Back with a bang.
Literally with a bang.
Warning: Some mature content at the end. If you're not comfortable with some intimate moments, kindly don't drag it to the end.
Otherwise, You all read it and I should go, find a place to hide :))
The September air was cold and the lamp light caught the mist of the valley. A dim crescent moon hung low over Neelum. Otherwise, the night was black. She stood with the bedroom window, her head resting with the transparent glistening glass. The air that surrounded her was quite and peaceful with an admirable pacifism. It was the kind of day for her, where even a feather would fall without drifting one way or the other. That night was silent, so was Zubiya. Her heart and emotions were still, utterly still.
It was almost five days since Asfandyar had left for San Francisco and she couldn't feel more incomplete than ever. His vacancy had left her dry and heavyhearted. The ache of longing to be with him echoed through the very marrow of her bones. It was a chill wind trapped in the chambers of her heart. And as the allotted time for his return drew nearer, time itself seemed to slow to such a leisurely pace it seemed cruel to Zubiya, ringing out the seconds, so that final week left felt like a month. Zubiya never knew that missing someone could take over every fiber of your being and wring you out like a wet sponge every day. It was a torment she was unprepared for.
With her long delicate fingers tracing abstract patterns on the glass window, she remembered just how a week before he was packing his things, purely with the support of his wife. Together they were tick-checking the list for his essentials. Toothbrush and paste, shampoo, deodorant, his shaving kit, socks, plane tickets, earphones and all the things required for his twelve days trip.
"Asfi. Laptop ka charger rakh liya hai?"
"Keep your power bank, charged, with you."
"Passport aur tickets yaad se rakh li jiye ga."
"I guess you'll need EU adapters too."
"Mein ne UV sunscreen bhi rakh diya hai. Jis tarhan ja rahay hain, ussi tarhan wapis aayein. You know sun-tans are severe and I don't like them much."
"I've paired your white shirt with brown pants. Theek hai?"
"US dollars, inner pocket mein rakhay hain."
For a week, after he had left she woke up and found her bed to be cold and lonely. She missed his muscular arm that she dreamt were wrapped around her as much as she missed the musky smell of him. She missed him when he was gone. She missed him so much. She missed his smirk, his wealthy laugh. His husky voice, his witty comments, his warmth, his mischievous orbs and everything.
For a week she could not sleep. She was sleepless, unfortunately.
With Asfandyar no longer there, sleep became a fleeting chore. Zubiya wrestled at nights with the dark and the light trying to find comfort from either side but most times she lost the fight.
One cold night, she tossed and turned but just couldn't find the right position. A lingering haze of sleep sat somewhere at the back of her mind but was too far away to reach, floating in the pool of her memories. Icy discomfort blossomed in her chest and made it difficult for her to breathe.
Trying to make herself fall into slumber, she took as deep breaths as she could, but many just caught in her throat, like an icy wind had blown down there and managed to freeze the air solid. At that moment, Zubiya knew these twelve nights without him were going to be long.
Asfandyar was Zubiya's safety, his harbour, a place to call home no matter where he was. In all the wakeful hours he was always the emerging specter and beneath it all laid Zubiya's heart.
Only five days and her mind had been a whirlpool, swift, unprogressive and incessant, a torrent of thoughts leading nowhere, spinning round swift and steady. Her mind was blank; where there used to be dreams, were now a heavy blackness. Her eyes as stationary as the silhouette of her bedside lamp. His devoid left her sleepless, how unfortunate.
Every morning she stole a glance at the pointless alarm clock, ringing sharply, and reach out to turn off the buzzer. Once for her 6:30 am was a rude awakening, now it was an impossible target. She was sleepless the whole night.
"Jab mein nahi honga na uthaney ke liye tab meri yaad ayegi tumhein." His voice still echoed her mind.
Little did he know, without him she won't even sleep. Without him there was no peace, no rest.
For a week despite being sleepless, her desire to eat had lessened. She had bad appetite. With Asfandyar, everyone in the house knew, how they both used to devour food after they were back from their work but now alone, she was mostly caught playing with her fork.
"Zubiya beta, theek se khao. Tumne nashta bhi nahi kiya tha."
Lubna aunty had said just a day before at the dining table when they sat together for dinner. Lubna aunty and Usman uncle had necessarily noted that she had not been taking her meals properly.
