He ran blindly in the night not thinking twice about what he had done! Scared as hell he was but deep-rooted inside that the deed he had just performed was righteous. Never before had he thought about raising his voice before his father, Hari Singh; a man so mighty that even the elders of the village bowed their eyes before him. Respect was the only relation he had with his father but today he had done the unthinkable yet his anger patted him for his bravery.
He had changed since she had gone, nothing had remained the same as before. Days were passing by and people forgot about the terrible night when a woman had died of an unknown cause. But for him it was a treachery, a theft, a robbery of his concord and soul. Nothing was relevant, the air around his home, the lofty smell in his clothes was gone, and the food was tasteless. His pillow and his bed bunk were somehow alien to him in just a couple of days. The
only worthy being in his life, his mother was taken away and there was nothing he could do about it. It was impossible to absorb the fact that his mother was not anymore.
He ran through the market, wiping his tears with the back of his hand, ashamed that if anybody saw him they would start to shower their pity and commiserate him but in truth they would be laughing at him not because he was almost a grown man weeping like a toddler but because he was Rajveer, the son of Sardar Sahib weeping like a toddler.
His legs carried him to the gigantic mango tree beside the dry well. What familiarity he felt almost like home, a place where he had spent the long days of summer hiding from the scorching sun eating the sour unripe mangoes with his partner in crime, Jamshed. Accustomed to the old tree he climbed up to the cradled branch, unable to fit properly in his old designated place; he settled to sit with his back leaning to the trunk. Clearing his face with the lap of his kameez, his eyes saw the weirdest things ever. The long forgotten haunted haweli had been let at last. In his early days of his childhood, he and Jamshed use to bet other kids around the village to go and touch the last stairs to the second floor, both of them would climb up the mango tree and scare the daring kid by making weird noises and throw stones at him. This past memory brought a flickering smile to his face. An illumination in the window above him caught his attention and he climbed up high to inquire. To his utter surprise he saw that same alluring girl in the black veil, today she was engulfed in white drape. Enchanting as it was he stared at the meditating being and the world around him started to feel different yet miraculous. It was she who as in namaz but it looked like his dua was being accepted.
Mesmerized by either the faith or the girl, Rajveer had found an alternate to the commotions in his life. Early in the morning he used to wake up just to stalk her in the way to the girls' school, hiding through the bushes, he had injured his feet once or twice. His frequent visits to Jamshed house hadn't raised a suspicious eye on him yet but he couldn't stop himself to see that mystery girl learning Quran from Jamshed's Ami. His evening would pass on the gigantic tree watching the girl in white, praying to her GOD. He had seen Jamshed praying before but there was some captivating spirit around her prayer that made him believe in one GOD. She would raise her beautifully craved hands in dua and he too would imitate her. Even though he believed in Guru with all his heart but at the moment he wanted ALLAH to bless him. Sucked up in a trance he would walk home through the sleeping settlement. His aunt used to yell at him for not eating the dinner but how would he explain to her that his appetite was now grown to a hunger of love. The same pillow and a rough bed was now a mercy for him because in his eyelids he carried the image of the praying girl in white.
