Aarzoo
Wishes do come true. It's just that sometimes we don't know what we're really wishing for.
The aura in the car was not good. I knew something was not right as soon as I got in. Five minutes later, 'I don't understand, what's the necessity to work? His mother asked me in the car. I stayed still and quiet. 'Is my son not earning enough for you?' She asked a very inappropriate question. 'I'm asking something to you Aarzoo' she raised her voice at me refusing my silence in reply. I was disturbed by her behavior. She was one of my favorite aunts. She has never treated me this way. How things fast things change after marriage. I looked at Atif but he kept looking outside the window almost like he couldn't hear her at all.
'I...' I hesitated to speak.
'I want to...work for myself.' I said.
'Who will take care of the house then?' She asked. 'Who will take care of my son?' She continued.
'I'll manage' I said in a low tone trying not to sound like I was arguing.
'You'll manage' She scoffed sarcastically.
'You woke up late today. I made breakfast. And because you went out for lunch, I made the lunch. Do you want me to make the dinner too?' She asked continuing to speak sarcastically.
'You didn't care what we were going to eat for lunch and went out to have lunch with a strange man' She said in an obviously disgusting tone.
'Stop it' Atif's father said and stopped her. I clenched my fist and controlled my tears. 'Of course, you would take her side' She said to him. After what felt like forever we got back home.
~
'I'm sorry for her behavior' He apologized as soon as we got inside our room 'I know she was wrong' he added sounding very upset because of whatever happened.
'Then why didn't you say something?' I asked him.
'She's my mother Aarzoo, I can't talk to her like that' he immediately replied. I sat on the bed holding my head as it was throbbing in pain. I took a deep breath and exhaled 'Forget it, what are we going to do now?' I asked him trying not to be bothered by whatever happened in the car.
'What do you want to do?' he made my life harder with that question. 'I don't know' I told him as I buried my face in my hands. 'I'll talk to her; she won't be a problem' he told me trying to calm me down. 'Please do' I said instead of thank you.
A few seconds later I realized that he was being able to walk and my anger and worries turned into thin air. 'You can walk!' I exclaimed as I went to him. Joy filled evidently in my eyes and voice.
'I can, I guess' he said smiling.
His eyes slid to my neck and looked at my chain. My heart skipped a beat as I didn't want him to see me wearing it. He smiled and looked at me. 'What about your hand?' I asked as I tried to deviate his attention looking at his hand still draped in plaster but looking a lot better. 'It's okay' He said as he slowly tried lifting his hand. Although I didn't want him to know I was wearing his button in my chain, I expected a reaction now that he had seen it. But I was wrong. Like always, he didn't care enough.
'This is so great!' I said smiling hiding my disappointment but genuinely very happy for his recovery.
'Take care' I said.
'I will' he smiled back at me.
'I need to go home and grab a few things' I told him. 'I'll go talk to them, keep them distracted until then' he replied. 'Thank you' I said as I smiled looking into his eyes. We stared into each other's eyes until we heard his mother's voice yelling at his father for forgetting something back in India. 'I'll get that' he said as he left.
I waited for the right moment to sneak out of the house and grabbed all my necessities and quietly sneaked back into the house. Surprisingly they were still talking. I made dinner and arranged the table while they were talking and spending time with each other. I heard his mother's laughter followed by his and I smiled. I knew he would calm her down I thought to myself. We had our dinner and throughout the meal, she didn't talk to me. But she didn't ignore me at the same time. She told me to pass on the gravy, fill her glass with water, and had small talks like that. I was relieved that she was at least not being mean anymore. I waited for someone to talk about the dishes but no one said anything. I recalled how Atif praised his mother's cooking. Everyone left the table once the meal was done and like always, I was left behind to clean the table and do the dishes alone.
I remembered I had to meet Farris in the morning after finishing all my work. I grabbed my bag that was placed on the table next to me. I stared at the address written on it. I sighed and put it back hitting my head on the pillow. I fell asleep almost immediately after such a long day.