***
With her warm head rested against the window pane she smiled as she remembered how he teased her, telling he would meet all his American female friends after years. He showed off how beautiful and attractive they were. And how much all those chics liked Asfandyar personally.
"Zubiya, I swear I can't wait to meet Natasha. She was like, so so pretty and charming. Here to mention, her blonde locks have my heart truly." He said when they were randomly sitting on their bed a night before he left. His head rested on her lap as he rubbed the back of her fingers pad. Within minutes he thought of playing with fire, and found that oddly thrilling.
"Oh good." She said while her hand that weaved in his luscious hair froze. Natasha had been Asfandyar's very very old friend back in California when he was doing his graduation for MBBS. Zubiya had once saw her picture in his laptop too.
She was no doubt very attractive, curvy at all the right places with long shiny bar-stool legs. She was pale and fair, had large blue languishing eyes, rosy lips and then her hair, which from being light in her youth, had become chestnut, which she wore curled very plainly. Her face with much powder admirably set off in which the most rigid critic could only have desired a little less rouge.
The picture of them at his graduation was not much liked by Zubiya, rather she hated it. For because she was hanging around his neck tightly, dressed in a simple robe of black-knee length, backless satin that exposed half of her body and appeared twice lascivious than it really was. She wrapped herself around him closer than a food wrap. But what ignited fire inside Zubiya was that her lips shamelessly touched his cheek with a force. She still remembered she had snapped off the laptop screen in hope of extinguish the emergency fire that raised inside of her the first time she saw the picture.
After some minutes that passed by in silence she asked,
"By the way, Mama baba ko pata hai apki iss dost ke baray mein jis ke baalon per aap fida hain?" She huffed slightly with annoyance.
Asfandyar had oftenly teased her with the names of her female extra vougish friends and Zubiya had always played her best to not get jealous-ed, but she couldn't help herself. It was just she hated if Asfandyar talked about anyone else. She didn't even exactly know, just to be jealous-ed or offended.
Asfandyar knew well Zubiya was irritated easily with the thought of any other woman paired up with him and he couldn't stop feeling more affectionate and cute about this. The proportion of Asfandyar which Zubiya thought was hers, forever and ever, was hers always. She didn't even have a single room for compromising or sharing, neither did she ever want to.
"Obviously, mama loved her too. Bus baba ko usko dressing koyi khaas pasand nahi thi baki tou she was everyone's favourite." He said, mischievous light piercing from his eyes.
"Hmm what about you? You liked the way she used to dress up?" She asked with an annoyance but curiosity seeping through her tone.
"It would be too rude to say this but I've never found a woman, too well dressed like Natasha. All the beautiful dresses and skirts she used to wear, the crop tops and jeans. She was so classy by god." The grin in his eyes grew as he watched her with tentative and careful gaze.
"Why does he sound so over obsessed with a girl who takes her life direction from fashion magazines, starves herself and is more self absorbed than a tadpole's tail." She thought to herself, her inner-self catering with jealousy. Her want for attention from him was aggravating her badly.
Out of all the issues going on in their lives and the world even, he had nothing but to talk about his old love bird. She hated geography and history but right at moment, was much likely to listen about how the world warms, ice sheets and glaciers melt, and ocean water expands, which can disrupt and damage coastal communities and infrastructure in virtually every sea-bordering country in the world. Even about the great emperor 'Timur the lame' as a contradictory figure. How he did untold damage to many great civilizations such as the Persian and the India and yet he was also partly responsible for a Golden Age in Central Asia. She could listen to anything but not that stupid Natasha that raised the tinge of annoyance in her nerves.
Annoyed at her peak and angry than ever she moved her hand out his. She tried to get up softly as his head was on her lap. Nonetheless she wanted to continue this moment to infinity but this stupid conversation about Natasha, that she hated, had from nowhere started and she couldn't take more.
"What happened?" He asked as he found her genuinely upset.
"Nothing, I just have an important work to do. Aap bhi apni packing final karlein, it's late." Her eyebrows slightly furrowed and she looked away.
"I don't really think that there is any important work to do at this hour of night. Then why are you leaving? Kya hoya?" He asked, knowing everything, even the sole reason behind.
"Kuch nahi hoya. Mujhe kya hona hai?" She arched her eyebrows and held her chin higher.
