I proceeded to the largest balcony and  took a deep breath.

Should I or should I not?

I placed the tea cups one after the other. He glanced at the cups and then at me.one after the other.

"The dinner was great! " I said rather pitched. Hiding my nervous face with my much nervous vocals.

"It was" he said sternly.

Loosen up Al-Wais.

I sat and folded the flair of the ever long trail of the dress.

"I did not ask you to stay" he rudely stated.

"I know. I'll join anyways "

Now I returned to my peace. There was something I wanted to tell him beside this one thing I had to ask.

So I washed my thoughts and his snob over the dark sky. I curled the air over my lips and with the powder blue tea cup,my only prop I opened myself.

"Al-wais, I have been so mishandled that I have no hope in life. I have no hope, no dreams and no expectations as such from anybody. So if you hide from me, for the reasons you couldn't confess,I assure you,I have forgotten all of it. If it did affect me,it did but I still do not seek anymore from you; you are my friend; I am yours, this is the end. I do not want anything from you. If you are afraid that I might ask of something, I'm too poor to dream here"

"I find it funny Miss Naaz that you see poverty as your failure to dream. Poverty of heart, you meant?  Your heart is so Big Miss Naaz, it is only as so you don't realise that you're sacrificing something when you are because you don't see it as a sacrifice "

"I haven't sacrificed anything "

"You have sacrificed me"

My thoughts jumbled. My voice screeched out of my soul but nothing could make it in the air. I sighed. He sighed. The silence sighed.

"This is what you want" I retaliated. It was the truth. I wasn't running away from him, he is pushing me away.

"I admit. I have four brothers Miss Naaz. I cannot express how this is my reason to put you away but I justify this as a reason to have them forth, always"

"I would not debate on this. I am happy to see the fraternity. I wish my brothers were as loving you are. I think we both have lived long enough to handle our hearts"

"one can never handle his own heart. That is why we have others"

"Others?  More like our Own parts, just smarter. Soul mates.. " I teased. He laughed. Eventually we both again fell into the well of silence.

"Can I ask you something? " I requested.

He nodded.

"Who is Liya? " I asked scared.

He looked away. Into the horizon of vacant respiration, the stars never heard this story. The walls limited to this name, I brought my head forward. He drew a moment and with whatever he had he corrected me
"Liya-Arae Hakeem please"

"I'm sorry " I apologized.

"My mother. Mrs Liya-Arae Hareem"

"what happened to her? " I asked gulping down the lumps of fear.

"She was a great Mother but she wasn't a good wife. I do not know much in the matter Miss Naaz. But all I understand is that all was sad.
Every last of it. I remember her vaguely. We are objected to ever recall her. She had eloped with another man. She left my father. She left my two year old baby bothers. She left her teenage sons. She left Dar-Al-Maqamah. She left everything without even warning us. She just enjoyed the other Man over my Father. She betrayed us"

Cruel. It was cruelty.

"Miss Falaq-Naaz if you may ask me, why am I this person? I would say because of my mother and if you were to repeat the question around the house to each and everyone, you would probably have the same answer. The good,the bad,the worst everything in us goes into her credit.  She raised us first when we were very young in the City, you might not know this but yes, we were born and my early childhood has been in the City. However my Father brought us here. Here, without the schools and the proper medium she established a great education for us. She was intensely intellectual, she was a scholar of her time; a rare combination of beauty and brain.
She was linguistic and she shared her ability with us. She raised me with ample love,I was dignified in being her eldest, her most loved. She had Al-Souffian, he took rather more attention by her since he was born, he was very assertive and quiet at times,he was drawing her attention with his bad temper. Amidst all her worries for Al-Souffian,Al-Hassan was born. He looked just like her. Just like her.
So beautiful that when she held her, she cried the tears of joy that we assumed were because amongst her sons now she would share her features. She was conscious of her beauty and what it would bring now to Al-Hassan,to keep him grounded;I remember her never treating him any different in any aspect, she would always tell him that what he has is not his, he hasn't earned it so he can never flaunt it. Everyone have to earn the things that they want to flaunt. Seems like we all had nothing, so we worked hard. Al-Souffian couldn't flaunt his incredible speed of speech, Al-Hassan could not flaunt his blue eyes and I couldn't flaunt my authority . So we learnt things that were not naturally imbibed in us, like learning.She was sensible, she offered us the good parts of her. The reason we do not know what her bad side was like. We never knew a single fault in her and suddenly everything was destructed"

"It must've been a nightmare to deal with" I spoke catching my breath.

