Ittefaq Say (MeeraSim FF)

28 - Masakali

A sharp knocked reverberated through the room, and Naurez peaked in. ''Murtasim, masroof ho?'' he asked, not wanting to interrupt. (Murtasim, are you busy?)

Murtasim should have caught onto the twang of apprehension in his voice, but he was too engaged in battling his lies to notice. So he asked, ''Koyi zaroori baat hai?'' His voice deep and serious. (Is it something urgent?)

Naurez nodded resoloutley as he stepped inside, readying himself to unleash the truth. When he neared, they saw the curled newspaper in his grip. Naurez dropped it onto the table infront of them - beckoning them to read. It slid and landed in view, and on the front page was Meerab's image in black and white, for a missing person's notice. Beneath her image was the writing, 'Meerab Waqas Ahmed.'

All of Maa Saab's contention was solved, and now they all knew that she was not an orphan. She read the lines which promised her curiosity relief. ''Meerab Waqas Ahmed, supreme court judge, Waqas Ahmed, ke beti, aik mahine se ghum hai. Aakhri baar dekhege the uske Islamabad ghar me, E-7 Islamabad.'' Her voice was almost shaky from the mind shattering discovery, waves of doubt, disbelief and shock flittering through her mind. (Meerab Waqas Ahmed, Supreme Court Judge, Waqas Ahmed's daughter, has been missing for 1 month. She was last seen in their home in E-7 Islamabad.)

''Maa Saab, main batane he lagga tha,'' Murtasim blurred, realising the soft-launch had gotten out of hand, rather thrown into the deep end on the truth. (Maa Saab, I was just about to tell you.)

Her wide eyes darted upwards to her son in concern and asked, ''Aik judge ke beti hai? Ye khandaan ke baare baat kar rahe the Murtasim? Yateem nahi hai?'' The questions flew out her mouth like an interrogation, fierce and unforgiving. She battled the façade of lies that once made Meerab seem innocent. (She's a judges daughter. Is this the family you were talking about? She's not an orphan?)

The questions hung heavy in the air, demanding to be attended to, thickening the atmosphere with suspense. Maa Begum's hands grasped onto the paper tightly, creasing under her hold, needing to feel the paper to affirm the reality of the news. She seethed reading over the words again and again.

Naurez stood froze, not realising the scale of fuel he had added to an already heavy conversation. He didn't want to 'out' the girl, but it was his duty to Khan to make the facts know - but which were obviously already to known to Murtasim. ''Main bas ghar ke raaste pe tha jab dukaan pe rukha aur paper nazar aaya,'' he informed almost embarrassed for getting caught up in their conversation. (I was on the way home when I stopped at the shop and saw the news paper.)

''Shukria Naurez bete. Par ab jau, maine Murtasim se zaroorti baat karne hai,'' she ordered with her gaze locked onto the paper and Naurez complied - his job as the messenger was compelete, so he left. (Thank's son Naurez. But go now as I need to speak urgently with Murtasim.)

There was a shadow of guilt cast over Murtasim's face as Naurez lifted the veil of secrecy. In a single move, he shook the entire structure of Meerab's false identity which Murtasim had carefully created, skirting around the unpalatable parts. ''Jee Maa Saab. Iska baba aik judge hai. Uske khandan bhe humse barabar hia. Masale sunne aur faisala lena uska koon hai. Fir aap bataein, achi Khaani nahi baneygi?' (Yes Maa Saab. Her father is a judge. Her family is equal to ours in status. Listening and deciding on issues is in her blood, so tell me, wont she be a good Khaani?)

Maa Saab's hands raised to her forehead which felt restricted and tense, feeling like she had been toyed with, as reality dawned upon her painfully. ''Yateem nahi hai? Yeh itna barra jhoot hai!'' She questioned in a harsher tone, the octave of her voice raising at the apparent betrayal of her son. (She's not an orphan? This is such a big lie.)

''Meerab ne mujsey koy jhoot nahi bhole, sab kuch sach sach batadiya tha train aur dargah mei. Woh yateem hone ka jhoot mera tha, aur usne sirf bhola kyun ke woh majboor the,'' he spluttered in Meerab's defence. He wase'nt hiding, realising that the fault was equally his. (Meerab didn't lie to me, she told me the truth about everything in the train and at the shrine. The lie about her being an orphan was mine, and she only spoke it because she was forced/weak.)