"Zubiya kahan ja rahi hou? Betho na. I really want to talk to you, kal tou mein chala jaon ga yaar."
"I'm sorry but meray paas bilkul bhi time nahi hai ke mein apki purani doston ki kahaniyan sunon. I know how excited you are to meet you long lost friend, jis ki dressing sense pe 'khaas' aap ka dil hai but with extreme apologies I'm busy. Abb ager aap uthein tou mein jaon?!" She scoffed off daringly.
Asfandyar was quite amused at her sudden outburst. Treading on dangerous zones he continued with his teasing. "Wait wait wait. Is that jealousy I detect Ms Zubiya Asfandyar Ali Khan?" His voice was utterly deep and seeking, a roguish smile painted on his lips as he watched her with mesmerisation.
The swirls in her cognizant brown eyes become stormy. She raised her eyebrows casting shadow on her high cheek bones.
"Oh really? Apko aesa lagta hai I'd be jealous of you're old friend, balke not friend, a girl-friend whom you appear to be very fond of? You're badly mistaken. Abhi itne buray din nahi aye meray." She groaned lightly.
Asfandyar grinned hard not show how funny this whole situation appeared to him. The lengths she could go to earn his attention was unbelievable. She was clearly jealous. During the declaration she made proudly to tell him she was not envious, every word that she uttered was coated green with envy. Just when she said he was fond of his so-made girlfriend, she was jealous. Just when she denied of not being this low, getting jealous of chic American, she was bitterly jaundiced. He was winning high this time, like always.
"Mein tou aesay hi bata raha tha. Tum tou naraz hi hogayi hou." He replied softly to further rile her up. Asfandyar had intentionally ruined her mood. Distinctively he had mastered over the art of ruining her mood first and then finally making it up too in the early months of their marriage.
"As if I really care!" She rolled her eyes.
She could feel his decorous lips stretch into a successful smile warming the nerves all the way back to her spine. In an incalculable seconds he moved closer and his forehead touched her as he defied her in a kissable tease of whisper.
"You should care, else the hot Americans will have all the fun, all which one desires for." He winked with the growing grin in his husky voice.
"Astaghfirullah. Sharem karein Asfi." She replied with scolding eyes as she looked away with a hot scarlet face.
His husky chuckle echoed through the room as his arms curled around her slim waist. Her lips that were in a thin line before turned in a grin as his provoking lips trailed a fragile kiss near her neck under her defined jaw. Her wide awake eyes flew open and she sighed heavily as she turned in his arms.
"Asfi. Don't!" She let out a dark hush as she moved her head away avoiding him.
"But why?" He complained.
"Because you always try to take the crap out of me, just like you were doing some minutes before. And for that I have very cruel ways of punishing." She proudly explained.
"I'm so sorry Zubiya. Abb kabhi nahi karoon ga pleasee sorry." He acted innocent while in reality he had so much mischief still piled up inside him.
"Please!" He begged in that voice that was so raw with passion, wanting anyone to cave in as he stretched his first vowel.
"No Asfi." She mumbled and shook her head.
"But why not?" A smirk engraved him.
"Because I said so!" She whispered with closing her eyes.
"Matlab ke yaar mein kal ja raha hoon. I really want to have fun with you tonight, and you're not even letting me come closer. Kinti zalim hogayi hou." He said with dripping faked annoyance.
"Ohou! Aap ne jesa mujhe bohat yaad karna hai wahan ja ker. Mushkil hai ke aap 12 days mein wapis ajaein, Natasha jou hogi akhir wahan." She sarcastically replied.
"I swear Zubiya I'll miss you so much. Natasha is my really good friend likin meri Zu tou nahi hai na. Woh hogi bhi tou I will miss you endlessly. Even if I think I'm leaving tomorrow it makes me sad, wahan jaker tou aur ziada udaas hojaon ga. And if you remember I promised I'll be back within 12 days, and you know I keep my promises." He replied with his voice enunciating in her ears moving closer to her neck burning a perpetual pathway in her sensitive skin.
"But I'm not happy with you, you're not even bidding me a nice and desired farewell, if you know what I mean by my 'desired' farewell." He complained.
"I will not either. You're desired farewells are so difficult and tiring to bid. Now if you know what I mean." She whispered as her words ruptured his ears.
