It won't be long, you'll find something, Umeed pacifies herself finding some hope when her legs almost give up and she starts regretting wearing these heels at work. It's not that all rickshaw drivers of Karachi are on strike to not take Umeed Pasha home just because she happens to have a fight with her boyfriend. A part of Umeed's heart tells her to call Farjaad and free herself from the misery of putting herself at the mercy of local transport in this city but then she reminds herself that she's spent all her life traveling on these buses and rickshaw, "Tum unki tarahn nazuk kali nhi ho Umeed, bahadur bano bahadur."
Not long before she musters the courage to keep up with the search, she feels someone following her.
"Churail huwi to?" She wonders. "Allah jee abhi to meri shadi bh nahi huwi" Her eyes dart upwards, towards the dark sky that no longer showed any of the stars one would expect.
"Lekin saat bjay kahan churailain nikalti hain,"
Instinctively, Umeed's hand reaches for her bag and she takes out the pepper spray Sammer brought for her and Haya the day before she joined Farjaad's office. Her grip on the tiny bottle tightens and her toes curl inwards. She turns her back, screaming at her loudest, spraying the contents of the bottle all over. Her screams gradually change, first into gasps and then shots of pain. A pair of hands grabs the pepper spray bottle from her hand but Umeed doesn't flinch knowing very well whom those hands belong. Her screams turn louder when she realizes the piercing pain she's experiencing at the moment is inflicted by the same pepper spray she was using on the ghost following her.
"Pagal hogai ho Umeed" It's the concern and equal anger in his voice that puts her screaming at a halt.
"AAP PAGAL HOGAYE HAIN. AESE KON AATA HAI PEECHE SE. DOOR HATEIN MUJHSE," She's unable to open her eyes but manages to push him slightly, her tiny frame now shaking in fear and pain. Tears form in her eyes, and she can't decide whether it was from the stinging in her eyes or the relief that he was here.
"Umeed, don't panic. Don't panic, please."
"Panic? Apki ankhon mein spray krun phr ap na krna don't panic" She cries uttering the last words, unbothered by the scene they were creating in the middle of the road at this time of night. Torn between frustration and desire to lean on Farjaad for comfort, she lets out a loud sniff when he wraps his hands around her shoulder guiding her towards the car,
"Acha Acha relax, dekho mein hoon naa."
"Usi ka drr hai. Apki wajah say huwa hai ye sb." She accuses him blatantly, rubbing her eyes while he tries to shoo away her hands knowing she was making it worse for her.
"Acha, ghr jaa kr baat krtay hain, wahan mujhe daant lena, chilla lene, lekin abhi to ghr chalo naa" Acting like she wants to escape his embrace, Umeed shrugs her shoulders from his hold but he turns out to be stronger than her.
"Hum apke ghr kyun jaa rahay hain?" She squints her eyes after a couple of minutes realizing the route he has taken goes directly to his place, not hers.
Crushed Peppers
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