TWO-FACED

Hamna Zahir

Daastan Publishing 2024

First Published in Pakistan by Daastan PVT LTD

House # A-41, Madni Street, Lala Rukh, Wah Cantt, Punjab 47040

www.daastan.com

www.meraqissa.com

Text copyrights © Hamna Zahir

Book Design copyright © Hamna Zahir

Edited by: Nayyab Mushtaq

The moral rights of the writer, illustrator and editor have been asserted.

All rights reserved

This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or distributed in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

ISBN 978-969-696-918-1

CHAPTER 1

It was one beautiful morning with the mischievous rays of sunlight peeking their way through the feathery veil of puffy clouds. The sky looked mesmerizing as it glimmered all through the day with a golden hue in it. Underneath this panoramic view, every creature seemed to rejoice as the beauty of nature is not a thing to disregard. 

Apart from this, a mild soothing breeze was blowing. It made everything sway under its impact, just like the bright, green leaves twirled, the empty swings swung and the bells hanging by the doorways jingled euphoniously as the wind drew nearer. All of this gave rise to a dulcet, tuneful and harmonious sound, which was music to every creature's ears and soul. 

FLASH...... 

All of a sudden, lustrous streams of lightning gleamed in the overcast sky and transformed it into a dark sky. In a clap of loud thunders, the sky changed from soothing golden to tenebrous grey as it began to drizzle. The sky growled as the thunderbolts struck it repeatedly until everything started to twitch with the vibrations. 

A moment ago, an electric blue bus with white tinted windows and a faint logo painted on its left side, stopped at the intersection of the avenue that opened into a neighbourhood located in an appealing and leafy green spot of Islamabad. The neighbourhood was fairly sized with about ten houses dispersed around a gigantic square pavement adorned with beautiful blue pottery tiles, flower pots stained with bright and vibrant coloured lilies, carnations, and roses planted along with them. Lastly, the pavement was buried under the shadows of few huge banyan trees.    

It was still raining extremely hard when the bus came to a halt and down stepped a tall, young lady carefully holding onto her orange and grey striped backpack and eye-balling at the rain in admonishment while she gathered her wet hair altogether on her right shoulder. The strong winds howled once again as she rushed past the bus. Her wavy hair flew all over her face, completely veiling her for a slight moment.

She brushed the hair off her face as she started to walk into the long street with water dripping by her hair and splashing while she took huge steps and rushing her way to her destination.

She had a round face with her cheeks and collarbones poking out of her golden brown yet faded skin. Her straight, brown hair fell just above her lower back and her not-so-big olive brown eyes beamed through her dainty eyelids while her lips looked thirst full enough.

She ideally wouldn't fall in the category of natural beauty but a tinge of charm in her sombre eyes and a soft curvy smile would be enough for her to wear to look breathtaking. But hold on, she never managed to look like that, maybe because she was never able to get that spark in her gloomy eyes and that soothing smile on her lips.

All she managed to wear was a pair of dispirited eyes with a broad, fake smile.

She was extremely thin such that she almost looked malnourished. She was dressed in a pair of dark blue pants with a yellow shirt that reached just above her knees with a blue beaded neckline. On her right wrist, she wore a white wristwatch along with a pair of grey boots, perfectly suitable for such weather and a backpack conditioned to perfection on her back. 

She walked lousily past three houses and smiled in appraisal as she walked towards the front door of the fourth house in the row and rushed into the shelter right beside the doorway. She pulled out a glossy key from her backpack’s pocket, unlocked the door and in no time she stepped inside.

"Mama, I am home." She announced, walking into the lounge after taking off her shoes by the door while taking the bag off her shoulders. 

"Maria, how are... oh you are totally drenched in rain!" Naima, a woman in her early forties, came out of the kitchen. She was dressed in blue loose trousers with a white lace shirt. Her dress wonderfully suited her lean but bulky figure. Her face was fair and round, with black eyes and chubby rosy cheeks. Her dark brown, curly hair was neatly tied up in a side fish braid.

"I guess so," Maria replied hilariously, noticing her wet clothes and squashing water out of her wet hair. 

"Go change your clothes; I'll get lunch for you," Naima told her, smiling. She immediately rushed past Maria as she realized the broth on the stove had already boiled and was about to spill any moment. 

"Oki. Where is Haider?" She asked her mother while looking around for him as she walked towards her room beside the dining room. 

