Possession

50. Fires & Guns

 

"Zahra" said Daniyal and Shoaib in unison. It was then she realised that the man who looked brutally beaten and was made to sit adjacent to Shoaib was the man who was once her everything, Daniyal .Sitting next to him was Asim, the man she hated with a burning Passion of thousand suns, who skillfully and strategically had destroyed her world , her Baba Jaan.

 

What a thunderclap?

 

Her mind was inundated with multiple questions.

 

Why are they here? Why did he bring her here? Irtaza knows now?

 

If not then she doesn't know how to face and tell him that she was betrayed by her beloved just like him. Her throat choked with emotions.

 

But before any dialogues could be exchanged Irtaza spoke up breaking her trance, "I've investigated deep into the matter about your father's death. As I gave you my word, I won't let your father homicide live in peace so here we are today. Your aunt's family, Daniyal itself, and Shoaib were the one who had puppetted that Asim in front your father. Your uncle Waqas has already gifted himself to death by tying a rope around his throat. The-"

 

"All of this is rubbish" Daniyal cut in in denying but regretted it the very moment when his gaze met Irtaza, whose jaw clenched at him, but he tried to ingnore it.

 

He surely hated someone cutting him in when his eyes fell on something which quite bothered him.

 

Her eyes stilled at Daniyal who was constantly struggling against the ropes whose face was adorned with red and blue marks. Clothes torn and hands tied with the arm of wooden chair.

 

"Zahra! he's lying! No! He's lying! He's trying to part us! Don't believe him Zahra!" Daniyal suddenly screamed as their eyes met.

 

Irtaza narrowed his eyes at him, which instantly made him shudder. He was petrified of Irtaza. Who won't after being constantly beaten up.

 

Daniyal had no idea since how long he was trapped in his captivity. He had lost the track of time. Surely he did. Almost after every 3 to 4 days, Irtaza would come, beat him to death and then give him some time to heal before repeating the whole process again. He would always untie Daniyal first, giving him a chance to fight but Daniyal would always lose it, ended up being battered. Those beatings were imprinted in his mind which would always make him shake whenever he heard his footsteps.

 

But right now was a 'do or die' situation. He didn't want Zahra to believe in whatever Irtaza was saying so he fought against his fear and continued his shouting as if it could make her believe that whatever he was saying is not the truth and struggled the ropes that tied him to the chair.

 

"Zahra, believe your Daniyal." He said, his voice sounding desperate. His eyes turning into that innocent puppy one.

 

"Trust me Zahra!" He said aloud, when he noticed that her eyes aren't breaking that wall of ice, they are aloof as she had believed Irtaza's words.

 

"Don't believe in him He' our enemy" he screamed, going insane, on seeing her remote, unresponsive and detached as he continued to lay emphasis on his words trying to make her believe that she was being fed with lies, but unaware to Daniyal, Zahra already knew everything. Every single thing. And she was gawking in bewilderment that how cunning a man could be?