Meerab ne sheeshe ke samne khare ho kar aakhri baar apna dupatta sahi kiya. Dil ki dharkanen is waqt tez thin, aur chehre par halki si ghabrahat thi. Aaj us ka is shehar ki sab se barri textile company mein interview tha. Wo hamesha se ek azaad aur khud-daar zindagi jeena chahti thi, aur yeh office job us ke khwabon ki pehli seeri thi. Apne bag ko kandhe par tiktate hue us ne gehri saans li aur baahir nikal aayi.Jab wo company ki barri aur chamakti hui building ke samne pohnchi, to wahan ki chahal-pahal dekh kar us ki aankhen khuli ki khuli reh gayin. Har taraf log qadmon mein tezi liye, haathon mein files pakrre idhar se udhar bhaag rahe the. Meerab ne reception par ja kar apna naam bataya."Ji, Meerab Ali? Aap ka interview CEO sir ke sath hai. Third floor par chale jayen, room number 302," receptionist ne sarsari sa muskura kar kaha.Meerab ne shukriya ada kiya aur lift ki taraf barh gayi. Third floor par pohnch kar us ne dekha ke wahan pehle hi teen chaar larkiyan interview ke liye baithi thin. Wo bhi ek khali kursi par baith gayi aur apni file ko zor se bheench liya. Kuch hi dair mein andar se ek larki rote hue baahir nikli."Pata nahi insan hai ya jallad! Itna gussa... Khuda ki panah!" Wo larki bad-budati hui wahan se chali gayi.Meerab ka dil ab halq mein aa gaya tha. Itne mein chorrsi aur roab-dar aawaz mein peon ne aawaaz lagayi, "Meerab Ali! Sir andar bula rahe hain."Meerab ne khare ho kar apne kaprhe durust kiye, Bismillah parhi aur darwaze par halka sa knock kiya. "May I come in, sir?""Come in," andar se ek sapat aur bhari aawaz aayi.Meerab jaise hi andar dakhil hui, to samne ki deewar poori sheeshe ki thi jahan se poora shehar nazar aa raha tha. Aur us barri si revolving chair par ek shakhs peeth kiye baitha tha. Us ne black suit pehna hua tha aur us ke baithne ka tareeqa hi bata raha tha ke wo is jagah ka badshah hai. Zaviyar—is company ka young aur be-raham CEO."Baithiye," Zaviyar ne kursi ghumaye baghair kaha.Meerab chup-chaap samne padi kursi par baith gayi aur apni file table par rakh di. Zaviyar ne aahista se apni kursi ghumai. Us ka chehra samne aate hi Meerab ki saans jaisay ruk si gayi. Teekhe naqsh, gehri aur chokas aankhen, aur chehre par ek ajeeb sa guroor aur sakhti thi. Wo dikhne mein jitna handsome tha, us ki aankhon mein utna hi gussa tha.Zaviyar ne Meerab ki file uthai aur us ke page palatne laga. Kuch seconds tak kamre mein bilkul khamoshi rahi, sirf pannon ke palatne aur AC ki halki si aawaz thi."To... Meerab Ali," Zaviyar ne file se nazar hata kar seedha Meerab ke chehre par daali. Us ki nazar itni gehri thi ke Meerab ne ghabra kar apni nazren jhuka lin. "Aap ka resume kehta hai ke aap ke paas koi experience nahi hai. Yeh ek multinational company hai, koi NGO nahi jahan hum freshers par taras khayen."Zaviyar ka tone itna sard aur toheen-ameez tha ke Meerab ke andar ki khud-daari foran jaag uthi. Us ne apni nazren uthaeen aur seedha Zaviyar ki aankhon mein dekha."Sir, experience kaam karne se aata hai, ghar baithne se nahi. Agar aap mujhe mauqa hi nahi denge, to mujhe experience kaise milega? Aur rahi baat taras ki, to main yahan apni qabiliyat ke balboote par aayi hoon, kisi ki khairat lene nahi," Meerab ne saaf aur thoki hui aawaz mein jawab diya.Zaviyar ke chehre par ek pal ke liye hairat aayi, phir us ki aankhen gusse se choti ho gayin. Is company mein kisi ki jurrat nahi thi ke us ke samne oonchi aawaz mein baat kare, aur yeh larki seedha us ke mooh par bol rahi تھی۔"