Fizah

ماضی|Maazi

"Tum raah mein chup chaap khare toh gaye ho
Kis kis ko bataoge, ke ghar kyun nahi jaate?"

Zahid was in his office with Arham and Ehan, two of them staring at the stay orders lying on the desk like it was something that needed to be looked at. Ehan was as usual irritated to have found they had just given a week's time to prove the company's innocence. It could have been easier if it was between two companies but it was a corporate company against the government. To state the truth, the government was lame to shove its scam back at Adnan enterprises, they agreed to work with him after knowing what kind of person Zahid really was and that he would raise hell to get what he desired. He was a politician's son after all.

The stillness was intense and intolerable, the dampness of the air settled heavily in their minds. However, Zahid swiveled lazily in his chair, refusing to look at the papers. His face faced the couch, his mind wandered back to the times the company had meetings with the officials in order to see if he could come up with a point that could bring them out of the scandal.

"A week time meaning hearing is on eid?" Ehan recovered and questioned no one in particular. The lad was the one amongst the three to ever get excited about religious gatherings and prayers and hearing on that day meaning he would have to leave all of it to stand with his friend.

"Unfortunately, yes." Zahid replied back with an acknowledging nod. He got up from his seat and sat on the corner of the table playing with the paper weight.

"I know what you are thinking-"

"I'm thinking nothing. Forget I asked that, I'm not leaving you alone even though you found me useless quite a few times." He reprimanded as he kept looking at the papers as if the given days would extend by itself by doing so.

"When they approached, they told us that they had worked with few other companies, right?" Zahid asked Arham with a new found resistance glowing in his eyes. Arham understood the glint in Zahid's eyes and his lips lifted in a smirk, looking at where his friend's thought had reached.

"But at the very same time I don't think they will be willing to help us." His intriguing eyes still stayed at the paper weight. He passed a bunch of papers to Arham, he seemed confused as Arham took it from Zahid and flipped the papers.

Zahid collected information of the companies the officials had previously worked with and according to some of many reports there was no such thing found except for the quality of the fabric used, it was third grade fabric and might as well be a cause for the skin problems if the students wore it in high temperature and another report said they supposedly sent only half of the production to the destinations keeping the rest with themselves. It was not new for the officials to make fake reports to produce to higher officials and they had been doing this religiously for almost half a decade.

"So you mean to say-" Arham grinned widely at Zahid who sported an annoyed look. He was annoyed and enraged to have known that the other companies kept quiet and continued to be like the leeches they were to live on people's hard work and money.

"That's right, they have played with other companies too and they have silenced them by showing their so-called superior power, but if we convince them to come out to the public, we will be saved but the real question is, will they be ready to do it yet?"

The silence stretched the question when the three friends were found looking at each other in complete involvement. Zahid's patience hung on a thin thread, perhaps it was not a very good choice of being able to render hand in help, it caused him further suffering from the opponent and the total pressure from the public, eid fell in a week and they had stocked new items to be launched. The small drops of rain rammed the window door, seeking permission to intrude. The weather had become so unpredictable just like the residents of the city. The floss of dark clouds glided through the pale sky and the local people were not at all daunted by the sudden change like it was expected.