The Incomplete

THE TRUTH

Ishana noticed Shafqat strolling towards her, as she talked to her lawyer. Today, he wore casual, unlike the other day.

"Okay, I'll see you later then." She just finished talking to her lawyer. He walked to leave.

"Busy?" Shafqat asked with a smile.

"Just got free." She smiled back, just a little; her smile didn't reach up to her eyes.

"You okay?" He sensed the stress in her.

"Not really." She replied honestly.

"About the case, I guess. How's it going?"

"Not so great from my side." Ishana looked forward with blank expression. She didn't intend to make eye contact.

"You never told me about the case actually. May I know?" Shafqat asked. Both of them started to walk around the playground.

"My brother wants to set an industry here, I mean use this land. So he wants it." Ishana told the summary, looking at the ground, still not meeting his eyes.

"Your brother against you!" He was shocked.

"Hmm." Was all Ishana could say. The scorching heat was not suitable for a walk, so they just stood in the shades of trees. He sensed some uneasy feelings of her. He knew she was pretty upset. He wanted to comfort her, give her a supporting hug, wanted to make her know he was always there for her. But today he gathered his courage to tell her the truth. Shafqat considered the fact that his truth might worsen her remorse.

"So, why are you here?" Ishana broke the awkward silence.

"Do I need a reason to visit my friend?" Shafqat chuckled.

"You don't but.." Ishana trailed off.

"But what?"

"Nothing. Forget it."

They remained silent again.

"You're right. I came to tell you something important." Shafqat said, finally ending the debate in his mind.

Ishana bit her lower lip involuntarily. Not a confession, she thought to herself, No Shafqat , no, that's the last thing I need to hear right now, she continued in her head.

"What?" Her eyebrows furrowed, thinking fast to skip the topic.

"You remember the first day I came here. You asked what were I up to and I replied donation?" Shafqat started.

"Yes..." Her expression grew perplexed.

"Well...I lied... I didn't come here for donation." Shafqat paused, the growing tension was too much to handle.

"So? For what?" Ishana asked, still skeptical.

"I wanted this land. I wanted to buy this land so that I can build up a factory. When I saw you, I changed my mind. And today, I came up with a new proposal. Trust me; it will help your case... " Shafqat said in a rush, trying to convince her before she reacts.

"Back up a second Shafqat" Ishana didn't let him finish, "You lied to me?" She still couldn't process all his words.

"Ishana, listen to me, okay? Let me explain." He begged.

One thing Ishana truly hated was lie. Hiding her shock, she nodded.

"Yes, I lied to you and I can't tell you how much sorry I'm. Let me fix this. Just let me help you Ishana. Sell this land to me. I'll become the owner. I'll handle the legal issues. I can protect you, I mean your land. Once the chaos is over, it's all yours. I mean the land will be in my name but you'll own it. You can continue with the orphanage." Shafqat finally let his plan out.

Shana's expression was unreadable. She was hurt, without a doubt. He couldn't make way through her mind right now.

The words sinked one by one. Ishana's head spun. Lies and wrong beliefs- that was in her head. She tried to calm down but the storm inside her was breaking her continuously. She was traumatized by the death of her hope. She felt like crying loudly. No, Shafqat was not the one she thought he would be. For once she considered his perspective. Yes, he loved her, she get that, he wanted to protect her, he would do things for her but he slipped one thing- what does Ishana want. She wanted someone to support her, not to fight the battle for her. Maybe, any other girl would be flattered at this point but not her. This is her dream on the verge of getting ruined, she is supposed to fight t he battle alone, knowing that she has support. Reality is different. Reality is she earned a bunch of sympathies. Exactly that, Shafqat's love now seems like sympathy. Just when she thought her stress cannot be worse, the worst happened.

They both sat on the ground. Both quiet. Shafqat gave Ishana some space so he didn't mind the silence. Though his insides squirmed to know her opinion, reaction, anything.

"Shafqat, just answer me one question." She asked in composure.

"Yes?" Shafqat heaved a sigh of relief as she finally spoke.

"Would you change your mind if the owner of this orphanage was any other person?" This time she directly looked into his eyes.

He certainly did not see this coming. The answer was obvious but something was terribly wrong. He kept staring at her.

Ishana got her answer from his silence. Yes, sympathy, all he had was sympathy.