Chapter 1: The Vanishing of Karachi Town

I was staring out the window, lost in the hills, when someone tapped my shoulder.

A gentle touch—but enough to pull me back from the dry brown ridges and the ghost houses beyond.

“Where to?” the bus conductor asked.

I blinked, scrambled for the fifty-rupee note.

“Next stop,” I muttered.

He gave me a look—uncanny, suspicious—then clutched the metal bars and shuffled forward like a worn-out monkey.

Most seats on the bus were empty, given that the bus was on its way to the last stop where the hills would end, and I would get off. The sound of the engine was like a melody to my ears, blended in the background of my thoughts. 

I resorted to my earlier view of bleakness. Although the buildings were far from me, I could see no one living there. The graffiti was all over the walls, broken windows, and no sign of life. It radiated a post-apocalyptic resemblance portrayed in novels and movies.

I got off the bus near a lonely bus stop, welcomed by the dusty wild air. The sun blazed from the cloudless blue sky. I took out my blue shade glasses and a plain black cap from my travel bag. I had come ready for the journey ahead. 

My destination was a few miles away inside the rotting town on the outskirts of Karachi. I had been here before, so I was accustomed to the route. I followed the lonely road with desolate trees that led me to the entrance of Karachi town, which stretched staggering miles ahead of me.

The huge double metal gate was quarter open, and outside, the guard in a navy blue uniform took his nap under the patio umbrella. I decided against waking him up and swiftly made my way inside.

As a kid, I thought this place had no beginning or end, but that day, I saw the beginning of the end, and once a lively place was now rusting with astounding grief. It was peaceful there, almost eerie. The town looked the same, but it seemed deprived of any soul, like a newly dead person. Pale, eerily silent, and full of secrets. 

On concrete narrow lanes, the faded buildings mourned their demise. Hundreds of tall buildings, themed parks, reputable institutes, lavish villas, and wide roads. It still had it all, but they were vacant, awaiting their inevitable demise.

Few clothes hung from several balconies, drying in the unbound air and a splendid sun. People still lived here even after the great tragedy a decade ago, and that mildly fascinated me. It was still difficult for low-income families to buy or rent a property elsewhere after they had invested all their savings in buying property in Karachi town, established in 1994. A thoroughly planned town that aimed for the highest living standard at that time, at very low rates. 

It was an instant success and thrived until the town started to devour the residents in its sinister void. It all started when I was just 17, in the fall of 2006, when people started to disappear.

Despite the heat, I felt cold under the shade of the structures where I grew up. I made a turn to the fourth lane and followed the path that led to the apartment where I once lived. Gazing at the 4-floor mustard-painted apartment reminded me of the time when life had only twelve colours in the shape of classic Dux’s coloured pencils. 

I reached the second floor where Mr. Amjad lived. The floor where my family once lived, too. Our apartment gate still had that huge, stained padlock hanging lifelessly for years.

After taking a moment, I knocked on Mr. Amjad’s door, bracing myself for the meeting. The metal door clicked open, and he stood there with curious, narrow eyes.

“Hello, sir,” I finally said, “I’m Adam from the Intelligence Bureau of Pakistan,” then took out the badge from my pocket, which he analyzed thoroughly.

“I’ve seen you somewhere, weren’t you the one who used to live in the house to the right?”

“Yes, you are right,” I said, smiling.

“Come on in, Adam” he smiled back

I followed him into the living room and tried to get comfortable on the couch but could not. Putting death into words is hard. If I told him his son was dead right away, he would have been more devastated. He poured me a glass of water, I took a sip and sighed.

“How is your family doing, Adam?”

“Pretty good, they have settled well in Lahore” I smiled

“That’s good to know”

I looked around, the walls were staling and the sunlight seeped in through the window and its silhouette fell on the wooden table in front of me.

“So, what brings you here?” The silence broke.

“It’s about Sameer,” I told him

“Well, Recently the case about the missing kids was reopened after some fishermen found some traces of evidence near the forest.”

I pulled out a file from my bag and laid the pictures of torn clothing and a pair of boots recovered from the water.

“At first, we had no idea this could be linked to a decade-old case, but after a further search, we found a bunch of bones and remains of the skeleton from the area.” I flip the page to the image of lined-up skeletons. A total of three, two missing their thigh bones, and one had a missing backbone.

“We ran tests and found out these bones were almost a decade old, and all three of them belonged to the kids who went missing from this town.” I was surprised I did not stutter. It all seemed like a lie to me at first, but there was no doubt the torn, checkered t-shirt belonged to Sameer. He wore it on the night of the disappearance.

Mr. Amjad’s face was pale; he knew what was to come, and I saw him bracing himself for the moment.

“One of them is Sameer.”

I looked up and leaned my back against the chair. His eyes were still on the pictures, but he was zoned out in thought. He appeared gutted but not surprised. 

“Are you sure it’s him?

“We ran the DNA test against the samples, and it was a match, the clothes too, matched the description provided, and the boots…”

He sighed deeply and looked at me, and then at the glass window shining in sun’s rays. His eyes glistened with tears, and it was heartbreaking to see him like that. I closed the file and carefully put it inside my bag.

