After seeing the sudden firing on the home minister and his guards, Hadid, who was going for his interview, threw his bike to the side and ran towards them while saving himself from firing. He grabbed Hayan by his arm and pulled him to the side. But still, a bullet passing through Hayan's shoulder hit him.
"Aaahhh…." Hayan groaned in pain and before he could fall on a side, Hadid held him.
"Our work is done. Let's go." As the shooter signalled, the rest of the three sat in the car and ran at the speed of the wind. Guards were holding their arms and legs looking at the blood oozing out of it.
After seeing their condition, Hadid put Hayan in the car and took control of the driving seat. The driver has already run away somewhere else. Maybe he was partnering with his opponents.
In the front mirror of the car, Hadid dropped a look at Hayan's feeble state. He pulled the car and raced it towards the nearest hospital.
"Boy, where are you taking me?" Bearing an extremely excruciating pain rising in his shoulder, and with barely opened eyes, Hayan looked at the broad back of the guy sitting in the front driving seat. He saw him wearing an old and colorless shirt.
"Sir, we are reaching the hospital in a few moments." Hadid raised his black eyes filled with concern and in the back view mirror, he saw Hayan's face turning red in holding himself together. Hadid tightly squeezed his lips.
The blood oozing out of his shoulder was spreading on his white shirt and coat. In a state of helplessness, he was leaning his head back against the seat. After a while, the car stopped in front of a hospital with a jerk. Hadid came out, opening the door.
"Come, sir, have some courage." He opened the door towards Hayan's side and giving his support, he took him out. He took his burden on himself and brought him inside the hospital.
"Stop!" Hadid called a ward boy, who was pushing a stretcher. He laid Hayan on that stretcher. The ward boy was shocked after seeing Hayan.
"Home minister…." He murmured. Then pushing the stretcher, he yelled, calling the doctors. In a span of a few moments, hustle and bustle started in the whole hospital. Hayan was shifted to an emergency ward.
"Who are you? Where do you live? Give us your address and how come you reached the home minister in such a dangerous situation? Whether you don't belong to that group who attacked sir?" Hadid was standing in the corridor when police encircled him. They were investigating him, asking different questions. Now he was regretting helping Hayan.
"My name is Hadid. I did matriculation. I was going for an interview when on the way suddenly an attack happened on the cars. I saw a man hiding his face and his gun was targeting the home minister. So I ran to him and helped him out of humanity." In an uninteresting gesture, he answered their questions.
"Why didn't you show this humanity to the guards?" After asking the second question, Hadid got furious and clenched his fists.
"Because they have weapons, they can defend themselves." As he said that, they nodded their heads.
"So you are saying you saw that man who attacked?" They were making him confused as the culprit escaped from their hands so they were trying to prove guilty, the one who helped him. But the one in front of him is Hadid.
"I told you their faces were covered. How can I recognise them when their faces are covered? Yet I didn't invent any such glasses with which I can see the real face covered behind the mask." He told him sarcastically in his tone and the police glared at him.
"Then how did you know they were targeting the home minister?" This time Hadid heaved a long breath on their asking such a silly question.
"Answer me, otherwise we know how to take out your long cold breaths after taking you to the police station." The officer said angrily.
"First, I am regretting that I helped the home minister. Second, their guns weren't hidden while shooting. It was visible in front of me and when I looked on both sides and then at the car, I saw the masked man targeting the home minister, only then I ran to him. Otherwise, I am not a hero of any film who knows beforehand how I am going to save him." In anger, he was losing his patience.
"No, why are you regretting it? Young man, you did a great job. After the home minister regains consciousness, you will be awarded the prize." I* Sarfraz changed his demeanour and put his hand on Hadid's shoulder, but he moved back his shoulder.
"Thanks, I knew what a great job I did. Second, I didn't do it for a prize. Now permit me, I'm already late." After giving them his address, he took permission and left.
He walked on foot and reached the place where the accident took place. The police were investigating the area. He walked to his bike standing on the side and tried to start it. After a few moments of effort, his bike started letting out strange kinds of voices.
Hadid turned towards the direction of his house. It's obvious the time of the interview has passed and he has lost his job. Now there is no use in going there and requesting them to hire him. Already the police had eaten his mind by their constant questioning, he wasn't interested in listening to any more blabbering, that's why he preferred going home now.
"Today wasn't my day." He murmured to himself as he stopped his bike in front of the house of the preacher. He slid down from it, took out the key from his pocket and opened the lock of his room.
After stepping into the room, he inhaled a long comfortable breath. He shut the door and fell on the bed to get some sound sleep.
If this is how he is going to live then it won't take long for that he will be kicked out of the house by the preacher for not paying the rent.
*********
Raamen was sitting in the flight crying miserably. Her hands and feet stopped working as she saw the news. Her heart had almost stopped beating and in the crying state, she booked the ticket for the first flight departing to Pakistan.
Yesterday she was saying that she would prefer dying than coming back here and today she was praying to reach Pakistan as soon as possible. She wants to reach her father to hide her face in his chest.
Don't know who these people are who suddenly became the enemies of their lives. Now her father would also believe in her about that night that someone really took her signature on the nikkah certificate. It was not her dream, but a fact.
