"Long Day's Journey into Night" is Eugene O'Neill's masterpiece. This play depicted feelings of loneliness, isolation, and belonging. But, the main theme which I love the most is that family members are not willing to forgive each other for past mistakes. They are unwilling
to move forward in life because of the past pains they have undergone."
Dr. Ajmal Khan was giving the lecture while Saba was penning the main themes. On the last lines, her pen stopped and her mind drifted toward the pain rippling in Sahir's orbs.
"It is always the past that prevents us from growing and moving forward in life!"
These thoughts came to her mind while her mind slipped into the school ground.

"What happened, Saba? Why are you avoiding us now?"
Zarina asked her while they were going toward the morning assembly.
"No, that is not the case." She smiled at her.
"It is the case! You have been avoiding us since meeting Zaheer."
Zarina said firmly and stopped in her tracks, forcing her to stop too.
"Okay. I have been avoiding you since then! You know why?"
There was anger and pain in Saba's tone.
"Why?"
"Because I am getting some cheap messages from Zaheer on mobile. Who has given him my number?" She rolled her arms on her chest and inquired.
"I haven't given! Promise, I haven't!" Zarina's eyes widened and she replied.
Saba rolled her eyes and stepped toward the morning assembly, leaving Zarina behind.
"Saba, let's go," Iqra said to her, which caused her to come out of the memories.
Students were leaving now as the class had ended. She nodded her head while glancing at
her friend's group.
There is a Hadith in Islam where a person is known for his friends' group. The company of friends do impact your personality, so choose them wisely. Saba understood this Hadith
after a tough trial in her school life.
Coming out of the classroom, she called Sahir's driver to pick her up from the university.
.........................
Sahir was going toward his last class of the day when his gaze fell upon the garden where that event happened. This was the same university from where he graduated and started
his career.
He was standing on the first floor of the university and could see the lawn present on the ground floor. On the bench, where his trust shattered, was sitting another couple of
university students. They were laughing and teasing each other.
Gazing at them, a voice echoed in his ears.

"You were mixing Haram in your relationship, that's why Allah didn't give you that relationship. Your marriage with Zahra would be void of any happiness and peace."

"Assalam o Alaikum, Sir!" A student greeted at which he averted his gaze toward him.
Smiling at the student and chit-chatting with him for a while, he went toward his class, shooking away the gloomy part.
...............
She was lying on the bed and scrolling through the Instagram feed where the happiest people in the world reside, where everyone shows the luxurious part of life.
Gazing at the smiling faces of people, staring at the couple pictures under the hashtags of couple goals, the void deepens in Saba's heart.
Smiling couples and cute pictures were piercing her heart.
While scrolling her feed, Zarina's Instagram account popped up in the recommendation section. A smiling face of her was in the DP.
Gazing at the smiling face of Zarina, a distant memory flashed in her mind.

"I like you!"
"Call me!"
Messages were continuously blinking on Saba's phone. Reading them, frustration and fear
grabbed her being. She swiftly blocked the sim number and messaged Zarina.
"Zarina, ask your cousin to stop messaging me!"
"Ok" her message came at which she rolled her eyes.

She clicked on Zarina's Dp and her Instagram account opened. Her Instagram account was not private so she could see her pictures.
Scrolling through her feed, she opened her friend list. In the list, the first name was Asma.
There was a smiling picture of Asma in the DP which she kept gazing at for a while.
Her mind kept recalling the memories, joining different dots. Among them, a memory flashed in her mind.

