Humko Loota Hai Isi Shehar Nay
Aye Jaan-E-Wafa
Jiski Galiyon Main Muhabbat Ka Kuch Hisaab Na Tha
Mujhe Khayal Tha Yeh Mere Apne Hain
Magar Wahan Par Toh Aisa Koi Rawaaj Na Tha
💜💜💜
The streets were full of people, some on their way back from work, while others were just out on an outing either alone, with friends or families.
Shops of sweets and general stores as well as restaurants were all open, shining its bright lights onto the streets. Noises of cars horns and people created a chaotic atmosphere.
The chaos was a well needed contrast to the silent inside of the person on the street, watching people around with longing. A longing so deep that the person wished to be a part of the carefree crowd, with no tension as they enjoy the night.
Roaming all alone on the streets, he didn't know what the time was and he didn't even bother to acquire. For him, the time was at a standstill, just like he was as the people around him bustled with energy.
There were so many miss calls from Nayel and Shehryaar but he didn't answer any of them, he didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment. He wanted to be alone, to fully grieve the loss he endured before moving on.
Armaghan knew he will never forget Anadil but he would try to move on with the short memories of her. He wanted her memories to haunt him but after overcoming the pain of remembering her. Hence he stood at the busiest place of the city to immerse himself into the noises and forget the pain.
But is it that easy? Is it really easy to forget your love? Is it so easy to just chuck out the love in your heart in a moment after it had been nurturing itself into your every fibre slowly but intensely? No, it's not and Armaghan had realised that.
He didn't want to think about it but he knew, she would be sitting on someone else's bed right now as his bride. There is another person that would be hearing her sweet voice, seeing into her eyes and admiring her. That thought was like an arrow into his heart that was being twisted so deep inside that it was hard to breath.
How wrong he was in that thought. It was nothing like he was imagining rather it was the opposite. Reality is always harsher than imagination but for Armaghan and Anadil, both their reality and imagination was lethal.
On the other side of the city, someone else was the in the same boat as him. The person was huddled into the corner of a footpath, body shivering terribly with fear and despair.
The street was quite, no sign of a human being could be seen. The only light was the bright glow of the moon, taking pity on the figures on the frightening street. Every once in a while a bark of a dog was heard, further frightening the figures.
The two figures were stuck next to each other, sitting on the corner away from the wandering eyes that would cross the street once in a while.
"H-how long are we going to stay here?" A meak voice asked the other figure.
"Until we are safe." The other person answered, squeezing the hand of the first one tightly in its own.
"I am hungry." The first person spoke again, stomach grumbling with the need for food.
"Just wait for some time." The second voice pleaded, words laced with exhaustion.
The call to prayer was heard around the streets and houses, making the hearts of the two figures calm with the sound, a peace settled over them as they heart the words. They knew they were not alone and that was the biggest reassurance they could get.
When the moon started to be overtaken by the first early rays of the sun, casting a grey glow to the sky, when the first figure was satisfied that there was no danger, they got up from the dirty place.
Holding each other's hands they started treading towards the brighter part of the street and onto the streets that were crowded. But before they could turn towards the street, someone shouted from behind them.
"Woh rahe! Pakro!" (There they are! Catch them!)
Both the figure's eyes' widened in fear and they made a run for their lives. It was a literal run for their lives, because they knew if they were caught, life would be worse than death.
They ran as fast as they could and as far as it was possible. They didn't know where they were, which part of the city it was or what time it was. Fear along with adrenaline pumped their blood, their hearts beating extremely fast. They tried their best to dodged the unknown men that were after them for reason they had no idea of... No, they knew why they were being chased. They were predators waiting to prey on the helpless until there was nothing left other than their bones.
"Bus! Aur nahi! Pyaas aur bhookh bohot lagi hai." (Stop, I can't run more. I am really hungry and thirsty.)
The second person felt like crying at their misfortune. "We-we don't have money."
The first person felt guilty for demanding food and water knowing that it was not possible. The second person saw the crestfallen face and sighed.
