkenly,  all the girls ran to take  shelter inside the canteen,  warmth in the kitchen and  anjum appa s handmade  hot samosas were quite tempting   , served with  steaming tea,  amidst all this activity  faryal group     began   singing noisily  and  using the tables as  drums  to give the beat to 

Punjabi folk song 

We fell in love with you 

Our hearts  long for you 

The atmosphere completely changed  , all the girls happily joined  the singing group,  one song followed by another  back to back  musical performances  warmed up the  whole place,  aroma of samosas and pakodas  filled their hearts with satisfaction,  their day was made 

badlata roop

....it was a   dark autumn  mournful and soulful  when turner bought a house,   the special thing about the house was  that the woman turner  passionately was in love with for forty years was found dead with her sister in the same house 

He already was aware  he was buying a  monument,  the master bedroom where the bodies were found  he left it and  settled down into a smaller bedroom,  it was a most beautiful two storey house built in red brick 

Every inch of the house including the furniture  was  a memorial of the dead sisters,  turner could only change the bedroom  he couldn't  get rid off of their furniture and luggage 

Turner was sixty m from a small town and lived alone,  he didn't have children  he was never married,  he was  ready to marry Molly anytime  but she never  accepted his proposal 

Now it was certain he would  die unmarried  , he knew  the distance between him and his grave was closing up 

from previous

... in that township  residents loved the old traditional methods of farming  though the young were mostly seen on bicycles,   thus was   the  season  and the entire area had a  vacant look,  due to extreme weather conditions in severe cold nobody ventured out of their warm comfort zones,  he would have himself  stayed home if  his job had not demanded his attention,  Gabriel had not even exited the gates of the town  and he suddenly found himself standing before her , she gad pulled on her head  a  wheat  paper carry bag  with crudely holes cut out for her eyes and nose,  her full body was completely covered in white  long  loose traditional gown  , it seemed someone had wrapped her up 8n a sheet,  he quickly stopped Gabriel

Wait   for me Bahar 

such ki talash

....it was going to be seven in the morning 

Yet there was dark  still all around,  thick fog had contributed  invisibility  to the surroundings,  the bone chilling air was killing besides,  the  incessant snow fall during the night had turned the small township into a freezer,  Harvey  shivering despite his  overcoat  walked  as fast as his legs would  on the vacant street,  he was rather on the heavier side  and not tall  an ordinary man,  he was in his sixties,  he held a bundle in one of his hands  , it was  wrapped up in a plastic cover,  he carried it carefully,  his umbrella was held in his left hand,  it was tied  up at that time,  he was using it as a walking stick,  he was  dressed up and  put on his woollens in layers   sweaters coat and overcoat  a warm cap on his head  but he was still not warm enough and  shivering 

page 9

...crossing the threshold of childhood taimur made friends with several local lads , one common factor amongst them all was  that they all grew up together  riding horses  , familiar with every inch of samarqand  roads sideways fields  open grasslands  because  they strived to be the best  to be above all  more capable competitions were held to show their abilities  , bow and arrow was their main  expertise,  their favorite sport was  let's play war, these archers  were good hunters too ready to shoot down any flying bird with perfect accuracy,  after  hunting these boys had a special  follow up program  and that was to carry  their  trophy back to their imaginary fort of victory 

qatil maseeha

.... within seconds  Maya rani emerged from the next room  , her face was enraged,  her two  guards were escorting her ,Maya rani completely ignoring them stamped past  to reach the hall  it was called tamboora  by the natives,  they followed her  into  the  tamboora, , she approached a alligator and hit it  and screamed  fiercely  dolma dolma  Maya rani  s voice was resounding 

From one corner  rise the approaching sounds of footsteps,  chief  guard dolma  striding  had reached there in the tamboora hall , hearing the noise  several other men and women  crowded  in the assembly,  and then  the faces of Maura and others  apparently  the noise had  drawn them to that spot 

Maya rani looked at maira and others ,  her face  was  blazing  shiny 

What is happening asked innocently  Maira  it was certain  maira and rai were absolutely unaware of the latest developments  that  the secret was blown up

Maya rani  in broken hundi asked them who else could know what exactly was happening except them , her meaningful tone  startled both rai and  Maira  , some more armed female guards of dolma had surrounded  them 

page 8

....the young horse rider  came back to sit down in his  favorite place,  he was profusely sweating after hours of  horse riding  but he was still looking fresh and strong and nit drained out,  he stretched his arms  and relaxed  , his eyes were fixed on  the samarqand road   used specifically by the wealthy Iranian  merchants  and their caravans,  the sight of passing  caravans   was  most pleasing 

Amidst the Iranian  caravans  were women in face  covers  surrounded by guards , these  veiled women  appeared  more attractive  than the open faces of the local women,  , the Arab men were lean and also   traders , silk and carpets and other precious  things were carried  , sometimes  pale faced slaves were seen following them  in dust,  , besides these people  beggars  holding their bowls  aimlessly  roaming from town to town were also a common sight 

The masked women , the lean Arab traders,  the pale dusty slaves and the vagabond beggars   along with  the jews on mule backs  and frequently Hindu  businessmen robbed by  afghan highway robbers were seen  screaming 

 

aqidatmand

...Michigan,  1990 bell creek 

It was   spring season  Diana Newton  thirty four year old celebrity  rose at sunrise   freshened up to get ready before leaving for work, she was an established anchor  on two local television stations  WUHQ , she lived in a faraway  from the city life in a two storey farm house,  therefore sge had to wake up early to reach the television station on time for the morning show,  she was ready and looking for her briefcase,  at that moment her husband Brad  called her from the ground floor  kitchen  that breakfast was ready  , she was expecting her second,  , perhaps this was the reason she  was ravenous  frequently,  she cautiously  climbed down the stairs   to join ber firstborn daughter  two years old sitting at the breakfast table on her high chair waiting fir Diana,  tge family of three ate their breakfast,  then Diana kissed her daughter Molly on her forehead  and walked towards the door,  her husband forty three  usually  prepared them breakfast regularly  , be was assistant professor in criminal justice at Michigan University