Zuban bohot chalti hai aap ki," Zaviyar ne file zor se table par patki, jis se Meerab halki si uchal gayi. "Mujhe mere office mein aisi larkiyan bilkul pasand nahi jo kaam se zyada apni zuban chalati hain. Attitude apne ghar chor kar aaya karein.""Attitude main nahi, sir aap dikha rahe hain!" Meerab se ab raha nahi gaya. Wo kursi se khari ho gayi. "Aap ne mera kaam dekha hi nahi aur pehle hi faisla kar liya? Agar aap ko sirf haan mein haan milane wale robot chahiye, to bahir board laga dein ke yahan insano ki zaroorat nahi hai!"Zaviyar bhi apni kursi se jhatke se khara hua. Wo qadd-o-qamat mein Meerab se kafi lamba tha, us ke samne aate hi Meerab ko us ke gusse ki tapat mehsoos hui."Just shut up!" Zaviyar ki aawaz poore kamre mein goonji. "Tumhari jurrat kaise hui mere samne is tone mein baat karne ki? You are rejected! Dafa ho jao mere office se is se pehle ke main security ko bula kar tumhe baahir nikalwaoon!"Meerab ka chehra gusse aur sharmindagi se laal ho chuka tha. Us ki aankhon mein aansoo aane ko the, lekin us ne khud ko sambhala. Wo rona nahi chahti thi, khaas tor par is khadoos insan ke samne."Security bulane ki koi zaroorat nahi hai, Mr. CEO! Main khud is bad-tameez mahool mein kaam nahi karna chahti. Khuda hafiz!" Meerab ne jhatke se apni fil

Puraane darwaze ke choolon se nikalne wali 'churaakh' ki awaaz ne raat ke sannaate ko cheer diya. Nimra ne apna baari sa suitcase wahin zameen par rakh diya aur gehra saans liya. Yeh shehar se door ek makhsoos ilaqe mein bani ek sadiyon purani haveli thi, jise uske walid ne haal hi mein bohot saste daamon khareeda tha. Haveli ke baahar deewaron par jami purani kai aur andar ki khamoshi pehli hi nazar mein dil mein ek ajeeb sa darr paida kar rahi thi."Nimra! Jaldi andar aao, baahar thand barh rahi hai," uski ammi ne andar se awaaz di.Nimra ne apna bag uthaya aur andar dakhil ho gayi. Haveli ke andar ka mahool baahar se bhi zyada ajeeb tha. Oonchi chatein, purane zamane ke jhaad-fanoos jin par dhool jami hui thi, aur har taraf aisi khamoshi jaise is jagah barson se koi zinda cheez na rahi ho. Unho ne haveli ke neeche wale hisse ke do kamre saaf kiye aur wahin rukne ka faisla kiya.Raat ke taqreeban do baje, jab poora ghar gehri neend so raha تھا, Nimra ki aankh achanak khuli. Use aisa laga jaise uske kamre ke baahar corridor mein koi aahista aahista chal raha hai... *'Thup... thup... thup'*.Usne darr kar apna kambal honton tak khinch liya. "Shayad ammi ya abba hain," usne khud ko tasalli di. Lekin agle ہی lamhe, corridor mein chalne wale qadam uske kamre ke darwaze ke paas aakar ruk gaye. Darwaze ke niche mojud choti si jagah se, Nimra ne dekha ke do siyah (black) saaye wahan khare hain. Wo kisi aam insan ke paanv nahi the, balki behad lambe aur ajeeb se saaye the.Nimra ki dharkanein teiz ho gaeen. Usne himmat kar ke poocha, "Ammi... aap hain?"Koi jawab nahi aaya. Lekin agle hi pal, darwaze ke handle par kisi ne hath rakha aur use aahista se neeche ghumane laga... *'Khat'*. Darwaza andar se lock tha, is liye khula nahi, lekin handle lagatar upar neeche hota raha, jaise baahar mojud cheez andar aane ke liye bechain ho. Nimra ka darr ke mare gala khushk ho gaya aur wo cheekh bhi na saki. Phir achanak... baahar se ek aisi ajeeb aur rone ki awaaz aayi, jise sun kar Nimra ke jism ke rongte khare ho gaye!

