Soon more people started to arrive at the beach and it got crowded.

The sun was now blazing intensely and the heat became too much to bear.

We had enjoyed the beach enough for the time being.

Packing up our things in the beach bag , we slowly made our way up towards the road.

Walking a bit further, we found a halal restaurant and decided to order lunch from there.

While we waited for our food to arrive I observed our surroundings.

Two kids were running around the deck and the older one got angry as the other child refused to share his toy. The grumpy kid tried to kick the other boy while he was turned around. But as he tried to lift his leg, his plan backfired and he tumbled over falling down on his butt.

I couldn't help snorting. On the opposite side of the table, Hreedhan, who was drinking water, spit the water out of his mouth and started having a laughing seizure. Watching this , my chuckles intensified and I bent over clutching the side of my stomach.

Aleesha and Sehar had failed to notice the mishap and were confused as to why we were chuckling like madmen.

My cousin and I made eye contact and we went back to laughing while the girls looked on with expressions as if we had gone crazy.

As we walked away from the restaurant, Sehar showed me the pictures she had clicked today.

" I like the look of your future feed. " I complimented her photography skill while nudging her shoulders.

We came across a picture of me sitting on the sand with my head bent down , intently lost in the words of story writing . The blue ocean raged far and wide in the background and the cloudy sky seemed to meet the waters horizon.

I gasped lightly and stared at my friend with an open mouth. " Girl - this is my favorite picture now! "

Sehar just winked back at me ,
" You're most welcome. "

We didn't feel like walking all the way back to our bungalow so we waited by a side shop and Hreedhan went to call a cab. As we stood by the shop's corner, we could hear the news going on in the background TV.

" The recent downpour by the west coast has resulted in a flood. Thankfully no lives were lost but it's assumed numerous families have lost their homes. The government is trying to provide shelter until further notice-... "

The shopkeeper clicked his tongue and switched the TV to a different channel.

" News has it that a villager has posted a tik-tok video showing her golden goose which has apparently laid golden eggs. That's right folks, a shonar dim. The following video shows -..."

The old shopkeeper grunted and sighed loudly, " What rubbish ! " Before changing the channel once again.

I looked at my friends standing beside me and we silently chuckled.

" I bet the video was photoshopped or she painted the eggs golden. " Sehar remarked, shaking her head.

" People do anything to get attention nowadays. " Aleesha said , turning around to look at the TV properly.
" Oh, finally no golden goose nonsense. "

I turned back around to join what Aleesha was staring at.

The TV displayed the picture of an elderly business tycoon standing against the backdrop of a huge building.

The news reporter read out ,
" It has recently been revealed that the Pathaan family seems to be keeping secrets about the whereabouts of their family members.

Millionaire Mr.Illias Pathaan who has single handedly managed to grow such a huge empire in the past decade is now reportedly thinking about handing over the reign to his grandchildren.

While his only daughter Sareena Pathaan  manages the Pathaan Fashion industries all around the globe, her son Shehzaad Pathaan is set to soon start handling his grandfather's factories over the west side of the city.

Mr. Illias's youngest son Zahid Pathaan who remains unmarried till date , is currently managing all their industries across Singapore.

As we know, in an unfortunate turn of events 5 years back, Mr. Illias's eldest son , Ibaad Pathaan had passed away leaving behind his wife and two children. 

While the deceased Ibaad Pathaan's oldest daughter has stepped in her father's shoes and taken over the responsibility of her grandfather's business branch in Dubai , her younger brother is  rumored to be missing.

The last we had heard, Mr. Illias was set on handing over the branch in Qatar to his freshly graduated grandson, Iyaad Pathaan who at 24 years old had already proven his excellence in various fields.

But that's news from over a month ago. There's been no follow up updates and no sighteengs of the youngster ever since . While rumor has it that Iyaad might have been kidnapped by jealous opposition parties, others claim that the young boy has run away from home not being able to handle his grandfather's expectations which do seem quite pressurizing.

Insiders have rebuked all such rumors and claims that the soon to be owner of the Qatar branch of Pathaan Industries hasn't gone anywhere and is in fact safe and sound inside their residence, opting to stay away from the spotlight as he prepares to take on his grandfather's legacy.

It's still unclear how authentic the rumors are since no one from the Pathaan family has directly addressed this issue.

Their refusal to pass any comments about the rumors have been stirring up suspicion that some of the claims might be true after all. Is the young Pathaan really missing?
Keep following Channel 7 to get the updates. "

The report ends with a photo of the whole Pathaan family standing together inside a mansion.

The slide changes to a second photo which shows a picture of what's supposed to be the missing Pathaan grandson walking away from the paparazzi as bodyguards flank his sides.

He is wearing sunglasses and has his head bent low but his face is partly visible as he walks by in a white polo shirt.

The boy has messy black hair falling freely over his pale forehead and his lips are set straight in a firm line as if he wants to be anywhere but here.

The picture is removed after a few seconds as the reporter continues speaking about some murder case.

" Well that was intense. " Aleesha says with a raised brow .

" He definitely has the looks for the protagonist of a story " Sehar adds in a joking tone.

As I smile back at my friends , I silently agree with what Sehar said.

He sure looks the part of a wealthy heir to some rich industry.

☠️

Just 2-3 more chapters left untill a much awaited chat with our friendly neighbor