If The Stars Align In Our Favour

Ch.1-The Mistakes

Disclaimer :

I do not own Raazi or its characters, plot, or settings. All rights belong to Dharma Productions and Junglee Pictures. I do not intend to cause hurt to any person(s) through this work of fiction. The incidents portrayed in the narrative are fictional, and do not confirm to actual events that might have happened during the '71 era. I respect all our Soldiers who fight for our countries—at the border or otherwise—and this piece of fanwork does not intend to disrespect them.

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The atmosphere at the dinner table is tense when Sehmat sits down to eat. The household is still recovering from the shock of Abdul's sudden death. Sehmat herself is trying to recover from the brutality of the entire episode—her having to murder someone in order to save her position as a spy, so that her country remained safe and alert.

Her conscience has taken the brunt of the trauma, and no matter how many times she tells herself that it is all for her country; that what she is doing for her nation is far more important than Abdul's life, her conscience gives her only one response—she killed a person. She is a murderer. In her waking hours, she manages to will those thoughts away—focusing on getting information and covering her trail. So, they come to haunt her in her sleep. She has gotten perhaps four hours of restless sleep in the past two days, plagued by nightmares about Abdul and being discovered, which have kept her up the rest of the night.

Mehboob bhaijaan is the last to sit at the table before dinner commences. One glance at him is enough to convince Sehmat that he hasn't received good news from the Station Headquarters, although whether that would fare well for her is anyone's guess.

"Any lead from the soldiers?" Abba asks, and Sehmat begins to serve herself the dinner to hide her nervousness.

"No. They had found him lying on the road badly injured. He had lost a lot of blood, so they took him to the hospital immediately."

She barely sighs before bhaijaan continues, "But the Police has found the wagon with which Abdul was ... run over."

Sehmat freezes. The car. The godforsaken car . Why hadn't she crashed it? Why had she left it parked out there? At least she had worn gloves. But what if someone had seen her driving it?

"Sehmat?" Iqbal's whisper startles her out of her reverie, and she finishes serving them both while still cursing herself for her foolishness.

"Whom did the wagon belong to?" Iqbal asks, and she feels a harder pang of guilt in her heart. Iqbal was very close to Abdul—he had practically been raised by Abdul. How cruel that she should take away another parental figure from him.

"The Cantonment. They found it parked a short distance away from the site of the accident. The key was in the ignition when they found it. It's being dusted for fingerprints..."

Sehmat looks up for a single moment, then turns back towards her food. There weren't any fingerprints in there that she had to be worried about. It was the chance that someone might have seen her in it.

"...and the piece of metal in his hand—the Station Chief has asked me to submit it to the inspection bureau. They will be able to establish its origin."

Silence reigns the table again, and it takes every fibre in her being to stop her hands from shaking and to breathe evenly. Her heart is beating so loud in her ears, she is surprised no one else can hear it. She plays with her food until dinner ends, and only a few bites make it to her mouth. The thought of food right then only serves to make her nauseous.