THE LONGING VENGEANCE

 

Amidst the beautiful landscapes, nearly outside the beautiful city of Turkey, Istanbul, stands a beautiful yali, a mansion along the waters of the Bosphorus strait. This yali is home to ravishing beauties, men, women even eunuchs. One may say it's a gilded cage - a place where you may find all the luxuries of life - but with a cost of one's freedom. Gorgeous men & women from around the globe are exported here since childhood & groomed to be elite escorts. Only the world bureaucrats can have access to them. This secret elite agency is run by an international don Luca Pervez, known for his amazingly fit life & staunch spirituality. He is blessed with the body like a Greek God, one without any flaws. He wants his Begum to be the most beautiful lady on the earth. The escorts of his agency have been his mistress for a while or more but none has been lucky to be his Begum. He has lost his heart to a woman in his agency who happens to be the most beautiful girl on earth. Her name is Yasmin, who happens to be the chief of the yali. Everything occurs on her orders. Yasmin was once his mistress, but when Luca asked her to marry him, she denied it. Luca made her the chief to impel her to be his Begum, but the courageous lass rejected his proposal. Till today Luca awaits her acceptance.

            Today Yasmin has themed the party with Indian wear as Indian Bureaucrats are invited with those of USA. She is standing in her private lounge examining each & every person in the party. She is always the one who enters the party once each & every guest invited has arrived. She is waiting for Gaffur for her cue.

Amongst the beautiful men & women, there is a young & beautiful lad, who has come here for the first time. He is looking for a girl, who does not know he exists or the story that has brought him here. He has no reasons to be discreet but still, he has to be careful. He is standing near the doorway and surveying the golden banquet hall, which is filled with refined bodies in saris and jackets, and beautiful young women with straight hair who never make facial expressions. But they will, soon. Any moment now. Suddenly, a peal of irresistible laughter arose in the quiet banquet hall. The lad pulls up a mask & slips in the doorway to Yasmin's private lounge. It seems he has come with a well-spun plan.

Yasmin immediately calls Gaffur after being witness to such a naive act. "What just happened Gaffur?" yells Yasmin as soon as Gaffur enters the lounge. "I want that kid right now." "I'm right here ma'am. You don't need to capture me. I surrender myself," says the charming young lad while entering the room right behind Gaffur. "How did you enter my lounge? It's coded," declares Yasmin. The lad smiles at her charmingly & explains, "I didn't need to decode it, ma'am. Your lounge's door remains open for about 15 seconds after one person enters."

“You have done quite a research on my mansion. You better have excellent reasons for sneaking like this in a private party & drugging my air-conditioning system.”

"I do ma'am. I tried to have an appointment with you, from your secretary. But your secretary denied it. So I had to sneak in like this. I knew it, I would be recognised to be a stranger the minute I would enter the party. So I did not give any chance of getting caught. And it's quite easy to have access to the air-conditioning system being a service guy."

Yasmin looks with fury towards Gaffur. Gaffur understands the gesture & looks down in embarrassment. She continues to interrogate the lad, “What do you want? You are not a bureaucrat, you need to leave now. I do not want any violence.”

"Ma'am please, I am a journalist. I have heard a lot about this place & I wish to publish a book over the stories of the lives of the people living here."

“Are you fucking out of your mind? We do not disclose our identities to the world & you want the whole world to know about us. That’s not possible.”

"Okay! I respect your discreetness but don't discard me like this. Besides, I want to meet the most beautiful girl in your yali, may I?"

“Each & every girl in this yali is beautiful. Moreover, you are not eligible to meet them.”

“No, I’m looking out for a particular one. One with ivory skin, hazel brown straight hair with doe eyes having the same colour as the hair, pink lips & a lean body like a Greek Goddess.”

Yasmin & Gaffur exchange a suspicious look with each other & Yasmin returns the stern look to the lad & continues, "Listen I do not have time to babysit & chatter with you. I have an important party to attend. Now if you shall excuse me, I need to go & you need to leave the mansion on your own or shall I ask my guards to do the honours, The Royalty?"

The lad is stunned to hear that. He looks aghast into the eyes of Yasmin as he hasn’t even told his name yet. He tries to clear the confusion, “I beg your pardon ma’am?”

"The etiquettes & language of royalty are hardly hidden, kid. You are no journalist. I have been examining you since you are here. I have spent more than two decades learning people. Please leave this mansion."

“I won’t leave this mansion until I find the girl & take her along with me. Now that you have unveiled me already, let me introduce myself. I am Cyrus, the Prince of Shirazi, Persia & I am looking for Nadia, the Princess of Shirazi, who happens to be my twin sister. And I know, she is here.”

