"Hello?" Faajal whispered in the telephone mouthpiece, cautious of attracting attention towards her. The paper he had handed 2 days ago crumpled in her fingers. Faajal eyed her sides to ensure no eyes spying on her before reverting to her call. "Hello?"

"Kon hai itni subah me?" Yusuf's voice rumbled through the earpiece. She sighed in relief of not dialling an unknown number. "Yusuf, main hu,"

"Oye, you? I don't receive calls at night, so I couldn't recognize. By the way, is your baba near?"

She moved the phone closer. "No, that's why I have called this early. They usually sleep now. When are you free today?"

"Mmm, I have too many plays and acts today."

"Can't we meet today? It's been two days! These people are gnawing my brain seriously." she urged impatiently.

"Mmm, I'll try. Afternoon maybe when your baba is busy playing cards?"

"Done!" she hissed and put the telephone down. Sunrays started to strike through the windows, slashing the walls with orange streaks. Faajal tiptoed to her room where her sisters were piled up on each other, coiled in blankets. She slithered under her spot and slipped into slumber.

─•~❉᯽❉~•─

7.00 am

"Faajal, wake up." her elder sister mumbled, jolting her shoulder.

"Hmm?"

"You'll be late. It's already 7," Her rask shakes forced Faajal to open her eyelids. "Baba is already furious. Go get ready, right now."

Faajal sprang up by the mention of her father's fury. Being an inch away from his rules could ruin someone's day. She scrambled up and hastened to slip into outer wears'". After securing a messy braid, she rushed downstairs where Ravinder already fumed, red-faced. "How long does it take to get ready?! Are you gonna show your face to everyone?!"

Irritation seared her mind. "I just forgot to adjust my alarm." she murmed, her eyes shifted on the ground. Her teeth pierced the inner of cheek, oozing salt and metal.

"Head out or should I also do that for you?" His lips curled in distaste as his brows scrunched bitterly.

Faajal walked outside without any words. These stinging mockery and reckless commands wrestled with her tolerance and day by day, her composure was scraped leaner. Having a family meant always possessing a centre of solace and affection. But Waheguru composed her fortune differently, and here she was in this hell of a seeming family, stuck in trauma and arrogance. Had she owned the chance of leaving them and shaping a separate life of hers, only hers, she would've seized at it with no doubts. But, she had her siblings and mother to look at. Faajal heaved a profuse sigh, staring at the shops that swept by. One day......she will truly escape this cycle of misery and cultivate a reputation totally of her own. Yusuf's ambitions now also stirred the inner desire she had been concealing for long. Then, no more she would endure- a promise to herself.

Noon crossed, and Faajal's patience slackened to meet his face. Though she was thankful for the mask she had slipped into for covering her restlessness. Where are you, Yusuf? I can't wait any longer. Dusk would foster the sky, and Ravinder's playtime drew near, only an hour remote. Bliss bubbled inside as she pondered Yusuf's face and his wry grin.

Her thoughts paused as the director of the play appeared. "Faajal, you have your 2 more shots in the evening after this break, okay? Go to hall no. 3/B a few minutes later."

She gave a terse nod of head, trying to appear enthused. Half an hour later, she pushed the doors of the hall and stepped inside. This hall was rarely used but grandeur than the rest. She heard this hall was set for numerous movies. A massive chandelier spoke of opulence at the centre. Even buried under dust, it gleamed like tides of river playing with moonlight. Only she was present then, bewitched by the dense interior. Stage plays were never such bits of glamour. They usually comprised of cheaper sets and less glitters.

Apart from the towering ivory walls and shimmering silk curtains, slinging on the door-sized windows, film cameras, and other advanced equipment stood at a far corner. her fingertips glided over the polished materials. Her face floated in the even surface of the back of the camera. Something roused in her blood was admiration or yearning? But she definitely envisaged herself rendering expressions before these cameras. How dazzling she would appear!

Faajal wandered to the switchboard and clicked on the fans and lights. When she pressed the last one, shock burned her skin. She jerked her hands off and blew her fingertips. Such influential studios didn't even bother of their circuits. How ridiculous!

She sneered in her mind and sat on the benches, resting at another corner. Minutes later, an odour reached her nostrils, acrid and burning. She sniffed around to detect the source, but nothing came. Withn seconds, the smell thickened, making her cough her lungs out. Something was certainly burning in the hall. She inhaled sharply, her instincts alerting of a probable peril ahead. Faajal peeked out the windows, no wisp of flame protruded. Then, where was it emitting from?

The moment her attention went on the window, the switchboard had already diffused and crackled. She snapped to the direction of the timid crackles, heart drumming inside her ribcage. She stalked near and craned her neck to have a closer look when fire engulfed the corners of that plastic.

Faajal shriekd, springing back in terror. The orange tide advanced through the fans and lights, fusing them off. The lights exploded, glass blowing out everywhere as they caught heat one by one. The motors reeked of carbon, stifling her lungs. The wires connecting the devices started dissloving. The plugs sparked and buzzed.

