Chapter 3

*Please excuse the joined words. Published from laptop for the first time

Chapter 3 (Urdu. Scroll down for English)

Once settled at home Khaani threw herself into Sarim's election campaign. She spenther days at the party office interacting with the party workers, going overtheir campaign iterinary with Ahmed, Sarim's friend and unofficial campaignmanager and going through voters opinions and polls on social media. After onesuch hectic day, Khaani threw herself on the bed talking to her mother on thephone. "Bhai ke campaign ki taiyaari kaisi chal rahi hai Khaani?".Khaani yawned and replied,"Hectic. Mujhe to baithne ka time hi nahi milta.Aur Sarim aur Dad ka schedule to mujhse bhi zyada hectic hai. Press meetings,party meetings, social gatherings pata nahi kaha kaha jana padhta hai voters kesupport ke liye.". Sonya replied,"Waise mujhe iss baat ki khushi haike tum waha ho usko support karne.". "Thank God, main yaha hu.",Khaani replied earnestly. Her serious tone puzzled Sonya. "Kya baat hai?Tum kuch pareshan lag rahi ho.",she asked concerned. Khaani realised therewas no point in hiding the truth from her mother. "Mom", Khaanisaid,"Sarim yaha pe bohot khush hai, Dad aur Nayeema aunty usse bohotsupport karte hai...lekin iss ghar mein aur log hai jo shayad usse yaha dekhkar khush nahi hai.". "Tum apne Daadi ki baat kar rahiho?",Sonya asked. Khaani shook her head and replied,"Nahi maintaayi-ammi aur taaya-abbu ki baat kar rahi hu. Mujhe lagta hai Sarim ke partyjoin karne se woh samajte hai Abul ke political career aur uske party ke andarposition par asar parega. Taayi-ammi ne to baato hi baato mein yeh tak keh diyake Abul party ka future hai...aur iss baat pe kisine unse kuch nahi kaha. Humcousins mein sabse bada Sarim hai toh party ka agla chief usse hona chahiye naMom?". Sonya remained silent. If she had her way, Sarim would've not beena part of the party at all. He would have been safe in New York with her. Sonyaasked,"Toh iss baat par Sarim aur tumhara Baba ka kya reaction tha?."Khaani rolled her eyes, "Dad ne koi reaction nahi diya. Aur aap Sarim kojaanti to hai. Woh kitna seedha hai usse tehre log aur unki tehri baatein nahisamajh mein aati. Woh sabko apne jaisa samajhta: straightforward aurgood-natured.". "Iss liye to main chahti thi ke tum Pakistanjao",Sonya said,"Sarim dil ka bohot achcha hai lekin usse waha ke logaur unki chalakiya nahi samajh mein aayegi. Kon kab kaunsi chal chalega ussepata bhi nahi chalega. Tum please uske aas paas ke logo par nazarrakhna.". "Haa mom main-",Khaani stopped at her tracks. She lookedtowards the door. She had the odd sensation of being watched. Quickly butquietly she hurried to the door and opened it. Nobody was there....save for afreshly distinguished cigarette butt on the floor.

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Khaani came down to find Sarim at thedining table. Khaani smiled and said,"Achcha hai tum aaj ghar par dinnerkar rahe ho....warna main to darr gayi thi ke bahar ka khana kha kha kar kahitum beemar na padh jao.". "Main bhi Sarim se yahi keh raha tha",a voice said. Khaani hadn't noticed first. Sarim wasn't sitting alone at thetable. Sitting opposite the head of the table was Abul, their cousin. Standingbehind her chair, Khaani gave Abul a bright smile. "Kaise ho Abul?",She asked pleasantly. He gave her an equally bright smile and said,"Allahka shukr hai..sorry tumhe pehle theek se mil nahi paya...Karachi mein thanomination submit karne.". Khaani nodded and said,"Haan Sarim nebataya tha...waise Sarim hum kab Jaa rahe hai Sibi tumhare nomination papersfile karne?". Sarim replied,"Tum kal khala ke waha se hokar aana...main parso subah tumhe wahi se pick kar lunga.".
"Theek hai",Khaani replied. "Kya baat hai...Khaani",Abulsaid teasingly,"Suna hai bhai ke election campaign mein jee jaan laga rahiho...kabhi humari madad kar diya karo.". Khaani gave a saccharine sweetsmile and replied,"Tumhe mere help ki kya zaroorat Abul...tumhare sir parto alhamdulillah humare Daadi ka haath hai tumhara career to set hai...mehnatto ab mujhe aur Sarim ko karni hai.". Abul frowned at her words. Sarimgave her a sharp look which Khaani ignored. Before Abul could respond to hersnide remark, they were joined by other members of the family.
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Khaani generously applied the red gloss onher lips. She wore a shimmery black cocktail dress from Balenciaga. The dresswas secured by two thin shimmery straps on either sides of her shoulder andended right above her knees, flaunting her toned arms and legs. Khaaniinspected her appearance. Agar Khan Mansion ke kisine mujhe iss haal mein dekhliya, mujhe to khandan se bedakhal kar denge, she smirked and thought. ThankGod, she wasn't at the Khan Mansion. She was at Anji's - her maternal cousin'shouse. Sonya's younger sister's husband was a retired UK ambassador. Eight monthsago, the couple had returned to Pakistan with their only daughter Anjum or Anjias she was known to her close ones. Anji was a second year BBA student at theIslamabad University and one of Khaani's closest friends. Like Khaani, herliberal lifestyle had suffered a major culture shock in Islamabad. And tonightwas one of the those rare nights when both of them can step out of their stuffyjodas and let their hair down.

