A/N

I would like to dedicate this chapter to all my supportive colleagues, the HAKEEMS of tomorrow!

Ameena Bi
Najia Nida
Ruksar Begum
Najma Fathina
Sadiya Ruman
Ayesha Nusrath Sultana
Asma Sultana
Umme Hani Naghma
Barirah Mariam
Ayesha Khatoon
Nusaddiya Salma

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Hakeem Hamid Ansari and his wife Seher were having a busy day. There were 10 boys in their matab* all with the same complaint.

Their hands and legs had rashes and blebs in localised places. The boys were complaining of severe itching and discomfort.

"What exactly where you doing?" Hakeem Hamid inquires.

"We were playing in the Shahi Jungle. Usman snatched Falah's gulail* and hit a bird with it. There was an argument as to who the bird belonged to. Usman's cousins sided with him and Falah's friends sided with him. This was followed by a huge fight in which there was punching, kicking and rolling over the jungle floor. Falah's side won and some boys were wounded. Suddenly Saabir screamed and pointed at his hand that had a bleb. Within minutes all the boys had a rash here and there. A pandemonium broke out and we all came running to you".

"What is your name?"

"Ahmed"

"Ahmed where you also with them?"

"Yes I was"

"I don't see any rashes on you"

"I don't know why. But even I did everything they did. Mine may start appearing any time now", he says scared.

"Seher calm down the boys and try to pacify them. I'll see what I can do", says Hamid.

A few boys were wailing loudly. The others were terrified.

"What do you think happened?", asks Seher coming to meet Hamid who was now mixing and pounding drugs after assuring the kids.

"I think these boys have touched a poisonous plant. Only parts that have come in contact with the plant have rashes. And one boy hasn't developed any symptoms yet. By evening if he still continues to remain healthy then he may have escaped touching the plant or is unaffected by it. Call Jamal".

Seher goes to call Jamal who was their eldest son in his late teens.

"Yes Father", says Jamal entering.

"Go and inform these boys parents about what has happened. Hurry! Take Ahmed with you, he can show you their houses but bring him back with you after you are done"

"Yes Father"

"Do you think they will be alright?", asks Seher.

"I have no idea. I have never come across this poisoning in my life. If it is mild it will resolve by itself but if its something fatal then it may even lead to death. We can just pray and observe"

"My son! My son! Where is he?" A troubled mother came running in.

One boy immediately covers his rashes in a blanket. She stands shocked at the sight of so many boys and not just her son. Finally spotting her son she runs to him. It is the same boy who had hidden his rashes as soon as his mother appeared. Clearly he was scared of letting his over reactive mother see his condition.

"Falah! Who did this you?" She screams.

The poor boy looks at his mother frightened.

"It... It was because of some plant Maa", he mumbles.

"A plant tore your pant? A plant gave you a bleeding cheek? You should know better than to fool your mother! Tell me his name!"

"What a fiery woman", mutters Seher to her husband who just shakes his head.

The poor boy looks at his Mother and then at Usman.

"I knew it was him! Why you little rat! How dare you hit my boy?" She advances towards Usman.

"Now... now... You need to calm yourself dear. Your son's rashes are the cause of worry here, not his torn pant", says Seher.

"What rashes? Where are the rashes?"

"Falah, let her have a look"

Falah reluctantly lifts the blanket.

"Allahu Akbar! What have you done to yourself? Haven't I told you a hundred times not to go into that cursed jungle? Why don't you listen to me? Allah has blessed me with only one son and this is how he looks after himself! How will I live if anything happens to you? You don't care for your mother! All you do is play all day! Don't I have enough to look after with a wedding coming up? You just add to my worries! What a heartless son I have!"

The poor boy trembles under her harsh words. His mother is in hysterics by now.

"She is more of a trouble than help. Her screaming is unnerving other children as well. Take her aside and calm her down Seher", says Hakeem Hamid.

"Here Ukhti, why don't you drink a glass of water and sit down while Hakeem Hamid takes care of them. Do not worry InshaAllah your son will be fine soon".

She literally has to pull the woman away and seats her in another room and gives her water to drink.

"Oh! What will I do? My daughter, Aaminah was betrothed yesterday. I have to arrange for a wedding by next week and now my son has fallen ill. How will I manage? What if he doesn't recover? What if something happens to him? What if the rash will spread? What if it will take away his life?" She gasps.

Seher didn't know whether to scold this woman for her idiocy or sympathize with her for her troubles.

"You are making baseless assumptions Ukhti. Stop worrying this way. Its of no use. You might fall ill yourself. Your daughter will get married with ease and your son will recover soon. Have hope".

Seher doesn't allow the woman to leave her place or create more drama.

Hakim Hamid applies the salve he has prepared on the rashes and blebs. He tries to relax the boys with his calm words for more than pain it was fear that was scaring them. The soothing effect of the salve and the satisfaction of being looked after calms them down.

One by one more parents turn up. Thankfully no one is as dramatic as Falah's mother. They all gather around Hakeem Hamid full of concern. He explains to them the situation at hand.

"Take your children home and apply the salve as and when required. It will decrease the itching and pain and give a soothing effect. But whether or not it will cure the rashes I cannot say. I will take Ahmed with me and inspect the part of Shahi Jungle where these boys were playing. Once I find the plant I'll work on its antidote. Let's hope the boys recover without it though"

A few parents ask more questions and Hakeem Hamid assures them as best as he can. Peace is restored after everyone leaves.