Faajal reared to the centre, no path left to escape. The doors already burning, she stayed her best to avoid the sparks rousing around. A fan smashed down, and flame flew loose from its wire.

She screamed for help as another pair fell down and flame dominated celling, gobbling every within its reach. Her calls fell to deaf ears. A light burst and the lengthy curtains went alit, shrinking as the flame ate its body.

Smoke wafted to her nose, acrid and stagnant. "HELP!!"

Now, the once-shimmering hall turned into a disaster with flame striking anything it could draw. Faajal was right beneath the chandelier, which hadn't yet caught fire. Smoke filled the air, blocking her view and suffocating her. Her senses couldn't cooperate, dazed by the terror flushing over her blood. Induced by stupor and trepidation, she maintained her stare on the doubling tide, now flinging over the camera sets and other instruments. It was dashing towards the centre and she would stand no chance before its mighty slam. Only one whip was enough to engulf her frame and burn it to ashes. No!

She scrambled towards a corner, hopping over the sizzling flutters. If none came for rescue, she must harness the chances she could avail. Her back pressed firm onto the corner where fire didn't slither to, yet. Tears built on the back of her eyes, considering the temerity of others. They might've heard her yells, the crackles occurring from this room, they might've traced the unending smoke. Still, they didn't extend their hands to save her. Did all only bother for their own breaths rather than the meaning of humanity?

The backstage relinquished as the steady flame eclipsed its wood in a mere second. Faajal sucked in a wince, the spiralling lace of smoke stifling her breaths. Her knees might buckle anytime. Gloomy mist beckoned on her sight, making head spin. The frail hope of life fading away as her will gathered to indulge in death and let her flesh be ashen.

"FAAJAL!!" She tore out of her oblivion and steadied her eyes. Someone squeezed himself through a window, calling in a known voice. He hollered again, "FAAJAL!! HERE!"

It was Yusuf, lifting his hand to catch her. "Yusuf!" she shouted, a bud of relief blooming in her heart.

"Don't move, okay?! I am coming!"

He tripped upon a whisking fleck of the flame that crumbled the hall and slipped the searing lashes. Soon, he jumped beside and pressed himself against the wall she leaned on. She tiptoed closer, trembling in both fear and joy. Her fingers laced between his and braced a squash on, the blood vessels appearing beneath his skin.

A window close to them blasted, its fragments tossing away. Yusuf clutched her hand tighter, swallowing down. "When I say move, you move, okay?!"

She nodded in obedience. He interlocked their arms together, ready for a reckless venture. Red flares traced their way, emanating heat on the ground.

"MOVE!"

They leapt over the firing spots and speeded through their unaffected trail. "The back door isn't on fire, yet. We must reach it before it's too late!" Yusuf cried. Faajal eyed her left side. The back door was still normal. But, they had to take a wild step for survival. They had to cross the enormous surge of flame dancing before.

"Let's go, now!" Faajal roared desperately and zoomed for the chance. If they didn't make it out now, they would never. Only a few feet distant their escape was, but Yusuf's foot got stuck in a shattered camera under the chandelier. He tried to yank it free, supplying the best of strength but no progress. Faajal gave her help to extract it despite his refusal. "Faajal, you go now!"

"No, not leaving you like this! We'll leave together." she insisted, avoiding his pleading gaze. She kept on her attempts to free him as their last opportunity to flee reached the brink of disappearance.

"Faajal, look, anytime the door would get fire. You open the door, I promise I'll come back. Once you open it, our way will be clear."

She glanced behind to find his words true, to her horror. Rather than awaiting certain jeopardy, grasping at the only possibility that secured their lives. But, her heart couldn't endure leaving him alone. No, no aim comes true without conquering menace.

She rushed towards the door, the surge of flame outpacing her legs. She ducked through the lines that now peered closer to the door and clasped the lock. Her focus shifted behind to check Yusuf but a high barrier stood in between, blocking her view. She could only see the chandelier alit, shards of fire spraying around it. And even worse, the chain that held it slimmed as heat blended within. As it melted, the chandelier dropped down by inches.

Fright jolted Faajal into action. She jerked the lock and slid it free. The door moved away, revealing a clear path.

Faajal rotated behind to detect Yusuf, but he was nowhere. The chandelier above dangled unsteadily, relying on the frayed iron chain. Any moment it would drop. She wished he managed to move ahead before an occurrence happened. A millimetre now.

Faajal braced herself for the mishap that would take place before her eyes. The scorching chandelier plunged and numerous clinks echoed across the room. She couldn't process the scene, her flesh turned to stone. Her senses were numb to everything except the dread crawling over her.

Moments later, footsteps clattered on her way. "FAAJAL!!" Ravinder sprinted up to her and pulled her arm. She tightened her hand, not willing to go. When her saviour didn't stand a chance, why should she relish the relief of life? She wouldn't move a step without fetching him. Not when there was blood in her veins.