Her Soulmate Chapter 18

 

Weather was chilly and frosty that noon in Islamabad. Clouds were covering the sun, depriving Earth from its warmth and making it a dark and cold morning. Faris was lying on the bed, trying to catch some more sleep, and was staring at Daneen who was getting ready for Zohar. He was gazing at her who was now spreading a prayer mat on the floor, and with it, different memories flooded back in his mind. 

Once, he was also a firm believer and prayed his prayers on time. But, after that incident, his heart broke down and he became full of bitterness and complaints. Those complaints and bitterness to Allah caused a distance between him and God. He didn't want to pray, because he wanted to show his anger and complaints to Allah. And let me tell you, this approach and thinking is totally wrong and is sinful, but Faris Khan was unintentionally committing it. 

He was gazing at Daneen while his eyes became heavy with sleep. After some seconds, he was in deep slumber. 

 He stirred in his sleep when he felt his shoulder getting shaken by Daneen. He opened his eyes and glanced at her scorching form. Daneen, still in white hijab, bent on him and was calling him. He smiled at her and nodded his head in sleep. 

After some minutes, he stirred his nerves and tried to remain awake. And just after the effort of some minutes, he was on the dining table, eating lunch with Daneen. 

"Has Salma not come today?" he asked, breaking the deep silence. 

"Nope. I'm also surprised. She never goes on holiday without telling" she replied. Major Faris got into deep thought. His military mind was giving him different possibilities, and was blaring red alarm.

At that moment, Daneen's mobile started ringing. One of her friends was on call and told her that Mr. Jalal has been arrested by NAB. This news made her numb and shocked and she quickly ran to switch on the television, with bewildered expressions. 

The news of arrest was present on a news channel. Newscaster was enthusiastically telling the news that Jalal Khan had been arrested in one of the cases of corruption. Different clips and videos of him getting arrested was also present on screen. Daneen watched that whole scene with teary and shocked eyes while Faris saw the news with an emotionless face. He was expecting this arrest today. He was unfazed with the whole situation, but he was getting worried for Daneen who was now trembling. Tears were socking her face and she, helplessly, sat on the couch. Different scenes started running in her mind. 

Her uncle Jalal looked at her with affection and gave her gifts, when her father was alive. 

Their family and uncle Jalal's family went to Murree where they did hiking and a picnic and a lot of fun. 

Then uncle Jalal's decision to take her with him when her father died. 

Then, Uncle Jalal said to her that he will not give her father 's money to her till she becomes deserving of the money. 

And then, Uncle Jalal started becoming rude with her, and ultimately, he declared her a characterless girl and threw all blame on her. 

Tears spilled from her eyes at remembering those scenes. Faris sat near her and put an assuring hand on her shoulder. 

"Daneen, are you okay? " he asked politely. 

"My uncle" she whispered. 

"Daneen, it's okay. If Uncle Jalal hasn't done the corruption, he will be safe. But, if he has done, then he deserves it and you don't have to worry about him" Though, Faris knew that he is a corrupt man. He was doing dirty business with the enemies of Pakistan. But, he couldn't tell this to Daneen. He couldn't reveal his identity and involvement in the case because the secret agents are not supposed to tell anything to anyone.

"For a long time, I have had the feeling that he has done something wrong, maybe this accusation is not wrong, but still my heart is aching for him. You know, he is the only family of mine and my father. My father loves him and cares about him. We have spent a great time with each other. He was a loving and caring uncle, but he changed after my father's death. He didn't remain a sweet uncle and this thing aches my heart. But still, I thought that maybe this strictness is to make me strong, maybe he wants me to be ready to face the bitter face of society. That's why he is harsh with me. But then, that incident occurs and everything, every hope shatters." she started weeping while sharing her feelings. That person was her blood related, once they had shared a strong bond; so, after a lot of bitterness and complaints, still she was weeping for him. 

Faris was seeing her with pity. 

"What incident, Daneen? " he asked. 