"Fine. Then don't complain when my friends overseas, enjoy with me." He nodded theatrically. He was such a dramey-baaz, Gaiti was right.
"You wish I will complain!" She sang.
"Natasha is a great planer. I wonder what has she planned for my special welcome." He winked.
"Astaghfirullah Asfi, You're terrible." She gasped with frustration and looked the other way while his voice vibrated in a chuckle and she despite of being mad joined it too.
▪
It was the sixth day after he had left. Though it felt like decades, he had been gone. She hadn't talked to Asfandyar for two days and it was driving her insane. No phone call, no text message. She knew that Pakistan is 9 hours ahead of USA and all the states, therefore it was quite difficult to communicate. When it was hers free time to talk in the morning, it was his night there and when she would be sleeping, he'd be trying to call. The synchronization was mismatched and he was surely very busy too.
That night it rained drastically. Black clouds sprawled across the sky, billowing in from the west. The air grew heavy. The scent of rain was dark and heady. A stillness had fallen over the valley, and in the silence came a low crackle of thunder, rolling across rooftops to the pattering of tiny raindrops. For a moment, everything stopped. Even the wind held its breath. A streak of hot silver splited the sky, and the downpour began.
The icy grey sky restlessly grumbled. The thick blackened clouds were dragged down by the heavy rain which it held in its delicate frame. The clouds which struggled to withstand the burden of the weight which the rain held, soon gave in. The rain poured down over the city with a roar. The sound of emptiness was disrupted by the loud gregarious boom of thunder. The harsh rain turned into an disorientated chaos. It was in short frightening.
That night she couldn't sleep like the past some days. But it was something different that day. She didn't tossed or turned in the bed, she layed in one position, frozen. Her heart was silent, no longer being able to fight the battle with her thoughts and emotions. She placed one hand under her cheek above the pillow. Her brain couldn't function, it couldn't think straight. No matter how much she begged to her eyes, they stayed wide open.
Within some minutes of battling she forced her heavy and bruised eyes closed. Her eyes were somehow kind enough to give her rest but that night and thunderstorm were not.
Some hours later she was jolted up at night by the crack of lightening. She was uncomfortably alone and cold. She checked the clock it was half past four in the morning. Her heart thumped spontaneously inside her chest. She could feel the heartstrings of her heart pounding against the shore of her base. The apex crashing into each artery, each capillary, each vein.
Asfandyar!
Her eyes teared up. Ever since they were married, not even single night passed, that he would not hold her in his arms and warm her to an extent that she will sleep comfortably. She never woke up in between the nights after they got married. Maybe her scary demons was soundlessly sleeping too somewhere in her heart. Since he was not with her, she was severally insomniac.
Dr Zubiya Ali Khan was now a patient herself too.
***
The next day at the hospital, she was sitting in the staff lounge not feeling well. She was tired due to the restless and sleepless nights.
She held her temples rubbing them in a sickly attempt to cease the unsettling chill that continued to run down her spine and made her skin crawl. Her body kept aching, cheeks burning with the flush of fever. She sipped on her tea when Gaiti entered into the staff lounge.
"Zubiyaaa. Allah ka shukar hai tum bhi yahan hou, meri tou abhi duty off hoyi hai. Chalo beth ker dher saari baatein kartey hain, aur madam jab se Asfi gaya hai, milne kyun nahi aayi hou." She said in one breath excitedly as she sat beside her on the silver aluminium seat.
She weakly smiled back at her which hooked her attention.
"Tumhari tabiyat theek hai?" She asked worriedly.
"Jee Allhumdullilah. I'm good, thora sa fever hai. Antibiotics start ki hain, theek hojaye ga." She replied to her with a soft smile.
As she touched her forehead, the scorching heat radiated at the back of her hand. "Khuda ka khauf karo Zubiya, yeh thora sa bukhar hai? Itni garam hou rahi hou uper se chai pee rahi hou. Apna khayal kyun nahi rakhti hou theek se? Kal baarish mein tou nahi gayi thi?" She scolded her while her eyebrows got tensed.
"Bus abb aap shoro hogayeen na? Mein theek hoon yaar. Apko aesa lagta hai ke kal ke tofaan mein mama mujhe bahir janey dein gi woh bhi aadhi raat ko? Mein ghar mein hi thi. Thora sa bukhar hai theek hojaye ga. Inti tension na liya karein." She heavily sighed.
