Posheeda (پوشیدَہ) -
Concealed; Hidden
*****
Marwan Qureshi, a commando in the Indian army had two goals set in life. One, not to let his father's poisonous words get to him and two, spend the rest of his life serving his...
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*****
Being bed ridden along with two protective women that were her once friends and now strict bodyguards, Ziah lay lazily on the bed, grumbling profusely under her breath.
It had been a few hours since the incident, she might as well start claiming that the pain was now bearable but Parizad and Laiha didn't leave a chance to nag her for the slightest of movements that she made.
Not to include Madiha who kept peeking from the door every 15 minutes or so and smiled in satisfaction when she found Ziah under the quilt, her whole body swallowed by the enormous bed.
"Ab rehne bhi do. I'm feeling much-"
"You'll feel much worse if you put those feet on the ground."
Laiha pointed sharply in response to which Parizad nodded her head while taking a huge bite of the red ripe apple that was rejected mercilessly by Ziah.
"But why is she allowed to wander then? Iski haalta toh mujhse bhi zyada kharab hai!"
Ziah whined in protest. Her accusatory eyes darted to Parizad who skillfully ignored the look and focused on finishing the fruit. Laiha did contemplate whether she should force Parizad to lay beside Ziah but the girl looked just fine on her own.
"Woh sab chodo, Parizad, have you contacted back at home?"
Parizad stopped chewing and looked between Ziah and Laiha before nodding her head. Gulping down the bite in her mouth, she turned to face the two, one leg crossed under while the other dangled by the bed's edge.
"Hmm, ammi and mama baba were furious. You should've seen the way Daiyan was sweating bullets when they fired question after question. Woh toh acha hua Maryam ka, that they didn't come all the way to Bandra."
Towards the end, she laughed a laugh of glee with a hidden coating of contentment. Ziah smiled at her friend and unconsciously, her fingers pulled onto the quilt in hopes to distract the surfacing thoughts that were anything but pleasant.
As subtly as possible, she took deep breaths to calm the train of negative thoughts that was making way into her heart and mind.
"So when will you be visiting them?"
Laiha asked, getting more comfortable on the couch. Her curious question was met with a confused shrug.
"Maybe when all this ends."
When all this ends.
The words resonated in the room before silence settled in. Three minds suddenly lost in the depths of their own thoughts- none of which seemed pleasing.
The silence made it easier for them to close their eyes and just lay back and relax. Days of ups and down, unwanted encounters that somewhat flipped their whole life, rummaged through their thoughts in ways they would have never expected and left with a mess that seemed too surreal for their normal routines to adjust to.
