Episode 13: The Last Battle of ZubairEpisode 13: The Last Battle of Zubair
When Zubair returned home after getting medicine from a clinic, he sat quietly on his bed. A short while later, Mehreen arrived home from school. As soon as she looked at her younger brother's face, she froze in shock. His face had turned deep red, and patches of skin were peeling off from different areas.
A terrified scream escaped her lips.
"Father! Please come quickly!" she called out to Tahir.
Tahir rushed into the room and looked at Zubair. His condition was alarming, but Tahir tried to reassure himself.
"Perhaps it is an allergy caused by the fever," he said. "It will get better once the fever goes down."
But Zubair looked restless and uncomfortable.
"My heart feels uneasy," he said weakly. "I don't feel good. I want to go to Nani's house in Orangi Town."
Tahir agreed.
"Go if you want. You will feel better there with your cousins."
Zubair left for his grandmother's house and stayed there. Whenever Tahir called to ask about his son's condition, his mother-in-law always replied with the same answer.
"Zubair is fine."
Days passed.
One day Mehreen suddenly felt anxious without any reason. Unable to ignore her feelings, she told her father that she wanted to visit her grandmother's house.
There was a direct bus route from Tahir's neighborhood to his mother-in-law's area, and the bus stopped near her street. Because of this, Tahir was not worried about letting Mehreen travel alone.
He allowed her to go.
However, the moment Mehreen arrived, her world turned upside down.
The sight before her was horrifying.
Zubair's face had become dark and lifeless. He was continuously vomiting, and traces of blood were visible in it. His body looked weak and exhausted.
Mehreen could hardly believe her eyes.
Without wasting a second, she rushed back home. Crying uncontrollably, she told her father everything she had seen.
Tahir's face turned pale.
He immediately left with Mehreen and went to his mother-in-law's house.
The moment he saw his only son, it felt as if all strength left his body.
After four daughters, Allah had blessed him with a son. Even before that child was forty days old, Tahir's wife had passed away, leaving him alone with their children.
How could a father remain calm while watching his only son suffer like this?
Angrily and painfully, he turned toward his mother-in-law.
"My son was in this condition, and you never informed me?"
She lowered her eyes.
"Zubair told me not to. He said his father would become worried."
Tahir immediately hired a taxi and took Zubair away.
Since all three of Tahir's brothers and their wives had already passed away, he had no one else to turn to for help. Therefore, he took Zubair to the house of his nephew, Humayun.
Tahir wanted to get his son treated at Liaquat National Hospital, one of Karachi's best private hospitals. However, the expenses were beyond his financial capacity.
He hoped Humayun would help.
Humayun listened carefully and then said,
"Uncle, there is a very good private clinic near our house. Let me show him to that doctor first. If he does not improve by tonight, I will personally take him to Liaquat National Hospital tomorrow morning."
Every passing moment felt like torture for Tahir.
He wanted his son taken to Liaquat National immediately. He did not want to waste even a minute.
But helplessness is one of the hardest tests in life.
Since he had no money, he had no choice but to agree.
That night, Zubair's condition worsened dramatically.
Blood began appearing in large quantities in his vomit.
His body had become so weak that when he tried to stand up and walk to the washroom, he collapsed onto the floor.
Tahir could not bear it any longer.
Turning to Humayun, he said firmly,
"Not another minute. We are leaving now."
Humayun quickly brought out his car and drove through the streets at great speed until they reached Liaquat National Hospital.
Doctors examined Zubair carefully.
After several tests, they gave shocking news.
"This is a new disease spreading in Pakistan," one doctor explained. "We still do not fully understand it. Take him to Jinnah Hospital immediately. Do not waste any time."
Humayun once again rushed Zubair and Tahir to Jinnah Hospital.
There, another shocking revelation awaited them.
The doctors initially refused admission.
"This child was already brought here before," one doctor said. "He has Dengue Virus. His white blood cells are almost gone. His grandmother took him away from the hospital without permission despite our warnings that his condition was critical."
Tahir stood speechless.
His mother-in-law had never told him any of this.
He could not believe what he was hearing.
Desperate, Tahir called another nephew, Babar, a successful businessman and builder in Karachi. Babar had connections with influential people, including Seemi Jamali, the director of Jinnah Hospital and the mother-in-law of his cousin.
The moment Babar heard about Zubair's condition, he became worried.
"Don't worry, Uncle," he said. "I'll handle it."
Within minutes, arrangements were made, and doctors began treating Zubair seriously.
Soon, Babar and Nusrat also arrived at the hospital.
It was the month of Ramadan.
At home, Tahir's daughters Amreen, Mehreen, and Samreen had woken up for Sehri and were busy preparing the pre-dawn meal.
Meanwhile, inside the hospital, doctors delivered devastating news.
"Zubair's condition is extremely serious," they said. "He urgently needs white blood cells. Three bottles are required, and they can only be arranged from Korangi."
Each bottle cost ten thousand rupees.
In 2006, it was a huge amount.
But for Babar and Nusrat, money was not the issue.
Time was.
Without delay, Babar sent his brothers Kashif and Rashid to Korangi.
Inside the hospital room, everyone stood around Zubair.
Tahir.
Noreen.
Babar.
Nusrat.
The doctors.
All watching and praying.
As Rashid reached the hospital in Korangi and paid for the white cells, Noreen suddenly looked at Zubair.
Something was wrong.
His eyes had fixed on one point above.
There was no movement.
No response.
No life.
"Zubair!"
She shook him desperately.
"Zubair! Wake up!"
Her screams echoed through the ward.
Doctors rushed forward and checked him.
Then came the words that shattered everyone.
"He is no more."
The world stopped.
Babar immediately called Kashif and Rashid and told them not to bring the white cells anymore.
It was too late.
Noreen screamed and cried, begging her brother to wake up.
Tahir stood motionless.
His only son.
His hopes.
His dreams.
Gone forever at just sixteen years of age.
No one knew how he managed to remain standing.
Back home, Babar called Tahir's niece Anita and asked her to inform the family.
At around three in the morning, during Sehri time, Anita and her husband arrived at Tahir's house.
The sound of the gate startled Mehreen.
When she opened it, Anita's husband spoke quietly.
"Call Amreen."
Moments later, Amreen appeared.
The news was delivered.
"Zubair has passed away. His body will be brought home in the morning."
A heartbreaking scream escaped Amreen.
But Mehreen remained frozen.
She could neither cry nor speak.
The shock was too great.
As dawn approached, relatives began arriving.
Tahir's mother-in-law continuously cried and blamed him.
"You killed my grandson by taking him to Jinnah Hospital."
Babar could no longer remain silent.
Angrily he replied,
"No. Zubair died because you hid the truth. If you had informed Tahir earlier and not taken him away from the hospital, precious time would not have been lost."
Tahir said nothing.
He simply sat there with empty eyes.
The death of his only son had broken him completely.
People from distant places came to attend the funeral.
Everyone spoke about the tragedy.
A boy who had lost his mother when he was only forty days old.
A brother who was the only son among four sisters.
A father's only hope.
Amid tears, cries, and heartbreaking prayers, Zubair was laid to rest.
His sisters wept endlessly.
His father felt as if a part of his own soul had been buried with him.
And as the grave was covered with soil, everyone realized that some losses never heal.
They only become a permanent part of a person's heart.