Rafia (Nida's mom) POV:
I've had a lot of chemotherapies since the past two months and it's been quite painful and hectic. Irfan bhai had taken me to the hospital in the morning since Rizwan jee was obviously at work.
My cancer had come very close to reaching its third stage and it had become so visible now that even Nida noticed how my breathing would complicate very frequently and I would just tell her it was asthma though it wasn't even close to that. It was worse. Much worse.
I would very frequently vomit as well but to my luck, I never had Nida around.
After finishing my treatment, the doctor called me over and gave me news about my condition, leaving me shocked......
I..I have to tell Rizwan jee.
Nida's POV:
Dear Diary,
It's been ages ever since I actually made a proper entry. Well, now that I have Shehry in my life, time hi kahaan milta hai iss sab ke liye ;) ♡
Anyhow, thought I'd write one today since Shehry was at his phuppo's place, sulking and dying to come visit me but his dad :P hahaha. Abbay ke aagay nahi chalti bechaaray ki.
These past two months have been amazing and unforgettable. Shehry, despite, being the rule breaker, managed to follow the rules we both initially set together on Sara's baby shower :P He took me out thrice through the front door of the house, meeting my parents and asking for their permission. They were quite astonished and had faces like 'Iss ko kis doggy ne kaata?' And 'Aaj sooraj kahaan se nikal aaya?' But they were happy that at least he was trying to change himself and was turning more mature.
We had mad fun at a new ice cream parlour that had a grand opening. He then took me out to an extravagant restaurant which had such a pleasing romantic feel and last but not least, we went to Central Park together last Friday in freezing snowy weather and had snowball fights, made snow fairies and just enjoyed to the max ♡ We had no secret hangouts at home but at school.....well at school we couldn't sit apart. I mean come on ! Aik hi to jaga milti hai, apna aap banne ki, wahaan bhi na masti ki jaye to faida hi kia. ;)
My love for him just keeps getting stronger and deeper with each passing day. Mom, dad and Sara were right. This engagement did help us get to know each other better. We've learned a lot though we didn't realize it. Let's bullet these lessons out, shall we?
● We learned to respect each other which we did not previously. All we ever did was mostly play around and never took anything seriously.
●We had lots of deep conversations on our 'allowed' dates which really helped us to know each other better, inside and out.
●I've grown to learn how caring he really is about me :") and how he's always there to listen to my pointless dramas and continuous bhak bhak ;)
●We've also learned that romance isn't all that makes up a relationship. It's much much more than that. It's about sharing happiness and sadness, being understanding and caring for each other, and well.....giving warm hugs whenever needed. ^_^ ♡
Let's just say...
I'm ready whenever the time comes ;) ♡
After I was done writing my diary, my phone rings.
I look at the caller ID. Hmm...Dad? Poor daddy hardly ever gets time to call. But today? Must be something important.
I pick up. "Hello?"
There was a strange sort of pandemonium in the back. I could hear people yelling and sirens.
I gulped at the loud as hell noises that reached my ear.
"He...zz..en.." An uncomprehendable voice escaped the phone and it wasn't dad! Who has his phone and why?
"H..hello? I..I can't hear you. Please speak louder. My..my dad. Where is he? And why do you have his phone?!" I yell through the phone so that he can hear me in all that racket in the back, at his end.
"Oh, you're his daughter?" He says and I just got more and more impatient with every passing second.
A strange kind of nervousness had overtaken me.
"Yes, I'm his daughter. Please tell me where he is, sir." My voice started shaking as frightening thoughts engulfed my mind.
"He...he got into an accident." He says slowly and my heart stopped.
My breathing had started becoming queasy. His words replayed in my head and a feeling of dizziness engulfed me. My body went numb and I could not grasp a single thing he further spoke on the phone. My pulse rate dropped as my body became completely unresponsive and no tear escaped my eye.
"Miss...St. Patrick Hospital. Emergency Ward 4. Hurry !" These were the last words I heard from that guy as the phone hung up.
"Mama !!" I screamed as I fell to the floor in a subconscious state.
"Kia, kia hua beta? Nida ?! What happened? Beta bolo to sahi." Her eyes had pooled up and I stuttered.
"M..mm...mama....w..woh..." I didn't have the strength to speak any further, so I got off the floor and dragged her along with me downstairs.
"Nida beti bolo to sahi. Hua kia hai ?!" She yelled as she tried getting an answer out of me, but the words just wouldn't come out.
I went to my car pulling her along with me and we both sat in.
She suddenly pulls my face to hers. "Nida !!"
