Episode 8
The old man was startled by the unique gleam in the snake's eyes — the same gleam he had seen moments ago in that mysterious couple's eyes.
Could they not be human?
He thought to himself as he placed the snake back into its basket.
He had heard from his elders that a snake can take human form after a hundred years, though no one in his lineage had ever seen such a snake.
It was more of a legend, passed down through generations.
However, the old snake charmer had heard from his grandfather that somewhere in this desert lived a very ancient serpent.
One that had resided in this land for God knows how many years.
Very few people had ever seen it, and among them was his own great-grandfather.
One day, while searching for snakes, he had come face-to-face with it.
Frightened, he had returned home through another path and brought several other snake charmers with him the next day.
But despite searching from morning till evening, they could not find the serpent again.
Many attempts followed over the years, but the snake was never seen again.
Now, decades later, the snake charmers had settled in that same land, yet that ancient snake never reappeared.
If it is still alive, it must be over a hundred years old now.
The old man mused, and again thought of the couple who had visited him for a wound remedy.
Could one of them be that snake — now transformed into a human after a century?
He smiled at his own imagination.
Could that really be possible?
He shook his head, dismissing the thought, and got back to work.
---
Elsewhere...
Molsak was shocked to see Wasoori in human form.
He had heard of an ancient serpent in the desert but never knew it was over a century old like him — capable of shape-shifting.
Though he had sensed her unique scent, he still needed confirmation.
When Wasoori gave her name, he realized she had spoken her clan's title — just like humans, they too had different lineages but never attacked each other.
They sat on the sand, talking all night, but their century-long stories remained incomplete.
As dawn broke, they returned to their shelter.
Molsak was worried about Wasoori's wound.
He decided to risk his life to find someone among humans who could heal her.
During the day, he crawled in his original serpent form toward the snake charmer settlement.
Luckily, no one saw him — had they, escape would've been impossible.
It was like walking into the lion's den and surviving.
That night, he brought Wasoori with him to the old snake charmer's hut whom he had identified earlier as the most experienced healer.
He instructed Wasoori to stay silent.
They were both anxious during the visit.
The old man looked at them multiple times with suspicion, but fortunately, he didn't recognize them.
They quickly took the medicine and left.
Having no money, Molsak had already claimed they were travelers.
To his relief, the old man didn't ask for anything in return.
As they walked away from the settlement, they breathed a sigh of relief — though even their sigh sounded like a hiss.
Molsak thanked fate that they had not been recognized.
But he was wrong — a pair of eyes had been watching from behind a curtain, full of suspicion, possibly recognition.
---
The next night, they left Wasoori's shelter and moved into Molsak's den, which was much farther from the village.
It was safer, rarely visited by humans.
At night, they ventured into the desert again to find others like them.
Their unique scent would signal their kind, and one hiss would bring them closer.
By midnight, several serpents had joined them.
Apart from Molsak and Wasoori, all others were in their original form — none were a hundred years old yet to take human shape.
Some were three years old, some seven — the oldest being seventeen.
They all looked at Molsak and Wasoori in awe.
The desert sand appeared alive with slithering snakes.
Any human witnessing that scene would have died of fright.
They celebrated their reunion till before dawn, then dispersed back to their dens.
---
Back in the village...
Noori tied her goats and sat on her cot.
Her brother played with a snake in a basket while her father, Khuda Bakhsh, was out chatting in the village.
Suddenly, their oil lamp went out.
"Check the lamp, Noori!" her mother called out.
Noori found it empty of oil and decided to borrow some from a neighbor.
As she lifted the curtain to leave, she saw two figures passing by.
She couldn't see their faces clearly but noticed one of them walked with a feminine gait — despite wearing male clothing.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Molsak? she whispered.
She rushed after them, but they had vanished.
Just then, her father returned, and she had to abandon her pursuit.
She went to her neighbor's house instead.
Inside, her mind was racing.
She stayed restless all night, tossing and turning with visions of gleaming eyes.
---
At dawn, she quickly finished chores and convinced her friend Bano to accompany her in search of the two strangers.
Despite searching far and wide, they found no trace — no footprints, nothing.
On their return, they passed a group of villagers listening to Baba Faizu, the old snake charmer.
He was describing the mysterious visitors with shining eyes.
"I'm certain they were not human," he said.
"What do you mean?" someone asked.
"I believe... they were jinn."
The villagers stared at him in disbelief.
They assumed age had made him delusional.
But Noori believed him.
Deep down, she knew Molsak had returned.
If it truly was him, I must thank him — and ask the truth.
She made a vow to herself.
---
Meanwhile in Goth Bheru...
Fear still lingered after the bizarre corpses were discovered.
The bodies were unnaturally darkened and marked by human bite wounds.
Even Wadera Hukam was shaken — these corpses resembled those of Kamal's men, who were also mysteriously killed.
Wadera called Allah Dad, Kamal's father, and showed him the bodies.
They concluded that the killer must be the same.
But who?
Latif, another snake charmer, confirmed the deaths were due to an extremely potent venom — human-like bite marks also appeared on the bodies.
And the pattern was strange — Kamal's group had been killed near Makli Graveyard, far from Bheru village where these new deaths occurred.
Could the same being be traveling across regions — or are there multiple of its kind?
The feudals gathered and planned to search the desert thoroughly.
---
The next day, they set out with over a hundred men to sweep the desert.
Dogs sniffed around. Lights lit the darkness.
At midnight, six men spotted two figures in the distance.
They called out and gave chase.
As the figures fled, one of the men fired his gun.
Both shadows fell into the sand.
To be continued...
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