12. Tears of a stranger

*****

Marwan never knew a fear as strong as what he felt at that

moment. The call was cut in seconds and Marwan had stood there, not knowing what to say or do but the small pat on his shoulder had shook him out of his reverie and he looked at Ziah who was staring at him with concern.

"Sab theek toh hai na?"

Her whisper came out with a hesitant tone and Marwan gulped as to not scream in agitation. His hard gaze looked directly ahead as he shook his head in negative and mutely clutched Ziah's wrist.

Ziah remained silent as she let Marwan lead her to his car. Seeing the look of pure horror on his face, his skin suddenly looking paler than normal, the look in his eyes that resembled vulnerability but the emotion was overpowered by an intense look of ruthlessness had scared Ziah to the core but she knew something had happened for him to turn so cold.

"D-Daiyan and Parizad got into an accident."

He dropped the bomb with a small voice as he started the car. Ziah stilled on her seat as her head whipped to look at him with wide eyes that resembled nothing but disbelief and panic.

Marwan kept his gaze ahead, not looking at her even once throughout the ride. His heart seemed to be racing with worry and anxiousness and he kept taking deep breaths to regulate his temper.

For the first time in ages an anger like nothing had flowed through his veins. Something that promised devastation for the person behind all this. On the outside his cold demeanour put on a protective barrier to stop the heated lava that was erupting in huge waves from surfacing and harming anything in its way.

It was being stored for the person who dared to harm his friend.

Marwan Qureshi liked fun, light hearted conversations and nothing but jokes being thrown around but his anger was worse than his playfulness. If not to exaggerate, his temper reigned like a haze in front of his eyes that the majority of the time blocked his sanity from making an appearance.

Reasons why he always kept his temper in check.

Nearly twenty minutes later, Marwan had parked in front of the hospital where his friend was admitted. He controlled himself from dashing directly inside and quickly got out to open the door for Ziah whose hands were already raised to do the task. He rolled his eyes at her flabbergasted expression and took hold of her palm in his before making a beeline for the hospital entrance.

Thankfully it wasn't too crowded and Marwan was quick to talk to the receptionist who happened to be the same woman who had called him.

"He's in room 240. One of you can visit him while I have to request the other to fill these forms."

She forwarded a stack of papers to the two and Marwan quickly started going through them. Ziah looked at him and then back at the receptionist who was going through the hospital records.

"E-excuse me, unke saath ek lady bhi hai. I-is she fine?"

"I am sorry ma'am but that's for the doctors to tell. As you visit Mr. Mirza, you can have a word with Dr. Mathur. He's in charge of the lady with him."

Giving a small nod of thanks to the kind woman, Ziah waited as Marwan submitted the papers after going through them once again.

Marwan and Ziah then raced towards Daiyan's room and all the while, the two had their hands gripped in each other's without knowing. The warmth that their touch radiated soothed a little of their worries but not enough for their hearts to calm down.

Marwan barged in the room, startling the nurses and Doctor inside. Everyone watched with wide eyes as the two entered the room and Ziah could only give them an apologetic look in return.

The doctor cleared his throat, the look on his face said anything but that he was pleased by their sudden appearance. He looked in his early fifties and the look in his age old eyes said nothing but of the experience that he had in the field.

"I believe such an entry is not appreciated, Mr.."

"Qureshi. Marwan Qureshi."

The doctor nodded his head but anyhow asked the two to step outside.

The rebel in Marwan rose with full force as his eyes darted towards his friend who lay unconscious on the bed. Scratches graced his feature, a gauge wrapped around his head. A dark bruise lay on his cheek and a deep cut on his lips. He looked so worn out yet so at peace.

Marwan clenched his jaw as he took in Daiyan's condition. His fists ached to come in contact with something, just to cause the slightest bit of harm to control the raging beast in him.

Ziah gulped as she sensed the dark aura that had suddenly formed around the man beside her. Her eyes looked at his palms that kept fisting and unfisting. The tension in the room rose considerably as the Doctor tried to pacify Marwan into stepping out of the room but the man didn't budge, instead, he took slow steps towards his friend who was resting on the hospital bed.

Marwan took a close look at Daiyan's face. He looked so carefree and so at ease but the slight creases on his forehead told a different story. A story of distress.

"Mr. Qureshi, you are interfering in the patient's treatment. Please step outside or else I'd have to call the guards."

The old man tried to pursue the commando with a stern yet gentle tone. The horrors of seeing your closed ones in such a condition could take a toll on one's sane mind and he knew force would be able to do nothing in this case apart from worsening the situation.

Ziah took cautious steps towards Marwan who seemed to have blocked his surroundings from his conscience. Her heart ached seeing his condition but she knew she had to stay strong for her sake and his.

She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, the touch seemed to have brought him out of his daze due to the increase in the friction against his blood and its walls of its vessels. A feeling so electrifying that it seemed insane yet so addictively pleasing.

"M-Marwan, let the doctors do their job. Aise unke kaam mein dakhl dene se kuch nahi hoga."