Yasmin is dumbstruck. She doesn't know what to react, how to react. All these years, the secret that she has been hiding was unveiling & all she can do is just stand there & think. She is not sure whether to believe this man. Her mind is racing, racing through the memories of her devastating past. She is frozen. Gaffur could make out the thoughts running in her mind, after all, he has been her secret-keeper all his life & the only family she is now left with. Cyrus comes closer to Yasmin & stares straight into her tear-filled eyes ready to flood out. "Your tears are proof that the girl does exist. Where is she? Why are you hiding her from the world? You have captivated her," charges Cyrus.

Gaffur gets annoyed with Cyrus's rudeness, "Mind your words, Cyrus. You are none to blame Yasmin. You don't even know her. She's.." Yasmin presses his hand for silence & gestures him to move aside. All she says, "Please enjoy the dinner & our services at the mansion. You may stay here for the night. Excuse us, we need to attend other guests," and she leaves the Prince in dilemma.

Cyrus is annoyed & confused. He is trolling in his lavish suite room when he hears a doorbell. He opens the door to find a pretty lady in a sexy uniform with a trolley full of snacks & beverages including a few from Persia. She addresses the Prince charmingly, "I am at your service Prince for the night. May I come in?" Cyrus smiles at the lady & politely denies her services. The lady slides the trolley into his room & departs with a peck on his lips. He examines the trolley & picks up the pint bottle of Shirazi wine. He pours himself the wine in the glass & ponders over how to find his twin sister. He picks up the bottle for another shot when he notices a small letter hidden amongst the snacks. It read, ‘Meet me in my room at 12 midnight.’ signed by Yasmin.

It's at 12 midnight when Yasmin hears the knock on her door. She opens the door & lets Cyrus in. After all the pondering Yasmin decides to finally disclose her secret. "Nadia is alive & she's with me. I am your khala. Your mother, Dilshad, fell in love with Darius, your father, when he came here with the bureaucrats. I was still young & was into grooming when she got pregnant with you two. They decided to elude under the nose of Luca once the babies are born. Luca always wanted me to be his Begum. That night I honey-trapped him so that your parents can escape. But Luca's faithful wolves got them & Luca ordered an immediate murder. The world knows the King of Shirazi died in a car accident, but I knew it was a planned murder. Darius & the baby boy got thrown out of the car into the deep cliff & my sister & the baby girl were fighting their way out. I rushed to the accident spot. Dilshad knew if she got into the hands of Luca, he would push her into the same hell. She handed me the baby & asked me to keep her away from the evil eyes of Luca's world & she jumped off the cliff behind her husband & son. From that day onwards I became Luca's mistress so that I could become the chief of the yali. I kept her safe away from this world all the while. But now I think she has to go to her original home. You cannot imagine the height of my happiness of seeing you alive in front of me. Take her away son. But how did you guys escape?"

“Khala, my father & I got stuck in the bushes instead of falling off the cliff. He waited there till dawn & escaped in disguise. He must have got bitten by some poisonous reptile. He got a paralytic attack & he passed away. My uncle brought me up & told me the story of my parents & I decided to rescue my sister if she was alive. And so I’m here. But where is she? She can’t be in the mansion, is she?”

Yasmin looks at him & gives him a sly smile. She walks over to the intercom & talks, “Send Bilal with my night coffee, now.” The doorbell rings & Gaffur comes with a skinny, tall wrinkled boy with coffee in his hand. Cyrus is confused & he cannot stand the curiosity. He walks over to Yasmin & asks her, “Where is Nadia, Khala? You did not tell me.” Yasmin smiles at him & cues him, “Nadia is right here with us.” She points her finger towards Bilal. “Look at him closely.”

Cyrus leans forwards closer to Bilal & notices that Bilal has doe-shaped Hazel brown coloured eyes & ivory skin tone.

Bilal speaks with a sweet voice, "For you, I may be Princess Nadia, but my khala calls me Elaheh, dear brother.”

Cyrus is delighted to see Nadia. He embraces her tightly & shares a few tears with her. Soon they come up with a plan to elope. The next day Elaheh will be going with Cyrus as Bilal. Little did Yasmin know that the Universe had other plans for her.

The next day Yasmin is all ready to bid adieu to her dearest daughter when she hears the doorbell. She runs to open the door. As soon as she opens the door, she’s horror-struck. It’s Luca Pervez, his master. He leans forward to give her a lingering kiss, “Hello, my beautiful. I thought you would be glad to see me.”

“Luca, you here at this time of the year? You never come in the summers,” Yasmin expresses her curiosity.

"Oh my darling, this time I have some important business to accomplish. The new batch of kids are coming & I have to see them personally."

She gets sad on hearing about the new lot of kids. She feels sad for each kid who comes here & loses his/her identity forever. But today she is more worried about Elaheh & Cyrus. They were going to elope, but with Luca, in the yali, it was hardly possible. She immediately texts Gaffur to meet her with Cyrus in her private lounge.

