Arziyaan

Good Byes and Hellos

"Stronger than lover's love is lover's hate. Incurable, in each, the wounds they make."

― Euripides, 

"your hand touching mine. this is how galaxies collide."

― Sanober Khan

"You have no proof," Humaira's words kept ringing in Murtasim's ear.

For the next year, Murtasim put all his energies into proving that Maliks and Shahs were the real culprits behind his parent's ambush. He did not want them punished by the law because he wanted to be their judge, jury, and executioner. Those proofs were just his wedding gift to her. He delivered it to her on her Walima, along with his handwritten note. "One should start their new life with clarity and truth. Congratulations on your big day.- MK."

His only regret was that he could not see her face when she finally faced the reality of their situation and knew that it was too late. On the day of her Walima Murtasim Khan threw the biggest party the city of Karachi has ever seen. Movie stars, Politicians, and the crème de la crèmeo of Pakistan were present at that party. Murtasim Khans's party was the talk of the nation. It was being discussed on the news, published in newspapers, and trended on social media. He wanted her to hear his name everywhere on the first day of her married life.

For the next three years, Murtasim doled out his punishment. He had promised his grandfather that there would be no more bloodshed, so much to his dislike, these men were still alive, but only because Murtasim was slowly taking away the oxygen they were breathing. There were other ways to kill a person and still have them living. He started managing the assets of their family that were outside Hyderabad. He took those profits and invested in tech start-ups and multimedia.

He turned the Zimidaari into a corporation. Khan Industries has become a leader in IT, news channels, movies, agriculture, and real estate. Murtasim Khan made his mark in Pakistan by creating jobs locally and bringing international business to Pakistan. Everyone saw the glamour, but no one noticed that he worked around the clock. His anger fuelled a conglomerate. He was everywhere, yet Murtasim Khan was a mystery that many were trying to solve. Alone and away from everyone's eyes, Murtasim Khan was a man who conquered an internal storm every day. His eye was on a single goal- Revenge.

While attending movie premieres and jet-setting to Silicon Valley or Singapore for business, he lulled his enemies into a false sense of security. Silently, he bought all loans that Maliks and Shahs owed. There was not a transport company in Sindh that he did not own. He controlled the supply of seeds for their crops and owned the factories to which they sold their produce. Every politician and cop was in Murtasim's pocket. He bought all the adjoining land of their farms.

Now, Seven Yeats later, he had his enemies in a chokehold. Murtasim had lost his parents, uncle, two sisters, and a brother-in-law to these men. In addition, his twin niece and nephew lost their parents when they were only seven. All roads led Maliks and Shahs to Murtasim Khan. Moreover, he controlled all their income sources. Murtasim Khan now owned his enemies. The Maliks and Shahs were living because Murtasim Khan was letting them. Making his enemies dance to his tunes was his favorite pastime. Murtasim has made his family untouchable and his enemies crippled.

Nawaz Khan was now known as Murtasim Khan's grandfather. Murtasim built schools, colleges, and hospitals in Hyderabad. He was a messiah to his people but refused to return to them. He was their Khan who solved all their problems, yet they had not seen him in seven years. Murtasim and Humaira's love story was famous in Hyderabad. Two years after her marriage, Humaira passed away in childbirth. Both mother and child did not survive. That day, he decided to build the best teaching hospital of Pakistan in, Hyderabad. She had died, but his wounds were still fresh. He could never trust again. He could never love again. God had freed his culprit, yet he was still here suffering. He did not know how to soothe his soul. His tormenter was no more, but his shackles were still there. How was this fair?