BismiAllahiArRahmaniArRaheem
Yasmin watched the twinkling stars shining bright in the sky from the balcony of the room Kinza lent her. Her gaze remained hard, beholding the sparkles the light balls reflected from outside the surface of the Earth, her minding reminiscing the times she spent with the man who just divorced her.
The door bell rang for the seventh time and Yasmin giddily ran to get it, playfully rebuking herself for being late. She unlocked it with a wide smile and Wahaj slammed it open, with Yasmin almost falling by the force of it.
She saw him heaving heavy breaths out, with his eyes growing bigger in rage and she cowered down, staggering backwards in fear. He shut the door and immediately pinned her to the wall, gripping her jaw harshly. She whimpered and tried to form coherent sentences with her squished mouth.
"Wa–wahaj....I–I....what...I–Wahaj.... it's hurting..." She trailed in shock and he pulled her by the hair, bending her neck backwards and a few tears slipped from her big, brown eyes. She could smell alcohol from the proximity and his bloodshot eyes proved her hunch right.
"Why can't you do anything right?! WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO DO THINGS WRONG?!" He yelled at her, forcibly tugging at her wavy brown hair from the back, wrenching sobs echoing out from her mouth.
He then slapped her fair cheek, harshly landing her on the marbled ground. This was the first time he raised his hand on her and she was terrified to the core. In the one month of her marriage, he always lovingly spoke to her, showed her his love, and only gestures that'd make her happy. This sudden change couldn't register in her mind.
She cupped her throbbing, red cheek and gaped at him with wide, horrified eyes. He slowly crouched in front of her and she scooted back in fear, her brown orbs shaking with tears.
Yasmin found out today that they were going to be blessed with a bundle of joy and was over the moon for telling this news to him. She was so excited that she thought that her repeated calls would appear to him as how much she missed him, and he lost the deal because of that. She'd readied the entire house in preparation of the big news but when he portrayed this side of her, her mind stopped working.
"W–wahaj? What are you doing?!" She feebly whispered and he slammed her head against the cold ground.
"They called me unprofessional because of you. Tch. Am I bad at doing my job?" He sarcastically questioned her while the side of her head ached with the pressure he put. She cried on the ground, helpless at the turn of events. Never did she think that he'd be a brute. She felt nauseous and felt the world revolving around her when slowly she lost consciousness.
Next morning when she found herself lying beside the door, heartbreaking sobs left her mouth at what her life became. She touched the side of her face and winced when even the contact of her fingers sent jolts of pain. After she cried for a long time, she timidly walked towards their room and saw him in his vest, holding his head.
Maybe he was just drunk and didn't know what he was doing?
"Wahaj...?" She whispered, loud enough that he turned his head and squinted his eyes in her direction. She felt the wave of familiarity surge over her at his gaze and helplessly ran towards him.
She crashed with his back and wrapped her delicate hands around his torso as the sobs took control. "Wahaj...what happened....y–you hit me...I had to....we are....Wahaj...!"
She cried on his back and he the memories of him losing the important deal resurfaced in his mind. His jaw clenched at her wails and with his already throbbing head, it didn't help.
He detached himself from her as she watched everything in perplexity, her mind refusing to comprehend the surroundings. She only saw his darkened eyes but she had no one to console her. She stepped in front again to fall in his embrace and hoping for him to console her saying that it was a bad mistake.
He pushed her and she fell on the bed, her fortress of hopes crushing down at his maddened glare.
"Wahaj! What're you doing?! We're going to be parents!" She screamed at him, seeing that he began unbuckling his belt with his glare focused on her. He stopped and furrowed his brows at the detail she spilled. But a moment later, rage clouded his conscience again.
"What did you say?" He growled out and Yasmin kept a protective hand over her belly, at his furious onyx eyes.
"I said that you are going to be a father, Wahaj. What is wrong with you? What is this all? You are scaring me. You even slapped me yesterday. I don't understand....I don't....please stop...please hold me in your arms. I'm scared." Yasmin cried in her hands, not able to deal with the fear anymore. Her head, her cheek, her face, her chest and her stomach, everything hurt and she only wanted him to envelope her in his embrace.
He caught her throat in his strong grip, strangling her because her cries increased his headache and she stared at him with wide, shocked eyes.
That day she discovered that certainly her marriage was not a bed of roses.
She tightened the shawl around her shoulders when a cold gust of wind blew over her. The memories would haunt her but the Almighty had gotten her out of it, at least. Indeed, this world was a test and she hoped that she would gain a position in front of her Lord on the Day they all stand in front of Him.
