Zaryab sighed for the 50th time that day. He was waiting outside the tall building where his sister worked, waiting for her. His mom had forced him to pick her up as she had a habit of taking an Uber home, something no one in his family liked.
Her birthday was coming up soon and Zaryab decided to get her a car.
"Finally, mehrani sahiba agai." He muttered as Eshal walked towards the passenger side of the car. She stuck her tongue at him before taking a seat in the car.
(The queen has arrived)
"Acha, mama nay kaha tha kay mai aur aap shopping kay liye jai gay aur phir hum bair say khana be kha saktay hai." Eshal explained to Zaryab.
(Mama said that you and me can go shopping and then eat from out)
"But why?" He questioned with his eyebrows furrowed. His mother hadn't mentioned a thing to him.
"Because they are going out to eat with the Khan's." Zaryab nodded his head as he drove towards the mall.
Today had been a hectic day at work. Long ago, Zaryab's father had opened a restaurant which today led to a chain of successful restaurants.
There were 2 in New York, 1 in Toronto, 3 in Dubai, and a total of 15 in Pakistan.
The board team was trying to decide what other dish they should add to the menu. It was a very hard decision to make hence why they still haven't made the decision yet.
When they got to the mall, Eshal dragged around Zaryab to every store she could. He hated shopping but for his sister and mother he could tolerate it.
"Eshal, yaar, chaalo ab." Zaryab groaned.
(Dude, let's go)
"Jab apki biwi aye gi, aur woh shopping ki shoukeen ho gi, tou tab ap kiya karay gay?" Eshal asked with an innocent look on her face, but Zaryab knew she was far from innocent.
(When your wife will come, and she'll be a shopping addict, what will you do)
Zaryab rolled his eyes at her question. "Well I'll obviously tolerate it for her."
Eshal let out a shocked gasp, "but not for me?!" Zaryab rolled his eyes once again before he walked towards the men section.
His eyes stopped one a green maxi dress, similar to the one she was wearing.
He hadn't been able to get her out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried.
Zaryab hadn't told the incident to Eshal. She had no idea her brother saw her childhood best friend. It's very easy to see that Eshal misses her. She hasn't even been able to befriend a friend like she had to Ayat.
He shook his head as he walked towards where the men's dress shirts were. After picking a few out, he headed to the checkout where he also saw Eshal. He payed for the both of them, no matter how much his baby sister insisted she could pay herself and they both headed out. They placed their bags into the trunk of the car, before sitting in their designated spots.
"What do you want to eat?" Zaryab questioned.
"Chinese!" Eshal exclaimed.
He nodded his head before he started driving towards a really good Chinese restaurant. By now, the sun was setting, marking the sky all shades of oranges and pinks.
He smiled as he saw Eshal take a few sunset photos.
After 10 minutes, they arrived at a Chinese restaurant.
It was a nice rooftop restaurant that had gotten Eshal very excited. She loved Chinese with all her heart, but her smiled dropped as she remembered she had came here before. With Ayat.
Truth be told, she missed her friend, a lot. She was her first best friend. A sister she never had. She hated Omar from getting in between them.
She had tried to contact her, but her number was closed. She guessed that she had gotten a new number. After that, she didn't really try to look for her, since she got busy in her own life.
More like the love of her life.
Eshal was engaged to this guy from her college who would always express his love for her in the hallways. At first, she was very, very annoyed and always tried to ignore him. Too fed up with him, she decided to give him a chance. They went out to watch a movie together and Eshal found herself enjoying every second.
He then sent a rishta over for her, wanting to keep it halal. And the rest was history. They had even gotten engaged recently when Zaryab came back.
(Proposal; halal means religiously allowed, opposite of a sin basically)
Zaryab ordered herbal chicken with sriracha fried rice and Eshal ordered teriyaki chicken with fried rice.
They caught up with a lot of the things going on in their life. They even talked about childhood memories.
"So, when will I get a bhabi?" Eshal asked, wiggling her eyes brows. Zaryab shook his head at her, before sighing.
"The one I want is the one I can't get." He muttered lowly, however Eshal still caught on to to it.
"What?" She asked confused. However she was interrupted by Zaryab's phone ringing.
It was their parents. Zaryab picked up the call and put it on speaker.
"Hello?"
"Salam, Zaryab beta." His mother's voice rang out through the phone.
"Salam, mama. Sab kariyat?" He asked confused as to why she was calling. Was she and his dad not supposed to be at some dinner?
(Is everything alright?)
"Yes, everything is fine. The Shah's cancelled dinner so your baba and I were wonder when will you and Eshal be home?"
"We're just finishing up dinner. InshAllah, we'll be home soon." After a changing their goodbyes he hung up. After 10 minutes, they were ready to leave. Zaryab decided to also take some food home for his parents as they probably didn't have dinner since his mother decided not to cook today.
Although they could get a chef to cook, it wasn't something his mother liked. Her reasoning was that if she could cook food, why hire someone?
The restaurant was about a 25 minute drive from their house. The route they had chosen also led them through a route they usually didn't take and was unfamiliar to the two.
While Zaryab focused on his sisters terrible singing, he had failed to notice the girl in front of his car. Fear coursed through his veins as he immediately pressed the brakes but it was too late.
He had hit the girl.
The both of them say there for a second, their chests heaving heavily. They looked at each other before hurriedly rushing out the car.
The girl was on the floor her hair covering her face. There was even a small pool of blood. Zaryab took her in his arms as Eshal moved the hair from her face.
The both sat in silence, shocked at who it was.
Ayat.
"Bhai! We have to get her to a hospital. Now!" Eshal snapped at him. He nodded as he bolted Ayat into the backseat of the car, where Eshal too sat.
He rushed to the nearest hospital, his heart steal beating out of his chest for Ayat. He didn't look that injured but she was unconscious.
He watched as the doctor and nurses took her away to examine her.
He looked behind to see his sister sitting in one of the waiting chairs, clutching her head. He walked towards her and sat in the chair next to her.
"I can't believe it's her." She muttered as she felt her brothers presence near her. "And where is Omar?"
Zaryab clenched his jaw as he heard his name. But Eshal was right. Where was her husband?!
"What I don't understand is what she was doing out all alone at night." Zaryab pointed out.
Zaryab later informed his parents where they were. His parents immediately came to the hospital, worried about the girl too.
After about an hour of waiting, the doctor finally came out.
"Aap unki family hai?" The doctor asked.
(Are you her family)
"Yes, we are." Eshal answers before someone else could.
He nods, a grim look on his face. "She's not in a good condition."
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