Taabindagi (Sequel Of Sharar)

Two

Hearing Sharfa's voice, Berry walked toward the door as well.

"Hum inhe boarding school bhej dein?" Hanan asked, considering the idea seriously.

(Should we send them to boarding school?)

"Shut up," Ayat replied just as unseriously, smacking his chest. Hanan was about to say more when Berry's loud screech startled them both.

They hurried out to see what Shahnan had brought home.

What they saw was the last thing Ayat had expected, though Hanan appeared unsurprised.

Ten-year-old Shahnan was sitting on the floor, cradling a small puppy with wide, innocent eyes, staring up at Berry. Seven-year-old Sharfa had lifted Berry in her arms as he wasn't too pleased with the new arrival and had lunged, possibly to attack. Sharfa squeezed Berry tightly between her arms.

"Berry, that's not nice! Is that how you treat guests? he's smaller than you," Sharfa scolded Berry as if explaining to a child. As if the cat could understand her.

"What is this? Where did you get that puppy?" Ayat's eyes widened, and she asked in disbelief.

"Tum aur tumhare bachhe kisi din kidnapping ke case mein phasoge." Hanan muttered on the verge of facepalming. Ayat threw him a sharp look.

(You and your kids are going to get us into a kidnapping case one day.)

"Humare bachhe? Hum konsa inhe market se leke aye the." Ayat used his own dialogue against him, and Hanan pressed his lips into a thin line in response.

(My kids? It's not like I bought them from market.)

"Momo, put Berry down," Ayat said, first freeing poor Berry from Sharfa's arms. Berry, who had gone quiet after being scolded by Sharfa, was no longer scratching in a way that could hurt her, but he was still glaring at the puppy with annoyance.

At her mother's firm tone, Sharfa nervously placed Berry on the floor, far away from the puppy.

"Berry, out!" Hanan motioned toward the door, and Berry darted away immediately. He never disobeyed Hanan.

"Now tell me, whose puppy is this, and why did you bring him here?" Ayat knelt beside Shahnan, who had been quietly petting the puppy throughout the commotion, seemingly indifferent to everything around him.

"Mom, he must be hungry. What should we feed him?" Shahnan's main concern was the puppy's hunger. They had plenty of cats but no experience with dogs, so he had no idea what to feed it.

"Your mom is asking whose puppy this is," Hanan sat down next to Shahnan, while Sharfa settled beside her brother. The puppy stared at the family with wide, curious eyes.

"Mine!" Shahnan declared, as if that ended the discussion.

"Where did you find him?" Ayat asked again, trying to get more information.

"Mom, he was sleeping in bhai's bicycle basket. When Bhai picked him up, he climbed onto his shoulder. Then he told us he was hungry, so we brought him here," Sharfa excitedly explained the entire story in one breath, filling in all the missing details.

"He told you he was hungry? Kaise?" Hanan was amused by his daughter's logic.

(How?)

Before Sharfa could respond, the puppy let out a small, whimpering sound.

"Aise!" Sharfa beamed, pointing at the puppy. Hanan chuckled at her explanation, but Ayat looked more concerned.

(Like this!)