So Many Secrets

Chapter 4

This chairlift is at least 2 kilometers long and ends at the Green Top / Hill Top point on top of the mountain. At the top, there is a viewpoint, small stalls, photo points, and wooden benches to sit on. From there, you can see the entire Patriata and the valley below. And for the return trip, you have to come back on the same chairlift. The ticket for one-way is separate and for round trip is separate.

Where you board the chairlift to go up, there is also a cable car that goes a little higher and faster. And in the same area, on the amusement park side, there are the Giant Wheel, Roller Coaster, and Flying Chairs.

"Oh God, please give me one last chance, I will never make this mistake again." Whatever was coming to her mouth, she kept saying it out of fear.

"Look down, Hadia, it’s fun." Riya herself was scared too, but she wasn’t missing any chance to tease Hadia.

"What fun? My life is on the line and you’re saying to enjoy it." She said, glaring at Riya angrily. Mano took out her mobile from her handbag and started recording the view below and, most of all, their reactions.

"Hey, don’t point the camera at us. Later the boys will watch our video and tease us." She said, covering her face with her hands.

"She’ll be in the same condition herself." She forcibly tried to remove her hands from her face. It had been at least 20 minutes since they got off the chairlift. The moment they got down, Hadia threw up. Everyone else’s faces had also gone pale. Only Mano looked fresh.

5 minutes later, Majid’s group’s chairlift also arrived. They were all standing some distance away. The three of them walked slowly towards them. Seeing them coming close, they tried to act normal.

"Look at their faces." Salar said, looking at their pale faces.

"Okay, everyone take your stuff from my bag. I’ve been roaming around with this bag on my back like a school kid and it’s so heavy." He took the bag off his shoulder and placed it down.

"Take out my camera." Majid said, seeing Jaweria opening the bag.

Except for Majid and Zain, the rest went ahead to roam around. There were 4 wooden benches placed next to the viewpoint. You sit there and get to see the whole of Patriata and the valley. Majid sat down on one of those benches. He started taking pictures of the view with his camera, and Zain had gone to get a cold drink from a small stall. He came back with the cold drink and sat down next to Majid.

"Here you go." He said, handing the cold drink to Majid.

"Why didn’t you go with them?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the picture he had taken a while ago on the camera.

"I just didn’t feel like it." He said, opening the cold drink. "Did you buy a new camera?" He asked, looking at Majid’s camera carefully.

"Yes, I bought it a week ago. Using it today for the first time." He said, taking his eyes off the camera and looking at him.

"Which brand is it?"

"Hasselblad X2D 100C. It’s a Swedish brand. Now it’s owned by the Chinese company DJI. It’s famous because NASA took the first picture of the moon with this brand’s camera."

"It’s famous, then it must be pretty expensive too?" He asked, taking a sip of his cold drink.

"$8000 dollars." He said, opening his own cold drink and taking a sip of Pepsi.

"That’s more than 2 million Pakistani Rupees." He said, thinking.

"That’s probably why Pakistanis call Hasselblad the 'Rolls Royce'." He said with a laugh

__ __ __

Hearing the school bus, she left her work and went to the gate to pick up both of them. As they got off the bus, one girl ran to them to hug her mom, but the other girl came inside with a gloomy face and slow steps.

"What happened, Daughter? Why do you look worried?" her mom asked, seeing her upset.

"Nothing..." she said, going inside the house. She made both of them sit on the sofa and went to keep their bags inside. When she came back, she brought fresh juice for them that she had made a little while ago.

"Mom, do you know Amal is my friend?"

"Daughter, who is Amal?" She sat down on the sofa in front of them.

"I used to sit with her and we played together during break."

"Okay, and Hano, who did you sit with?"

"There was a boy. I don’t know his name." She finished her glass of juice and placed it on the table in front.

"Then he must have become your friend?"

"No, he didn’t befriend me. He doesn’t make friends with girls. He only plays with boys." She said sadly.

"It's okay, Daughter. You can make some other friend." She said, seeing her upset. She took the empty glasses and went to the kitchen. The two of them turned on the TV and started watching cartoons.

__ __ __

*Parveen* was a mother of two daughters. She had lived a very difficult life.

Her family got her married at the age of 15 to a gambler. His name was *Mazhar*.

Mazhar was a very good man. He took very good care of Parveen.

But when he won in gambling he was fine, and when he lost he would stay angry all the time.

He had a good job because of which their house ran comfortably.

Just a few months after the marriage, he was fired from his job.

Parveen sold all her gold so that Mazhar could start some good business.

But Mazhar lost that money in gambling too.

Now their condition started getting very bad. Even the household groceries began to run out.

Mazhar tried for jobs everywhere, but he couldn’t get one.

So *Parveen started tailoring work*. All the women in the neighborhood would give their clothes to Parveen to stitch.

After some time, Mazhar also got a good job.

But by then Mazhar had gotten addicted to drugs.

He would waste his earnings in gambling or on drugs.

He never hit Parveen, nor ever abused her. He just had one flaw... wasting money.

After some time Parveen got pregnant.

When she told Mazhar, he didn’t show much happiness.

He said: "I don’t want a child right now. Our situation isn’t good enough to think about a child."

But Parveen wanted a child.

After some time of arguing, Mazhar also went quiet and started taking care of her.

Now he didn’t gamble and he didn’t do drugs every day, only occasionally.

A little while before the children were born, *Mazhar died in a car accident*.

Now Parveen was raising her children alone.