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    FORSAKENThe story of innocence

    This is the world where ugly ducklings remain ugly. And in such a world is born a

    girl who does what she knows that she cant and yet sets out on a perilous

    journey of betraying everything she believed in excepther faith.she spins a web

    around herself. A web made of cruelty around her, treachery around her,

    tragedies around her. And is stuck on whether she can make it out of the web or

    not. This is the story where a girl is forsaken everything she believes and every

    one she loves

    2013

    CH.LIKITHA REDDY

    [Type the company name]

    1/21/2013

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    MEETING FUTURE

    A

    alia! Did you pack your bag? Dont forget to pack the burqa

    along with you.

    Why are you so tensed,Ammi?We are going to London only for a few

    days, isnt it? Oh come on, its alrightAmmi! I know how to pack my

    bag for a short stay! replied a girl of about thirteen or fourteen.

    The mother stared back at the girl with large black guilty eyes. Dear,

    promise me you wont fight and yell when I tell something to you

    Ammi,whatever may happen I wont shout at you because I can see

    that you are quite tired. So its alright for me whatever you are going to

    tell me. And a pair of beautiful swan like black eye balls stared back at

    the mother in diplomatic understanding.

    Aalia, my child, it will take many years for us to return back to our

    country. I hid the news from you that your father got a job assignment in

    London. It will take many years forabba to complete the assignment.

    And he cant bear to leave us alone here. So, we are going along with

    him. But dont worry; abba has enrolled you in a nice school in London.

    So you have nothing to worry about!

    Now the beautiful eyes turned glassy, her lips curled and she started toplay with her long black hair. The mother felt nervous that she might cry

    for hiding the truth from her. She loved her daughter too much that she

    could not bear to see her cry. A fatal mistake. But she was surprised

    when she saw the child wipe her tears away when she said, Ammi, its

    alright I dont mind it. Besides, abba needs us a lot when he goes to that

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    alien land. I will surely miss our lovely valley and my friends, but life

    means to adjust whatever happens to us. So, I wont mind coming with

    you both to London. And the girl quietly walked away, with her mother

    watching her leave.

    Aalia, is it true that you are leaving? Everyone are discussing about that

    only. But, we are not ready to believe that.

    Aalia was sitting on a small mound covered with grass and it was

    shadowed by a large apple tree. She sat facing a Clearwater pond in

    which the water was so pure that you could also see the fish which swiminside the pond. She tilted her head so that her friends could see only

    half of her face. The girl who shouted while running was surprised to see

    the tear stained face. She stopped for a second, reduced her pace and

    moved slowly towards Aalia and sat beside her. She gently placed her

    hand on the weeping girl and quietly said to her, so, its true. The

    rumors we heard were true. You are leaving the country.

    Silence prevailed for a few moments. The swan-like black eyes lookedat the girl who spoke as if they were searching for something in that

    silence. Those eyes looked as though it wanted to convey thousands of

    messages but were being stopped by some invisible force.

    You never informed us as soon as you knew! You dont know how

    much we all love you. All that you did is cry your head off and wait for

    us to know the truth ourselves!

    Aalia dropped her eyes in shame. She started to say something but

    couldnt. Her friend understood how she was feeling and gently patted

    her on the back.

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    I simply did not know how I should inform this to you. I could not get

    myself to do it. I am such a selfish person and you all still love

    me!Croaked Aalia and shook her head in disbelief.

    Shehnaz, I am a coward. I am afraid to leave this lovely valley and goto that foreign place. I know I am being stupid. But I am going to lose

    you all! That is a very high price for me to pay at this young age.

    Shehnaz stared at her friend as though she never saw her before. Tears

    started to flow from her eyes. Soon, the place was filled with sounds of

    sobs coming from her friends. The boys maintained their distance and

    watched the drama in silence. Many of them averted their eyes so as not

    to see the girls crying. Some of them left the place.

