After every hardship is eased!
The sky was clear and seemed so high, at infinity.
The eternal blue sheet spread over her head with soft cotton blending with its beauty.
She raised her hand, reaching out to touch the sky, to grab cotton clouds and blow them in air. Creating a fog around her. She didn't want mist clouding her vision, she wants the moisture to tickle her skin, to make her giggle, to fill her with contentment.
Her features were solace, her eyes shining brighter than ever.
An eagle flew from the tree in front of their home. It spreads its wings and flapped. It rounded around their home. She twirled around with every moment of eagle, capturing it's every angle in her memory. Air carried the eagle higher and higher. She felt herself in the eagle's flight. She feels as light as feathers.
Her gaze was fixed on the eagle. It makes a turn and flies farther and farther upward trying to touch the sky, trying to play with clouds, like it had heard her wish.
She smiled when the eagle seems like part of the vast, immortal sky. Floating in the air as it owns it.
She realized indeed after every hardship is ease only you need to spread your wings and flap until your all pain floats with the symphony of air.
Where the pain no longer matters. She realized our peace of mind is always within us, not in anything or anyone. She realized that crisis and issues are mortal and one day when we want to fly high we have to drop the burden off our shoulders to have freedom of serenity, to fly high, to be the part of the clear sky.
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Alina's PoV
I have never been an expressive girl when it comes to telling about your miseries to anyone. I always hide them from the world because of the fear of judgment, because of people's point of view regarding me, because I think I don't trust anyone this much that I will put my heart out in front of them cause I think the problem will be settled but that period of life will always be imprinted in their brain and I don't want my issues to be my identity.
So I figured a substitute to protect my self-centered personality when it comes to expressing myself. I use to write a letter to that person cussing or complaining literally letting out everything on that manuscript, then I go to a high place, like the roof of our home. I tear my letter into pieces then throw them down the roof. The torn script spread around, falling slowly in a rhythm, pulled by gravity, lower and lower beneath me. I watch them until they touch the ground worthless. I assume that my words are dancing in the air and will be carried to that person miraculously. They will know I am hurt, they hurt me or I need them. Most of the time it lessens my depression cause I had delivered my sorrow to Mother nature to handle it her way. My heart feels light, most of the burden dropped down in the form of torn papers.
The last week had been one hell of a week, so tense and stressful. I was usually on the edge that something bad will happen and everything will be ruined. Rayan will hurt my family and I will live in guilt rest of my life because it's all happening because of me, God knows how everything went so smoothly.
Mr. Ahmed had promised me that he will fight for me not just fight, he will win the case by hook or crook. He said he saw his sister Sharmeen in me. I have gone through the same pain but I think he was worst. He said I should call him Ahmed Bhai because he found her little sister in my form. Honestly, he had been a blessing of God in this whole scenario.
Dawood Bhai, he had been stressed out since the incident happened. Working day and night for my sake. He made a great place in my heart. I am so happy for Alizey, she is lucky to have a soulmate so considerate as him. I didn't have a good viewpoint regarding him. I thought of him as a selfish person, who had tangled my sister in an unrevealed relationship and he will never come to espouse and live happily ever after with her, just to take his revenge for imposing her on him in such a young age but he proved me wrong. He is here for us, for me, for her.
I was doing the same thing which I despised, judging people without knowing them. How hypocrite!
My sister and my mother had always been my backbone. Holding my hand, leading my way, giving me the freedom to do whatever I like. They had been my massive support. I don't have a lot of memories with Baba cause I was just four when he died. The image of him in my head is blurry and mere glimpse. I think I don't miss him, I miss his presence that how my life would be if he was there? If he had survived in the crash? I think my life would be a lot more different from now but I am happy with whatever I have.
A new beginning awaits for me, it's knocking on my door only I need to turn the knob and welcome it with a big heart and unite with my family. Who stayed by my side in light and dark.
It's nonsense to beat around the bush, stuck with past when it had already passed. It's like standing on the railway track, sweating badly, shaking with fear, scared to be hit by a train which had already departed.