"A nightmare that doesn't end even when you open you eyes Miss Naaz.
I remember the day clearly" he held the arm of his chair.

"I woke up early at four in the morning to my father's voice hustling in the mansion. I came to the dining room, he was screaming and yelling all the domestic help. I could not understand. I saw the dining table with five letters across the chairs and one was open and out of the envelope ahead of my father's chair. I was nineteen years of age. Completely aware. I ran to my mother's room to ask her as only she could calm my father. Inside the room all was still, in the Cribs; my two year old fraternal brothers laid crying. I can see all this running in front of my eyes right now as I speak" he said with his eyes set straight and his hands bearing goosebumps.

"I picked Al-Shizad in one arm and Al-Wildan in another. I descended the stairs and found she was nowhere. I was heavily breathing and finally I had to wake up Al-Hassan as Al-Souffian was sick for a week now. Al-Hassan took Wildan in his arms, I had Al-Shizad and I saw my father lastly falling on the  chair and crying. My mighty Father, crying helplessly.
I picked up the letter Miss Naaz that had my initials on it. I revised it so many times that I remember this by heart, it said :

   Dear Wais,

        Mother has to leave, I fear forever this time. Wais things have been not alright, I am sorry I could not tell you. Wais you shall be there for your brothers always, promise me to take care of them, as they are a part of you, you hold them and ask for Mercy from thy Lord for he is one that would fill your heart with love for them. You are to take responsibility after me, love them. Love them.
            Forgive me if you can Wais and take care of yourself, take care of your brothers.......
       
                              Your loving Mother,
                               Liya-Arae Hareem

You would not believe how many times I read the letter Miss Naaz, just to find somewhere the words 'take care of your Father ' but she did not mention him. My father told me she ran away with another man and that she did not ever love him. In my arms the toddlers who knew but only one word broke my heart crying repeating without a pause 'mamma'. I looked at myself unable to be anything at that point. My father sank in alcohol and drugs. He distanced himself from us when he was sober, as he realized it was necessary that we do not catch the same. A mufti was introduced for our Islamic education so that we do not lose ourselves. But I had already lost everything. One day you wake up and everything is gone. The lines 'take care of your brothers' repeated a several times in my mother's letter doubled inside my head. My life is theirs. Somewhere between the line my father went so far that till today we cannot see in him the man he was. He has taken work and travelling so that we do not have to travel out, see other people, women to be specific, he hates women because his women ruined Him. His anguish for mother has turned into hatred for women in General. He looks as loneliness as a shield to be protected from a heartbreak. He looks at women as home wrecker. As heart breakers. As low beings. I would not agree with him but I do not completely disagree that my mother was a pathetic women. I cannot forgive her because she loved herself more than she loved my two year olds. She loves herself more than she loved my sick brother. She herself more than the man who loved her entirely. She was selfish and inconsiderate. Mrs Liya-Arae Hareem was a crumpled paper of Al-Maqamah. It is better to not bring her up to my brothers. It hurts them"

I skimmed out of his story,it completely changed my view about the Elahims. I could feel more pity than love for them. Mr Elahim has suffered greatly which now floats as his unconditional hate for women. Which is if not entirely than partly understandable.

"it's been a tough life" I said.

"Alhumdullihah " he sighed.

"Alhumdullihah " I sighed.

I adored him, his purity. Where in this world is this kind of Love living?  Here in Dar-Al-Maqamah the King loves too well. I would stay here,adore him a little more.

"isn't it late? " he asked.

"it is. I won't be around again, let me stay" I said smiling tearfully.

He gulped. "Then Stay with me"

A jolted and twisted foxglove and white piece of paper, an indigo Indian ink. The line of two specks of finished tea in the tea cup. The smell of petrol from the backyard. The smell of candle wax from the room behind. The smell of love...... From the skies.

The two powder blue tea cups sitting together. I have loved these objects more than anything in my life now.

A/N: Thank you so much for such sweet feedback. It feels so overwhelming to be appreciated for the writing style finally. Update coming ahead in a day or two. Also thank you so much again, I cannot express my happiness over your lovely reviews, please share and spread the love. Anybody who does covers?  PM me!