Lovee you, comment loads >3

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem.

Jesima was proved wrong.

Her theory of getting close to her husband in the next few days turned too futile to be true. Initially, after her sister in law Anjum left, Jesima wondered that perhaps that Anjum's visit would bring together the couple but she never thought that her hospital schedule would come like a blow to her face.

She didn't even got a free hour of sleep moreover spend the time with Aashiq. Jesima stashed all the documents of the case files of her today's list in one hand and opened the door of her cabin on the other, all the while stifling a yawn.

The lack of sleep had already caused dark circles to circle her eyes. She put them over her table, stretching her hands. The abrupt opening of her door made her jump on her footings. "Good Morning, Doctor Jess. I am sorry but the Dean wants to see you", Stacey, one of the staff nurses dressed in a typical green hospital uniform announced, peeking her face through the half opened door.

" What? This early?". Jesima rubbed her temple, "Please don't tell me he is going to add my pile of cases. Come on, I am human not a robot", she stomped her foot with a pout.

" Such a cry baby, Doc", Stacey shook her head and closed the door behind her.

Jesima pulled her coat and with a heavy sigh reached for her Dean's room. With Ahmed's resignation, not only a good friend was gone but also a colleague who helped in work. The perks of being a Gynecologist is that they can be called anytime because Labor pain doesn't comes with a clock in hand.

She opened the door and greeted her senior surgeon and with his permission, entered the large premises of his room. He urged her to take a seat and with a curt nod of her head, she took the seat.

"Dr. Jesima. You have been working hard", The Dean started, and Jesima bit the bottom of her lip, anxiousness bubbled in her chest for what has to come. " I know it's hard but you have been surviving just fine. I have been keeping a close eye on you this past week--".

Jesima visibly gulped, fear enveloped the layers of her limbs, making them tremble a little bit.

"-- and with a gold medal on your certificates, you truly have good performance skills. You see, we organize medical camps for internships around California and on some rural areas suggested by our students".

Jesima nodded in understanding. The euphoria filled up the air and her surroundings.

" I suggested your idea of building a hospital in Palestine to my higher officials. With your talents, skills, and higher standards they are quite ready to provide the necessities you would need".

A full-blown grin took over her facial features.

"But, as the place is located outside our country, my officials have agreed to first set a medical camp, camping our intern Doctors to give free treatments there".

" That's just wonderful", she clapped her hands.

"Yeah! It sounds good. For that, you may have to work extra hard. Make use of your architect husband", The Dean took ahold of the file he had on his table with his hands, opening it, he averted his gaze from Jesima towards the pinned up papers. " We may afford you the number of doctors you would need. But", he paused his action of turning the pages, looking up." you should prepare the design of how the camping you want to make, what categories you want to treat, how many doctors and interns you would need, nurse staffs, tables and beds, equipment, tools, and medications". The Dean's finger counted the list while Jesima nodded in understanding and agreement.

"You have a whole week, Doctor Jesima. I am sure you would use it to the fullest and submit in the forms of the areas we are going to pull out the camps".

" Sure, sir. This help from your side is very much appreciated and I feel grateful. I wound never disappoint you".

"Now, off you go. Your hospital duty calls", he ushered her with a light chuckle.

Jesima walked out of the Dean's office, her nerves all riled up one over the other with joy. She wanted to squeal and do a victory dance as Aashiq had done a few days back but the hustle-bustle hospital corridors portrayed a different story and she stifled her grin, making her way through the sea of people.

Her phone buzzed from her coat pocket and with her right hand in, she retrieved it to read the caller's name. In green fonts, the name Aashiq was written in the screen. She slashed it to attend within a second, " Assalamu alaikum", her voice came out as chirpy.

"Wa alaikum assalam. Your voice chimes, did something happened that made you happy?".

" You got it so soon, Aashiq", she waved her hand in the air," Yes, Something big has happened".

" Masha Allah. What is it?".

"I don't want to disclose in the phone even though my tongue is a second away from slipping all the details", she bit her bottom lip.

" Okay, What about I come to pick you up in the evening?".

"Hm! This sounds like a perfect plan", she smiled with satisfaction.

Evening rolled by sooner than she had previously anticipated. With her stuff in one hand and her handbag in the other, she waited in the parking lot. Soon enough, her peripheral vision saw Aashiq's car coming towards her.
She hopped in, said Salaam with a smile on, and looked outside the window once the engine of the car was ignited back to life.

" I thought you were going to say something", Aashiq started the conversation, turning the car to the left and outside the premises of the place his wife worked.

"Not until we reach home".

" Oh! I hope it's worth the wait".

Jesima stared at the tall buildings that blurred in her side of the window as the car went forth and when Aashiq did not turn on the usual lane that took them to their house, she turned around in her seat.

