Qasim turns toward Abdul Rehman and says in a heavy, accusing tone,
"Abdul Rehman... can you stop pretending now?"
The moment he says this, the wind seems to pause.
Even the air stands still.
A sharp silence spreads across the mountaintop.
Everyone goes quiet.
Even Yousif — no, Abdul Rehman — stands frozen, shocked.
The soldiers, badly wounded and lying across the battlefield, stop groaning.
Princess Nayab looks around at all of them, then turns her eyes to Qasim.
She sees the pain on his face.
Fatima cradles Hashim's head in her lap, tears streaming down her cheeks.
And in that moment, all eyes turn toward Qasim, waiting for the truth.
Qasim speaks again, louder this time:
"Flashback..."
It begins.
The scene rewinds to a dark, quiet night in the narrow streets of Kabul.
Abdul Rehman had just stepped out of his house.
Suddenly, he hears running footsteps behind him.
Turning around, he sees Umm-e-Farwah — his little sister — rushing toward him, tears in her eyes.
"Baba!" (Father) she cries, out of breath, sobbing.
He kneels down and asks with concern,
"What happened? Why are you crying?"
She gulps and answers between sobs,
"The landlord… he threw us out of the house. He said we can't live there anymore. Baba, where will we go now?"
Abdul Rehman feels a storm rising within him.
"What do you mean? Why would he do that?"
She explains tearfully,
"Grandmother is old now. She can't walk, can't feed herself... and he said he hasn't received rent for months. He told us he doesn't care about keeping poor insects like us under his roof for free!"
Abdul Rehman is stunned.
"He really said that to you?"
She nods while wiping her tears.
Abdul Rehman looks down at her trembling form.
Then firmly says,
"You'll come live with me now. I'll figure something out. I'll get the money, I promise."
He takes Umm-e-Farwah and her younger brother Hammad to his home.
As he opens the door, his aunt — Khawla — stands in the doorway, arms crossed and voice sharp:
"Oh, one freeloader wasn't enough, and now you've brought two more? You think you'll run a free shelter here now? If they set even a single foot in this house, you'll all be homeless!"
Abdul Rehman, calm but determined, opens his bag and offers her all the dinars he has.
"Here — take them all. These are everything I have. But please… let them stay a few days."
She eyes the coins, then says coldly,
"Fine. But I won't cook for them. If they want food, they'll have to make it themselves!"
Before Abdul Rehman can respond, Umm-e-Farwah softly says,
"I'll do it. I'll cook. I'll clean. Just… let us stay, please."
Khawla shrugs.
"Fine. Suit yourselves."
Abdul Rehman leads them inside, sits them down gently, and says,
"Stay here. Don't worry. One day soon, I'll get your house back. And you won't have to pay rent ever again."
That night, he lies awake, staring at the cracked ceiling.
"Where will I get more dinars?"
He had given everything he had to his aunt.
He needed more. But how?
Suddenly, he remembers a letter the King had once received — delivered by Usman.
Something about that letter sticks in his mind.
If only he could find out what was inside...
Late that night, he sneaks toward the palace.
There, he casually strikes up a conversation with a soldier standing guard.
"I saw your swordsmanship the other day… you're very skilled."
The soldier beams, proud.
They talk for a few minutes. Abdul Rehman slowly leads the conversation toward the royal affairs.
"So, what's the latest inside the palace?"
The soldier answers,
"Oh, Princess Maryam has written a letter. She wants to return from Kabul. Her daughter had gone to study there. Now she wants to come back."
Abdul Rehman listens carefully. He nods casually, not letting the soldier sense anything.
After chatting a bit longer, he slips away quietly.
That night, another thought strikes him — the mysterious box his father had left behind.
He pulls it out, opens it carefully.
Inside, he finds a book — the same one his father had once shown him.
Ancient symbols, a coded language. A puzzle.
His father had tried to teach him once, but at the time, Abdul Rehman hadn't taken it seriously.
But Qasim had. Qasim had understood the strange language.
Now, Abdul Rehman has an idea.
He remembers that Qasim kept a diary — a personal journal written in that same forgotten tongue.
That night, silently, he sneaks into Qasim's house, searches his room, and finds the diary.
He steals it.