Her eyes suddenly caught a figure in the lawn. She squinted her eyes from the balcony to get a clear view and the man stared back at her. She recognized him as the bodyguard of Kinza and her heart thudded inside her chest at the way he held her gaze. Fearless and loyal.
She immediately retracted from the railing and hurried inside, leaving the man to crave for just one more glimpse of her broken face.
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Zakariyya and Isa strolled down the alley, noisily licking their ice creams. Zakariyya had to roll his blue eyes when Isa begged him to go to the beach and he couldn't help but steer the car in that direction. The young boy clasped his hand around the elder one, dragging him to the waters.
"C'mon! Today, I'll show you how to make a sand castle. Last time, you made an octopus house." Isa bragged, puffing his chest out and kneeled on the grass with the golden hour making the young boy look a sight to behold.
"Octopus?! Do octopuses even have a house? I made a mermaid's place of living!" Zakariyya scoffed at his brother's claims and Isa perfectly masked the 'Really?' expression.
"The mermaid would've puked if she saw what a horrendous house you designed for her." Isa laughed at Zakariyya's poker face and indulged himself with digging the sand. Zakariyya threw some of the grainy stuff at Isa and Isa watched him in disbelief.
"Did you just throw sand at me?" Isa shrieked out and Zakariyya batter his lashes, puckering his lips out for extra effects. "Alright, you're giving me a bath after we get home."
Zakariyya's pout immediately turned into a grimace and Isa freely laughed out at his expression.
"Such a shameless kid I've raised. You are six years old now! There's a thing called shame!" Zak tched and put the back of his hand on his forehead to be a little more dramatic. Isa shook his head in dismay.
"Sometimes I wonder who the elder brother is. Bro, you are twenty four not me! And it's absolutely okay for brothers to give each other a bath. Don't get me started on the number of times you've called me in the washroom to scratch your back." Isa ranted with a glint of wisdom in his talks and Zakariyya let out a series incredulous gasps at the accusations.
"Me? When did I do such a horrendous thing?! Where is this generation going?" He muttered dejectedly, and Isa rolled his blue-grey eyes at his over-dramatic brother.
After a while, both the brothers maniacally dug the sand and extracted the wet sand upwards. Isa neatly formed balls of the damp thing and Zakariyya accidentally broke all of them.
"I'm never sparing your kids, Zak. I'll take all my revenge on them." Isa angrily muttered and Zak fell on the ground in laughter after sticking his tongue out.
"Ahem ahem!"
Both the house snapped their heads towards the female who cleared her throat and Zak dropped his head in Isa's lap after a hearty groan.
"Can I spend some time with you guys?" Kinza innocently questioned with a sickly sweet smile and Isa's lips pulled into a boyish smirk at the tension between them.
"Isa, tell her to leave. We don't hang out with girls." Zakariyya's muffled voice grunted and Isa bounced his eyes between the two young individuals.
"But, she's pretty." Isa whispered into Zakariyya's ear and the older one glared at his brother. Kinza pursed her lips to contain her smile and Zakariyya snapped his glare to her.
"So Isa, does that mean you allow me? I'm actually a designer so I could give a perfect touch to your already amazing sand castle." She stated with a pretty grin and Isa fell into an absolute dilemma. Before he could reply, she kneeled down beside him, ticking her wild strands behind her ear.
Isa's efforts of avoiding her died down when she smiled at him and his ears tinged red at the simple gesture.
"I'm Kinza Ibraheem. The daughter of Ibraheem Hussain of The Ibraheem Co." She jovially announced, forwarding her hand for Isa to shake and the young boy watched her with wide eyes.
Zakariyya had an 'Ow mahn!' expression at Isa's dumfound face Kinza's blinding smile angered him to the core.
"So, can we be friends?" Kinza added, pointing at her outstretched hand and Isa reluctantly shook it.
"I'm Isa. Isa Hashim. I'm a Grade 1 student." He replied with a bashful smile and she grinned back at him.
"Really now? Just get out of here. You're not needed." Zakariyya rudely ordered and Kinza felt her jaw tighten at the remark. She didn't find where he was just to have a glance at his handsome face. She wanted progress!
"Ignore Zak, Kinza. He's just mad that he can't make a decent sand castle." Isa waved him off, getting rid of the initial awkwardness and feeling himself warm up to the beautiful lady. Kinza raised her eyebrows in amusement and watched Isa with an impressed face.
Zak on the other hand, felt betrayed. Betrayed by his one and only blood brother.