    They did not come intentionally to see the first girl from their valley

    who is lucky enough to go to London. The boys, who were sturdy and

    insensitive, came to fish in the lake. Normally Aalia would shoo them

    away. But they so wanted to fish in the pond that they could not stop

    themselves. But when they came to the pond, they saw this drama unfoldin front of them. Most of them did not feel sorry for Aalia as they

    thought that she was being stupid. They felt that going to London was a

    great gift given by god. So, many of them walked away and only Parvez,

    Mahmud and Nabi were left.

    Mahmud and Nabi were eager to fish while Parvez was quietly watching

    Aalia. He made a detailed study of her in those few minutes. They had

    never met each other personally. And this was the first time he saw her

    from this close (they were hiding behind the apple tree).

    He saw that she was unattractive but beautiful in her own way. She loves

    talking a lot and hates to leave the valley. Tragedy wipes away the little

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    ugliness she has and makes her look more beautiful. She doesnt care

    much for her long black silky hair. And the type of hair she possesses is

    generally never found in that region of the country. All the girls in that

    region had curly chestnut colored hair. Their lips were always rosy dueto the cold circumstances and even the cheeks were always rosy and the

    skin was always fair.

    But Aalia was completely opposite to these descriptions of girls. She

    was a little close to the colour of wheat grown in the neighboring state of

    the valley has. Her eyebrows, eye lashes and eyeballs were black and not

    the traditional brownish eyebrows, lashes and electric blue eyeballs.

    According to what he had heard, she was fourteen, but was a little tallfor her age. The skin never turned rosy due to cold nor did the lips. Her

    lips were a pale shade of pink and not the common red found on the lips

    of other girls. In short, she never looked like she belonged to the valley.

    Parvez would have stood there staring at her for hours, had Mahmud and

    Nabi not tapped him and signaled that they should leave. When Parvez

    laid a step back he had unknowingly stepped on a twig lying on the back

    of his feet. The crack sound produced by the twig made the ladiesforget their sorrow for a moment and they turned their heads to find the

    source of the noise.

    All they saw were three boys. Two of them were already running away

    and the third was staring at them defiantly.

    Aalia noticed in those few moments that those boys were actually spying

    on her and that the boy who didnt run away was a little older than her.Perhaps fifteen or sixteen. He was decent and good looking too. He had

    thick eyebrows and a fair complexion. But besides that, she noticed

    nothing else of his facial features. He looked at her with sympathy as

    though he had always known her.

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    But those looks irked Aalia and she glared at him.

    Parvez! What are you doing here? exclaimed Shehnaz and she quickly

    wrapped her head in a black cloth and wiped her tears away.

    I just came to fish he answered in an apologetic tone. He felt stupid for

    spying on her. And dint dare confess, after he saw the glare which Aalia

    had given him. He felt sorry for Aalia because now he understood how

    she exactly felt.

    This was her valley. Her birthplace. Where she had played since she was

    a child. She had run through the tulips, swam in the pond, gossiped with

    her friends, laughed with her loved ones. This was her motherland. Theplace where she had caressed trees talked with animals and sang with the

    birds. This was the only place in which she had stayed all until now. She

    had played with snow, climbed the hills and heard her voice echo. This

    was the place where her ancestors had always stayed in their life and

    even after their death. Their essence was breathing from the soil.

    With such memories all around, who would want to leave a place with

    which their whole life is tied up with? Aalia seemed to read Parvezsmind and gave him a slight nod. He turned and walked away slowly. His

    mind and heart were filled with her thoughts. Whatever may happen, he

    would never forget that devious glare he received from her. As though,

    she had vented her feelings on him. Her eyes, dark black, the purest

    form of black, which were flashing, made a deep impact on him. The

    golden skin on her face had contracted. Made her look like a dangerous

    foe. And for a few seconds, even Parvez was frightened of her. When hewas trying to sleep that night, the image of her glaring at him flashed

    before him, and he woke up suddenly.