And at this, Daneen told him about her and Ahmad's incident. What happened that night, what was the reaction of Jalal's on it, how people reacted to the incident, and how it was decided that she should marry Faris. Everything of that night when Ahmad came into her room and what were the consequences of that. 

Faris was listening to the truth of the rumors and anger was building in him.

"That bastard! He deserved this punishment! And even worse!" He thought while seeing on the screen where police were taking Jalal to the car. 

 Faris poured the water in a glass and gave it to the weeping Daneen. She started taking sips of water, and Faris continued to rock her. Eventually, she stopped shivering and weeping. Faris put her head on his chest and continued to whisper sweet things in her ear. At last, she took hold of her nerves and became sober, so she made a distance in between them. 

"Thank you, Faris. For listening to me and consoling me" she said with gratitude. Faris smiled at her. 

"I'm sorry Daneen that I doubt you. Please forgive me." he said while taking her hands. She glanced at their entangled hands and smiled at him, but said nothing. He knew that she would take some time to forgive him. 

    

They remained like that for some minutes, holding hands enjoying those peaceful moments, when it was interrupted by sirens of a police van. Police vans were standing in front of their house and a voice came out from a loudspeaker. 

"Faris Shahnawaz Khan! We are here to arrest you. Give yourself to us without hesitation. Otherwise, we will do it in the worst way."

A.S.P Hassan was speaking in it. Faris remained motionless and pale on listening to it. These same words were repeated two and half years before, and then a series of dreadful days started. He clutched Daneen's hand tightly, with fear building in him. 

"Faris? " Daneen also became pale  and eyed Faris with horror. Faris saw her face with helplessness and frustration running in his veins. He couldn't do anything now, he had to give his arrest. After some seconds, police officers started banging the door and a warning again came from the loudspeaker. He, at last, stood from the couch and opened the door. Daneen also came with him and stood beside him. 

"Mr. Faris. You are arrested for killing and raping girls" Sohail said and handcuffed him, with pure hatred evident in his eyes. 

Faris saw that action with dejection. He had got strict military training and also remained a major in the intelligence agency. But this incident was breaking him. Getting the blame for things which you haven't done is the worst thing to bear. 

"Again my enemies win. And the worst thing is that I don't know who is my enemy"

He thought with bitterness. Sohai harshly pushed him and he started moving with him, while glaring at that fuming officer. While sitting in the cab, he turned his eyes toward Daneen. Their eyes clashed for some seconds. Fear, tears and uncertainty was in her eyes. Faris starred in those black orbs and then averted his gaze. 

After some minutes, the cab's engine roared and they started moving toward the police station. 

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In a prison, Jalal Khan was sitting with anxious and angry expressions. He was having a hard time believing that his corrupted money, his dirty business of selling drugs had been found out by NAB. He was going to have a big deal with drug dealers. But, at the moment of the deal, NAB officers came and arrested all of them. 

"Who has given the information to NAB? " he was thinking with boiling anger and helplessness. While thinking about different people, even in the far recess of his mind, Faris's name was not present. And, it will be never going to occur in his mind that Faris is the one to give information, because he was an expert in his field. 

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Faris was moving into the alley of the police station, in the custody of Sohail who was giving him hatred comments and expressions. There were jails on both sides of  the alley, and the prisoners in them were staring at the scene. He opened one of the jail doors and pushed him in it. The prison, in the noon of January, was freezing cold. But Faris's body had undergone harsh military training, that's why this cold was saying nothing to him. He sat on the harsh, cold floor of the prison. In front of him, in the same prison, there was another prisoner. He was an old man and was shivering with cold. Faris stared at his shivering body with emotionless eyes. There was nothing he could do for the old man. 

He rested his head on the wall of the prison, while his mind started playing different scenes from the past. 

Two years before, when it was his first night in prison, he was sitting on the floor with the numb body and there was complete darkness. There was an ache in his heart and he wanted to scream it out. 

The second flash was of the torture cell. He was standing there with his hands bound with a pole in an upward direction and an officer was flogging him. SP was standing near him and shouting at him. 