Subah ke theek saat baj rahe they jab achanak alarm ki aawaz se Ayla ki aankh khuli. Usne jaldi se apna mobile uthaya, alarm band kiya aur ek gehri saans li. Aaj ka din uske liye aam dino jaisa nahi tha. Aaj uski nayi job ka pehla din tha.Ayla ek zimmadar aur mehnati larki thi. Uski zindagi hamesha se bohot busy rahi thi—subah jaldi uthna, ghar ke chote-mote kaam nibhana aur phir office ke liye nikalna. Lekin uski aankhon mein hamesha ek khwab tha ke wo apni zindagi mein kuch aisa kare jisse wo apne sath sath apne ghar walon ko bhi ek behtar zindagi de sake.Ghar se nikalte waqt usne apni ammi ke gale lag kar dua li. Ammi ne uske sar par hath rakha aur muskurate hue kaha, "Beta, mehnat karne walon ki kabhi haar nahi hoti. Bas apna dil chota mat karna."Jab Ayla office pohanchi, to wahan ki bari building aur computer screens dekh kar shuru mein wo thoda sa ghabra gayi. Sab log apne apne kaamon mein masroof they. Usne apne dil mein socha, "Ayla, tum yahan seekhne aayi ho, tum kar sakti ho."Uske manager ne use uski seat dikhayi aur ek laptop uske samne rakh diya. Kam shuru karte hi use thodi mushkil pesh aayi, kyunki kuch naye softwares they jo usne pehle kabhi use nahi kiye they. Usne himmat nahi haari aur sath baithi ek colleague se bohot adab se pucha, "Kya aap mujhe yeh ek dafa samjha sakti hain?"Uski colleague ne muskurakar uski madad ki. Pehla din khatam hone tak, Ayla ne bohot si nayi cheezein seekh li thi. Shaam ko jab wo thaki-hari ghar wapas aayi, to uske chehre par ek ajeeb sa sukoon aur khushi thi. Use lag raha था ke aaj usne apne khwabon ki taraf pehla qadam baha diya hai.Lekin Ayla nahi jaanti thi ke is naye safar mein aage chal kar uski zindagi mein ek aisa mod aane wala hai, jo sab kuch badal kar rakh dega...

Zindagi mein kuch baatein aisi hoti hain jo dil par bohot bara bojh ban jati hain, aur izzat aur kirdar ke dar se insan kisi se share bhi nahi kar sakta. Lekin wo andar hi andar insan ko dimak ki tarah khati rehti hain. Meri dastan bhi kuch aisi hi hai.Mera taaluq ek izzatdar Sadat khandan se hai, aur hamara khandan tasawwuf se jura hua hai, jiska ilaqe mein bohot asar-o-rusooh hai. Apne walid sahab ke baad mujhe hi is gaddi ko sambhalna tha, isiliye maine deeni aur dunyawi, dono tarah ke uloom mein apni taleem mukammal ki.Lekin pichle saal Ramzan se pehle meri zindagi mein ek ajeeb mor aaya. Hamare hi mohalle ki ek larki, jo matric mein meri class fellow bhi reh chuki thi, mujhe baar baar tang karne lagi. Wo jab tab mere ghar aati aur walid sahab ke mansab ke hawale se kuch na kuch masail poochne ka bahana karti. Maine shuru mein us par bilkul tawajah nahi di, kyunki mere zehan mein aisa kuch nahi tha. Lekin baat tab barhi jab usne kahin se mera number dhoonda aur WhatsApp par lagatar messages shuru kar diye. Ek din usne mujh se apni pasand ka izhar kiya, lekin maine saaf inkar kar diya. Is inkar ke baad wo badle par utar aayi aur mujhe badnam karne ki dhamkiyan dene lagi. Baat yahan tak pohnch gayi ke ek din usne kaha, "Agar tum meri baat nahi manoge, to main khud ko nuksan pohncha loongi."Main is achanak aane wali tension se sakht pareshan ho gaya. Unhi dino Ramzan ka mubarak mahina shuru hua, to main hamesha ki tarah tafseer ki class lene Multan shehar chala gaya. Main wahan chala to gaya, magar uske messages ka silsila band na hua. Maine tang aakar use block kiya, to wo naye naye numbers se mujhe tang karne lagi. Main badnami ke darr se kisi ko kuch bata bhi nahi pa raha tha aur akele is azaab ko jhel raha tha.Isi pareshani ke dauran, mere Facebook page par ek follower larki aayi, jiska naam Palwasha tha. Palwasha bohot hi sanjida aur taleem-yafta thi. Maine akelepan aur darr ke mare us se sirf yeh poocha ke, "Kya koi larki waqai is hadd tak ja sakti hai ke khud kushi kar le?" Kyunki main andar se dara hua tha ke wo mohalle wali larki waqai koi galat qadam na utha le. Bas yahan se Palwasha ke sath meri guftagu ka ek naya silsila shuru hua