Tint

Ghazal made the tie knot and pinned Adam's handkerchief in his shirt.

"Baby, stop playing with my scarf."

"Ma, itsh sho shoft."

In return Ghazal kissed his cheek with a wide smile. Strangely, today she had drifted off to sleep after her morning prayer and that's why it was a little hustle for her, getting ready, making Adam ready for his school and then breakfast.

"You too eat something, Ghazal. "

Nanna said looking over to Ghazal who was quickly feeding Adam and wasn't bothering about her own breakfast.

"I will eat at the canteen, Nanna."

"You will not eat."

Adam and Nanna said in unison, hi-fived each other and then burst into crazy fits of giggles seeing Ghazal's flushed face who was doing her best to stop herself from smiling, furrowing her brows at both of them.

"Take care."

Nanna kissed her forehead as she bid her goodbye to leave for work. The biggest task was waiting for her, to fetch a taxi and drop Adam at his school soon. Nanna offered her many times to use the car at their garage but she always denied it. Ghazal didn't feel good using them, it was enough that she was living with Nanna and Batool khala just like a family. That's only needed and nothing else.

Ghazal's breath hitched seeing Haaris, who was just closing the white main gate after entering inside. Adam left her hand quickly and ran towards Haaris. Her brownie points always decreased whenever Haaris would be present in the scene. She didn't like it, Adam behaved like she was the stranger and Haaris was his close one.

That's jealousy!

So, what should I do?

"Hey, champ."

Haaris excited voice broke her reverie, he picked Adam in his arms and ruffled his hair adoringly. Ghazal was meeting him after one week, he had been discharged from the hospital as he gained some health. Though she was in contact with him due to his nightmares, after his attempt of suicide those nightmares were slowly increasing in number.

"Adam is going somewhere? "

"Shcool."

Today seeing him suddenly in front of her, she was feeling a tremendous emotion of fear inside her. Maybe due to the scene of Haaris lying in a pool of his own blood which had captured her mind or the awkwardness that was enveloping them in its wings.

"Come, I will drop you."

"No, we will go on our own."

Ghazal said overcoming the shiver of anxiety that ran through her body hearing his voice.

"Really, are you sure Adam won't be late?"

Ghazal looked at her watch which was showing forty past seven, his school started at eight o'clock. With her utter luck, she wouldn't be able to reach there on time fetching a taxi. She had to take his help, even if she didn't want to.

"Okay."

Ghazal said without looking at Haaris who had turned towards the gate hearing her affirmation. Adam was still in his arms, constantly chatting with him on random things and Haaris was answering him with a small smile plastering his face. She took the back seat while Adam and Haaris were on the front.

***

"Aren't you coming? "

"No, I can go on my own."

Haaris rolled his eyes at her demand. He had met hell lot of girls in his entire life but no one was as stubborn as this girl, Ghazal Fatima. Every girl wanted to enjoy his luxuries, his fame, his money with him but Ghazal always threw back his amenities on his face with full force.

This time too, they were arguing. He was offering her to drop her to the hospital but as always Ghazal was adamant to walk the distance. Haaris looked at her from the driver's seat, she was slowly rubbing her arms in order to save herself from the growing winter.

Stubborn lady!

"Go."

Ghazal said with a force and waved her hand gesturing him to fly from there and began to walk away from him. Haaris punched his hand on the dashboard. Firstly, her cold behavior intrigued him, but now it was becoming irritating for him. He wanted to know her, wanted to be with her because being with her calmed his nerves, he felt safe in her presence.

With a rash driving, he reached his home. Haaris's mood was spoiled, he didn't want to meet his grandmother now for which he was excited some minutes ago. All because of her, Ghazal. It was strange, how she affected him. Locking his car, a book on the back seat caught his attention. He was never fond of books, let alone carry one. It was definitely Ghazal's.

Closing his room's door, he lied on his bed with Ghazal's book in his hands. It was a notebook that was holding information about her every single patient. He put it aside with a bored sigh, it was not worth reading. Haaris thought maybe it was her personal diary and it would be good to read her thoughts but it was something else.

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his mind. A notebook holding information of her patients that meant, Haaris too. He flipped through the pages and stopped at his name. Nothing was written below his names but instead, sketches were present on those pages.

They were simple stick sketches, one person was labeled as Haaris while a girl sitting in front of him was labeled as Ghazal. Many pages were filled with these types of drawings and below them were written 'Silence' or 'Yelling' in bold letters. Haaris smiled at her creativity, that was she used to do to keep herself busy in those silent rehab sessions.

At one page he stopped, the day was of his last session. There was no sketch, a paper of his own handwriting was pasted on it with Ghazal handwritten note scribbled underneath it.

Time spent with Adam.

Haaris remembered he had written the source of his happiness and how Ghazal's face was showing her surprise.

