The next morning, Zahra woke up alone. Zavira and Fahad were no where to be seen.
It had really warmed her heart after she had realized that Fahad had purposely made Zavira sleep with them last night so that Zahra could be comfortable sleeping in his room.
"Bhabi." Sana barged into the room to see her sister in law. Zahra looked at her startled, as she placed a hand on her chest. "Oh, sorry." Sana sheepishly replied after she realized she had scared her. Sana suddenly let out a gasp and started squealing. Zahra looked at her in confusion.
Is she high on something?
"Bhabi, dehkay," Sana came closer and pointed at her hand. Zahra looked down at her henna covered hands, still frowning in confusion. "Look how dark your mehndi is!" She exclaimed and Zahra looked down at her mehndi. She was right. The color was dark. She could feel a blush rising to her cheeks before she looked away from Sana.
(Look; henna)
"Sana, ye sab bus superstition hai. Aur kuch nahi." Zahra said and ran into the bathroom. However, she could still hear Sana's laughs.
(Sana, it's just superstition. Nothing else)
"Acha. Mama nay yeh karpray diyah hai. Penleh na." Sana said near the door after placing the outfit on the bed and left the room.
After doing her morning routine, Zahra walked out and looked at the outfit in front of her. It was a dark green kameez that had a matching shalwaar paired with a white chiffon dupatta.
She loved wearing shalwaars. Most of her outfits consisted of shalwaars and kameezs. Saad hadn't been a huge fan of them, but he would still buy them for her.
She left her face bare and after letting out a breath, she went downstairs where the rest of the family was seated.
There were two brothers and one sister. Basit the eldest, then Rahila and lastly Sajid.
Basit was married to Saima and they had 5 kids. Fahad, the oldest then Saad, Sana, Ali and Raza.
Out of all the kids, Saad and Ali had been married and now Fahad. Ali got married to his childhood crush Maryam, who was pregnant with their first child.
Rahila was married to Abid and had one child, Fiza. Abid had unfortunately passed away when Fiza was just a child.
Sajid was married to Pari and had 3 kids, Armaan, Abbas and Zainab.
Armaan the oldest got married to Kaneez and they had a four year old, Haniya and 1 year old Hamid.
Zahra had been a distant relative and had met Saad at a family wedding. The pair had instantly clicked and fell in love in just a few months. Saad had convinced his family to send the rishta over to her house and they had, not aware to the fact that their older son had also liked the same girl.
(Proposal)
After a year of them initially meeting, they had gotten married. And a year after that, Zavira came along. Not too long after Zaviras birth, Zahra had lost her parents in a fire accident. She had also been the only child and didn't have many cousins.
Fahad had always felt something towards Zahra since he had met her when he was 10. He had even gathered the courage to talk to his parents about them getting married but he had over heard Saad telling his parents about them.
His heart had shattered and he had refused to marry. He had then decided to go to the states and work on expanding the family business. He had only returned after he had heard about his brothers passing.
"Zahra, aao, yaha per betho." Saima, her mother in law said, and pointed towards the chair next to Fahad. Zahra slowly walked towards the chair and sat in it.
(Come sit here)
"Mama! Dehkay toh sai, Bhabi ki mehndi itni dark nikli hai." Sana exclaimed across from Zahra. Everyone was now staring at Zahra's henna covered hands, including Fahad. Zahra kicked Sana's leg from under the table and sent her a glare. Everyone had still been staring at her hands and she could feel a blush rising to her cheeks as she felt Fahads intense gaze in her.
(Mama, look, Bhabis henna is such a dark color)
"Waise, jab say Saad aur iske shaadi hoi hai, Saad ki kismat bohot hi bori thi. Pehle uski nokri chali gaye, phir uskay ghar aik bachi hoi phir us bacharay ki mot bhi hogaye. Allah karay Fahad ki kismat asay nahi hoay." Rahila taunted. Zahra could feel the tears rising in her eyes and she bit it lip to control them.
(By the way, ever since she and Saad had been married, Saads luck had been so bad. First, he lost his job, then he had a baby girl and then he died in a car accident at such a young age. I hope Fahads luck doesn't turn out similar.)
"Shayad aap bhole rahi hai kay usko behter job mili. Waise bhi, apki pehle aulaad bhi ek larki thi, hai na? Aur aap ka shahor bhi to margaya tha na, jab Fiza ek choti bachi thi?" Fahads deep voice rang out in the dining room, his eyes blazing in anger. How dare she say something like that when similar things had happened to her as well?
(Maybe your forgetting that he got a much better job after he lost his first one. And plus, didn't you also have a daughter? Your husband also died when Fiza was just a child)
"Sahi kahra hai Fahad Rahila, tum apni haad may raho." Amma Bi, the mother of Basit, Rahila and Sajid, said.
(Fahad is right, Rahila. Stay in your limits.)
Rahila stood up a huff and left the dining room, Fiza following after her mother.
"Churail." Raza muttered to which everyone laughed at.
