"Saad sahib ek aadmi aaya hai bahar, kehraha h k aapke bhai ne bheja hai (Saad Sahib a man has come outside, he says your brother has sent him)" The gatekeeper said, Saad who was sipping his morning tea nodded, "Haan bhejo usse andar (Yes, send him inside)".

He picked up the morning newspaper with his functioning hand and started reading. Saad couldn't move for two weeks. He ordered proper bed rest. Ayesha showered him with love, took care of him, and cooked his favourite foods, but Saad was unhappy. He didn't realise he was neglecting Ayesha. Out of desperation, he even asked her to seek Seher, but she didn't come. His eyes would be on the door, waiting for her to come here by chance, but the only people who came to visit him were Razia and Ayesha.

"She hates me..."

He wanted to heal, get back on his feet, and get his power back. He felt weak, useless lying on the bed all day. He couldn't walk to the washroom on his own. He would get nightmares of his sister watching him through the window. He would find himself in the tower and her looking at him with a ghostly smile. The nightmares were following him everywhere. Her words echoed in his brain, and he realised it was Andalib's curse taking form. Seher hated him because of the curse, "Ayesha Maulvi Sahib ko bulana raat ko (Ayesha call the maulvi tonight)"

"Ji (yes)"

The baby was crying, his whining was causing him annoyance, "Ayesha isko lejao, kaan dard hogya din bhar cheekhta rehta hai ye (Ayesha take him away, his crying is causing me headache)".

Ayesha stopped in her tracks, his negligence she had ignored, him favouring Seher, missing her that too she ignored. But this one cut deep. For nine months, she had let the baby grow in her uterus, but for Saad, the baby was a source of headache. He didn't ask once to see him, his own blood, his son, Saad didn't want to see his son. And it hurt. It hurt so badly, he had asked her to look for Seher, to give him reports of her but never Musa. Did he even know his name?

She was his wife, the mother to his kid. But he was after the woman who hated him, who wanted to curse him. Her hands trembled as she held in the tears, picking up Musa she kissed his forehead, looking at his innocent grey eyes, she could see Saad in him, but Saad didn't wanted to see him. Picking up his toys and blanket, she walked out of the room.

A man entered the haveli looking around the extravagant castle, and he saw a lake ahead, large gardens that went on for miles ahead. He saw the beautiful water fountain similar to the one he saw in Sajjad's house. The extravagance was similar. They were brothers, after all.

A gentle breeze hit his face, and he heard parrots in the distance, the sound of a peacock, it was going to rain, he could tell.

His boots made a sound as he walked, the guards were eyeing him, and he remained aware of his surroundings yet lost in its beauty. He heard a beautiful melody, someone singing and he stopped, it was an angelic voice filled with grief. Someone had hurt them, and he could feel her pain through her voice.

She was sitting in the garden, and he walked away, not to disturb the woman. But the melody passed onto his lips, and he couldn't help but sing it himself. He walked up the stairs and was directed into a room.

The man looked up, and grey eyes met brown. One intimidating and the other curious. He was definitely a man of authority. Although his aura was nothing compared to the general, he looked like a man in power.

"Are you Saad Nawab Khan?"

"Yes."

The man with bright brown eyes walked a little closer, "the chief minister of Punjab sent me here. He gave me a task to escort you and his family safely to Pakistan."

Saad smiled, there was relief on his phase, "We will start travelling after a month", he was in no state to travel, his entire body was gauzed up like a mummy except his face.

The man walked closer, smiling in return, letting his dimples appear, "I hope we can be friends in this one month."

Saad offered him a seat, he was lonely, he needed company. If this was before,he would have kicked out this stranger, but Saad was bored.

"Can I have your name?"

"Saahil"

They shook each other's hands, for Saahil- Saad was a mission, and for Saad- he was a source of entertainment, a friend. They had no idea this would mark the beginning of a war.

_____

The walls, the windows, the photos everything terrified her, her eyes were on the door constantly, she was scared that he would walk in suddenly and attack her. She would wake up sweating, hyperventilating in the middle of the night, her eyes going to the door and to the corners of her room, to check whether he loomed somewhere.

