UNCONDITIONAL

"Qubool Ae"

While most of the house staff had gone home for the evening, the remaining ones did not have the nerve to look on and see what was happening. It was Maria who walked out of the kitchen and saw Noor dancing and immediately found her eyes moist. Strange were the ways of god - a woman with a status and net worth hundreds of times greater than that of Laila, danced before her to provide entertainment all because she was asked to do so by the man she loves. She looked at Peter who stood with his head bowed and teary eyes. The prayers that escaped their mouths that night reached god himself.

Noor's dance continued as the song headed towards its end. Her forte had been powerful and smooth spins that she liked to finish each song off with. Deeply engrossed in her dance, as she prepared to launch into the spins, she momentarily lost her sense of space and ended up bumping in the table holding Prem's drink. She knocked the glass off of the table, shattering it all over the floor. Prem flinched as Noor took a step between the glass on the floor but held back to prevent the show of any other emotions. Noor paused for a second to examine what had happened. When she trailed her eyes over to Prem, she saw Laila's head resting on his shoulder, a sight that shattered her heart into more pieces than the glass on the floor. Without thinking once, she took a step, "Qubool ae, qubool ae, qubool ae," She told him as pieces of glass dug into the skin under her feet leaving everyone other than Prem visibly wincing in shock. "Meinu teri bewafai vi qubool ae." Tears of emotional and physical pain streamed down her cheeks as she began her spins without a care for the blood now oozing out of her feet. Prem watched on in his best impression of a face unaffected though he couldn't help but clench the armrest with one hand and the fabric of Laila's outfit with the other.

The first song came to an end and the second song in queue automatically began playing. As Noor's pain reached new heights, she could no longer stand upright. The words of the next song, however, were so fitting to her situation that she decided she will go on. "Teri akhiyan ch' noor kina saara, gallan ch' sukoon si sajana, meinu lagya Allah ne vaaj maari, bulaya meinu tu si sajna." (There is so much divine light in your eyes, and such immense peace in your words, that I thought God called out to me, but it was actually you.) Noor cried out loud as she lip synced the words and pointed to Prem at every move indicating she's speaking of him. The pain in her feet was no longer allowing her to be in rhythm but she attempted it nonetheless as the beat dropped. "Oh Jina soch na sake tu, ona pyar karde aa, teri gal hor ae sajna, assi tan tere pairan warge aa." (How much I love you is beyond the scope of your thinking, yet the thing about you is different, I only belong in your feet.) Finally, stumbling her dance towards Prem, she collapsed at his feet at the end of the following line, "Mere nede nede reh tu, teri minta karde aa, teri gal hor ae sajna, assi tan tere pairan warge aa." (Stay close to me, I beg of you, the thing about you is different, I only belong in your feet.) Seated on the floor before him, Noor placed her elbows on his knees as she looked up at him singing along the words of the song. Her tears pleading before him, expressing her regret, her guilt, her sorrow, her love to him.

Holding back every emotion, every expression, Prem stared down at her. He ignored the stabbing heartache in his chest and he ignored the overwhelming urge inside him to grab her, to kiss her, to hold her and to comfort her. All he did in that moment was remove her arms from his knees and get up. He watched the hope in her eyes crash as she further broke down putting her face in her hands. "Peter." He gestured once again for the first aid kit before looking at Laila and heading out with her.

Peter helped Noor to her room and treated her feet in his silently grieving state. Taking out each piece of glass one by one, he applied an antiseptic cream and wrapped her feet up in a bandage before giving her a painkiller and putting her to sleep. He stepped outside her room to find Prem leaned against the opposite wall in the hallway.

"How is she?" He asked softly. His eyes had traces of red as if he had been crying.

"She's fine. Just gave her a painkiller, she's sleeping now." Peter informed him.

"And...did anyone clean up downstairs?" Prem asked.

"No, sir. The cleaning staff is out right now, I had been busy with Mrs. Dhaliwal. I will get to it now." Peter replied.

"Yeah. Don't...worry about it." Prem told him. "Just leave it for a little bit."

"Yes, sir." Nodding obediently at Prem, Peter walked off.

Prem waited for Peter to turn the corner before quietly twisting the doorknob and entering Noor's dimly lit room. She slept peacefully on the edge of her king size bed in the middle of the large room. Tears fell out of his eyes as he spotted the white bandages wrapped around both of her feet. He took a seat on the floor next to her feet and cried silently recalling her words, her pain, her pleas, her love.

"Teri gal hor ae sajna, assi tan tere pairan warge aa." He whispered as he placed his forehead on her feet. Running his hands over the bandages on her feet, he gently kissed the bottom of each foot before resting his head next to her feet. He sat there dwelling in the moment for a while, admiring every inch of her from up close. The rhythm of her breathing, the curves of her body, her stunningly beautiful face, and more than everything her limitless love for him. She was willing to do anything under the sun to repent for the sin she had committed and win forgiveness from him. He couldn't help but plant a small kiss on her temple before leaving the room.

Arriving into the living room, Prem crashed onto the sofa staring ahead at the blood painted floor before him. Noor's dance, her yearning expressions flashed through his mind. The pieces of glass sat untouched on the floor. Prem looked at them for a couple more minutes before ultimately slipping the slides off his feet and stepping below. The first bits of glass pierced into the skin under his feet. He winced in pain, but his heart smiled as he recalled Noor's fearless steps on the same glass. He placed his other foot and applied pressure allowing the glass to sink into his feet. Closing his eyes, he took a step forward, Noor raced through his mind as tears ran down his cheeks. He took a couple more steps and looked down to gladly see the blood oozing out of his feet. He walked around on the glass until he covered the entire area Noor had stepped on finally came back to his slides and slipped his feet back in. He barely made it to his room before dropping onto his bed and calling for Peter. Sending Laila home for the night had been the correct decision.

"Sorry Peter. Your role of a nurse just doesn't seem to end today." Prem joked as Peter silently began working on his feet as well.

It took their feet a week to recover to the point that they could be walking again. Noor had found out Prem hurt himself after she went to sleep but Prem did everything in his power to avoid coming across her so there would be no confrontation. However, as soon as they recovered, it was life and work for them as regular.