"Papa ka accident ho gaya hai." I spoke suddenly and her expression stiffened. She held her heart as she began wheezing. Her asthma had begun to get the worst of her.
"M..mama. Sab theek ho jaye ga. Please tension na lein. Mama please. Aap hausla rakhein. P..papa ko kuch nahi hua." I tried comforting her but her condition seemed to worsen.
My heartbeats had become quite uneven with all the different emotions I was going through. I...I need someone to help me. To hold me. To help me out of this hell. I grabbed my phone off the dashboard and dialled Shehry's number.
Mom's condition had grown too intense now, and those tears which I held in for too long, fell off my eyes like never before.
"Nida. R...Rizwan....kahaan hain iss waqt. Kis haal mein hain. Kuch bolo Nida. Bolti kiyun nahi !" She hit her head to the window, crying wildly.
"Mama woh theek hain. Kuch nahi hua unhein." I speak in between hiccups as I tried all I could to hold back my tears. I need to be strong. For her. If I break down, too. There will be nothing left of us. Nothing.
My phone was still in my hand, ringing up to Shehry, who wasn't picking up at all. The signals weren't reaching his phone.
Please utha lo phone Shehry. Meri maddad kar do. Mujhe iss azaab se nikaal do. Please thora sahaara de do. I need you...
I had finally reached the hospital and helped mom out as we ran towards Emergency Ward 4.
"Doctor ! A patient just arrived in here. From an accident. Where is he?" I ask quickly, finding the room empty and my heart pounding harder against me.
"Miss. Calm down. They just shifted him to ICU due to his critical condition. Room number 13." He replied and my breathing had hitched in my throat. Dad was in...ICU.
Mom, who I had purposely made to stand at the back, now came running towards me.
"Nida, kahaan hain woh?!" She bawled and I just shook my head and begin walking away when she grabbed my arm and yelled. "Nida ! Ku..kuch bolo !! Kahaan hain woh ?!"
"I...ICU mein." I had to tell her. I had to speak up.
"Kia?" She said shocked and held her heart.
"Mama....mama woh thee... Mama !" I screamed in horror as I see her sway and eventually fall to the ground.
I grabbed her midway and screamed.
"Mama !!!" I yelled in pain as I cried loudly now. There was no holding back. A few doctors and nurses nearby, took her away to provide her medical help.
I dashed towards the ICU rooms which were close to the Emergency ward and rummaged through for room 13.
My vision had started to blur, and I couldn't see the room numbers clearly.
Mein be-bas, be-haal thi. Iss aik lamhay mein aisa lag raha tha ke meray liye iss duniya mein koi bhi nahi hai. Koi bhi nahi....Yahan tak ke...Shehry bhi nahi.
Someone nearby saw me and held me by the shoulders, but it wasn't the person who I needed most right now. It was..his brother ?! Hussain?
"Nida ?!" He yelled in shock, tears engulfed his eyes.
"Hussain, r...room number 13?!" I had no strength left in me to ask him why he was here. I just..just needed to see my father.
"Nida, he's not here. He's in the emergency ward." He says and my eyes widened.
"B..but the doctor said, he's in ICU." I said, gulping down my emotions.
"WHAT ?! No ! This can't be ! H..He isn.." Hussain was on the verge of tears when all of a sudden, his sentence was interrupted by a stretcher rushing this way.
Who is he talking about? I'm talking about dad.
"Hussain meray papa..." I halted midway with the sound of the stretcher piercing my ears.
The doctors ran faster and faster but by the time they reached here, I was in no strength to look at anyone anymore, so I turned away and ran for my life. My dad.
I stopped in my tracks when I hear Hussain's screams in the back.
"Shehry !!!" His tone, full of agony, making my heart stop.
No. No. This. This is not....happening. This is not. Fucking.....happening. Please be a nightmare. No no nooo !!!! Shehry !
I couldn't switch my face to the stretcher. I just could not turn to look at Shehry. My heart would never be able to handle the sight just 5 meters away from me.
My body had begun stiffening as I just stood there, from the corner of my eye, watching Hussain go out of control.
"Shehry ! Shehry aankhein khol. Shehry meri taraf dekh. Shehry uth yaar ! Uth jaa !!!!" He bawled, tears wildly rolling down his eyes, as he screamed and tried to talk to Shehry, whom I did not dare to shift my gaze at.
Ya Allah Sh...Shehry....Shehry ko...kuch na ho.
Tears rolled off my eyes like there was no tomorrow as my breaths hitched up in my throat completely.
