The sound of knocking resonated through the door. Mahrukh and Zain, were busy packing at night when they heard the loud and sharp knocks. Pausing for a second, Mahrukh looked at Zain and said
"Go and see who is at the door," nodding his head he said
"Jaisa aap kahin begum".
(As you say wife)
Behind the door stood Aliya with a tray in her hands.
"Brought some tea for all of us,"
Aliya spoke as she walked to them. Sitting on one side of the huge bed, she placed the tray down. Then proceeded to add the tea to china cups. Passing the cups to her son and daughter in law, she began to speak.
"Listen Mahrukh. Now you are married. People in this house will try to create more problems and misunderstandings amongst you. But you and Zain have to support each other and talk it out. Fights are common in relationships try to solve them as quick as can and never tell anyone not even me- well okay you can tell me- about it. Zain since you are older, you will have to be the mature one".
Zain smirked at his mother
"Amma aap fikar mat karein. Will take good care of your Mahrukh".
(Mother do not worry)
Aliya kissed their foreheads and blessed them. They spent some time talking after which Mahrukh and Zain began to pack while Aliya left with the tray.

The morning could not have come fast enough. All through the night, Zain tossed and turned which disturbed Mahrukh as well considering her head was on his chest. Finally giving up trying to sleep, Zain began to play with the ends of Mahrukh's hair and then occasionally dragging his hands to her back rubbing it gently. The smooth movements, caused Mahrukh to sleep even better but for Zain it was no where near. Perhaps it was the excitement or thoughts of spending two weeks solely with Mahrukh which had caused all of his sleep to fly away. Finall at 4 am his alaram rang.

"Mahrukh utho".
(Mahrukh wake up)
Zain spoke in a soft tone, but thanks to his heavy and husky voice it seemed he had shouted. Rubbing her eyes furiously Mahrukh looked at him saying
"Do minute,"
(Two minutes)
she covered her head with the duvet. Sighing, Zain decided to take a shower first and then wake her up. He stepped inside the gigantic shower and turned the temperature of the water to hot. Letting the scalding hot water pour on his muscles did wonders for him. He felt the tension from not sleeping in his muscles release one at a time. Turning the shower off, he wrapped himself in a towel and headed into his closet. Deciding on wearing a charcoal t-shirt with blue jeans. Grabbing a woolen jacket for the Islamabad cold he headed out and sat near Mahrukh.
"Mahrukh. Wake up please. We will be late otherwise,"
finally hearing his plea, Mahrukh ran into the bathroom and came out fifteen minutes later, wearing blue jeans with a white long sleeved shirt, she wore her camel coloured coat. Grabbing her handbag and their suitcases they walked out of the room hand in hand.

Downstairs, Akbar was standing waiting for them. Seeing them, he helped Zain with the bags and loaded them into the car. Once they had reached Benazir Bhutto International Airport, they waved to Akbar and left. Spending a few hours at boarding they finally sat in their seats and waited. Most of their plane ride, Zain was sleeping with his head on Mahrukh's shoulder whilst she watched movies on the monitor fixed in the seat.

After having sat in the same seat for around sixteen hours, Mahrukh felt the blood in her legs stop travelling. So when the flight landed and they walked out of the terminal, Mahrukh felt her legs cramping with relief. They booked a cab and left for their hotel. They had booked the Four Seasons resort and they were not disappointed to say the least. The resort had a small infinity pool as its focal point. Around it on three sides were wooden cabins. One was their giant bedroom that had a king sized bed with two swans made out of towels and a heart made of roses in the centre. On one of the corners of the bed was a chocolate cake that said
"Congratulations Mr&Mrs. Zain Butt".
The note had Mahrukh blushing which caused Zain to chuckle
"We are on our honeymoon. Ab tou sharmana band kardo,"
(Stop being shy)
Mahrukh slapped his arm and they continued to tour the other cabins. The next was a large bathroom. It had a white tub filled to the brim with cold water (since it was a humid country even in January the temperatures reached 30°C) on top of which rose petals were thrown. The last room was a large kitchen with any and every equipment one could image to have. As well as a giant lounging area with a tv and a wooden dining table thar seated four. The place was really something out of a magazine catalogue. That night Zain and Mahrukh were too tired to attend any of the festivities and instead decided to break their bed in.

