Tahir kept thinking to himself—How would I explain to my innocent little daughters that I wasn't leaving them just for one night, but forever?
The thought alone made his eyes fill with tears. His heart trembled at the idea of abandoning those fragile souls.
That Sunday, Tahir's brother arrived at his house with his son Nusrat. He had brought Tahir's medical reports from Liaquat National Hospital. As soon as Tahir opened the envelope, tears rolled uncontrollably down his cheeks.
The reports were clear.
There was no cancer.
Tahir was only suffering from typhoid, which was why his fever refused to subside.
At that moment, Tahir's heart bowed in silent prostration before Allah. The fear that had been eating him alive—his daughters' future—suddenly vanished. Wajid hugged Tahir tightly, congratulating him with genuine happiness. After spending some time together, he left with his son.
Later, Tahir showed the report to his mother-in-law. She, too, thanked Allah repeatedly. Together, they went to the local laboratory in their area—the same lab that had earlier issued a false blood cancer report, nearly destroying Tahir's family emotionally.
Showing the hospital report to the lab in-charge, Tahir's mother-in-law said firmly,"Do you have any idea how much pain and suffering your false report caused us? If you cannot do your job properly, you should leave it. Don't torture innocent people like this. Had we not confirmed the test from another hospital, we would have lived believing Tahir was dying."
The lab doctor apologized, admitting his mistake. He explained that Tahir's report had accidentally been exchanged with another patient who had the same name.
Tahir's mother-in-law replied bitterly,"We were able to confirm it only because Tahir's brother could afford Karachi's most expensive hospital. What if this had happened to a poor family who couldn't afford another test? They would have suffered endlessly."
Later, it was revealed that the same laboratory had issued incorrect reports to many poor patients. Eventually, the lab was permanently shut down.
Despite the relief, Tahir's fever and weakness had already cost him his job. The little savings he had slowly vanished. The situation worsened to the point where Tahir started feeding his daughters dry bread with tea.
One day, his mother-in-law arrived and began shouting loudly in the street, humiliating Tahir in front of everyone."Your son Zubair's milk has finished, and so have his diapers! Give money right now, or take your son back—we cannot raise him anymore!"
Tahir replied helplessly,"Ammi, you know I lost my job because of my illness. All my money went into treatment. Even my daughters are surviving on dry bread and tea. Please understand my situation. I am searching for a job. Once I get one, I'll pay you double."
But she refused to listen. She repeated the same demand—money now, or take Zubair back.
When Tahir's youngest daughter, Mehreen, saw her grandmother yelling at her father and her little brother crying, the four-year-old quietly broke her piggy bank. She had been saving money in it for a long time.
She brought the broken piggy bank and coins to Tahir and said innocently,"Papa, give this to Nani so she doesn't fight with you."
Tahir's heart shattered.
With trembling hands, he took the money from Mehreen and handed it to his mother-in-law. Only then did she take Zubair back with her.
The neighbors watched silently, whispering in sorrow."If she couldn't see her son-in-law's helplessness, at least she could have looked at her tiny granddaughter—breaking her piggy bank for her father and brother. She was her late daughter's youngest and most beloved child."
Tahir hugged Mehreen tightly and kissed her."Why did you break your piggy bank, my child?" he asked.
Mehreen replied softly,"Nani was fighting with you."
Tahir felt crushed by his helplessness. If he had money, his daughter would never have had to do such a thing. Her tiny hands had broken the piggy bank she had been filling with so much care.
A few days later, Tahir finally found a job. Slowly, life returned to its routine.
Their house was on a hill, and Tahir's daughters often climbed to the top with neighborhood children Yasmeen and Hamid. One day, they picked cotton from the plants growing there and hid it inside a quilt.
The next morning, Mehreen and Amreen excitedly told Tahir,"We kept cotton inside the quilt. Why didn't bangles come out? Hamid said if we press cotton in a quilt, bangles appear by morning."
Tahir smiled at Mehreen's innocence and said gently,"Bangles don't come from cotton, my child. They come from eggs—just like the hen at our house pecked her eggs and baby chicks came out. Bangles also hatch from their eggs the same way."
Mehreen listened wide-eyed, believing every word.