"He went to get some books from his friend. He'll be back any minute." Naima replied to her from the kitchen, while turning off the stove with ease because it was just a moment away from drooling over. 

Maria looked around for a moment and then walked into the lounge while glaring at the classic wooden wall clock. She turned right towards her room and after reaching locked it from inside. 

***

It was middle of the night, at around 3 am, the owls howled all around the area. It was an epic building covered with glossy shaded glass from the outside while talking about the interiors it comprised of pastel grey walls, a ceiling covered with CCTV cameras, a few lampshades hanging by a compact yet fully equipped with gadgets, and a reception desk. There were a few pieces of black leather furniture with spotless white-tilled flooring. The place literally echoed with sophistication and class.

There were narrow corridors through the building making it look more like a maze as the air in hollow AC vents echoed smoothly. Around the place, there were several brown-coloured, neatly polished doors probably leading to different rooms as mentioned on the labels outside them. It seemed like a professional institution. At this hour, it was all unoccupied. The only sounds audible were the sounds of random flickering of lights, and of air moving through the hollow ducts.

Just then, another sound started to echo around the place increasing periodically until a dark brown door, made of carved wood that probably belonged to some authorized personnel, creaked open as the doorknob twisted clockwise. It shoved open revealing a tall and slim figure opening it. The door was not fully opened yet when it was left abruptly halfway as the woman heard the man inside, moaning painfully. 

A man of moderate physique dressed in official attire, a pair of navy blue pants, a white plain wrinkled shirt, was lying uncomfortably on a black round office chair with blood oozing out of a savage wound on his abdominal region. His black eyes looked pale as if he was about to take his last breath any moment. His round clean-shaven, sweaty face was turning dull second by second and his dry lips murmured some words, probably to that woman. The lady walked to him, pounding her heels on the floor and knelt to him at his eye level.

“Why are you doing this?” The man uttered a few words with immense difficulty and looked at her with eyes in need of an answer.

“I guess I won’t answer that today.” She smirked and laughed out aloud, manifesting signs of power.

She pulled out a polished, sharp-edged dagger from her jacket pocket and laid it right below his chin. The man shivered out of fear as the dagger made contact with his sweaty skin. She slid the dagger up his face, still not piercing it through his skin. It looked as if she enjoyed watching him struggle for his life and loved to play with the strings of his life.

She devilishly smiled and rolled her eyes at him, "Time to go."   

His eyes were involuntarily following her hand as he was almost paralysed due to the intense wound and in a brief yet abrupt moment she slid the sharp blade of the dagger on his sweaty neck such that she could feel him gulping, while he struggled badly, moving his neck, arms and legs but wasn't able to dodge her. The very next moment she slit his throat brutally! 

He died right in front of her slowly as the blood flowing out of the wound filled up his chair, his breathing became shallower with every passing moment and his soul departed his body. She stood up, pulling the sharp bloodied knife roughly from the wound so that his blood splashed all around and some of it swished onto her face. 

Her brown sleek hair was neatly tied in a high ponytail such that her hair fell just below her shoulders except few disordered strands that danced above her ears and all over her face. She had a golden brown complexion and perfectly contoured face with metallic grey eyes glimmering with happiness, dominance and satisfaction.

She smirked as she raised her perfectly lean jawline proudly; her fierce red eyes twinkled as she swayed her intense gaze all around the place. Her hair danced over her deadly face as wind gushed through the opened windowpane.

She brushed those baby hair off her face instantly, tucking them roughly behind her ear while she examined the shiny dagger soiled with fresh human blood. She smiled as she felt a swirl of euphoria running all through her body and mind. 

She curved her parched lips into an evil smile and wiped off the blood from the dagger playing with every single drop of it. She loved the way the blood droplets would dangle from her sharp nails. She realized it was just like how she was still dangling by the strings of her past. Just like the droplets slid along her skin as she eyed them, she believed she could also one day let herself free from the deadly shadows of her past which has been haunting her all her life.

She was dressed in a huge black oversized hood, a pair of black faded jeans with grey-heeled boots. After she exited the room, she walked calmly towards the main entrance of the building going through two corridors and reception.

After a few mysterious minutes, she reached the entrance where she saw the guard lying unconscious on the ground and smiled cunningly at him.

She immediately pulled up her cap, partially veiling her face and left the building.

