Black Heart

"Shhh!"

Yusra put her index finger to her lips, her eyes on the window. "I think someone is listening." She stepped towards the window in the right corner of the room.

"You have been mistaken, Yusra. She is jazzy. She is in the habit of playing at night, chasing the ball, hopping here and there," Aaima responded instantly, finding her voice to stop Yusra from moving forward. She placed her coffee cup on the kitchen table and walked behind Yusra.

Yusra reached the window to inspect if there really was someone, but before she could reach it, the lights went off. She stopped, unlocked her mobile, and turned on the flashlight.

She reached the window to see outside, but there was nothing. No one was there, no light, just darkness spread everywhere.

"I told you there is no one. How could someone enter the house when I have locked every door? You know this colony is the safest place, and guards walk through the streets all night. It is impossible for someone to break into the house."

Yusra turned around and pointed her finger towards Aaima, looking into her puzzled eyes as she caught her lying. Aaima stood there, trying to maintain eye contact. "I believe in my gut, I am saying there is someone; It means there must be someone keeping an eye on us, and you know who that person is."

Aaima's eyebrows raised, her voice sounding aggrieved. "I am unable to understand your accusations. What have I done to deserve this? You never felt insecure in my house before. Is there something special today? Or are you involved in some illegal activity that you were going to tell me about?"

"Just shut your mouth and stop whining!" Yusra shouted, took her bag from the kitchen table, walked outside and slammed the door behind her.

Aaima walked towards the refrigerator with trembling feet, took out a water bottle, sat on a chair, and drank it. Her hands were shaking, as if she had narrowly escaped death. She unlocked her phone and sent a text message saying, "She is on her way home”, powered off the phone and placed it back on the table.

She stared at the wall, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Forgive me, Yusra. It was necessary," she mumbled.

It was 11 p.m. when Yusra was driving home, after almost 10 minutes of driving, she noticed a young boy crying on the roadside. She stopped her car near the boy and got out to ask him what was wrong. She sat in front of him, holding his hands politely. "What are you doing here? Where are your parents?" Suddenly, a car stopped nearby, and a man and a woman got out. Yusra stood up and took a step back to open the car door, but the little boy tightly gripped her wrist. The woman approached her quickly, grabbed her from behind with her right hand, put her left hand over Yusra's mouth, and forcefully pushed her into the car. Yusra lost consciousness.

When she regained her senses, she found herself in a well-furnished room. She quickly got up and ran towards the door. "Open the door!" she knocked angrily. "Why did you bring me here?" she shouted. "Please, open the door. I need to go home, please." She sat down on the floor with her back against the door and wrapped her arms around herself. Tears streamed down her face.

The door unlocked, and a woman entered the room, carrying a tray of breakfast. "There is no point in shouting here; no one can hear you," the woman said politely. She walked past Yusra and placed the tray on the bedside table. The door was open, and Yusra attempted to escape, but she stopped upon noticing the guard stationed outside the door. His stern expression made her turn back to the woman. Yusra ran towards her, still sobbing.

"Why have you brought me here? What have I done? “

"Please, let me go. Please," Yusra pleaded desperately.

The woman completely ignored her and walked towards the door. Just as she was about to leave, she felt someone's hands gripping her lower leg. Yusra was sitting on her feet, begging the woman to release her. However, the woman forcefully pushed Yusra's hands away and left the room without saying a word. She locked the door and stepped away.

"Noooooo! Please!" Yusra shouted and cried until the sound of footsteps faded away but to no avail. No one came back to her. She searched the entire room, hoping to find an electronic device to contact her parents, a key, or even a hammer or any object that could help her break the mirror of the stuck window, but she failed. She sat at the edge of the bed, her head down, and lifted her hands in prayer.

"Oh, Allah Almighty, please," tears continued to roll down her face. "I know, Allah, I have sinned. I know I have committed a crime. I know I have made you angry, but please, Allah, help me through this trouble. Please, Allah, guide me to the police and let me tell them everything. Allah, please let my parents know where I am." She sniffled between her words. Prayer was the only thing she could think of.

Suddenly, the doorknob turned and the door unlocked. Yusra stood up abruptly.

"Cover your head and follow me," the woman ordered looking straight into Yusra's eyes.

"I am not going anywhere. Do whatever you can," Yusra responded angrily.

"I am not obligated to you. You are the one who must obey me, and you better know what I am capable of doing to you," the woman's voice was loud and clear as she gave Yusra a hostile glare. "Now, let's go respectfully, or I will have to take you forcefully."

Yusra knew she had no choice but to obey. She covered her head and began walking behind the woman, trembling with fear as if facing imminent death. In the blink of an eye, they reached the living room. Yusra's feet froze, and tears started rolling down her face again. She tried to run forward, but the woman held her tightly. Yusra shouted at the woman on catching sight of her father sitting on the couch to her right, "Please, let me go! Baba!"

Her father sat there with his head down, not looking at her.

"They brought me here. I don't know what they want from me. They kidnapped me. They didn't have to resort to such a terrible act." Yusra was speaking to her father, but he still did not respond. His eyes were filled with tears too.

