Mehr-o-Mah (مہر و ماہ) -
The sun and the moon
A collection of short stories filled with love, spice, drama and a roller coaster of emotions and of course, a huge part of my imagination.
(The second generation of Ahd-e-Vafa)...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
*****
5 hours since she last saw him, 5 hours since she boarded her flight and now found herself in the familiar airport in an all too familiar place.
She was back home.
Then why didn't it feel like it?
With steps that weren't ready to move, she booked a cab and in 25 minutes, saw the mansion in which she was born and brought up standing high and mighty ahead of her.
An unsettling feeling kept her heart from whispering even the smallest words of longing and as she finally got out of the car and stared at her suitcase for a good few seconds, a loud yell had her flinching in both surprise and fear.
Turning around, she found Murad running as though a hungry lion had been left behind him, his face looked tired and worn out, as though he had not taken time to relax for even a second. Before Zaahira could even blink, she found herself trapped in between her brother's arms, being suffocated or coddled, she had no idea.
"M-Murad, ch-chod, ch-chod!"
She hit his back, trying to separate the koala of a man from herself but stopped when she felt something wet seeping through her top and onto her shoulder. Blinking a few times, she registered the way he quivered and realized that he- Murad Malik was actually crying!
"Allah, kya hua tujhe? Ro kyu raha hai? Everyone is fine, aren't they?"
Zaahira panicked, making the worst scenarios in her mind and to her surprise, Murad let go off and hit the back of her head making her groan at the sudden pain.
"Yeh kya harkat thi?"
She too hit him on the chest while he glared at her with so much intensity that she sobered up pretty quick and gave him a puzzled and concerned look.
"Murad,"
She cupped his cheeks, wiping away the tears that weren't stopping their flow.
"Kya hua hai? Bataye ga nahi toh kaise chalega?"
He shrugged off her hands and took a step back. Puffing his cheeks, he crossed his arms across his chest and looked away, clearly showing that he was more than naraz.
"2 din. I told you to call me, theek hai, you didn't. But you didn't bother replying to those texts from me and everyone else. Mera call nahi toh kam se kam mama baba ka toh utha leti. Pata hai how worried we all were? Mama almost lost it, protesting that we should book a flight to come and check up on you. And in the end, the last thread breaks when your phone is switched off. How can you be so irresponsible? Apna nahi toh humara hi khayal kar leti!"
He yelled towards the end and Zaahira felt herself drowning in guilt. Too lost in her own problems, she hadn't once bothered to check on her family. But then again, she wasn't entirely at fault.
