Namal (English Translation) By Nimra Ahmed

Chpt 10: Oh my friend in prison

"O my two companions in prison!

One day my time will come,and you will pay for what you've done. And you will see that I am far from being merciful. One day, I will haunt you like a specter. This is my promise, which you can't even imagine yet, but then you will wish that we had never met!

One day! Because I will never forget. And no one will hear you begging for mercy, because you have seen nothing yet.

So listen carefully.

One day, you will answer for your actions. Just wait and see.

And then you will know what happens after harming my family! One day, I will find you. I don't care how long it takes or what I have to do to achieve it.

Because I never break my promises!

(Poem "Revenge" from Petite Magique by Saadi Yusuf, five hours after Saadi's disappearance.)

This morning, the small garden was deserted. The sun's heat had scorched all the flowers. Inside, the loudest sound was Nadrat's crying in the lounge. She kept shaking her head, tears streaming down her face.

"We will find him. This is my promise to you," Faris was reassuring Nadrat, his hand on her shoulder. His eyes were red from lack of sleep, and his face was tired.

"Where will you search now? By now, he..." and she hid her face in her dupatta, crying loudly. Haneen, also pressing her shoulder, said, "Ami, calm yourself," and started crying again. Sameer sat on the carpet with his head in his knees. In front of him, his head bowed, silent tears fell.

"He will be fine, and he is being taken care of," Zumar said, sitting on the single sofa with an indifferent expression. Everyone looked at her. She was still lost in her silence.

"How do you know?" Abba asked, without raising his head, in a tearful voice.

"No bullet injury was fatal. If they wanted to kill him, they would have done it at the first shot or like they took him away, they would have killed him on the operation table. They need him alive, so they will take care of him."

"But who are these people? What has my brother done to anyone?" Haneen asked, crying helplessly.

Zumar shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I don't know," she said, then stood up. She picked up her purse, took out her belongings, and Haneen looked at her in surprise. "Where are you going?" Zumar did not answer, just put the strap on her shoulder and placed her phone in her bag. Faris looked at her,and said "I'm going to the police station.""Don't go."

"I'm going home." Without making eye contact, she turned to leave. Haneen's eyes filled with distress.

"Are you leaving us all in such pain,Bade Abba, Mom and me?" Zumar heard her voice from behind but kept moving forward. She rubbed her eyes roughly. "Fine, go. Whether our brother lives or dies, what difference does it make to you? You haven't had any connection with them for four years anyway."

"Haneen, at least don't argue at this time," she said with irritation. Jinnah only looked at her with a look of calm and turned away.

Zumar's steps were momentarily hesitant, but then she moved forward.

The dense gloom still wept, and tears continued to drip down the frail face of Bade Abba.