Dur-e-Shehwar | Completed ✔️

XIX

*Enjoy Reading*

Chapter Nineteen

It was around nine and they've had their breakfast after which everyone sat down to have some family time. With light talking and useless jokes by Ozhan and Mehar the conversation was quite fun. The house seemed lively as their laughter bounced off the walls echoing in the hallways.

After sometime, Shehwar's mother excused herself and asked for Shehwar to accompany her. No one objected, the rest gave them their privacy as both the mother-daughter duo left their family to light chatter.

'I don't know where to start from...' her mother began talking just when they sat down on the trimmed chilling grass by the potted flowers.

'I'm sorry I hurt you-'

'No Mama, it's nothing. Stop it. Your my mother, you can do whatever you want to. You have the right.'

'Well I don't want to inflict pain upon my child, even if she's not my child by blood. I - I brought you up, like my own... and I've invested my days and nights on you. I'm not complaining though, they were the best days of my life.'

Shehwar smiled and scooted closer to sit by her mother holding her ageing hand.

'I know.' Shehwar sniffled. 'I know. You have always been more than my actual mother...You never- I never felt like I'm not your child; except unless Mehar was involved.' Shehwar added the last part hesitantly looking down at the space in between them.

Her mother held her face in her hands and murmured looking over her facial features. 'I'm sorry I made you feel like that. You are my daughter. I love you. I just don't know what came over me.'

Her mother gave her a quivering watery smile before saying: 'That day, I didn't want to - didn't want to say that, you know? It-it broke my heart to see you cry and I hated the look of hurt in your eyes but I still did! ALLAH!' she grabbed her hair letting out a shuddering breath and a few tears. 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I haven't been a good mother to you lately, I'm sorry! I - I forced those words out! Knowing very well that they hurt you and I-!'

Shehwar grabbed her mother's shoulders and brought her in a hug. 'No Mama, shh.' but she kept on muttering making Shehwar hug her mother tighter.

'I don't want you to go away from me. Do you really have to go to Italy?' she asked clinging to Shehwar as a chilling breeze swept by.

Shehwar sighed letting a few tears escape. 'Yeah,'

'Do you want to go?' she asked in Shehwar's shoulder who hesitated in replying making her mother pull back and stare in her moist eyes, mirroring her's.

Shehwar looked at her fingers and nodded fumbling with them. That was when the sparkle of her engagement ring glistened in the sun rays catching her mother's eye.

'I didn't really mean it when I told you to go.' her mother tightened her shawl around her frame.

'Mama I'll be back. In Shaa ALLAH!'

'When?'

'I can't say...'

'But you will, right? You are not going to stay there forever, right?'

'I have my job here.' she chuckled.

'But w-what if-'

'I know what you are thinking,' she chuckled. 'Don't worry.'

'You will come back soon, right?'

'In Shaa ALLAH, yes mother.' Shehwar received a light slap on her shoulder for the word "mother" which made her giggle.