"Okay, wait. Let me ask one of the shops if they will be kind even to give some water or something to eat."
They walked towards one of the shops and asked if they have any water or something they can give to eat to which they refused, no money meant no food.
Instead of being disappointed, the figure was struck with an idea. She looked around to try and figure out where they were and once she did, she sent a quick thank you to the sky. She looked at the other person with bright eyes.
"Come with me, I have a solution." She grabbed the other person's hand and started walking into the direction where she knew was her destination.
"Can we rest first please, my legs are paining?"
She nodded and looked around for a place to sit on. On seeing a park, they walked there and luckily it was open. They spotted a bench and took a seat. The morning must along with the dewy grass underneath their feet was extremely soothing. There were only a people or two there, going their morning walk or jogging.
"Despite what we are going through, I am really happy." The figure next to her spoke with a bright smile, a twinkle in the eyes.
She only shook her head, but not saying anything. She had nothing left to say. All her thoughts and rational thinking was jumbled up.
They sat there for an hour or two, just enjoying the open air after so long, until she stood up. "Let's go or else we will be late." Her body felt extremely weak, her stomach and body protesting to walk any longer but she ignored it. She hadn't eaten anything in so many days and it was finally catching up to her.
They walked for an hour when they reached a black gate of a huge building. The gate was locked, only allowing specific people in. Just as she took a step towards the guard house by the gate, a spell of dizziness hit her, making her lose her focus of a second.
She shook her head to clear her vision and took the second step and before anyone could do anything, she fell on the concrete head first, losing all of her consciousness.
The other figure gasped with shock and rushed towards her. Patting her cheeks and calling her name, the person tried to get her attention but she was devoid of all her senses.
The figure looked around at the people with tears in the eyes, hoping anyone would help but they were so ruthless that no one helped, thinking that this problem was not their own.
Just then a car came to a stop in front of the gate, waiting for the guard to open the door. As he waited for the gate to open fully, the person's eyes in fell on the figure on the floor and the crying child next to it.
With a worried look, he got up and walked towards the child and the still figure whose face was hidden by the child's body. "Kya hua beta?" He asked the child who turned around at the voice and looked at the man in front of her. (What happened child?)
"M-meri api ko k-kuch ho gaya h-hai uncle." She said in between her cries, concern and fear for her sister present on her face. (S-something hap-happened to my-my sis-siter uncle.)
That was when the man's gaze finally took in the figure's face. Shock took over his features as he recognised who it was. He couldn't believe his eyes for a second but yes, it was her. What was she doing here?
"Miss Anadil?" He whispered as he saw the person he least accepted to see early in the morning.
🤍🤍🤍
A slight throbing in her head made her groan out loud. Her throat was feeling scratchy, need for water overpowering. "Pa-paani." Her voice was extremely rough and her lips felt like sand paper. (W-water.)
She felt someone hoist her up and place a cold object near her lips. Squinting her eyes open, she gulped down the water in one go. When her vision cleared, the first thing she saw was the tv attached to the white wall in front of her.
She frowned and looked towards her left. A shriek left her lips as she quickly got away from the young boy who seemed as if he had more important work to do than be here. "W-who are you?" Then she looked around the room which she had never seen before. "Where a-am I?"
A sudden thought hit her when she remembered what had happened to her. "Ana-Anabiya? Where is she?"
The boy in front of her rolled her eyes at the typical questions. "Calm down! Your sister is outside in the kitchen. This is my house and I am Nayel."
"Why are we here?" She asked and before he could answer, Anabiya burst through the door.
"You're awake!" She screamed with a wide grin and wrapped her arms around her, making them both fall back on the floor.
Nayel closed his eyes to stop himself from taping that small girls mouth. Since she has come here, she's been chattering non-stop as if everyone in the house were her long lost best friends.
"Anabiya!" Anadil leaned back and placed kisses all around her face. "Are you okay? We were in front of my university, right? What are we doing here? What happened to me?" She asked non-stop, panic clear in her voice.
"Oho api." Anabiya slapped her own forehead. "So many questions. First, let's go outside so you can eat, I know you were also hungry even if you didn't say. When your stomach is full then I will tell you everything."