The third flash was of the prison. He was lying on the floor with blood oozing from his back. He was in immense pain and blood was flowing all around him. 

The fourth flash was on the jail ground. All prisoners were in it, and a group of prisoners came near him. They fought with him and continuously called him a rapist, and other bad names. 

The fifth flash was of an alley. He was going to his labor when a lunatic prisoner came near him and throbbed him with a knife. That cut his skin off his arms and a cry came out of his mouth. That pain moved from his arms to his whole body. And that pain remained for a whole month. 

The sixth flash was of food. They were sitting on the floor and a tray was in front of them. That contained a third quality vegetable without any taste. It was tasteless and very difficult to swallow. After that, he recalled those nights when he slept without any food in his stomach. 

The seventh flash was of the halls of court. He was moving into them in his dirty white dress. People were seeing him with anger, pity, or hatred. Some people, who knew him, also call him a rapist. 

The eighth flash was of the courtroom. He was standing on the side and lawyers were debating over his case. A lawyer was calling him a rapist and declaring him the murderer of Anaya and Momin. 

Ninth flash was of some other prisoners. He is sitting in the ground of jail and a group of prisoners is sitting near him. They were asking him about the body and pleasure in raping and murdering his niece. At this, he became furious and beat them. 

The tenth flash was again in the torture room. Blood was dripping from his head and his face was painted with painful expressions. SP had a harsh grip on his face and asking him about the murder. He was shaking his head in no. 

These flashes ended with the voice of the old man. He was now shivering loudly. Faris gazed at him with an emotionless face. 

The flashes were from the first bitter phase of his life. After two years, when he came out of prison, he felt that he had entered into a second bitter phase of his life. At that time, people were still not trusting him. He had lost everything. He had still to find the murderer of Momin and Anaya. He still had a long journey to face. 

After that, when he got married, he felt that this was the third bitter phase of his life. The girl whom he once loved, was now getting into his life. But, with a tag of a characterless girl. And she was entering at that time when he had so much bitterness and negativity in his mind. That girl didn't trigger any pleasant feelings into him. He felt no emotions toward her. But, when they started living together, he felt the need for her. His previous feelings start awakening into him. He started loving her, started caring about her. He felt that she was also broken, also rejected by society. They both had suffered and faced the cruel side of society. And now, he needed someone to console him and she was the only one who could do it.

He sighed and rested his head against the wall. Another bitter phase of life was wanting for him

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It was the time of 4.30 pm, and still the weather was frosty. Daneen, clad in her black shawl, was moving toward the police station. She had covered her body with a shawl, just her face could be seen. She quickly entered ASP's office. Hassan glanced at the newcomer and stopped doing his work. She was looking attractive in a black shawl and her face had a special glint of sadness. Her eyes were swollen due to weeping. 

"I want to meet my husband, Faris Khan. Please let me meet" she said with a damp voice. Hassan felt a pang of pain in his heart, but he had to compose himself. First his duty, then his heart. 

"Sorry miss. It is not the time of meeting" he said in a stern tone. 

A wave of fury entered into her heart. 

"Ok then, I will wait till the meeting time" she said stubbornly and sat on the seat, present in Hassan's office. Hassan became shocked at this gesture, but then decided to ignore this. 

For some minutes, he kept on working and Daneen remained there sitting. At last, he started becoming irritated due to her presence. 

"You can go to the cell and meet him while he is in jail, but this meeting will only last for ten minutes," he, atlast, said this. 

"Ok. Done! " she gladly said and stood from her place. 

Constable guided her toward the jail. 

In the cell, she saw Faris sitting on the floor with closed eyes. 

"Faris? " she called. Faris quickly opened his eyes and saw her, with bewildered expressions. 

"What you are doing here? " he asked with anger and worry. 

"What should we do Faris? " she asked him, ignoring his question. 

"How will you come out of jail? Which lawyer should I contact? " she quickly asked him.

Faris remained quiet on listening to her questions. Eventually, a polite smile came on his face. 

"Don't do anything, Daneen. I will be back very soon. It is a promise. Just take care of yourself." he said with politeness. And puts his hand on her hand, present on the rod. 

