[Scene: A street-side chai dhaba in Rawalpindi. The evening is calm, and traffic hums softly in the background. Adeel and Fahad sit across from each other, sipping chai from chipped glass cups.]
Fahad:
(grimacing slightly)
Yaar Adeel, I swear… this morning I saw an owl sitting on our rooftop. By Maghrib, the electricity was gone, and my scooter wouldn’t start. That owl brought bad luck, I’m telling you.
Adeel:
(laughs)
Fahad bhai, maybe your scooter is just tired of your weight. Poor thing needs a break. And load-shedding is basically the national anthem now, not an owl’s doing.
Fahad:
No no no, you always joke about these things. But I’ve seen this since childhood. My dadi used to say, “Jahan ullu bole, wahan barbaadi aaye.” Every time an owl came near our house, something bad happened.
Adeel:
I’m not denying what your dadi observed, but that’s correlation, not causation. Like… when I wear my blue shirt, it rains. That doesn’t mean I control the weather. Right?
Fahad:
But it happens again and again. Just last year, my cousin in Faisalabad saw a vulture flying over his plot. A week later, he had a huge business loss.
Adeel:
Okay, but vultures naturally fly over areas where they think food might be available. Maybe there was some garbage nearby. They’re nature’s clean-up crew, not black-magic drones.
Fahad:
Hmm… maybe. But why do these creatures always appear when something goes wrong?
Adeel:
That’s the trick, bhai. Our minds remember when they appear before something bad. But we forget the hundred other times they showed up and nothing happened. It’s called confirmation bias.
Fahad:
Aray, you and your science terms again! But even in our dramas, whenever an owl hoots in the background, something tragic happens next.
Adeel:
That’s because the director wants you to feel suspense. If a cat meows, no one cares. But an owl hooting at midnight? Instant drama.
Fahad:
But there must be some reason why elders believed this.
Adeel:
Of course! In the old days, when people didn’t understand science, they explained the world through signs and omens. It gave them a sense of control. Imagine someone sees an owl the night before a fire. It’s natural to link the two. But in reality, it’s just… coincidence.
Fahad:
So you’re saying… owls and vultures are innocent?
Adeel:
Completely! In fact, owls are amazing—they keep rodent populations in check. And vultures? They help prevent diseases by eating carcasses. They’re heroes in ugly feathers.
Fahad:
Hmm… Never thought of them as heroes.
Adeel:
Look, I’m not saying traditions have no value. But we should question the ones that make us fear harmless creatures. Next time you see an owl, maybe say salaam instead of running inside.
Fahad:
(chuckles)
Salaam, Mr. Owl? That’ll freak my neighbors out.
Adeel:
Exactly! Let’s start a trend. Maybe they’ll hoot back with walaikum assalam.
Fahad:
Okay okay, I’ll try to be less dramatic next time. But if something bad happens again, I’m blaming your blue shirt and science bias.
Adeel:
Deal. But only if you agree to watch a documentary on birds with me this weekend.
Fahad:
Only if there’s chai involved.
Adeel:
Always.
[They clink their chai glasses and laugh as the sound of a distant owl hoot echoes in the background. Fahad flinches. Adeel just raises an eyebrow.]
Fahad:
That better be a coincidence…
Adeel:
It’s always a coincidence—unless it’s my blue shirt again.
[End Scene.]
Science Vs Superstition 
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