I woke up in the middle of the night and looked next to me. Atif was asleep next to me. The curtains moved due to the breeze and his hair slightly moved due to the breeze. I turned towards him and looked at him comfortably as he was fast asleep. I looked at his closed eyes. How jealous I was of his eyelashes, they are longer and prettier than mine I thought to myself and slightly smiled. My smile disappeared as I wished how nice it would be if I could have what I needed. I brought my hand closer to his face to touch his cheek, but just before I touched him, he shivered. I stopped and looked at him. He started shivering. I sat up looking at him. I started getting worried as he then started trembling. I rushed towards the window and closed them tight thinking he was cold but I was wrong, he was excessively sweating and trembling at the same time. 'Atif' I called his name. 'What's wrong?' I patted his face trying to wake him up. 'Atif, wake up' I said as tears started filling my eyes out of fear. Just then he opened his eyes and gasped for air. He looked at me as I was sitting on my knees on the bed looking at him. He immediately rested his head on my lap and I held him as I asked him if he was okay. He grabbed my arm and shut his eyes tight breathing heavily. 'Are you okay?' I asked him again to make sure he was really okay. He nodded his head assuring me he was fine. 'I'll get you some water' I told him to get some water but he grabbed me tight. 'Stay' he whispered. I looked at him and sat back in the same position.
'Nightmare?' I asked. He nodded again. I placed my hand on his head and gently brushed his hair. 'I'm right here' I told him and I felt him hold me tighter.
'You should lay down' he said sometime later as he got up and sat after realizing what he was doing. 'It's alright' I told him.
'Your back is going to hurt' He said. He was right; it did start to hurt but I decided to hide that from him. 'It won't' I said as I wanted to be there for him.
He looked into my eyes as he was now sitting up straight as well. He held my shoulder and I looked at him, he pushed me backward making my back rest on the bed. 'You should sleep' He said lying down too. He turned his back towards me while I looked at him. I turned in the other direction and closed my eyes as I sighed.
The next morning, I woke up early, before everyone, and prepared breakfast for everyone. I got dressed and looked at myself in the mirror. I exhaled and put a smile on my face as I felt nervous. My phone rang and I jerked out of shock. I immediately attended the call and said 'Hi' nervously.
'Good morning' He said.
'Good morning' I replied. 'You know where to be right?' He asked me. 'Yes, of course' I replied digging into my bag for the paper.
'Just in case you can't find it, I'm texting you the address and who to talk to' He said and I stopped looking inside the bag anymore. 'Thank you' I responded. 'No problem, see you soon' He said and disconnected the call before I could reply. I looked at my phone.
What a weirdo!
I checked my messages and found the address with the location link. Just in case I'm late, ask for Mrs. Lynda. She will take you to Adam.
Who is Adam now I thought to myself?
I reached the location sooner than I had expected. I was now standing in front of a modern-styled building. It was taller than usual buildings in Amsterdam. It looked like a well-known building as it looked busy. I walked inside looking around nervously.
Is it a hotel? I wondered looking at the stylish reception.
'Hello!' I said to the lady standing at the reception desk.
'Mrs. Lynda?' I asked her hesitantly thinking she was the one.
'How can I help you dear?' A woman suddenly appeared next to me and asked with a smiling face.
I glanced back at the door waiting for Farris to show up. 'Umm' I smiled looking back at her. 'I'm here to meet someone' I said unlocking my phone and showing the address he sent me 'Am I in the right place?' I asked. 'Yes, you are. Who sent you?' She asked with a wrinkled forehead.
'Mr. Farris' I told her. She seemed to be familiar with him. 'Are you here to meet Adam?' She asked me.
'Yes, that's right. I'm here to meet Mr. Adam' I said.
'Yeah, right. Mr. Farris informed me about your arrival priorly' She recalled.
'Yeah? I'm Yumna, by the way' I told her as I gave my B-grade acting performance and almost immediately realized how fake that sounded.
I heard Farris walk from behind me. I heard his sharp footsteps approaching closer and I sighed in relief. 'Hello Mr. Farris' She greeted him. 'Hi Lynda' He casually greeted her. 'Thank you' He said to her and she left with a sweet smile. I smiled back at her.
'Don't leave me alone in such situations' I told him biting my teeth in anger. I looked at him as he left what I said without a response.
'Please don't make me do anything illegal' I told him as we walked towards the elevator. 'Going to prison is the last thing I want right now' I told him. He took a deep breath in and exhaled. Why does he look nervous I thought to myself? I'm definitely into something big. I shouldn't have signed the paper right? I thought. Who the hell is Adam? Who am I going to meet? My brain lined up with questions until I heard the ting when the elevator stopped. Farris walked out of the elevator and I walked behind him. He rang the doorbell and someone who looked like a nurse opened the door. She smiled at both of us and greeted us inside. I looked around and found myself standing in a residential suite. Is this a house? My jaw dropped looking at the interiors.
'He is inside' She said.
