Arziyaan

Mehboob

Naseeb Aazmaane Ke Din Aa Rahe Hai,
Qareeb Un Ke Aane Ke Din Aa Rahe Hai,

Jo Dil Se Kaha, Jo Dil Se Suna Hai,
Sab Un Ko Sunaane Ke Din Aa Rahe Hai,

Abhi Se Dil O Jaan Sar-E-Raah Rakh Do,
Ke Luttne Lutaane Ke Din Aa Rahe Hai,

Tapakne Lagi Un Nigaaho Se Masti,
Nigaahai Churaane Ke Din Aa Rahe Hai,

Saba Phir Hamain Poochti Phir Rahi Hai,
Chaman Ko Sajaane Ke Din Aa Rahe Hai,

Chalo Faiz Phir Se Kahin Dil Lagaai,
Suna Hai Thikaane Ke Din Aa Rahe Hai.

           Faiz Ahmad Faiz

The mid-morning sun lit up his home office in golden hues as Murtasim inspected the papers before him. The Shahs were mortgaging their family haveli to a Karachi loan lender. The lender was a long-term friend of Murtasim, so when the deeds came to him for assessment, he sent them to Murtasim in Hyderabad. Murtasim Khan had made a point to make friends with every prominent bank CEO and personal loan lender in the country awaiting this day. He had given the banks his business and the lenders property advice where they had made millions. Just so when the day came, the papers of Malik and Shah Haveli would reach him.

Murtasim had already blocked their significant sources of income years ago. He had already reported their illegal activities to authorities one at a time. The officers who helped them escape his family's murders shut their nefarious activities down. Cops worked for politicians, and politicians bowed to money. Money was something that Murtasim Khan had multiplied, whereas Maliks and Shahs spent more than they earned, trying to support an unsustainable lifestyle. You had to make money to spend money. As they were busy spending their money, Murtasim worked towards occupying their avenues of earnings. Having spent more than they should have, Maliks and Shahs borrowed.

Murtasim had them where he wanted them. The papers of Shah Haveli were delivered to him a month ago, but he could not do much as the panchayat would accuse him of serving a personal agenda. Then the elders came to the Haveli on Meerab's last day of midterms, and now he had a legitimate reason to go after them. Zubair Shah had illegally occupied the land of one of the elders. Sajid Abbas was a 70-year-old man who had lost all four sons to disease or enmity. His oldest grandson was 11, and his oldest granddaughter was 17. Zubair Shah had not only taken Abbas Sahab's land but was also pressurizing him to marry his granddaughter to him. Zubair was desperate for money, and marrying Abbas Sahab's granddaughter would buy him financial security for a while.

In desperation, Zubair gave Murtasim an opening to take down one of his enemies. Murtasim was not surprised at Zubair's foolishness, but his emotions astonished him. He felt no anger or vengeance. Just a sense of duty to do right by Sajid Abbass. It was justice he wanted, not revenge. The bitterness that followed him everywhere for years was gone. Instead, he was filled with a sense of responsibility towards the young grandkids of Sajid Abbass. He wanted to serve them as his people. They were under his protection. It was no longer about Murtasim but about a Khan helping his people. Now that his emotions were out of the picture, logic took over. Murtasim Khan had just become more focused. His wife had healed him and, in the process, made him more dangerous.

Just then, her laughter trickled into his office and put a smile on his face. Murtasim instructed Armaan to put his plan to deal with Zubair in motion. He then moved on to the issues of Khan industries. The London office needs his on-site attention. It would take him at least a month. There used to be a time when he found any excuse to be away from the family, and now he was dreading this trip. An entire month away from his family and Begum seemed his version of hell. Hence, he had been putting off the trip for a while, but it had become unavoidable. But first, he would go to Murree with his family as planned by the twins. A whoop of laughter from Ayat and Meerab made it to his office again, so Murtasim closed his laptop and followed the sound of his wife's laughter to find the miracle of his life.