"But where is this?" She asked again, confused beyond everything.
"Just come you'll see." Anabiya answered and took hold of her hand and made her stand up.
"Did you eat?" Anadil asked in concern, worried that she was still hungry. She cared more for her sister than her herself like always.
"Yes I ate." Anabiya nodded as she led her sister down the stairs and across the living room towards the kitchen.
The kitchen was empty save for the food placed on the dining table. Anadil's stomach grumbled looking all the food that she could only imagine.
"Here, sit." Anabiya pulled out a chair and made her sit on it. Placing food on a plate, she put the plate in front of Anadil. "Eat as much as you want, no one will say anything."
Anadil was way confused at the way Anabiya was behaving. But for now she decided to leave her questions tucked away because she was too hungry at the moment.
Taking a bite of the food, her taste buds exploded with the amazing taste. "This is so tasty." Anadil complimented with her mouth full.
"Don't talk with your mouth full api, it's bad manners." Anabiya repeated the sentence that Anadil often rebuked her with.
Anadil smiled at her sister's antics. She could see how she was so carefree and happy. She had been noticing it since last night but now it was more evident.
"What happened?" Anadil finally asked, as she finished her food.
Anabiya told her how after she fainted, a professor from her university who taught her brought her over here and even called a doctor. Due to weakness and low blood pressure she had fainted. She had been unconscious for quite long and now it was evening. The professor was extremely nice and told Anabiya to stay without any formality.
Anadil wondered which professor it was, was it Mr Hassan or Mr Jafferi? They were the only two that were not too strict and would most likely help their students.
"Which professor of mine is it? Did he tell you his name?" She asked Anabiya curiously.
Anabiya looked at her sheepishly. "I forgot to ask. But he is so handsome api." She answered with a dreamy look on her face.
Anadil chuckled at her sister's expressions. "Then it is most probably Mr Hassan." She concluded more to herself. "Where is he now? We need to leave, we can't stay at someone else's house for long." She asked, looking around the large kitchen and the bit of the living area that she could see from where she was sitting.
"He went out for some work." Anabiya answered. "You know api, this house is so pretty and huge. I wish we could live her forever but I know we can't." She said in disappointment, her bottom lip sticking out.
"Yes, we can't. He has already done enough for us, we should not overstep out limit." Anadil agreed with her and looked at the dishes in front of her.
Anadil got up and placed the empty dishes into the sink and started washing them. This was an instinct what had developed over the years, like a rule that she had to follow. She had completely forgotten that she was at someone else's house.
"What are you doing?"
Anadil almost jumped at the strict voice, rotating her body slightly to look at the same boy from the room, Nayel, it was his name.
"Uh, washing the dishes." She mumbled.
Nayel's hardened face softened a bit at her reluctant voice. "It's okay miss, you don't need to wash them."
"It's not a problem, you have helped us a lot? this is the least we can do." Anadil politely declined and continued washing it.
Nayel's heart melted a little at her polite voice and manners. He could see why his uncle fell in love with her. Armaghan had told her who she was when he brought her unconscious form along with him. He felt an instant dislike towards her because she had made her uncle cry. So he put a rest to his soft feelings as soon as they made an appearance.
Footsteps coming to the kitchen brought all of their attention towards the entrance of it.
Anadil froze on her place, a soapy glass held in her hand, as she saw the person that she thought she would never see again. Her heart skipped a beat at her informal attire and rough exterior. He was not poised or sophisticated like he usually would be in university. His hair were all ruffled up, locks of hair falling onto his forehead. Wearing a simple blue t-shirt paired with grey trousers, he looked really dashing.
"S-sir?" She whispered out, unable to believe that he was standing in front of her.
She, like always, refused to look at him and most importantly at the moment because guilt was gnawing at her. Just seeing him there, she knew he was the one who helped her and who Anabiya described as handsome.
Armaghan looked at her standing by the sink with a glass in her head. Like always, her dupatta was on her head, completely concealing the top of her forehead and her hair, but her face was not covered.