"Hey, who is Zaheer?"
She was going for morning assembly when her class fellow came near and asked with a mischievous tone.
"I don't know. Why are you asking me?" Saba stopped dead in her tracks and asked with
wide eyes.
"There is a surprise for you in the classroom." She said with a mischievous smile and went
toward the assembly at which Saba's face became pale.
"You are getting late!" The Discipline teacher came near her and said in a stern tone.
She nodded, murmured sorry, and went toward the assembly.
In the classroom, her heart skipped a beat at seeing the front chair. On the arm of the front
chair, "Saba and Zaheer" was written with highlighter.
She swiftly sat there and covered the chair's arm with her bag. Her classmates were whispering and giving her sarcastic smiles.
She felt abandoned and afraid.
During break time, she kept scratching the names through her nails to remove them. Till the end of the break, her arm and fingers were hurting, and her condition was getting worse because of hunger.
In the of time, she lashed at Zarina for writing her name on the chair's arm. She declined her accusations.
After that day, it became a routine that her and Zaheer's name was written on the chair's arm after every two to three days.
Because of it, she lost her respect and friends. The last year of school was the worst year of her life. Because of that year, she had left no happy memories of that golden academic phase.

Throughout her life, she kept thinking that Zarina was doing that whole thing. But incidents of previous months have told her who was behind that whole "Saba and Zaheer" gossip.
Giving a hateful glance at Asma's smiling face, she exited Instagram.
.....................
Night fall and darkness enveloped the whole city. With it, Islamabad's road became busy with families and youngsters, eager to release their tiredness.
At that time, Sahir was sitting in his home office, having a Zoom meeting with Hisham.
While talking to him, his gaze roamed toward the bed where Saba was sitting with her laptop.
There was frustration on her face and tears were shining in her orbs. Sahir's gaze remained on her for a while and then he averted it toward Hisham.
Swiftly concluding the meeting, he switched off his laptop and kept his gaze on Saba who was murmuring something under her breath.
She leaned on the headboard of the bed and was gazing at the laptop screen with a pout. A tear slipped on her cheek which she swiftly wiped away.

On seeing the tear, he stood from his place and went toward her.

"What happened, Saba?" He asked her with confusion laced in his tone.
"Nothing" she shook her head and stood from the bed with the laptop.
"Share it with me, Saba." He politely asked at which she remained quiet while tears kept welling up in her orbs.
Seeing her posture, a lecture room flashed in his inner eyes.

"Post-marital depression is a reality. In Pakistani or Indian culture, marriage is always associated with happiness and love. But, no one discusses the depression this new phase of life can cause to couples, especially women. They feel that life has ended, there is no purpose in their lives, and everyone is happy and they are not. New responsibilities and changes can upset their mood causing mood swings and feelings of the void."

"Saba, let's go for a long drive," Sahir said while going toward the cupboard to take out his shirt and pants.
"Change your clothes, and let's go." He said.
"I don't want to go." She murmured with a stubborn tone.
Sahir took a deep sigh, gazed at her teary orbs and stubborn expressions, and went outside the room.
She glanced at the closed door with teary orbs, and then averted her gaze toward the laptop.
She had no orders, and no assignments to complete at this moment. Her mind was utterly
blank and she had no intention of doing client hunting.
It took a lot of hours to hunt a client with mostly no results in hand. It took a lot of effort to build the portfolio and then sustain it.

