تکلف
𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐟: 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬
noun: an etiquette requiring
social deportment.
بتا کر نام ہم کو زندگی کا
گلے میں طوق پہنایا گیا ہے۔
- 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗸𝗮𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝗮𝗺 𝗵𝘂𝗺 𝗸𝗼 𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗴𝗶 𝗸𝗮
𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗾 𝗽𝗲𝗵𝗻𝗮𝘆𝗮 𝗵𝘂𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝗶.
• • •
THE GIRL MADE HER WAY TOWARDS THE PITCH BLACK NIGHT AFTER LEAVING THE BEAUTIFULLY LIT HAVELI. She couldn't be distracted from the grave emptiness that was flat through her. Her heart pumping furiously along with betraying tears running down her face.
With her face hidden completely with the chadar, no guard could recognise her. She kept on hurriedly walking away and away from her prison. Only after crossing the second and the main gate of the haveli did she take a stop to take in the fresh smell of freedom.
The alleys outside were dirty, wet concrete floors, raw and monochrome sky that felt as if it were clawing her.
Everything seemed so unknown to her.
She remembered how speedily their cars used to run along these streets. She never used to get time to become aware of her surroundings. Perhaps the most free time she ever got was inside the walls of her college.
They were never allowed to visit their friends houses and the friends themselves didn't protrude in their businesses. She kept on moving her legs to wherever they took her.
Anabiya almost chocked on her breath when she saw a dark silhouette of Batoor Khan at the corner under the street light. It's too dark here. He can't recognise me, calm down.
Batoor Khan was standing next to 2 guys and this was more than enough to frighten Anabiya.
She kept on walking monotonously whilst feeling chills surround her entire body. Batoor Khan lift his gaze from one of his friend and took in appearance of a girl walking ahead with her back towards them. He started whistling lowly.
Batoor Khan started walking behind her with his friends. Anabiya could feel his gaze drilling holes behind her head.
His friends were singing some cheap songs and the sound was piercing through her ears.
Her palms started becoming sweaty. The hand she was using to hold her chadar cover her face, felt clammy. Things were becoming unbearable for her.
It only took her a single "Aye larki" of Batoor Khan for Anabiya to dismantle completely
She tripped down over a small brick in the way. God, could she be more clumsier?. The scratch made her release an ouch that suddenly alerted Batoor Khan.
"Anabiya?"
He called out as if asking her. That was the last straw, Anabiya started running and seeing her run was enough to answer his question so he confusedly and quickly started following her.
She rashly walked out of the alley and was on the main road now. With Batoor Khan hot on her tail her brain had somewhat short circuited.
Something had numbed her mind, it had smudged the text of cosmos. Definitely fear.
Her situation was fragile and vulnerable, cloaked
with despair. Batoor Khan had stopped midway or maybe was still covering the pathways of the dark alleys.
Her heartbeat felt as if it were punching through her chest. Looking behind after every short second had somehow managed to restrict her senses and catch her off guard with a Range Rover's headlights. She closed her eyes to prepare herself for the impact but the car screeched with a halt at the last moment.
میں پرندہ بے صبر، تھا اُڑا جو دربدر۔
-𝖬𝖾𝗂𝗇 𝗉𝖺𝗋𝗂𝗇𝖽𝖺𝗁 𝖻𝖺𝗒 𝗌𝖺𝖻𝖺𝗋, 𝗍𝗁𝖺 𝗎𝗋𝖺𝖺 𝗃𝗈 𝖽𝖺𝗋𝖻𝖺𝖽𝖺𝗋
❏ ❏ ❏
Noor sat down with her mother on the prayer mat and started supplicating to Allah for Anabiya.
"Koi utha b tau kisi ko batanay ki zaroorat nahi hai noor, tumhay kuch maloom nahi hai kay Anabiya bhaag gayi hai samjhi?" Amna whispered to her daughter.
"Ammi, lekin ham dono ko kesay pata chalay ga api ki kher kheryat ka?" Noor whispered back in a somewhat scared tone. "Us kay pass phone hai, Meinay diya hai ussay. Wo khud call karay gi pohnch kar, magar tumnay kisi ko kuch nahi batana. Warna Agha Zaeem Khan apnay bando ko bhookay kutton ki tarah uskay peechay laga dega."
Noor nodded her head. Her mother got up and left the room leaving noor alone with her devastating thoughts.
❏ ❏ ❏
Jalal came out of his car in an instant. He wanted to slap some sense into the naive stupid girl standing in the middle of the road with hands infront of her face.
She could've died.
"O bibi, hatto rastay say!"