"Where are we going?".

" To your favorite place".

"Which?"

" Not until we reach the destination". Aashiq mocked her with the previous sentence she had used to him, making her roll her eyes.

The familiar lanes made her scrunch her eyebrows together. "Aashiq", she looked at him and he nodded in agreement, assuring her that they were heading to the place she guessed without uttering aloud.

Her eyes glinted with happiness. The three magical words lingered in her lips to be conveyed out loud in the neck of the moment. She controlled herself, stayed rooted in her seat, and also controlled the large screams of joy that erupted from the bottom of her chest.

When Aashiq stopped the car near their destination, Jesima jolted up, checked her hijab pins, and placed them again appropriately and with a huge grin, her face drifted towards her husband who was mirroring her expression. For always, he felt happy whenever she was.

Jesima didn't know what took over her but she leaned over her seat in his direction and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. Her face flushed red and she quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and went out of the car.

She didn't look up when Aashiq came to stand beside her, she fumbled with her footings, her gaze lowered with a thudding heart in her body.

Maahi opened the door of his apartment when he heard someone ring the doorbell. Seeing his sight, Jesima shrieked, " Ew! Why are you always naked?".

Maahi laughed out loud at the sight of Jesima and Aashiq. Jesima's hands flew to hide her eyes from seeing him.

"I am in my undershirt and track pants, Jesima".

" And it's sleeveless and it's not even covering your body". This was their routine greetings, Shabna liked Maahi in his black undershirt and he wandered their house wearing just that but whenever Jesima would visit, she would give him a piece of her mind.

Shaking his head at her, Maahi strolled inside to grab his shirt after inviting them to come in.

"Did you think this is my favorite place?".

" Yes. Is it not?".

"Shirtless males aren't my favorite, Aashiq".

" Jesima, if you have told me earlier that you liked them so much, I would have always toured the house without a shirt on".

"Not funny, Aashiq".

" Are you both going to stand there looking into each other's eyes or are you planning to come in?".

The said couple broke the gaze and Jesima scrunched her eyes at Maahi's meanness.

Jesima stepped inside the house where she lived the starting year of her life in California with her best friend, Shabna. They both had a splendid time together and those memories were the ones she cherished dearly. After marriage, Jesima couldn't make time to visit Shabna. She felt grateful for Aashiq to have taken her here.

Jesima entered the living room holding Aashiq's hand in the name of guiding him through the aisle. Asad, Samad, and Saad walked out of Saad's room and Jesima moved to give them her attention.

"The whole troop is here, I see", she kneeled to Saad's height.

" Asad and Samad are here to play".

"Guy's day out? Wah wah!".

" Haan! Waise, you are so busy with your husband so much so that we rarely see you these days". Asad wondered.

"Kya karun woh hai hi itna pyaara key chodney ka dil hi nai kartha ( what to do? He is so sweet that my heart never wants to leave him)".

" Boys are not sweet, Jessie".

"Maahi, Asad is using bro code again", she shouted across the hallway.

" Chalo! Guys, Yeh chaadi laganey ke liye aayi hai (She has come to pinpoint our mistakes)".

Jesima laughed at Asad's flushed face as he withdrew himself from fighting back and he strolled inside Saad's room. She turned towards Samad. "How are you?".

" With Asad as my twin, I am too good", he shook his head, his tone dripped with sarcasm, and followed Asad inside the room.

Jesima stood back up to see Shabna waving her from the Kitchen. Shabna gestured her to bring a hijab for her to quickly wrap around her head and Jesima pulled the soft cotton shawl that laid over one of the couch and before she walked up to her friend, Aashiq whispered so that she would only hear, "I heard what you said".

" I said for you to hear, Aashiq", she winked.

"If you people didn't have kids who wander around the house all day, I doubt you both would ever wear clothes". Jesima chuckled taking Muhammad from his baby chair. The small 8-months old boy wrapped his little arms around her. Jesima earned a laugh as a reply from Shabna as she kissed Muhammad's chubby cheeks.

" There is nothing we both haven't seen of each other".

"Ew! Language Mother, Your innocent and your single-minded friend shouldn't hear these things".

Shabna giggled as she poured the tea on the cups in the small tray.

" You are sounding like you aren't married for more than a year".

"But still, I am as young as a baby at heart".

" Wow. You aren't denying anything means you both have finally gotten close".

The small peck she gave Aashiq on his cheek before getting down of the car flashed in front of her eyes. "I won't confess as close but I already feel all my barriers dropping for him".

" Masha Allah, I am so happy for you".

"I am happy for you too, Shab", Jesima pinched Shabna's cheeks, feeling truly happy for her because after all that Shabna had went through her first marriage, she deserved someone like Maahi to take care of her. " Don't let Maahi know, but he has kept his word and has been an good husband to you".