With no doubt, life is full of surprises, and just like everyone else, every new day of her life would bring a series of new events for her deal with.

CHAPTER 2

It was a nice, warm and summary day after the downpour last night. The sun was shining beautifully at its most and everything was covered in golden sparkle of sunlight. In the meanwhile, Maria was apparently, in deep sleep in her room, snuggled in her printed panda blanket. 

It was a small, compact room with white walls and a wide window buried under a faded blue curtain. On one side of the room were a wooden wardrobe and an Oakwood study desk with piles of papers lying carelessly all over its surface and a bunch of sticky notes hanging by the proximal wall.

Opposite to it, there was a huge floor mirror with four wooden shelves fixed on the wall on each side of the mirror. On those wooden shelves were placed some delicate perfume bottles, a few shiny jewellery boxes, a few make up applicators placed in a 'stardust' mug, some fancy lipsticks and a black hairbrush. Beside that, there was a white set of drawers adorned with panda and floral stickers with three big drawers placed at the other corner of the room.

***

It was lighted all over

her.

***

She was snuggled in her greyish-black panda blanket and only her plain face was exposed. Her brown, wavy hair rested smoothly on the silk pillow except a few strands fell on her face near her eyes and one of them was almost poking into her left eye, mingling with her curly eyelashes. She was previously sleeping peacefully but then suddenly she started to smirk awkwardly while still in sleep. She fluttered her eyes, turning her face to the sides while some more grins appeared on her lips. 

Then suddenly, she opened her eyes. She opened her crimson-red, swollen eyes but still kept lying there as if she was momentarily hamstrung or she had lost the willpower to crawl out of the bed. She kept staring at the roof where a fan was rotating, with an emotionless face. After about a few minutes, she woke up holding her head frustratingly in her palms and breathing heavily. She softly rubbed her temples as she climbed out of the bed and put her sweaty feet on fine strands of the carpet. She stood up and walked up to her dresser. She looked thoroughly at herself in the mirror as she tied her shaggy hair into a rough side bun.

 She looked hideous, her eyes were red as if they were about to bleed any moment, her cheeks were pale with sweat drops sliding down her face over her poky collarbone to her skinny neck.  

Just then, her gaze caught the reflection of the wall clock in the mirror alarming her that she needed to hurry up otherwise she would get late for university. She hurried herself to the cupboard and fetched herself a pair of spotless white boot-cut trousers with a peach floral shirt and a beaded scarf and vanished into the bathroom.

***

Maria’s POV

After some time

It's almost seven forty in the morning and I still haven't left for my university, I hope I reach there on time. I hurriedly brushed my hair and then glaring at myself for one last time in the mirror, I reached out my bag from the desk, stuffed it with all the books and papers lying on the desk and finally exited my room. 

I rushed outside my room, almost running through the lounge to the dining room which has a round glass dining table in front of a delicate and dainty china cabinet filled with beautiful and exquisite pieces of crockery.

The dining table was all taken by painted glass dishes filled with fried eggs with semi solid egg yolks and perfectly toasted bread, a jug of orange juice and a blue pottery kettle with a matching pair of sugar pot and milk pot. There I saw my mother, dressed in a grey blue printed shirt with her hair tied in a tight yet messy bun.

She was drinking tea while my brother, Haider, dressed in his school uniform, with his tie still hanging by his neck; was munching on his toasts flooding with Nutella, which is pretty gross according to me. 

I immediately took the nearby chair, grabbed a half fried egg and toasts from the dish and started to eat in no time. 

"Your father called last night." My mom broke the silence as she stirred a spoonful of sugar into her cup of tea. 

"What did he say?" Haider asked her as he gulped a whole glass of water in one go probably due to the phenomenon called Nutella overdose! 

"He proposed on taking you two out on Saturday," she replied while wiping her face with a table napkin. "Hmm," I said because I wasn't interested in it anyway. All going through my mind was the eggs, toasts and how I'd manage to catch up with my very first lecture today.

"What hmm?" She asked sarcastically and annoyingly. Haider let out a silly laugh and I started to laugh as well, because let's be real, when my brother laughs like this, specifically with a mouth full of food, nobody seems to be able to control their laugh. 

"He told me he'll pick you both up at eleven in the morning on Saturday." My mom added while looking through us this time. 

"Sounds good." Haider replied as he looked at me. 

