Shahr E Zaat/شہر ذات BY Umera Ahmed

Shehr-e-Zaat (English: City of Self) revolves around the beautiful day-dreamer Falak; the only child to very rich parents. Falak is a student of fine arts who makes the sculpture of the man of her dreams and falls head over heels in love when she finds the breathing manifestation of it in Salman. But the more Falak tries to get to know Salman better, the more he distances himself from her until he finally succumbs to her wishes – but to what avail?
The heart of the story is about spiritual awakening. A sharp contrast is drawn between the Sufi concepts of ishq-e-haqeeqi, the love of a human for God, and ishq-e-majazi, the love of a human for another human.
Shehr-e-Zaat was first published in Khawateen Digest. It, along with five other unrelated stories were then compiled and published in book form as a collection under the title Main Ne Khuwabon Ka Shajar Dekha Hai. It was also published in one of early editions of Meri Zaat Zarra-e-Benishan .