"Mama ko pata hai?" She asked.
"Nahi, aur inti bari koyi baat hai bhi nahi ke unko bataon. Unhon ne wesay hi pareshan ho kar khud ko bemar karlena hai." she explained.
"Asfi ko?" She eyed suspiciously.
"Bhabhi?! IT IS JUST A FEVER, aap tou baari baari aesay poch rahi hain jesay pata nahi mujhe kya hogaya hou. I doubt abb aap pochein gi apni khala ko Peshawar phone karke bata diya hai ke mujhe bukhar hai?" She replied shaking her head.
"Mein iss liye keh rahi thi ke ager Asfi ko pata chala tou pheli flight se wapis Pakistan pohancha hoya hoga."
"Abb aesi bhi koyi baat nahi hai." She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Meri wesay bhi dou din se, unse baat nahi hoyi." She told her.
"Hmmmm. Kaheen uski yaad mein bemar toh nahi hogayi hou Zubiya?" She winked at her and Zubiya squirmed under teasing gaze.
"Hahahah what no? They're only twelve days." She gulped and replied not to spill the truth else Gaiti's teasing would be the end of her life.
"Tweeeeeeeeelve!" She prolonged the first vowel.
"Yeah. only twelve." Zubiya replied.
"Chalo kher hai Zubiya ki bachi. Na bataou." She pouted as she tied up her loose hair in a bun smiling.
"Kya na bataon? Jab kuch hai hi nahi, tou kya bataoun?" She sipped her remaining tea. Gaiti wanted her to wail about his husband who was away from more than a week and she couldn't reply because she found it awkward to talk about her longing like this.
"Ayee Zubiya. Keh dou ke tum se Asfi ki judai sehi nahi ja rahi. Tum uski yaad mein raaton ko sou nahi rahi hou, uski yaadon mein mubtala hou. Din raat----."
Zubiya burst into laughter. "Inti over acting kafi hai bhabhi." She interrupted.
"Zubiya just say that you miss him." She huffed.
"Bhabhi meri life mein aur bhi bohaaat cheezein hain jinke baray mein sochna filhaal ziada zaroori hai." She replied easily. Gaiti knew her well. Zubiya was just trying to fool her self.
"Ughh Zubiya such bolne se kuchh nahi hojaye ga." She grunted.
"He'll be back in a few days Bhabhi. Sab kuch normal hai. Apko pata nahi kaya hogaya hai."
"Hmmmm din gin rahi hou matlab ke." She mumbled in a teasing voice.
"Unbelievable. You are just unbelievable!" Zubiya repeated and smiled to herself while Gaiti chuckled loudly that bellowed the staff lounge.
"Acha mazak aik taraf. Foran dawai lou aur ghar jaker aaram karo. Acha na? Mein raat ko phone karke poochon gi. Doosri baat theek se soya karo, itne dark circles hou rahay hain. Asfi aker pochay ga warna." She ordered as her thin fingers swayed under her eyes, caressing her skin.
"Jee theek hai." She held her hand softly.
"Acha abb mein ja rahi hoon. Dr Asifa se milna hai, tum ghar jao. Araam karo meri jaan. Allah hafiz." She hugged her and left a soft kiss on her flaming hot cheek.
"Allah hafiz." Zubiya replied weakly.
Gaiti got up and straightened her shirt. She was about to move out when Zubiya called out. "Bhabhi!"
Gaiti turned and eyed her questioning.
"Do my eyes really look tired and sleep deprived?" She asked cautiously.
"Ouffhou Zubiya. Abb iss baat ko lekar pareshan mat hona. You're sick right now, mein ne iss liya bola tha. Ghar ja ker rest karo, you'll be fine, InshaAllah." She replied.
"Hmm. Thankyou" she mumbled.
Gaiti smiled and left.
***
It was almost three days after Zubiya had fallen sick. That day she went home after she met Gaiti, waves of heat coursed through her blood. Her eyes sunken and skin swallowed, everything ached, everything sagged. Lubna aunty was a little mad at Zubiya for not taking proper rest so she made her stay at home for the next few days. Zubiya talked to Asfandyar as well but not on phone call, they had text exchanges. She missed him more than she could have missed anyone else in her entire life span. Every cell in her body wanted him eagerly. .