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    Aalia was walking agitatedly in her room, which was made completely

    out of rosewood. With only a week left for them to leave the valley, she

    was quite vexed. She walked to the drawer and pulled it open. There it

    was! The only gift her grandfather could give to her because he neverlived after her 8th

    birthday to give her another. She had never celebrated

    her birthday until she turned 8 years and her grandfather felt that it was

    time for the family to have a small celebration. How vividly she

    remembered that day! Her aunts fussing over her. Uncles dignifiedly

    wishing her birthday greetings. Old ladies combing her long black hair

    and commenting to her mother that she needed to take proper care of this

    unusual hair as it might be a symbol of luck which had been bestowed

    upon the family because her father had received profits from an

    international construction firm where he worked as regional managing

    director. And the ecstatic moment when her grandfather beckoned her to

    come closer and held out a blue ribboned box indicating that she should

    open it. Her black eyes widened with amazement when she saw a

    beautiful handmade Swiss penknife. She cut everything in her sight for

    the next few days. From vegetables to twigs, from her own hair to her

    mothers antique chair. Her family was terrified whenever they saw her

    holding the penknife in her tiny fists. Everyone was fed up with her

    mischievous antics. Everyone except her grandfather.

    Her grandfather swelled with pride when he used to see his

    granddaughter playing with the knife. He used to say that one day she

    will reach the heights and achieve greatness. They both used to go for

    long walks on the ghat road holding each others hands. They had long

    whispering conversations which amused everyone as they both always

    said that they were secrets. Whenever they both had eye contact, a

    mischievous grin appeared on their lips as though they knew something

    which the others dint know. He taught her how to make beautiful

    sculptures out of rosewood. And gradually it became a hobby for her to

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    make wooden sculptures whenever she felt sad or was reminded of her

    late grandfather.

    She fondly remembered the curt nod with which he responded when

    someone called him Colonel Sahib or Colonel Abbas sahib. For her,her grandfather Abbas Siddiqui was the universal role model of courage,

    wisdom and strength. He had bravely taken part in a war and even won

    it. He still had his battle scars and he showed them with affectionate

    pride. He loved the expression Aalia had on her face when she stared at

    his scars with astonishment and worriedly asked him does it hurt,

    dada? the child never showed traits of her father. It was with great

    difficulty, Col.Abbas thought, his son had come up in life. He had towork very hard to remove the defects in the character of his teenage son.

    His son used to be filled with every ounce of racial discrimination,

    hatred toward fellow beings and he was such a coward that he never

    accepted these faults inside himself. Col.Abbas always knew that if he

    did not correct his erring son, his reputation of being liberal would be

    tarnished.

    But, Aalia proved to be a fun loving girl with a sense of independence.She was very much self-possessed and did not like it when her

    grandfather scolded her father in front of her own eyes. It was common

    for colonel Abbas to scold his son but he found it amusing when Aalia

    daringly confronted him saying that all are equal and made her

    towering grandfather apologize to her father. So, nobody was surprised

    when Col.Abbas left of his property to Aalia and to his son and

    daughter in his will.

    Though everyone thought that Aalia was lucky because she had become

    rich, she could never ever recover from the blow of losing her

    grandfather at a tender age. For those few months, she felt as though she

    had a best friend and a confidante who never exhausted the amount of

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    stories he had, to tell. The 8 year old child spent many sleepless nights

    and often cried out for herdada. If she saw an old man with neatly

    trimmed white hair, she ran to him and hugged him saying dada I knew

    you would return but was always disappointed in her mission of findingherdada. She always remembered the day he showed a photograph of a

    young boy of about 18 to 19 years and said that it was his picture when

    he was a young man. Gradually, she came to resent her grandfather for

    leaving her. She never forgot him or his memories. They haunted her

    from many years and she knew that they would haunt her.

    That day when she was sitting on mound which used to be hers and her

    grandfathers favorite place she was badly reminded of him, and wassick of leaving him when he was helplessly lying in his grave since six

    years.

