After finishing the story and closing the book, I ruffled Shumaila's hair. An hour ago, she had very shyly asked me to read her a story and now she was lying with her head on my lap. She giggled and hid her face. The girl next to her, Aleena, smiled at me, her eyes sparkling bright with hope. I smiled back, got up and turned to talk to the school teacher beside me.
"As much as I like being here, I'll have to be on my way now" a chorus of no's greeted my announcement. "Don't worry, I'll be back"
"Thank you so much Begum Sahiba for taking out the time"
"Don't be silly. Anything for the children. Thank you for letting me be involved. You'll be hearing from the Ministry of Education soon," I said and moved to shake hands with the principal. "Thank you, you've been very helpful. I've learned a lot and you're right there's definitely room for improvement"
"It's an honor Begum Sahiba. Thank you for the visit"
"My pleasure" I answered. "Bye, kids! Have fun, study hard," I said waving at the kids.
"Bye Begum Sahiba!' They said altogether, waving back. I walked towards my car when a small tug stopped me in my tracks. I turned around to see Shumaila, standing there clutching a piece of paper in her hand. The Principal rushed forward, worried.
"Hi," I said bending down to her level. She blinked and handed me the piece of paper. Flipping it over, I looked at the drawing. A princess stood in front of a castle. There was a long winding road that led to the city and in there, she had drawn a small rectangular building, this school, and herself. The girl was holding a crown in her hand, looking at the princess.
It was a drawing of us.
"This... is amazing," I said giving her a hug. "I'll cherish this forever" I stared at the drawing for a second. I seemed so forlorn and aloof in the picture, surrounded by walls, unreachable. I just lived in a castle on the hill. The Principal and Shumaila stood back as I waved and got into the car, with a heavy heart.
"Come on! We just got these, you can spare an hour" It was hours after the school visit. I was researching engagement policies when Izzy has barged into my room. London might not be such a bad idea for him. He was getting antsy.
"Please, it's our wedding video," Hania said in a more controlled tone. I let out a sigh and followed them to the theatre room. Ammi Jaan and Uncle EJ were already there, talking over some popcorn. Rania was curled in her chair, asleep. Izzy shook her awake and she glared at him.
"The guests will arrive in a couple of hours, I have to go over the preparations," Ammi Jaan said as Izzy started the video.
"It's only half an hour-long" Hania replied. I sat next to her and accepted the popcorn she handed me.
The lights dimmed and I fanned my face. Was it too hot in here? I was feeling woozy. Nausea threatened to take over and I put the popcorn away. The video started and I stared at all of our faces on the big screen, trying to focus. The rest of my family had not noticed anything. The wave passed and I relaxed in my chair. We were at the wedding ceremony now. Izzy and Hania were laughing and dancing around, Rania and I were whispering in the corner, Zaroon stood to the side and Uncle EJ was charming some lady.
I laughed along with my mother, as we watched the wedding traditions unfold on the screen. I grabbed Izzy's hand, forcing him to stop as he ran towards Hania. Another wave of nausea made me clutch my stomach. Feeling the need to throw up I ran out of the room and crashed on the floor.
"Is she okay?"
"What's wrong with her?"
"Call the doctor! Izzy can you carry her upstairs..."
"What's wrong with her? Elena? Elena? I'll do it"
My brain felt like mush. The swinging motion was making it worse. I clutched at a collar and rested my head on a hard chest. I focused on the strength of the arms carrying me. My carrier had a slightly woodsy, masculine smell. Funny, Izzy never smelt like that. I inhaled the masculine smell and curled in.
After a minute, I could feel another vomit crawling up so I wiggled my legs to get down. The person placed me on the ground, keeping their hand on my arm to keep me steady. My vision cleared long enough for me to realize that I was in my room. Stumbling, I ran towards the bathroom, banging the door behind me and threw up.
"Elena, open this door at once," Ammi Jaan said from behind the door.
I flushed the toilet and splashed cold water on my face. My reflection left me in shock. My eyes were red and I looked sick. I cleaned up quickly and dragged myself out to my room, my head spinning. My whole family was standing there, with Zaroon, my guards and Andaleeb. I groaned and waved to my guards, letting them know I was okay, while Andaleeb shepherded them out of the room.
"What is wrong with you?" Rania asked rushing forward. I raised a hand to ask her to stay quiet. The room was spinning again and I could not feel my legs. I stumbled towards the bed feeling my breath come in short bursts. Zaroon caught me as I nearly fell, miscalculating the distance.
"Uh... the doctor is here," Izzy said rushing out to get her. Hania went to find Izzy and Ammi Jaan took a seat. Rania climbed up on the bed and set my pillows, placing a hand on my forehead.
"She has a fever," Dr. Daneen said after her checkup. "And the heat has gotten to her."
"It was really hot today" I rolled my eyes at Ammi Jaan's statement.
"Have you been stressing about something lately?" Did she not watch the news?
"She does not take care of herself," Izzy said from the corner. I shot him a glare.
"I'm fine" I ground out. Seven pairs of eyes looked at me with varying degrees of disbelief. "Really, whatever it was, it's out of my system"
"Is there anything else? Should we limit her movement? Should she eat less? She has been getting a bit chubby..." Ammi Jaan muttered. My cheeks darkened and Zaroon rolled his eyes.
"What is she stressed about..." Uncle EJ asked. I let out a frustrated sigh and fell back on my pillows. Dr.Daneen noticed my frustration and placed a comforting hand on my arm.