It was strange for Zubiya- frightening even - how can she go, from being complete strangers, to then being completely infatuated by him and wondering how it ever was that she was able to live without Asfandyar, because sure as hell she couldn't imagine being without him now. For everyone else it may sound a over dramatic, sugar coated romance but it was true when Zubiya said that she loved him more than she could ever love herself. Asfandyar was her best friend and, as cheesy as it sounds, he was her anchor. Her one stability in this world filled with chaos.
She thought about him the ten nights and nine days from when he was gone. It was as if space and time became the finest point imaginable, as if time collapsed into one tiny speck and exploded at light speed. It was as if her universe began and ended with him. She knew she could run forever, search forever, but in the end, every path will lead right back to his heart and soul.
***
Zubiya rejoined hospital after three days of being sick. She wasn't actually that bad but Lubna aunty had not let her even switch on the lights of her room all by herself, letting her come to hospital was somewhat a mission impossible which Zubiya wanted to surpass, but unluckily she failed. She had to stay at her home, in her room and do nothing except taking rest. Who needs a doctor when you have a mother, who has raised a doctor!
Lubna Aunty was Asfandyar's mother after all. All three days Zubiya had to take proper antibiotics on time and Aunty made sure to to give her enough nutrient-dense foods, to give her enough energy her system needed to kick whatever germ had her down. After being perfectly stable 'according to Lubna aunty' Zubiya was back to work.
There were so many accidents and emergency the day she rejoined, wide entrance with automatic sliding glass doors open and closed numberless times, ambulances lined up outside letting paramedics wheeling in patients on trolleys.
The last patient she attended that day was a child. He was in between eleven or twelve months. Zubiya moved her stethoscope over the child's back. There were pronounced crackles in the right and left lower lungs, his oxygen sats were barely keeping above ninety percent and his white pinkish skin was pale. He was awake but there was a listless to him and his chest heaved more quickly than it should to bring in air. Pneumonia most likely.
The wall chart showed an emergency cubicle newly vacant, there would be no waiting for this kid. She instantly looked over to the nasal oxygen prongs that the nurse was already hooking up. She listened to his chest, ordered lung x-rays, blood tests, urine analysis and the preparation of intravenous antibiotics. She handled the infant with great care and finally left him in the emergency ward. The infant was admitted in the Children OPD and was under observation.
Why suddenly the day after my rejoining became so hectic?! Now even if I go home, there would be no sleep I know very well. I will stay tired. He has literally no right to be away from me for this long. She grumbled to herself while she stood in front of the mirror in the female staff-restroom. After the whole day, running like a maniac she thought of making her self quite presentable before she goes back home and Lubna Aunty finds out about the heavy load of work she shed just after recovering from illness.
After drying up her face, she just washed, she applied a thick coat of mascara on her curled long eyelashes. She beautifully parted her hair from mid and brushed them too. Perfectly applied a fresh fine layer of peach colour while her cheeks accompanied natural pink and at last sprayed her Chanel 'allure' on her swan like neck. Within seconds the rest room filled with her robust scent.
***
By the time she got home, night had fallen and enveloped the valley in a blanket of darkness. She scurried down the path towards her house, her shoes slapping against the stone steps that led to her front door. Fallen leaves littered the walkway, bathing it in dark red and orange, and she stepped on them with a satisfying crunch.
The porch light was on, and the familiar yellow glow made the house feel warm and inviting. A brand new flower pot to the right of the door was filled with pink and yellow chrysanthemums. The metal of the doorknob was cool against her palm and she twisted it with ease, entering the well-lit living room. As soon as she entered every muscle of her body just froze before a grin crept onto her face, it soon stretched from one side to the other.
Asfandyar was back!
He sat with his parents in the lounge while his suitcase stood right next to the sofa. They all had been quite just after she entered into the house, waiting for her response.
It took a second or two for the new information to sink it, even though it was right before her eyes, larger than life. Then she could feel her lips stretch wider into gaping grin and her eyebrows arch for the sky.
He had made it. He was there. No longer Zubiya was pixelated or two dimensional; she was warm, fragranced and soft. He kept his promises! Always!
He saw the shock register on her face before she could even hide it. A small smile played on his lips. "Asslam o alaikum." Were the first words he uttered, it was the richness of his tones - luxurious and warm.
