Back with a bomb! 

***

Zayan yawned as he pushed open the door of his bedroom. It was early in the morning and he had just gotten back home from the masjid after praying fajr. 

With only the thought of wanting to sleep, he stepped inside the room and shut the door behind him as he stopped in his tracks. 

He stared at her and relished in her beautiful voice that echoed in the quiet room. All signs of sleep had disappeared as he stared at her. 

She was sitting on the prayer mat reading the Holy Quran with her voice slightly audible. Her head wrapped in a white chaddar, she looked like a hoor.

Like a moth attracted towards a flame, his steps carried him towards her and he sat down with crossed legs. He relished in the peace from her voice as she recited Surah Rahman. Maya had made no attempt to acknowledge his presence, but her volume had raised a little so that he could hear too.

This was peace.

The birds hadn't woken up from their deep slumber as yet. The night was calm and peaceful with only the two of them awake worshiping their Creator. Only Allah was a witness of their moments together. 

As Maya finished the final ayah of the Surah, she closed the Holy Book and kissed it. She whiffed it on herself and then on him too.

He hadn't realized that his lips had curled up in a small smile at her gesture. Silently, he took the Holy Quran from her and placed it on the shelf while she raised her hands in dua. 

He sat on the bed scrolling through the notifications on his phone, but he couldn't help glancing at her. She looked so serene in conversation with Allah, oblivious of her surroundings. 

When he realized how blatantly he had been staring, he quickly dropped his gaze back to the phone as Maya got up and folded the prayer mat.

"What did you ask for?" He couldn't help but question as she took of the white chaddar and neatly folded it.

"That's between me and Allah." She said mysteriously.

"Did you pray for me?" He blurted out before he knew what he was saying. He closed his eyes for a brief moment as his ears turned red. Why had he asked that? Why would she pray for him?

"Yeah." She said to his utmost surprise. "I did."

"Thank you." He said with surprise still written on his face. He didn't question further. He didn't want to know know what she had asked for. The fact that he was in her prayers meant so much to him. 

Who is this woman? He thought as he stared at his phone blankly, his eyes not really seeing anything on the screen.

To be in someone's prayers is more important than being in their heart. They asked something for you from Allah Almighty.

Zayan's gaze traveled back to her involuntarily as she combed through her hair. She has beautiful hair. Suddenly, Maya looked up and caught his eye in the mirror. His neck turned a little red at being caught and he scratched his beard nervously.

"Uh, what time do you have to leave for the hospital?" He asked glancing at the clock uncomfortably and then back at her.

"I still have an hour." She replied as she tied her hair in a pony. 

Zayan's gaze wavered back to her. Her hair looks nice when she leaves them open. 

At the thought, he closed his eyes for a second. What was he doing? He had never stared at any woman this way. Except Leya. He wasn't like that. 

He fixed his gaze on the phone screen and uselessly scrolled down his email trying to appear busy. He didn't want her to get any wrong ideas.

"Zayan, can I use your laptop? I have to send some emails." 

"Huh?" He looked at her in confusion as he was pulled out of his reverie.

"Your laptop. Can I use it?" Maya repeated a but unsure if he would mind or not. They did share a room, even a life but she wasn't sure if he'd share his personal laptop. It was ironic but it was the truth.

"Yeah. Sure." He nodded quickly. "It's in my bag." 

Maya took out the laptop and turned it on. She stretched her muscles as she waited for the windows to load. 

"Password?" 

"15122015." 

"That's a date?" Maya asked as she punched it in.

Zayan glanced at her before nodding slowly.

"So, what happened that day?" She asked curiously as she logged into her email.

"Nothing." He shook his head. That was the day he had gotten married to Leya. "Nothing important." That was the happiest day of his life.

Maya glanced at him curiously, sure that there was a story behind this date. She didn't know that his whole life was behind this date. She shook her head seeing him lost in thoughts and turned her focus towards her work.

***

Maya yawned as she checked the reports of the patient and typed out the diagnosis sending the email to the senior doctor she was shadowing.

The birds chirped and twittered as the night sky dissolved into a heavenly blue color. The chirping of the birds filled the room, promising a new day.

Maya stretched her legs on the table in front of her. She glanced at Zayan who was lying on the bed with his arm across his eyes. She knew he was awake from the slight movement of his foot.

"Do you want me to turn the lights off?" She asked him guiltily.

"No, it's alright." He mumbled, not taking his arm off his eyes.

Maya scrolled through the emails to see if she had left out anything.

When she was satisfied, she closed the window. She stared at his desktop picture of the Kabbah. Her heart felt a sudden desire of visiting the Holy place. A dua escaped her lips for Allah to call them there. A small smile graced her lips as she thought of how she imagined going with him. Her husband. Maybe he was in her fate and they had to end up married somehow or the other. She sighed as she stared at the beautiful picture of the Kabbah. 

A folder suddenly caught her eye. It was named "LEYA." She glanced at Zayan who still had his arm over his eyes. She wanted to close the laptop but her curiosity got the best of her and she double clicked on it.

The folder popped open and pictures loaded on the screen. 

Her eyebrows furrowed as she double clicked on a picture. 

It was Zayan. 

And a woman. 

Her eyes zeroed on Zayan's face in the picture. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be sleeping. The woman had taken a selfie with him. She stared at the full blown smile of the woman. Her eyes crinkled and her bow shaped lips were curled into a smile. Her teeth pearly white and a single diamond nose pin shone on her nose. She took in her individual features and finally the whole picture. She was a beautiful woman.

She glanced at Zayan on the bed. Knowing that it was none of her business and she shouldn't pry, she clicked the button for the next picture. 

Her heart thudded in her chest and her mouth turned dry.

