**Scene Name: "Fractures in the Faith"**
**Scene 1: Dawn Prayers and Bloodied Cloth**
The call to *Fajr* prayer echoes through the cracked windows of House No. 13. **Amina Suleman** kneels on a frayed mat, her rosary beads clicking rapidly as she recites *Surah Yasin*. Her voice trembles, eyes fixed on the attic door.
**Haris** (from the kitchen, coughing):
"Amina… the tea's gone cold."
She ignores him, her whispers growing louder. **Zain** enters, his hands already bandaged for another shift. He pauses, watching his mother's hunched form.
**Zain** (softly):
"Ammi, eat something. You've prayed enough."
**Amina** (snapping):
"*Bas kar!* You think prayers are *enough*? This house… it's *watching* us."
Haris coughs violently into a handkerchief, flecks of blood blooming like poppies on the cloth. He crumples it into his pocket.
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**Scene 2: The Weight of Silence**
At the glass factory, **Rizwan** sidles up to Zain during their coal-shoveling shift. The furnace roars, casting jagged shadows.
**Rizwan** (grinning, pulling a flask from his coat):
"*Yaar*, tonight—*Bhaiya*'s got a bottle of *desi daru*. Forget your troubles, eh?"
**Zain** (stiffening):
"My father's medicine costs half my wages. Your *daru* pays for nothing but regret."
**Rizwan** (snorting):
"Regret's cheaper than sanity here."
A molten glass spill hisses nearby. Zain's bandages smolder, but he doesn't flinch.
**Rizwan** (muttering):
"*Maderchod*, this place'll kill you before your *buddha baap* croaks."
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**Scene 3: The Hidden Cough**
Haris staggers into the overgrown yard, clutching his chest. He digs a shallow hole beneath the neem tree, burying bloodied handkerchiefs. The doll's lone glass eye glints from the dirt nearby.
**Haris** (to himself):
"*Kambakht* lungs… Not yet. Not until Zain marries."
A shadow flickers in the attic window. He looks up—nothing.
**Haris** (spitting):
"*Chup reh*, devil-house."
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**Scene 4: The Argument**
Dinner is stale roti and boiled lentils. Amina's rosary beads clatter incessantly.
**Haris** (slamming his fist):
"Enough! Your *dhaga* and *duas* won't fill our bellies!"
**Amina** (eyes blazing):
"And your cough will bury us! You think I don't see the blood?"
**Zain** (standing abruptly):
"I'll take night shifts. The foreman pays double for overtime."
**Amina** (gasping):
"No! That factory's cursed—it'll swallow you like the others!"
**Zain** (cold):
"Better swallowed than starved."
The attic door creaks open upstairs. All three freeze.
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**Scene 5: The Third Shadow**
That night, Zain works late, shaping molten glass. His reflection in the vat morphs—a third figure appears behind him, its hands on his shoulders.
**Reflection** (mocking):
"*Maa ka laadla*… Always the martyr."
**Zain** (dropping his tools):
"Who's there?"
The foreman's whip cracks.
**Kamran** (snarling):
"Back to work, *behenchod*! That vase won't birth itself!"
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**Scene 6: The Offering**
Amina sneaks to the attic door at midnight, a bowl of milk and jasmine petals in hand. She places it on the threshold, chanting:
"*Buri nazar wale tera munh kala…*"
A low growl rumbles behind the door. The milk curdles instantly.
**Amina** (whispering):
"Protect us. I'll give you more."
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**Scene 7: The Promise**
Zain returns at dawn, his hands raw and blistered. Haris waits in the parlor, a crumpled rupee note in his palm.
**Haris** (hoarse):
"The doctor says… it's tuberculosis."
**Zain** (stiffening):
"We'll sell the copper pots. Get medicine."
**Haris** (grabbing his arm):
"No. Save for your marriage. Promise me."
The attic door slams shut upstairs. Both men look up, but neither moves.
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**Closing Scene: The Unseen Feast**
Amina finds the milk bowl empty, petals blackened. A trail of ash leads to the doll, now propped against the attic door. Its melted face seems to smile.
**Amina** (pleading):
"*Hifazat karo…* Keep him safe."
The house exhales—a gust of burnt sugar and decay.
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