    But she was still upset that she had glared at Parvez.

    THE LOST PARADISE

    The most dreaded day ever in her life had approached in the form of

    tomorrow. They were leaving to a port town nearly 550 kilometers

    away from the valley they lived in. everything was set. A few local

    perfumes, photo albums, Aalias and her grandfathers most prized

    sculptures, the handmade Swiss penknife which her grandfather gifted

    herand her grandfathers large square brown spectacles were safely

    packed in Aalias bags.

    Her mother, Sumaiyya, packed hers and Aalias burqa; the same localattarwhich Aalia had packed; a finely carved rosewood ornament box

    made by none other than Aalia; her husbands , Aalias and her clothes,

    and even a large packet full of saffron.

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    What the others dint know was that Aalia was carrying her grandfathers

    photograph along with her. She dint want to leave any of her

    grandfathers memories behind.

    Ammi,can I visit Shehnaz and the others? Please! Aalia addedwhen she saw that her mother raised her eyebrows. Her mother seemed

    to ponder over this for a moment and said alright, but make sure you

    come back early. I dont want you venturing outside after its dark!

    replied her mother. Aalia rolled her eyes in mock exasperation and ran

    out of the house.

    Shehnaz, are you there? Oh! Can I come in? Aalia quickly added

    when she saw that Shehnaz was cropping the thorns from the red roses.

    Since when did you start asking questions to come into our house? I

    never said that if you leave you will become a stranger! replied

    Shehnaz, surprised by the new courtesy paid by her friend who normally

    barged into the house without notice and hugged Shehnazs mother as

    soon as she entered. But all this happened previously. Today her friend

    was asking permission to enter the house and walked in without giving

    the customary hug to Shehnazs mother. She even seemed absentminded while she was walking. She gave a tiny smile to acknowledge

    the questions put forth by Shehnaz. Then she immediately pursed those

    unnatural pale pink lips of hers. She knitted the wide less dense black

    eyebrows of hers as though she was deeply rooted in some thought. She

    slowly lifted the eyes and Shehnaz was startled to see tears in those

    usually merry eyes. Shehnaz felt her lips trembling and tears came

    automatically in her eyes also. Aalia quickly wiped her tears away andtook the thorn clipper and started clipping the rose thorns away.

    Shehnazs mother silently caressed the miserable girls dark black hair

    and then spoke, Dear, life is like this rose. In its initial stages, the rose

    is covered with thorns to protect it from any harm. But once the thorns

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    palms by running them on the soft green grass. There was never any

    kind of noise in the grove except the sound of children playing, hence

    the name silent grove. But today they did not do any of their usual

    activities except the picking of strawberries and packing them so thatAalia could take them along with her when she goes to London.

    Aalia said to Shehnaz that she wanted to meet a person whom only

    Shehnaz could bring. Shehnaz agreed immediately and asked who the

    person was.

    Parvez.

    Aalia closed her eyes expecting a wave of questions. But all that she gotwas OK.

    Aalia had to wait only a few minutes as Parvez was nearby fishing in

    one of the numerous ponds in the valley. But Aalia was always proud

    that her Clearwater pond was the most pure and had the most number of

    fishes than any other pond in the valley. As soon as Parvez came Aalia

    got up from the small mound on which she was sitting and came forward

    to greet him. All this time her head was wrapped in a cloth and she hadto remove the cloth which was covering her face so that he could see

    who he was speaking to. He got the message, and dint dare to stare at her

    face. Shehnaz smiled at both of them knowingly and moved away to

    give them privacy. But this put Aalia to even more embarrassment. Aalia

    waited for a few moments before she could start but Parvez did not give

    her the chance and started saying I heard from Shehnaz that you wanted

    me to come to you. Aalia was surprised by the indirectness of thequestion. So using all her cunning, she did not jump to the actual matter

