"Take your broken heart; make it into art."

Thurday - 8:01pm

The interior of the restaurant radiated a posh aura as her eyes travelled carelessly across the spacious place, the temperature raised to a few degrees inside to provide warmth against the cold weather prevalent outside. With legs crossed under the table and elbows rested against it, the inside of her palm supported her cheek as her bored eyes moved between the people and the walls.

The walls had witnessed a woman dressed in embroidered and floral traditional attire of kurta shalwar walk in a good fifteen minutes ago and saw her expressions transition from nervous to bored ones during the time. The waiter had just returned back after placing a water bottle in front of her whose content flooded her insides with ease.

"Hemayal?" A voice resonated from behind and the annoyed expressions were quickly masked by those of pleasantness as she pulled a smile on her face and turned in her place.

"Danyal," Hemayal acknowledged the man's presence with a nod as she stood up and shook hands with the man who had an apologetic expression marring his face. "I'm so sorry, something urgent came up."

"It's okay," Hemayal smiled as she gestured him towards the unoccupied seat in front of her. "I think I can understand you quite well on that."

"I'm still sorry." Danyal mouthed apologetically and Hemayal shook her head with a frown.

"I said it's okay, let's order something." Hemayal waved at the waiter assigned to their table who placed the menu cards in front of them with a professional smile.

"Thank you for taking some time out to come here, Danyal. I know life's hectic for you." Hemayal said as her eyes moved through the menu, throwing a genuine smile in Danyal's way who only shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh, come on. Anything for you. Besides, Mehmal said it was rather important." Danyal said as he narrowed his eyes in Hemayal's direction rather curiously who pressed her lips in a thin line and merely shrugged.

"Well, it is for me." Hemayal said.

"I'm sorry for your grandfather's death, though. I came on his burial but couldn't get the chance to meet you." Danyal touched the sensitive topic and Hemayal shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she nodded, accepting the condolences with a tight smile.

"Thank you," she mumbled weakly. "I was in a pretty bad shape at that time, I couldn't meet anyone."

"Yeah, one can guess. Mehmal always told how close you were to him," he said, the same apologetic smile coming to rest on his face again. "I'm sorry for touching this topic again. It must be painful for you."

"I'm used to it more or less; it's okay." Hemayal smiled as she shrugged her shoulders, acting as if the mere topic hadn't bruised some part of her that was on the way towards healing and redemption.

"So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" Danyal smiled warmly at her, crossing both hands in front of her on the table after both of them had placed their respective orders.

"Something personal." Hemayal began, not knowing how to walk Danyal through the whole situation but then again, she had no other choice.

"Personal?" Danyal raised an eyebrow as if surprised and Hemayal could only sigh in response.

She had no idea, not even in the slightest, if what she was doing right now would pay off in her favor or not. For all she knew, she was treading dangerous waters; narrating her life story to a man she hardly met once in a month. In their childhood, they had been close for obvious reasons that they lived close by. Before her family had moved to Islamabad, she was good friends with Danyal who only lived a street behind.

But after her marriage, the whole family moved to another city and Hemayal had to say goodbye to her childhood friend. Although she had remained in touch with him, the childhood days were long gone and the closeness they once shared could never come back. Not that she minded though. After her sudden marriage and Baba's behavior that followed, trust issues grew in her heart and no one except Mehmal and Arsala could befriend her.

"Yeah, kind of." Hemayal replied.

"Talking of personal, I met your husband a few days ago." Danyal smiled at her and Hemayal lost control over her eyes as they widened in sheer shock.

"Why?" She breathed but luckily, Danyal wasn't paying much attention to her expressions, busy looking at the food the waiter was placing in front of them now.

"It was a coincidence; he had some work in my office and we sort of bumped into each other." Danyal raised his head to look at her after the waiter had retreated and by then, Hemayal had normalized her expressions.

"What work?" The tone of hers made Danyal halt for a second as he regarded her face with slight apprehension.

"I don't know, he didn't mention," he replied in a daze. "Hami, are you guys not on good terms?"

