9.5|Aaira • Anaira|

Her head was resting on his chest. Sleep was playing hide and seek with her. Her abnormal thoughts were oscillating inside her head. And she knew the same was happening with Anay as well.

"Anay?" She spoke, clearly knowing none of them will be able to sleep.

"Hmm." He replied while staring at the silver chandelier hanging on the ceiling.

"Will this ever end?"

"What?" He looked down at her in confusion.

"My illness."

He was silent for few moments, trying to find light-hearted words for his reply.

"Someday this will end for sure. But only if you will co-operate with your treatment."

She chuckled at the way he said it so simply without hurting her.

"Don't you feel tired?" She asked again.

"Tired of you? Never." He kissed her forehead.

"Yeah, tired of me and my Schizophrenia."

"To be honest, sometimes I get tired when your strange episode starts. Who knows what's going on in your mind. You cut your hair. You accused me of having affair. You accused Dina of poisoning you. You assumed someone is stalking you. But I forget everything when I kiss you and we end up like this. On the bed."

She smiled.

"You know, I don't like that maid Rani. She looks weirdly at you. I don't like it even a bit."

"Aaira, just because of you I have stopped hiring female secretaries. But I can't do anything about maids. Because I don't want male staff walking around my wife whole day. Husbands also have insecurity issues."

She giggled and tighten her arms around his shoulders.

"So my husband is insecure?"

"No, his wife is."

"Alright."

"Now sleep. Remember yoga instructor is coming in the morning."

"I hate her. I don't like the way she finds ways to touch you."

"Aaira, leave at least one woman out of your murder list."

"Well, Dina is out of the list."

"Okay, I am sorry. My wife is a peaceful person."

"Thank you." And she kissed his cheek before closing her eyes.

He smiled and shut his eyes to let slumber block his trail of thoughts.

★★★

"No, Mr. Mittal. Your posture is incorrect. Let me help you."

Aaira was fuming while looking at what their so-called yoga instructor Martha was doing.

How dare she touched my husband's hips?

She screamed in her head.

Anay was pleading to her through his eyes to not create a scene out of this.

That poor woman was only doing her job.

"Alright, today's session ends. Aaira is doing perfect, but Mr. Mittal, you need to correct your posture."

Saying so, she left, to meet her girlfriend.

But don't tell this to Aaira. Or whole fun will be ruined. 🤫

"You can't even do a Tadasana (Mountain Pose) correctly? It seems like you are doing it on purpose, so that she touches you."

"Aaira, what can I do if I am not good at it? I don't do it on purpose, I swear."

"Be careful, if it happened again I will ban coffee in this house."

Ban of his beloved coffee!

"Sweetheart, I'll try but please don't target my coffee. It's my lifeline."

"There was a time when I was your lifeline."

"Sweetheart, time keeps changing, so does lifeline."

"You are the worst."

"On bed you say I am the best."

"That's a different thing." She folded her arms over her chest, and a blush crept on her cheeks by the effect of his words.

"Let's leave it for the night, or I am afraid I'll be late to the office." He winked and headed to the bedroom.

Aaira gaped at his boldness, but shrugged it off and headed to the kitchen.

★★★

The two young maids tensed when Aaira entered the kitchen. They feared Aaira's mood swings and considered her to be sort of a lunatic.

Well, they were less educated and for them having a mental illness simply means the person is lunatic.

Dina was a wise woman, someone who understands before judging. When it comes to Aaira, she understands she has a different way of thinking and that's because her nerves of brain aren't working properly. We can't blame a blind person for his blindness. We can't blame a deaf person for his deafness. Same way we can't blame a Schizophrenic for his Schizophrenia.

"Good morning, Dina." Aaira greeted her.

"Good morning, Aaira. What will you like for the breakfast?"

"Something spicy."

For Aaira, spicy means very spicy. Her capacity to eat spicy food was far more than normal people. Doesn't matter if her eyes turn red and fill with tears by eating spicy snacks she never stops. It was her guilty pleasure.

"How about Fried Chicken?"

"Sounds great. But please make cornflakes for Anay, spices upset his stomach."

"Sure."

★★★

"Who eats cornflakes everyday? I won't eat it. You yourself eat tasty dishes and give me boring food."

"I would never do it, only if you were not so choosy about your diet. You don't like chicken, you don't like veggies. Why don't you eat me instead?"

"I eat you thrice a week, sweetheart, if you remember." He smiled wickedly.

"You are shameless. Just be quiet and eat this."

"I won't means I won't."

Aaira glared at him, but nonetheless she sighed.

"Dina, please make instant noodles for Anay."

Anay smirked victoriously.

What's the benefit of being rich if you can't eat your favourite food everyday?

And honestly it was Aaira who made him a snobby nose when it comes to food.

He denied to eat chicken once, she never tried to offer him chicken again.

He denied to eat brinjal once, she stopped buying brinjal itself.

"Wow! It's tasty." He moaned while eating instant noodles.

Aaira frowned at him. She knew Anay was a foodie person but his tastebuds surprises him. He eats potatoes a lot in his diet, so much that now his face has started resembling a potato. But he avoid eating green chillies, because he has zero tolerance to spices. One tiny piece of green chilly entered his mouth and he will start flooding his stomach with water.

Aaira continued eating her fried chicken and when they were done eating breakfast, Anay left for the office after kissing her.

★★★

"Congratulations, Mr. Mittal. Your wife is expecting."

His heart filled with happiness listening to the doctor's words.

He entered the bedroom, as the doctor left.

"Aaira..." He smiled and sat beside her.

She was lying with her head hidden in the duvet. Hearing him she uncovered her face and Anay saw tears flowing from her eyes.

"Aaira, why are you crying?"

"I am scared. The psychiatrist had told that there are chances that our child will also develop Schizophrenia. I don't want my child to suffer."

Deep inside he was himself thinking the same. He was scared for his child.

"Aaira, we can't do anything about this. The psychiatrist had told that there are chances, she didn't said it will happen no matter what. There are also chances that our child won't be a Schizophrenic. Leave this upto God, he will do the best."

"Anay..." She held his palms and looked into his eyes with love in hers, "If it weren't you then I don't know what would have happened to me. Thank you, for staying by my side in my tough times."

"Aaira, there was a time when I was homeless and pennyless. If it weren't you then I would be living a miserable life. You proved your love in my tough times and now I am proving mine. And I don't care about this Schizophrenia, somehow it has brought us closer than ever. Or else I would have lost so many beautiful moments and a chance to enjoy fatherhood. Now be happy."

She hugged him and he kissed her hair, engulfing each other into the embrace of immense love.

"I have already in my mind, if it's a girl then her name will be Anaira." Anay declared.

It was the shipment of his and Aaira's name.

Anay + Aaira = Anaira

"And if it's a boy, then his name will be Ayan." Aaira declared as well.

The name AYAN had same letters as ANAY, the best name for their son.

And that's how this difficult phase of their life ends. Which taught them unforgettable lessons.

To stop gathering money and collect beautiful moments.

To stop planning your perfect future, even when you know time is very limited. Who knows when time ends and we leave the world.

To understand others, before judging them.

To fight the illness, not the ill.

To live in the moments, without worrying about future.

•THE END•