    immediately. Yes, the thing is that I want you and Shehnaz to look after

    my pond. You know, I dont want anyone to fish in it or throw their

    rubbish in it. Hence, I am assigning you and Shehnaz this difficult task

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    before I leave. I undertand that all my beautiful plants will die and rot

    because no one will water them so I want you to take care of them as

    well. Dont think that this is done without payment. I will be sending

    Shehnaz a box of sweets from London, which they call as chocolatesand you will be getting a 10 paise coin every month. And I think that its

    quite good payment all in all for the services which you will render to

    me. All that you have to do is go to the valleys inn every Saturday in

    the evening and introduce yourself to the innkeeper there. It is all

    arranged between us and has agreed to look after the payment matter

    obviously not for free. If you face any kind of problem involving your

    payment, you may report it to Shehnaz. And, dont get away with the

    false thought that nobody will inspect the work you have done. Shehnaz

    has agreed to come and see your work once in two days without

    informing you.

    And she finished breathing heavily. But Parvez understood that this was

    not a request. It was a command. An order given in a very royal manner.

    He marveled at the tone in which the order was given. That dignified

    composure. That obvious manner. It all startled him that a small timevillage girl who attended the local grammar school could even give

    orders. He understood that the times were changing and that he was

    standing in front of a girl who was a proof of that. But then a sudden

    thought came to his head. And he knew that Aalia was anticipating this

    question. He looked up into those intense black eyes which were staring

    defiantly at him.

    Why do I receive this fortunefrom you, may I know? I dont rememberthe last time we even spoke to each other before this meeting. And if you

    ask about a meeting, well, it was not exactly a pleasant one with you

    weeping and glaring at me!

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    As soon as he uttered the last sentence he wished he dint. Aalia had gone

    brightly red and the eyebrows contracted. The eyes were flashing and

    her lips curled. With hot furiousness she replied For some actions, there

    are no reasonsHe stood there in a dilemma wondering what he should do to get her

    back into her previous mood. He considered coaxing her, but they were

    not well acquainted to do that and hence it would be inappropriate. He

    thought that the best thing to do is remain silent and utter a word of

    apology. But there seemed to be no reason for uttering an apology as her

    eyebrows were getting back to their normal position and the tiny smile

    was coming back on her lips. Shehnaz, who was standing a little farfrom there, could see that her friend was angry and nodded to Parvez in

    an assuring sort of manner. Parvez knew that it was important to keep

    his self composed posture intact so that it would not look as though he

    cared about herbeing angry at him. But he didnt know why he was not

    able to bring himself to do it. He looked square into her eyes and calmly

    said, If my words or actions had caused you to feel hurt, I sincerely

    apologize. I have this dangerous habit of uttering things without thinkingof the later impact.

    Aalias tiny smile fully resumed at this fully fledged apology and she

    nodded to show her forgiveness.

    I dont know myself why I trusted you with the responsibility of my

    precious garden and pond. I dont know. It was just an unknown instinct.

    What could the reason be, I simply dont know.

    She looked at Parvezs face but was not looking at him. Her stare was

    fixed at him but her thoughts were somewhere else. Parvez cleared his

    throat to show his discomfort at this unprecedented silence. Aalia

    seemed to come back at the sound of the harsh breaking of air.

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    So that is the purpose of your calling me? asked Parvez.

    Aalia nodded to show her agreement and smiled at him. Parvez smiled

    for the first time and Aalia was taken back, as he looked like fully grown

    man. Come to my house tomorrow early morning and I will give youthe instructions on how to take care of my garden.

    She wrapped the black cloth around her head, and that was a dismissal.

    Parvez walked back to the pond where he was fishing with his friends

    and spent rest of the afternoon in deep thought of the conversation and

    silently praying for the morning to come as quick as possible. He did not

    understand the reason on why she chose him, though he was the mostbrilliant boy in the valley. He felt that it was a riddle that would require

    a lot of time to solve. Bearing these thoughts in his mind he silently

    proceeded to his house and waited for the early morning sun to bathe the

    mighty mountains to signal everyone to rise for the new day.