I took out my card and placed it on the table. “If you need any more assistance or information, please reach out to me.” I had to go; there were two other houses left, and I wanted to be done with it as soon as I could. 

I hung my bag on my shoulder and stood up, “I’ll take my leave now,” and as I was heading back, he said, “Close the door on your way out,” and I did. I stood outside and heard the stammering sobs from inside.

Zunaira and Irfan’s family shifted to Lahore after a futile year-long search, and by no,w I’m sure they have been informed about it by the local police.

I was on my way out of the depressing, rotting town when I heard someone call my name.

“Adam” I turned back and it was Michael who stood with a wide smile and a partial wave. I waved back and smiled. He was much older now, same baby face but with a beard. Narrow black eyes and the same cheerful smile.

“Hey,” I waved and he started walking towards me.

“Long time no see, huh?” he said as we shook hands.

“Yeah, well that’s life for you,” I smiled back at him.

“So, how are you doing?”

“Yeah, you know, just hanging in there, what about you?”

“Good….good, by the way, you haven’t changed much?

“Really?”

“Yeah, just the same as I last saw you, maybe a little taller and… um weak”

“I had the same impression about you, it’s just you have a beard now…..It suits you” I add

Michael was one of my friends I grew up with. I hadn’t seen him after so many years but it felt like I met him a week ago, partly because I thought of it every single day; the past was deeply embedded in my thoughts.

My eyes spotted Sophia’s rooftop, adjacent to ours, and I could imagine her smoking her cigarette and complaining about life. Of course, she was gone too, lost in the city of lights; into the darkness; never to return. 

“Adam”

“Yeah?”

“It’s so weird they all vanished without any trace, the weight of curiosity is unbearable at times. I’ve crossed the hills and beyond, but still nothing. It’s just as if they vanished into thin air. I can’t live without knowing what happened to them.”

He sighed

“I’m sorry,” he cracked, “Geez, what am I saying, I am seeing you after so many years and am whining about my problems already? Come on, come to my home, let’s have a cup of tea, you look like you’ve had a long journey, and it’s so sunny here.”

“No, I’m in a bit of a hurry; I have to get going.” I was not ready to reminisce with him, it was pointless anyway to dwell on it. 

“Right, right….. of course, would you mind if I ask you a question?”

I shake my head, “Sure, why not?”

“Why are you here? After all this time,” His smile faded

I didn’t know why exactly. Perhaps to stop a mourning father to stop hoping or finding answers that couldn’t be answered. I knew at the back of my mind I never could tick off the latter. 

Answers were too hard to find, and questions, too easy to ask.

“Uh, Mike, don’t want to be rude or anything, but I have to get going.” I nodded at him and took two steps back, and then turned my gaze away from him and started walking towards the exit. Suddenly, he grabbed my arm and pushed me back.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” I tried to jolt my arm free but couldn’t. He stared right into my eyes. His black eyes wobbled with rage.

“You know something, don’t you?

“Know what?”

“You know what happened to them, you’re a police officer.”

“A what?”

Tell me what this is, then? ” He held my badge in his other hand while his other hand tightened its grip around my arm

“Where the hell did you get this?” I said, looking straight in his eye, and tried to take it from hi,m but he moved his hand away.

“Not until you tell me what is going on.”

“Come on, Mike, hand this over, I don’t want to create a fuss.”

“NOT UNTIL YOU TELL ME THE TRUTH!” He shouted

“You wanna know the truth?” I jolted my arm free and grabbed his collar, and put him against the

building wall

“They are all dead, you hear me, they are all fucking dead,” my shouts echoed in the desolate town

“Bullshit”. His tears welled in his eyes, and his face was red.

“You are lying, I don’t trust you.” He pushed me back hard and threw a punch. It narrowly missed my face. Then another hit my jaw. 

“Don’t force me to use my gun on you, Mike.” His punch was hard, and I could taste the metallic taste of the blood in my mouth.

“It was you, wasn’t it? It was you who killed them all, all of them. You’re a monster,” crying, falling on his knees, and my badge fell with him.

I could barely move my jaw; I could tell it would swell soon. I quickly retrieved my badge from his burning rage and pushed it into the bag’s side pocket.

“I’m telling you the truth! No one is coming back, you’re still stuck inside the hell you created, it’s time you move on.”

“Get lost, Adam,” he said, looking up with his tears-soaked eyes. I think he knew it wasn’t me, but after all that happened, it was inevitable that everyone became a suspect. I

The remaining inhabitants poked their faces from the windows and balcony, and I instantly felt guilty. I never wanted to create a scene.

I wanted to go near him and console him, but from far away, Mike’s mother came shouting and running to embrace her weeping son. She helped him get on foot. I was glad she didn’t recognize me, nor did she say anything.

Mike limped off without turning back. Still in deep shock. I knew I might meet him when I was headed for this place, but not like this. Never like this. I still visit the memories of my teenage years, the nostalgia and the mystery, everything almost seems like a never-ending nightmare.

Some days, I consider moving out of this city. Being alone gets harder. But I made a promise to keep. And now, with what I know, I’m finally starting to unearth the labyrinth beneath it all.