| Hawaaon Ke Paighaam | Messages Of The Wind

| Phoenix Flight 505: A |

Note:
A London to Doha flight is approximately seven hours.

Auto-pilot is the system used to let the plane fly automatically on a set path and speed, as specified by the pilot. It allows the pilot to 'relax' and not actively be flying the plane.

Aasmaan ke paray, ek jahaan hai kahin 

Jooth sach ka wahan, qaida hi nahi 

Roshni mai jahan ki alag noor hai 

Saaye jismo se aagay jahan jaatay hain...

Slowed & reverb

London Heathrow Airport

Seven Hours to Doha

The cockpit buzzed with energy as Murtasim had the plane on stand-by. Its powerful vibrations felt like a soothing caress underneath his palms and he leaned back in his seat to survey his domain. The main control panel was open as the flight engineer took notes and double-checked everything before take-off. Murtasim looked down at his watch; the morning sky was clear and if there were no delay, he would be in Doha and at the Mandarin for late evening. Both men turned as Adam returned from the lavatory and took his seat, picking up the light passenger list and starting the pre-flight drill.

"Right. On-board today are hundred and twenty passengers, twenty cabin crew. Flight attendant in-charge is Maala." There was a beat of silence as Adam left the sentence hanging before muttering "Well, don't we have a rather special trainee on board today?"

Murtasim turned his head to shoot his First Officer a look loaded with warning. Adam sighed and let it go just as a throat cleared behind them. Looking back, they saw the flight engineer shut the control panel with a thud and slide his notebook into his shirt pocket.

"Everything looks in order Captain. We'll observe the rest in-flight. I'll just pop out and then come back for take-off."

Murtasim nodded as his back turned, dismissing the man when a feminine gasp and a masculine 'oops' had him turning back again. The engineer's back was blocking the cockpit entrance but Murtasim knew who would emerge as soon as he moved. There was a shuffle and then Meerab was walking into the cockpit as Kenny brushed past her. Her hands full with two glasses of water, she came to stand in the middle of the two seats and gave a perfunctory smile to nobody in particular whilst holding the glasses out. Turning in his seat to face her, Murtasim took both the glasses from her and placed them both down on the console beside him.

Her body had angled towards him as she'd handed the glasses, and Murtasim's gaze caught onto the smooth white pearls almost glowing on her broach. As if sensing where his eyes had travelled, Meerab's confidant, almost defiant stare  flatered and she swallowed,  her hand fluttering up to touch the little piece of metal he'd pinned onto her blazer only a few hours ago.

It was strange; the bittersweet feeling was back. Murtasim had never really imagined the broach on her. He actually hadn't given it much thought after he'd bought it. It had stayed in his safe in Paris for the remainder of the trip and then had been brought to Doha, where again it had lived in the back of the safe in his penthouse; until just before leaving for London. Murtasim had very literally spun 180, walking back from the foyer and into his study, and fished the vintage accessory out from its hiding place. He still had no idea why he'd done it but the nagging feeling in his gut had been so palpable that it may well have been a chain tethered to him and pulling him first towards the safe in Doha and then to her room in London, several floors underneath his.

All he knew was that she had to have it; it had been bought for her and so receive it, she would. As he looked up from the broach to her face, he knew that neither of them knew what to do with these recent advancements in their relationship. Murtasim knew what he wanted, and he would bet his fortune on the fact that she felt the same desire he did when together; there was no way she would've responded in the ways she'd done if she hadn't felt the same sense-engulfing, mind-boggling desire which erupted in his body at the sight of her these days. She just didn't know what to do with it. And for now, neither did he. He needed to figure her out and then decide how to proceed down the already tumultuous roadof their marriage.