Yasmin excuses herself from Luca to have an important meeting which can’t delay. She heads directly to the lounge. There Gaffur & Cyrus are waiting for her. She narrates everything to them.

“Now what will we do Yasmin? How will they elope?” asks Gaffur in a concerned tone.

“SHHH… Do not use the word,” she silences them. She trolls worriedly to & fro when she breaks the silence, “I know what to do.”

She narrates the entire plan to Gaffur & Cyrus to which Gaffur sternly disagrees. “We do not have any other option Gaffur. I have to do this for my kids, for my late sister,” Yasmin tries to convince Gaffur. Gaffur reluctantly agrees to her and they disperse.

Yasmin heads to Luca’s private lounge where he is talking to some pimp about the shipment that is going to come. “Luca, can we have a word?” Yasmin asks the man charmingly. Yasmin had always been Luca’s weakness & Yasmin very well knew that.

“Luca, all these years you had been asking me for one thing & I had been rejecting it. But today I wish to put forward my proposal,” talks Yasmin charmingly. She bends on her knee & proposes, “Will you accept me as your companion for life?”

Luca is awestruck. He is not able to believe what he had just heard. He is overwhelmed with joy. He starts yelling with joy & hugs his beloved tightly. Yasmin couldn't hold back her tears & so did Luca, just the reason for their happiness was different. Luca immediately ordered his assistant to call a Qazi to the yali for the niqaah. Further, he gets busy with the grand reception preparation. He just doesn't want to waste a single minute. Yasmin was right. She knew that Luca would want a grand reception for them & amongst that preparation she knew she could slip the kids under his nose.

World's best event management team is working over the short notice marriage. Bureaucrats from around the globe were called immediately. The entire yali is decorated as some castle in a fairy tale & why won't it be. Today is the day of the union of the most beautiful couple in Istanbul. It was the much-awaited union by all.

Everyone is busy running here & there over the last minute preps. The groom is getting ready in his room & the bride is getting ready in hers. On the other side, Gaffur is ready to slip Cyrus & Elaheh from the mansion disguised as caterers. Gaffur was a pro at prosthetics plus by this time he was used to creating fake identities.

The bride & the groom are finally facing each other but with the veil between them & the Qazi is about to start the ritual. All the eyes are glued to the bride & the groom. Now it is time for Cyrus & Elaheh to slip from the mansion. The couple answered, "Qubool... Qubool... Qubool…" And the crowd cheers joyfully for the newlywed. There is a loud orchestra playing their favourite number & the crackers are being fired. In all this hustle, Cyrus & Elaheh slip from the yali in their fake van.

Yasmin is physically present there but mentally she's calculating the plan that Cyrus & Elaheh are working on. She's muttering a continuous prayer in her mind. Cyrus & Elaheh had to safely reach the airport & board the flight to Iran. Once they are on the flight no one can do any harm to them.

"Stop the van," Farhad, the guard at the gate stopped the van. "Show me your ID cards. Why are you leaving the mansion before the function is over." The guard is suspicious of the duo. He tunes his radio, "There is a suspicious vehicle going out of the mansion. Are you aware of it? Ahmed, do you copy?" The man on the other side answers, "Yes, there is an exit recorded here in the register yet I'll confirm with Rubina whether she has sent any men outside the mansion."

Cyrus & Elaheh's hearts are pounding with nervousness. They are sitting in the guard's office. One mistake, & they shall be caught! The radio walkie-talkie is continuously buzzing with conversations. The guard comes up to the two men, "No one is allowed to leave the mansion until the function gets over. You must get back to the function now."

“No, we have to go. My friend here needs to see the doctor. He’s getting an epileptic attack,” Cyrus points towards Elaheh. He winks at Elaheh & gestures her to get into fits. She catches his cue & starts vibrating & falls off on the floor. She starts throwing fuzzy saliva from her mouth. The guard is terrified at this scene. He immediately connects to Ahmed, “Ahmed, do you copy? It’s an emergency. Ahmed?”

"Listen, my friend shall die if you won't let us go. I beg you," convinces Cyrus. Farhad keeps staring at the salivating & vibrating body on the floor, not able to decide whether to let them go or let him die. No one is answering the radio. And why would anyone? Gaffur drugged Ahmed's drink already. And Cyrus is continuously worried, with the clock ticking, as they need to get to the airport as soon as possible.

Yasmin is waiting in Luca's suite on the top floor of the skyscraping hotel, worried about her kids. She doesn't know whether her kids are safe or not. "You thought you could fool me again after all these years?" Luca whispers sensuously in her ears. "Whom are you saving this time?"

Yasmin calmly replies, "All of them. I want to save each & every kid here who turned into an escort. Today is our first-night post marriage. Can you gift me something?"

"I can die for you, Begum. What do you want?"

“Your life!”

And Yasmin pushes Luca from the skyscraping balcony.