    CHAPTER III

    This plant requires a lot of manure and let me inform you that it

    blossoms only once a year.

    Aalia was squatting beside a tiny plant and was holding its roots out to

    show Parvez.

    I wanted you to identify the different plants present in my garden and

    how to take care of them so I sculpted them on a few wooden boards and

    am going to plant these boards beside the plants. Its all written on theboards, you see, how much water to pour to that specific plant, how

    much manure to apply and et cetera. All that you have to do is read and

    understand, said Aalia pointing out to a few boards.

    Parvez stared wonder-struck at her.

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    How did you even manage to do all of this? I mean that you are

    supposed to leave today, isnt it? And you called me for my training

    today.

    I dint sleep the whole night, simply Aalia replied.

    Look, Parvez. I trust you with my garden. Its one of the most

    important things of my life in this valley. It had always kept occupied. It

    never left me to grieve even in the saddest of my times. My garden

    always had life in it. I want you to help it continue that life.

    Looking at her, Parvez was deeply moved. The dark black intense eyes

    became smoky with sorrow. The dark purplish pink lips were pursed.Her jaws were clenched. She looked as though she was fighting with

    herself. He extended his hands to pat her back but thought the better of

    it. It would be improper. But Aalia was noticing all his feelings. She was

    lost in her thoughts and turmoil of feelings. Slowly she seemed to come

    out of her trance.

    Because you will be doing so much of hard work, I will give you and

    Shehnaz a bonus. You can take the fruits and vegetables of my garden. Iam sure you wont have to go to the market once the harvesting season

    comes. Only you and Shehnaz are allowed to fish in my pond. And that

    is only once a week and you can fish no more than 10 fishes. That means

    you both can take 5 fishes each. My fishes are fat enough to produce a

    hearty meal and my fruits and vegetables are considered to be the best in

    the valley apart from the wild ones growing in the silent grove. She

    said with a smile.

    Yes, my mother was complimenting your vegetables when she returned

    to our home after having few light snacks your mother prepared for her.

    She even brought back a few with her. They were the best I ever ate.

    They were literally melting on my tongue he said with a happy smile.

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    They have to be the best. After all, who is their farmer! she replied

    with a proud gesture.

    But Parvez was looking greedily at her vegetables.

    Oh come on! You dint even start yet and you are eying my vegetables

    already! she said with mock irritation.

    Couldnt stop myself he raised his hands in a helpless gesture.

    You are so lucky. I cant help but be jealous that you will enjoy my

    fruits and vegetables. But I cant let them go waste by not allowing

    anybody to even touch it. She said with a sad grin.

    The merriness in Parvezs eyes instantly vanished.

    Anyways I dont want to trouble you with mytroubles. Hence, lets get

    on with the work!

    They continued with their work till it was afternoon.

    For Parvez, it was the most agreeable morning he had ever spent n his

    memory.

    CHAPTER IV

    Aalias father, Maqbool, stared into the horizon from where the sun was

    rising. He felt a strange pang of sorrow deep in his heart. But his

    masculine superiority kept him away from showing his sorrow to the

    women of his family. In a few hours the family friends would arrive to

    give them a royal sendoff. It was arranged that his sister Ayesha would

    live in the house with her husband and son once they left.

    Maqbool loved his sister but she was always cold to Aalia. Perhaps, it

    was because their father had left almost everything in his property to

    Aalia and Maqbool and Ayesha got nothing more than a few pennies. It

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    was common knowledge that Ayesha had great plans for her unwilling

    son, Rashid.

    Everyone started filing into the house. Of course, Ayesha was the first

    one who came into the house dragging her husband, Iqbal, and Rashid.They had packed their huge bags and were waiting for the Siddiqui

    familys belongings to move out from their respective places. Ayesha

    was basking in full glory of returning to what used to be her former

    home.

