**Scene Name: "The Furnace's Maw"**
**Scene 1: Dawn of Blisters**
The glass factory looms like a rusted beast on Karachi's outskirts, its chimneys spewing black smoke into the dawn. **Zain Suleman** cycles through the gates, his bandaged hands gripping handlebars slick with dew. Inside, the roar of furnaces drowns out the *azaan* echoing from distant minarets.
**Foreman Kamran** (barking, clipboard in hand):
"Late again, Suleman? One more tardy slip, and you'll be polishing shards on the street!"
**Zain** (wiping sweat, voice steady):
"*Maaf kijiye*, sir. My father—"
**Kamran** (cutting him off):
"Save your sob stories for the beggars' alley. Furnace 3 needs stoking. Move!"
Zain nods, tightening his frayed gloves. A coworker, **Rizwan**, sidles up, his face streaked with soot and dark humor.
**Rizwan** (grinning crookedly):
"Careful, *yaar*. This place eats the hopeful. Last week, it spat out Bilal's bones."
---
**Scene 2: Whispers of the Hopeless**
Furnace 3 glows like a demon's eye. Zain shovels coal into its maw, the heat blistering his cheeks. Rizwan leans against a cracked wall, picking at his teeth with a shard of glass.
**Rizwan** (nodding at Zain's bandages):
"New burns? You're collecting scars like a bride collects bangles."
**Zain** (ignoring the sting):
"You ever think of leaving?"
**Rizwan** (snorting):
"And do what? Sell *paan* on the sidewalk? At least here, the devil pays on time."
A scream erupts from the molding floor. Both men freeze.
**Worker** (off-screen):
"*Allahu Akbar!* Asif's hand—it's stuck in the press!"
**Rizwan** (dry):
"Add him to the furnace's menu."
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**Scene 3: Mirror of Flames**
At the molten glass vat, Zain dips a blowpipe into the searing liquid. His reflection warps in the orange glow—eyes elongated, mouth twisted into a leer.
**Zain** (muttering):
"*Haraamzadeh* tricks…"
He blows into the pipe, shaping a vase. The reflection mimics him, but its hands—*unbandaged, clawed*—press against the glass from within.
**Zain** (dropping the pipe):
"*Chup kar!*"
The foreman's whip-crack voice snaps him back.
**Kamran** (sneering):
"Daydreaming, *chutiya*? That vase pays for your father's coffin!"
---
**Scene 4: Breath of Ashes**
In the break yard, workers huddle under a neem tree, lungs heaving. Zain unwraps a roti stuffed with onions, its edges charred.
**Rizwan** (lighting a beedi):
"Heard about House No. 13? Old Ghafoor swore he saw *djinn* there. Said they smell like burnt sugar."
**Zain** (stiffening):
"Stories for children."
**Rizwan** (leaning closer):
"Funny thing—Ghafoor worked *here* before he vanished. Furnace 3 ate his shadow."
A molten glass spill hisses nearby. Zain's roti turns to ash in his mouth.
---
**Scene 5: The Molten Veil**
Back at the vat, Zain's reflection grins wider. The glass whispers:
*"You'll die here. Your parents will starve. Open the box…"*
**Zain** (slamming a hammer onto the cooling glass):
"*Bas!*"
The reflection shatters—but the shards twitch like insect legs.
**Rizwan** (watching, uneasy):
"Talk to yourself enough, and the glass talks back."
A siren wails. Workers scatter as a conveyor belt jams, spewing molten glass.
**Kamran** (shoving Zain forward):
"Fix it, or you're fired!"
Zain's bandages smolder as he grabs red-hot gears. His scream blends with the factory's roar.
---
**Scene 6: Echoes in the Glass**
At dusk, Zain stumbles out, hands freshly bandaged. The factory gates clang shut behind him.
**Rizwan** (calling after him):
"*Yaar*, tell your *djinn* I said *salaam*!"
On the road, Zain passes a shattered shop window. His reflection stares back—*whole, unburned*.
**Reflection** (mouthing silently):
*"The third wish burns brightest."*
A rickshaw's horn jolts him. The reflection snaps to normal.
**Zain** (whispering):
"*Husn-e-imtihan hai…* This is Allah's test."
But his hands won't stop trembling.
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