"I can't believe hum clubbing ja rahehai!", Anji said excitedly. She was standing next to Khaani, her headtilted to her right as she straightened her hair."Exactly",Khaani,"Waise mujhe abhi bhi samaj nahi aa raha Khalaaur Khalu tumhe yaha akela chhorkar Karachi kaise chale gaye?". Anjigiggled and replied,"Unhe emergency mein Karachi Jana tha aur Maine unsekaha mere exams hai kal abhi main kahi nahi jaa sakti. Ab itne short noticemein unhe tum hi mili thi mere saath yaha rehne ke liye.". "Aurtumhare exams?", Khaani asked seriously. Anji just winked at her. Bothgirls threw their head back in laughter.

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Khaani and Anjum entered the club,'Rendezvous', glancing around appreciatively. With the music and ambience theclub exuded, the girls might as well be in a high-end club in New York orLondon. "Nice place yaar!", Khaani yelled amidst the blasting music,looking around appreciatively. "Hai na?!", Anjum yelled back,"Meri class fellow ne bataya mujhe iske baare mein. It is the most happeningparty scene in the city right now!". The girls danced for some time beforeheading to the bar. As they waited for their drinks, Anjum gave Khaani a onceover. "Waise Mann na parega K", she said,"You look hot!".Khaani raised her glass and yelled,"You too, sister!".
"But I am a bit disappointed..I was looking forward to seeing you in thered top! It was my birthday gift aur tumne ek baar bhi pehen kar nahi dikhaya.Upar se tum usko New York bhulkar aayi .", Anjum grumbled, taking a swigof her drink. Khaani shook her head,"Let it go yaar!", her carelessvoice belying her frantic heartbeats  as she tried to fight away a memoryof  large hands forcefully grabbing her shoulders...and a red top burnt toa crisp....

