Qurbat

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"You sure have your way with people." Ayat chuckled, wiping the batter from her cheeks and pushing him away.

"I've learnt to have my ways with people. I would have left with nothing had I not learnt to manipulate others." And the first two women that came to his mind was his therapist and his mother.

Blinking away the memories of his early teenage years, Fayd tiptoed to sit on the island as she poured the batter in muffin pan and set the microwave to bake them. Flashing one of her smiles at him, Ayat sighed in contentment. She hadn't had many occasions to cook or bake, given she barely made it to home at nights. She would cook at times with her mother's recipe notebook– one that was filled with Shakura Wajdani's own recipe, completely prepared to match her daughter's taste palate without using ingredients that would trigger her allergy. She was happy that her life was returning back to what it once had been. Ayat Wajdani was finally going to lead a normal life.

"Will you watch it? I'm going to take a quick shower."

"Aap ke liye yeh bhi na karun?" He smirked, pulling her by her wrist and then keeping her only inches apart.

He had so many things going on in his mind when he saw her for the first time in the cafeteria. She was wearing frowns and fury yet still standing tall with her height and pride. He had so many things in his mind but the images of her being in love with him wasn't one of them. She didn't panic– the beats of her heart were still rhythmic, telling him of the trust she had on him. A trust that was betrayed. A love that was almost rejected.

Ayat shook her head, a smile still on her face as she parted and broke the closeness between them, "Watch it well then, I'll be back in fifteen minutes."

Fayd nodded, licking the batter off the glass bowl with his fingers and making his way to get the bar stool so he could sit in front of the microwave and watch it slowly rise to peak. It was somehow metaphorical with all that going on in their life. The rising of muffins indicated new beginnings. A rise after getting battered for years. The rising mounts shone prominently in the yellow heat, making it too scrumptious to only look it. He was not sure of its taste tho, as the major ingredient was replaced by something else all together. He tapped on its glass like a child was waiting for it to be done when he heard his phone going off.

Sighing out in disbelief, Fayd jumped off from the stool and walked out of the kitchen to find where he left his phone only to find it on the charging table a few seconds later. But it wasn't his phone that blared. Another phone– it was her phone that was ringing and looked around for it but before he found it ringing from under the back pillow, the call disconnected. Rolling his eyes in annoyance, he was just about to leave it back there and march back into the kitchen when it went off again but this time, came a notification.

Why tf are you not taking my calls. It's urgent so I'm calling again, you better take it now.
Junk

And before he could put it back on the table, shake his head and walk away, the phone rang again and to his surprise, Ayat had saved Isaa's number as junk. Shaking his head, he took the call and pressed the phone against his ear.

"Listen carefully, I have to go back to Pakistan and do not allow Fayd to take any calls from back home," He frowned and removed the phone from his ears to look at the caller's name twice because the man from the other side was just spewing nonsense and upon hearing nothing from the other side, Isaa sighed and continued, "Nazeem sahb passed  away."

And like that he felt the ground beneath his feet sweep away. No matter what he did, he had always been a father figure to him ever since he landed in Pakistan. He taught him work, he made sure Fayd ate, he stayed back at the bureau with Fayd so the newbie wouldn't have to face the racism. He had almost become his father in the absense of his own. Despite all that he had done to Ayat, he couldn't bring himself to despise him. The nightly visits to the hospital– the visits where he remembered almost nobody but him. The day he realized what was going on behind his back was the day he realized that he had lost the man, not only because of what he did but also because of him confusing Fayd for his brother.