THE PRICE OF LOVE

It was the first week of college. Saba picked up books from the library and headed toward the canteen. It was evening, and she was tired. She had come straight to college after her part-time job. She heard a loud noise outside the canteen. "Hey donkey! How dare you touch my car?" Saba looked. A boy, wearing clothes that showed he was poor, was sitting on the ground. In front of him stood a tall boy. That boy... Ali Khan. His deep amber eyes were shining with anger. His curly black hair was messy in the wind. His face was sharp, high nose, thin lips pressed in anger. He was wearing a designer suit that fit his strong body perfectly. "I... I am sorry. I was just giving way..." The poor boy’s voice was shaking. "Will your sorry fix my car?" Ali Khan said in a mocking tone. "This is a Mercedes. You can't even buy it with your father's whole life earnings." Saba's blood boiled. She stepped forward. "He has apologized. Now let him go." Ali Khan turned back. His eyes fell on a simple girl. She was wearing a simple but neat blue suit. She had tied her long hair in a braid and put it on one side. Her dupatta was around her neck. Her fair skin, thin lips, and a mole under her lip shined like a star. She was holding books in her hands and standing in front of Ali Khan. But the person in front was not someone who would melt so easily!! "Who are you?" he asked rudely. "A human, like you." A bitter smile came on Ali's lips. "Do you think you are becoming a heroine? This is my matter. Not yours." "When someone is being wronged, it is everyone's matter." Ali Khan came closer and looked at her from top to bottom. "Your clothes... where are you from? Village?" "Yes. Chandpur." "Oh." Ali Khan said in a sarcastic way. "Then you don't know the ways of the city. Here no one interferes in anyone else's matter." "I am not 'anyone'." Saba looked into his eyes. "And you should not become like 'anyone' either." Ali Khan's friend Sami came near. "Hey Khan, leave it. This is a village girl. What does she know." Ali Khan stopped Sami. His eyes were fixed on Saba. "Are you not scared?" "Why should I be scared? Will you kill me?" "No." Ali Khan smiled. "You are not worth it." "Then there is no reason for me to be scared." Saba tried to help the boy sitting on the ground. "Get up. Let's go." Suddenly Ali Khan held her hand. "I didn't say he can go." She pulled her hand away. "Who are you to stop? The owner of the judge? The police?" "I am Ali Khan. And in this city, my family name is enough." "Congratulations." Saba said coldly. "In my village we also had a dog who only barked on his name." Silence spread. Some students standing far away were watching in surprise. No one had ever talked to Ali Khan like this. Anger covered Ali's face. His eyes became deeper. "Your courage...?" "My courage is to speak the truth." Saba stopped him. "You have everything. Money, cars, power. But maybe you don't have humanity." Saying this, she supported the boy and started to leave. "Stop!" Ali Khan's cold voice echoed in the corridor. Saba stopped. She turned back. "What is it? Will you push me too like you pushed that poor guy?" Ali Khan became silent. Something changed in his eyes. The anger was replaced by surprise. That girl... she was not scared. She was looking at him like he was a normal boy. "...Do you know who I am?" Ali Khan asked, this time with less anger in his voice. "Yes. Ali Khan. From a rich family. But I am only seeing a human. And that human is doing injustice to another human." And she left. Taking the boy with her. Sami came near. "Dude, we will have to teach this girl a lesson. Who is she?" Ali Khan kept looking at her as she went far. "Chandpur... Saba..." A smile came on his lips. "Find her. I want to know everything about her." "Why? To teach her a lesson?" "No..." Ali Khan said, his eyes still on Saba who was disappearing in the canteen door. "She has already been taught a lesson. Now I will teach her how to live in this city." That night, Saba was sitting in her hostel room writing in her diary: "Today I fought with a rich boy. He thinks money is everything. But I showed him that respect is not bought with money. Mom, Dad, your daughter will not shame you." She didn't know that this fight was just the beginning of a long war. And the boy she fought with today would bring such a storm into her life that she could not even imagine. In the silence of the night, Ali Khan was standing on the balcony of his room. He had a glass in his hand from which drops of water were falling. The lights of the city were falling on his face which was tight with anger. "Dog..." This word was echoing in his ears again and again. No one had ever called him this. Not an old person, not a young person, not a man, not a woman. And today a village girl had said this to him. A middle-aged man entered the room quietly. Yusuf, who was Ali Khan's father's personal servant and now also took care of Ali. "Khan, did you call me?" Ali Khan turned back. There was the same sharpness in his eyes that had been in the men of his family for generations. "Find out about that girl. The one who insulted me today." Yusuf bowed his head. "Yes sir. Name?" "Saba. That's all I know. She came from Chandpur. Studies in Prestige College." "By tomorrow morning you will have all her details." Ali Khan put the glass on the table. There was a strange coldness in his voice. "I want to know her. Every word of hers. Every secret of hers." Yusuf nodded and left quietly. Ali Khan hit the balcony railing. Marks of his fingers appeared on the shiny wooden surface. "You called me a dog while looking into my eyes... Now see... I will teach you what a real dog is."