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It was two a.m in the morning and Khaanihad decided she had enough of partying for one night. Sarim will pick her uptomorrow morning to go to Balochistan and file his nomination papers, she didnot need a hangover. As Anjum shut the door of the passenger seat, Khaani wasabout to start the car when she saw that someone had parked their car rightbehind hers, blocking her path. Khaani rolled her eyes at Anjum, "Kuchlogo mein tameez naam ki cheez hi nahi hai. Tum yahi ruko main aati hu.".Khaani got out of her car. To her surprise, she found an old man with a coupleof guards standing near the other car. "Excuse me", Khaani approachedthe man politely, "Aap please apni car hata de mujhe apni car nikaalnihai". The man answered, "Chabi chhote Mir ke paas hai."."Aur aapke yeh chhote Mir mujhe kaha milenge?", Khaani asked impatiently.The man pointed to Khaani's left. She turned and saw a tall figure, standing atsome distance from them, talking on his phone. Khaani gave an annoyed sigh. Shewent towards the man and gently tapped on his shoulder, who jerked it awayraising a finger in warning. Undeterred, Khaani prodded him again. "Dekhnahi rahe phone par baat kar raha hu!", Mir Hadi snapped angrily withoutturning around. "Gaadi hataye mujhe apni gaadi nikaalni hai! Bohot hibadtameez hai aap!", Khaani yelled back with equal anger. Hadi turnedaround to see the offending stranger who dared call him 'badtameez'. It was awoman and a beautiful one at that. He took off his shades to have a better lookat her. He smirked as he gave her an appreciative glance. Watching him checkingher out from head to toe, made Khaani all the more angrier. Without a word,Hadi cut off his call. He gave Khaani a flirtatious smile,"I am sorrydarling maine tumhe notice nahi kiya.". Khaani stepped forward. Glaring athim, she commanded in a no-nonsense tone "Pehli baat: main tumhari darlingnahi. Aur doosri: apni car hatao mujhe apni gaadi nikaalni hai.". Hadismiled and nodded,"Bilkul karunga... magar itni jaldi kya hai? Abhi to bashum miley hai... abhi to aur bohot kuch hona baaki hai...", He said suggestively. "Kya matlab?!", Khaani snapped, her temper getting the better of her.Clicking her fingers, she said, "Main  tumhe last warning de rahi hu.Warna tum jaise roadside Romeo ko kaise theek karte hai yeh main achchi tarahse jaanti hu.". The old man intervened,"Dekhiye, aap tameez se baatkare...aap nahi jaanti yeh kon hai? Yeh defence minister Mir Shah ke bete MirHadi hai.". Hadi, who had expected the girl to cower and apologise for herinsolence was not prepared for what came next. "Oh!", Khaani scoffed,"Tabhimein sochu yeh itne badtameez aur bad-dimag kaise hai...khandani defect maloomhota hai.". Hadi's smile disappeared. No one had dared talk about hisfamily like that. Who the hell was this girl? "Kya bola tumne?",hesnarled. All his good humour gone. He was shaking with anger now. "Sunayinahi diya? Tumhe aur tumhare poore khandan ko badtameez aur bad-dimagbola!", Khaani replied evenly. "Chhote Mir..", the old man triedto come in between but Hadi signalled him to stay out of it. He was going toteach this girl a lesson she will never forget. Hadi took out his gun andpointed at her. For a split second Khaani froze and then ran towards her car.Watching her run, Hadi gave a maniacal laughter and taunted,"Kya huamadam? Ab saari akad bahar aa gayi aapki?". He saw her get in her car.With his gun still raised, he slowly moved forward ,"Waise main normallykhubsurat ladkiyo par goli nahi chalata... magar tumne sher ke munh mein haathdal diya hai...ab bhugatna to parega.". Hadi stopped in his tracks when hesaw Khaani get out of her car, pointing her gun at him. Seeing the gun, thistime the guards tried to intervene but Hadi stopped them again, motioning themto stay out of his fight. With the gun in hand, Khaani walked towards him. Shestopped when she directly facing him Khaani taunted,"Kitni ajeeb baat haina, tumhare guards ko tum par Zara bhi aitbaar nahi hai, iss liye to tumhemujhse bachane aa rahe the.". Taking the safety catch off his gun, Hadireplied evenly,"Bewakoof ladki tum jaanti bhi ho tum bhi ho tum kya karrahi ho?". "Arre", Khaani sparred,"Tumhi ne to bola sher kemunh mein haath daal rahi hu. Magar shaayad tum ye nahi jaante ke jab ek khaanisher ke munh mein haath toh uska dil nochkar bahar phenk deti hai!Main tumheaakhri baar keh rahi hu, apni gaadi hatao aur mujhe sharafat se yaha se jaanedo.". Hadi chuckled and taunted,"Aur yahi pe tumne mujhe apni kamzoridikha di. Aaj Mir Hadi tumhe aisa sabak sikhayega ke tum zindagi bhar nahibhulogi.  Aur sabak yeh hai ke: agar gun rakho to usse chalane ki himmatbhi karo.". Saying this, Hadi pulled the trigger, shooting at the groundnear Khaani's right, aiming to scare her. With a scream, Khaani ducked towardsher left. Hadi laughed at her attempt to save herself.  "Lagta haitum sirf garajti ho barasti nahi!", he mocked her.

Moments later, a bullet pierced hisshoulder. Khaani had finally taken his lesson to heart. "ChhoteMir!!!", the old man yelled as he and the guards ran towards Hadi, who hadtoppled backwards and fallen on the floor. The guards rounded around him,checking if Hadi was alright. "Mithal", Hadi addressed the oldman,"Woh ladki..(pointing his finger)..usse jaane mat do.". "Jaojaake usko le aao!",Mithal ordered the guards.  The guards rantowards Khaani's car but the girl had disappeared into thin air.

Precap: Agar Dad koasliyat pata chal gayi toh? Khaani dreaded covering her face with her hands,Toh kya mujhe sach mein apne attempted rapist se shaadi karni paregi?