    Ayesha too, like Aalia, a little unusual in the valley. She had none of

    Aalias features, except the lips. She was stout. Regally stout. Though

    one could call Aalia somewhat lean, she had inherited the unusual lips of

    her aunt. Ayesha had the chestnut hair of the women in the valley. She

    had usual electric blue eyes of the others. But it was her lips and her

    stoutness which made her unusual in the valley. Though Aalias unusual

    dark skin, black hair, coal black eyes and pale pink lips made her look

    handsome, Ayeshas features made her lookmore or less like a freak,

    though it was Aalia who was supposed to be the freak.

    Aalia was the apple of the family. She was cheerful, intelligent, witty.

    Not to mention, really rich. She was talented. Everyone liked to be in her

    company. They liked to touch her long black and silky hair; her beautiful

    swan like velvety black eyes.

    But Ayesha resented her. Until she was eight years old, Ayesha was

    Aalias favorite aunt. But once Abbas Siddiqui had died and his will was

    disclosed, naming Aalia his successor, she was upset beyond words. Butshe did not show her anger on her face lest it should enrage her brother.

    She was always planning on how to make her son, 2 years senior to

    Aalia, the successor.

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    So, Ayesha was acting lovey to Aalia. Not knowing that Aalia was the

    better actor of the two. That Aalia was wary of her but even at such a

    young age, had the sense not to express anything.

    Second came the Faizal family. The family head, Rasool, was a

    childhood friend of Maqbool. And the wife, Sania, was a classmate of

    Sumaiyya. Soon, the uncles and aunts followed them. The neighbors.

    The family friends. Everybody. Everyone they knew had come. And to

    Aalias surprise, Parvezs family too had come. All these people were

    received with warm hugs from everyone in the family except from the

    women. Women hugged women. Very soon, the house was split into

    three groups. The living room was occupied by men and Maqbool

    headed them. The dining hall was taken by the women with Sumaiyyas

    encouragement. Aalias room was conquered by the children under the

    leadership of Aalia herself.

    Rashid as usual admired the books and the neatness presented by her

    room. Aalia smiled acknowledging the compliments. She silently agreedon the character of the successor of her room.

    Rashid was good fellow. Warm hearted and soft spoken. He had nothing

    but good wishes for others. Aalia, though distant to him as the society

    demanded, knew that he possessed none of the traits of his mother. Of

    his father, she heard her father telling her mother that he was hopeless.

    He was always in debt. Perhaps because of not knowing how to

    financially manage his business or because of Ayeshas inability tocontrol the lavish expenditure which, Iqbals small salary, could

    definitely not satisfy.

    Aalia went out to getsharbat, a drink for the children present in the

    room. Just as she was about to enter the kitchen she saw Shehnaz and

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    her family coming. She forgot all dignity, screamed and ran to the door

    to hug her friend. Shehnaz, though embarrassed, did not protest on her

    friends behavior. Maqbool gave a kind and benevolent smile to the pair

    of them. The children in the room ran out to see what the commotionwas all about. The women had the sense that the men could solve any

    problem that might eclipse and did not move from their places.

    When Aalia and Shehnaz broke away from each other they both were

    doubly embarrassed to see everyone staring at them. Aalia, with a quick

    judgment, decided to ignore everybody and act as though nothing

    happened. She caught hold of Shehnaz and took her into the kitchen.

    shehnaz, I will miss you dearly. I dont have words to say at this

    moment. It hurts me so much to go away.

    Tears were running down aalias face. Her black eyes were glassy. The

    lips were trembling.

    why do you cry so much? and seeing that aalia was offended, shehnaz

    quickly added Who says that we cant contact each other? Look I will

    surely miss you the most when you will leave but I understand that youare sufferer because I have others to find substitutes in, but it will be like

    a new birth for you in that strange country. But aalia dont you ever

    forget your culture, your life here.

    I will die than give up my t

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