hardships and ease

Arrival

Five months have passed and the pain was still fresh and as consuming as ever fir Sara when she had first heard the news of the accident which took life of the love of her life ,her husband , she was devastated but gradually she had accepted it as the will of Allah ( swt) and now sitting in the place where she has spent her childhood and her life before her marriage and this was the place of her solacement yet she has never felt more lonely in her life. shifting from her apartment where she had lived with her husband ,was a difficult decision but it was for the best sara had told herself. she needed a new start if not for her than for her baby. thinking she glanced at her baby who was sleeping peacefully on her lap .her baby girl anaya was the only thing which has prevented her from completely breaking down. Six month old Anaya was the prettiest and the most cheerful baby she has ever seen .she resembled her father more than sara and kareem her husband,had always teased her about it

sara turned around as she felt a tap on her shoulder. she saw her mother extending glass of water towards her ,taking glass from her hand she motioned her mother beside her. seeing her mother's face sara thought her mother might have guessed what was causing her so much pain ,her mother always knew when she was upset even if she tired her best to not show her . though Aneesa was not her real mother but she was more than a mother to sara . she was sara's father's brother's wife and has adopted her when her parents had died in an unfortunate accident when she was just 7 year old . Aneesa and jabir has given her unconditional love and affection .sara thought of them as her real parents . since childhood Aneesa was sara's ideal. she was the most kind and pure hearted person sara has ever met .

As sara saw anxiousness and worry in her mother eyes she quickly smiled and assured her " I am fine ma" Aneesa cleared her throat and sighted " i know honey ,its hard but it is qard of Allah . have patience my dear ,Allah ( swt ) has promised in Quran the patient will be given reward without measure ,you are so strong and i am so proud of you " by this time they both had tears in their eyes

wiping her tears, aneesa said" you look tired there is still time before asr ,you should sleep for a while, i will look after anaya" sara wanted to protest but seeing her mother's expression she decided against it , giving her mother a hug and kissing Anaya lightly - not wanting to disturb her sleep as she knew her baby was light sleeper just like her father ,sara made her way towards her bedroom. she was about to hit her bed when she heard her mother's voice coming from living room" oh by the way ,sara samar is coming today at magrib" even though she could not see her mother's face she could still sense happiness in her voice . Samar was Aneesa's only son who had gone abroad to study when he was just 19year old and now after completing his business degree he was coming back today to look after their family business

sara had last seen samar before he went abroad though he used to come here but timing has always not helped them from meeting each other .sara still remember samar as a teenager who used to stay away from her as much as possible probably because back then she used to always have glum face and was always aloof and distant because of death of her parents and change of environment as she shifted to her aunt's house.

As she was reading Quran , after praying her magrib salah . she heard her mother happily welcoming samar .she quickly adjusted her hijab which was made of long white cloth she used for praying and made her way towards the living room " you have became so thin , were you not eating properly samar " aneesa scolded her son lightly . Giving them privacy sara was watching them from the door .She mentally thanked Allah for arrival of samar as this will probably divert aneesa's attention from her ,her mother has been literally spoonfeeding her since the day she shifted here and now she would have other person to take care of ,this will most definitely divert her mother's attention from her

.smile at aneesa 's face clearly showed how much she adore her son and now as he was back from abroad, sara has no doubt this has bought her mother immense joy .she entered and greeted salaam to them

" walaikumasalam sara , how are you?" samar said with hint of sympathy in his voice

sara hated getting sympathy from people it reminded him what she has lost .

"Alhamdullilah i am fine what about you?"sara asked

"oh i am very happy, you know now that i am back i will get to eat mom's delicious food ,you know mom what i missed the most while living abroad - your food " samar replied breaking the somber mood

"oh i am so glad that my son loves my food so much but not me "Aneesa replied sarcastically

"you know mom i love you but food always comes first ." "said samar

they conversed for some time after samar went to rest ,Aneesa made her way to the kitchen sara followed her mother .

"what are we making?" she asked her mother

" samar's favourite biryani , but you know sara you don't have to help me, you should rest ."

" come on ma i want to help, besides i just took a nap before asr , i know u are dying to make biryani for samar so i' m not going to argue there but i can make sara's famous desert " said sara

"sara's famous desert "what is that?" asked aneesa with an amused smile

"oh that is a surprise " said sara cheekily

and just like that mother daughter started preparing dinner occasionally discussing on various topics .
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After men came from masjid praying isha'a they all sat for the dinner together .little anaya too was in cheerful mood . "mom this is heavenly !" samar exclaimed taking a bite of biryani .

"you haven't changed a bit samar" aneesa said shaking her head

"well mom you know what they said it is difficult to improve perfection" said samar as he high fived jabir

" it is so assuring to know that men in my family are so modest " aneesa said sarcastically

samar knew this is what he has missed in all these years , his family .Many times he wanted to come back but he had to prove himself he wanted his parents to be proud of him and now as he was back he can't help but think what he had missed in all these years .

as everyone finished their desert and jabir showered sara with praise they heard the youngest member of their family crying .

"well i think little anaya wants to sleep ,come on baby girl lets get you to sleep" sara said making her way towards the baby ,carrying her towards the bedroom

"she is a beautiful baby ." samar said to his parents .it was obvious his parents adored anaya .he too was mesmerised by little one when he first has seen anaya peacefully sleeping on her mother's lap .although his mom has shown him pictures but seeing anaya playing with sara he felt something tug in his heart.

he didn't even realised how much time has passed as he sat with his parents conversing .feeling tired he too retired for the night.