"Is that a compliment I hear?". Maahi walked inside.

Jesima rolled her eyes and he chuckled grabbing the tray of pleasantries his wife had arranged and walked out of the kitchen.

" Fathima didn't come?".

"She is in bed rest".

" Woah! Is she pregnant?", Jesima's eyes rounded with surprise.

"Yes", Shabna gleamed back.

" Masha Allah! Barakallahu feek, this day can't become more pleasant. Alhamdulilah".

The air filled with beauty and silence which the both friends enjoyed. Jesima toyed Muhammad's hands and he giggled. "Shabna, promise me you won't marry Saad to Fathima's daughter".

" You still didn't leave the subject, did you?". Maahi came again to grab a jug of water.

"I am not going to leave it until I marry him to my daughter".

Five years old Saad came running inside the kitchen to hide behind Shabna for he was playing peek-a-boo with Asad and Samad. " Saad, will you marry my daughter?". Jesima questioned the boy.

His parents looked at him in amusement when he scrunched his eyebrows together and went into deep thinking. "Where is she?".

" So, you are agreeing to marry her?".

"Like Mamma and Baba married?".

" Yes, like the way your Mamma and Baba got married".

"And you people will close us in a room, where we have to kiss?".

" Maahi, you kissed Shabna in front of Saad?".

Maahi laughed out loud and Shabna blushed. "I am not as shameless as you imply me to, Jesima. Saad", he looked at his son, " What game did we play in that room".

"Kissing game".

" Yeah, the kissing game means I would kiss Saad and he would pass my kiss to Shabna".

"Oh! Be grateful that you saved your life today".

The next hour went with bickerings, laughing, and enjoying the time they got to spend with each other. Maahi and Aashiq talked about business and politics while Shabna and Jesima chatted about everything to nothing.

Jesima felt like she was flying high in the sky, there was no bound for the happiness she felt. Her life seemed too perfect to be true and too true to be real. She felt like she was floating in a dream and when she would wake up, everything she has come to like would be snatched away. She feared that she would be drenched with nightmares she was scared of living but as a Muslim, she shook her head off of negativity. Life is about living this moment to the fullest and she was doing just that, living a life like there was no tomorrow.

...

Aashiq sat on the lush meadows of the park, looking at the river that gushed in front of them. The blue water shining with an enormous amount of glory even when it was dark. Moonlight-like stardust spread throughout the watery surface, dampening the air to turn into a chilly breeze. The freshness and purity uplifted their inner spirits. Mesmerizing them to even forget their innermost turmoil.

" Subhanallah! This is so splendid".

Jesima moved closer towards him in her seating, rubbing her hands together. "You can say what made you so happy today", Aashiq said.

" Sure".

Aashiq hummed in response and fell in silence, urging her to spill the beans which she kept a mystery since the morning. " The dream to build a hospital in Palestine is going to be true".

"Really?". Aashiq chimed with joy.

" Yeah! This is just the start. My Dean told me to prepare all the essentials to be needed to conduct a free medical camp there, teaching our interns by serving the people in need. It's a six months project and we even have to prepare the model of the camp by ourselves", she pointed to him and her, " So, Yeah. If I submit my place of destination with all the projects the students would create, I might have a chance to fulfill my dream".

"Barakallahu feeki! Jesima. I will help you as much as I can".

" Thank you, Aashiq. I would need your help to plan the design of the camp and if this succeeds, we may extend to build a hospital of our own. In shaa Allah".

"In shaa Allah, my help will always be there for you".

She smiled grateful for his support. " And I would have to look over-how many doctors, students, nurses, instruments and other essential things would be needed for a six-month stay".

"Six months?".

Jesima nodded her head. " Yeah, I am going to go there as a senior and I would be leading the entire team. Our stay would last for six months probably".

Aashiq's face fell. Thank God, they were seated in the dark, or else she would have caught the sadness that suddenly rented his eyes. All the joy he was feeling a moment before flew away with the breeze. After a year of wait, they were finally keeping their dreams aside and giving this relationship a sole rhythm. If Jesima steps out, Aashiq would lose himself in it's depths.

Before, he liked her from afar, too fearful to step ahead and reach out for her. But now, when she rekindled the spark of love every time she came near him, every word she uttered, every way her vision travelel, everything she touched, every time her lips twitched, every time she blushed, every time she spoke the truth even she felt ashamed\embarassed about to him and confessed her deepest thoughts and feelings, he fell in love. He fell in love with her on a daily basis. He fell in love with every moment he spent with her.

Aashiq loathed himself to have felt more than he should have because now, he cannot imagine a second to be away from her and he is not even sure about the six months she is talking about. He would die missing her because he has forgotten how to forget her.

