That night, after the panchayat, fireworks exploded into the charcoal black sky announcing the start of a new era. Children, women, men, old age pensioners climbed to the rooftops of their humble homes. Their eyes dilated in awe, staring into the sky mesmerised by the dance of the fireworks lighting the village like an aurora borealis.
Babu looked up at the spectacular sky. In his eighty years, he'd never seen an exploding sky marking an seismic change. Whether it was good or bad, only God knows. By day helicopters polluted the clear Jahanpur skies, by night, the skies exploded; the new Choudhary was making his mark high above ground.
The atmosphere deepened through an ombre of blues, green and red until it reached a perfect starlit black silencing the sins of the day.
Earlier that day, once Shah Nawaz was crowned king of Jahanpur, Wajahat Ali left the panchayat and hurtled along the pot holed road in his roofless jeep like his life was on fire. He grit his jaw, his hands tight over the steering wheel his knuckles white.
"Choudhary Shahnawaz is king! Choudhary Shahnawaz is king!" He muttered like a mantra, trying to convince himself.
"Choudhary Shahnawaz is king!" He couldn't believe his eyes, Shahnawaz crowned and Dilawar-Baksh cowered into a corner.
"Choudhrani is free!" His tyres screeched on the dusty road, beeping the stragglers, the carts out of the way. Did Choudhrani Shahgul know her son was king? Did someone tell her?! His heart was bursting out of his chest, shivering with excitement.
"Choudhary Shahnawaz is king!"
Once he reached Sang e Mar Mar Haveli, he jumped out ready to break the haveli etiquette.
"Where is Choudhrani?" His voice loud like a drum calling out the maids who rushed to his aid. Who died? What happened?
"Where is she?" His urgent eyes peeled through the haveli walls.
"Choudhrani is in her bedroom. She does not want to be disturbed." Spoke a meek maid.
Wajahat Ali ignored the pesky voice, he marched into the haveli and climbed three steps at a time ready to shake Shahgul from her sleep. Choudhary Shahnawaz is king!
Wajahat Ali rapped on the wooden door with his strong knuckles. He paused for a millisecond unable to hold his patience and pushed the door open. Inside, dead darkness invited him in. Curtains drawn, an eerie silence filled Shahgul's bedroom.
His eyes permeated the darkness and he picked the contour on the bed covered by the black blanket. Gently, he prised the curtains apart bleeding in light into the room. Shahgul stirred.
"Who is it?" Shahgul muttered. "Leave me alone!"
Not today. Today was Eid. It was every Eid they'd celebrated in one day.
"I have news."
"Go away!" She snapped.
Wajahat Ali approached the bed and kneeled before his queen with pride serving her and her fearless son. Shahgul's arm was over her forehead. Her tresses spread on the pillow.
"Your son.." His mouth dry. His heart pounded like a drum. His hand trembled with excitement. He couldn't utter the words.
"Ch....Choudhary Shahnawaz is king!"
Gently, Shahgul opened her eyes the pain edging away.
"Choudhary Shahnawaz is king of Jahanpur."
Shahgul removed her arm from her face. Was this cruel joke? Shahgul pulled herself up on the bed. She moaned with pain. Her body ached. Wajahat Ali shot too his feet and adjusted her pillows. She raised her hand and stopped him coming close. Once Shahgul sat up, she looked at Wajahat Ali. He was different, a joy etched on his face which she rarely saw. It was true. But how did it happen?
Wajahat Ali threw the words like a jumbled mess on her bed. Shahgul stared at her blanket like she was sieving through the nonsensical words making sense.
"Jahanzaib gave the ring and turban to your son-" Wajahat Ali explained the events in his confusion to Shahgul imbuing new found energy and excitement through her body.
Was it true? Was Dialwar-Baksh powerless? Her screams from last night echoed in the room. The whack of the belt, her scars red raw. Her legs weak, she couldn't stand up. She stared at the squares on the floor tiles.
Was it truly over? Did her son protect her from her brutal husband?
***
After the scream and weighted splash- the hills were silent concealing a tragedy. Meh'r-Bano's body washed away in the river cleaning Jahanpur of treachery.
Standing victorious on the top of the cliff, was the king of Jahanpur. Victory emboldened his shoulders, his chest wide as he looked down at the valley. Above his army of helicopters hovered over him. Phase one was launched. Shahnawaz flew in his team from the city to initiate phase one of operation Jahanpur. What followed would be months of meetings, assessments, plans, engineering reports and blue prints to a thriving, modern new Jahanpur.
Soon, Jahanpur would be unrecognisable and Shah Nawaz could see his vision before his eyes. Tall buildings towering the centre of Jahanpur, every inch of soil bursting with crops all year round. An intricate irrigation system that would crush the annual drought. Shah Nawaz flung his shawl over his chest and turned his back from the cliff edge where Meh'r Bano jumped, making his way to his car.
'Jahanzaib's a kind man- he saved me from the whip!'
Meh'r-Bano was gone but her words echoed. Choudhary Jahanzaib is a good man- he's educated and from the city.
Shah Nawaz fisted his hand and took a deep breath whilst shutting his eyes.
"Damn you Bulbul!" he screwed his face. He turned back looking at the cliff. Could she swim? The current was strong.
"There is a lot to be done. Leave her!" The cliff edge beckoned Shah Nawaz but his feet pointed towards his car. Would she survive?
Shahnawaz lifted his precious turban from his head and looked at the glimmering ruby stone pressed into the centre. He kissed the ruby.