'Go inside' Farris told me. 'A-Alone?' I instantly asked him. My hands and feet got colder than usual. 'Yes' He replied firmly gesturing me to go forward.
I gulped as I walked towards the door. I opened the door and all my fear disappeared instantly when I saw a four-year-old lying down on his stomach coloring in a book. He was surrounded by color pencils and crayons. I closed the door behind and that's when he noticed me. He looked into my eyes and said nothing. I smiled at him but he stayed still. He got up and sat on his knees for a moment. He took his time staring at me until a big bright smile covered his face. He stood on his legs and came running to me screaming 'Mom' out of joy and hugged my legs.
Despite my confusion and n number of questions going on inside my head, I automatically got on my knees and held him by his shoulders. He looked at me with the world's most beautiful smile. His big eyes shone. I caressed his pink cheeks. 'Mom' He said again and wrapped his arms around my neck hugging me tightly. I hugged him back caressing his hair and rubbing his back. He stayed there in my arms for a while.
The nurse walked in sometime later and stood near the door for a while. She called him but he refused to leave me. He stayed hugging me and I gestured to her that it was okay. We stayed still and quiet. Suddenly his body got heavier and I looked at him. 'It's okay. he fell asleep' She spoke in a husky tone trying her best not to disturb him. She took him away from my arms and placed him on the bed tucking him inside. I watched him as he was sleeping peacefully. He looked like a little angel on earth. I smiled staying still and quiet while the nurse tip-toed and walked outside.
Farris walked inside the room after she left. For the very first time, I saw love in his eyes. His eyes were moist but a beautiful smile sealed on his lips.
'Yumna is his mother' He said.
'I know' I replied. 'I understood that the moment he hugged me' I told him. 'But what do you have to do with this, why are you doing this for him' I continued to ask him.
'Farris' I called him and he looked at me. 'I want to help, but I can't help you if don't give me clarity' I said.
He looked back at the boy and gently kept his hand on his head. 'I can help better if I knew what I was doing' I added trying to convince him to tell me what was really going on.
The silence between us got colder. 'He is my son' He said leaving me completely astonished.
'Adam is my son' he continued to speak as he looked straight into my eyes this time.
'His mother died a few months after he was born' My heart sank as he said that. 'I'm sorry' I told him.
'He is a special child. He fights a battle every day' He talked as tears started to fill his eyes. I looked at Adam as he looked like a normal child. 'He has Alzheimer' He said.
'It's a brain disorder that destroys memory and thinking skills' He added. 'He doesn't remember things. At times he does, but most of the time he doesn't. He even has difficulty recognizing me' He said and I could tell his heart ached as he spoke.
'He has no power over his brain, he falls asleep at the most random times and places. He has no control over that. You would've seen that right now' he said swallowing hard and sitting on the couch. He tried hard to hold himself from shedding tears. 'He's just a child, why is he being punished?' He asked. 'He's not' I instantly responded walking closer to him out of sympathy but soon stopped myself. I sat on the couch opposite looking at him. His head tilted downwards taking his time to pull himself together.
'He's going to be okay' I told him and he smiled through his teary eyes. 'Yes, I know' He replied. 'He's being treated. Doctors say he is going to fine' He added.
'Of course, he is going to be fine' I spoke in a cheerful tone and he smiled properly this time. I smiled back looking at him.
What happened next completely changed things between me and Farris. His shirt caught my attention. I noticed that one of the buttons was missing. The buttons on his shirt looked very familiar 'Your shirt is missing a button' I told him. 'Shit! Is it too obvious?' He asked being conscious about his looks. 'I might've lost it somewhere' He said looking down at his shirt. 'It's Adam's favorite. I don't know how; he happens to recognize me easily when I'm wearing this shirt' He chuckled.
'I wear it for him' he added looking at him smiling. He turned in my direction with the same smile on his lips. I pulled out the chain I was wearing from inside and held it showing it to him. It was a button instead of a dollar. It was his shirt's button. His smile faded as he looked at it.
Memories of that day started flashing continuously into my head. I recalled how the world around me started spinning.
I knew I was going to fall. I worried about falling hard and hurting myself, but just then, someone grabbed me at the right moment and saved me from getting hurt. He rested my body on his and looked at me. I looked at him with blurry vision. My vision flickered. I was looking at a man, who was looking back at me. It felt like he was my guardian angel sent to save me from falling and getting hurt. I wish he stayed and never left. After forever, my heart felt tranquility. I thought I saw Atif, but his face changed. Perhaps it was not Atif that day.
It was Farris.