Her soft words made Marwan take a sharp intake. He gulped the sudden lump in his throat, his eyes suddenly feeling a little too moist, his heart contracting in ways he couldn't pin-point. The throbbing of his temple kept increasing second by second and finally realizing that his stubbornness would bring no good to anyone, he gave a curt nod to Ziah and walked out of the room, not looking at anyone or giving any other response.

Ziah gave a polite smile to everyone in the room and followed Marwan's trail. The latter had slumped down on the metal seat outside the room, his head in between his hands, ducked down as he stared unblinkingly at his shoes. The bright sherwani that he wore clashed with the pale white walls of the hospital.

Ziah decided that it was better if she left Marwan alone for a while. A little time of solitude just with himself might soothe his worries a little and give him time to collect the war that was waging in his head.

She looked around and was quick to call out to a nurse passing by, her question that of where she could find Dr. Mathur and was instantly directed to the room towards the far end of the corridor. She gave one last look to Marwan who seemed oblivious to her presence and with a heavy sigh, she made her way towards the doctor in charge for the treatment of her friend, Parizad.

Knocking on the cabin of the door that was decorated with a small metal plate with Dr. B.D. Mathur engraved on it, she bit the insides of her cheeks in nervousness. A response was heard from the other side and she quickly opened the door only to come face to face with a worn out looking old man that sat on his chair with a conflicted expression.

Dr. Mathur looked up from the file of his current patient and was surprised to find a lady dressed in a posh wedding attire than the worker he had sent to fetch a cup of tea for him. He gave her a small smile of assurance and closed the black folder before inviting her to sit on the seat ahead of him.

"Please come in. How can I help you?"

His tone was polite and gentle and Ziah felt her nervousness reducing considerably since this would be the first time that she was left to converse with a stranger all alone without Marwan by her side. She gave him a wavering smile and took a seat.

Her fingers fumbled with each other as she finally took a deep breath and looked at the doctor with an anxious expression.

"S-sorry to bother you doctor but I am a close friend of Parizad Mirza, the lady whose treatment you are in charge of. S-she was brought to the hospital a few hours back if my calculations are correct. Would it be by any chance possible to tell anything about her c-condition just yet?"

A look of recognition crossed Dr. Mathur's eyes as he nodded his head. Running a hand across his rough beard, he took a deep breath before leaning back on his chair.

"I am not fond of sugar coating my words, Miss..."

"Ziah."

"Right, Miss. Ziah. All I can say as of now is that there was blood loss more than what one could call less risky. Her pulse had slowed down considerably when she was brought to the hospital. I have checked on her and noted down the necessary observations but anything apart from this would not be wise to say just yet. Though, it's not the most severe of conditions but it depends on how the healing process goes by and how her body reacts to it. The report for now looks good enough so I ask you to lessen your worries and just pray to God."

Dr. Mathur gave an assuring smile towards the end. Ziah could only give him a nod of gratefulness and with a smile directed to Dr. Mathur's way, she politely took her leave.

Closing the door softly behind her, she made her way where she last left Marwan. Her steps felt so robotic but at the same time so heavy. The exhaustion and the distress had now taken a huge toll on her body but she remained strong.

Shaking her head a little, she looked to where Marwan was sitting at the time when she had left him alone only for her worry-filled heart to be stabbed by the bitter reality that she had zoned out during this whole fiasco.

She blinked a few times as she stared at the scene ahead of her. Her fingers tightly clutched the ends of her dupatta as she took in deep breaths to not let the million reasons that had ruined this night from giving way to her tears of frustration.

Her heart ached as she saw Laiha running a comforting hand across Marwan's back who seemed like a kid complaining about his worries to her. Their voices hushed and low, keeping the conversation just to themselves. Marwan looked so worked up as his hands flew aimlessly in the air, the dark glint in his eyes had subsided considerably and was now replaced by vulnerability.

But what made a tear fall from her hazed eyes was the realization that putting down all your barriers was only possible in the presence of someone close to your heart and soul.

Marwan had shown his vulnerable side to her. To Laiha.

His fiance.

She took a few steps back, her eyes not leaving the scene in front of her as she hid herself in the shadows of the pale white walls that seemed like an abliss that would listen to her cries without any complaints.

She smiled through her tears as she saw Laiha giving a side hug to Marwan , murmuring what one could think of as comforting words.

Without another second being wasted, she quickly turned her back towards the two and walked away in search of an isolated place but that didn't seem necessary as her tears had already started falling freely down her cheeks and became non-existent as they hit the white marble ground, probably being stamped on mercilessly by any person passing by.

After all, who was considerate enough to bother about the tears of a stranger?

***********

That was one of the most depressing things I've written in this short span of being a writer. I know I know, it was nothing for maybe all of you but people, I am a fan of happy chapters and not the ones that would make me sulk.

And while writing this chapter, I was seriously wearing a sullen look as if it was the most natural reaction- and it was.

Acha, just because you didn't get the cheesy encounters between Ziah & Marwan in this chapter, pretty please don't ignore the star button or the comment section!!

*************