Chapter 27: Chapter 27

The scarry night had passed in silence. No one dares to utter a single word, even the winds stilled as they anticipated for the completion of it.

Pain remains, everywhere.

Seventeen deadly hours have passed, and Zain Amir counted each of his breaths in those. With each second he losing his every ounce of patience here. And he needs a lot of it.

Red bloodshot eyes, and any minute they will lose all the unshed tears. Looking at him Seher sighs. With the back of her hand, she wipes her tears, tightening the shawl around her, she sits next to him on the cold steel hospital chair. She gulps, this is not supposed to happen with them. They don't deserve this.

"She will be fine, Zain," she whispers.

He nodded. Not a word is said.

For once Seher wants the old times back, the Zain who used to cry in front of her for every small thing. But that was years ago.

Years, no, ages.

She knows that boy is long gone, and that happened the very day he saw his sister rolling down the stairs, that very night when he waited for hours in a similar corridor, alone, waiting for her to wake up, for her to be safe, that very moment when his sister lost her baby. Her brother stopped being a child and became an adult over a few hours, all because of her.

Little did she know, her brother can still be a child, he still cries sometimes, but only in her embrace, where his abode lies. His Amu's.

She gulps again, tears come to surface again, this time she let them spill.

"She is a fighter, she will wake up pretty soon," she said softly.

"She is merely another twenty-seven year old who had fought all her life for every single bit of happiness, paid each penny for her each smile even more," he mutters, pain flooded in his hoarse voice.

"..And now it was supposed to be her days to be laughing, her days of smiling with a shine on her eyes. I promised her that, happiness without any cost, and I failed."

"For once, I want happiness without paying for it, all I want is happiness without a fight, Zain."

Words.

Happiness without a fight.

She told him years ago sitting near the shore under the tainted sky, with zephyrs playing with her waves.

And he promised her that.

He always keeps his promises, what about now then.

Pain stays everywhere.

"Zain" Seher nudge him out of the memory lane.

The doctor stands next to her, and in a second he is on his toes.

"She is waking up but still under the effect of anaesthesia. If you want you can..."

"Yes please.."

●●●

Dragging his heavy steps inside the ICU, his breath halts. The green hospital gown deceives his red blood-drenched shirt well, she need not see him this way, ever. Just like he never wants to see like this, bandages covering the head, braces on her left arm, face barely can be realised as the Amaya Kareem, ever.

And then, slowly, painfully, she opens her hazel brown eyes, whining with each movement.

She smiles, and at that moment, he breathes, tears fall and the wind outside moves along with the trees. Zain Amir is alive, again.

"You scared me to death Amu." He utters.

Longing eyes keep on gazing at her, with love, relief and peace. This feels like a homecoming, she is alive, she will be with him.

His Amu.

She gulps, she is in pain, she shouldn't be.

"Stop.." she mutters closing her eyes again.

"What?" He asked.

"Stop looking at me, I look like a mess." She said, painfully.

"I can't, you are a mess, even worse to be honest, but a beautiful mess."

And she smiled, slowly, sorely.

"I... I am ... s.."

"Don't talk Amu. You are in pain and I can't see you like this. In the past hours, I have been through hell and back, and I don't want to relive the memories ever again. Just sleep okay? I am here, right next to you."

She looks at him and tears trolls down the cheeks.

Sometimes love finds you, and you made a home out of that. Amaya and Zain did the same too. With Zain Amir, happiness found its way to her, she embraced it with open arms.

And today, she is thankful she did that.

She nodded as she closes her eyes again, he kissed her temples with utmost care.

What happened yesterday, should not be discussed today. They learnt it for themselves. Zain and Amaya never relive the past pains, it's their thing.

The trees sigh in relief, the companions are together, and happiness will be theirs soon. It's just a matter of a few weeks of recovering.

◆●◆●◆

The new year flurries pass and happiness among them fills the surrounds. Today Amir's residence is again echoing of laughter. That's a regular thing since last month since Amaya discharged from hospital and Mirza and Zain took a month off.

All the gloomy days were gone with the past year, new happiness and hope are dancing with the trees. Saira visits quite often and this time, it's not awkward like before.

Time heals, and it's just working fine for them.

"I swear Zain one more instruction and I will kill you next" Amaya yelled with frustration.

Zain is pissing her now with his pampering and caring. She had not moved out of the villa for a month now, and she is so close to losing her sanity because of him.

Braces had removed two days back, it's just a little bandage on her forehead.

But he is not ready to let her go.

"You are not going, and that's it Amu." He said snatching her back from her hold.

The memory of last time she was out is still very fresh in her mind, and he can't afford to perceive that again.

"I am going to join back in March."

"March. That's more than a month later. Till then you are not stepping out."

"You have lost your freaking mind."

Mirza is holding his laugh with much difficulty, these two can be the worst kids if they chose to. Saira shakes her head as she leaves for the kitchen.

"Do you think he will let her go with you?" Mirza asked as he sips his fifth cup of tea.

Saira sighs, who is he calling a kid, Mirza is no less than them himself.

"I know he won't. Zain is just like you." She smiles.

"No, he is not. He is better, the best I must say, and all because of you." He said leaning towards the fridge, she turns at him and put her hand on his.

"All because of us, perhaps," she replied.

Outside the kitchen, the bickering is still going on in a full-fledged. Oh, how they love this.

"You can't and that's final." he snatched the bag and she holds it tight.

The next moment all her things were flooded on the floor. But what caught their attention was a certain rhodium charm bracelet and a customized blue handkerchief.

She gulps, he stilled.

Taking hold of the two, he blinks, once, twice. Trembling hands indicates his nervousness and she knows it's time to face the past.

He turns it around and it's there, 'AZ', Amir Zeenat.

His mother made this for him years ago, he gave this to his first love years ago. He looks at her with furrowed brows, she smiles sadly.

"Fall in love with someone who will make you fall for yourself more," Amaya said.

Words.

No, memories.

He gulps, they need to talk.

He picks up the bracelet and for the first time he saw it, and then it clicked, Amy, it is enclaved there. He noticed it back too but never thought about it much. Today he did, Rubina aunty used to call her Amy too.

They surely need to talk.