Asrar wanted to say something, but he could not avoid the request which was made in such a loving tone. He had read Bani’s work a thousand times over. Bani’s best ghazals were embedded in his mind. He exerted his brain a little and recited two couplets:

Mein kyun na dubte manzar ke sath doub hi jaun,

Ye sham aur samandar udaas pani ka.

Mein dar raha hun hawa mein kahin bikhar hi jaye

Ye phool phool sa lamha teri nishani ka.

(Should I drown with the drowning landscape,

This evening and the seas filled with sorrowful waters?

I am afraid that in the wind will be scattered

The flower-like moments that carry your signs.)

Hina’s eyes were focused on Asrar’s face. Asrar’s were looking at the rays of the sun, which the waves desired to reach. They were rushing towards them so as to touch them. The entire sea changed to yellow and dark red. The sun vanished from the sight within a minute. Asrar looked at Hina and said, ‘The sun has finally set after giving us all these beautiful scenes.’

Hina found what Asrar had said very creative. She put her hands around Asrar’s neck and pulled him towards her. ‘The flower-like moments that carry your signs,’ she said and smiled. Asrar smiled back. Hina said, ‘Let this moment be a memorable one,’ and then she placed her lips on Asrar’s. The darkness that crawled on the evening sea was getting deeper while Hina and Asrar were present like illuminated dots in the dark depths of each other’s soul.

Asrar went to his village on 15 March.

During his stay, he visited Jamila Miss at least three or four times. He stayed over one night.

Miss had borrowed a porn CD from a friend. She had already seen it thrice, but she had decided to enjoy it while lying in Asrar’s lap. Her emotions had awakened when she had seen it for the first time. She had whispered Asrar’s name. The echo of Asrar’s name had spread through her body, stretching her nerves. Her heart had stopped beating for a moment. It was almost still.

The night Asrar stayed over, they conversed for a long time. They had dinner at 11 p.m. An hour later, Miss shut all the windows and switched on the dim lights. In the dim light, she looked at Asrar with eyes full of longing. Asrar could feel the desire in the natural spark of Miss’s eyes. She plugged the cable of the DVD player into the TV port. Asrar thought that Miss was going to play a romantic movie. He rested his neck on the pillow and started looking at the television. He saw nude bodies on the screen. He was astonished. Miss looked at him again and before lying on the bed, she switched off the dim lights too. Even before Asrar could utter a word, Miss lay down next to him. Asrar had heard about such films from Mohammad Ali, but he was watching one for the first time.