Raghbat رغبت

epilogue

" Veer Bhai, choozie no move"

The four years old twins, Behroz and Zohaib ran towards their Shahveer Bhai, with an unmoving chicken body in their palms.

" Show me" Shahveer looked up from the ground where he was digging a hole with the new, miniature yellow coloured JCB Earth Digger Toy Model that his Nano got for him last week.

Shahveer poked and prodded the belly of a lifeless little chicken and it sure was unmoving. Not so much as unmoving such as dead!

" Roz, it's dead. What did you do to it?" Veer asked the horrified twins.

" Humne kuch nahi kiya Bhai, pakka!" Zohaib said in a small voice. This was their first experience with death and they were shook.

" Qaan chachu got this yesterday right?" Shahveer again asked them.

Furqaan was passing by the market on his way home and saw a man selling a brood of hundreds of colourful little chickens. They were of every colour imaginable, ranging from a bright red to a shocking indigo.

He knew he had to get the kids atleast one each and he got six. So cute were the chickens that even Musa abandoned his studies for a while and played with them. All of their choozey were safe but then the twins brought one of theirs. Dead!

" Bhai, Noodle thanda ho gaya tha" Zohaib told his older cousin.

" Tumhe toh thande noodles pasand hai na? Aur isse choozey ka kya lena dena hai Zoh?" A seven years old Shahveer asked his brothers, confused about their noodles story.

" Bhai! Choozi is Noodle " Behroz shook his head at his brother's dumb enquiry.

How could a yellow choozi be named anything but Noodle? To their little toddler brain it made perfect sense, to Shahveer it didn't!

" Achaa, Noodle ko thand lag rahi thi toh ye ab marr kaise gaya?" Shahveer suspected foul play in this whole scenario. His little brothers are capable of anything. Anything!

" Humne usse Esha'ppi ke doll ka sweater pehnaya tha aur kal raat usse blanket se bhi dhak diya aur box me band kar diya " Behroz recounted to a shocked Shahveer.

" Tumne us box me holes kiye the? Mujhe kyu nahi bataya ye sab!" Shahveer was scandalized now. His brothers had unknowingly killed an innocent little animal all in the name of love and protection!

"You're so silly Bhai. Box me holes karte toh usse aur zyada thand lagti na" Zohaib was exasperated at his seemingly older brother. They should have gone to Moosy Bhai or Bakhtii Bhai or Esha'ppi.

" Usse saans nahi aayi aur uss wajah se wo ab marr gaya hai. Allah Zoh! Laao mujhe do wo" Shahveer urged them to hand over the dead chick to him. The 12 hour old chicken carcass was probably festering infections!

" Roz, ye mitti hatao yaha se" Veer instructed his little brother to clean the hole that he was already digging. Thank Allah for that!

" Hum kya kar rahe hai Bhai?" Zohaib helped Behroz, picking the soil in his little palms and putting it aside.

" Hum isse kabr me dafnaa rahe hai" Shahveer lowered the chooza in the hole and  explained to them.

" Chalo, qalma padho iske liye" Shahveer very seriously instructed.

" Aur iske kabr me ek mutthi mitti bhi daalo" he completed.

The little boys already had their thread knit topi on their head owing to the Quran session with Qaari sahab that ended not even ten minutes ago. They looked absolutely adorable in their black pathani salwar kameez and pristine white topis.