Farmeed Oneshots

16. Sukoon

The dread had reached the house before the news had even spread in the office, courtesy of Mehak's prime service. Niggo was pacing back and forth downstairs, trying to constrain herself from panicking and having an anxiety attack. There had been occasions in the past where this had happened, but this was the most consequential one yet.

Mimi knocked the door, waiting for a few seconds before turning the knob and entering her sister-in-law's room. Umeed walked out of the bathroom the same time with a towel around her neck, wet loose strands decorated on top. She noticed Mimi and smiled welcomingly.

"Kya hua Mimi?" Her hands went under the towel and pressed it against her wet hair, moving her fingers gently to absorb any water.

"Wo, Umeed, tumse baat karni hai" It was a comfortable warm shower after a busy morning where Umeed decided to join Niggo with her brunch, which was followed by a short trip to the supermarket for some things. All the comfort drained again, and Umeed's concern rose after hearing the sentence she despised.

"Kya hua?" Her hands lowered, one of them gripping onto the towel which was now touching the floor. Mimi did not look content, there was a frown on her face, a frown Umeed hated because it did not suit her best friend's aura.

"Asal mein, wo, bhai..."

"Kya hua Farjaad ko?" The tremble in Umeed's voice was striking. Panic filled her to the brim of her heart at hearing that.

"Nahi! Kuch nahi hua!" Mimi shook her head, huffing at her own frustration because she was trying to explain the situation to Umeed. "Umeed, aaj na, bhai ka aik bohat bara deal collapse hua hai."

Relief was spread through Umeed at the reassurance of Farjaad's wellbeing, but equal discomfort assisted it. Farjaad's deal, one of his biggest deals he'd been working on. Umeed remembered well, he was looking forward to it. Farjaad did not share his contentment with work often, but there were occasional projects where he would express genuine excitement for his upcoming meetings.

"Oh" Was all she could say. Even last night, he kept repeating the joy he would be feeling once the deal would hopefully be done. This morning, he kissed Umeed with a little more passion compared to any other morning, promising her a nice dinner as a treat once he'd hopefully finalised the deal and shook hands on it. He told her to wear yellow and be ready at seven.

Even though Umeed had minimal knowledge on the details, she watched him work hard the past few weeks. She stayed awake with him till one in the morning for multiple nights and silently watched him type away emails and read documents consisting of hundreds of pages. He insisted on her sleeping, but she wanted to give him company, even if it was silent company.

Eventually she'd sleep because of strain from looking at his screen, but the following morning she'd still be the one to wake up later. But she tried her best to see him off before he left. She had her own alarm for 7:30am because Farjaad would be back from his jog by then and she could have breakfast with him and kiss him goodbye to work. She witnessed her husband's unhealthy routine which led to the deal he was so confident in. It hurt her to imagine what he must have been experiencing.

"Haan. Umeed, tumhe shayd andaza ho, liken bhai bohot..." Mimi raised her hands and tried wording her sentence. "Wo bhai nahi rehte. Pehle bhi kaafi dafa hua hai aisa, aur wo hafton ke liye khamosh ho jaate hain. Bolte nahi hain, khate nahi hain, wo bas laptop screen ke saamne rehte hain." Umeed listened carefully to Mimi's words, imagining Farjaad not taking the failure well. "Wo sab ilzaam khud par dalte hain, unko kuch ajeeb sa ho jata hai. Aur ye tou..." Umeed glanced up at Mimi.

"Ye tou?"

"Ye kaafi bara deal tha. Pichle waale tou isse sam importance ke thay." Umeed tried solving a puzzle in her head, finding the right words to reassure her sister-in-law that she'll handle it. She also tried to think of how to keep Farjaad from acting as Mimi described. It was a fearful version of him she hoped she wouldn't witness, cold and distant. "Ma ka bura haal ho raha hai neeche, unko deal ka zyaada pata hai''