With the diary and the book together, he begins to decode the text.
Line by line, symbol by symbol.
What he uncovers changes everything.
The book doesn't just hold words — it holds secrets.
Skills. Techniques. Disguises. Ancient martial training.
Instructions on how to survive the Cursed Path.
He reads all night, absorbing the knowledge.
Learning not just how to survive the cursed route — but how to master it.
The next morning, as the King's trumpet echoes through the city and people gather in the courtyard, a declaration is made:
"The royal family seeks a warrior brave enough to take the cursed path. Is there any soul willing to risk their life?"
A masked man steps forward.
It is Abdul Rehman — but no one knows that.
In a deep voice, he says,
"I will go."
To test the techniques he had learned, he volunteers Abdullah to go with him.
But he didn't know that Qasim would also go along.
To hide his identity from both of them, he uses a false name.
When Princess Nayab asks him,
"What is your name, warrior?"
He replies simply,
"Yousif."
When Abdul Rehman finally returned, he was injured — wounded from the trials he had endured.
Because of his condition, he couldn't meet Umm-e-Farwah right away.
But after two days of rest and recovery, he healed.
Not only did his wounds fade, but he had also gathered the dinars he had long been searching for.
Without wasting another moment, he rushed to find Umm-e-Farwah.
When she sees him at her doorstep, her eyes light up and she says,
"You're back?"
Abdul Rehman, still catching his breath, replies firmly,
"Don't ask me any questions right now. Just take me to that landlord. I need to see him."
Umm-e-Farwah hesitates, confused,
"Right now?"
He nods without blinking,
"Yes… right now. This very moment. Take me to him."
Without another word, she leads him through the narrow streets to the landlord's home.
Standing before the man who had once thrown his family out, Abdul Rehman looks him straight in the eye.
He reaches into his bag and pulls out a pouch heavy with dinars, then places it on the table between them.
"Take these. From this day forward, this house belongs to me. And you — don't you dare trouble them again."
The landlord looks surprised but shrugs and says,
"I've received my money. The house is yours now. Why would I bother them anymore?"
He hands over the keys.
Abdul Rehman, without a word, turns to Umm-e-Farwah, his face finally calm.
He smiles softly and hands the keys to her.
"Didn't I promise you?" he says gently. "Didn't I tell you that I would get your house back? Here — take the key. It's yours now."
Umm-e-Farwah breaks down into tears — tears not of pain, but of relief and joy.
She throws her arms around Abdul Rehman, sobbing.
"Thank you," she whispers between her tears.
"Thank you… for coming into my life."
Back to the present.
Standing atop the cliff, Qasim finally speaks.
His voice echoes across the silence:
"Now you're probably wondering… how do I know all this?
How do I know everything that happened when I wasn't even there?"
He breathes in deeply.
"I'll tell you. But before I do, let me say this:
The person I never saw as just a friend… the person I called my brother...
The one who always believed in me — today, that very same person doesn't trust me anymore.
He thinks I killed Hashim out of revenge… that I murdered him on purpose.
But I didn't. I swear I didn't."
Qasim's eyes search the crowd.
His voice grows heavy with hurt.
"And the one I trusted the most...
The one I would have died for...
That brother — today, he doesn't stand by me.
He doesn't believe me."
Abdul Rehman finally speaks.
His face is cold, his words sharp:
"You did something evil, Qasim.
And I cannot support evil.
That book — the one my father gave me —
It taught me one thing clearly:
Even if it's your brother or your friend —
If he chooses the path of darkness, you do not stand beside him."
Qasim stares at him in disbelief.
He lets out a bitter laugh.
"So that's it?
I'm the villain now?"
He scoffs.
"My own sister doesn't believe me.
The girl I love wants to kill me.
And the one person I trusted above all…
He's chosen to walk away too."
He laughs again, the sound hollow, broken.
**"It's funny, isn't it?"
He looks up at the sky.
"How easily the world turns its back on you…
Even when your hands are clean."
Question For readers:
What do you think did Qasim killed him?
Or it was just a mistake
And i want to ask do you want to continue the story of which couple?(nayab-qasim)
(Nayab-abdul rehman) (Fatima-Hashim)
(Maryam-abdul rehman)
Written by
Sabir Ali
Thanks For reading