‘Behind the bushes’ is a story of a young girl, murdered at wedding night by a man whose proposal was rejected by her parents
Maria Khushk
A dog barked early in the morning, at the time of prayer call, and headed to the area behind the house. This space was filled with bushes, trees, stones, garbage, and discarded items, rarely ventured into by the people, except the animals and birds. Although the dog had a home and an owner, but the pet visited this place every morning. That day, the dog barked loudly and repeatedly, yet no one responded. Disheartened, the pet returned home and began barking beside its owner. The owner ignored it, placing a pillow over his ears. The dog climbed onto the bed and nudged him persistently, trying to wake him up. Irritated, the owner scolded the dog. Still, it ran back to the same spot, barking even louder.
By 7 AM, the owner had woken up. The dog barked incessantly, pacing restlessly. Sighing, the owner asked, “What’s wrong with you today? You haven’t even relieved yourself!” Grabbing a towel, he went to take a shower, but the dog didn’t stop barking. During the shower, the owner felt an unusual calmness in the house. After getting ready, he stepped outside, took milk and bread from the fridge, and sat down to eat. Just then, the dog returned, barking once more, urging him to follow. Curious, the owner stepped outside, and the dog led him toward the back of the house. As they walked further, the owner glanced back a few times, an inexplicable fear gripping him. Uneasy, he asked the dog, “Where are we heading?” The dog barked persistently, moving ahead.
When they reached the spot, the owner was stunned. The area was eerily deserted. Suddenly, he looked up at the balconies of the nearby houses and saw a shadow of a person. The person quickly hid, feeling as if he had been seen. The owner turned back and saw the body of a woman lying on the ground. She was dressed in a red lehnga, looking like a bride, her neck had been brutally slit. There was no jewelry on her, making him wonder—had she run away from her wedding, or had someone kidnapped her? Or was she killed by robbers? One thing the owner was certain of was the strong stench of blood at the scene. For someone soft-hearted, it might have caused vomiting or even fainting.
He thought of reporting the body to the police. When he did, the officer looked at him in confusion. “You said the girl wasn’t wearing any jewelry?” the officer asked, rather than asking, “What time did you see her?”
The man confirmed, “Yes, she wasn’t wearing any jewelry.”
The officer replied, “Well, we haven’t received any missing person reports. Once we do, we’ll inform you. Leave your number outside.” The cop didn’t rush to the place of crime despite having received information of the dead body of a woman.
Returning home, the man found the dog had drunk the milk but left the bread untouched. This added to his worries. It was the end of the month; his salary had run out, and the rent was due soon. He sat down in an old chair, his eyes landing on the wall clock. It was 11:10 AM, his shifts time. Anxiety gripped him. “If I’m late again today, I’ll lose my job,” he thought. The dog came over and hugged him. “We are stuck in a problem that you saw this morning. Pray that this issue gets resolved soon,” he said, patting the dog.
At the shop, he received a call from the police asking him to come and identify the body. Confused, he thought, “Why should I identify it? What the relation do I have to the dead body?” He shared everything with his shop-owner, who immediately said, “Don’t come back to this shop tomorrow. This is a murder case, and I don’t want to get involved.”
At the police station, he learned that the family of the deceased claimed the girl had been kidnapped the night before.
Shocked, the man asked, “Where was the family all night?”
The police asked the same question. The family replied, “We were looking for her all night. How did this man find her?”
The officer turned to the dog’s owner, who said, “It’s true. My dog found the body, and I reported it to the police. Now I’ve lost my job and peace of mind.”
The officer replied, “Alright, let’s inspect the area where the dead body was found.” At the crime scene, the police asked the girl’s family, “When did you realize she was missing?”
“When we went to pick her up from the parlor,” the family replied.
“And who dropped her off?” the officer asked.
“I dropped her off and told her I’d come back in an hour,” the girl’s mother responded.
“The parlor had CCTV footage, so we took the footage from them. When the CCTV footage was reviewed, it revealed the girl had never entered the parlor. Instead, a man dressed in tattered clothing, like a beggar, his face partially covered, grabbed her and dragged her away—after the mother had already left.” Deceased’s father told.
The family showed the police a video on their mobile, and after watching it, the police asked questions, “Did you check anywhere else or ask around?”
“Yes, sir, we showed the girl’s picture to everyone around and asked if anyone knew anything, but no one could tell anything. Also, there were no CCTV cameras anywhere except at the parlor.”
Back at the police station, the officer asked the family, “Is there anything else you think we should know?”
“No, nothing else,” they said.
But the man who found the body said, “When I arrived at the scene, I saw a shadow of a person who quickly hid when he realized he was seen. Maybe this information will help.”
The officer nodded, “That’s possible.”
The family prepared to leave, but the wife told her husband, “You should tell them everything. They should know what’s happening.”
“Our daughter is no more. There’s no use sharing anything. Just keep quiet and let’s leave,” the husband replied, hiding his pain and fear.
This reaction struck both – the man who found the body, and the police as strange. The officer instructed his team, “There’s something wrong, look into it and investigate properly. There’s more to this than we see,” The police officer, scratching his head, told his team.