"Okay! So, let's get started. Tell your brother to move over." She declared, rubbing her hands in excitement and crossed her legs. Isa pushed Zakariyya off of his lap and gave Kinza a grin of his own.
"We'll roll this into balls and set them all around the fortress. Then we'll make a minaret, which will be the main piece of attraction." Isa earnestly explained his plan and Kinza paid attention to the slightest detail with a frown adorning her forehead.
"We could make a trench outside for protection purposes." Kinza suggested and Isa lit up like a star.
"Oh yeah! We can throw Zak in it when he tries to approach it." Isa snickered and Kinza hi-fived him at his brilliant idea.
"After you're done with this, see how gracefully I kick and destroy your sand castle. It'll blow into dust, literally." Zak sourly remarked and Kinza shot him a 'Shut up' look which actually shut his mouth.
"That's why we're making the trench." Isa sniggered again and Kinza's glare immediately transfigured into a smile. Zakariyya kept staring at how they bonded so well and left him out. He diverted his gaze and huffed, turning to the other end of the carpet.
"Woah! This looks so pretty!" Isa exclaimed when Kinza put a rolled block of sand at a designated place. She kept pushing the flying strands of hair that came to her face backwards and Zakariyya's scoffed at the fact that she kept her hair open at a beach.
"One minute!" She mumbled, raising a slender finger towards Isa. She then combed her brown-highlighted hair with her hand and swiftly pulled them up in a messy bun as both the boys watched her with their mouths partially hung open. Yes, Kinza Ibraheem was that pretty.
Zakariyya frowned at why he couldn't take his eyes off of her while Isa smiled in happiness that he could spend time with her.
"I like guys who compliment me. Don't just keep staring." Kinza jokingly added at their dumbfound expressions and her cheeks warmed at how Zakariyya's stare stowed at her face.
"You are very beautiful, Kinza. You're the perfect example of beauty with brains." Isa dreamily voiced out and Kinza threw her head back in laughter. Zakariyya scowled at how she laughed at what Isa said. He totally disagreed. Neither did she have brains, nor the looks for it.
"Focus on your work. We're not playing beauty contest over here!" Zakariyya snobbishly taunted Isa and Kinza frowned at how he refused to acknowledge how pretty she was.
"What are you making, Zakariyya? Honestly, it does not even look like sand." Isa remarked with a poker face and Zakariyya watched the paste he made out of his sand by the excessive water he accidentally ended up spilling. Kinza scoffed at him and Zakariyya had to clench his jaw.
"And he's reprimanding others. Loser!" Kinza shot her comment and Zakariyya busied himself in adding heaps and heaps of plain sand to reduce the moistness he caused.
"You know? Back in college, I was known as the Beach Queen." Kinza sassily spoke, resting her palms at the back and leaning in them as Isa did his part of building. The setting sun caused a glow to her features as she closed her eyes making her a sight to witness.
Her eyelids looked so smooth as if it were petals of a delicate flower, her straight nose, her delicate, soft and pink lips stretching into a dazzling smile appeared to be the smooth gushing water of the rivers that revitalizes the beholder just by it's flow. The stray strands of her hair that caused a silhouette under the sun, lightly framed her face and tickled her jaw. And when she slowly opened her eyes, Zakariyya's waited for her hazel-brown eyes to melt into his.
She brought her gaze to his and he felt like the landscape descended into her hazel orbs. He could see the sun penetrating it's soft rays into the brown soils, giving a reason to the plants to sprout out of the depths. The emotions danced in her eyes without a veil and he wanted to unravel them all, spend an eternity in just staring into her tantalizing eyes. Her lips played with a smile at the corners and to him it felt as if the winds blew, trying to convince him that she indeed was a beauty.
She was no one. Not for Zakariyya.
"Are you done, Isa?" Kinza playfully questioned Isa, all the while keeping her eyes on Zakariyya and he broke out of his trance, immediately averting his gaze.
"I guess, I am. It looks pretty good, I feel." Isa thoughtfully stated, raking his eyes over the sand figure. Kinza smirked at the way Zak scratched his neck and inspected their sand castle with narrowed eyes. She bent forward, touching her shoulder with Isa's and smoothened the edges with her flat palm. She then plucked a stone out of her jacket and placed it at the top of the castle with a satisfactory smile.
"Oh no! Why would you that?!" Isa frantically exclaimed with his big blue eyes and Zakariyya scowled at the young boy who received more attention. Kinza simply shrugged. "It looks good like this."
"Let's have a look on what Zak's made out of his sand." Kinza smirked and Zakariyya instantly blocked their view. Isa rolled his eyes.
