Pervade and Faint

Chapter 7

        

The next morning, Mom and I were at the dining table having breakfast. Dad had his breakfast in bed. He was feeling much better though. Amid our breakfast, the doorbell rang and mom quickly went to open the door. I wondered who it would be early in the morning. Although, it wasn't much early, the tepid rays of the sun washed the town. A nice and ambient orange light entered the house when the door opened. I heard some laughter in the background. A medley of moms laugh with someone else's resonated in the house. The cold air settled in the house. Uncle Qurashi and auntie Shama came in with a bunch of flowers. They sat with us in the living room. Mom offered them tea and they accepted it. They came to meet dad. We sat in the living room for a while, revolving around formal conversations. I listened to them, each mundane sentence.
"Ok, so I decided that we should go for a trip. All of us", announced uncle Qurashi.
"Where to?" asked mom curiously, raising an eyebrow.
"Somewhere in the Northern areas", he answered.

Dad and uncle Qurashi talked about it for a while and they finally reached to an end point. They decided to visit the northeast areas of Pakistan, which according to them were spectacular places. The trip, according to them, would last for two or three days, depending upon weather circumstances. Uncle Qurashi said that we should really get a glimpse of Pakistan's real beauty. Mom was already enticed about the whole thing.
_______________

They left after a while and mom and dad had their separate conversation. Dad wanted to miss the whole thing, but he agreed, amicably on moms insist. Dad didn't like to see mom in a pensive or sepulchral mood. So he decided to go, for the sake of her happiness.
We were supposed to leave the next day, early in the morning. I didn't really know much about the northern areas of Pakistan. So I searched it up on the internet, and I have to admit that some of the places were jaw-dropping. Dad warned us that it might be really cold up there, so we must have some reliable layers of insulation. After all, precautionary measures are the always essential.

______________

Insulation Preparation
We walked into a few stores. Mom kept on yelling at me for squeaking my shoes on the floor. But it was oddly satisfying (seriously). The insipidness of the women attire compelled me to migrate to the men's side of the shop. Mom finally found herself a coat. It was a light brown one with a lot of fur on it. It seemed pretty warm. In the meanwhile, a stunningly black overcoat caught my eye, when Mom was trying out her jacket. I went over to get a more closet and detailed look. I actually tried it on, and it felt spectacular. I couldn't remember the last time I had wore something so snug. I looked at myself in the mirror, analyzing it from inch to inch and from stitch to stitch. It was utterly perfect. Dad asked me if I wanted to buy it when he saw me making peculiar poses in front of the mirror (I actually made a few).Resultantly, I ended up buying it. Dad didn't buy anything because he already had enough jackets in his closet. I remembered wearing his jackets and appearing my silly self in front grandfather when I was a child. Old times are gold times. (Heavy sighs)
_________________

When we reached home, I wore the jacket again and stood in front of the mirror. It was flawless. Its silver buttons elegantly camouflaged with the leather straps of my watch and its dial. Mom told me to sleep early because. We had to leave before first light (sunrise). I took a shower before I slept because I didn't know how long we were going to stay out of the house. I was definitely not going to take a shower in a public bathroom. The bathroom of one's own house is a ton better than the brilliant lawns of another's house.

When I entered my room after taking a shower, I saw a bag on my bed. Mom had packed it for me. She knew that I was never going to pack my bag. Not only because I was super indolent when it came to packing, but because I never knew what to pack. I couldn't have been more fortunate to have my mom by my side.