Faajal didn't take even a single grain of food, shivering before his room. Hours ticked by since Yusuf was rushed inside the room. 10 minutes after her rescue, he was salvaged, bruised and fatally blazed. She couldn't endure the sight of his delicate skin imprinted with red marks, etched with bulbous blisters. His eyelids closed, ushering no trace of life. Ravinder had forced his best to drag her out of the afire hall but she had evaded and remained glued to the ground till Yusuf was discovered. .

Tears welled up in her eyes as the memory played fresh in her mind, weighing heavily on her conscience. She longed to burst through the door and embrace him, but she held herself back. Patience was now a necessary luxury to avoid potential chaos. 

Suddenly, footsteps clanked on her way. She glimpsed up to notice a nurse, frowning. "Are you Faajal?" 

Faajal whisked from her seat in anticipation. "Yes, yes, I am," 

"The patient has been calling for you."

"Is he awake?" 

"Not yet, but you can meet him if you want," 

Faajal dashed towards the door and thrust it open. Yusuf rested on a bed, his lips trembling as though muttering unspoken words. She slowly walked closer and sat beside. He looked like an infant, relishing a good dream in slumber. The wounds glistened crimson still, exposing the pink flesh and bloodied skin. 

Faajal muffled the sobs rupturing from her lungs by covering her mouth. She was why he ended up like this, endangering his life for someone who couldn't even help him. Her fingers crept up his hairline, running through the silky hair that used to flutter when morning breeze streamed through. "Yusuf," her voice cracked. She inhaled profusely and wiped the tears that cascaded down her cheeks. "Yusuf, you hear me?" No response answered her question. She slid her fingers in his bandaged ones in a tight grip and channeled the emotions boiling inside her heart-guilt, remorse, plea. Her head dropped onto their intertwined hands, orbs pressing shut. 

Suddenly, his wrist stirred. She shot up to catch two azure-streaked pupils gleaming at her. "Yusuf Khan Dehlavi doesn't leave people this easily. And when it comes to someone special as you, then you'd have no mercy from my presence." Those words seemed an effort for him, yet the note of playfulness and earnest assurance lessened her worry. She couldn't but open her lips in a laugh. "You scared the hell out of me, you rascal." She slapped his hand. He winced in pain, making her regret her reckless move. "I am sorry," she pursed her lips, achieving a snicker from him. 

"Now, you owe me much debt to repay, I suppose." 

She giggled, still sniffling from the cries wringing in her throat. "And I won't leave any of it unpaid, Yusuf Khan Dehlavi. Faajal Kaur never breaks her promise." 

He whirled his eyes, sighing in pleasing mockery. "We'll see," 

The door thrust open, puncturing the prevailing meek ambience and Ravinder along with a few others barged in. While others flashed an expression of concern, Ravinder depicted an acrid curl of the lip, trying hard to veil the disappointment not to get noticed. His vexation roused rage in Faajal, hot and untamed. How dare he disregard the person who saved his daughter? 

"Thank god you're awake, Raj." Devika Rani exclaimed, the supreme figure of the studio. "We've been worried those accidents may have caused irreparable harm to you and you may lose your health condition." Her words thrummed across the chamber, presiding in the pin-drop hush. Her slick jawline pierced eyes, shimmering and strong. Her facial features looked crafted from metal, always glazing and sharp. Faajal was bewitched the first time she glimpsed her portrait. The blood-red lips demanded attention and compliance, shaking even the wealthiest  of aristocrats. 

"I am alright, mam. But, such incidents could have led to many serious consequences whether to me or others. These malfunctions must be corrected I should say. Faajal nearly lost her life," Yusuf's voice gained a spark of confidence. 

"Such ignorance is really despairing. I've instructed the technicians to investigate further, so no artist may suffer like Faajal." Devika Rani turned to Faajal. "I hope you're safe, Faajal. Sorry for the incident." 

Faajal, not having had any meetings with the boss before, groped for a proper reply. "It's alright, mam. I am okay." 

"You two take leave for some days. It'd be better." A mild curve escaped her crimson lips. 

Faajal stole a glance at Ravinder who shifted uncomfortably. He certainly didn't want to miss a day's paycheck far less than missing several. Devika Rani added, arching her brows. "Without your paychecks being cut, don't worry." Faajal inwardly sighed in relief as her prayers were answered. Ravinder's expression also loosened, drained of the arousing tension. 

