His Little Neighbour

nineteen

"Mama wants me to wake up and get ready for work." Mashal sat straight, tensed at the thought of revealing everything to her parents. They're going to flip for sure.

"So what? Tell her you've quit and come back to sleep." He whispered lazily and tried to cover his face with her baby pink blanket but she snatched it with a small frown.

"What else?" He groaned whilst sitting straight, understanding very well that she's not going to let him sleep.

"How did you come inside last night?" Mashal narrowed her eyes at him who suddenly looked sheepish, gone was his sleepiness.

"I knew it! You broke in without anyone's notice. What a sneaky move!" Mashal didn't know if she should be impressed or horrified. The thought of her parents finding out about this made her cheeks heat. They're never going to stop teasing her about it. She didn't even want to think about Meher. That girl will make sure everyone remembers this day forever.

"Now that you remind me, I'm feeling a tad bit nervous about going out and facing them all."

"Tad bit?" Mashal couldn't help but laugh at his word choice, "you should be very nervous, buddy. They're not going to stop talking about this. Especially my sister and mother."

"Well, let's face it." Murat sighed while getting up from the bed. She stood up, tiptoes on her legs and grabbed his face, "sorry for waking you up so early." And then placed a soft kiss just beside his lips.

"My morning turned a hundred times better now. Come on, let's surprise everyone." Murat grinned cheekily making her cheeks flush. But from inside he was rethinking his impulsive move of coming here in the middle of the night. It was worth everything though. He was able to cuddle her and sleep peacefully. That's all that mattered to him at that moment.

"They're going to freak out," Mashal laughed to herself as they walked downstairs. She observed the familiar everyday morning scenario at her home that she missed watching for the last two months. A nostalgic smile appeared on her face as she noticed her sister sleeping as she placed her head on the dining table. Meher's hair was still undone. She was wearing socks on only one leg. Her mother was surprisingly very angry today.

She could just glance at her parents and say something was wrong. The familiar smile on her father's face as he ate his breakfast wasn't there today. They didn't even notice her presence until she cleared her throat and both the pair of eyes were on her, which then trailed off behind her.

"Murat beta? What are you doing here?" Malaika asked with confusion while Arsalaan seem to understand what must have happened as he started laughing suddenly.

Her mother narrowed her eyes at him.

"Arsalaan... Stop laughing. I'm asking him something," Malaika muttered exasperatedly and glanced at Murat again, who looked sheepish.

Mashal noticed the little tension between her parents and walked towards her sleepy sister, who was still not ready when the school van should be arriving in about thirty minutes.

"Aapi, let me sleep," Meher moaned annoyedly and went back to sleep.

"Do you remember when I left you at your parents' place the second time after our marriage?" Arsalaan grinned at his wife, who nodded her head with a puzzled look on her face. It was twenty-five years ago. But how can she ever forget those days?

"Yes, you climbed the balcony and sneaked into my room. You've always been careless about your life. What if you fell and broke a bone or something?" Malaika retorted exasperatedly but a smile made its way on her lips automatically which disappeared as soon as she recalled why she was mad at him in the first place.