Half closed eyes at the last part of night saw the familiar room. Khalid had slept staring at the ceiling with dimmed lights. The day hadn’t dawned outside neither was Khalid a morning bird. He could feel uneasiness in his sleep. Maybe it was the room that he was given at a colleague’s house for night stay as he couldn’t travel further on his journey before morning. The earliest bus moved out for Lahore at 7 am. Sarim, his colleague who belonged to Sargodha, asked him to stay at his home for night and travel in the morning. Khalid half-heartedly had accepted the offer as he too was tired and was yearning for a home made meal. The room given to him was comfortable with a bed and couple of chairs aside. White marble floor was neat and a simple clock ticked on the wall. Sarim left Khalid early in the room so he could get some rest. Left alone, Khalid laid back. He was tired but had to change in nightsuit before sleeping. He didn’t want to change. Yet he made a quick movement to relief himself of the shirt and trousers. The PJs were comfy but his movement had taken away the comfort of preslumber. He was wide awake. It was almost a daily ritual which he despised. It wasn’t insomnia nor were his thoughts haywire. He just uncomfortable closing his eyes. The slightest sound woke him up. The room had become familiar by now. All the comfort that it offered couldn’t help him find the perfect sleep. Yet in between he slept and now in between the broken patterns of sleep his half open eyes were trying to close to find a sound sleep. Right at the moment in one of the chairs the figure of a man appeared in the same shirt and trousers that he had taken off earlier. Khalid closed his eyes firmly. Opening them again he saw man in the chair again. He looked at the ceiling and let out a gasp.
‘Not today.’
‘Why not?’ asked the man in the chair while leaning forward.
Khalid still stared at the ceiling, ignoring his ghostly roommate’s attention towards his body lying flat on the bed. He moved his lips lazily, ‘because there’s absolutely no use.’
‘How can you say that without even looking at me? Do you know who I am?’
‘I don’t need to look at someone who wears my clothes to disguise itself from reality.’
‘It?’
‘I thought a pronoun might not hurt you.’ a faint smirk appeared on his face and disappeared. He still stared at the ceiling.
‘Khalid…Khalid! My dear boy! How will you ever fear someone.’ The Man got up from the chair and walked towards his bed. The heels of his polished laced shoes were silent on the floor. Khalid could see them without taking his eyes away from the ceiling. He remembered the dress well.
Sitting beside his feet the man spoke in the impeccable grace of speech that he had maintained till now, ‘Preach what you want to. I’m here to hear you.’
‘Im not amongst the ones who are given respect from the place where you sit right now. You can find a lord to preach somewhere else.’ Khalid closed his eyes.
The man now moved towards his headrest, ‘Would you wake up today or do you want me to stay?’
Khalid was silent now.
The deft ghostly hands moved hovered over his body. ‘Ah! You still won’t let me touch you.’
‘So many have come and gone. Let me see your steadiness.’ Khalid’s body rose and his eyes opened wide now. He could see his face in his clothes sitting in his bed. ‘Now I look into your eyes but I don’t need to know you. I will know you when you are ready to tear me apart. Come when you are steady.’
With a blink of an eye the figure started evaporating in front of khalid’s eyes. A cloud of smoke blew out of the shirt’s collar and mixed with air in the room.
….
Khalid’s eye’s were still half open. Dawn was near at door. His body was sweating. It was another night wasted. He got up and grabbed the clothes lying over him.
‘Atleast have the courtesy of putting back my clothes in the changing room if you can’t stay long.’ he murmured and walked away to get ready for another day outside.
Goodnight
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Most of you must have read this masterpiece. I won’t write much about it in the review as we all know that such naration of magical realism can’t be explained but felt. Though the critiques have been generous with their comments over the fast paced timeline with many slow details but overall it’s a wonderful experience to read it. I’m open to discussions!
