Deewani

چھٹا باب

Aahil sat infront of the Ravi river. The waves of the river crashed softly, the gushes caused water droplets to fly in the air. The sun shined bright and the surface of the water body glistened. It looked as if stars had come out in the day.

He took off his robe. The silk maroon piece of cloth fell to the dusty floor as the king lowered himself into the cool water. The water caused his skin to feel relaxed within seconds. The water a stark difference from the raging heat of the capital city. The moving water washed away his worries. His sister was married he had done his duty justice.

The young king , swam till his heart felt content. Wrapping the robe around him he entered a make shift camp and changed his clothes. He wore beige linen trousers and a deep blue shirt. Exiting from the camp he mounted his horse and entered the forest of Changa manga to hunt for native animals of the plain. It was a sight to behold , the king shooting his arrow with such fluidity. Proving to the people around him he was truly a royal. He grabbed a few berries and filled his satchel.

As soon as Aahil reached his home , he entered the royal gardens and called for his pet , a markhor , whom he named sher dil. Feeding him the berries that he had collected.

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Safa stood infront of her Allah. Her head covered with a scarf as she wept and wept. Her once lively eyes seemed dull and swollen. The sun was setting. She cried to her Allah , her sole helper and guider for justice. All her life she had accepted what she was given with a smile. All because her honour was not being questioned. Yet last night her self esteem had been torn mercilessly. Even as she was clothed fully , she felt naked infront of the crowds.

As she took a bath she rubbed herself till her skin turned red. Some parts of her skin started to bleed due to the heavy scratching. Yet she could not get rid of the ill feeling. Safa could not look herself in the eye as she stood parallel to a mirror.
⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️
Her hand reached for the scissors that lay on her vanity. She threw them at the mirror. Her mind screamed at her. Shouted at her. It called her all sorts of horrible words. Slut. Dirty. Impure. Unwanted. Weak. Coward. Flashes of all those that lived in her street crossed her mind , as the people pointed fingers at her. Mud was rubbed on her face for being a disgrace.

Her conscious bruised her, belittled her for not speaking the truth and taking all that was thrown her way silently.

"NO STOP PLEASE IM SORRY. IM SORRY."
Safa shouted at her self. Her eyes fell on the broken shards of the glass. Grabbing one she was about to cut her wrists , tired of the constant insults. Fortunately, before she could harm herself she saw a white light.
⚠️ OVER HERE ⚠️
Some one stood in that bright light and passed a hand over the young girls head. Whoever it was reminded her of the fact that harming our own body was a huge sin. Showed her the way of her Allah and asked her to believe in His power.
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The members of court sat in the diwan-e- khaas. They awaited the entrance of the musicians and dancers. The men entered before the women. They were busy setting up the instruments when a veiled beauty entered. Only her chocolate eyes were visible lined with kohl. Her body covered in a black anarkali. The trousers were tight and formed ringlets around her ankles. Her hair that fell on her back were waist length. And her beauty unmatched to any other maiden they had seen. It was surprising for them to think this for they had only seen her eyes.

As the first note was hit by the band her feet began to move. The girl danced with ease. She looked like a fluttering butterfly celebrating the arrival of spring. Her feet moved lightly across the floor. The jumps and turns she took left the men awe-struck. Her body was the muse and the music. The tan skinned beauty left the room as the people started to whistle and throw money at her retreating figure. And it seemed she was an illusion created by their minds.
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Aahil stood behind the wall. The small gaps left in the room's walls allowed him a view of the beauty that was dancing in the middle of his lust driven court members. All of them had wives and yet they still lusted for more women to marry. All of them had mistresses that corrupted their minds. Made them think they loved them. The side women were the cause of downfalls. Aahil promised to have only one wife and no other woman to save himself from destruction.

The man walked away from the party and sat on a seat in the room reserved for the people. After tea he listened to the problems of the people. From lack of rainfall to the sudden attacks on farmers, Aahil had a lot of problems to solve.
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The empire of Lahore had been in a state of decline when the current king took over. He worked day and night to give the empire its former glory back. And after years and years of back bone crushing work he had made it a huge empire. Gold was plenty and people never slept hungry. For the first time in years the kingdom had met such a humble king. Hence why he was a favourite. Now the people awaited his marriage.
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Badar had a frown crowning his face. The letter infront of him aroused worry in him. It was from his lover , the kings sister , Alina. The letter read
" Oh my dearest Badar , the man I married loves me. But we have not consummated our marriage. Yesterday I went to the doctor and found out I am pregnant. My husband's family is happy yet my husband knows I had sex with someone before him. He has vowed to divorce me next time we come to Lahore. I hope you will marry me after my iddat is complete.
Yours forever
Alina"

The lad gulped his spit. He had no idea what to do. He was getting married in a week. The only option he had now was to make Alina his second wife. Sighing the young man fell asleep with his mind going a mile a minute.

Translations
1. Changa manga : a forest / resort in the outskirts of Lahore
2. Sher dil : King hearted
3. Diwan-e-Khaas : The mughal kings had this special area built for their people who were close to them. This was the place where court members would usually meet the king at.
4. Iddat : a specified time period in Islam a woman has to stay within her house and not meet any unknown men. It is observed after divorce or when someones husband dies