Beintehaa Ishq

Qaid

Chapter 43

Qaid...

As the oil lamp flickered almost awaiting its final breath ...she came closer to look at him ..he had turned once and then turned his back on them again ...since the darkness of the cellar was taxing on her eyes, she realized he had not seen her ...

As Baban confidently boasted ...reaffirming his bossy attitude ...

Aree Maharaj utho...khana nahi kahoge ...pushing the steel plate with leftovers towards him ...Baban crooned ...

And the small body that was sitting on the floor showed some signs of life...Aaliya couldn't make out anything ...the oil lamp was bright only to see someone close to it and Zain was sitting quiet far ...

As he sat up ...his back towards them still ... touching the plate she saw him trying to see what the plate had ...groping in the dingy light, he picked up a small bite.

The moment his jaws started moving ...Aaliyas emotion were trickling now...he looked so lost ...and hurt ..her heart wrenched to see him as he picked up two more bites and then kept the rest of the food aside...almost pushing the plate towards Baban ...who was still admiring Bijli ...

Maharaj ...bahut aaram ho gaya ...bawlo kari se mane ...chal uth ...jewadi (rope) de ...as he pointed towards the jute rope thrown next to the plate of food...

Zain slowly got up ...and Aaliya heard a screeching noise of chains ...as she looked down with shock ...the center of cellar had a rusted iron pole ...and one end of those chains was locked on it ...the other end as Aaliya looked painfully hugged a bare sore ankel...padlocked with a steel lock...they had chained his legs ...a thick rusty one ...

She just pinched herself ...and put a hand over her mouth to shuffle the scream ...how could they ...how dare they ...she couldn't bare the site ...her heart wrenched to see him like this.

His every movement broke the silence of the black cellar...those rustling iron clad voices of his imprisoned legs had started haunting her, mocking her helplessness...

As he slowly picked the rope and kept it in one hand ...as Baban ...went inside closer to him now...the pain of seeing him captivated ..ripped Aaliya ...her eyes ...never left those chains ...the wound still sore where the rusted iron had nibbled on his once soft skin ...Her hand held over her mouth to control her shriek ...the twitching heart ...gasping for breath now

As he still starred towards the moss covered grey walls ...blankly ...put his hands on his back ...she saw he was still wearing the pathani kurta ...the dark green one that she had last seen him in ...albeit with almost no cloth at the back...it was torn at several places ...and all she could see were red marks of beatings...her heart was sinking every moment ...it was the most crude site ...she just wanted to wake herself up from this nightmare ...

As Baban grasped the jute rope and tied his hands ...Aaliya moved her hands on the gun ...she had to end his ordeal...she couldn't bare to see him ...as Babans every twist and twirl around his wrist ...tweaked her heartbeats ...the tears and her silent moans were gradually about to become audible...

it was in a fraction of second that she closed her eyes ...she would have to wait till she gets the signal ...not react ...or all his accomplice would rush down and kill them ...

She stepped back ...her nails now digging in her wrist ...to feel his pain ...

He laughed surprising Aaliya ....Yeh haath bandne se kya hoga ...agar khule rakhoge toh bhi nahi marunga tumhe ...darpok ho tum ...atankwadi kaise ban gaye ...his sense of humor was still intact even in this darkness.

As Baban stopped ...haa bat toh sahi keh raha hai...mai darta thodi na hu tarese ...chal bach gaya nayi bandta aaj ...as he pushed his wrist aside ...that Zain examined ...again ...

Aaliya was shocked...he talked to them so casually ...was he even realizing what they were doing to him ...

as Zain continued talking still his back towards them ...Kyu aaj kya hai, roz toh khana khilane se pehli hi shuru ho jaate ho..aaj kya meethe ke liye bachake rakh rahe ho...his slow but sturdy voice mocked at Baban ...

Baut pitar pitar kar raha hai ...kal raat ki bhool gaya kya ...aur haa maarte hai ...kyunki toh bakta nahi

...aur waise bhi Rishi bhayo(brother) ki maut bhi toh tere vajah se hui thi...baiji ka chota bhayo tha ...tujhe kya laga usse markar hum tujhe chod denge ...

Toh roka kisna hai ...badla nahi loge ...Aaliya looked down ...the ground moving beneath her feet ...his voice sounded cold...as though he had died ...

Badla...toh baiji ne le liya ...yaad hai ...tujhe jaan se nahi maara yeh sukhra mana ...aur who bhi sirf us phone ki khatir ...

itni maar khan eke baad bhi tu phir se roz khada rehta hai ...chal who korda(belt) apne paav se peeche ucchal ...as Zain silently obeyed and pushed back the belt ...a zapped Aaliya ...unable to understand what was happening, she was losing her hold now ...

Aur aaj bol, khane mai kya khayega ...dus laat ya us korde se bees ... ...Baban spoke boisterously...gazing back at Aaliya, proving his manhood

Zains voice echoed the empty room...roz kya ginkar maarta hai joh aaj pooch raha hai ...kitni baar keh chukaa hu ...nahi bataunga ...jitni taqat lagana hai laga lo.....he almost smirked ...

Aaliya felt her blood boiling in her veins ... Why was he so stuborn ...he knew ...yet he had concealed it from them ... why was he doing this...unable to bear his injured back and the biting chains she looked down ...

Baban was picking up a thick leather belt ...that was lying on the floor...Aaliyas heart was sinking every second ...Ya Allah mai kya karu ...her soul was reciting every dua that she had ever learnt...she coudnt bare if he would be hit ...she would hit back at Baban ...as her grip on the gun intensified ...almost pulling it out ...

But she stopped to see Zain moving now... as though he was used to this routine...still not facing Baban ...

his limp and his walk dead slow and painful just like the rustling noise of those chains that were binding his leg...which appeared to drag him, as he slowly walked towards the wall ..and holding both his hands, palms now touching the cold wall ...those stones suddenly looked alive to Aaliya ... as he mocked again ...

Tum bhi karlo apni hasrat puri...phir raat koh tumhare baiji toh aayenge hi ...peekar ...meri bachi kuchi khaal udhed ne ...the words that nailed Aaliya ...the voice that intrigued her now ..this was not the Zain she had left behind ...he sounded like a changed man ... a cold and dead person who had no emotions left ...