Zara rushed into her room and shut the door behind her.
Her breathing was uneven, almost frantic.
She leaned against the door, trying to steady herself. The room was quiet, but her mind was anything but.
Her chest felt heavy.
A dull ache spread through it, constant and suffocating. She placed her hand over her chest, trying to calm herself, but the feeling only worsened.
Her breath shortened.
A faint ringing started in her ears, soft at first, but growing louder and louder until it drowned every other sound. She squeezed her eyes shut.
"What… what is wrong with me…?" she whispered.
Her fingers trembled.
Then suddenly, tears began to fall.
She blinked in confusion as they slid down her cheeks.
"I… I don't even know why I'm crying."
More tears followed.
"I'm just too done with everything."
Her voice cracked.
"Father doesn't even see me."
She let out a small bitter laugh and wiped her face with the back of her hand.
"He doesn't want to talk to me. He doesn't even want to look at me."
Her hands clenched into fists.
"But he can see the clones… the ones who look exactly like me."
Her voice dropped into a whisper.
"He already has a replacement."
Silence filled the room.
"Then why do I even exist?"
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
"I don't even have a purpose."
She wiped her face roughly, but the tears refused to stop.
"Even though I am just as much of a prodigy as my brother is considered to be, he doesn't even know about what I have done."
Her gaze drifted toward the floor.
"And I know initially I thought it was what I looked like that made him think that…"
Her voice slowly faded.
For a while she simply stood there, trying to breathe properly.
Eventually she forced herself to move.
She poured some hot water into a cup and slowly took a sip, letting the warmth travel down her throat.
Another sip.
Then another.
Her breathing slowly started calming down.
After a few minutes, she walked to her bed and curled herself up in the blanket, wrapping it tightly around herself.
Her eyes were still wet, tears lingering on her eyelashes.
She closed them.
Slowly, exhaustion took over.
And she drifted off to sleep.
Dream
The smell of antiseptic filled the air.
A hospital room.
Her mother lay on the hospital bed, looking pale and tired.
Even then, she tried to smile.
Zara stood beside the bed, small and quiet, while her brother stood next to her.
Both of them were around seven years old.
Their mother gently lifted her hand and held Zara's short hair between her fingers.
"Did Abbu cut your hair?" she asked softly.
Zara nodded.
"Yes. He didn't have enough time to tie my hair, and I didn't know how."
Her mother smiled weakly.
"Your hair used to be so long…"
Slowly, she tried to tie the short strands together.
Her movements were slow, but careful.
Then her gaze drifted slightly upward.
"Ya Allah… please help me get better."
Her voice was soft, almost like a prayer.
" Ya Allah... Protect my children , make them strong and reliant on one another ."
Her breathing was tired.
Just then another voice spoke.
"Mama!"
Her brother stepped closer.
Her mother's face brightened slightly.
"Oh, you have also come."
He climbed onto the bed and hugged her.
"Mama, how are you doing now?" he asked.
She wrapped her arms around both of them gently.
"I'm better when you both are here."
For a moment, everything felt peaceful.
Then she smiled at them.
"Study well, okay? I hope you both have a good school life."
Both children nodded.
"Now go."
Reluctantly, they stepped away.
As soon as they left the room, she tried to hold in a cough.
Her shoulders trembled.
She tried to suppress it.
But she couldn't.
She started coughing.
Once.
Then again.
And again.
The coughing grew worse.
When she finally pulled her hand away from her mouth, it was filled with blood.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Before she could react, her vision blurred.
Her body collapsed back onto the bed.
Outside the room, a nurse heard the coughing and rushed in.
"Is everything okay?"
The woman tried to respond.
"Yes, I'm fi—"
But the nurse noticed the blood.
Her eyes widened in shock.
She immediately rushed out.
"Doctor! Doctor!"
A doctor quickly came running and entered the room.
Elsewhere
Noor had finished praying and was sitting quietly.
After a moment she frowned slightly.
"Where did Hayat go?"
Just then the door opened.
Hayat entered, looking panicked. Her breathing was uneven.
"We have to go," she muttered under her breath. "We need to find something… something to attack…"
But she stopped herself and simply sat down on the edge of the bed.
Noor looked at her carefully.
"Hayat, is everything okay?"
Hayat forced a small smile.
