Chapter 3:Ghurfat-ul-Ishq

It was a vast calm water body and on either side was a team of 10 members. Each of them had the appearance of different birds. There where many butterflies floating amidst them. Of these butterflies only one would be flying towards the rarest of the rare flower to drink the honey. Locate that fly and chase it down , so that you can locate the rarest of the rare flower -the lavender rose which has a compound needed for a medicine. So this was the Game of Farashat for which Yahya and friends came. And every year in the spring  this game occur  in Ardul-Rasheeq and that secret community in the world, whom can have wings in this particular season and can attain the animal self is been called for this event. Along with this game of Farashat  there occurred many cultural events and cultural exchanges between communities. Some find their matches during this festival. Some may settle in Ardul-Rasheeq. 

Cutting off their this strange ability to transform  their entire life was normal and humane for these section of people and they can hide themselves from the rest of the world in this particular season so that their secret is remained a secret from the world.

Roshanara and her friends were preparing for the game in her room. Her room was special. So special that it is a room within room and nobody else knew about it other than Roshanara. Not even Amaal and Hafiza knows about it. In her room near the entrance there were three levers on the wall. One lever was designed like a peacock, the middle one was swan and the last one looked like a Monal Pheasant. Amaal and hafiza used to turn it here and there and at that time it used to make noise like a bell .Other than that it stood there like an antique piece. But one of it was a lever to her secret room and they couldn't open it because it needed a way in which it should be turned which only Roshanara knew. She asked her dad Mihran to make one like that when she was four. But how to turn it? Mihran never knew nor he ever asked. Mihran always respected his baby girl's privacy. Roshanara might have out grown the age to get married as per the societal standards . But for Mihran , Rosh was still a baby girl. And Roshanara's secret remained a secret after the blacksmith died a few months after this levers were made. He was Mihran's best friend ,Baba Aabaan. Amaal was his daughter.

Her secret room was her world. When the middle lever is turned in the way it should be turned the right wall in her room slides past and her secret room will be visible. She can  reach her secret room and on her secret room there is a similar lever to close the wall. Her secret room was her beautiful little world. Having 3 french windows without rods And on the right side of it , at the top, Red Bougainvillea was grown in plenty. it appeared heavenly especially in moon light. On the step of the window where the flower pots she grew, filled with beautiful flowers. There were roses and jasmines. Birds came to visit her everyday and the walls of her room was filled with paintings and craft works. On the left wall ,was a life size painting of water falls and in the right corner of her room , there were golden shining stars she made, hanging from the Roof. The occasional nasheeds she plays there added beauty. It was her own little sweet heaven. She calls it as Ghurfat-ul-ishq. The abode of love. Her abode of love. May be if the world willed she would have remained there in that forever.

So on the day of the game of Farashat she had locked down her secret room and was preparing for the game in her normal room and they were discussing about the other team being lead by Yahya. They were discussing about winning the game and once they stepped out Roshanara forgot to lock her room from outside and they were walking down to the field where the game was taking place. Yahya and Faizan comes to Mihran's house to take the Red Ribbons to Part the waterbody to create a path they should follow in the game. It was kept in Roshanara's room. It was this time Yahya sees her room for the first time. He felt as if he knew the place before. He did note the antique levers on the wall which he even turned on. but when he was about to turn the middle one Faizan called him from outside. So Yahya took the Ribbons and left the room unlocked. 

They were walking down slowly and they saw Aleena in between when they covered half of the distance to the river. She was running , coming back from the direction of Roshanara's house.

Yahya asked: Where have you been Aleena? The game is about to begin and you are here? you didn't check upon our teammates? I asked you to do so?

For which Aleena replied "I haven't done anything. I have been wrongly accused. Amaal has to pay for it, saying that she ran away!

Yahya and Faizan was like what was that?? what was she mumbling??? and they brushed it off..!

~~~to be continued.