Bekaraan [Limitless]

07 Chai

"A cup of tea is a cup of peace."

-Ken Coehn

She sat down with a hot cup of tea in her hands and looked at the dark canvas of sky from her balcony. The road was vacant, not a single person in sight as it was almost midnight. Everything was quiet and peaceful as it calmed the chaos raging inside her. Taking a sip from her cup, she retrieved her phone from the side table and dialed Hamail's number.

One. Two. Three. But the call wasn't picked each time. The just calmed chaos again swirled inside her, dreading the unknown. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't noticed a shift in Hamail's behavior ever since that fateful night. He had been edgy after the entire showdown, but she shrugged it off considering it was just his brotherly instinct having a hard time making peace with his sister trying to elope, that too, with someone who he had practically grown up with them. Being Aslam's advisor's son, Bilal and his visits to the Haveli were frequent. He had a good camaraderie with Hamail, and while Hamail knew he had a good rapport with Mahrukh as well, he never knew they had something entirely else going on between them considering friendships with opposite gender were prohibited in their house.

So Mahrukh absolutely understood if he was having a hard time settling with this fact. But it was also true that his care for his Aapi hadn't dwindled even one bit. He was still there for her like he'd always be. She'd been wanting to talk to him about it, but didn't have enough strength to do so because it doesn't matter how close a girl is with her brother, some things are just too hard to talk about with them-especially something like this.

She hadn't forgotten how he was absent from the wedding for a great chunk of time. She would've asked him, but then Anastasia distracted her and her entire attention diverted towards her. It had slipped out of her mind afterward, but then their last call when he sounded agitated, and now when he wasn't even picking it up, it all but rang alarm bells in her ears.

She took a deep breath as moisture gathered in her eyes. She could face anyone's hate. Heck, she wouldn't even care about it. But if there was one person whose even slight dislikeness towards her let alone hate, she couldn't face, it was Hamail.

******

The midnight sky was moonless. The darkness shrouding the Haveli obscured the man who sneaked out through the back exit. Throwing cautious looks around to make sure no one was around the vicinity, he quietly shut the door and took a surreptitious right, finally reaching the store room that had been abandoned for God knows how many years. Turning the key into the lock, he unlocked it and stepped inside. He reached inside his pocket to retrieve his phone but found it empty. He must've left it in his room in a jiffy. He hovered his hand over the place he knew the torch would be and on finding it, turned it on. However, as the yellow light illuminated the premises, his eyes dilated to full extent.

The thick strong ropes were strewn across the floor while the chair stood below the broken window.

"Shit!" Hamail cursed sharply as he ran a restless hand through the mess of his hair.

This was exactly what he was dreading the moment Aslam sent him out of town for some work, and right he was. Because taking advantage of his absence, the captive had run away.

******

Screams. Endless, relentless, bone-shattering screams thrashed against her ears. She stirred restlessly in her sleep, her throat parched and closing in on her. She gagged and clenched her hands into fists so tight that her nails brutally dug into her palms.

"Whore."

One word but the impact it had on her was massive. It hadn't left her since the God forsaken night it was hurled towards her. It was never going to leave her-- like a scar jagged deep into skin, too stubborn to go away. That's what the venomous word had done to her soul. It had ripped it open and punctured it so excruciatingly that she didn't know if it'd ever be healed.