He couldn't help but notice that she was wearing the same clothes she was wearing at her... yeah. He didn't even want to think about it. He removed his gaze away from him, knowing that she was someone else's.
Armaghan cleared his throat and placed the multiple plastic bags on the shelf of the kitchen. "How are you now Miss Anadil?" He asked in a formal tone, smiling at Anabiya slightly.
"I-I'm fine s-sir. Thank you for everything." She muttered meekly and turned around to finish washing the dishes.
Wiping her hands with the dupatta, she looked at Armghan, biting her lip in nervousness.
"No need for thanks, I was just helping someone in need." He answered nonchalantly and started to take the grocerries out.
A stab of pain hit Anadil's heart but what else did she expect after what she did to him. "We should go now, thank you again." She said softly and went to stand with Anabiya.
Armaghan looked up instantly, not wanting her to go but then shook his head, knowing he had no right to act so irrationally. "Okay, let me drop you off to your home."
He tried his best to stop himself from asking what they were doing so early in the morning at the university and why did she look so weak. He wanted to know where her husband was and why they were all alone but he stopped himself. There were so many questions but no courage to ask them.
Anabiya looked worriedly at Anadil and before she could stop her, Anabiya spoke. "We don't have a home." She whispered sadly.
Nayel and Armaghan looked at them, appalled. "What do you mean you have no home?" Nayel asked with knitted eyebrows.
"Nothing, she meant nothing." Anadil hurriedly covered up, giving Anabiya a look to shut up. Then she looked at Armaghan. "It's okay sir, you don't need to drop us off, we'll manage."
"But where will we go?" Anabiya voiced out, looking bewildered, not knowing why her sister was lying.
"Home. We'll go home Anab." Anadil balantly glared at her this time.
Armghan frowned, sensing something extremely wrong. "What's going on Miss Anadil?" He asked with the authoritative tone that he used in the classroom, a tone that meant no arguments of lies. A tone that always intimidated her.
Anadil looked here and there, trying to find an accuse which didn't go unnoticed by him.
"The answer is not written on the walls or the floor Miss Anadil." He stated with a blank look on his face.
Anadil slapped Anabiya mentally in her head for opening her mouth when it was not needed. "Ac-actually, the house we live in... is being renovated, yeah. It's being renovated so we don't have a home for now." She lied.
Nayel did not believe that to be true and if he didn't then it was impossible that Armaghan believed it.
He could the lie in her eyes. "Miss Anadil!" A warning.
Anadil shut her eyes quickly at his commanding voice. A small smile touched Armaghan's lips at her reaction which he quickly concealed as if it was never there.
"We were thrown out of the house." She mumbled out, opening her eyes slowly.
"But you got m-married yesterday?" He asked, confused to the extreme.
Anadil looked up in his eyes at his stuttering, eyes that always made her weak. Eyes that always made her feel protected and at home. Eyes that were compelling her to reveal each and every scar on her heart.
🤍🤍🤍
"Anadil Shaikh, kya aapko Aagir Mir Rizwan say mehr 5000 rupees main nikkah main diya jata hai, kya aapko qubool hai?" (Do you Anadil Shaikh accept Aagir Mir Rizwan as your husband for haq mehr 5000 rupees?)
Anadil's heart stopped, a shiver running down her spine. Her whole body shivered as she shut her eyes tightly.
"Kya aapko qubool hai?" The Imam asked again on not receiving a reply. (Do you accept?)
A nudge on her shoulder from behind snapped her out of her statue like state.
"Q-Qu-Qubool Hai."
"Anadil Shaikh, kya aapko-" (Do you-)
A ring of a phone interrupted a sentence which was picked up by the groom, not caring that his nikkah was in the middle.
"Rukain please!" (Stop please!)
The groom from next to Anadil stood up and yelled after he listened to the phone call, pulling the flower veil away from his face. Multiple sounds of gasps and shocked whispered echoed into the silent air.
Behind the veil it was not Aagir but someone else, one of Aagir's best friend.