"Baba, why won't you talk to me? "What have I done?" Yusra collapsed in a sobbing heap at the feet of the woman.

"Aila, make her sit on the couch," the grim voice of an old man ordered the housekeeper.

Yusra gave him a cold gaze, stood up from the floor, wiped her tears, and sat on the couch, still sobbing painfully. She looked at her father, hoping he would get up and hug her, but he remained seated. Yusra's heart ached; it was the first time she cried and her father didn't console her.

"You want to know why you are here. But, I believe you already know?" the cold, stern voice questioned Yusra. The man was Mr Danish, an elderly man of around 50.

"I don't know, if I did, I would have admitted it to you already," Yusra's heart skipped a beat.

"You are hiding something from your father, something he doesn't know. That's why I called him here. I wanted him to see that his daughter is in safe hands. Now, be a good girl and tell us what you have been hiding."

"I said I am..." Yusra's voice rose, but the man's voice cut her off.

"The murderer of a girl in the hills," the man stated. Yusra's eyes widened, and she shook her head in disbelief before letting out a deep sigh. Her voice became lower, and she avoided making eye contact with Mr Danish.

"I was hiking when I heard a girl begging for her life. I decided to help her, but there was no one around. I was separated from my friends. As I got closer, I saw a girl on her knees, tears streaming down her face, her palms pressed together. It was a quiet area where no one usually went. Then, the man shot her in the forehead, and she collapsed to the ground, bleeding. The man wore a black mask, so I couldn't see his face. He headed north, and I didn't approach the body. I ran away, fearing that I would be mistaken for the murder."

"Who was the boy?" The man's voice grew louder, and his gaze fixed on Yusra.

"I don't know. I had never seen him before," Yusra replied, rubbing her hands in distress.

"We caught him," the man said, looking directly into Yusra's eyes. She turned her gaze to her father, who still had his head down, but Yusra could sense the tears in his eyes. Her own eyes filled with tears as well. She had never seen her father cry before.

"Arham, my elder brother," Yusra's voice trembled.

She covered her head with her hands and started crying uncontrollably, like a baby.

"If I had known Arham was assaulting the girl, I would have asked him to shoot me first," she sniffled between words. "I saw his face when he removed his mask. I couldn't move. I called out to him at the top of my voice. He got frightened, ran towards me, and told me to keep quiet if I didn't want my brother in jail. I asked him why he did it. He said the girl betrayed him with another man and deserved it. I slapped him and yelled at him. He then thrust his gun into my hands and asked me to shoot him."

Yusra's voice was heavy as her throat tightened.

"My hands trembled; my parents' faces flashed in front of me. I truly wanted to kill him, but I love him. He was my only brother. How could I? I knew he was blackmailing me, and was aware that I wouldn't kill him. But I assured him I wouldn't say a word. He ran away, and I started hiking, leaving the dead body behind."

Yusra looked down, rubbing her right thumb with her left hand, waiting for Mr Danish to respond.

"You left her body there to be eaten by animals, and her body was found four days later by a tourist. Don't you want to know who she was?" She looked up into his hollow eyes. "My only daughter, my only family member in this whole world, and your brother killed her. Do you know what her fault was? She witnessed an old man's murder committed by your brother. She was not a coward like you; she was brave enough to call the police, but he managed to escape. Two days later, she went missing. I was then called by the police four days later to identify the dead body found in the hills."

Mr Danish turned his face towards Mr Naeem and continued, "What if I killed your daughter and threw her dead body into the sea? How would you come to know if she was alive or dead? But I didn't harm her in any way. I didn't abandon her body for the animals. I treated her with kindness, regardless of what your folks had done to my only daughter. I still forgive your daughter for taking care of you. I didn't want you to experience the same pain that I had to endure. Your son is enough to bear the punishment, and he must face the consequences so that no other family goes through the same agony."

He turned his head towards Yusra, facing him directly, "I have never supported lies, and I have never let evil conquer my conscience. I taught the same to my daughter. Evil is evil, concealing the truth and defending evil only brings destruction to many lives. This is not just a matter between you and me or two families; it's a matter concerning all those families that have been shattered by one evil individual. Concealing a crime is also a crime. You cannot protect a criminal; they don’t care about anyone’s life not even their own families’ life. They only care about themselves. It is enough for you to live with regret for the rest of your life. The murder of an innocent and the desecration of her body by animals will never allow you to live a peaceful life. The remorse of concealing the truth will always haunt you, and I believe that is enough punishment for you. We all carry darkness within our hearts; we all grieve something. I lost my daughter, you lost your brother, your father lost his son, and you will have to live with regret. A sorrowful soul holds a dark heart."

The man stood up and spoke sternly, "You can leave now." He walked out of the room.

Yusra stood up and reached her father, "Baba, I am sorry." Mr Naeem kissed her on the forehead and said, "Your mom is in the ICU; we should go and see her. She needs us." Yusra shocked, her father pacified her by patting her shoulder and led her out of the room.

"Only Allah can transform black hearts into happy souls," Mr Naeem whispered praises to Allah as they left the room.

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