I jumped at the sound of my phone. It was ringing on my bed, pulling me out of my daze. I get up from my compy couch putting my sketchbook back in the rack.
Picking up my phone I see the caller ID, it was an unknown number. I hesitantly picked up up the call.
" Is this Alina? " grave manly voice erupted from the speaker after a while when I didn't say anything, I panicked. His voice was shaky as he had been crying but I managed to say.
" Ye... Yes, " I stutter.
" I am Haroon Sherazi, Rayan's father." and the universe falls on my head.
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Ahmed's PoV
" You proved yourself, Ahmed, I am behind the bar. It must be the happiest day of your life. " Rayan stated solemnly with a humorless chuckle leaning against the wall of his cell.
" Indeed it is! Having my sister's rapist avenged was on the top of my bucket list but I won't call it as an absolute victory. " I looked dead in his eyes, they were empty, they had lost their spark and playfulness. They seemed to sadden like he hadn't seen happiness ever. I didn't feel a little bit of empathy for him. Whenever I see him I see my sister's innocent dead face, questioning me for justice. My father soulless body provoking me to murder this sinner.
" What do you mean? " he asked quizzically knitting his brows together in confusion.
" I want you to be hung to death. " I say through gritted teeth, his eye widens then he smirked and broke out laughing hysterically.
" Just That? Enough? " he questioned after gaining his composure. He surely lost his mind.
" Well, there is no worst punishment as death. " I remarked.
" Death is peace! " he smiled madly.
" then rest in peace," saying I twirled around and left him there with his lunacy.
I won't let him live. I want Justice for my sister and my father. He is behind the bar shaken and broken but nothing can pay for the blood of my family except his dead face.
I remember his biography word by word. His neglected childhood, unfortunate teenage and sinful adulthood. I would have felt sad about his but his actions have made me my heart merciless towards him.
Indeed criminals are created they aren't born.
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Rayan's PoV
Death is not the worst punishment I just realized this. I never feared anything even Allah. I was the King of my own world, loving the feeling of superiority and power over others. Everyone was afraid of me, even if I glared at them they start shivering like a leave, about to piss in their pants. I was so blinded by the authority that I tripped and had a great fall. When you fall from a great height the hit is worse than ever. I had that deadly hit that tore all the blindfolds off my eyes.
I never respected women. They were a piece of trash, gold digger and a selfish piece of shit according to me. Just Because of the only person who doesn't have any right to be called a mother. I never had a good relationship with my parents even though I was their only child. My father was the same voracious person. Leave them I don't wanna talk about them.
Every single person in my life had only taken advantage of me. I thought Babar would be loyal to me but even he betrayed me. His betrayal had directly stabbed my heart. I always had trust issues that can not be cured ever because of this continual disloyalty. I had figured recently what Babar was up to something cause his actions were suspicious. He always digs inside me to know more and more and I was such a neglected child that I used to pour my heart out to him.
Yes, I raped Sharmeen but I wasn't in my senses. I don't remember anything from that day except waking up with a severe headache. Babar knew I can't control alcohol, he knew my weaknesses. He forced me to drink it and after five or maybe more shots, I was mindless. My brain working on its own.
I don't know what happened next cause when I woke up I had a severe hangover and I wasn't in my room. I had scratches on my hand, arms and face. Then I remembered a little glimpse of last evening that I had forced myself on a girl. Then it drowned on me that maybe I raped her or maybe not. Panic-stricken I search for her in the cottage but she was nowhere. How stupid I was where will she go after what I had done to her? She must be somewhere because my men wouldn't leave her without my permission.
My mind was a complete mess at that time. 'How she ended up here?' was the first question that had popped up in my head.
My men had kidnapped her on my order I came to know it later from Babar. She was walking back home from her college and I commanded them to follow her. When they found the right opportunity they dragged her in the car and unconscious her with the help of chloroform.
I remember, Babar had come out of the kitchen whistling carefreely then when his eyes landed on me he teased me about last night. I had grabbed him by the collar and smacked him against the wall asking about her, confusion was evident in his eyes on my totally opposite behavior as he had expected.
