I've Got My Eyes On You

Chapter 22 - Grieved 🥀

(Mature content ahead)

Meerab observed Murtasim's dishevelled appearance as he silently made his way to the edge of the bed. Concerned across her face, she approached him gently, standing in front of him.

"Murtasim?" she uttered softly, searching his eyes for answers. His gaze met hers, revealing a storm of emotions, and tears began to flow uncontrollably down his face.

"Kuch nahi hua, please akela chordo mujhe"

"What happened, Murtasim?" she asked with genuine concern, her voice a gentle melody. The heaviness in his breathing and the raw vulnerability in his eyes left Meerab both bewildered and empathetic. She had never seen him in such a state before. The room echoed with the weight of unspoken pain as Meerab waited for Murtasim to open up to share the burden that seemed to crush his soul. The silence lingered, broken only by the subtle sounds of his strained breathing and the echo of his unshed tears.

"Ap theek hain na??," she asked softly as she sat beside him.

He lifted his tear-streaked eyes to meet hers, and in that moment, he felt a profound sense of vulnerability. Her gentle reassurance, "You can share... biwi hun apki mein," resonated like a comforting melody, unravelling the emotional walls he had built over the years.

For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, Murtasim let himself be seen, truly seen, by another. The weight of the secrets he had carried was momentarily lifted as he began to share

"Maryam," his voice broke as a lone tear left his eye as he gestured towards the picture on the wall. It wasn't covered. He couldn't...

"Meri bari behn"

Meerab kept looking at him as if trying to process. He took a deep breath, his voice trembling with the weight of the painful memories he had buried for so long.

"Mein bohat pyar kerta tha appa se, lekin larta bohat tha unse," he began, his gaze fixed on a distant point as if reliving the torment, "woh kehti thin mein acha bhai hun, we had a good bond. Lekin mein acha bhai nahi ban saka.." his voice choked on the words, and a tear rolled down his cheek.

His hands trembled as he continued, recounting the haunting events. "One evening, she came home back in a miserable state, mujhse dekha bhi nhi jarha tha, chota tha na- toh us waqt samjh bhi nahi aya kuch... mein dekhta raha or sab hota gya or woh.." He couldn't bring himself to articulate the brutality, leaving the words hanging in the air.

"Murtasim...mujhe samjh nahi araha, what has happened?" She asked in a low voice, her hand rubbing his bicep.

"Aj meine us shaks ko dhund liya hai jisay mein pichle satra saal se dhundne ke liye roz mar rha tha, lekin dekho meri appa nahi hain.." he cried

"Unko kya hua tha?" She uttered slowly.

Murtasim's eyes, now filled with a mixture of pain and rage, met Meerab's compassionate gaze. "She liked a guy, and he molested her. Those people lied to my father about my sister being involved with someone else... mujhe " his voice broke, "mujhe aj bhi sunayi deti hain appa ki guzarishen..unki cheekh mere dimagh se jati hi nahi hain" he paused, the agony evident in his voice.

"Did she die when..." she couldn't complete the sentence

"I wish.. I wish she had died then... she wouldn't have to bear this pain through Baba..." he choked

Meerab's eyes widened, and she turned her head to look at his face. The only thing she could see were regret, pain, and guilt. No trace of The Murtasim Khan was to be found. There sat a brother who lost his sister due to their own father.