Turmoils- A Muslim Love Story

Chapter 27

Unedited

My second day inside the house was worse than the first one. I had no grocery and I was too scared to go out by myself. Even though Uncle Aslam's house was in a housing society and had protection everywhere, I was still afraid to leave by myself.

Once people found out I lived here alone, they'll stick to me like bees. I'd be in so much danger.

I used my phone to order groceries through an app and payed with the cash I had gotten out of the ATM at the airport.

Thanks to my quick thinking, I was able to get cash inside the house without anyone knowing. Multan was a busy city and most people didn't care for the other.

Since it was almost winter, it was bearable. In summers, the weather here usually became awfully hot and dry. Since this had been the first summer I had spent in Karachi, I had completely forgotten about the Multani heat.

I stepped outside to observe the unkept garden of the house. I had nothing better to do anyway. I'd unpacked my stuff and set up my bedroom though I spent most of my time in the lounge of the house.

The upper portion remains untouched.

The grass had grown ugly and spiky. My flowers had dried up. The soil needed water. And fertiliser, but I'd rather not go out for that.

As I stood watering the plants, a cricket ball suddenly landed on my lawn. Followed by a tiny who began to climb over the wall and as I watched in astonishment, landed neatly on the grass. He hadn't seen me yet.

He crossed it easily and ran picked it up when he realized there was something wrong. I stood watching him, still in shock. How did he even climb that? He didn't seem any older than 9 years yet he was so clever and flexible.

He looked at me and his eyes went wide in shock. He dropped the ball and raised a shaky finger towards me.

"G-G-G-GHOST!" He screamed at the top of his lungs before racing over the wall. Following several failed attempts at mounting it, he finally clambered over and ran away.

I scoffed. Now I looked like the lost soul of an old lady.

I let the water continue running and picked up the ball the little boy had left behind. On my way back inside, I spotted my bills lying near the front gate. Groaning, I picked them up.

I had a lot to do for this house.

☆☆☆

It took me a couple of days to get the house back to functioning again. The kitchen needed cleaning, the lounge needed dusting. My bedroom was okay though the mattress had hardened a bit.

The only tricky thing left to do was getting the bills paid and withdrawing a bit more money from the ATM. Even though I was really scared I decided to do the stuff during day time.

That way, if anybody tries any funny business with me, I could holler and create a scene.

Wrapping my dupatta(scarf) tightly around my head and putting on my face mask, I walked out and called in a Careem(taxi service in Pakistan).

I got the bills paid and even withdrew money. Fear clenched my heart but I encouraged myself to do it.

This was my whole life now.

I had to go back to the way I was. I wasn't afraid before so being afraid now wasn't going to help. Maybe I had become used to the lifestyle in Farhan's home.

It was almost sundown when I got back to the house. The housing scheme didn't let foreign cars in after Maghrib prayers so I had to walk the remaining distance.