REMARKABLE

24

Armineh had her legs stretched on the centre table as her favourite show played on the TV but she was barely watching it, her laptop lay open on her lap and her fingers flew over the keyboard.

She picked the pages and her eyes once again skimmed the lines.

Armineh's eyes flitted to the icon bar where the time read 1:45 am as she pressed her hands down on her aching shoulders and Armineh blinked. She persued her lips, she hated when she'd get carried away with her work, especially work because she already spent too many hours in front of her laptop.

She smiled recalling as her mother would scold her when Armineh would stay awake late at nights, working. Sabeeha hated this habit of hers more so because Armineh didn't look after herself as she should. There was always something that came before her and she would end up neglecting herself.

How ironically true it was.

She had chosen to prioritize her mother's wishes when she came across Ahsan, nearly fell for him then, Ardashir to save their reputation and next came, Yahya Firas, surely she'd done it for herself but before that she'd done it to take her revenge from her mother, to hurt her mother, Ardashir, even. She had stayed away from him all this time because she wanted to give space to Yahya Firas. Where did she come in all this? What about her? What did she want? She never wanted to be like this, live this miserly life, estranged from her husband who was her husband in name, only and lived a room away. She had somehow chosen for herself where she sometimes found it difficult to breath as deathly silence would pound in her ears and walls would come upon her. She had wanted to run and never look back but she couldn't do it. She had to persevere, she wasn't a looser and she didn't know how many times she had to give herself the same talk when she'd be running low on patience and high on nagging sadness.

Just a few days ago, she was shopping with her sister as she bought clothes for Sarah and baby Mahir and Armineh had unknowingly wandered off to men's section, her fingers brushing the shirts in the Aisles, pants in shelves.

She frowned and drew her lips in a straight line when a salesman approached her.

'Ma'am, may I help you?'

She had shaken her head in a mute 'no'.

Who would she buy that for? The man who she'd only catch glimpses of by mere coincidences or the man who refused to talk to her, look at her? Or the man she feared wouldn't even try to look for her if she wouldn't come home one or better yet, die? Or the man who chose to not acknowledge her presence nor did want her to feel his?

Armineh sighed as she turned to leave.

Alizeh had been watching her sister as she met her half way.

'What were you doing?' Alizeh asked, looking behind her and Armineh gulped as she rubbed her forehead.

'Nothing. Did you buy whatever you wanted?' Armineh asked instead trying to change the topic but Alizeh was ever the curious, poking her nose where it wasn't needed.

'Now, now, don't lie to me. You only had to look at me once and I would know what's wrong with you.' Alizeh said with a small smile as she pulled her younger sister's arm and lugged her to the shelves, once again.

'What do you have in mind?' Alizeh inquired her eyes taking in the different colored shirts.

'It's nothing, Lee. It was foolish of me. Let's go.' Armineh shrugged her sister's hand off her arm and turned on her heels when the salesman appeared before her.

'Have you decided what you wanted to buy, Ma'am?' He asked with a professional smile on his lips as he looked between the sisters.

Armineh opened her mouth to tell him off when Alizeh interrupted,' Ofcourse, tell me what's the latest hit between men these days?' Alizeh said, mimicking his expressions and Armineh clenched her jaw, in irritation.