Anadil sat numb in her place, not understanding the situation. But deep into the corner of her heart, she was relieved.
"Shaan, tum idhar kya kar rhe ho?" Laila asked angrily, marching towards him. "Aagir kidhar hai?" (Shan, what are you doing here? Where is Aagir?)
Shaan rubbed the back of his neck. "W-woh aun-aunty Aagir k-ko goli lagi, humain hospital jana hoga!" (Aun-aunty Aagir is shot! We have to go to the hospital!)
Laila held her heart in her hand at the news, her heart almost stopped. "Wh-what do you mean? Where is he?"
Mir Rizwan's legs almost gave up underneath him as he heard about his son. "Shaan, which hospital is he in?"
When Shaan told him the name, he along with some other men of the family left the for the hospital, advising the women and especially Laila to stay behind. The other guests stayed behind to watch the drama that would unfold, taking someone's life as an entertainment.
Laila looked back at Shaan who stood there with remorse. "Shaan, tell me everything." She asked after trying to calm her worried heart.
Shaan looked at Anadil (who didn't move from her seat) and then back at Laila. "Two days ago Aagir got a call from an unknown number, identifying himself as a lover of Anadil and threatened Aagir that if he proceeded with the wedding, he would be killed. Aagir was enraged, he was now more determined to get married to her and make her suffer, to satisfy his bruised ego. You know that he is hot-headed, someone who does things in a rush without thinking of anything. So today, he called that guy and called him to an abandoned site. He wanted to teach him a lesson on the same day he marries his lover. He made me dress up as him and our other friends helped me in keeping you guys away from me, so no one suspects anything. He said that he will be here on time but he was still not here. Before the nikkah was about to take place, one of our friend who accompanied him called me and said that I should go ahead because they were about to leave and will be back before it's Aagir's turn to accept. Now I got a call that he was shot, twice on his body. Believe me aunty, we tried to stop him, we really did but he didn't listen. He was obsessed and way beyond angry that his future wife had an affair with someone else." He told everything that he knew and was going on.
Anadil was dumbfounded on her place, what was he talking about? What lover? Her heart sped up knowing that Laila will not spare her now, no one will. On one will believe her at all. She will be labelled the same as her mother. She had tried her best to not do anything that would tarnish her character and prove to others that she was her mother's daughter after all. That was another reason that made her agree to the wedding, she didn't want to be called the same as her mother but now everything was ruined.
A shiver ran down her spine when Laila looked at her with pure hatred in her eyes. Anadil quickly got up and moved away from her, Anabiya taking hold of her hand in hers tightly.
Laila marched towards Anadil and before she could move further away, a hard slap was placed on her face, making her body jerk to the floor. A wince left her lips due to the sting on her face. "Ch-chachi, mainay k-kuch nah-nahi kiya." (Aunty, I- I di-didn't do any-anything.)
"Churail, dayan!" Laila screamed in her face, taking hold of her hair in her fist through her dupatta, pulling them in her grip. "Nikli tum apni maa ki beti!" She pulled her up from the floor while Anabiya tried to help her sister out of her strong grip. "Tumhari wajah say aaj mera beta zindagi aur maut may bheej jhool raha hai! Main tumhe aaj zinda nahi chodun gi!" (You witch! You turned out just like your mother! Because of you my son is fighting between life and death. I will not spare you today!)
"Chodo meri behan ko!" Anabiya screamed, hitting Laila's thighs with her fists. Fatima quickly came forward and took hold of her from her arms, pulling her away. (Leave my sister!)
No one came forward to help the sisters, they just watched it like it was some drama, whispering amongst themselves. Their hearts were hardened, no mercy or sympathy left in them.
There was someone amongst the spectators who had an evil smile on their face, the person who was responsible for everything.
Before Laila could hit Anadil again, Shaan's phone rang. Laila quickly let go of Anadil and looked at him with hope. The further Shaan listened to the call, the more his face turned pale. With no strength in his body, he looked at Laila and shook his head slowly, making Laila stumble backword, agony written all across her face. "I am sorry aunty, Aagir is n-no more. H-he d-died on the way to the hospital."
