Muhafiz-E-Khan (Tere Bin MeeraSim FF)

3 - Samjhota

When Murtasim returned home, he barely slept from restlessness, both from seeing her again and his father. A whirlwind of confounding ideas spun in his mind, causing him to teeter between relief and anger.

None of them pried about the car, already knowing who such a heavy car belonged to. In the morning, he took daadi and Mariyum to the hospital so they could shower Nawaz in prayers and provide glad company, to help him recover faster.

''Baba, maine bhe college se chutti le hai. Tumhare saath rahounge,'' Mariyum informed in a rueful smile. She scooted her chair forward, whilst Daadi attempted to feed him some soup. (Baba, I took holidays from college for a couple days. I will stay by you.)

''Daadi hai na, tum kalse college jauge,'' he ordered, with not early enough vigour to persuade her. (Grandma is here to see me. You shall go to college from tommaow.)

''Dant bhe nahi sakte, itne kamzor ho. Nahin chorounge,'' she insisted in a huff. (You can't even scold me because that your that weak. I'm not leaving.)

Nawaz melted, his grip on her hand tightening. ''Itna kamzor nahi hou, kyun ke mere beta hai. Haina Murtasim?'' Nawaz said whilst tutting at the soup. (I am not so weak, as I have my son for supports.)

''Jee baba,'' Murtasim confirmed in a gruff. (Yes baba.)

''Challo, soup peeou. Mainay khud banaya hai,'' Mariyum ordered. (Come on, have some soup. I made it myself.)

''Meri beti ne pyar se banaya tou mana tou nahi kar sakta,'' he said, just to make her smile. He took a couple more sips despite the lack of appetite from all the medications and painkillers. (Since my daughter had lovingly made it, so i cant turn her down.)

They had been given the best hospital room. It was spacious, with adequate area for guests. At Murtasim's acceptance of the role, Mai even had someone bring in a bouquet of flower, the encouragement of 'get well soon' handwritten written in crusive.

Despite none of the Khan's losing sleep over the incident, they kept up the appearance. Somehow, it felt more like a reminder of their need to dictate over their residents, inviting him back to service soon.

''Army walo ne chutti dee hai?'' Nawaz asked, head twisting to Murtasim in thought, sat on the sidelines. His chin rested on his palm, his colour had become wheatish from the disturbed sleep. (Did the army guys give you more days off?)

''Jee baba, tumhare halat bata ke unhone chutti authorise ke hai,'' Murtasim shared whilst pushing his hair despite it not bothering him- there was an sense of unease. His boss had assumed that he would be looking after his father, fretting over his treatment, chasing for prescriptions. (They authorised some more days off after I told them about your state, baba.)

Instead, Murtasim arrived at the Khan house for duty at 8am in his ordinary clothes, a burnt orange shirt and relaxed pants. His hair was still unkept, as if he had thrown the creased outfit on and then he spent two days and a night in the hospital. That's because he had.

Suppressing his irk, he waited in the car in the driveway to her home, amongst the other row of shiny cars. Rather than Meerab, a boy came out to knock on his window. He was barely a teenager. ''Sarfaraz Sahab andar bula rahe hai,'' he relayed with precision and Murtasim nodded, pushing his ego aside. (Sarfaraz Sahab is calling you inside.)

Surveying the house from the inside, it felt like he was visiting for the first time again. It had been updated and modernised. He followed the boy into the house in disgust at it's opulence. It reeked of excess, and all he saw was the lives that were washed away to sustain such grandeur.

The walls were licked in a pearly white wash, golden cornices lined the tops, and there was an array of gilded gold frames scattered as though it was a museum. They held endless photographs, mostly of Meerab through the years. He lost count of the vases and side-tables and random chairs in the way. He figured that they would come in useful if one sought rest, tired from wandering through the endless hallways to get from one room to another.