"Uncle, Dad!" Very hardly with the help of the police, she freed herself from the media and entered the hospital. As she came out of the elevator, she saw Jawad standing in front of her, running to him, calling him. She put her head on his chest and cried miserably.
"Relax Raamen, nothing has happened. Your dad is fine. The bullet just passed through his shoulder." He soothes her while stroking her head.
"Can I meet him? I want to see him, please." She raised her head, wiping her eyes as she pleaded to Jawad looking at his face.
"No daughter, now he is under treatment. He still has some deep wounds. Wait a little, we also want to meet him." On Jawad explaining, she squeezed her lips.
Zeeshan also reached there and now it was beyond his endurance to carry the tantrums of Raamen. In an exhausted state, she sat on a side chair in the corridor.
***********
Hadid was forced to wake up from sleep because of constant knocking on the door. It seems as if the people outside were trying to break the door to come inside. Hadid rubbed his eyes and after taking a long yawn, he stretched his arms and legs.
Buttoning his shirt, he got up from the bed. Because of dirt and creases, the bed sheet of his bed had lost its whiteness and turned pale. The same was the condition of the pillows. It seems as if they were not washed for months.
In the small room, there was a small cupboard fixed to the wall. There were a few dresses which were placed in the cupboard. In one corner, there were dirty clothes. First, he used to give it to the laundry man, but now because of not having money, it was thrown in the corner, which has turned into a heap.
A small mirror was fixed to the wall and a hairbrush was put with it. Sometimes if his heart wants he stands in front of it, dressing his hair or other times he doesn't bother himself to do so. On a side table near the wall, there was a small water cooler.
No one else is with him to do the kitchen work that's why there was no use in allocating space for the kitchen. In one corner of the room, a stove was placed and along with it, there was a pan which also did the job of ironing his clothes for him.
No doubt, he is a very tidy guy but because of financial constraints and in search of jobs, he can't find time to clean his room, otherwise, his room always glitters.
"Coming, don't break the door." He called in a heavy voice as he was irritated by the interruption in his sleep. As he opened the door, he was startled after seeing the preacher glaring at him with suspicious eyes.
"Preacher, do you need me? You should call me." He gave him a way to let him come inside.
"I don't have any work with you. Why are you sleeping like a donkey? It's morning, aren't you going to work?" Hadid raised his head in a jolt, looking up at him.
An extreme wave of astonishment took him off guard to the extent that he was left with an open mouth. So it means early in the morning the preacher was knocking on his door to the extent of breaking it so that he could send him for work.
"What are you looking at? Get ready and go quickly." After seeing him lost in astonishment the preacher waved his hand in front of his face.
"This time if you don't get the job and pay me rent then I will throw you out of this house, you remember this, right?" He again reminded him and Hadid ended up grinding his teeth and nodded his head obediently.
"I remember, preacher. How can I forget what you said? Let me get ready." He acted way more obediently. In fact, after coming back unsuccessful from the interview, he didn't remember the threats of the preacher. Yesterday, he locked the door and slept without eating or drinking anything. Still, he was sleeping but thanks to the preacher making him wake up.
"Listen, now when you get the job, make your appearance like a gentleman." The preacher said gesturing towards his long black hair and thick beard and moustache. Hadid just jerked his head.
"It's impossible, no one can change my style." As he said, the preacher glared at him.
"Now move quickly, otherwise it may not happen on your very first day they kick you out of the job." The preacher said leaving the argument and left. With a poor face, Hadid looked at his back.
'Which job? Why is money so necessary for living life? Can't he show a little mercy on an orphan child like me?' He thought and shut himself in the attached bathroom. After a while, he threw already worn clothes on the heap of dirty clothes. He brushed his hair and, wearing shoes on his feet, sat on the bed.
Now he was thinking whether Danial would give him tea or he was still left to listen to his jerking. He took out his wallet in which there was only a hundred rupees note.
"Nowadays, one can't even buy water from it, let alone buy a cup of tea. By the way, one shouldn't leave his wallet empty." He said to himself and put the wallet back in the pocket of his pants. He stood up with the hope that maybe he would get the job somewhere else.
"Brother, this is for you." He was just thinking about going out when a child came inside, putting the tray on the bed. In the tray, there was a pancake, a fried egg, and a cup of tea.
"Ohh wow, which angel sent this?" After seeing the warm pancake, he felt an appetite. He asked, sitting happily on the bed.
"Sister Zeba." The child took the name of his sister, who is the daughter of the teacher in his neighbourhood.
"If not the preacher, then the daughter of the teacher showed pity on me, give her my thanks." He ate ardently and the child smiled at him.
"Let's meet in the evening then." He said after taking the last sip of the tea and putting the cup back in the tray. He took out the hundred rupee note and gave it to the child. The child picking up the tray nodded his head.
Behind him, he locked the door of his room and sat on his bike, starting it.
"Congratulations, I heard you got the job." As he came out, one of the neighbours called him. With that, many people passing in the surroundings looked at him and smiled.
"This preacher doesn't do anything else other than spreading rumours." He received congratulations by nodding his head. As his bike started, he took it out at speed.
While passing through that restaurant, he looked at its entrance with hopeful eyes that maybe the owner of the restaurant was still awaiting him, but very soon disappointment overtook him after remembering what happened yesterday.
"Let it go, this job isn't suitable for your standard." He gave fake assurance to himself and pulled his bike forward.