"Is it for the mermen this time?" Isa sneakily questioned, jumping at Zakariyya to get a glance at his work.
"This is for the orphans of the sea. Whoever wants can live in it." Zakariyya possessively jutted his chin out and Isa slapped a hand on his forehead when he saw what a sandy mess his brother created.
When Kinza got up from her place, Zakariyya's eyes widened to saucers and he warned her with his gaze. If only she's ever listened to him. Or anyone else for that matter.
"No! Get away from here. Or else..." Zakariyya began, while shaking his head in a threatening manner.
"Or else?! You can't do anything!" She chucked his threat off with a raise of her eyebrows and tied her hands behind to get a glimpse. His chest covered pretty much everything of the demolition he did and she moved to the side with a tch. Isa walked away to his castle, muttering something along the lines of 'He did make it for crabs this time'.
"Let me see it, Zakariyya!" Kinza burst out after a lot of efforts of peeking a glance and he moved to cover it again when she slid to his right.
"Move or else I'll just place myself on you and see it. You won't like that, trust me." She threatened him and he cocked a brow at that.
"As if I'll let you'll be alive after that!" He warned.
"Oh ye—" Before she completed, she tripped on a stone and dropped on Zakariyya's criss-crossed legs, her hands basing themselves on his shoulders in reflex. Her loose bun tumbled down to heavy locks and fell around his face. Her frantic eyes met his blue, electrifying ones and she actually felt currents jolt down her body with the clenched jaw of his.
His palms slid back a little at the sudden weight and his heart pounded in his ribcage at the panicky look on her face. She hastily tried to get off of him, sliding a few strands behind her ear simultaneously with him studying every movement of hers.
She finally detached herself from his rigid body and bit her lip as an obstinate blush spread over her cheeks and he lowered his eyes to the carpet to avoid staring at her face.
"I actually didn't mean it when I told that I'll fall on you. I didn't do it intentionally, I swear. I don't know how tha – the stone, the – I don't.... – ah – I...." She forgot how to speak when he looked back up and her heart went haywire at the flurry of the colours of his eyes, that shone with so much intensity that it shut her up.
"Isa?" She suddenly called out, unable to bear his gaze on her own and the kid immediately hummed in question.
"I've to leave. Dad called I guess, so I'll see you another time. Love you, bye!" She stammered, wiping her hands that rested on his shoulders a moment ago on her jeans and scurried out of there. Isa grinned and happily waved back at her while Zakariyya was left wondering what on earth just took place.
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Kinza hurriedly pressed the buzzer again and again, her brows dipping inwards I'm distress. She watched Yasmin's pale face as she laid on the couch after fainting and her heart palpitated fast behind her chest.
Kashif rang the bell of her villa and Kinza immediately ran to the door, her hazel eyes dilating in worry.
"Kashif, where were yo—" Before she completed, her hands covered her mouth that let out a gasp. Kashif barely stood straight, with his red eyes and perspiring forehead clearly showing that he was unwell. She stepped near him and checked his temperature by his neck.
"Kashif, you're not well. What happened? God! You have such a high fever." She questioned with concern as he inhaled a ragged breath through his chapped lips, wetting them to answer her.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about that. Is everything okay? Your buzzers scared me." He inquired, his eyes weakly scanning the lawn and stopped himself from peering inside the villa. Kinza bit her lips at the situation at hand. It was late at night, Yasmin had fainted suddenly shocking the guts out of Kinza and now Kashif's pale face threw her into a dilemma.
"Yes, go take some pills and sleep. Just send some other guards. I'll go with them." She assured her brother-like bodyguard and he stood straighter at the worry in her tone.
"Tell me what happened first." He deadpanned, suddenly feeling the need to be stronger. His hair flew with the cool gust of wind and when he didn't shiver, Kinza sighed knowing that he wouldn't let it go now.
"Yasmin is unconscious. She was fine a moment ago but she suddenly passed out. We need to get her to the doctor." She averred and his heart went wild at the thought of her not being well.
"Let's go. Where is she right now?" He asked with a serious face and Kinza blocked his way. She didn't want to trouble him at any cost.
"Kashif, go and rest, man. You're not well either." She tried to convince him and he gave her a look that told her that he was fine.
"Don't worry about me. Just tell me where Yasmin is." He questioned, raking his eyes into the place as soon as he stepped in. Kinza rolled her eyes in annoyance and followed him inside.
"Wait here. I'll just put on her scarf and come. She's like freakish about her Hijab." Kinza muttered in a hasty tone and dashed inside to cover Yasmin's hair. Kashif rested his head on the wall behind and passed a tired hand down his face. His head ached but he was willing to be patient for that woman who unknowingly seized the strings of his heart.