"We are on no terms at all, Danyal, good or bad is a debate for some other time. Besides, what made you think we'll be on good terms?" Hemayal questioned, dying to know the conversation Danyal had with Ibrahim.

The nerves of that man unsettled her.

"I don't know, when we talked about you, he seemed quite smitten. And he talked a lot about you, asking random questions here and there. I thought you guys were back together." Danyal said, confused and shocked, and Hemayal only sighed as her eyes rolled heavenward.

She had no idea what Ibrahim Yazdani was planning; maybe he wasn't and it really was an accident but the chances of that were thin, especially when Hemayal knew that the man was looking for her forgiveness.

"No, Danyal, we're not together and that is what I wanted to talk to you about." Hemayal shook her head as she said and the shocked lift of Danyal's eyebrow was an alibi that he didn't expect these words.

"What-what do you mean by that?" Danyal asked the question and Hemayal had absolutely no idea what to answer; how to do that.

Too many emotions were on the line; too high honor to look after.

But she knew even then that she had no choice; Ibrahim Yazdani had left her none. Danyal might not be too close to her but she knew he always had goodness in his heart for her. They might not be the best of friends; hell, they were meeting after good two months but she knew for a fact that he wouldn't betray her trust like Ibrahim had.

And so she told him.

She narrated the whole story to him right from the start - from that Sunday afternoon where same clouds poured over their heads for the first time, to the Monday evening where he parted through the comfortable walls around her and entered her life again - all the while eating her food in intervals too. The action delayed the story and by the time she was done with telling him everything, her food had finished too.

Danyal's food, however, remained untouched.

Aghast expressions filled his face as he regarded Hemayal who narrated her story like it was someone else's. She had, somehow, become a pro at this. She told the whole story to Mehmal once with every tiny bit of detail she could remember, so telling it to Danyal didn't tear her up like the first time.

"Hami...I'm so sorry-" Danyal began but Hemayal shook her head quickly.

"There's absolutely no need of it, honestly. What's done is done; we can't change that." Hemayal said with a tight smile.

"But...why...how didn't he recognize you?" Danyal managed a coherent sentence after much trial and Hemayal shrugged her shoulders as she picked the napkin to wipe the corner of her mouth.

"It's been a long time; I don't really blame him for that," Hemayal replied, earning a shocked gaze from the man in front. "I really don't...I didn't recognize him either when we got into an accident."

"Why are you telling me all of this, Hami? You didn't even tell your father or Hadeed; why me?" Danyal questioned, finally getting to the point and at this, Hemayal smiled, but there was something in her smile that sent dread running down his spine instead.

"Because I have a plan and only you can help me." Hemayal said.

"What kind of plan?" Danyal raised his eyebrows in apprehension before understanding filled his eyed and he sighed. "To get back at Ibrahim?"

"Of course," Hemayal smiled warmly this time. "I have to make him pay."

"What's going on in that mind of yours, woman?" Danyal asked, this time composed and looking every bit of the bureaucrat that he was. "Why do you need my help to take your revenge?"

"Because you men function way differently than us women. He managed to get to me through Dadu; but I can't do the same if I have to break him," Hemayal explained with a sigh. "I have got to change the tactics; I have to revise the rules of this game all over again."

"You did get to him through his mother, Hami - I mean, the woman who hit his mother did. He lost all self-control, didn't he? He was as close to broken as any man could be." Danyal reminded her - more like reprimanded - and she only nodded her head slowly.

"I know, I know, and honestly, his family would be the easiest way to get back at him but no. God, no. I only want to hurt him, not his family," Hemayal paused for a second, as if in a deep thought, finally finding a shred of humanity in her after what felt like eternity.

"And you know the people in his family, don't you? His mother just got out of hospital; his father is an old man with a weak heart; his brother is easily the kindest man I've ever met and I know Safaa from college days, she's such a sweetheart. I can't hurt those people for the life of me, Danyal. Ibrahim is the only one who did wrong to me and he'll be the only one to pay." Hemayal finished with a small voice.

"That's kinda impressive speech that you gave there but you're forgetting that you will end up hurting his family if you as much as disturb a single hair of his head. The thing you're getting yourself into, it will have aftermaths of much larger magnitude than you imagine." Danyal reminded and Hemayal let out a deep breath before leaning back on her seat.