He told me that she escaped and they searched for her but couldn't find her. I had dropped on the sofa holding my head I burst into tears, they were blurring my vision and my face was soaking wet. I am a bloody rapist. I never thought that my insanity will reach this much high, crossing all the limits. I am evil, a poison, no worse than my father. I ruined her life for the sake of my pleasure.
They filed the case but lose it cause my father had bribed the lawyer and threatened them to back away. They did back away for the sake of their remaining family.
Babar always stayed by my side is a great support. In those days he gained my trust even more but then one day my secret agent showed up and informed me about his visit to a company we were dealing with. It was a vital project which could have lead our company to tremendous success. The next day the CEO rejected our deal and told us that he got a better partnership, from that day our downfall start but I think it was started the very day when I became a friend with Babar. He was a snake under grass. A slow poison. He so easily slipped out of my hands accusing someone else about the issue and my knucklehead use to trust his words because he was the only friend I had but later on, by further investigation after our constant fall, I found out that the actual villain in this situation is no other than my dear Babar because of some unknown revenge from my father. Later I was enlightened that as the greedy man my father is, he had sued Babar's father in a false case and seized his father shares and taken over the whole company in his leadership. They were bankrupt. Living a life hand to mouth. His father died in imprisonment due to all the stress. He was already a patient of high blood pressure and hypertension. His mother had a nervous breakdown after his father's death, she lived in the state of coma for almost six years and died. He was sent to his uncle in the USA where he continued his studies. After that, he came back here for the sake of revenge.
His story was indeed very tragic and I heartily felt pity for him but still the feeling of abundance and betrayal was dominant over anything. I plot a plan against him but he was a much clever planner than me. He knew that I like Alina, he had found me staring at her photo in my cell phone. We made a plan to see her at the event I don't want to make him suspicious about my doing so I agreed and ask him to do me this favor as normally I usually do.
I only wanted to talk to her and tell her that I like her anything else. The room I had booked under his name was to drag him in the court cause when you are once dragged in the court your opposition will dig your grave to find as many clues about you. I want that to happen with him and it did go as I had planned but not really as it had to be. I had hired a girl to do me a favor. I had planned to make him take the girl in that room and then she will scream that he had dragged her there and file a case of harassment against him but I fall in my own trap.
There was no alcohol served at the event. We were waiting for the right opportunity to talk to her, I don't know when he added something in my drink and I was turned on. I had gone to the restroom to pull myself together but there was no change. The dose of that drug was too high. I was walking back when he messaged me that the coast is clear, it's time to make a move. I saw her going down the stairs and my whole body light up but due to that stupid drink I was losing my sanity still I was conscious enough to remember what I had done to her. What nasty words I had said and what I was about to ruin an innocent girl again.
I think Babar surely avenged me.
Sharmeen's screams still haunt me in my sleep.
I think I haven't slept peacefully for a year and now after hurting Alina peace won't be a chapter in my story of life.
At the court, I hadn't put any effort to win nor my father did cause he had many other things to settle because of the slow poison that Babar had injected.
When I had been dragged towards the prisoner van. I spotted her standing with her family her eyes glistening with tears of joy her lips smiling the smile I loved. She was relaxed because I was defeated. Bittersweet feelings had evoked in my chest. I give her a last thorough look, memorizing her every feature to bring light in my death chamber. I stumbled twice on my foot, I clear less about it. Her eyes landed on me and hatred replaced in her eyes. My heart clenched in my chest.
I died a million times the very moment. I am a bloody rapist, her harasser, what was I expecting? To see love in her eyes? That she will run in my arms? How dumb! Nevertheless, it still hurts. She continued looking at me disgustingly and I smiled at her sadly and was pushed in the prisoner van.
My lust, my lack of self-control, my insanity, my neglected childhood, my internal crisis, self sympathy, power, and constant backstabbings made my life a living hell. I am a sinner, her sinner. I deserved what I am going through. I deserve worse than this.
How much horrible this can get? I pray that I should live to see cause only peace in my life left, is death!
I don't want to rest in peace!
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