the naked dark brown rocks shone in dazzling sunshine, sizzling and reflecting , the hot winds enveloped the helicopter in their inferno grip, as the helicopter entered the lands crossing the northern western territory of the neaighbouring counrty, there were just the two of them in it, the pilot and that dangerous looking man who it seemed had forgotten to blink
every time the narrator reads the newspaper specially the headlines of molestations he is remnded of his friend gulab din"s daughter sitara ,
who can make one feel guilty, who can punish who, it is not from without, it is within , he was guilty, of killing his daughter , who needed medical aid , he was on the run , ages had passed, for reporters he was just a feature, mezzie"s murder was a mystery, they were attractive stories but he wanted to cleanse his pained soul and he felt he could defeat his guilt
he was an old man on the run, hiding from someone, sometimes spent his nights in a shed for the destitute homeless, he could not be admitted in reform centers because he was not an addict nor a drunkard, he walks forty miles and the charitable old age home gave him all facilities to lead a decent life, he changes his name while the form was filled up so the police could not find him easily , if they traced him on computers
mezzie was dead, what mattered his death, he was an addict, as long as he lived no one bothered if he was alive , to the police he was noone, so after his death who was concerned? he thought and looked at clare
clare said if he was not ready to answer her querries she knew that he was an associate of the murdered mezzie, and she pulled out a fat handful of dollars from her pocket for his cooperation, but the old man knew very well that she was not of the same class , in his world everyone had a past nobody was asked of it, no personal questions were asked, but she could without his assistance also find out where the shed was , and get herself in danger if not killed, so accepting the money he walked her to the shed
he kept on roaming aimlessly , not stopping much in a any place, for fear of being recognized, again many hours had passed and again he was hungry,, the night descended and he would soon have to decide either to spend the night in the shedlike other destitutes or on a bench on the roadside, when the herald reporter waving a twenty dollar bill asked him to answer her questions or lead her to the shed, she was writing an article
then he stood in a queue to buy a meal for himself, he had enough coins in his pocket, all others around made faces because he smelled terrible, the cashier also returned him the change as if he was an untouchable, but he was on the run, there had been a murder , murder of mezie , he was the accused , the police was chasing him
and then it was proclaimed who ever faithfully worships his wishes shall be fulfilled, and whoever fears his fears shall be removed
he was fast asleep , it was early hours of night, he felt someone was holding his wrist, he opened his eyes slowly to see a policeman watching him intently and asking him if he was better now--he hated being addressed as an old man, he did not like being seen as an old man , oldie -- as if he was ancient, antique piece
smiling as she was about to leave she spoke in urdu , his native tongue, surprising him , on his asking she said his mother was from bangladesh married to a thai after the army men had abducted her from her village during the war when she was just sixteen and sold in calcutta, she gave birth to her and again was forced into the same profession, , urdu was her mother tongue, but in their profession speech was not important, religion, caste, class and nationality nothing counted nor mattered much
he was a wealthy merchant , whose father was a regular namazi and honest bread earner who thought what his son"s business was was actually a form of robbing clients, but business is meant to become rich, its not for charity, and very quick he had established his different business centers all over kerachi, islamabad, quetta, lahore and other cities
shehre turns around to see the blaze touching the skies, he climbed up a close by tree till an hour later when the crowds passed by in small groups he got down and walked up the lane leading to his cottage window
missing his close trusted associate khale who would give suggestions or sympathise or use all his skills to prove his empathy , shehre recalled what the madam had told him , to find out quickly where dil jeet had supplied the abducted girl, he had three main contacts, ,
on his repeated insisting he said they were blemished forever, unable to show their faces with dignity to the world again, because shera "s sister had eloped, the one who was their life, who was raised with so much love and affection,
zarina asked him what was troubling him, he hiding a letter in his inner pocket said visibly terrified a phone caller threatened him with his life, he would be killed soon
it was just four, not evening yet, but zahir had returned from office, he seemed very worried, he forgot to greet his children, straight he went to his bedroom where his wife zarina followed him , who was gossiping on the phone when he had entered the TV lounge , she was also very surprised , it was not his time to come home
on the same lands today also
the sands are scattered
ice is spread
untouched by human feet
for ages
unchanged seasons
unchanged air
even the waters
unaware boatmen splashing
unending skies
lost civilizations in the oblivion
disappearing without any sign
quietly the smoke screans
but all these remain distant as ever
the pathways from earth to sky
even if they meet at a point
wont be that wide apart as
the glance of his that saw me like a stranger
franco tells sally about steve edison --a former crime reporter turned fiction writer who analysed criminals like them and wrote factual stories revealing them, his strange writing behaviour was not to write at home in the comfort of his home but in a rented suit in a hotel where he collected data and stored them on his computer , he typed just one copy to produce his novel , franco wanted him to be removed along with his new book which was on franco
when discussing any landlord it is not necessary to mention how much ruthless he is, one alish taimur was such who lived in clouds and looked down upon the worldly mortal creatures as if they were crawly pests