"I also have my meeting on Saturday morning so it's great you guys won't have to stay alone." She said while alarmingly glaring the clock. 

"It's better to leave otherwise we'll probably get late." I announced as I stood up from the dining chair. 

"Do inform your father about Saturday." My mom advised us before she picked up her keys and rushed towards the main door. Later on, I and Haider followed her as we finished our breakfast.

***

Time: 3 pm 

Under the shadow of big malicious trees, beneath the blistering rays of sunlight, she was walking with fast brisk steps. Her brown hair flew with flow of the light breeze passing by and her peach and white scarf was dancing elegantly with the wind as she almost stumbled over it.

She was dressed in quite ethnic attire today, a straight printed cotton trouser coupled with a bright, beaded and embroidered shirt that gently hugged her skinny body, just a few inches above her rough feet and a pair of glossy brown platform heeled sandals well suited to her partially tanned feet. 

"Maria, are you done with your assignment?" Minal, another girl dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans and an oversized summer sweatshirt, asked Maria as she managed to match her fast pace towards the auditorium. 

"Hey Minal!" Maria stopped and greeted her excitedly. 

"Hi!" She replied while continuing to walk with her.

"Nope trust me, I haven't even touched the assignment." She told her and chuckled. Minal laughed as well as they began to walk together again. 

"Let's get to the auditorium before the session starts." Maria proposed to Minal. 

"By the way, what kind of session is it?" She asked childishly. 

"I guess it's about the upcoming examination series," she informed her while she popped open her cell phone screen. 

After a smooth walk of five minutes through the walkways, they reached the auditorium. It was a spacious building in between two huge buildings; one belonged to the science laboratories while other belonged to the arts department. 

They both calmly entered the auditorium which at the moment was flooding with students and teachers. They took two consecutive seats in the fifth row from the stage as per their role numbers that were mentioned on the seats. After a few seconds, most of the seats were filled and the teachers also appeared on the stage, the lights were switched off and in a moment whole hall went pitch black. 

***

A tall man, donning a lime green lining shirt with grey pants and grey necktie around his neck, climbed up the stage holding a black folder. He took the microphone and started to introduce the session. Just then, a stinging electric pain swirled through her head radiating step by step from her forehead towards the dome of her head and then emerged slowly around both her eyes.

BLACKOUT

It was a beautiful living room with classy wallpapered walls, tinted glass lampshades, white silk curtains, dark brown comfortable sofas with crystal clear glass tables laden with different flowers held in expensive painted vases. 

Even though the surroundings were as pretty as a picture, the people in that room were not. While they were busy arguing with each other, a woman wearing a purple top with a white trousers, her hair tied in a braid and a man in blue shirt with black pants, were fighting verbally, continuously. Their eyes were burning with hatred as they conversed with each other, while keeping control on their voices, making sure that no one could guess that they were actually spilling some really deadly poison.

BLACKOUT OVER

Five people, out of whom three were women, were dressed in teacher's gown above their semi-formal dresses while two men were also wearing the similar gowns above their extremely formal dresses. Identity cards were hanging down by their necks. They were patiently standing on the stage, waiting respectfully for the authorized personnel to finish his speech. 

BLACKOUT

In a lush green garden planted with colourful phonies, the same man in grey-black sweatpants and a loose sweatshirt, was seated on a relaxing garden chair while reading through the newspaper when a woman in a plain blue informal gown came stampeding towards him with a thick black file in her hand. She threw the black file on the table rudely to get the man’s attention. The man turned to her immediately as he picked up the file and ruthlessly started to read. The man then angrily stood up and started to blabber at the woman who in return started to shout at him until both of them were arguing. While quarrelling, they were unaware of the fact that two big brown wet eyes were constantly eyeing them through the uncovered nook of the window right behind them. 

BLACKOUT OVER

In that pitch black auditorium, a screen lighted up as the teacher turned the projector connected to the multimedia system on. On the screen, a well-prepared presentation was being presented, a teacher spoke through the microphone simultaneously in accordance with the slides of the presentation. During the session, few teachers started to distribute handbooks to all the students present in the hall. As soon as I was handed over my handbook, I curiously gazed at its cover, feeling its smooth texture with my rough fingertips. I immediately opened it out of curiosity.

