I love you wildly,
madly,
and without reason;
with tender hands and
softened spirit,
I love you patiently,
but outlined
in an urgency I cannot
define.
I love you
and you can take your time
discovering all
the hows;
and you will never doubt
the why.
         - Tyler Knott Gregson

____________________________________

Maaz;

I zip my small weekend bag and line it with Zara's. The most important things are pictures of Anna and the papers regarding her adoption which we had managed to get a copy of. They are sealed safely inside a water proof file.

There is a short rap on the door and I barely say, come in before Leila barges into my room. I hide my smile lest I further trigger her.

'You are leaving?' She struggles to keep her voice at a level suitable to talk to her employer.

'Yes.'

'And Arhaan... sir as well?' She adds the sir reluctantly.

'Yes.'

'And you did not think it necessary to inform me? Plus you asked me to work this weekend?' She jabs her hand in my direction.

'This is a confidential meeting with a potential client, I need you to calm down first then keep this to yourself.'

'What kind of client meets up on a weekend?' She arches her trimmed eyebrows.

'A confidential one?' I once again hide my smile. As expected she gets riled up and turns to leave my room.

The door swings open again and in marches Arhaan. He grins at Leila and she glares at him as per common norm.

'What did you do to her now?' I sit, knowing that Arhaan is going to relish every detail of whatever he has done to Leila.

'I thought what her office needs is a flash of color.' He shrugs innocently.

'And?'

'I stuck sticky notes all over her work desk, all four sides and the bottom too.' He grins.

'And?' With Arhaan there is always more.

'On her chair. And the inside of her drawers too. Who keeps those unlocked?'

'And?'

'The floor of course! All around her work space. I did a wonderful job.' He beams proudly.

I attempt to glare at him but his laugh wraps around me and I find myself laughing along.

'When is Zara arriving?' Arhaan sobers up.

'In an hour. I have already brought our bags. We will leave from here.'

'I'll get my bag and be here in an hour.' He walks to the door.

'Arhaan,' I stop him, 'Tell Leila to take the weekend off. We do not want you to be murdered Monday morning.'

I call Zara as soon as he leaves, 'Ready?'

'You mean have I triple checked the locks on the windows and the doors? Yes I have.' She chuckles. 'Stop being paranoid. We are going for two days.'

I nod my head, 'Has Ira left?'

I did not want Ira to be alone in our house. Eliza had gleefully planned a weekend sleepover abating my worries.

'Yes, Eliza had come to pick her up as well as say goodbye to me.'

'Did you tell Eliza where we are going?'

'No... I can't. She's my lit...' She stops herself. Her overprotective nature irritated Eliza. But Zara was convinced that Eliza would never grow up from being little.

'What will I tell her?' She says instead.

'Nothing as of now. Once we have solid evidence we will let our families know.' I reassure her.

***

The wind blows in through the open windows playing with Zara's hair. She groans in frustration.

We have left the city behind. Tall grass dotted with bright yellow flowers sway in the wind on either side of the deserted road. The short late afternoon shower has washed the trees anew. The heavenly smell of raindrops on mud surrounds us.

From the passenger seat I admire the view. Zara has one hand over the steering wheel while the other fidgets with her hair. The afternoon sun paints her gold, her eyes sparkle like melted chocolate. Her arched eyebrows squint together as she overtakes a tractor.

'Stop staring.' She says with her eyes still on the road.

'I wasn't.' I open the dashboard to retrieve my camera.

She turns to me after the camera flashes on her. Immediately I click another picture. Her annoyed, angry expression as she turns is frozen in time inside my camera.

'I am going to delete that picture.' She groans.
Arhaan has fallen asleep on the backseat oblivious to our bickering.

The sky has turned darker, blotchy black clouds race each other. Zara turns on the headlights and lowers the speed. I have a frightening déjà vu. The dark gloominess impending around us is reminiscent of the day Numair had met with the accident.

Subconsciously I look over my shoulder. The road is deserted. There is no one else.

I glance at Zara, she is humming to herself, a smile playing on her lips. I reach out for her free hand and link mine. Warmth rushes over me, and I calm down a little.

'You are cold.' She smiles at me but doesn't take her hand away.

The sun has set and the moon has climbed its throne by the time we arrive at our motel.

'I am hungry. What speed were you driving at? 20?' Arhaan yawns.

'Let's get dinner.' Zara ignores him as usual.

We find a small cozy diner one block away. Ambrosial scents invade us when we enter. Arhaan orders fries and a burger. Zara and I order sandwiches with coffee. The chatter around us livens the dim atmosphere.

