House of Ashes [Complete]

48. Closure | بندش

Kindly, Vote and Comment:)

مشکلیں مجھ پر پڑیں اتنی کہ آساں ہو گئیں

Mushkilien mujh par pari itni k asaan hogayien

The clouds roared against the otherwise quiet and peaceful surrounding. Black and dark, the clouds mimicked the life of a nomad who was leaned against the window, looking too keenly at the inexorable havoc that was about to unleash, knowing there was nothing he could do about it. Knowing all too well it was out of his hands.

It had been two weeks since Safa had gone missing, and now everyone had started going back to their usual routines. This is the reality of life. You leave and people­ forget you as they carry on with their lives. And all that is left of you is an echo.

A mere memory.

That, too, being faded away.

But even that fading memory leaves a permanent imprint on people close to you, people who love you.

Even though, everyone was back to their lives, their hearts still yearned for her – Asmara's for her best friend; Arham's for the sister he never had; Raina's for a known stranger who became a part of her family in no time; Sameena and Shehryar's for the girl they treated like their own daughter; children's of the village for their second mother.

And his? Just for the mere presence of her.

He had his team search all the girl's hostels in the country, the hotels, NGOs, villages, and basically every place he thought she could go to. But to their dismay, she was nowhere. It was as if the earth had swallowed her. Asmara was also doing everything in her power to find her best friend but in vain.

Safa Hayat had vanished into thin air.

And Azlan Shehryar was the cause of it.

He was the rain to her sun.

The cold and harsh drops tumbled down slowly and gradually on the deserted road, taking their time to create the chaos. The lane of the Capital was silent and devoid of any passerby with everyone taking shelter in their homes for the thunderstorm that was about to ensue.

With his legs crossed and arms wounded on his hard chest, he watched the sight calmly. The façade of calmness hiding the turmoil storming inside him. A drop pattered on the window and he touched it with his finger, tracing it down.

She hated rain.

It all but brought the excruciating memory back as the dreadful sight of her lying on the cold ground flashed across his eyes. Back then it had brought him immense joy to lock her in the roof. But today? Today it shattered him into smithereens. It was too harrowing to even think about the pain she must've gone through. And him being the cause of it. Always.

Azlan Shehryar was the cause of Safa Hayat's agony.

And he hated himself for that.

Even loathe was a small word for what he was feeling for himself.

"Bhai, come, dinner's ready." Raina's voice pulled him out of his reverie.