The words she read in his diary, she could hear it out loud and clear.

Every scream, every tear was music to my ears, proof of my authority over her fragile existence. I revelled in her pain in her submission to my will.

More than his actions, the words impacted her. He had abused her for a long time, but those words, she imagined how he wrote them. Did he write them when she was bleeding out on the bedroom floor or suffering in the hospital? Did he write this after he pulled her into his dirty water? Did he write this after he had scarred her on the wedding night?

She wanted to know when he wrote it, the thought disgusted her, the words were borderline psychotic, Saad was a sadist. He revelled in other's pain. He loved to see others suffer. That's what she knew.

Her time was running out. He would recover soon, and she would no longer be able to hide. He would punish her again, beat her, slap her, punch her again, and make her submit for refusing to meet him. He didn't like her strong will. He wanted to break her and destroy her. That's what he would do again.

I wish he never recovered...

I wish I could escape from here...

Escaping was out of question, but dying was not. She could die. Sometimes, she wished he had killed her that night. Why did she survive?

Her eyes went to the ceiling above, and she looked up. Her younger self was lonely. She had lost her sister and couldn't move on. Her mother used to say, 'Allah listens to kids'. Now she sat over, a girl who hadn't prayed for years suddenly raised her hands, her hands shook as she said her next words.

"Ya Allah, mujhpar rahem kar. Mein tanha ho chuki hoon, bebass, tere hi saamne haath phela sakti aur tujhise maang sakti hu, Ya Allah mera sukoon lauta de.. ya phir mujhe apne paas bulale (O Allah, have mercy on me. I am alone, helpless, I can only reach out to You, and ask of You. O Allah, restore my peace... or call me unto You). "

___

It was late in the night when she heard some voices, someone was walking, marching outside her room. Her sleepy state disappeared as she placed her ears on the door and asked, "Kon hai?"

There was no reply. The footsteps continued, but it couldn't be Saad, as both of his legs were sprained. It couldn't be the gatekeepers. Was it an intruder? Did they come to rob the castle?

She was in Saad's room where all the papers were kept. She would be the robber's first victim, but it looked like they hadn't yet figured out which room they had to rob. This was her chance to escape from this hell. She picked up a lantern and opened the door. Her footsteps measured, and she was facing her fears finally, "Jo bhi hai aaj zinda nahi bachega mere haathon (Whoever it's will not survive today)."

She walked out of the wing and towards the garden. It was midnight. What if it was a jinn? She started reciting rukya shariah and realised this was stupidity from her part. What if the thief tortured her?

What if it was an actual ghost? Didn't Ayesha tell her the castle was haunted... she started walking backwards in a hurry, not running, or making sounds so as to attract the ghost. But as she was running, she collided with someone.The force made her fall backwards, but she steadied herself. She didn't open her eyes in fear, her fists by her side, "Allahu la illaaha illah hu al hayyum kayyum..."

She hadn't opened her eyes when she did, she screamed in fright. It was a ghost. She almost fell over when he caught her wrist and stabilised her. His eyes were wide too, as he processed, their hands touched, and both of them realised that they were alive.

She stood there, unable to process the range of emotions that went through her, "You are alive?" She asked, looking at his face, her lips curved up in a smile as her hand saluted him. She didn't realise there were tears in her eyes, she didn't realise he was talking to her, she didn't realise it had started raining as she stood there and looked into his stormy eyes filled with so much depth.

She remained standing there like a statue looking at him like a ghost, the shock was gone, "That was my friend's grave, I found the letter and went to your house, but your father told me you passed away".

"Why would he - oh?" Then it snapped in her head. Her father was still protecting his fragile image in front of the village.

"How did you know I lived here?" She asked, confused. Her eyes didn't move away from his face as he talked. She still couldn't believe he was real.

"I didn't know, I came here to return a favour," he said, his eyes taking a faraway look.

As the rain intensified, its rhythmic patter, the man's gaze softened, his features etched with a mixture of sympathy and determination.

"Long story...," he confessed, his voice laced with a hint of nostalgia. "It was a twist of fate, perhaps."

