The Girl In Black [On Hold Till Further Notice]

Delirious designs

Dedicated to @MariaAfridi 

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The next time when Zahra opened her eyes, it was morning... bright and sunny. It was difficult adjusting her eyes to the piercing light coming through the windows but she managed it with time. She felt weak, her breaths were ragged, she sweat profusely and it seemed like she'd run a marathon, the way she was aching all over, especially below the knees. 

Her head was splitting with an acute ache of its own, and felt as if a ton of bricks had been deposited onto it. Groaning aloud, she tried to sit up in bed, startling awake the girl who slept quietly in the armchair beside the bed, her head lying uncomfortably near her friend's pillow. Zahra was amazed that she couldn't even move without help.

"What is it, Zee?! Oh... you're awake, I see," Rajani commented softly, leaning forward to arrange her pillows in a more comfortable position. "How are you feeling today? You look really pale," she observed sadly. After she had roved her eyes repeatedly around the whole place, Zahra realized she was in her own room. "I don't know how I feel. Not so well, I think," she replied, her voice coming out as a hoarse whisper. Her friend checked her forehead and was shocked to find it burning. 

"You're burning hot!" she remarked. "Yeah, I felt as much." Her eyes seemed to droop shut of their own accord. "What... are you gonna faint on me again?" a voice recalled her back to the present world, and she immediately opened her eyes wide. "No, Raj, I won't. It's just that I can't seem to be able to keep these darned eyes open." And saying thus, she shut them once again.

"Because you haven't got much energy left in you. When was it that you ate last time?" she asked accusingly. "Yesterday morning, I think," Zahra answered, pondering over her activities of the last forty-eight hours. "Are you kidding me!?! You seriously need to eat, girl, or it could prove fatal to your life." "Yes, I think I do need to eat something. But please don't worry yourself, okay. Just... bring me some groceries and I'll prepare myself a meal, I promise." "If you can leave the bed, that is," Rajani commented sarcastically. "No, leave the cooking to me." But when she saw Zahra displeased with the idea, she reasoned, "Let me make something for you this once, and you can prepare all your meals by yourself afterwards." And begrudgingly, Zahra agreed.

After a while, she had settled on the bed with a stack of buttered toasts and a steaming cup of cocoa. Exhorting her friend to eat something, she threatened to cut all ties with her if she didn't take a bite herself. "Do you think me so selfish, Raj that I wouldn't take care of you in return?" she asked. And in spite of her hateful nickname, Rajani found it a tad endearing, and she softened instantaneously.

She was a girl of good bodily structure, a bit haughty at times, but mostly less talkative and more to Zahra's liking. She was one die-hard fan of Bollywood movies, but had crossed her heart and pleaded allegiance to Sri Lankan Cricket Team, adoring them till the end of time itself. But most of all, she was a good friend, who did not hesitate to accept favors in return to her kindheartedness.

"No, that's not it. I've had quite a lot of cookies already," she confessed in a small voice. "It doesn't matter. Come, share my food with me. It will help you regain some of your color, at least." "Oh, fickle! Mine wouldn't even show. Yours certainly would, though." But in the end, the two wolfed down the food with matching eagerness.