"It's the stress and heat. You'll be better in a few hours. Just try not to exert yourself too much. Try to drink some liquids" she said. I gave her a placating smile and she walked out with Rania and Izzy.
"Begum Sahiba," Andaleeb said coming into the room with her ginger tea. I sat up, grateful for something to settle my stomach.
"Thank you Andaleeb" she nodded and walked out. "Who brought me upstairs?" I asked Uncle EJ and Ammi Jaan.
"Zaroon did" Hania answered, her eyes full of mischief. I blushed.
"There's a dinner today, we need to get ready for that. Ammi? Hania?" they nodded and got up. "And I'm sure you have things to do," I said turning to look at Zaroon. He gazed at me, with the blank look in his eyes that signaled he was trying to decide how to deal with me.
"I do," he said getting up.
Uncle EJ got up and everyone walked out. As the door closed, I closed my eyes, feeling the loneliness creep up. I had fainted. After one trip to the city. What was wrong with me? I was never a delicate flower. I did not have the strength to get out of bed. I felt weak and alone. Picking at the threads of the duvet, I wallowed in self-pity. Thank God Feroze was not here. He would have made fun of me till the end of time. Hopefully, no one had told Aunt Mamo about this incident.
The door opened and Zaroon walked in, his laptop in his hands.
"I...what?" I asked as he set up his mini office beside my bed.
"I have work to do," he said opening his laptop and typing away. I stared at him. He looked up. "Do you need anything?" I shook my head.
"On second thought, can you please hand me the reports..."I said gesturing to the pile of papers on my dresser. He nodded, got up and handed them to me. I'd have to thank Uncle Azhar for having such a son, soon after he returned from his vacation. We both worked in comfortable silence, occasionally pausing to ask a question or clear a fact until Rania came in to tell me that I had to get ready for dinner.
"This is lovely Elena," Sameer said, looking around the foyer. "IÂ came here when I was a kid, but not this side, obviously..."
"It's home," I said with a smile, watching Zaroon fix his collar. I stared at him feeling a blush creep across my cheeks. We stood ready to receive the guests in the foyer, my mind on what had happened this afternoon. His thoughtfulness had melted me this afternoon. Probably had melted Ammi Jaan too as she had invited Zaroon to dinner as well. It worked out well since he knew both Hussein and his father.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Rania asked from beside me. I stomped on her foot. She moved away with a sharp glance that promised retribution. I sighed, the night air was crisp and cool, doing wonders for my head. Adjusting my earrings, I inhaled the calming smell of jasmine planted in the driveway. I watched as Hussein and his father drove in and their driver moved to open their door.
Zaroon and Rania greeted and accompanied them in. I watched as they talked and joked around.
"Your fiancé?" Sameer asked. I started. "Sorry did not mean to startle you"
"It's fine."
"So is he?" if only he knew.
"I believe I have only known you for a day Sameer," I said leading him to the mirror room for drinks. He laughed embarrassed.
"Sorry occupational curiosity"
"Ha. My mother always wanted me to become a lawyer"
"Really? Why didn't you?" I ran my fingers through my hair while answering him and flipped it over my shoulder. I caught Zaroon's eye and smiled. He smiled back while he conversed with Hussein. I watched as Rania walked over to them and Hussein's attention immediately latched on to her. Zaroon looked at them amused and excused himself. I hurriedly focused on Sameer and his detailed description of law school.
"Hey," I said as he came over. Sameer paused and looked at us. "Sameer, this is Zaroon. He's head of security and an old family friend"
"Hi, nice to meet you," Zaroon said shaking Sameer's outstretched hand.
"Hello. Nice to meet you formally. These two days have been a whirlwind"
"Haha, thankfully, it's all over" I replied with a laugh.
"I don't know how you handle it. At least my cases deal with my clients, this is your life" oh boy.
"It's something... here, did you try this? Our chef came up with this" I said handing him a glass of the pink fuzzy liquid. He thanked me and took a sip while I shared a glance with Zaroon.
"Sameer!" Izzy said from across the room. Sameer excused himself and went to meet him.
"How does he know him?" Zaroon asked watching Izzy converse with Sameer.
"Izzy knows everyone. It's a small circle"Â I took a sip of my water and sighed, no nausea thank God.
"How are you holding up?" he asked as we walked to a corner, our backs to the wall.
"I'm fine. Just tired"
"Maybe you should rest..."
"No, I'll be fine once I get some sleep. I was up last night trying to come up with a plan"
"No leads on the traitor yet?"
"Nope" we fell quiet as Ammi Jaan announced that dinner was being served. Zaroon escorted me to the dining room and we sat at our designated place.
Ammi Jaan was still at the head of the table since I was not ready to implement the political hierarchy in my personal life. Rania and I sat on either side of her, with Hussein and Ghulam Uncle respectively. Hussein could not have looked more thrilled. Uncle EJ sat next to Sameer while Zaroon, Izzy and Hania completed our dinner party. I watched Zaroon talk and laugh, fitting in with my family, his manners and upbringing shining through. Ammi Jaan watched me as I watched him and gave me a small smile. She had noticed this too. I smiled as I cut through my steak focusing on Ghulam Uncle and his anecdotes. The man had lived an eventful life and soon, the whole table was roaring with laughter.
My heart full, I looked around the table at my growing family. This was all I ever wanted. My eyes stung as I thought about my father. He would have loved to see us, together and happy. I met Uncle EJ's eyes and I smiled. He smiled back and nodded tipping his glass to me. For now, all was good.