"What happened to him?" He put his cup of tea on the table and begged to know the truth from his colleague who in that instant was struggling to pull the sandwich out of it's plastic wrap.

"He died."

"I know that. But how did he die?"

"Long story," she replied curtly as she bit into her newly freed sandwich.

"Well, I want to hear all of it." He was being demanding today.

"Why are you so interested in her?" Amna questioned, raising one eye brow at him.

" I don't know. All I do know is that I need to hear the story, and you are going to tell it to me. So spill it."

"Fine," she threw up her hands in frustration. Amna liked Saarim. She had quickly befriended him and made an effort everyday to make him feel at home away from home. She was the first one who invited him over for dinner, and Saarim had succeeded in making a place for himself in her family's hearts as well. They frequently asked about him, and Saarim himself would often call on her landline and have long conversations with her mom.

But she still wasn't sure about how he felt for her. She was attractive and they got along well. But Saarim always had a question or two about Saira whenever they were together. And that always annoyed her. But she could never say no to anything he asked, so like always, she gave in to his curiosity.

"It was way back in November 2017. Raamiz was on duty when a woman of about 23, bruised and limping was brought to the emergency by an old man and woman. They told Raamiz that she had been raped by their landlord the night before. There wasn't enough time to summon a medico legal officer so Raamiz decided to carry out the examination himself. He knew it was dirty business he was getting engaged in, but he was always very passionate about his job. So he filled in all the formalities and conducted the exam, and the police officer came over to assist the procedure. Everybody was scared because these were strong allegations against a powerful man. But Ramiz wasn't. He was determined to fight for justice," at that Amna broke off and looked away, as if remembering the details from that day. Saarim waited for her to continue.

"It was a week later when we got the bad news. We were all sad, but not one of us was surprised. It was like we were all expecting it to happen, as if we all had subconsciously prepared ourselves for the inevitable outcome. Raamiz and Saira were visiting Muzaffarabad to celebrate his 27 birthday with his family. On the same night, he was shot on his way to the market." A pigeon started fluttering outside the window, smashing its wings noisily against the glass. "Saira was waiting at home for him. Somewhere around ten she received a call from his number, but it wasn't his voice when she picked up. It was a stranger who had taken Ramiz to St.Mary's hospital. The stranger asked her to come over as fast as she could, that her husband was in a critical condition. But what he didn't tell her was that he was already dead. Received three gunshots, one straight to the heart. Expired before reaching the hospital." She wiped the tears from her eyes, while Saarim stared at the pigeon outside that had now settled back in its nest.

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