She heard the thundering voice and instantly looked up at the sturdy male specimen. It was him. An unusual familiarity rushed through her veins. He had her pinned with his charcoal black eyes.
Holding her chadar firmly around her face, she pointed at the alley with her shaking hands. Which confused Jalal at the beginning but after seeing a man leap out of the alley rushingly everything became clear.
"Gari Mein betho" he instructed her, which she hurriedly complied. Batoor Khan saw the woman sit in the car and looked at Jalal Alam. "Wo ... Sardar sahab, w-wo larki?" He seemed puzzled at the the situation.
"Family hai, koi masla hai Batoor Khan?" Jalal asked in a stern voice. His gaze was enough to force Batoor Khan into submission.
"O-oh acha acha" Batoor Khan replied back with a nervous chuckle. "Mujhay laga kay-"
Jalal rose his eyebrow as if mocking him to continue. "Kuch nahi, Mein chalta hun. Raat bohut hogayi hai." Batoor Khan finished with an agitated tone and then left. Jalal Shah took a deep breath before moving back to his car.
"Niklo bahir" Anabiya was momentarily stunned at his blunt tone.
"Ghar say bhaagi ho na? Kam umar bhi lagti ho. Dekho, saaf si baat karunga, achay gharanay ki larkiyon ko zaib nahi deta iss tarah ghar say bhaagna. Apna nahi, tau maa baap ka soch lo, ghar jao wapis."
He calmly yet sternly informed her. Anabiya didn't know what to tell him. What should she have said?, that her mother was the one who sent her away.
"P-Pl-please, yahan say kahin door chor day, nahi ja sakti wapis, wo-wo Banda tha naa jo Abhi aya?" She asked him in her hoarse voice due to crying for so long.
He tilted his head lightly to take in her appearance and nodded his head slowly, unknowingly. She had rendered him speechless. Jalal couldn't reply back anything. He literally froze in his place. It was her, how was this possible?
"Us say hamari sh-shadi karwa rahi hai dadi, mujay nahi karni. Apko-apko pata hai aj tau mehndi bhi thi meri. Please meri help karday" Anabiya broke down into little sobs whilst hiccuping.
"Ghar chor aata hun, baat bhi kar lunga. Koi nahi shadi kay liye majboor karay ga tumhay." He now softly told her. Even if he tried, he couldn't bring himself to raise his voice at her.
"N-nahi nahi, wo jaan say maar day gay. Nahi sunay gay meri, please yahan say door ley jaye bus." She literally begged.
A light breeze of wind rushed pass them, her chadar forcefully moving past her fingers to uncover her face lightly.
And something strange happened. How much had he asked and begged from his Allah to let to glance at her for one last time, to quench his thirst. Yet, he couldn't allow himself to look at her. He quickly diverted his gaze to look around the walls beside him. Anywhere but her, till she quickly covered her face back.
"Mein gari Mein Beth jaun ab?" She asked him in a small desperate voice. He nodded his head slowly in a trance. She quickly went pass him to sit in the car.
For a minute straight Jalal stood motionless on his same spot.
Ya rab, yeh kya maujza hai? Kya majra hai. Meray tau samjh say bahir hai. Yeh kesay mil gayi mujhay. His heartbeat felt erratic till he calmed himself down. He took in large breaths and shook his head to bring himself out of daze and to finally head back to his car.
کوئ شام مجھ میں قیام کر
میرے رنگ روپ کو نِکھاردے
جو گزر گئ سو گزر گئ میری باقی عمر سنواردے۔
𝖪𝗈𝗂 𝗌𝗁𝖺𝖺𝗆 𝗆𝗎𝗃𝗁 𝗆𝖾𝗂𝗇 𝗊𝖺𝗒𝖺𝖺𝗆 𝗄𝖺𝗋,
𝖬𝖾𝗋𝖺𝗒 𝗋𝖺𝗇𝗀 𝗈 𝗋𝗈𝗈𝗉 𝗄𝗈 𝗇𝗂𝗄𝗁𝖺𝖺𝗋 𝖽𝖺y
𝖩𝗈 𝗀𝗎𝗓𝖺𝗋 𝗀𝖺𝗒𝗂 𝗌𝖺𝗎 𝗀𝗎𝗓𝖺𝗋 𝗀𝖺𝗒
𝖬𝖾𝗋𝗂 𝖻𝖺𝖺𝗄𝗂 𝗎𝗆𝖺𝗋 𝗌𝖺𝗇𝗐𝖺𝖺𝗋 𝖽𝖺𝗒.
(unedited)
• • •