They were smiling in this one. Zayan was laughing. She had never seen him smile like that. Even his eyes shone. She didn't stare at the woman this time, she stared at him. Who was supposed to be her husband. She never knew he was so beautiful. His smile was like the best thing in the world. She had never noticed that before. She had never seen a smile this beautiful. As she stared at his face in the picture, her lips curled into a smile too and she smiled back at him. 

But it was only for a moment, when the woman caught her eye again. Her smile slowly faded away. 

Her finger automatically pressed the button and the next picture was splattered on the screen. He was kissing her cheek in this one. 

Her eyes rounded and she quickly turned to the next picture. She felt like she was invading his privacy. She had no right to do that.

She stared at the picture on the screen. It was a picture of her. She was wearing a red dress with her blonde hair styled to the side. 

Her finger automatically pressed the next button and another image covered the screen. It was a picture of them. Zayan had his arm around her waist as she stared at him in his eyes. They looked in love. 

Maya glanced at Zayan lying on the bed and then back at the picture. 

Beads of sweat covered her forehead. What was going on?  Who was this woman? She left the laptop on the couch and sprinted for the washroom. With her hands shaking, she opened the tap letting the cold water flow.

She splashed water on her face and stared in the mirror. A woman stared back at her. She was so detached that she stared back in the woman's eyes. Emotionless.

She took in a deep breath and wiped her face with her arm as droplets of water dripped from her chin wetting her clothes. She opened the door and stepped outside.

She stopped in her tracks as she stared at Zayan who was looking at the laptop. Upon hearing the door close, he looked at her, meeting her eyes.

The man in the pictures was so different, she thought as she stared at him words stuck in her throat. 

Zayan opened his mouth to speak but she beat him to it.

"I'm sorry, I opened your personal things." She said looking him in the eye, her voice devoid of the chaos stirring in her mind and heart.

Maya turned away and picked her clothes for the day. Her hands shook as she closed the wardrobe shut. Her heart wasn't thudding in her chest anymore. Maybe it wasn't even beating anymore. It was quiet. Eerily quiet. Like the silence in the room. Like the silence in their lives. Like the silence before a storm.

"That's Leya." 

She stopped in her tracks. Why was he telling her? Had she even asked?

Her head snapped towards him and her eyebrows furrowed. How dare he share such a thing with her? She was not interested in his affairs. Even their marriage wasn't real so he wasn't bound to tell her. 

She didn't care.

She didn't care.

"W-who?" One word escaped her dry throat against her will. One word bubbling with shock, disbelief, accusation, heartbeak.

"My wife." Zayan elaborated seeing the confusion on her face.  He glanced back at the smiling picture of Leya, her smile frozen on the screen. Her smile mocked him of the reality that she was no more. All he had was pictures that were proof of her existence in his life. Proof that he was once a happy man, maybe even the happiest man on earth. But the pictures could no longer appease his pain. Pictures that he had memorized every detail of. Pictures that were imprinted in his heart that he no longer need to look at them.

Her heart came to her throat and her breathing rate picked up. She could feel the blood roaring in her veins and her mouth going dry. A sinking feeling accompanied in her stomach as her face turned pale. 

He was married.

"You are married." Her words reverberated her numb thoughts. There was a noise in her head. It was so loud but she didn't know where it was coming from.

"Yeah, I was." His voice was devoid of any emotions, nor did his face betray his thoughts. The only evidence of his pain was his eyes as he stared at the picture. He wasn't staring at Leya. He was staring at a picture. The picture didn't bring him the peace he sought. It didn't ease his turmoil. Nothing could.

"I- I didn't know." A frown slowly adorned her forehead. She closed her eyes for a split second and opened them again. She wasn't dreaming. Her worst nightmares had come true.

"What do you mean?" He asked in bewilderment. Maya stared at him blankly. What was he playing at?

"Fawad didn't tell you anything?" Zayan asked seeing her shocked form as surprise colored his features. She didn't know anything. 

"What?" The noise in her head numbed a little. "Bhai knows?"

"Yeah, of course he knows. I thought he had told you about it." Zayan frowned in confusion. How could she not know?

"No. He didn't tell me anything."

Before Zayan could say anything, her phone blared with her morning alarm. Her head snapped towards the phone and with hurried steps she walked towards the side table. With a shaking finger, she swiped the screen to turn the alarm off but it didn't work. She angrily swiped at the screen again and this time the ring tone stopped. She didn't know why she was angry. Maybe she was mad at the phone for ringing so soon. She didn't know. She didn't want to think about it but her thoughts were raging. How could he marry someone else?

"Maya?" Zayan glanced at her.

"I-I am getting late." She said as she turned her gaze towards the clock on the wall. She couldn't read the time, her brain couldn't register it. All she knew was that she had to get out of this place.

Placing her phone back on the side table, she hurried to get change.

Zayan stared after her as the washroom door clicked shut, its click reverberating in the quiet room with the only other sound being his heart which beat loudly as if he had run a marathon.

He was lost in his thoughts when Maya stepped out, fully changed in her attire for the day. As if on autopilot, she grabbed her bag and keys from the dressing table and turned to leave the room when he held her wrist rooting her into place.

"Are you okay?" Maya snatched her hand away from his as if she were electrocuted. How dare he touch her?

"I'm getting late." She said through clenched teeth and hurried out of the room, snapping the door shut. Zayan glanced at the clock. She still had half an hour to leave, so why was she in such a hurry?

"Do you want me to drop you?" He asked after her but she had left already.

He was late. She had left already.

***

Assalam o Alaikum! Sorry for not updating in ages. I hated to keep you all waiting. But life has other plans. :(

Anyway, bombard me with your comments! :)