The Dawn Is On Us

C H A P T E R 2 9

W A R M tears cascaded down her soft cheeks. Her eyes heavy and full of sleep. And yet the dread and feeling of being unsecured in the tiny chamber stopped her from shutting her eyes for even one second.The metal rods that barricaded her inside, away from the world of the innocent, made her cry. All her life she had been taught to never steal. To never lie. And here she was burning the brunt of someone else's mistakes.

Hoor sat in a corner of the cell. The white chipping paint on the walls and the cold floor, a painful reminder that she was not home. She closed her eyes, trying to remember the happiness that was part of her life before Rizwan and his father had entered it. Like a chaos. Taking everything away from her. She laughed at herself for remembering that place. She was no longer welcome there. For ofcourse she had tainted their reputation without any room for repairs. And the new place she lived in belonged to her paralysed husband. A husband she had married out convenience.

Kia mazak bana dia hai meri zindagi ko? Hoor asked her Lord. The One she had believed in for all this time. She could not fathom that she, someone who like to remember Him every day. Did all the obligatory things that the religion asked for and more. Then how could she face so many difficulties in life? Why was He being unfair? Why was He not giving her ease?
The torment she had faced in the past few days became so much for her that she forgot, she was sinning. Nashukri. Something Allah does not like. For if He had thrown her in a situation such as this, He would give her a way out aswell. What was the use of her prayer if she could not even trust Him this much?

Hoor wiped her tears, trying to think about where she had placed those god damn karay. She clearly remembered not bringing any jewellery that Rizwan had given her to her new home. She wanted to close that chapter in the place where it had started itself. She wondered why Rizwan did not just come to Mustafa's place and ask for them. Why did he go the extra mile to involve the police? Was he trying to wreck his friendship for the sake of something that had never even happened? Was all his brotherhood a facade?

As Hoor was deep in thought, she did not notice Mustafa enter the station with Raees wheeling him inside. They walked into the officers chamber, with a lawyer in tow.
"Assalamualikum inspector," Mustafa politely greeted.
There was no point in picking a fight with him, he was just doing his job.
"Wa'salam. Ji main kia madad kar sakta hun Mustafa sahab?" The inspector rubbed his short stubble.
"Mein apni biwi Hoor Mustafa ki bail karwanay aaya hun," Mustafa replied, politely.
"Sahab chori ka ilzaam hai, tou kia aapko lagta hai bail ho sakti hai?" The man inquired.
"Ji. Humein court sai ijazat mill gai hai". He motioned for the lawyer to present with the papers.
The inspector nodded his head. Receiving the money that had been set for the bail, asking one of the female hawaldar to bring Hoor in.

The woman, nodded. Coming to Hoor's cell, she opened the tiny door.
"Chal. Zamanat ho gai hai," she roughly grabbed her arms and led her to the room where Mustafa was.
"Yeh rahi aapki biwi. An yeh mamla aapas mein suljha lena," the inspector closed the case and allowed them to leave.