“Oi, Maa, it hurts!”

Ifra raised her hand, signaling everyone to calm down.

“Let’s sit and talk.”

Shahryar had arrived as well.

“What proof do you have that the land belongs to you? And what will you do with the land in our territory?”

“I’ll give it to my sister as her dowry. Do you like that place?”

Sher Mohammad spoke up, “Then will you marry her into our territory? Even if that land belongs to you, it will be of no use to you.”

Haider looked at him.

“My grandmother said that whatever belongs to me is not to be traded. I am to bring it back with me.”

He paused before continuing,

“And as for the answer to your question, if my doll were to marry someone from your territory, she would become a widow the very next day.”

Baba Sai said, “You do not speak so disrespectfully about daughters, Haider Abbas Gazi.”

Haider let out a sharp laugh.

“Then perhaps you shouldn't tell me that, Baba Sai. You don't listen to your daughters' pleas even when they hold your feet.”

Sher Mohammad lunged toward him.

“Watch your tongue.”

Sameer immediately pointed his gun at him, but Baba Sai caught his hand and stopped him.

“Don't point fingers at others for their mistakes, Sher.”

Shahryar stood up.

“You don't even try to hide your sins, Haider Abbas Gazi.”

“You are covering up the sins committed by your elders.”

Haider stepped forward, his voice cold.

“I haven't covered anything up, Jahangir Sahib. But your elders aren't innocent either. What Yaqub Jahangir did is not hidden from anyone. It would be better if you simply gave me what belongs to me.”

Shahryar looked straight into his eyes.

“The land is in our territory. We'll give you whatever price you ask for it.”

“I don't want money. I only want that land.”

Sher Mohammad said, “Abba Sai, the Gazis' intentions are becoming clear again. They're looking for ways to enter our territory.”

Haider stepped forward and looked at him with blazing eyes.

“If I wanted to enter that territory, no one's father would have the courage to stop me. But I hate that land where my elders were forced to bow their heads and where the innocent were punished.”

“Control your tongue, Haider.”

Shahryar placed his gun against Haider's head. Haider's men immediately stepped forward with their weapons.

Before Haider could say anything else, loud voices came from behind.

“Oi, Maa, it hurts!”

Haider squeezed his eyes shut. His anger was getting out of control.

Baba Sai said, “Jahangir, go and handle these specimens.”

Opening his eyes, Haider said coldly,

“Next time, come after leaving your specimens at home. Then we'll talk.”

He turned and walked away.

“Oi! Who did you call a specimen?”

Haider didn't even turn around.

Baba Sai gestured for everyone to leave. Then he turned toward Ifra.

“I told you, there should be no noise. You ruined the whole thing.”

Both girls stood there making faces.

Ifra muttered something under her breath.

Shahryar made a face and said, “If you're not going to explore anymore, then leave.”

The two girls immediately turned and ran toward him.

They were playing around from one tree to another, jumping from one to the next.

From a distance, Haider sat listening to those voices.

Sameer was eating a guava when he said,

“How terrible their girls are. Just look at our Zara Bibi. She doesn't make a sound. So well-mannered and quiet.”

Haider's eyes went toward the direction where Ifra was sitting on a tree, asking Shahryar for his gun.

Sameer's mouth fell open in surprise.

“They even know how to fire guns?”

“Let's leave.”

They returned home carrying heaps of fruit.

Khadija Begum was sitting in her chair.

“So, what happened? Sher, was the matter settled?”

Baba Sai said, “What settlement? He'll be paid for the land. For now, he left angrily because he was disturbed by the noise.”

She raised her eyes toward him.

“He was bothered by the noise that much?”

“Yes. He likes silence. I don't know what kind of person he is. No one can understand him.”

She picked up her tasbeeh.

“Those who have noise inside them often prefer silence. Anyway, who was making so much noise that he had to leave?”

Baba Sai said, “Who else? It was Ifra who forced Haider to leave.”

He looked at Ifra with a smile.

Haleema said, “What's the problem? If the land belongs to him, then what's the issue with giving it to him?”

Yaqub, who had just arrived, said,

“Bhabhi is right.”

Shahryar said, “They'll start coming and going into our territory.”

Sher Mohammad said, “We aren't weak, Shahryar. We can deal with them.”

Khadija Begum said,

“We may bend, but we will never bow before the Gazis. It would be better to have our heads cut off.”

Yaqub said,

“Haider's personality is different. He isn't like those people. Besides, only Qadir among them was vile.”

The moment he took Qadir's name, hatred filled his eyes.

“If he were alive, I would tear him into six pieces all over again.”

Khadija Begum moved her tasbeeh through her fingers.

“One person can destroy generations. The Gazi generations have already been ruined. And if they haven't been…”

Ifra walked in and completed her sentence.

“Then we'll ruin them.”

Shahryar looked at her.

“How many times do we have to tell you to stay away from all this?”

Ifra tossed the apples onto the sofa.

“You fight your own way, brother. As for Haider Abbas Gazi…”

Yaqub pulled Ifra toward him.

“You have nothing to do with him, Ifra. You will not come in his way.”

Ifra shrugged.

“Fine. But if he comes in my way, the first bullet will go into his hand, and the second into his chest.”

She walked away.

Everyone fell silent.

Khadija Begum noticed the color drain from Haleema's face.

“Sher's father, you've truly turned her into a fearless lioness.”

Baba Sai remained silent for a few moments before speaking.

“With her strength, I have also taught her the difference between right and wrong. She won't do anything wrong.”

Shahryar stood up.

“Self-defense has its place, but I told you to keep her away from all this. What would have happened if you hadn't told her anything?”

Sher Mohammad said,

“She is a storm. Only she knows what she'll do. You know you can't control her.”

Shahryar took a deep breath and walked away.

Ifra was looking at her bike.

“Wow, Chachu has kept it so well maintained.”

She took her bike out and rode away.

Yaqub had come to the dargah. He looked at the place where Rukhsar often used to sit.

He would sit a little distance away from her. She would say nothing, while Yaqub would simply watch the side of her face.

Her voice echoed in his ears.

“Sai, don't look at me like that. I can't keep my heart under control.”

Yaqub moved forward.

He placed a chadar there and stood at the spot where he had met Rukhsar for the last time.

This was the same day Rukhsar used to come to the dargah. It had been happening since their childhood.

Now Yaqub stood at that same place and prayed.

He raised his hands in dua.

“O my Allah, protect my Rukhsar.”

Did he truly believe that Rukhsar was alive?

Yaqub opened his eyes. In the distance, he saw a dupatta fluttering in the wind.

He often had this dream, Rukhsar coming toward him. He would wake up in agony, only to realize that it was his punishment.

Yaqub fell to his knees.

“I cannot control myself anymore. Today, I make this dua, let her intercede for me before You. End my punishment. Forgive me. I know I am wrong, but I am Your servant. I want to come into Your protection. Let me meet her, so I can ask her forgiveness for my sin.”

The distant figure turned around and looked back at him for a moment, then walked away.