Kashif walked inside when Kinza loudly called out for him. One look at Yasmin's colourless face and weird things happened inside his chest. He bent over and gently picked her up in his arms being extremely careful with holding her. Kinza watched everything with anxious eyes and hurriedly opened the door for him.
Kashif then lay her down in the backseat of the car and gave orders in his watch to the rest of the bodyguards to follow them. He did so because knew that he couldn't fully protect them in this state and so he had to have backup. Kinza then shut the door of the passenger seat and Kashif raced at full speed.
"Neither does she eat properly nor does she rest. I think the divorce has been a huge blow for her and that's why she's so quiet." Kinza stated as they sat outside while the doctors checked up on her and Kashif bobbed his leg to distract himself from the uneasiness he felt in the pit of his stomach.
His eyes burned with the fever but he refused to leave Kinza and Yasmin to get medicine for himself. His entwined hands turned white at the knuckles and when the female doctor stepped out and their heads snapped to her.
"I've given her a fluid and she'll hopefully regain consciousness in sometime." The doctor began with a smile and Kinza breathed a partial sigh of relief. The doctor then turned towards Kashif with a grin and he grew alert.
"Congratulations. You're going to be a father." She declared and Kashif felt like someone punched his gut. Kinza gasped in surprise and watched the doctor with wide eyes.
Kashif had to swallow at how the lady misunderstood his and Yasmin's relationship and blinked his bloodshot eyes.
"Are you serious?!" Kinza questioned in disbelief and the doctor smilingly bobbed her head.
"She's in the initial stage of pregnancy and I've prescribe a list of vitamins you would have to give her. Take care of her and don't let her stress out." She spoke and Kinza had to purse her lips from lashing at the doctor. Kashif's heart thudded in his chest and he wanted to just run and go see Yasmin. "I see that the young man is tensed but don't worry, she'll be alright."
Despite the situation, he couldn't bring it in him to tell the doctor that he was a no one to her. He heart painfully twisted at the thought but he nodded his head at the lady in white coat.
"Thank you, doctor. We'll make sure that she's okay." Kinza sighed and muttered, clenching her hands into fists and mentally throwing Wahaj on the rail tracks to die.
After a while, Kinza slowly entered and saw Yasmin blankly staring ahead with a drip connected to the back of her hand. She felt her heart go out to the woman who has suffered so much at such a young age. She ambled upto her bed and lightly pressed her free hand.
Yasmin gave her a blank look and Kinza had to suck in a breath to face her. "I don't want this child."
Kinza was astonished at the revelation and watched Yasmin as she resumed. "I don't want to give birth to his child. I don't want to have anything that binds me to him. I'm going to abort it."
"Yasmin, what're you saying? This innocent life inside you is your baby." Kinza comforted her while pointing to her belly and Yasmin's eyes shone with tears at the harsh memories of her past.
"You are in no way related to that monster, Yasmin. This baby is yours and you will raise it to make him or her a good human. I assure you that he or she will not turn out to be like that sack of filth because your piety will not let him. You are it's mother and you will do a great job at it, honey." Kinza reassured and Yasmin's bent her head to stare at her stomach. Kinza stroked her shoulder and she felt like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.
"It is his child, Kinza. I can't help if he becomes ruthless like him and goes on to ruin lives. I will be the sinner then. I don't want to bring him to this world and finish all this before it starts." Yasmin whispered, her eyes brimming with tears at the thought of killing her baby again. Kinza leant forward and wrapped her arms around Yasmin, providing her all the comfort she could. Yasmin's tears unwillingly rolled down her cheeks and Kinza stroked her head with care.
"I trust you, Yasmin. You will be an amazing mother. This is your child and it will be as beautiful as you are." Kinza consoled Yasmin and Yasmin pulled back to tearfully stare into Kinza's eyes for assurance. Kinza nodded her head at the broken lady's question and Yasmin burst into sobs, at the overwhelming feeling.
Kashif knocked at the door and Kinza asked him to come in, while holding Yasmin in her arms. Kashif avoided looking at Yasmin and silently placed the sandwich and the coffee he bought for Kinza on the side table.
Yasmin's cries wrenched his heart and he gulped at her sniffs. He didn't know what sort of test this was but he had trusted Allah, and he knew that Allah never lets His slaves down. Never.
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Salam 'alaikum folks!
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PoV Kinza's motivational lessons:
Haha. Until next time, маё каханне⚘
Maasalamah!