(Witch)
"Chaalo ab sab apna nashta katam karo." Amma Bi said, to which everyone complied.
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"Mama!" Zavira pouted in frustration. Zahra looked at daughter, bewildered. She had never talked to her in such a way before.
"Gee?" Zahra asked and placed Zavira in her lap.
(Yes)
"Your not listening to me." Zavira said, and crossed her arms. Zahra tried not to laugh at her slightly red face. "I want to go to see the mountains like Aya." Aya was was a friend of both Zavira and Haniyah from pre school. Recently, her family had gone to northern Pakistan to view the beautiful scenery.
"Aur kisne ka kay aap nahi jaa sakty?" Saima asked her granddaughter, walking into the living room.
(And who said that you couldn't go)
"Mama nay." Zavira said, pouted again like the drama queen she was.
(Mama did)
"Kiya?! Jhoot!" Zahra exclaimed while playfully glaring at her daughter. "Maine ka tha kay hum baad mein jahange. Idar tou aao jhooti," Zahra said, and started chasing Zavira around the house. Zaviras giggles could be heard from every corner of the house.
(What?! Liar! I said that we can go later. Come here you liar!)
Before she knew it, Zahra had bumped into a hard frame, almost falling back if a hand had not grabbed onto her waist. She opened her eyes to meet dark brown eyes that had specks of hazel.
All of a sudden, an image of Saad flashed through her eyes and she moved back from the towering human in front of her.
"Chachoo!" Zavira shrieked and hugged her uncle. Fahad smiled at her and picked her up, making Zavira cuddle into his neck immediately. "I missed you." She mumbled in his chest.
"I missed you more." Fahad replied, but his eyes were staring at Zahra the whole time. Zahra immediately looked away, not meeting his eyes once again.
"Chachoo, can we please go to the mountains? Please, please, please." Zavira asked, her best puppy face plastered.
"Zav-," Zahra started but was cut off by Fahad.
"Yes we can. How about next week? Abbas taya and everyone else can go too." Fahad said to Zavira. He gave him another hug.
"Hmm. Plan tou acha hai." Raza said, popping out of no where.
(That's a good plan)
"Raza, yeh Kiya batameezi hai? Apni short ko button up karo." Saima scolded her son.
(What type of behavior is this? Button up your shirt)
"Kiya hai mom. It's coool and the ladies love it." Raza said, acting like he was in a Shah Rukh Khan movie. Too bad he didn't know that no one is better then Shah Rukh Khan.
"And they also love when boys get chitaar by their mothers." Saima replied, a smirk on her face. "Ab jao, aur sahi say kapray pehno."
(Beat up; now go and wear proper clothes)
"Zavira, I look cool, right?" He questioned his niece.
"No you look like a gorilla because of all your chest hair." Saba taunted, as she walked into the room. "Right Zavira?" She asked to which Zavira nodded.
"Whatever, you guys are losers anyways." Raza said and tried to flip his hair. Key word: tried.
"Mama, dehkay! He called you a loser." And that's how Saima chased her son all around the house with a chappal in her hand.
"Chachoo?" Zavira questioned her uncle at night. They all had decided to retire to their rooms early today. Zavira was sitting on her vanity and applying lotion and a face serum.
(Uncle)
"Gee?" Fahad replied.
(Yes)
"How come baba hasn't returned?" She asked him quietly, but loud enough for it to be heard by Zahra and Fahad. "Mama also walks cried because of him." Zavira added. Zahra, who was still facing the vanity, could feel Fahads intense gaze on her.
"Come here." Fahad said as he got up from the bed. As Zavira came into his arms, he led her out towards the balcony in their room. Zahra stood up as well and stood near the door of the balcony. Fahad then looked up at the sky and pointed at the shiniest star in the sky. "That's your baba, right there." He told Zavira.
"But why is he up there?" She asked.
"Because Allah Miah asked for him to go there." Fahad replied.
"So now I don't have a baba anymore?" She asked him, with tears in her grey eyes. Fahad looked behind him to see his wife standing there with tears in her eyes as well. He swallowed the lump in his throat, before replying to her.
"No." He said as tears slipped out the four year olds eyes. "But," he continued, "I can be your Baba, if you let me." Fahad spoke gently as he wiped her tears.
"Really?" She asked him, the tears now replaced with hope.
"Really." He reassured her. Zavira hugged him tightly and buried her little head in the crook of his neck.
Zahra watched the exchange between the two with tears sliding down her face.
It is indeed true. If Allah takes one precious thing from you, he gives another.
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Man my fingers hurt from all this typing.
I've never wrote such a long chapter so let's get this chapter 300+ votes 𥺠I'm hoping to keep writing chapters that have at least 2,000 words from now on.
Can we talk about the fact that I've updated 4 times this week. Like that's awesome.
Also remember to go vote on ALL chapters of this book if you haven't already and comment!
Next update after we reach 8k+ votes
Ily guys