Madawa

12

The kid in the seat next to Maher's wouldn't stop throwing tantrums. Calling him a kid wouldn't even be fair; he seemed to be in his early teens and his attitude was annoying Maher. It wouldn't have bothered him much if the kid wasn't talking so loudly. Maher was on his flight to Islamabad. He was carrying no baggage physically but emotionally, he was excessively weighed down. He wasn't proud of it but he wanted to slap the kid in hopes that he'd cry to sleep. His father wasn't exactly cooperative and that was most of the reason why this kid was the way he was. He knew this exact kind of people—the kind that use their elite status to trample over the lower classes... he was one of them. Maher wasn't the only one to be troubled by this kid, the father had received multiple complaints but he seemed like the elitist snob kind. A few minutes ago he had issues with how the food tasted and his latest issue was how cold it was and he was whining about the fact that he had bought the most expensive ticket on the flight—all this in two hour flight.

A few minutes passed and the kid's father got up and walked over the restroom. Maher found that to be the perfect opportunity. He got up from his seat and leaned in towards the kid and whispered in his ear. The kid's eyes widened in horror and fear was suddenly the most evident expression on his face. Maher got back to his seat before the father returned. The remainder of the flight was peaceful with not a single sound from the kid. The guy sitting next to Maher was curious and asked, "Aisa kya boldiya tumne usko?"

"That I'm going to tell his father about all the colorful things he smokes," Maher replied and the guy's eyes widened.

"Astaghfirullah, he smokes?!" He asked, shocked.

"Pata nahi, I don't even know him but it seemed to work so he probably does," Maher replied and the guy next to him couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeh bhi sahi hai," he said before returning to the book he was reading.

Maher slept through the rest of the flight and he was awoken by the announcement. He waited for everyone to get off before getting up and walking out of the plane.

His head was throbbing. This 1 hour of sleep was all that he had gotten in the last 24 hours and he needed a cup of strong coffee. He walked into the first coffee shop he saw at the airport and ordered himself a cold brew. He gulped down a couple of pain killers with the coffee. He went to the car rental office to pick his car up. He could have most definitely informed his family and he would have been picked up by their driver but he didn't want all the drama right now.

Islamabad was particularly eerily quiet this week night. He drove through the quiet streets. Half an hour later he stopped outside the gates of the place he'd sworn he'd never step foot in; his home. The watchman quickly opened the gate as he realized it was Maher sitting in the car. Maher drove the car in and parked it on the wide six -car driveway. He got out and picked his bag up from the backseat of his rented Audi A8.

The entrance was located a few steps into the garden. He walked through the freshly mowed lawn and ascended the little staircase that lead to the main door. He still had his set of keys to the place so he walked right in. It was 1 in the morning and he didn't expect anyone to be awake at this hour. He made his way straight to his room. Climbing two steps at a time, he ascended the humongous staircase in the middle of the house. He was about to twist the handle of his room's door when he heard his name being called.

"Maher?"

He closed his eyes, letting out a sigh as if he had been holding a breath. It was Hareem and he was in no mood for any conversation with her. She is one 1/4th of the Salahuddin siblings and she's their father's puppet. She would blindly support him no matter what. A major reason is the hefty check he writes her and her good-for-nothing husband. He turned around to face her. Her eyes were puffy and the bags under her eyes made her look twenty years older than him instead of ten; she looked like an absolute mess.