The police began their investigation with people from the girl’s neighborhood. They said, “She was very respectful and obedient, always following her parents’ instructions.” Then they interviewed the girl’s best friend, someone with whom she had shared her childhood, school, college, and secrets. When questioned, the friend appeared nervous, on edge. Tears welled up in her eyes, and the police sensed she was hiding something. She began crying.
“She’s crying because the deceased was her childhood friend. She’s heartbroken,” her father explained.
“Poor girl,” a police officer remarked.
But the friend kept glancing at the policeman, as if she wanted to say something.
The policeman reported this, and a female officer was sent to conduct a one-on-one interview. The female officer reassured the girl, “You can tell me anything. I’m here to help, so don’t be afraid.”
The girl finally broke down and shared everything. “A marriage proposal had come for the deceased. She liked the proposal, but her family rejected it, thinking that the boy had no parents or family—he was completely alone. They found another boy for her and fixed her marriage. The rejected boy caused a big scene at their house, declaring that he wouldn’t let her marry anyone else. And when she wasn’t found by the evening of the wedding, her parents searched everywhere. They even went to the house of the rejected boy, but no one opened the door. A watchman informed them that no one had been living in that house for a month. Left with no choice, they returned home disappointed.”
This story was very surprising for the police. The marriage proposal had come from the same area where the dead body was found, and the person who discovered the body also lived in that area. But suspicion couldn’t be placed on that man for this reason alone. If he were the same person, the girl’s parents would have said something. However, the girl’s mother seemed nervous, which indicated that there was something she wasn’t revealing.
The inspector asked the girl’s family, “Was the person who proposed to her the same man who found the body?”
“No,” they replied.
Because the family’s statements didn’t seem trustworthy—it was clear they knew something but were deliberately hiding it.
So that’s the reason the female officer returned to ask the deceased’s friend, “Did that boy have a dog?”
“He never brought a dog here, so I don’t know,” the girl replied.
One policeman remarked, “He didn’t take a dog anywhere.”
Now, police officer and his team went to collect some more information from the crime scene. They also revisited the person who had reported the crime because something was definitely missing that they hadn’t noticed before. When they reached the dog-owner’s house, they saw his bag was packed, as if he was preparing to leave. The dog barked, and the officer confronted him, saying, “You’re clever. As soon as we figured out who killed the girl, you decided to run away.” The police officer patted the dog on the head and said.
“The fact is that I have been living here for the past three years, but the owner of the house, after learning that I reported a murder case, has ordered me to leave the house without any notice.” The dog’s owner said tearfully.
The cop said, “There’s someone who knows everything.”
The man, now in tears, fell at the police officer’s feet, pleading, “I didn’t do anything! My only mistake was that my dog found the body!”
After listening to him, the lady officer, with a thoughtful expression, asked, “Didn’t you say you saw someone on the balcony? Who was that?”
The officer, noticing his colleague’s remark, thought about it and, irritated by the dog owner’s words, said, “You please, shut up for two minutes!”
The police officer asked the man, “The day you saw the dead body, you mentioned noticing a person’s shadow. Where did you see it?”
The man took the police team to that place. When they reached there, and knocked the door, at first, the door didn’t open. When it finally did, a strange smell began to spread. Inside stood a man, drenched in sweat, bloodshot eyes, wearing tattered clothes, with a thick, unkempt beard and long, tangled hair. The police officer, along with his team, entered the house, and the dog’s owner followed as well. There was no need to search the house. One of the rooms was drenched in blood, and jewelry was neatly arranged on a table as if it were ready for someone to wear.
The strange man came forward in anger to kill the dog’s owner for reporting to the police, but the police stopped him and caught him.
The man was taken to the police station, where the family of the dead body was asked to verify if the jewelry and the boy were the same. When the family arrived, the girl’s mother sat down crying, and the girl’s father confirmed that the jewelry and the boy were the same.
Moral: The lesson from this story is that truth is powerful, but it is often a double-edged sword. It can bring justice and clarity, but it also comes with the risk of personal sacrifice. Society’s response to truth is often harsh, and individuals may be punished for speaking out, while those who manipulate the truth may thrive without consequence. On the other hand, a liar, to hide one lie, tells a hundred more lies. For power and money, one can even make the truth seem like a lie, and can ruin someone’s life with false accusations. The story underscores the difficult reality of living with integrity in a world that often punishes honesty.
Read: The Bruised Soul – The Story of Domestic Violence
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Maria Khushk is a freelance writer based in Hyderabad Sindh. She is author of a book titled ‘‘The Cage of Innocence’. She also contributes articles and stories to Sindh Courier.
This story is a great mix of suspense, emotion, and important lessons. The connection between the dog and its owner is heartwarming, and the message about the challenges of telling the truth really stands out. The way the story is written keeps readers interested and makes you think. The detailed descriptions make everything feel real and easy to imagine. Some parts could be simplified to make it easier to read, but overall, it’s a fantastic story that shows great creativity and effort.
Your stories have inspired me and made me want to become a writer. I really appreciate the creativity in your work, and it encourages me to try writing myself ☺️
Best regards, Mehwish