His words pulled her out of the sudden shock."Walaikum Assalam." She awkwardly replied with a small soft smile. Not that she was not happy, she was ecstatic. It was just very very very awkward for her to express her desire, for him to be home, in front of her in laws. Even though they sat there, in front of her eyes experiencing her every move. Lubna Aunty and Usman unlce exchanged some known smiles.
"Mein ne tou kaha tha Asfi se ke ghar jaldi aa hi gaye hou tou tumhein phone karke bata de likin iss ne maa kardiya. Kehta hai Zubiya ko surprise doon ga." Lubna aunty explained.
She looked at him and his smile did not falter for once. His gaze tickled her. For a moment she thought it was mere a dream or hallucination she might have due to her medicines, but the electricity that he sent down through her nerves was for real.
"Lagta hai Zubiya surprise hogayi hai." Usman unlce shared his opinion too, smiling.
Zubiya awkwardly smiled. "You were supposed to come back two days later?" She asked.
"Umm yeah. But my work ended soon. All of the major seminars were done so I thought of returning soon too." He explained.
Zubiya could easily sense he was trying too hard to stay composed and normal after a very long void but he was well awared that she will nearly, no not nearly, definitely kill him if he would comment or act anything slightly indecent. She had always kept her grace in place especially in front of his respected elderly parents.
"Acha kiya Asfi beta tum jaldi agaye. Zubiya akeli itna udaas hogayi thi." Lubna Aunty not mischievously, in a very serious concerned tone, replied.
His eyebrows raised in amusement. "Oh really?" He asked.
As her face turned crimson red, her phone rang.
Perfect timings!
It was from a nurse in hospital. She knew after so many patients she had checked in the hospital, there will be many to be attended on the phone as well. She got up and said quick excuses as she went into her room to talk.
"Asslam o alaikum Dr Zubiya." The nurse said.
" Jee. Walaikum Assalam Fatima."
"Dr. Zubiya aap ne aaj aik bachi ko admit kiya tha, jis ke left leg ki fracture ka doubt tha. Uske X-Rays agaye hain. Bachi ko fracture nahi hai, muscle ki inflammation hai. Abb patient ki family chahti hai ke bachi ko discharge karwa lein unko travelling karni hai. Tou mein iss waqt kya karoon?" She explained.
"Fatima. It's just muscle's inflammation? Nahi usko severe swelling and bruising thi, leg bone ki deformity bhi prominent thi. Aap aesa karein leg ki angulation or rotation ke measures le kar mujhein inform karein, I think it is a fracture."
"Jee theek hai. Acha aur medication ki prescription mein jou fractures thigh ke middle part (femur) ya shinbone (tibia) pe hoon uske liye metal rod----"
In a moment, her waist was wrapped around by two strong arms. His hand slid around her waist, and pulled her close to his pine scented body. Her face flushed and chest heaved. He nestled his head under the crevice of her long neck. The time stopped for Zubiya, she could fadely listen to Fatima speaking on the other side of the phone but could not concentrate. She gulped and smiled. His warmth seeped into her being and he comforted her.
In that moment his arms squeezed a fraction tighter and Zubiya breathed more slowly, her body melting. His chests rising and falling against her back, their breaths in unison, and the warm blood that they could feel in each others' embrace. His touch had definitely made the room warmer.
Zubiya then felt a hot breath on her neck, then the tender brush of his lips. Burning as they make contact with her neck. Her eyes widened. His hand ran through her hair. He moved in for a kiss and Zubiya felt the graze of his lips against her neck - a gesture that would have normally sent her head spinning only made her sick to the very pit of her stomach.
"Hello? Dr Zubiya? Aap sun rahi hain?" The nurse called out confusingly.
She cleared her throat and unknowingly answered.
"Umm jee... Aap aesa karein ke... ummm... Mujhe thori der baad call karlein, mein thora busy hoon." She senselessly replied. She herself didn't know what to say.
"Jee theek hai. Allah hafiz." She replied and Zubiya on the other hand disconnected the call instantly. She moved in his arms and was now facing him.
"I think mein phone pe zaroori baat kar rahi thi." She snickered as her eyes melted within the direct contact from his.
"Aap kahan busy hain wesay?" He ignored her taunt and counter-taunted her for telling the nurse that she was busy.
