Fahad's POV:

"Kya koi mujhe batana chahega ke mujhe itni jaldi Malaysia se kyun wapis bulaya gaya hai!? (Can someone tell me just why I was I called back from Malayisa on such an urgent basis?!)" Uncle Saqib barged into the living room with a cigar in one hand and a revolver in the other. He looked about ready to beat someone up. His eyes met mine and he narrowed them slightly to observe my bandaged state. "Yeh tujhe kya hogaya hai Fahad? (What happened to you?)"

"Haan, haan poucho is shehzaday se ke isko kya hua hai. (Oh yeah, ask this genius about what happened.)" Abbu replied while holding his head in his hands and sitting on a sofa. I had just told him about the details of the Kainaat and Wassal situation and he was still processing it and waiting for the medicine to kick in. He had just taken his second dose of BP medicine for the day. "Apne baap ka dushman hai yeh. Yeh chahta hai ke baap waise hi high blood pressure se marjaye. Koi sharam nahi aati isko. (He is his father's enemy. He wants his father to die from high blood pressure. He has no shame at all.)"

"Oho akhir hua kya hai? (Just what really happened?)" Uncle Saqib handed abbu a cigar which he refused after pointing towards his medicine. Oh right, he can't smoke at least 3 hours after taking his dose. He then placed his revolver on the coffee table after turning on the safety and turning his attention back to me.

"Uncle bari lambi story hai. Short men yeh ke men pahar se chalang laga di. (It's a long story uncle but the summary is that I jumped off a mountain.)" I grinned at him and I felt my head throb as a response. Ugh. Uncle looked at me and then dad and then at me again.

"Zubair, iska sar bachpan men kahin laga tou nahi tha? Khela tou yeh meri goud men tha lekin yeh tou Ibraheem ko bhi kaat gaya hai bewakoofi men. Shayd dono ne apas men aik dosray ka sar phar diya tha jawani men. (Zubair, did he hit his head somewhere in his childhood? Although I have watched him grown but he just surpassed Ibraheem in idiocy. Maybe the two of them crack each other's skull at some point.)" Uncle commented and abbu just nodded in complete agreement. "Waisay mera beeta hai kidher? Kahin Ibraheem ne tou phirse kuch kar nahi diya? Shaadi ke baad bhi usko sakoon nahi? (By the way, where is my son? Did Ibraheem do something again? Can he not live peacefully even after his wedding?"

"Abbu kuch nahi kiya menay is baar. Har dafah men kasoorwaar nahi hota. (I didn't do anything, dad. I am not always the culprit." Ibraheem entered the living room with Misha beside him, his hand resting on her waist. Her eyes were drooping from sleep but she gradually looked at everyone in the room and greeted with a polite Salaam which was retuned with the same level of gentleness. Mujhe tou kabhi itne pyaar se salaam nahi kiya hoga abbu aur uncle ne. (My dad and uncle have never greeted me with such love and care.) Ibraheem's eyes met mine and he frowned. Oh shit here it comes. "Fahaday, tujhe kya hogaya hai? Tu tou Rubab ko Nathia nahi le kar gaya tha? (Fahaday, what happened to you? I thought you went to Nathia with Rubab?)"

Like father, like son.

"Dimagh kharaab hai mera. Menay socha mausam kitna acha hai, pahaar se chalang laga kar nechay darya men jata hun teharne. (Oh, you know I must have lost it. The weather was just so pleasant, I decided to take a dip in the river a hundred feet below the mountain.)" I deadpanned while Misha snorted before regaining her composure.

"Where is Rubab anyway?" Misha pointed out in her drowsy state.

"There was an infection in her gums and she had to go to the dentist with ammi. She will be back soon in two or so hours." I would know, I have been counting the minutes since she left. She had actually gone to get teeth implants and bandages renewed. I didn't have the heart to tell Misha that she had jumped off from the mountain. I think Rubab would narrate that to Zoya and Misha in her way. It was not my story to tell.

"Okay. Fahad, where is the guest room?" Misha leaned into Ibraheem as if she would fall asleep any second.

"There is two on the ground floor. One on the first floor. The helper will guide you. If you want to eat anything, she can cook it or order it for you." I called out to the helper who was an elderly lady who had been with us for the past twenty five years. "Inko kamra dekha den aur jo chahiye hoga de den. (Show her the room and make sure all her needs are met.)"

"No, no, we ate on the way here. Ibraheem, I am going to nap for a bit. Looks like Zoya and Rubab aren't here yet and you all have something important to talk about. Can you wake me up when they show up?"

"Ofcourse, meri jaan. Rest up." Ibraheem squeezed her shoulder and waited for her to leave before he turned his attention back to us. His face turned cold. "Fahaday, sach bata. Kya hua? Yeh kisne kiya hai? Naam de mujhe. (Now tell me seriously. What happened Fahaday? Who did this? I just need a name.)"

"Jisne kiya hai, woh mar gaya hai. (The person who did this is already dead.)" Abbu interceded while sighing tiredly. Uncle Saqib and Ibraheem shared a look of confusion before looking at abbu. "Aur uski laash bhi nahi mil rahi. Asmaan kha gaya ya zameen nigal gayi? Aik body nahi mil rahi?! (And I can't find his dead body. Did the earth swallow it whole or he vanished into the sky? How can one body not be found?)"