"I'll be back" He promised his turban.
Stripped of his turban, jewellery, with a bare chest, his arms powered his body and he ran to the edge of the cliff and leaped into the air, somersaulted and dived like a professional diver into the gushing water.
The river was fast and strong pulling Meh'r-Bano into the depth of the river. She swallowed a mouthful of water, now drowning her lungs. She waved her arms for help. She tried to scream for help, water poured in. She coughed, spluttered, reaching out for something, anything.
I'm going to die today. Further down the river, she washed away- unable to stop or control it. Soon she would drown and there was no one to help her. Was this it? Was this the last moment of her life?
Shahnawaz fought the current with his powerful arms and shoulders swimming strongly like he was in a wrestling match. He dived deep into the river. It was a dark blue, stones, branches, plants- but he couldn't see anything. Where was she?
Now, Meh'r-bano's body was tired. She couldn't swim or fight the river. Darkness surrounded her eyes, the river engulfed her. This was it. Meh'r-Bano was certain it was her final moment. Shah Nawaz won. She looked into the blue sky giving in to the force of the river- she couldn't do it anymore. This was the end. Letting go of the fight, she gave in, reciting in her heart, with her lips.
'La ilaha...illal la- " The declaration of faith- her final words.
After ten minutes in the gushing river, Shah Nawaz was lost, unable to find her. Where could she have gone? He reached the pebbled river bank and held the dangling, thick branch and pulled his body up.
"Damn you, Bulbul!" He flicked his wet hair.
After a moment, he jumped into the river where it meandered cutting through the hills and widening a dangerous length. If he couldn't find her now, she was certainly dead. He dived into the river and kicked the river surging deeper where he spotted long, wavy hair like floating plants . He dived sharp like a knife towards her and found her limp body stuck between a branch and boulder. He grabbed her body around the waist and pressed his barefoot on the boulder pulling her free. She was stuck and unconscious. He swam towards the boulder and tugged her left leg free. Quickly, he wrapped his arms around her body, pressing her against his bare chest like a buoy he rose to the surface and gasped for air. With her body against his body, he swam to the river bank. He climbed on the leafy green bank and carried her limp body, with her arm limp her head tilted and wet hair swinging. He placed her safely on the ground and kneeled beside her. She wasn't breathing. Her body cold.
Gasping for breath, he ran his hand pushing his hair back.
"You will leave when I decide. Today is not that day." He shook her body. No response. He tilted her forehead, lifting her chin up. He leaned in with his ear against her mouth. No breaths. Her lungs were drowned with water. He placed his hands on her breast bone and began chest compressions pumping the water out of her lungs.
"Bulbul! You will live!"
He pressed hard on her chest.
"Kind! Educated man!" With every push he cursed Jahanzaib. "He's a fool!" After a set of compressions he leaned back waiting for her to respond. Meh'r-Bano's body was still like ice.
"You will live and every watch my victory with regret backing the wrong man!" Determined to breath life into her ice cold body, he tilted her lips towards him and moistened his lips. Her lips were shade of blue and purple. It was strange not seeing her arguing, and her emerald eyes sparkle glaring at him with hate. Shah Nawaz pinched her nose and leaned into her lips until his lips were a breath away. He paused and looked at her purple lips. Suddenly, Meh'r-Bano gasped and spluttered a mouth full of water into his mouth. Shah Nawaz leaned back and turned her body to the side in a recovery position. He fell back in relief watching her body splutter like a fish out of water returning into the world.
Coughing for oxygen, Meh'r-Bano regained conscious. The salty taste of blood on her lips. Her body soaked and throbbing with pain. Where am I? She looked down at her body, clothes soaked revealing her body. It hit her like a boulder- the cliff. She sat up and looked around. When she turned, she found half dressed, soaked, Shah Nawaz standing over her. She gasped dragging her body away from him collecting dirt, terrified. What did he do? Why was he here? What happened? She shivered like a leaf. Shah Nawaz stepped closer to her, he pushed his wet hair back, stretching his arms.
"Bulbul! I told you to fly!."
He wanted her dead. The gunshot.
He kneeled before her, his eyes landing on the pulse on her slender neck. She was breathing. Her lips now rosy pink.
"I have grand plans for Jahanpur- and you my Bulbul-" He inched closer, eager to feel her warm, but Meh'r-Bano pulled away from the burly, half naked Choudhary stamped with a tattoo on his chest.
"-you will live and consume with regret- regret the day you laid eyes on me in the bazaar." He leaned to her ear, his eyes staring at the drop running down her slender neck. "
"Choudhary Shah Nawaz is king of Jahanpur and he's coming for you."
Deserting a shaken, confused Meh'r-Bano by the river side, returning from death's door – she wasn't sure whether surviving was a positive.
The flashbacks hit her hard. The gun. The shot. The jump. Her screams. What happened? How did she end up by the river side? Did she die? Did Shah Nawaz save her? A helicopter hovered overhead she looked up reminding her of new Jahanpur. It was stupid to plot behind his back with Jahanzaib. She couldn't escape and the only option was now to acquiesce to Shah Nawaz. To murder her dreams and live like a true villager.
"Shah Nawaz is king!"
What did the new king of Jahanpur have in store for her? Why did he save her? To punish her treason?
***
Author's note:
Finally; I managed to update-Wahaay! What are your thoughts?
What do you expect from powerful Shah Nawaz?
What do you WANT to happen?