Yusuf's wounds needed 4 days to heal. Still, the physician warned him to cautiously care for the marks as they still remained raw inside. Faajal visited him everyday and escorted the assorted dishes Gurbani cooked herself. Though Sikhs don't consume beef and Faajal's family was no exception, Gurbani made a mutton curry with thick gravy that even churned Faajal's stomach. She couldn't resist the craving growling for a piece of that juicy meat. 

They took their lunch together with puffy nans wafting its aroma around, meat curry, vegetable fries and lassi. Mostly in rare occasions, Faajal devoured such extravagant dishes and she was thankful to Yusuf for whom she used the chance to quench her desire to taste these.

"I don't know how to thank you, Yusuf beta. If you weren't there for my Faajal," Gurbani paused, sharply inhaling before continuing. "Something bad would've happened." 

Yusuf chuckled. "That's why maybe Allah created me, to save her life." Others deemed it a friendly manner but Ravinder's eyes narrowed, his keen observation pinned on Yusuf, then cut to Faajal. "Come to our house whenever you want to. You'll be always welcome." smiled Gurbani. 

"Of course, the dishes you just made were out of the world. How can I miss those?" 

Gurbani giggled, the corners of her eyeducts crinkling after so many ages. Her face kindled a spark of mirth in Faajal, seeing her mother genuinely laugh. She couldn't be more grateful to Yusuf for illuminating the dulled, healing their bruises and retracting joy in their once-dismal life. No matter how many hindrances life thrust at him, he conquered wearing a smile on his face and enticing other lives. 

Yusuf returned to the studio after a day of his release, so did Faajal. She might have delighted the days of leave but the leftover performances she had to burden herself with exasparated her mind. In addition, Ravinder's constant monitoring aroused the vexation to a great extent. Nevertheless, she dived back into her usual schedule and occupied herself with consecutively running plays, shoots and makeup. 

─•~❉᯽❉~•─

It wavered around 9.00 in clock when Faajal awaited the extended script the director would hand over for the next days, sitting beside a window. The luminescence of night setting a pearly glow on her face. The restless routine had exhausted her the best and now her only desire was to retire on her bed and loosen her nerves in rest. 

"Oye," Someone hissed behind her, tapping her shoulder. She spun to direct to meet those sapphires again. "Yusuf? Your shift is over?" she frowned. 

"Yes, I had to meet my debtor and ask her state. Your father seems to lessen his pressure." he probed, squinting his eyes. 

She snorted, "I don't see it. He has gone to fetch a rickshaw." 

"That's why, I wonder why the environment is so cool, now. Otherwise," he cleared his throat. "How are you, now?" he mumbled, straining her ears to catch his words. 

She folded her lips, heaving a profound sigh. "Good now, I guess." Her gaze stretched afar, lost in a fathomless distance. A crescent escaped his lips as he sat closer, casting his reflection on her sheen pupils. A lock of her curls brushed his cheek. He wounded the strand around his finger and tugged slightly. Their stares bore into each other, linking a thread of inexplicable vehemence. His orbs now resembled the midnight pools, imbuing her to frown in those and let the world dissolve into insignificance. "I don't know why you befriended a girl like me, so frail and incapable of saving you in time of peril," she muttered a confession out of the inferiority always nudging her. 

"I don't know why you cherish the idiotic acts I do when you could've gotten someone better." 

She sniffled a manner of her in moments of coyness. "Perhaps, Waheguru wanted us to be together." A bent edged her lips, her face aglow with the thrum of the sensations coursing through her veins. He exchanged her mirth, smiling back. Their stare lifted to the window where the vast sky overlooked those two mesmerized viewers. The moon split in half, still, its aura spread on the earth like before as a striking contrast to the murk of the sky. Stars blinked accompanying the moon, some brighter, some tinier. 

Suddenly, Yususf's baby finger merged with Faajal's. She didn't move or remove her hand in daze despite the flaps of the butterflies roaming in the pit of her stomach. 

"Agar kisi ko tum shiddat se chhaho, toh puri kaynaat tumhe usse milane kiliye lag jati hai." Yusuf intoned meekly, his orbs sparkling alike the stars in the sky. The tilt at the corners of his lips lifted farther. Faajal snatched a glance at him before retreating her sight to the moon. Her mind redeemed from ominous ponders and resentment after a period that felt ages. 

A/N:

Did you like the chapter, my lovelies? 

I wanted to extend the chapter but then thought let's just keep it here.