Fate

The Final Chapter- Part 2

Nadia smiled warmly and slowly shook her head. Meerab moved her confused eyes between Nadia and Waqas. With a warm smile, Waqas placed a hand on her head and gently motioned for her to look behind her.

As she turned around, Meerab felt her confusion grow further at the sight ahead of her. Murtasim stood clad in all white, his attire similar to her baba's with the exception of a waistcoat. He looked regal; like a Prince of the Heavens. And he held Meesam in his arms. She was also wrapped up in all white. An ethereal glow surrounded them too. There was a huge smile on Meesam's tiny lips as she looked at Meerab and clenched and unclenched her tiny fist in her direction, as if telling her to come to her.

Confused, she looked back to Waqas and Nadia. It earned her yet another warm smile from Waqas before he spoke, "abhi tumhara waqt nahi aya beta" he said warmly and Meerab didn't know what he meant even as he took one of her hands in his while Nadia took the other. Meerab stood frozen as Waqas placed her small hand in Murtasim's while Nadia placed her other hand on Meesam's tiny head.

"Hamesha apno ki qadar karna beta. Aur yaad rakhna, tumhare baba hamesha tumhare sath hain! meri dua hai ke tum hamesha khush rahou" Waqas whispered, kissing the side of her head.

"Tumhari maa bhi hamesha tumhare sath hai meri pyaari beti. Hamesha khush abad rahou" Nadia said, tenderly wiping the tears Meerab didn't realise had fallen and kissed her cheek.

Letting go, Meerab watched as Nadia and Waqas retreated back into the light, disappearing from her sight as if they were never there. Her hands were still where they were, one in Murtasim's hand and the other on Meesam's head as she turned sideways to watch as her birth mother and foster father disappeared into the light. The moment their silhouettes vanished, the light did too, burning impossibly bright for a split second, before it was gone.

Meerab turned around to face Murtasim who had a loving smile on his face, "chalein?" He asked, holding her hand and her head moved on its own as she nodded, still not knowing where they were headed.

Everything after that happened with the speed of light. The white glow all around her disappeared. Murtasim disappeared. Meesam disappeared. And she felt like she was sat in a wild rollercoaster of memories as memory after memory from her entire life, from her earliest to her latest flashed in front of her eyes for a nano second each, like lightning.

And then it stopped.

There was no light.

Just dark.

****

Beep.

A sound echoed through the room, cutting through the haunting silence and halting Murtasim's cries. He froze at the sound, his head lifting in slow motion from where it rested beside Meerab's hand on the bed and he turned sideways in his position with his knees still on the floor, to look at the heart monitor.

Beep.

It chimed again.

Beep.

A wave began to form and numbers began to show as the machine beeped again. Anwar and Maa Begum lifted their heads too from where they were sat on the sofa in the corner of the room, drowning in their own grief. Murtasim turned his head back to Meerab and his jaw dropped when her fingers twitched in his. A small twitch. Then another. Then her whole hand moved and gripped his.

He snapped out of his frozen daze when Meerab's chest rose and fell as she suddenly took in a heavy breath, her back arching off the bed slightly before her body relaxed back into the bed. He stood up and sat beside her on the bed again, reaching out to cup her cheek as fresh tears filled his eyes, "Meerab?" He whispered with a lump in his throat. Anwar and Maa Begum had joined him as they stood on the other side and watched in shock and anticipation.