Ghulam Mustafa was proving to be a lot stronger than I had anticipated. His powers were getting stronger with each passing day. His delaying tactics were succeeding. Though I was able to get out of Pir Baba Ziarat and did not waste any time there but I lost a full week in the village of Hakeem where I had left Shahzadi. I was at Jaipur now and was deprived of everything I had. I also did not have any news about Nawab Sadiq. I knew one thing for sure that he banked heavily on me. His Highness must be worried about my whereabouts. He was unaware that that I had not reached Ajmer Sharif yet let alone finishing the task. It was my act of kindness that saved me last night. I had tipped the waiter beyond his expectation. He lived nearby and seeing the hotel at fire, he came and got my out of the room whose access was blocked with fire. I was not in my senses completely and the smoke was choking my throat and my eyes were burning. I was not in my senses otherwise I would have got hold of my money and the bottle of deadly potion which I kept under my pillow before going to sleep. In just half an hour, the hotel was burnt to ashes. Amazingly, the fire was not spreading to adjacent hotels. I could now hear people saying that the guest who was staying here must be cursed and should be sorted out before he causes more destruction. The waiter whose name was Shakoor quietly helped me walk out of there. He dragged me into a dark corner before I heard people shouting at each other to look for the stranger. Someone said out loud, “There he is.” I heard people coming closer to us and I lost consciousness again.

“He is regaining consciousness.”

I heard a sweet melodious voice. I thought for a while that I have reached to other side of the world. Then I heard the familiar voice of Shakoor.

“Saman, get away from him. He may be dangerous.”

I opened my eyes and there I saw the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life. Pallid skin, high arched brows, long thick lashes. She was bent over me and I could see myself in her clear blue eyes. A small streak of her golden hair had fallen down on my face. That was what had probably woken me up. She smelled like jasmine. I had forgotten to blink and breathe. Time had frozen. I did not want the spell to break. I just wished to spend my entire lifetime in that moment. I felt my heart ache with inexpressible emotion. I unsealed my parched lips and she put her finger on them. The icy cold touch made my burning body shiver. She smiled and disappeared. I was left astounding. The next thing I saw was the face of Shakoor. That was an anticlimax of a beautiful dream. Shakoor put his hand on my forehead and said, “You are burning with fever. I don’t have any medicine at home.”

I, on the other hand was feeling tired but nothing more than that. I sat up and looked around. It was a small house. I was lying on a charpoy in veranda. I saw the same beautiful creature standing behind the curtain hung over the door of the only room in the house. I turned to Shakoor and said, “I am alright. I will leave immediately.”

Shakoor simply ignored me. He turned his head back and said, “Saman, make some tea for our guest.”

He then looked at me and said, “You will stay here till you fully recover. Saman is my sister and she will take good care of you.”

Saman was now walking towards the small kitchen which was hardly ten paces from the room but she took an eternity to reach there. Sound of her anklets was like a melody to my ears. The whole house was filled with some kind of fragrance. Smoke had affected my brain. I was now hallucinating. I shook my head and gazed at Shakoor. I said in a straight voice, “Brother, you saved my life. You have already done enough. Those people were right. I may be cursed. You should stay away from me.”

Shakoor looked in my eyes and said, “I don’t believe in such stuff. You did a kind thing to me last night. Me and my sister had not eaten anything good for so long. Both our parents died in

last year’s flood. I used to work with my father in his shop. Since his demise, I had been working in this hotel where I only get paid in the form of leftovers at night. I bring the same discarded food to my home which I eat with my sister at night and save some for next day. You were the first customer at our hotel who gave me tip. I was able to bring some good food to my home last night. We ate and prayed for your long life. I was about to sleep when I saw flames rising from the hotel. Realizing that you were sleeping in the hotel room upstairs and there was nobody else in the hotel to save your life, I ran there and dragged you out.”

Shakoor was narrating as to what had happened last night and I was staring at the kitchen door. I was waiting anxiously for Saman to appear. Realizing my distraction, Shakoor called out for Saman. “How much time do you need to make a simple cup of tea?”

I felt a little embarrassed. Looking at Shakoor, I said, “I don’t want to cause any trouble to you people. I will have tea and then leave. I would request for some clothes for which I can’t pay right now but I promise I will come back some day and pay the price.”

Before I could finish my sentence, I saw Saman coming out of the kitchen holding a cup of tea. I was once again lost in her presence when she came close and broke the spell.

“Tea. Do you need some bread?”

I looked up at her while holding the cup. She was trying to clutch a shabby dupatta on her head with her left hand. Our eyes met and an intriguing smile appeared on her ample lips. I was speechless. She was waiting for my answer.

“Saman, go to your room and take out my other shalwar kameez.”

Shakoor interrupted and I started taking quick sips of the tea. I was still in the same dress that I was wearing the last night. Shakoor had covered me with a shawl which I had put on my shoulders.

Traveling by bus was not an option because I was deprived of money. I went to the truck stand and found few trucks getting loaded with different stuff. I inquired about any truck going to Ajmer Sharif and someone pointed towards a terrible looking truck which did not even seem road worthy. I made my way to the truck and found a person sleeping in its shadow. Hesitant to wake him up as it might make him angry, I sat beside him and started waiting for him to wake up. I was still feeling tired of last night’s ordeal and decided to lie down as well. I don’t know when I fell asleep but I woke up with the thundering noise of the truck, getting ready to start the journey. I hurriedly got up, ran to the driver’s side and waved at him to stop. He craned his neck out of the window and I explained to him that I needed to reach Ajmer Sharif and I did not have any money. I also showed my will to work for him if he takes me along. I don’t know whether he understood anything thanks to the deafening noise coming out of the truck, but I was invited to hop up. Gladly, I ran to the other side of cabin and climbed up only to find out that the interior of truck was even worse than its exterior. But I had not right to complain as it was a free ride.

Engine of the truck was in deplorable condition given the smoke coming out of it that made people around cover their faces and signalling the driver to get out of there. The driver looked at them with a broad smile and then with lots of efforts he put the truck in gear and it finally started moving. It was less of a ride and more of a torture but I had a task to complete. I took a good look at the driver who appeared to be in a much better shape than his truck. Right now, he was like an angel to me who was helping me reach my destination.

Three hours road journey from Jaipur to Ajmer Sharif took us some eight hours. It was a bumpy ride with many halts.

I was thinking about Ghulam Mustafa and getting very apprehensive. I was now so close to him and was expecting some major activity from his side. Burning of the hotel was certainly an attempt to kill me and so was the poisoning in the train. What happened at Pir Baba Ziarat was not a mere coincident either. I was considering myself lucky to have survived all these attempts. It was probably my destiny to kill that beast. He knew that I was getting close. Different thoughts were boggling my mind… “Why is he not toppling down this truck? If he was so powerful then he could have done such supernatural acts but perhaps he was not. He was getting all those things done through his men on ground.” It was making sense now. After all, he was just another human being who drinks human blood. Rest all were stories. I was now getting relaxed as killing this monster may not require any magic potion. But I needed a perfect plan and I desperately needed self–assurance.

I made acquaintance with the truck driver whose name was Lal Din. He was a middle aged man who was trying his best to make his both ends meet. We reached Ajmer Sharif in the afternoon and I helped him unloading the truck. He had brought sacks of grains for a local whole sale dealer. After getting paid from the merchant, Lal Din walked up to me and gave me two rupees. I refused to take the money but he insisted on accepting it and I obliged. It was at that point of time that I learnt the biggest lesson of my life that your good deed returns back to you and it is always in two folds. For the first time ever I looked up to the sky and thanked the Almighty and asked for His help. I needed it too.