Noor e Mehtab ||MOONLIGHT||

• Palpating Grief •

•______________•

“In thousands of agonies,
I exist”

•______________•

Violent winds raked the atmosphere, swaying the curtains and causing the rustling of leaves to echo across the air.

Somewhere far away, the thunder roared and the clouds started dripping drizzle causing the birds to chirp and fly towards the trees, settling on the branches and finding shelter from the rain.

In amidst all this, she silently stood beside the open window with both the panes pulled open and thin drapes pushed aside.

The chilly winds wildly played with her untied dark waves and the hems of her dupatta as she stood there with her head leaning against the window frame and dark eyes gazing at the grayish blue sky outside.

The gray haze covered the sky indicating that the weather was going to turn violent and a thunderstorm was going to rake the place today.

She couldn't understand if the noises outside were loud or the noises raking her insides were louder.
The empty gazelle orbs of hers silently gazed outside as she felt few drizzle drops settle on her loving face.

A small sound and the door pushed open as the low echo of footsteps followed a second later.

But she didn't turn, she stood there facing the opened window as if she hadn't heard the noise from behind,
And even if she had, she chose to ignore it.

A whole minute later, a feminine hand rested on the dupatta clad shoulder of hers making Daneen's frame stiffen slightly before the other second a soft shaky sigh evaded her petal like lips as she slightly turned her neck, gazing at the intruder.

The emptiness and emotionlessness in her eyes churned the incomer's heart as vivid concern shone in the eyes,
“Daneen, thek ho tum”?

The empty, slightly swollen lidded red brimmed orbs gazed back at the figure silently before turning her gaze back towards the window as her slightly shaky voice echoed,
“Thek hosakti hu main”?

A sofa sigh left the woman's lips at Daneen's words as she gazed back at her for few seconds before finally speaking,
“Is there no way to get you out of this? If you have one in mind, we can give it a try”.

A sad, almost gloomy smile curled Daneen's lips as the voice of hers echoed in the form of a quizzical whisper,
“How many ways had you tried when you were forced into the marriage, Zeb apa”?

For few seconds, Zeb couldn't come up with a response.
It was as if all the words of comfort and consolation had left her mind leaving nothing but utter emptiness to rest there.

Daneen let out a soft exhale as she raised her hand, lightly tracing the window's wooden frame with her fingernails as she stated,
“Maybe you would have thought of rebelling against the family first, raising your voice against their cruelty and heartlessness only to be slapped on your face by your mother”.

Zebunnisa seemed to be listening to Daneen with stopped breath as the girl continued with no emotion tinging her tone and raw emptiness shining in her beautiful eyes,