○~○

The next morning, the cold breeze wafted throught the open room. Mahrukh and Zain slept naked due to the humid air. Waking thanks to the wind that grazed their bodies the duo decided to lay in and talk for some time.
"Zain".
"Hmmm".
"When did you know you were in love with me?"
"I think it was when you were in second grade and barged into me room demanding I took you to the park. Or maybe when you were doing your O levels and would cry with Akbar, I would want to kill the person who made O Levels a thing. Or maybe when you got ready for your A levels farewell." Mahrukh decided to interrupt him
"So you've been in love with me since I was born? Umm I mean I understand I am quite loveable".
Zain kissed her head seeing her cute faces and asked her to get dressed so that they could go and have breakfast.

Walking to a cute little cafè near their hotel room, they decided to buy a heavy breakfast since they were famished. They both ordered pancakes with sunny side up eggs and turkey sausages. And a few watermelon slices with lemonade. Eating their scrunptious food they headed out on a day to explore. Mahrukh was wearing a white full sleeved sundress with thin leggings underneath while Zain wore t-shirt and jeans.

For their first destination, they headed out to the infamous Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. It was a huge temple where a lot of local long-tailed monkeys lived and roamed around freely. They would occasionally steal corn or bananas from the hands of the tourists. Zain and Mahrukh bought a dozen bananas to give to the monkey and taking pictures of them. Zain took a photo of Mahrukh giving a banana to a monkey and saved it as his screensaver.

The next morning, they headed out on a hike to the active volcano Mount Batur. The active volcano was a site people visited to hide and take in the beautiful views. The place was so serene and peaceful that it stole your breath away. Mahrukh gave up halfway through the hike and so Zain had to carry her on his back. He was rewarded with a peck on the lips by Mahrukh for his service.

○~○

In Islamabad things were not so peaceful. The weather was becoming colder and colder by the day. The heavy downpour did little to calm the raging winds. With the cold winds it meant that people with lungs and chest problems suffered more and that is exactly what happened with Shifa.

She was walking outside when she had an episode. Unable to breathe properly, she has called for help. Laraib who had been passing by sneered
"If you think I will call someone for help. You are wrong. Enough of your drama," and so Shifa sat their on the cold floors waiting for help. Akram who was passing by, seeing his sister in law was stunned. Shouting he spoke
"Saad call the ambulance. Shifa bhabhi ki tabiyat theek nahi".
Aliya also ran and helped Akram lift Shifa as Saad had lost his senses completely. Akbar who had just come back from the office took them to the hospital saying that an ambulance would take too long to arrive.

That night was spent in trouble. Aliya sat on the uncomfortable plastic seats praying for the health of her sister. Shifa had been a strong woman all her life. Aliya had loved her like her own sister. She had been there while Aliya suffered after Mahrukh was born. So to her Shifa was very precious.
"Mama I think you should go home with Abu".
Akbar said softly.
"No. That woman in there is my sister. I will not leave her in such a crucial time"

"Akbar Saad is my younger brother. I need to be here. You should go home and tell Amna".
Sighing and knowing nothing could change the mind of his parents Akbar left. His parents had told him to not tell Mahrukh or Zain since that would worry them and ruin their vacation.

It was around three am when the doctors came to them.
"The patient is okay. Alhamdulilah. The patient is sensitive to cold. Try to keep them away from it. We will discharge her in the morning".
"Can we see her?" Inquired Saad.
"Yes" the doctor replied. All three of them headed to the room Shifa was in.
"Apna khayal rakha karo. Itna dara diya tha" Saad began to scold her but was stopped by Aliya who told him that she needed to be spoken with politeness and that she had learnt her lesson. In the morning Akbar came and they took Shifa home.

○~○

Mahrukh and Zain walked inside the foyer. They were finally back from their honeymoon. The time that they had spent alone had done wonders for them. They entered their home expecting to see their parents but were greeted with silence. They decided to inspect. No one was downstairs. As the climbed the giant staircase they started to her the sounds coming from Saad and Shifa's bedroom. Heading in there they saw everyone around a pale Shifa.
"Mama,"
the shout left Mahrukh's mouth before she could even process it as she ran to her mother.
"Arey aagay tum dono?"
(The both of you came)
Shifa inquired.
"Han mama. Par aap ko kiya huwa hai?"
(Yes mom. What happened to you)
Mahrukh asked with worry knowing the fragile health of her mother. Shifa hesitated a bit before narrating the entire incident.
"So much happened and none of you even thought of calling us?"
Mahrukh said in a voice full of hurt.
"We thought to let you guys enjoy. It was nothing serious" Aliya coaxed her. Then to divert the attention of off the issue Zain spoke
"Mahrukh why do you not show everyone what you got everyone?" nodding and changing the topic she opened the giant bag giving everyone what she got for them.

○~○