For a moment, they stood in silence, enveloped by the gentle embrace of the rain. Each drop seemed to carry with it a whisper of hope, a promise of redemption in the face of adversity.

As he stood before her, she felt a surge of emotions wash over her like waves crashing against the shores of her heart.

Her hazel eyes were lost in his brown ones. They stood there uncaring of the rain, uncaring of the storm brewing inside and outside. She couldn't look away. It was a fear that he would disappear. Saahil looked into her eyes and found his reflection. There was vulnerability in her eyes and endless questions.

The water dripped down her forehead and collected on her eyes, her clothes were wet, their clothes were wet but maybe it was their hearts yearning, day and night the two prisoners lived their lives with dream, one lived in a golden cage and other in the dungeons of ministers house, the jails of Multan. When their eyes would close, the face that would appear behind those closed lids would be of each other.

Now their eyes wide open and the two stood infront of each other.

"Seher?"

Razia stood at the second floor, looking at the two of them, with confusion and a look of horror. She had a lantern in her hand.

Seher realised how close they stood,his proximity didn't make her uncomfortable, nor did it disgust her. They didn't touch, but somehow were inches apart, their eyes talking, their hearts beating, and a happiness blooming in their hearts. They found a purpose to live, yet again, Saahil finally found a life out of his army camps, and Seher outside of her golden cage.

She left when she heard Razia shout again. She saw a look of urgency in her eyes. Seher sat at her window as Razia lectured her, passing her a towel. She placed it on her head and closed her eyes, she saw his smile again. There were butterflies in her stomach, her imaginative mind playing several song tracks as she picked up the towel and danced with it.

"Razia switch on the radio," this was the first time Razia saw Seher smiling. Her smile was jolly, and one of her canines peeked out, giving it a childlike innocence. She looked like a young woman. All the sadness had aged her, but now she seemed like a completely different person. Her face bright, her eyes shining and her smile breathtaking. She seemed even more ethereal than she normally was.

Aapki Aankhon mai kuch Mahke hue se raaz hai... Aapse bhi khoobsurat aapke andaaz hai

Razia, who was about to scold her, stopped, Seher had a lovely voice. She let her sing. Her voice was a treat to her ears. Looking at Seher, Razia wondered how could Saad marry the second time when he had such a perfect wife?

She was acting like a child. Dancing like a child, laughing like one, and Razia was happy to see her like this. She brought out a ten rupees note from the knot on her dupatta, "Allah meri bacchi ko nazar na lagey, khuda roz baarish ho takey roz Seher hassey (May Allah protect my child, may God let it rain every day so Seher laughs every day)".

Seher giggled and held Razia's hand, "Baarish ki wajeh se khush nhi hu mai, usse dekh kar khush huyi (I'm not happy because of the rain, I'm happy because of him)".

There was no shame when she uttered those words. There was a bubbly excitement as she looked outside and saw him standing there in the rain. Her lantern was in his hand, and she saw that dimpled smile.

"Besharmo ki tarah dekh rahey they aap dono ek dusre ko (You both were looking at each other shamelessly)", Razia's tone was off, she didn't like where this was going, if Saad heard even the gist of it he might bury all of them alive.

"Aapki aankhein aise dekh rahi thi uss admi ko jaise koi motza dekh liya ho, Saad sahab ko pata chala toh- (You were looking at him as if you've found a treasure, if Saad sir finds out)".

"Maar dega? Maarde mujhe. Aur qabr pe mera gunnah likhde, mohabbat (He'll kill me? Let him. And write my sin on my grave, love)".

Razia gasped, "Mohabbat? Allah maaf karey, Madam ye gunnah hai (Love? May Allah forgive us, Madam, this is a sin)", Razia picked up her prayer beats, her anxiety making her movements clumpsy.

"Ye Gunnah mai karna chahti hu, agar jaan se gayi toh apni wajeh se jaongi" (I want to commit this sin, if I die because of it, I'll go because of my own doing).

She was looking outside, "Razia maine uske aankhon m bhi pyaar dekha apne liye (Razia, I saw love in his eyes for me too)".

"Ya Allah is ghar m qayamat aaney waali hai (Oh Allah, there's going to be a disaster in this house)".