Faraz's File
At NIA headquarters, Faraz sealed a classified file: "RAYAN – PROTOCOL CLOSED."
He locked it in a drawer.
Paused.
Then wrote in the margin:
> "In case of national crisis: Call the Gardener."
---
Zara's Last Visit
She found Rayan in the garden, fixing a small solar irrigation rig.
> "The president wants to name a policy after you."
He smirked. "No."
> "She says people should know who started this."
He looked up, eyes calm.
> "Trees don't need to know the name of the seed."
---
Final Passage: A Child Asks
In a school in Khairpur, a child asked her teacher:
> "Miss, was Rayan real?"
The teacher paused. Smiled.
> "Does it matter?"
"Why?"
"Because the system he built works—and you're living in it."
---
Fade Out:
Somewhere in the mountains, the gardener sleeps.
The forest breathes.
And in the shadows, an old phone buzzes just once.
He doesn't answer.
Not yet.