BLACKOUT

It was a huge place with quiet and long corridors. It consisted of white marble flooring, crème pale walls with polished pieces of basic office furniture. The only sound audible was the opening and closing of the doors that led to different halls labelled as courtrooms. After some time, the same woman wearing a long white plain shirt and white embroidered trousers paired with a white chiffon scarf and the man, in a black formal suit, exited the courtroom followed by a group of people dressed in official attire, handling tonnes of documents.

BLACKOUT OVER

Suddenly the auditorium lighted up probably declaring the end of the session. She felt agonizing pain emerge through her temples which started to travel to her jaw following towards her neck and simultaneously circling through the circumference of her She clutched her head tightly, it felt as if her head was going to explode.

Just then, she opened her eyes and started to massage her temples in order to soothe the stinging pain that was still going through her mind, body and soul. The students were still seated on their respected seats while faculty members were seen working through the slides.

"Evacuate the auditorium, there is a fire backstage." A teacher came shouting and running towards the auditorium alarmingly while the shrill sound of the fire alarm started ringing all through the place.

CHAPTER  3

After a few days

Haider, dressed in a dark blue jeans and a sporty Ronaldo shirt with yellow neon joggers plus clumsily gelled hair, was waiting outside the main gate of their house. 

"Assalam-o-Alaikum, dad!" Haider greeted his father, who was getting out of his car and let out an amazed chuckle. 

"Walaikum Assalam, how are you?" Amjad replied while warmly hugging his son and observing his hair at the same time.

"I am good." Haider replied breaking the hug.

"Where is Maria?" Amjad asked him as he noticed her absence. 

"She is coming, running a bit late, as always." He answered while chuckling naughtily. After some time, Maria appeared from the main door. She smiled embarrassingly when she noticed her father waiting for her. She

was dressed in a dimly faded dark blue jeans and a light blue thigh length shirt topped up with a denim jacket and heeled mauve sandals. Her straight brown hair was neatly tied up in an elegant French braid. 

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Maria greeted her father with a smile to which he replied by pulling her into deep fatherly hug and kissed her forehead. 

"No problem dear. It's ok," he replied while breaking the hug.

"Let's leave then, get in the car." Amjad announced as he opened the driving seat door. 

"I'll take the front seat." Haider said. Maria was about to sit at the back seat when her father said, 

"Are you going to carry this backpack with you? It seems heavy." Amjad sarcastically asked her as he assisted Maria to carry the bag while Haider giggled at it. 

"No, I don't have to carry this. It will stay in the car, and it’s just the essentials." Maria replied comically. Amjad gestured her to slip inside the car while he took the bag and placed it right beside her at the back seat. 

"Well let's go then." Amjad declared and walked excitedly towards the driving seat. 

"Dad you didn't tell us where we are going." Haider asked Amjad, who just started driving and was watching out for the trash can on the street.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. We are going to the arcade, then we'll have lunch. After that we can go shopping. Then, you guys tell where else you want to go." Amjad told them excitedly. 

"Sounds fun." Haider childishly applauded while he mingled with the stereo system, juggling through the play list. 

"Let's go for a long drive after that." Maria suggested while she gazed at the view outside the car and enjoyed the soothing music. 

"Sure." Amjad answered as he eyed Maria through the rear mirror and smiled. 

"Yes." Haider replied as he finally stopped mingling with the car stereo.

***

In a nice and graceful restaurant, Haider, Maria and Amjad were seated around a compact square table. They had ordered mouth-watering grilled mutton chops, delicious chicken biryani, sizzling prawn curry served with fresh butter and garlic naan. They were enjoying their dinner or to be more precise Amjad and Maria were eating while Haider was enthusiastically checking out his new cell phone that he had just bought.

"Haider, put your phone down, at least finish your dinner first. You are still playing around with your starters." Amjad irritatingly proposed to Haider who was playing some game on his new phone. 

"Just two minutes, dad." He replied without even looking at his plate, he was still engrossed in his phone. 

"He won't put the phone down until he is satisfied." Maria commented as she wiped her hands with a napkin and Amjad laughed out loud while he took another spoonful of biryani.

 A

fter another ten minutes, Haider was still deeply involved in his phone when Amjad abruptly snatched it. 

"Two minutes are over. Eat now." Amjad announced as he mockingly smiled at Maria who smiled back similarly. 

"Stop being a baby." Maria teased him while she played with her set of cutlery, rolling the spoon between her fingers.