"Sir, calm down. we have to shift him to ICU. Emergency won't do. Calm down please ! His pulse rate is..." I heard the doctors yell at Hussain as a few nurses pulled him away from the stretcher, and I covered my ears with my palms, unable to absorb any more about Shehry.
His stretcher was heading my way. No! My life is over. I'm completely done for.
I shook my head and ran farther away, and finally caught sight of room 13.
My heart fell to my stomach, the second I caught sight of dad, as he laid there, laden in fresh blood from head to toe. Knocked unconscious with all those different machines and IV drips attached to his poor weak body. He was wrecked. Completely wrecked. Damaged from head to toe.
"Papa !!! Papa !!! Papa please aise mat chorein mujhe ! Papaaaa !!!!" I just bawled banging on the window as if...as if someone had thrown me behind the bars with nowhere to escape.
I felt like I couldn't breathe anymore, so I looked away and cried my heart out. My heart pounded inside me and I felt that if I stay in this condition any longer, I'd puke my heart right out.
I just dropped to the floor feeling my body break down and my heart...shattering into a billion pieces.
My love. My life. All shattered ! Who did this to both of them ! And why so suddenly? Who took away all my happiness? All our happiness?
I couldn't see them. Dad. Mom. And now....Shehryaar.
I cried. Loudly. I had no one out here for me. My world had just fallen apart.
Koi nahi tha. Koi nahi tha. Sab marr chukay thay meri zindagi mein. Ya Allah meri hi jaan le letay, unn ki kiyun le li....
I stood up and was about to barge into his room but the door was locked.
I felt a touch on my shoulder and I turned around slowly. It was Hussain. He had tears rolling off his eyes and his breaths uneven, just like mine.
"Hu..Hussain." He peered into my eyes in pain.
Suddenly, we both hugged each other. So tight, we could've exploded. I sobbed louder and harder, not knowing what to do. What had life brought me to?
"What did I do Hussain ? Meine kia kiya hai aaj tak aisa, ke mujhe aaj...aaj itni bari saza mil rahi hai ?! My dad and now....Shehry !!!" We both cried against each others' shoulders, unable to bear the tragedy that had just fallen upon our weak hearts.
"Hussain, please tell me Shehry theek ho jaye ga. Please Hussain. Please, please, please !!! Nahi to mein marr jaaoungi Hussain. Jeetay jee jaan nikal jaye gi meri. Meray papa aur Shehry.... !!!" I bawled over his shoulder and he pulled back cupping my face in his hands.
"Nida w..woh th..theek hai. Bas thori chot aayi hai ussay. Th..theek ho jaye ga. Tum...tum ghabraao mat. The doctor said he'll be fine. They...They're trying to bring him back to consciousness." He said trying to reassure me, though the pain in his voice just stabbed me more in the heart.
I felt weaker as my head started spinning. No. No. I can't faint. Mama. Papa....Shehryaar. They all need me.
"Nida?" He looked at me in shock as I leaned against the wall helplessly trying to steady myself.
Aisa lag raha tha jaise ab...ab meray shareer se meri jo bachi kuchi jaan thi, woh bhi aahista aahista nikal rahi thi.
"Nida. Nida. Here...water." He quickly shoved the glass to my mouth as he tried to hold me steady with his arm on my back.
I gulped down a sip and he sprinkled a few drops on my face. Tears streaming down his face as well as mine.
"Hussain. Shehry ko...ko ki..kia hua hai. Kaise..kaise hua hai?" I stammered as my lips shivered.
He stole away from my gaze. "Mujhe..mujhe nahi pata Nida. I...I just don't know. AND I DON'T WANNA KNOW !" He yelled as he dropped his head yo the floor and completely broke down.
"Hussain!! Sambhalo apne aap ko."
Why was I even saying this? Khud ko sambhala nahi ja raha tha aur uss ko keh rahi thi.
I lifted his head off the ground and wiped off his tears. "Hu..Hussain...papa aur...aur Shehry bach paayein ge bhi ya...ya nahi."
He peered into my eyes, excruciating pain, evident in his bloodshot eyes.
He just shook his head meekly. "Mein nahi jaanta Nida...Mein...mein nahi jaanta !"
The doctor barged out of the ICU room and found us.
I just fell upon him. "Doctor...doctor !!! How is he ?! Is he..is he okay ?!" I gulped in my tears and he holds my shoulders.
"We're trying. Trying everything we can. His condition is too critical. He...he could lose his life."
I went numb as I fell to the floor, unable to absorb what he just said.