'I hope we aren't doing any work today.' Arhaan says.

'There isn't any day left in today.' Zara retorts.

'We will visit Henley's first thing in the morning.' I break the heat. 'Hopefully Anna's adoptive parents will give us information. They may still be in mourning.'

'It can be a touchy topic for them.' Zara nods.

'We can ask around town... her school, friends, neighbors...' Arhaan adds.

We retire to our rooms with a promise of early breakfast.

A small square bed dominates our room. Off to one side is a dusty window overlooking the street. The moon peeps into our room. A pair of chairs stand around a small, shabby coffee table. Rugged imprints of wayfarers have sunk into the once clean carpet.

Zara dusts the blanket and pillows, her button nose wrinkling, 'I hope these are washed.'

I laugh, 'Best not to think further down that line.'

We settle on the bed, our arms touching as we stare at the roof lost in our own thoughts. Until blaring music blasts out from the paper thin walls of the adjacent room. Zara sits up with a huff.

'Where are you going?' I ask as she slips her slippers on.

'To ask them to turn it down.' She shrugs.

There are two sides to a situation. Either make the best of it or complain about it. I have realized the second often doesn't work in my favor.

'Zara?' She turns around. Her eyes widen as she finds me kneeling behind her. She gasps softly.

'May I have this dance?' I raise myself from the ground stretching my arm to her.

She stands staring me at wide eyed with her hands at her sides. I can see the thoughts run and skip across her mind until she finally relaxes her shoulders. Hesitantly, she lifts her hand and places it in mine.

It is akin to placing the whole world in my hand. My fingers tighten around her soft ones. I place my hand on her small waist and I feel her suck in her breath.

'Do you know how to dance?' She asks.

'No.' I grin.

'Good, neither do I.'

I twirl her around, her soft hand held tightly in mine. She spins under my hold, smiling. Her magnetic smile makes me pull her to me. I bring her closer to me, our chests touching, her smile drops. The music slows down as if sensing the moment.

We sway to the music. I bend her backwards, leaning over her, our hands stretched above her head another hand wrapped securely around her tiny waist. She clutches my shoulder looking into my eyes. I stare unblinkingly at her and then bring her back up slowly. She looks at me with wide, innocent eyes. Those brown depths that mesmerize me. Adoration sparkles in her eyes as she looks at me.

It is hard to believe that she looks at me that way. I am spellbound as she breaks into a smile, her rosy lips parting to reveal that lone dimple on her cheek. She doesn't look away from me, I read her eyes like an open book. It is hard to miss the love that her eyes spell out.

I know that a part of her heart will always remain his. And that she will never completely be mine like I was. Hers and only hers. To love and to cherish.

But in this moment she is mine. Completely mine. To love and to cherish.

The crescendo rises encircling us, raging over me like the wild range of emotions within me.

'They say, eyes are the windows to your soul.' I murmur.

She lets out a soft chuckle, her eyes moving down to our entwined hands and then her waist where my hand holds her.

She brings her hand up and ever so lightly runs her hand through my hair. I watch her closely, as she continues smiling at me.

I relish the moment, taking in every feeling that this moment brought along. I tighten my hold on her, pulling her a little more closer to me yet not breaking eye contact. She sighs in contentment.

'Say it.' I tell her, yearning to her what her eyes so clearly spell out to me.

'Hmm?'

'What I see in your eyes.'

'Tell me you love me.' I urge her. She laughs softly, her voice soothing me. She looks down at our feet as we continue swaying though the music has stopped.

I bring our entwined hands up, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles. Her hand tightens in mine at the contact.

I look back up to find her staring at me, her gaze penetrating. Our noses brush as she looks down and whispers, 'I... love you.'

The silence in the room makes it possible for me to make out her words. Her voice is hesitant, a mere whisper in the night. It seems like a dream.

'Again.' I say.

She looks at me, solemnly. I watch her swallow hard, 'I love you, Maaz.' she says, her voice stronger this time. I break into a smile as I feel my heart soar at the words it had wished to hear since a lifetime.

I bury my face into her neck, inhaling her. Memorizing every detail about this moment. The way she feels in my hands, strength clothed in softness; the way she smells, deeply intoxicating, of lavender and something else I don't know; the way her heart beats, fast and sure.

And the way my heart responds to it; equally fast.

***

A/N : Well well so that happened.    *shrugs innocently*
Tell me the feels? Did it live up to your expectations? Or should there be more to it?!

I'm feeling very excited. And content.
I hope you guys loved this one.

Love you all!

Love.