"Yes. Everything is fine. Nothing is wrong."
But inside her mind, thoughts were racing.
What should I say?
I broke the promise.
The promise they had made when they first realized the truth about themselves.
That they would stay together and protect each other.
Noor stood up slowly and walked closer.
"Hayat…"
Something was clearly wrong.
"Is everything okay?"
Hayat stayed silent.
For a moment they both just stared at each other.
Hayat thought about telling her.
But the words wouldn't come out.
Finally Noor broke the silence.
"Where is fazil?"
Hayat's expression immediately changed.
"Fa—"
She stopped.
"Your brother…"
Again she stopped.
Now Noor knew something was wrong.
"You both went together, right?" she said slowly.
"And you didn't come back together."
She stood up and began pacing across the room.
"Is he somewhere? Is he scouting?"
"Did you find the person who was following us? You said everything was fine."
Her words started coming faster.
"Where is he?"
Hayat looked down at her trembling hands.
"I… I know where he is."
Noor stopped pacing.
"But not exactly."
Hayat swallowed.
"And I don't think we should go after him."
Noor stared at her.
"Why?"
"Why can't he come back?"
Hayat hesitated.
"I followed him."
"And what I witnessed was—"
"How did you follow him?" Noor interrupted.
"The phone he had… the location was still on."
Noor frowned.
"So you followed the location."
Hayat nodded.
"The last place it showed… was a research centre."
"A research centre?" Noor repeated.
Hayat nodded slowly.
"Why is he there?" Noor asked quietly.
"I don't know," Hayat replied. "That was the last location."
Noor started pacing again, running a hand through her hair.
"We should plan what to do."
"How are we going to go there?"
Hayat hesitated before speaking.
"Maybe… we could ask Zara's father."
Noor suddenly stopped.
Her expression hardened.
"He took my brother."
Her voice rose.
"He took my brother!"
She clutched her head with both hands, pacing across the room.
"I don't even know who I should be angry at."
After a moment she forced herself to breathe slowly.
Then she said quietly,
"I need some time."
She walked toward the door.
"Do not enter that room."
Then she left and went into another room, closing the door behind her.
Hayat remained in the room, staring at the closed door.
She slowly collapsed onto the bed.
"I tried following them," she whispered.
"They were in a car…"
"I even ran after it."
The memory replayed in her mind.
Running after the moving car.
Then falling.
Her knees scraped against the ground.
Her elbows bruised.
"I tried. I tried my best."
She stared at the ceiling.
Her mind felt completely blank.
The Research Facility
Zayd sat in the experimental lab, looking through the research papers Zubair had left behind.
There were changes in the research.
Small ones.
But noticeable.
But it wasn't only the papers that made him realize something.
He had noticed earlier that the clone standing before him was not the same.
His daughter had taken its place.
He wanted to question it then.
But he didn't.
Just then the door opened.
"Father."
Zubair stood there saying nothing. He wanted to say ,"You should leave."
Zed looked back at the papers.
"Zubair… were these papers the only thing that made you realize the clone was replaced by your sister?"
Zubair paused.
"Before I answer that question," he said calmly, "you should go and have a proper talk with Zara."
"I will not talk to you until you do that."
He picked up the papers.
"Even though the clone is a project, Zara knows why I started this."
He turned to leave.
Zayd remarked.
"I am your father , watch your tone, Zubair.
I know it too! I know why you started the project!"
Zubair stopped.
"You think—"
"No," Zubair interrupted.
"You do not."
"You don't know. And you never will."
And he left.
Zayd remained there.
He did not follow him.
Instead, he slowly looked around the lab.
Rows of preservation tubes surrounded him.
His thoughts drifted back to the past.
When the children were seven years old.
His wife used to tell him to spend more time with them.
But he had always been busy with work.
When they turned ten, he had a good position.
The children had grown into prodigies.
But the connection between him and his children had slowly broken.
The only thing that connected them was his wife.
And she was no more.
He remembered the old days.
Walking along the beaches, travel .
His wife beside him.
The children running ahead.
Back then there had been a balance between work and life.
But slowly…
That balance disappeared.
And with it—
The connection with his children.
Zayd looked up at one of the preservation tubes.
For a moment, something about it felt… wrong.
And he couldn't explain why.