A story retold.
The sun was on the horizon. The summer winds carrying the harshness of the heat were blowing against her cheeks. Nasima was assisting her mother in gathering some woods while their cattles were grazing at the bottom of the mountain.
There was another woman Arifa from their neighbor and who was accompanying them for the same purpose.
Nasima with her sky blue eyes saw a cattle that was going away from the herd.
Her mother in a hoarse voice called Nasima to chase the cattle and bring it back to the herd.
Afterward, Nasima in the blink of eyes was seen at a fair distance from her mother chasing the cattle.
She was moving making a zig zag on the steep and it was quite hard at first but she was used to it.
It was sunday so there was no school today.
Usually Nasima helps her mother throughout the weekends. Today was different from other days as Nasima was sensing something whimsical but she couldn’t figure it.
Arifa being lost in her thoughts heard a distant sound of cracking of rocks. When she lifted her head she saw a stone gaining humongous momentum moving towards Nasima. The stone fell somewhere from the steepy mountain and no one of the three noticed at first. As it was approching Nasima out of the blue sky, it never gave an instant to Nasima to rush aside. Her mother was standing stoned not far away when the sharped edged rock hit Nasima on the back of her head. A part of her skull fell on the ground with some spilt blood on the stones there.
Her mother rushed towards her dead body, Nasima was freezed and breathless. Nasima’s mother without uttering a single word lifed her on her back and headed towards her home. Arifa was shivering as she approached the place where Nasima fallen dead a few moments ago. She couldn’t believe her eyes and the nature which was playing something bizarre with her. Her eyes were searching for Nasima but they found a part of her skull among the stones. For a moment Arifa thought to take the skull but it was too frightening.
For an instant Arifa never knew that she was sobing. Either side of her face was wet because of her tears.
Her mother rushed towards her dead body, Nasima was freezed and breathless. Nasima’s mother without uttering a single word lifed her on her back and headed towards her home. Arifa was shivering as she approached the place where Nasima fallen dead a few moments ago. She couldn’t believe her eyes and the nature which was playing something bizarre with her. Her eyes were searching for Nasima but they found a part of her skull among the stones. For a moment Arifa thought to take the skull but it was too frightening.
For an instant Arifa never knew that she was sobing. Either side of her face was wet because of her tears.
Everyone in the village was stunned of the sudden death of a ten years old girl but Arifa was shivering because she witnessed what happened.
A couple of days later, after the funeral of Nasima, Arifa was brewing tea in the morning for her family. When suddenly there was a knock on the door. There were some sounds of footsteps, with an unintentional look towards the door Arifa tried to scream as loud as she can but her voice stuck in her vocal cords. She saw Nasima dressed in her white coffin holding the part of her skull in her hands.
Arifa was turning pale when a hand from behind grabbed her shoulder. She abruptly looked behind to see her mother taunting her because the tea was pouring out of the pot.
Arifa never told what happened with her in the morning that day.
This was not going to easy for Arifa to forget about the accidental death of Nasima and the events which were making her shiver afterwards.
Many people from the surrounding were complaining about sounds of crying of an infant. Arifa was quite sure about the voices, they were not the crying of an infant but they were the voices of young Nasima which were searching for something missing.
The sun was setting behind the mountains which were covered by snow at the cap. The top of the mountains were gleaming with the bouncing back of the setting sun. After doing all her house chores Arifa was going to collect some woods, but this time there was some reluctancy in her to go alone.
Her mother felt that Arifa is showing a sort of laziness and taunted her making fun of her moves.
Arifa complaint about going alone to collect woods as it was very near to the evening. Her mother accompanied her and they headed towards the jungle.
The jungle was at a walking distance from their house, but it was located on the outskirts of their village in the foot of the mountains.
Arifa was now gathering some courage and trying to forget the headless walking dead body of Nasima but with any fruitful success.
When Arifa and her mother reached the jungle, her mother cautiously told her not to go far away as the sun set behind the mountains , it was getting dimmer in the jungle.
The sounds of wood cracking was very obvious and the footsteps of her mother seems to be the two things to set her thoughts on.
Arifa started gathering some bunch of fallen dried woods and she saw a branch which was just at a few meters from her.
She headed towards the dried branch fallen from an apricot tree. When she bends toward the branch to pick it up, a wind from behind her make her look behind. Her hands upon reaching the branch felt something warm and fleshy. In an instant she looked towards the branch and saw the faction of Nasima’s skull with drops of blood on her hand. This time she screamed loudly and her voice pierced the leaves of the trees in the jungle to approach her mother. Her mother in a moment followed the voice of the scream and started moving towards it. Arifa’s pale face and her shivering hand was a sign of something bad. Her mother roll her fingers on Arifa’s face and recited few verses from the holy Quran which were known to her. Arifa was pointing towards the ground with her shaking hand, there was nothing but the branch.
They headed towards their house as fast as their legs could carry them.
Arifa soon fell asleep with a throbbing head, she was shivering with a fever. Her mother set fire in the stove to prepare food for the family.
The whole family was inquiring about Arifa but there was nothing to say about her. Her mother stated her fears of the presence of something super natural in the jungle like a jin or a fairy (DeV ya pariting).
Her whole body was weat because of the sweat of fever, Arifa was trying to say something but her mother couldn’t figure out the absurdly pronounced words.
Moreover, everyone in the house was worried about Arifa, she was yet to get her conscious. In the morning a local healer was called upon to examine the condition of Arifa.
A man wearing a long coat with a white beard holding a torn bag in one hand and few archaic books in the other, entered the room.
Locally he was known for his religious services and the prophecies he made in his life time. He touched the forehead of Arifa with his rough hands, closed his eyes for few moments. He was now retelling the whole chain of events which happened with Arifa in the past few days.
He agian touched Arifa’s forehead and recited few verses, then subconsciously told Arifa to ask Nasima what she wants?
Arifa was in a hypnopeadic state, when she saw Nasima with the broken part of her skull, she was sweating now. As the healer was instructing Arifa to ask what Nasima needs from her?
Nasima holds Arifa’s hand and started walking towards the mountains, everyone in the house was astounded, Arifa was walking in her sleep.
Someone from the gathering rushed towards Arifa to cease her movements but the healer nodded his head and said ” let her lead the way”.
Arifa walked till she reached the bottom of the mountains, and pointed towards a steep not too far away from her. The healer rushed towards her directed finger and saw the faction of Nasima’s broken skull.
He fetched it up and wrapped it in a white cloth. Arifa was just falling on the ground when a hand grapped her, it was her mother.
The part of the skull was buried beside the grave of Nasima.
It is sometimes difficult to believe but it is said that a body is a whole and when some part of it is lost somewhere then it searches for it till eternity.
Afterwards, Arifa sometimes leads her cattles to graze in the foot of mountains but she avoids going to the place where Nasima left for the heavens. Arifa sobs and in sobing she finds serenity.