He prepares himself to go in search of the plant.
"Ahmed, take me to the place you played in the jungle".

It was the part of Jungle which was avoided due to rumours of ghosts and jinns. No one went in there and these naughty children curious as they were had ventured in without supervision. Curiosity sure makes you pay! No wonder Hakim Hamid had never come across the plant or its poisoning before.

"What made you enter this place? Don't you know it's evil?", he scolds Ahmed.

"It was Imad's idea. He wanted to know if Jinns really exist"

"It's best to leave the supernatural to them self. Curiosity is not always a good thing"

The place is eerie with dim sunlight though it was a bright day.

"This is where we were playing", says Ahmed pointing at an overgrowth.

Hakeem Hamid has a good look around. He makes Ahmed stand at one side and warns him not to touch anything. He himself is dressed in a protective overall and gloves. He probes around looking for a plant that he couldn't recognize as a normal weed or looked suspicious.

All he could see were normal plants that he usually saw during his Jungle visits. He looked at all the climbers that curled around the trunks, he pulled out some plants to make way. He could see where the children had trampled. Where was the poison that had caused the allergy?

He pulled apart a few tall weeds and there was the culprit! It was a patch of some new variety of weeds. It was trifoliate with 3 almond shaped* leaves. All of them were clumped together under the cover of bigger weeds barely visible from above. The children might have touched them while rolling over the bed.

He slowly pulled out a fair amount of weeds and collected them in a bag. He had a lot of work ahead! A complete research on the properties of the plant and it's treatment was needed. It might not be in time to help the present victims but might be of help in future. He still hoped the allergy to be minimal and resolve by itself with the help of tabiyat* itself.

There is a movement in the bushes and Ahmed jumps afraid.

"The jinns are here", he stammers.

"Shhh".

Hakeem Hamid places a finger on his lips. He slowly walks ahead with Ahmed right behind him holding to his elbow and trembling all over. There is a thick cluster of trees ahead and the only way to go through would be by crawling beneath the entangled branches.

A sudden noise like that of a branch falling shakes the forest. Ahmed screams. Hakeem Hamid holds him tightly in his arms.

"It's alright. You are safe Ahmed. No harm done. You are a brave boy aren't you?"

He nods.

"I have to find out what made that noise. It feels fishy around here and we had best be on our guard."

He crawls beneath the branches and steps on to the other side of the trees. He looks around. Nothing's amiss. It looks like every other part of the jungle except its darker here.

"Looks like it was nothing after all", he tells the scared Ahmed who was standing by him. They turn to leave and a glint catches Hakeem Hamid's eye.

He walks closer and finds huge a metal ring on the forest floor that had reflected light. It was attached to a wooden plank. A secret hideout! The noise was of this wooden plank banging on to the opening below. Maybe it was closed in a hurry. Maybe the person who did it was still watching them. A shiver went down his spine. His hands ached to open it but he couldn't take that risk in front of a child.

"Ahmed let's go"

All the way he could think of nothing but what he had seen. What was below that trapdoor? A hideout? A tunnel? Who was using it? Why?

It all made sense! He smacks his head for his foolishness. Whoever was using that place had spread rumours of jinns so that they get privacy! Jinns did exist no doubt. Here their existence was just used to create fear.
He remembered his father warning him not to enter this place while collecting herbs. He couldn't recall when the rumours had actually started but he was sure they weren't there during his grandfather's time. He had to go back and investigate and he needed a brave companion for that. He knew exactly whom he could call.... Hammad Khan!

"Ahmed beta*, you can go home now. Come to me if you develop any pain. Here is a sweet for you"

He nodded happily and ran away.

"Did you find the poisonous plant?", asks Seher.

He shows her the bag and places it on his work bench.

"Don't even touch it by mistake"

She nods and comes to have a closer look.

"It's so regular to look at. Who can believe it can cause so much damage?"

"Sometimes it's the ones who look innocent who cause more damage than the ones who look destructive".

"How will you find an antidote for it now?"

"I need to find out how poisonous it is first and which part of the plant is poisonous. An antidote is usually found near the poison itself. I'll go back and collect all the plants around this one and try them as antidotes first. Now I have something new to discuss with the Hakeem of Waraqi Sultanath". He rubs his hands in glee.

"What is his name?"

"Hakeem Afsar Sadiq"

"He hasn't replied to the previous letter yet. Has he?", asks Seher.

"It will come by tomorrow or day after. We can start Haleema's treatment soon after that"

He sits down on a chair and sighs.

"How excited Javed Bhai would have been had he been here. He loved researching on new plants. Contacting the Waraqi Sultanath and exploring the horizons of medicine was his dream"

"Allah is seeing your desire to meet him. He will make ways soon Habeebi*"

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FOOTNOTE

*Matab- clinics of those days
*Gulail- slingshot

*3 almond shaped leaves: refers to the modern day poison ivy.

For more info:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxicodendron_radicans

*Tabiyat- body's innate immunity
*Beta- loving term for a child
*Habeebi- my beloved

A/N

Assalamualaikum warahmathullahi wabarakatuh!

I hope you all are as excited reading the story as I am excited writing it!

The new cover page is designed by @Danlovebooks. Tell me what you guys think of it in the comments below.

Jazakumullahu khair @Danlovebooks for such a pretty cover page!

I really want to finish the story as soon as I can. Its time I gave my academics some seriousness.

Till then enjoy reading!

Love you all
Dr Mystic