Numbness was prevailing in her nerves while negative thoughts were floating in her mind.
At that moment, Mrs. Amna came into the room with Sahir.
"Why are you not going outside, dear?"
She asked with concern at which she tried to give her a smile with teary orbs. Mind was still unable to understand what to say and do.
"Don't take the stress of studies. Go outside and give yourself a well-deserving break."
She said while cupping her face.
She wanted to decline, but nodded her head and stood from her place. Mrs. Amna remained with her to apply makeup on her face. She had to let them do everything out of
respect.
After they both got ready, Sahir started the car and they zoomed out of the house.
After fifteen minutes of aimlessly driving in silence, he asked.
"Do you want to eat papri chaat?" He asked while slowing down the car in front of a cart.
Saba, who was gazing at the running trees and shops of the city with void eyes, nodded her head and said "Yeah". She was also desperate to get rid of this voidness.
The cart owner came near Sahir's window and he placed the order for two plates.
Papri Chaat is a popular street food in Pakistan and India. This traditional dish contains papris, crisp chips made of wheat dough, boiled potatoes, cool yogurt, chickpeas, bright mint chutney, and sweet-and-sour tamarind chutney.
Two plates arrived, and he passed one plate to Saba. There was peace, cool wind, delicious snacks, and the company of each other in the car. It instantly relaxed Saba and the void started filling with hope.
"How is your freelancing going on? Sahir asked at which her body got tensed.
"No orders at this moment." She whispered, again the void getting deeper. Thought of
being useless again hit her.
"Enjoy these days by focusing on your branding. And yes, I am going to give a quiz next
week. You should prepare yourself beforehand."
He said to her at which she nodded her head, trying to avert her mind to personal branding.
"You should expand your brand by starting a YouTube Channel. Start planning for it from today." He suggested while taking a spoonful of papri Chaat.
"I am trying to focus on it, but I am unable to do it." She murmured, leaving her spoon on the plate.
"Why Saba? You are awesome. I am impressed by your personality and your soft skills. Your time management and level of dedication are amazing!"

Sahir praised her while. a bright smile etched on her face. The void again started filling up with hope.
"Thank you. I will try to give my whole focus to it now."
Sahir smiled at her and took another spoon of his snack. Saba also does the same.
Some minutes ticked in silence when Saba speak up:
"What are you doing in freelancing field?"
"I am a fiction writer, have a publishing agency, and am currently writing my second novel."
"Really! Wow! Where is your first novel?"
"On Amazon. I will email you to read it." He replied with a smile while enthusiasm also
pumped in his nerves.
"Thank you! What is the theme of it?" She asked with glinty orbs and excitement in her orbs.
"Philosophy of love." He replied with a smile. But, it instantly dropped at feeling the irony of the situation.
Saba's smile also dropped and she nodded her head while gulping her tears. A few minutes again passed in utter silence in which both of them kept their gaze on a plate, and focused on gulping papri Chaat.
"I am writing a second novel about the hypocrisy and political landscape of our society."
He initiated the conversation.
"That is the great theme." She replied while glancing at him with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"And, I am almost going to finish it. You have to become my beta reader."
Her eyes glinted.
"I would love to be a beta reader of your novel!"
He smiled at her and took the last spoon of his papri Chaat.
.........................
The car stopped in the garage and Saba came out of it while Sahir remained seated in the
car.
Gazing at the retrieving form of Saba, a part of the post-martial's lecture echoed in his ears.

"One of the reasons for post-marital depression in women is abuse. Any type of physical or mental abuse from the spouse that is causing intense distress to women can lead to it.
Abuse can range from physical beating to facing a cold behavior of a spouse."

Regret took over his whole body and he started feeling depressed because of this whole situation.
Taking a deep sigh and embracing himself for a tough journey, he came out of the car.
When he entered the room, Saba had already changed her clothes.
"Saba, wanna see my work?" He asked at which a bright smile etched on her face and she nodded her head.
They both went toward the office, sat side-by-side and Sahir opened his website on his laptop.
"Through social media management and marketing, I am spreading the word about my agency. I have made connections with publishers, and writers, and have created my whole web of book publishing and delivering." He was telling her while opening different tabs. At last, he opened the tab of his second novel.
"This novel is near my heart as I have done a lot of research, and have gathered information from people. As soon as I finish it, I want you to be the first person to read my novel."
His words made her feel special and a graph of hope was raised in her heart. Sahir glanced at her shining orbs, and fear gripped his heart.
"How am I going to handle this situation?"
He closed the tab and said.
"Okay, Saba. Go and revise the last two lecture slides. Prepare yourself for the future quiz."
He said in an authoritative tone at which she nodded her head while a smile lightened on
her face.
Sahir saw her standing from the seat and going toward the bed.

"Spouse's attention and love is the best remedy to solve post-marital depression."

Those lines were echoing in his mind while fear and anxiety gripped his heart..
.................