You Will Always be Mine

Chapter# 11

Kanwal was dressed up in a beautiful red and purple coloured dress, golden jewellery, along with beautiful golden sandals. The beauticians Ahad sent complimented her, Kanwal raised her gaze to look at herself in the mirror but her vision blurred soon after. Her tears are almost dried up, still every now and then, a tear or two managed to slide down on her cheeks.

Kanwal didn't eat all day nor utter a single word, not even when Mahnoor arrived and tried to talk to her. It wasn't like she didn't want to, she just couldn't find words to say, not even on her Nikah. Qazi Sahab (the priest) waited quite long for her to express her agreement but she didn't until she heard a masculine voice from outside the room asking her mother what's taking Kanwal so long in a quite dangerous tone.

At that moment, she gave her answer to Qazi Sahab and silently signed the papers. After a few minutes of Nikah, she was taken out for Ruksati. No dinner and no traditional Rasams (customs) which a girl dreams of all her life.

Kanwal's thoughts are blurred and everything was going in a daze. She didn't realize how and when she was taken outside towards the car. A warm embrace of Kanwal's father brought her to reality and she wrapped her arms around as her life depended on him, but a coughing sound made her lose the grip.

"Meri bachi (my daughter), meri gurya (my doll), forgive me." He cupped Kanwal's face with both hands and Kanwal merely shook her head, she didn't like hearing her father's apologetic voice.

~*~ 

Ahad watched Kanwal's crying face before turning to his men from the other side of the car. He never liked Ruksati, it always saddens him. 

While talking, his mind wandered off towards the watch he picked from the corner table of Kanwal's drawing-room. It was the same watch she was wearing that day. With absent-minded, he raised his head towards Kanwal's direction and found someone glaring at him.

Little tigress...

Her face reminded him of the day when he called her 'Moti Churail' (fat witch) and she gave him the same look. A smile formed on his face and without thinking, he raised his hand and gave her a wave, which gained the attention of every one of his gang members standing nearby and they instantly turned to Mahnoor. A look of fear crossed her face and she dashed inside the house.

Holding a strange glint in his eyes, he walked towards the car and tapped his hand on the roof, signalling Kanwal it is time to go, and to his surprise, Kanwal silently slid inside the car as soon as she heard the tap, leaving her parents standing with teary eyes.

Ahad glanced at his parents-in-law and to the boy named Maaz, whom Ahad knows as Kanwal's cousin. He was already staring at him, or more like glaring, with a warning look.  Ahad smiled on his bravery, even after knowing that he couldn't do any harm to him because of the position Ahad holds in Black Eagles.

'Sale sahab (brother-in-law)' Ahad mumbled before turning to Moosa who was slowly making his way to him, with a small smile playing on his face.

~*~  

'Once you put a handful of sand on a dead body after lying it in the grave, your heart and mind would eventually be at ease and come to a resolve.' 

Kanwal had heard her elders saying this and that's exactly how she felt right now. The only difference was that she put a handful sand on her own grave and soon, her family will be free from the pain.

Sitting still as a sculpture, Kanwal stares at her hands on her lap. Not even once had she paid attention to the person sitting beside her, or the place he was taking her. Her hands and feet getting cold with fear emerging within her and she couldn't do anything to prevent herself from it. Soon, their car slowed down and finally came to a halt. For a moment, Kanwal forgot how to breathe and raised her head to watch Ahad stepping outside the car. Within a minute, the door of her side was opened and Ahad stretched out his hand for her. Reluctantly, she raised her hand, which was quickly grabbed by a powerful grip. A strange wave of shiver washed over her as Ahad helped her in getting out of the car and starts leading the way to the house.