A person who enjoys the company of a small kid can be possible he is also a child at heart. A person who was not able to enjoy his childhood properly needs a distraction from his life by spending time with a kid.

His eyes became moist with every word, how could she understand him so accurately with his single sentence. Haaris hesitantly brought the note closer to his lips and placed a chaste kiss on her words closing his eyes with Ghazal's face dancing in his mind.

***

Nanna poured the warm oil in her palm and began to massage it in Ghazal's hair.

"It's soothing. I didn't know, I needed it."

She had denied it when Nanna had offered her but on her, so much insistence Ghazal had to surrender herself. It was after a long time, she was getting this type of treatment. When she was married, her mother-in-law used to do it for her but after that Ghazal had vanished herself in her life's hardships.

"Haaris too likes it. "

Ghazal felt a smile in Nanna's voice on Haaris's name. On his name, she remembered her notebook which she had forgotten in his car. Ghazal had cursed her memory for such a silly mistake. How could she do that? How she would ask him?

"In his childhood, Haaris used to be with me and would request me for this oil massage."

"When did he lost his mother?"

Ghazal asked that one question which was bugging her mind for a long time. Haaris losing his mother somewhere was the reason behind his addiction, rudeness and now maybe his attempt of suicide.

"He wasn't the one who lost his mother, she lost her whole family. "

Ghazal turned to look at Nanna sensing some kind of hate dripping from her voice. She was staring in a void and as her eyes clashed with hers Nanna gave a painful smile.

"She is still alive Ghazal but living with another man. "

Ghazal's eyes widened hearing her, till now she was assuming that Haaris's mother was dead but it was all new to her.

"Haaris was so broken at that time when she went away with that man. You can imagine the pain of a boy seeing his mother going away with another man in front of him, leaving his father and himself alone."

Ghazal pressed Nanna's hands in her hold, she was for the first time seeing that weak side of her and it was hurting her, she shouldn't have asked her about that.

"I'm sorry."

Ghazal said putting her head in her lap, "You shouldn't be." Nanna replied moving her fingers in her hair.

"Haaris needs someone in his life to mend him. I was very happy when he joined Rehab to get rid of that foul habit but he is very alone, very much. "

Ghazal nodded her head, her mind weaving thoughts around Haaris and his behavior. Why she was thinking about him? She shouldn't. She couldn't help but feel sympathy towards him for the first time. That newfound information had changed something inside her regarding Haaris, maybe her way of seeing that man.

***

Haaris felt a cold stream running down from his neck to the spine, it was maybe his own blood. Some glasses were pierced into his skin, oozing out his blood in the form of dews. But he ignored them altogether because the only thing which was running in his mind was Azkiya and only her. He needed to save her, she was stuck insidethe upside down car.

With extreme effort, he opened the front door of the car, getting a whiff of smoke from inside.

"Azi, here take my hand."

Haaris called his lover, nervously. Her closed eyes and blood overlapping her forehead was pounding his heart in a scary way. He didn't want to think like that but couldn't think otherwise seeing her condition.

"H-arr-y."

Azkiya's croaked voice was enough to bring back his lost confidence, somewhat. He pulled her out and now they were lying on the road helplessly. But, Haaris was happy as Azkiya was beside him all alive, what else he could ask for?

"I-t was not a good idea to drink and drive."

"How else we could go to your house at this hour?"

In response, he only got a long sigh. How strange they were? They both were injured to say the least, but both were lying on that stranded road like it was not a big deal. No one was in a hurry to reach the hospital, to seek aid. Haaris tightened his hold on her waist as he felt Azkiya's moist lips on his forehead.

"We will be alright."

Haaris said assuring her, "I hope so." he heard her soft voice before the darkness overtook him.

Opening his eyes he found himself in a dull colored room of a hospital. Didn't know, how he got there? His ribs were aching, the pain was running up and down from his bandaged arm but the first thought which shook his mind was of Azkiya's.

"How is Azkiya?"

Haaris asked as his worried father came beside him. He held his shoulder which he rudely shoved off.

"I am asking about Azkiya. "

"Azkiya was taking her last breaths when we reached the hospital with both of you. "

Haaris looked with confusion at his father, he was definitely not in his right mind. How could he say something like that? They both were fine, weren't they? Or he was so numb and senseless with alcohol that he was unable to understand Azkiya's condition.

"You are lying. "

He said dryly, unable to grasp the information. That shouldn't be true, how could it be? The doctor who had come to check him came forward looking at anxious Haaris.

"No, Haaris it's true. Doctors tried their best to save her but there was internal bleeding in her brain which took her li-"

"Go, go away. I don't want to hear anything. You all are liars."

Haaris covered his mouth in shock as the heaviness of the situation dropped on him. Azkiya was no more, the only love of his life was no more. He killed her, his lover. He was her murderer, she died because of him. He desperately held his head in his one hand, his cries filling the grave silence of the room, showing his guilt, pain, and helplessness.