She blushed under his gaze and said nothing.
"I've missed this blush." He himself said and caressed her cheek.
It was wrong when Zubiya said she missed him terribly. Her love for him was deathly. She was truly blessed to have him as her husband someone she had truly and completely fallen for.
"After a long time Mrs. Asfandyar Ali Khan. I've missed you so much." He confessed quietly as he held her hand and kissed them gently.
He wore a white shirt, the two buttons from the top were undone and his red silk tie hung loose, paired up with khaki crisp pants. His hair were disheveled and created the perfect mess. She checked him unblinking, almost staring him.
"Well Zubiya I know, I'm handsome. Likin ager aesay hi dekhti rahou gi tou It will make me go severally conscious." He at last said bringing her out from his trance.
Zubiya embarrassingly smiled and looked away.
"Hey. You missed me?" He questioned.
"Umm thora sa." She told him, giggling.
"Acha? Sirf thora sa?" He faked his feelings to be hurt.
"Yeah, I had like so much to do more tou raat ko thora sa miss karti thi sirf." She purposely lied and laughed. He couldn't adore her voice ringing in her ears more.
"Hmmm. Abb tou raat bhi yahan aur mein bhi." He replied and shamelessly winked.
Her eyes widened and her smile turned into laughters, he joined her too.
"Asfi jaatey waqt jou baat jahan chori thi aaney ke baad waheen se shuru ki hai aap ne." She laughed.
"Obviously, you didn't bid me a farewell not even a welcome. How mean!!" He frowned.
"So you didn't had your 'desired welcome' by your sweetheart Natasha?!" She sardonically chided him.
"Ugh no, it's hard to tell you but she has found a new boyfriend!" He told her while his expressions feigned sadness.
Zubiya laughed with a music. Her laughter echoed the room and the walls of his membranes, solaced his body. He laughed at her endless laughter too.
The laughter then died out precisely. Asfandyar tendered his intense and most revealing gaze at her. After a prolonged moment of total silence he did not need to say anything to her. Desire and longing were etched there.
Zubiya stood in his arms, rooted to the spot, mesmerized by his unblinking brown eyes. An unexpected desire flared in her too. This startled her. He clung to her tightly knowing where she belonged, had always belonged. Zubiya wondered if he could listen to her thundering of heart. Eventually he tilted his face, looking deep into her eyes, impaling her with his. Uninformed, he brought his mouth down to hers and kissed her gently, tenderly. His passion spiraled upward he had great eagerness that inflamed her further.
Zubiya found herself responding to him with rush of ardor, her hands encircled his neck, reaching up to his hair. They were absorbed in each other and their bodies too. She was reeling from amazement, startled by the passionate and erotic feelings he aroused in her. Her Allure perfume exuded a certain sophistication. The irresistible smell was hard to define but brought to mind a balance between clean and sheer scents and warm and sexy notes.
Asfandyar grimaced proudly for getting what he wanted for so long. He was over the horizon, knowing the woman in front of him was his. Completely. Zubiya had broke her insecurities and trusted him out of many. On the other hand, Zubiya's joy and happiness at being with Asfandyar so filled her with Euphoria, it never occurred to her that they might tempt fate and be together. This night of theirs would she remember later to infinite, and reflect on their words too.
"It's so strangely feminine that I taste like peach right now!" He teased Zubiya as he made fun of her fruity peach flavored lip colour.
Her cheeks went red and she growled, "Then maybe this be the last time you taste like peach!" She scoffed off laughing.
He laughed too and nodded his head managed to say sorry.
The moon and stars shimmered differently that night, the air was somewhat cold and different too. Being in each other arms they knew, they had at last found where they were destined too.
Pheewww! Now that was a long long long chapter. You can thank me ;) Also don't kill me for writing the end part but halal army! Their officially married so sorry couldn't help it.
I would really appreciate if you would comment and vote for the 6665 words exact, I wrote at 3:28 at night and on your popular demands I added some extreme leveled romance. Please guys don't forget to vote, comment and share.
Until a very long time guys! I lovee you all so much, thankyou for the love and praise.
Unlike always, I don't think I'll be back soon but when I'll be, i would come with something very promising.
Now if you all please excuse me I really want to sleep bec it's really late.
Lots of love and smiles,
The sleepy cupid💘