Chapter2

#Chapter2

Mahnoor's POV:

The next day went to Kanwal’s house from college directly. With a miserable look on her face, Kanwal’s mother told me that she won’t stop crying and hadn’t been at anything from the morning. Worried, I rushed to my friend’s room and without any heed, I rushed in.

As I entered, Kanwal’s younger sister stood up and Salam me but Kanwal didn’t move an inch. Sitting like a sculpture on the bed, she was staring at her hands and didn’t even bother to look up at the door until I called her.

/"Kanwal?/" She finally raised her head and ran to hug me from across the room.

/"Mano, you came... I thought you would leave me like other friends./" She wrapped her hands around me tight.

/"Leave?... why would I leave you?/" I hugged her back.

/"Because of the same reason, everyone does... they don't want to be with a person who is going to be the wife of Black Eagle's second command./"

How pathetic!

/"Forget about them. If they can't stand with a friend, they are not friends at all./" I patted her back and make her sit on the bed. Her eyes were swelled from crying and her face was red, she wasn’t the cheerful girl I know.

/"Auntie said that you haven't eaten anything?/" I asked.

/"I am not hungry./"

/"But I am...the first thing I did was run over here after college. I haven't eaten breakfast today... Alina, bring us something to eat please./" I said to her thirteen-year-old sister who was standing behind me looking at Kanwal worriedly. As soon as I told her, she dashed out of the room to bring food.

Both Alina and I manage to make her eat a little but her sobs never died down. After the meal, we gave her medicine as she was complaining about a headache. I put her head on my lap and started stroking her hair.

/"What I am going to do, Mano? Even if I marry him... I cannot love him, he is not the same Ahad... the person I loved wasn't as selfish and heartless as him... what should I do, Mano. I don't marry a criminal./"

/"Did he talk to you yesterday?/"

/"Yes!... he clearly said in front of college staff that I am his fiancé and we are getting married in two days./"

/"TWO DAYS?!/" Her words hit me like a bomb. /"But…that's… that's so soon, Kanwal./"

/"Ye-/" Before she was able to complete the sentence, Alina barged into the room.

/"Ahad Bhai is here to see you./" I felt Kanwal's body froze that instant.

/"Tell him that she has a fever and she is resting./" I answered in her place.

/"That's not very nice... we shouldn't teach a kid to lie, right tigress?/"

We all jumped on hearing this masculine voice. My head snapped at the door and found Ahad standing there with a few shopping bags in his hand. Kanwal quickly sat up and grabbed her dupatta from the side and cover her chest.

/"Assalam o Alaikum ladies...oh! Our little tigress has grown up Kanwal./" Everyone remained silent. Kanwal started to stare at the floor again, while Alina and I were glaring at Ahad. For the first time in my life, I loathed the word tigress from coming out of his mouth. It was the nickname my tutor gave me, the Ahad Bhai I knew in my school, not him.

/"You've become quite beautiful as well./" He complimented, which annoyed me even more.

/"What do you want, Ahad?/"

/"Oho! Since when did you start to disrespect your elders?/" He tossed a smile at me and put all of the shopping bags on the floor.

/"I don't consider a criminal as my elder./"

/"Watch it, Tigress. You might regret it someday./" He said in a strange tone which left me confused for a while.

/"Anyways I brought your wedding dress, Kanwal... I should look beautiful tomorrow...for me./" He gave a warm smile to Kanwal and left but she sat on her bed numb... the only movement was her dripping tears.

~*~

I spent my whole day with Kanwal. It pained me to watch her crying but I can't do anything for her... nothing.

Damn it...

Oops! Sorry, Allah very sorry.

I face-palmed. Cursing is bad... cursing is bad. I started to pace on the roof like a mad person. I was frustrated for being so useless.

Damn you Black Eagles!

Uff! Sorry again...

I slumped on the floor, not bothering about my clothes getting dirty and start eating chips. I have this odd habit of eating when I am tense. After eating two large packs of chips, I felt coming back to my senses. I looked around wondering why I was on the roof, sitting on the floor and ruining my clothes. Quickly, I got up and all of the sudden the piano notes hit my ears.

Allah! It's the pianist from yesterday...

And without thinking, I slumped back to the floor again to enjoy the music.

Wait! This melody sounds familiar...

/"Eternal Snow!/" I mumble and close my eyes.

I vaguely remembered this music from an anime series I watched with Bhai long ago. However, I didn’t recall it being so magical. It felt like I was asking to let go off of all my worries and so I did. I matched my breathing with the notes and as it got high, warm energy build up in me and flowed through my entire body like blood, leaving me at peace.

People say that music is a language of unspoken feelings, spoken by the chords which differ from person to person. Maybe that's what I was experiencing.

/"Enjoying the music, huh?/" I got startled by Bhai's voice.

/"Bhai, are you trying to kill me?/" I said glaring at him but he didn’t know since the lights were off.

/"Don't worry! You won't die... evil doesn't end easily./" He said sitting beside me and handing over a cup to me. /"Here you go my Mano Billi (cat), your milk./"

/"Jazak Allah./" I mumbled.

/"Bhai, make a random guess... Where is this piano sound coming from?/"

/"There is no need of guessing ... it's coming from the house behind us./"

/"Huh...? That house has been abandoned for ages... I have never seen anyone there./"

/"Me neither./"

/"Then how do you know?/"

/"The sound is coming from the house... you can figure it out if you go close to it but I wonder who would be playing if no one is ever seen there... maybe a ghost?/"

/"Bhai, there is no such thing as ghosts... and by the way, why are you here? Do you want me to press your clothes again?/"

/"Na! I don't want to burn my remaining clothes. I was just ... worried, Ami told me about Kanwal. So, I thought you might need someone to talk to./" He said in a serious tone.

/"Thanks, Bhai... But even if I talk to you, I can't do anything except for sitting here and sulking./"

/"Hmmm./"

/"Bhai, wouldn't it be better if Black Eagles never came here in the first place?/" I asked after a brief moment of silence.

/"To be honest, I don't know... They are better than drug and land Mafias./" He sighed.

/"But you cannot justify their doings./" I said abruptly.

/"Of course not... forcing decisions on others and using them as they please. It cannot be justified by any means./" He sounded defeated.

/"Let's hope for the best... for your friend and for others... Allah knows better what is good for us... Anyways, I am going... You also come down soon. I don't want my only sister to be taken by our neighbouring pianist ghost./" He took the cup from me and got up.

Allah, you know better... Please have mercy on my friend...

I quickly prayed in my heart and run down the stairs. Crazy or not, I am really afraid of ghosts.

____________________________________

*Jazak Allah: May Allāh reward you [with] goodness.

*Asalam o Alaikum (Peace be unto you) greetings among Muslims