She has taken refuge in his heart, claiming his soul eternally to be hers and only hers, and when he proclaimed he would forever be hers, she is stepping back. Not even realising how much she has made him fall for her and how much it would be painful for him to live a life, given for just six months, away from her.

His breathing caught in his throat and the knot there started to sprout to grow more and more. He didn't and never would want to ruin her happiness, her movement of joy. He gulped his hurt, the raw pain, and the inner hurricane he was facing and tried to smile and enjoy her joy like he usually did but that instance each breath he took, it became difficult to grasp in the other. He did not wish to show her or stop her from marching towards her wishes. He is simply not that type.

He raked his hand through his hair, at her obliviousness. She was so close but she was too distant in feeling what he felt for her. He masked all the tribulations he was undergoing and transformed them to form a smile to let her know that he was happy, seeing her happy.

Jesima smiled back and turned her attention towards the river.

"I think it's getting late. We should head back home". Aashiq got up, dusted off his pants of the dust.

He then gave her his hand and Jesima merrily grabbed it and stood up. His heart shattered into a million pieces because like the hand she grabbed his heart and without even realising, she let go, breaking it into numerous pieces. At last, this was all his feelings and she is yet to come this far in their journey.

Patience is hard and it was the hardest moment for Aashiq, to have to wait for his love, again.

....

Jesima thought she was happy as she was, she never wanted more from life or less. Whatever she was, it was her hard work. Looking back at the path she traveled, she had no regrets upon taking the decisions she took to have been given this place to stand.

That morning, when she woke up, she woke up with a newfound aura. Her dreams seemed too near to get ahold of. She just has to put in some more effort and she would reach the shore. She quickly did her morning routine, ate her breakfast to the fullest to have the energy to multi-task for the day.

She had a week to prepare her representation along with fulfilling her duties as a surgeon and a doctor in the hospital. The said time was very less for anyone to do those humongous chores but she was Jesima after all. When she puts her determination into something, she never stops from accomplishing it.

She grabbed her belongings, tied her hijab, secured it with her hijab pins, and with one last look in the mirror, she exited her room to face the challenges that day would throw towards her.

She was halfway through the stairs when a thought popped inside her brain, eventually making her halt her steps from climbing down.

Aashiq, no matter how busy they were, would find time in the morning for her. They would meet each other at the breakfast table or the gym or sometimes they would pray fajr together and during that time, they would simply chit chat, letting each other know-how their lives were going. But, she was surprised to have not seen him around that morning. She woke up and prayed Fajr, alone. Ate breakfast, alone. She was even going to leave the house in a few minutes for work, alone.

It was unusual for him not to make a presence known for her. Sometimes, when he had to go out for a business trip for a day or two, if she is not available in the house or nearby, he would leave a message himself or call her to inform about his whereabouts.

She placed her belongings over the dining table and entered the kitchen to ask the cook, Miss Mary, about Aashiq. She informed her that he isn't awake and he didn't even come to give her orders of the menu she had to cook for breakfast.

It was unusual for Aashiq.

Worry settled in her chest as she moved her limbs to take her to his room. She didn't knock. She slowly opened the door and the sight in front of her, made her heart stop.

She threw the door open to reach towards him. He was lying in the bed and his face was red, crease lines formed on his forehead and he was wrapped in his duvet, making his face the only view.

She rushed inside and when her palms touched his forehead, her hands were burnt with blazing heat.
Her eyes glistened by the look of his form.

He was a strong man and she felt too much vulnerable to see him at his weakest.

His phone started to ring and she immediately took it out to pull the button to silent mode. The wallpaper of his phone screen made her heart flutter.

It was the image of her which he took in their trip to Cebu, the time in which a butterfly sat on the bridge of her eyebrows.

Oh! Aashiq, you melt my heart.

Jesima went to grab her medical kit to check him. She put a wet cloth over his forehead and took intervals in placing it back and forth. After a few minutes, Aashiq opened his eyes. Just by the look of her beside him, his lips twitched the slightest and she smiled back.

She helped him to sit and brought his breakfast. Subsequently, she helped him eat his bread and milk with the pill, ibuprofen.

He laid back, his drooping eyes never left her face. Jesima stared at his posture and a moment later, she climbed inside the bed. Buried her head inside his chest, pulling the comforter to cover them both.

" What are you doing? You are going to acquire the fever by being close to me", Aashiq murmured.

The heat of the fever that wafted from him made her concern grow even more. "I am a Doctor, remember? I repel germs".

He chuckled, pulling her close by wrapping his arms around her and kissed her hair.

Aashiq closed his eyes to let the unconsciousness take over him which came with the medication he had and during that juncture, Jesima forgot that there were dreams which awaited for her to grab. That moment all she cared about him, only him.

***

This chapter is continued in the next update which is also has been published.