**Scene Name: "The Weight of Rain"**
*Opening Scene: The Eviction**
Rain hammers the tin roofs of the Karachi slum, turning narrow alleyways into rivers of mud and trash. **Amina Suleman** clutches her frayed shawl tighter, her bare feet sinking into the sludge as she pleads with the landlord.
**Landlord Rafiq** (barking, umbrella in hand):
"*Talaq diya hai contract ko!* Consider your rent dead! You think tears pay bills? Pack your *kabaad* and go!"
**Haris Suleman** (voice trembling, coughing into his sleeve):
"*Mian Sahib*, one week—just one week. My son's wages come Friday—"
**Rafiq** (snarling):
"Your son's wages couldn't fill a beggar's bowl. Go rot in *House No. 13*—it's cheap. Or drown here. I don't care."
He spits paan-stained saliva at Haris's feet before storming off. Amina watches him vanish into the gray sheets of rain, her knuckles white around her rosary.
**Zain** (emerging from the shack, arms laden with bundles):
"Abbu, Ammi… let's go."
His voice is steady, but his eyes flicker to the crumbling shack one last time—the only home he's known for 12 years.
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**Scene 2: The Exodus**
The family trudges through the slum, their belongings wrapped in torn bedsheets. The rain muffles the cries of street vendors and the clatter of rickshaws. A stray dog, ribs protruding, trails them, whining.
**Amina** (muttering prayers):
"*Ya Allah, rahem kar…*"
**Haris** (wheezing):
"House No. 13… Rafiq said it's near the old tannery. Zain, ask that chai-wallah for directions."
**Zain** (nodding, approaching a stall):
"*Bhai, Tannery Road ka rasta?*"
The chai-wallah's face pales. He avoids Zain's gaze, pouring chai with shaking hands.
**Chai-wallah** (whispering):
"That house… it's cursed. A family vanished there last winter—*poof*, like smoke. Don't go."
**Zain** (forcing a smile):
"Ghosts don't scare the hungry, *bhai*."
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**Scene 3: The Key in the Gutter**
At Tannery Road, the stench of rotting leather mixes with the metallic bite of rain. House No. 13 sits at the lane's end, its cracked facade overgrown with dead ivy. The windows are boarded, but the door hangs ajar.
**Amina** (gasping):
"Look—Allah's mercy!"
She bends to pick up a **rusted iron key** glinting in the gutter. Its bow is shaped like a coiled serpent, the teeth stained green. Etched into the shaft: *"13."*
**Haris** (uneasy):
"Drop it, Amina. This place… it's wrong."
**Zain** (examining the key):
"It fits the house. Let's get out of the rain."
As they step inside, the stray dog howls—a sound like a child's scream—and bolts.
---
### **Scene 4: Threshold of Shadows**
The house's interior is cavernous, the air thick with the smell of damp wood and burnt sugar. Faded floral wallpaper peels like rotting skin.
**Amina** (kneeling to pray):
"*Alhamdulillah*… We'll make it a home."
**Haris** (coughing violently):
"A home? This place hasn't seen light since Partition. Look at these walls—*bandar-ke daant*! Like monkey teeth!"
He points to jagged scratches near the floorboards. Zain runs his fingers over them, frowning.
**Zain** (softly):
"Claw marks."
A draft slams the door shut. The family jumps.
**Amina** (nervous laugh):
"Wind. Just wind."
---
**Scene 5: The First Nightfall**
They huddle in the least-damaged room, a single oil lamp casting monstrous shadows. Outside, the rain crescendos.
**Haris** (shivering):
"Tomorrow, I'll find work. Even if it's cleaning gutters."
**Zain** (sharpening a rusted kitchen knife):
"You'll do no such thing. Rest. The factory needs overtime—I'll take double shifts."
**Amina** (suddenly):
"Did you hear that?"
A faint giggle echoes from the hallway—high-pitched, playful.
**Haris** (gruff):
"Rats."
But Zain's grip tightens on the knife.
---
**Scene 6: The Attic's Whisper**
Zain investigates the hallway. At the far end, a staircase ascends into darkness. The attic door at the top is padlocked, but the air around it *shimmers*, like heat off asphalt.
**Zain** (calling downstairs):
"Ammi, where's the key you found?"
**Amina** (panicked):
"No! The landlord said—*the attic's forbidden*."
**Haris** (rising):
"Zain, leave it! This house… it's *testing* us."
Zain retreats, but not before noticing a **child's handprint** in the dust on the attic door—small, perfect, and scorched black.
---
**Closing Scene: The Unseen Guest**
That night, Amina lies awake, Haris's wheezing beside her. The oil lamp flickers.
A shadow passes the doorway—too tall for Zain.
**Amina** (whispering):
"Zain? *Beta?*"
No answer.
She sits up, clutching her rosary. The shadow lingers at the edge of the hall, its outline wavering like smoke. A low, wet gurgle ripples through the air, followed by the smell of **charred flesh**.
**Amina** (praying louder):
"*A'oodhu billahi min ash-shaytaan ir-rajeem…*"
The shadow retreats.
Outside, the rain stops. The house holds its breath.
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