"I know that but it's unavoidable, I think. Ibrahim has to pay, nothing else matters to me." Hemayal's voice held surety.

"So you won't change your mind?" Danyal questioned and he was responded with a mere shook of Hemayal's head. "Okay, so what do I need to do?"

The bright smile that flitted across her lips rightly dimmed the lights spread around them, her brown irises twinkling as she leaned forward in the chair excitedly. Danyal, who had started eating his food a while ago, finished with a slight pat of the napkin on the lips and saw Hemayal with caution, with worry.

"For starters, there's this motel..."

|¤¤¤|

9:30pm

The cold wind welcomed them as soon as they stepped outside, making Hemayal tighten the hold of her sweater around her. The November air was not planning any time soon on loosening up to the inhabitants of Islamabad, instead promising a great spell of rain and clouds in the coming days.

"I will drop you home, Hami." Danyal fiddled through his jacket's pocket, retrieving the car keys and not a moment later, a car standing right in front of them beeped.

"No, I came on my car." Hemayal replied casually, recovering her own keys from her purse that slung loosely across her shoulders.

"Okay, then," Danyal stopped in front of Hemayal, a small, compassionate smile on his face as he regarded her face. "I'll get in contact with you once I've got a hold of all the information."

"Thank you so much, Danyal. It really means a lot." Hemayal smiled, quite genuinely this time as sparks ignited her eyes.

"But...are you sure about this?" he asked cautiously and the smile slipped from her face, coming to be replaced with a frown now. "I mean...you guys are, you know...married. Shouldn't you both sit down somewhere and talk about this?"

"We've been through this, Danyal. That's not happening and as much as I appreciate you looking after me, I think I can take my own decisions quite well." Hemayal almost snapped but regretted as soon as the words left her mouth.

True, she was beyond pissed that everyone who even got a whip of the true situation advised her to talk things out with that man when it was the last thing she wanted to do but she had no right to snap at Danyal like that, who by the looks of it looked sheepish enough to not look directly at her now.

"I'm-I'm sorry, Danyal. You're just helping me out and I...I'm sorry." Hemayal rushed to apologize, placing a hand on his forearm as she smiled up at him cautiously.

"It's okay, I can understand where all of this is coming from. Just thing about it, okay?" he smiled, returning the gesture and Hemayal sighed before nodding her head. "I should get going now, I have a few things to do."

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Thanks again for coming here." Hemayal smiled, removing her hand from his muscles and stepped back, and after a final goodbye and much insistence on his part to drop her home which she declined repeatedly, they separated paths.

Sighing heavily, Hemayal unlocked her car with a button and walked towards her silver civic, eyes narrowed in what seemed like a deep thought as her steps replaced one another. Mind still reeling somewhere else, she stopped beside her car and had only managed to touch the door when a voice vibrated her eardrums.

"Hemayal!"

The voice called and for a fraction of second, she thought Danyal had returned before the voice registered in the deepest recesses of her brain and an inaudible gasp left her lips as she turned on her heels, much too quickly for her liking.

Eyes slightly wide, Hemayal was not given much time to compose herself like last time, no Mehmal warning her beforehand and before she could process what was happening, Ibrahim Yazdani entered her direct vision, walking briskly towards her as his hair fell over his eyes, stopping only a few feet away from Hemayal whose heart was pooling at her feet at that very moment.

"I thought you left." He whispered, out of breath, and Hemayal had absolutely no idea why.

The man's physique clearly stated that he wasn't the one to be left out of breath after a few brisk steps, if his lean frame or bulging biceps were any indication, and yet here he stood, taking a few heavy breaths as he calmed his beats and it suddenly hit her that it was because of her and that thought alone was enough to pull her out of her momentary black out.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Hemayal hissed through clenched teeth.

|¤¤¤|

long time, you guys.

but studies were demanding and the past few months were very important for my future so i decided to take a break. but now i'm back and hopefully, the promise of short and quick updates will be served.

what do you think of the story so far?

till next time,
salam!