"Yeh akhir ho kya raha hai? Mujhe koi kuch seedhay mun se kyun nahi bata raha!? Aik pahaar se chalang laga kar aya hai. Kisi ki laash nahi mil rahi. Aur yeh Azmat kahan hai? Usne mujhe sirf aik message kiya ke ghar pohancho, woh Buland ko marne laga hai. HO KYA RAHA HAI? (Just what exactly is happening? Why can't someone tell me clearly!? One jumped from a mountain and there is some dead body that can't be found. And just where is Azmat? He sent me one message to get home and that he is going to kill Buland. WHAT IS HAPPENING?"

The people who knew about the Kainaat situation shared a look. We decided to let abbu tell uncle. It was only fair. He was about to find out that his niece who was declared dead a decade ago was alive and potentially confined by his other brother's son.

"Uncle Azmat, Kamran, auntie aur Zoya rastay men hain. They should be arriving any time now. (Uncle Azmat, Kamran, Auntie, Zoya are on their way here.)"

"Zoya? Misha beeti ki dost Zoya? Aur Salma bhi arahi hai? (Zoya? Misha's friend Zoya? And Salma is also coming?)" Uncle puffed on his cigar before sizzling it out on an ashtray.

"Gee uncle. Abbu apko batayenge ke kya wajah hai iske pechay. (Yes uncle. Dad is going to explain the reason behind this.)" I casually tossed the ball in abbu's court who glared at me before sighing loudly. No way could I handle this. Abbu should deal with breaking the news to uncle. They had been best friends for the past forty years. Meanwhile, my best friend sat beside me and gave me a once over again.

"What the hell happened?" Ibraheem whisper yelled while abbu started telling uncle the story from the start.

"Zohaib Iftikhar Chaudhary happened." The flashback came back too suddenly causing me to wince out in pain.

"That piece of shit followed you to Nathia? I ought to hunt him down and-"

"Ibraheem, he is already dead."

"What?!" Ibraheem and Uncle Saqib roared at the same time as they got up.

"Kainaat zinda hai?! (Kainaat is alive?!)" The second cigar that uncle was about to lit up fell from the shock.

"Zohaib mar gaya hai?! (Zohaib is dead?!)" Ibraheem couldn't mask his expressions anymore. Talk about subtle. One truth bomb at a time, damn it. At this point uncle Saqib will need to take the BP medicine too.

"Zohaib Iftikhar steel mills wala?" Uncle looked at us. "Woh mar gaya? (He is dead?)"

"Woh mara nahi hai. Usko maar diya hai. (He didn't die. He was killed.)" Abbu sighed as he grabbed his head again. The BP medicine didn't look like it was working anymore.

"Kisne? (By who?)" Uncle and Ibraheem asked in unison. They were more alike than they thought. So much resemblance. I was about to announce but I felt a presence at the door. Kamran entered the room looking like shit.

He wasn't physically hurt but his eyes were puffy and he had a murderous look in his eyes. Uncle Azmat stood beside him with an even deathlier expression. There was an assault rife in one hand while the other hand was tightly holding onto auntie Salma. Her eyes were puffy but they didn't look dead like before. It looked like they finally had the shine that was once lost.

I hadn't noticed Zoya at first because she was hiding behind Kamran's broad frame but she then stepped to the side and I finally saw how short she actually was compared to Kamran. What a midget. Even she didn't look like her usual self. She was silent, observing everything. However her face couldn't conceal the surprise when her eyes landed on me. Bandaged like a mummy. I knew she wanted to ask me what was going on but read the room. She would become a very lethal and talented lawyer.

Everyone exchanged a greeting and the atmosphere in the room suddenly got heavy and dark. No one said a word until Uncle Saqib got up and cracked his neck.

"Put the gun away, Azmat. Come here so we can talk about whatever the hell is going on." Uncle Azmat turned his cruel gaze at Uncle Saqib and held it for a few seconds before dropping it on nearby sofa and moved to hug Uncle Saqib. "I heard Kainaat is alive. I can't believe my ears."

"She is alive, Saqib, and she is with Wassal."

"What are you talking about?"

"Wassal kidnapped her back then. Buland has been lying to us. This is war."

"Oho. Mujhe andaza nahi tha ke yeh mamla itna serious hai, menay tou Buland ko airport se yahan atay howe call par kaha tha ke woh bhi idher ajaye. Mujhe tha ke Zubair idler hai tou hum sab apas men baat karke masla hal karlenge. (Well shit. I didn't know it was this serious so I actually called over Buland on my way here from the airport. I thought with Zubair as a mediator, we could resolve whatever the problem was.)" Uncle said it so calmly that it took all of us a few seconds to process the words.

"Bhai! Yeh ap kaise kar sakte ho? (Brother! How could you do this?)" Uncle Azmat roared while Abbu pinched the bridge of this nose. 

"Mujhe thori khawaab ana tha ke aisa kuch kiya hoga usne. (Well, how would I know this is what was going on.)" 

What? Buland Khan Narejo was on the way here?

This was going to be a disaster. A massacre. Shit.

And just then, the bell rang.