Anadil's tears suddenly stopped as she heard the news. She didn't know how to react, should she be happy that her life was saved from being ruined or be sad that her cousin, a person who grew up with her, passed away?
Laila fell to the ground, holding her head in her hands. The pain in her heart was beyond anything she had experience before. Her tongue was tied in her mouth, she couldn't even cry. She was numb.
Fatima's face was filled with tears as sheet go of Anabiya and rushed towards her mother and taking her into an hug, crying hysterically on her shoulder. "Bha-bhai!" She screamed loudly. "Kha gayi mere bahi ko satan!" (That witch killed my brother.)
Anabiya ran towards Anadil and hugged her from the waist, she was scared. Crying filled the air in the lawn, creating a frightening environment.
Laila suddenly got up and walked towards Anadil, taking hold of her arm and dragging her towards the gate, Anabiya was also dragged along with her. "Main tumhara manhoos chehra aur bardasht nahi kar sakti!" With that she threw the sisters out of the house, locking the door in their face. (I can no longer tolerate your ill-omen face in my house anymore.)
Anadil and Anabiya stood staring at the door for few moments, not knowing what to do.
"We stood there banging on the door, but no one answered. We had no option to walk away from the house. I didn't have a phone with me so I could call Zaisha and besides I didn't want to trouble her since her dad himself was in the hospital. We walked on the streets, thinking of a way out when some guys saw us and started chasing us. We were afraid so we hid somewhere until the sunrise. Then I thought of waiting by the university for someone I was acquainted with to ask for help when I fainted due to weakness." Anadil was looking at her feet as she sat on the sofa of the living room, her voice was emotionless as she narrated the suffering she went through. Anabiya sat next to her, her hand tucked in between Anadil's.
There was silence for few seconds a they processed her words. Armaghan had never felt so relieved before as he felt when he heard that she didn't get married. He really wanted to scream in happiness but he contained himself. On the other hand, he felt angry at her so called family for throwing two young girls out of the house at night. He wanted to go to them and put some sense on how to treat humans.
Nayel, on the other side, felt pity for the two girls. All of his dislike melted away as he heard what they had to go through. He was happy that there was a possibility of his uncle being able to get what he wanted. A small smile came on his lips as he watched Anadil. Now that all of his hatred was stripped away, he found her really pretty and started to like her.
Armaghan took a deep breath. "I want you guys to stay for the night since it's quite late, till then I will think of what could be done. I am not leaving you guys alone for now. You are in my house so you are my responsibility." He stated with a tone that said that there was no room for argument.
Anadil sighed and nodded her head. She just wanted a roof over her head for sometime, unti she figured out what to do.
No matter how much she tried to ignore it, she knew she was exhilarated that she was present at Armaghan Ali Shah's house at the moment. At the back of her mind she was aware that as long as he was with her, she would be fine. It was a silly thought but that's how she felt and she had no control over her feelings.
Whereas she felt like a lifeless person before, now she felt full of life with hopes in her. She knew everything will be fine now.
Hayat Kya Hai, Wafat Kya Hai
Tumhara Aana, Tumhara Jana
🤍🤍🤍
Hiiii 🤭🤭🤭
How was the twist?🙈
Here is a quick unedited update since I didn't want to guys to keep cursing me🤭😜 I didn't even read what I wrote since I wrote it in a hurry.
Man, I was astonished at the feedback I got on the last update❤
Thank you so much for being so active responsive.
Shout out to everyone who said that wanted Aagir to die so passionately, you guys read my mind so well😂 His character was made to die.
Believe me, I am not so cold hearted to make Anadil and Armaghan go through so much pain. I only write what I would love to read and since I hate separations, I would hate to write that. I would also not make an abusive person (whether it is mental abuse or physical) be the main character at all. And Aagir was a whole abusive and bad person.
And I am extremely sorry for giving you guys an heart attack😁 I hope you are okay now.
That's it, will see you next time.
Take Care💘
Bye🥰
Love you guys sooo much💞💕