"Please I need your courage and strength in it. Please be my beauty from the fairy tale and become the previous courageous Daneen" he said with a smile. 

Daneen became motionless and stared in his dark black orbs. 

"Now quickly leave. I will be back very soon. Just stop worrying" he said "But Faris..... " she tried to protest but the voice of the constable stopped her. 

"Time up!" he saif and came near them. 

"Go" Faris said to her with politeness. She nodded her head and left the police station. 

Hassan, while sitting in his office, saw her leaving the station. Remorse and fury filled his whole being at the acknowledgment that his love was suffering due to the wrong deeds of her husband. 

After some minutes, Dilawar came to his office. 

"Assalam o Alaikum," Dilawar said while shaking his hand. 

"Walaikum Aslam. Please take a seat" he said

"Thank you," Dilawar replied. 

"Dilawar, We have found information about the rapist of your daughter" Hassan informed him. 

"Where is he? " Dilawar became alert and asked him with anger. 

"He is dead. His daughter is missing and his wife is in a coma" he replied. 

"Ohh. Okay" Dilawar replied. 

"Have you never tried to find out about the murderer? Have you never tried to follow the case of your daughter's rape? " he interrogated. 

"I have filed the case but never bother to ask or press on it. My daughter has gone, my life has been destroyed so it doesn't matter that the rapist is alive or dead or whatever. My daughter can't come back from his punishment " he replied. There was dampness and sadness in his voice. 

"This is a very wrong approach to yours. Criminals should be punished because only with this, we can eliminate crimes from the society" ASP Hassan scolded him. 

Dilawar just nodded his head. 

"So, you really don't know anything about Majeed's murder? " he again asked. 

"No," Dilawar replied. Hassan nodded his head. Something was blaring alarms in his mind. It seemed unnatural that Dilawar didn't bother about his daughter's rape case.And he was least shocked by listening to Majeed's death. 

It was really clicking something in Hassan's mind. 

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Daneen was sitting in her room, and was staring at everything with hollow eyes. Atmosphere of the room was gloomy, it seemed that sadness was reflecting from every single thing present in the room. Her mind was roaming toward the words of Faris, and their conversation of fairy tales. 

"Be my beauty. 

Be the courageous Daneen"

These keywords were echoing in her mind. With these words, some memories flooded back to her mind

She and Anwar Khan were sitting in the lounge. She was sixteen years old at that time, and was watching a Disney movie of Barbies while resting her head in her father's lap. 

"Papa! I want a life like a Barbie princess! I also want the prince just like in this movie" she said to her father very excitedly. 

Rich laughter erupted from her father's mouth. 

"My daughter, haven't you noticed Barbie prince and princess in real life? Dear. They are just dolls. Lifeless and non-existing things. They are not reality" Anwar told her. Her face fell on listening to it. Her heart got hurt at acknowledging the reality. 

"But, I'm a princess papa! " she said angrily and emphasised on "princess". 

"Yes, my dear you are. In fact, every girl is a princess. And let me tell you, a real princess has to bear so many things in life. Haven't you seen the real stories of princesses in the world? " Her father asked. At this, her mind roamed to the real stories of the princess which she had read, The time of Akbar, Usmaina Sultanat, etc. Deep ache settled in her heart on thinking about those princesses. 

"But, I will be a barbie princess from the movie. See, in the movie, she is talking and doing everything. She is not a doll in it" she said with irritation. 

"Ok, Ok dear" her father laughed while raising his hands in surrender. She smiled at her father. 

Daneen's eyes welled with tears on remembering her father. After a long time, she realized that her father was telling her the truth. When her marriage preparations started in the house, she thought that her soulmate would be a prince and she would be a barbie princess. But after the incidents that happened after marriage, she realized that princesses have to be strong. They have to endure the hardships in life.

"I realized everything papa. I realized. Life is not a bed of roses, even not for a princess." she muttered.

Loneliness was in the house and that human being is present in the loneliness, and no one was there to console her. She, herself, had to console her.

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