Raaz ( Mystery)

Chapter 9

Asher :
15th April 2023
9 : 30 Am

Asher was having breakfast when his eyes landed on the calligraphy hanging at the wall in his living room. It instantly reminded him of it's originator. His apartment was filled with her paintings.
It took him down the memory lane.

"Ap itni subha yeh Kya kar rahi hain ?" ( What are you doing so early in the morning?)

"Assalamualaikum uth gayay Asher" ( Hey you woke up) She smiled her most beautiful smile with a serene expression on her face.
"I'm completing this painting."

"Walaikum assalam It's 5 Am and you're still working on this. Why are you compromising your sleep for this painting? You can complete this later."

She acted like she didn't hear any of his remarks and said "Do you know the meaning of Al Basit?"

"It is one of the 99 names of ALLAH."

"Yes it is but do you know it's meaning?"

"No".

Her hand that was moving on the canvas stopped for a second without looking back at him she said. " The extender".

"What ?" He asked in confusion.

"Al Basit means the extender, the enlarger the one who amplifies all abundance. The one who's generous. Isn't it beautiful how generous our Rab is that he can forgive us for the things we can't even forgive ourselves for."

And he says " Even if your sins reached up the cloud in the sky , I would forgive you." She said with a tranquil smile on her face the one that appeared whenever she talked about her Rab.

He just looked at her face spell bounded by the Noor ( light) on it. And then he finally spoke "How are you so steadfast in faith ? How are you so lost in his love ?"

A soft chuckle left her mouth at his statement. "Rab ki muhabbat Mai mit kar hi Tou khud ko paya hai Mai ny" ( I've found my true self after loosing myself in the depth of ALLAH'S love).

He didn't know what to say. She always left him dumbstruck by the depth of her words. He looked up to her but everything she said always went straight over his head. She was very timid and shy but whenever she spoke her words would leave a long lasting affect on the hearers.

The sound of his phone brought him back from the memory lane. He grabbed his phone from the table. It was Anastasia's call. He answered the call immediately.

"Sir we've found something regarding the case kindly show up at the headquarters it's urgent."

"I'm on the way." After hanging up he left the house for the headquarters.

When he went inside the headquarter. Fyodor showed him what they found when they tracked Mehmood Zaidi's phone. The last signal was found in Novosibirsk pervomayskiy. They immediately informed the authorities to send the search team.

"Call her. " He said.

"Who ?" Anastasia asked.

"Call his daughter Mihrimah."

Anastasia called Mihrimah to the
headquarters.

Asher went inside his office and closed the door.

Thirty minutes later Mihrimah entered his office.

"Assalamualaikum you wanted to see me ?" It looked like she just came straight out of bed. She was wearing a black abaya with a black headscarf and her eyes were puffy.

"Walaikum assalam , Have a seat." He said pointing at the chair Infront of his desk.

She looked at his hand surprised for a second but then she sat on the chair.

" Have you found any information regarding the case ?"

" I want you to know that it's not as simple as it looks. This case is more serious than any of us can imagine."

"What do you mean ?" Her expression changed suddenly she looked anxious.

" I think this is a kidnapping case Miss Zaidi."

"No this is not true baba can't be kidnapped. He didn't have any enemies. Who would kidnap him ?"

"We can't assume anything yet."

He saw her fingers trembling. It looked like she was about to have an anxiety attack.

"Please stay calm Miss Zaidi." There was empathy and softness in his voice. For the first time in three years he was able to empathize with someone.

It looked like she was fighting her tears back. He offered her water which she instantly took from his hand.

After composing herself. She asked "Is he alive ?" Those words felt like a sword piercing his heart into a million pieces.

He couldn't say anything for a moment. "We'll bring him back to you." He didn't know if he was comforting her or himself. Even though he had called to inform her to be prepared for anything but after seeing her anxiousness he couldn't stop himself from comforting her.

She looked at him with an inexplicable numb expression.

" We've tracked his phone the last signal is from Novosibirsk pervomayskiy. The authorities have sent the search team to look for him. "

She nodded and left the office without saying anything.

After she left he couldn't think of anything else but Raha. Her lifeless body and the blood pool around it flashed Infront of his eyes until he found himself struggling to breathe.

She always showed up in situations like these. He always remembered her.

"Why did he feel so low when he saw her getting upset ? Why did he try to comfort her ? Why was he empathizing with her?"
He couldn't stop asking himself.

He went inside the restroom washed his face , took deep breaths and came back inside the office pretending that nothing had happened.

Author's note :
Assalamualaikum I hope y'all are doing well. What do you think? Who is Raha ? Is Mihrimah's father alive ? Will Asher be able to bring her Father back ? Is Asher developing feelings for her ?