REDEMPTIVE | ✔️

4. Take my Jacket

During the ride Zalay was lost in a trance. Destination reached. Huge metal gates came in sight and the car was driven inside. Zameer pulled off his vehicle in the driveway. On the side was a large yard same as the size of big house in front of her. Yard seemed to be more verdant this time, covered with trees.

Zalay's face broke into a smile realising she was only seconds away from seeing her uncle and aunt.

Sky's colour had darkened and the temperature had fallen strangely over the course of few hours right in front of her.

"Snow is going to fall any minute." Aazeen chaded, her eyes roaming the sky through the car's window.

"Besides its getting dark and you people know how much of I'm scared of this lawn at nights.

"So the baby Zalay hasn't grown up yet." Zameer lined his lips, suppressing a smile as the girl in rear mirror scowled.

"Excuse me. It has only been an year since I last saw you, not ages."

She was sure that now that when she will meet him next, it would be his wedding.

"Seriously Zalay, there's no point to be scared of these little babies." Aazeen coed, pointing at the lawn before them. "I and Abbu have planted everything with so much love and assiduity."

Zalay's eyes once again explored the area. It was massive! She didn't understand how these two would clean it every month and take care of all these plants and trees.

"What about you Zameer? Why don't you help my Uncle. Oh sorry! I just remembered you don't do gardening." She coughed, making him roll his eyes, his one hand lying on the steering wheel.

"Aazeen would you speak to your highness and tell her about the new changes."

"Yup." Aazeen bobbed, "I had my finals last weekend and it was Zameer who cut all weeds and shaped the bushes. But I feel sad if it snows, baby herbs would die again."

"Excuse me as far as I remember you hated nature. Such a dull person you were. What happenedall of a sudden."

"That was stupid of me. After the monotonous days of work, one should get some hours out and do something peculiar to their interests to freshen up their soul."

"That's startling. You are provoking me to bring some changes into my lifeless life."

"In this way you'd get to discover a lot about yourself. Mark my words."

Zalay then gazed outside and nodded, watching as the wind flew over and trees toppling to their left and right with the pressure.

She looked back to the front but her eyes landed at the rear mirror from where Zameer's eyes were fixed on her. In a spur of the moment, he looked away which made her blink.

She looked to her right and found Aazeen busy with her phone, too zoomed out.

She tapped her shoulder, "lets get ourq luggage out."

Both girls got out of the car, he swung the keys and killed the engine. Just as he stepped down, icyness of the outside made him realise that it was actually gonna snow in Toronto.

Aazeen had gone inside to her home long ago but Zalay stood, in the patio watching her cousin take out her bag from the trunk. Her eyes closing on her own as she thought about his preplanned wedding. Everyone back in her home would talk about how impeccably exquisite these two, Aliya and Zameer, would look together.

"Here."

Her trance was broken as Zameer walked past her, holding her bag.

"Thats unneeded, I would take it."