| Hawaaon Ke Paighaam | Messages Of The Wind

| The Barren Sand Dunes |

The metal let out a loud clang as it hit the base, making Meerab and Saba jump back and grab onto each other as they looked around. It was their third unsuccessful attempt at figuring out the strange contraption in the resident's gym in The Mandarin. The instructions on it were simple enough but so far, they'd just had three narrow escapes from severing a limb. Looking at the machine with affront and annoyance, they promptly turned and did what they'd done after each unsuccessful attempt; casually walking up to the glass counter displaying drinks of different kinds, they flashed the server a bright smile and proceeded to order yet another ginger-lemon water whilst huffing and stretching their body like they'd just done some hardcore, water-requiring activity.

Meerab was no stranger to exercise. Her Baba had always ensured the family played a sport since she'd been a little girl, and she could hold her own in badminton, tennis, basketball and volleyball just to name a few. But the gym was not Meerab's cup of tea; why people willingly placed themselves in a closed room with sweaty, half-naked people who kept on grunting, wiping their sweaty foreheads and then putting those very hands on communal equipment was beyond her comprehension. What was the need for this torture when you could just go running? Or play a sport? Or even just climb up and down the stairs, as long as the air was free of the smell of sweaty clothes.

But in the interest of enjoying all the fabulous facilities at their one-of-a-kind accommodation, the girls had decided to be proactive and take on all the activities on offer; the gym was their third venture, after fruitful stints in water aerobics and spin class. They'd been doing fine in the females-only section; it was when they'd decided to venture into the mixed section that problems had risen. Half the machines looked too intimidating and the other half were being used by other patrons, leaving Meerab and Saba to lose their calories by walking the path to the drinks counter again and again; the delicious-tasting water was an added perk.

"Kitnay mazay ka paani hai yaar. That's it, aaj se, it's only ever going to be fruity water for me." Saba declared whilst running the towel over the non-existent sweat on her arms.

"Mai actually thak gayi. I think ab rest ki sakht zaroorat hai." Stretching out her legs, Meerab looked over at Saba, and as if in sync, the girls walked gracefully to their second favorite spot in the gym; the massaging armchairs at the back. The chairs were positioned facing the floor-to-ceiling windows on one side of the gym, giving a spectacular view of the Doha coast from the thirty-third floor.

Sighs of delight slipped from their mouths as they sank in the confines of the chairs, humming to the music filtering out from the overhead speakers.

They had honed their routine in the past few weeks, and Meerab had come to cherish her time in the exotic world of Qatari charm. Her traitorous mind whispered that it wasn't just Qatari charm which had her walking with a spring in her step and excited to start her day every morning.

It had been three days since she'd been twirling in the night sky, feeling like she'd had a weight taken off her chest. They hadn't spoken much after that. She'd had her dessert, he'd had his coffee cake and espresso, and they'd sat watching the city glitter around them before he'd driven them back and dropped her off at her door. Her phone, which she'd taken off silent in the car, had buzzed, making him look down at it before leaning down to her ear.

"I think your plans are calling."

And then he'd been gone.

The man ebbed and flowed so drastically it made her head spin. He'd been so different at the beginning of the evening, had changed moods in the middle and then just before leaving, he'd had given her glimpse of the Murtasim she'd been with on the yacht.

Like a flame.

The following three days had seen their routine have some slight alterations. Captain Murtasim had started having breakfast in the buffet hall once again, much to the excitement of the female patrons of the hotel; occasionally taking meetings in Lounge One afterwards, before heading to his offices in Aspire Tower.