"Mateen! I am asking you something?! Will you answer me in this lifetime?!"

Finally, after Ammar's constant pestering for the past half an hour, Mateen turned to face him with an irritated click of tongue. The hold on his phone's screen against his ears loosened only for a moment, as he looked sideways to shoot Ammar a resentful glare; who was holding up two waist coats.

"Right one—Sorry, it was just Ammar being Ammar." He returned curtly and returning to his prior activity, quickly added on the phone; still pressed against his ear.

"Just Ammar? I am just Ammar now??! WOW! Your childhood friend is JUST someone now!" Mateen completely ignored Ammar's squeals of grievances and got off the bed to make way towards the balcony.

"THIS—! THIS here is exactly what happens to miserable, sad and pathetic guys like you, who have lived a single bachelor life their whole lives and FINALLY manage to land a marriage partner. ONLY TO LOSE THEIR DAMN MINDS!---YEAH! WALK AWAY Mateen Abbasi!" Ammar cried out behind him, but Mateen paid him no heed as he stepped out, whereas Ammar continued to prance around his room like a crazed, sleep deprived man; which he technically was in that very moment.

"Do you remember that time, after I returned from my suspension? And you had this suicide patient—" Hajra heard him go on at the other end of the phone, while she sifted through the books she needed to pack with her.

"Oh. Yeah. I think it was the first time I had actually talked to you." Mateen felt a soft smile extending across his features, as he leaned against the railing.

"I dreamt about that. When I was in coma. And I saw Mush too." On hearing these words leave his mouth, Hajra's hand reaching towards the book on top shelf halted midway. She pulled it back and stepped away for a moment to gain composure.

"Do you remember what you said to me after I ran away from the Ward? And you found me hiding in a corner in the hallway? God, you don't know, but your words really saved me then...and again in that coma."

He went on calmly with smile laced in his voice, whereas Hajra on the other side was finding it difficult to release the breath she had sucked in.

She could still vividly recall every single detail about that day. Mateen was assigned that patient but he had panicked on seeing her slit wrists and her wailing parents screaming at them in desperation to save her.

During the time Mateen was on suspension, she had heard rumours about how people had their suspicions about his sister, Mashal's death by suicide, but knew that the cover up Mateen's parents had put forward was death by Hypertrophic Cardiac Myopathy (HCM).

She didn't feel pity for him, at all. More than anything Hajra had always detested the look of pity in other people's eyes for her. Whether is was upon hearing about her father or his death, or about her Mother's tireless efforts to raise 3 kids all on her own, without any support. She knew she wouldn't let her grief define her. To Hajra, it only gave her all the more reason to take on the world and all its trials head-on. If facing forward was the only choice she had, then she would do just that and more.

The only thing that perturbed her was the tinge of respect she began feeling in her heart for Mateen, following those events. She could now see, that maybe just like her, Mateen too was wearing an armour to hide his pains from the world. The mask of coldness he wore, might've just been a prop, in refute to give assent to the world, to put his damage on exhibit for their own amusement. Just like her, Mateen too was battered and bruised, but still up and walking. Trying, battling, and hoping against hope, without ever willing to give up; until the end—Until victory was finally in sight.

Hajra had accidentally found him in the hallway after she was done helping treat that patient. He was sitting on the floor, with his face hidden between his knees. Hajra had glanced at him and began to walk past, but then he looked up at her. And something—something in those grief filled, tortured eyes had willed her to stop.

"We—All of us...are here for a short time." Without turning around to face him, she had begun in a soft and small voice.

"I...The pain—of losing your loved ones...it leaves a gaping hole..in your existence. It doesn't go away...or...dulls with time..You just—You just..learn to live with it..." It was taking Hajra everything to get those words out of her mouth in front of this person, in that moment. But she wasn't going to stop now.

Mateen was glad that Hajra wasn't looking at him directly and witnessing the affect her words were having on him.

"But you see, Allah says, Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear. (Qur'an, 2:286) That's why....we've got to give it our all. We—don't get to say....Allah is being unfair..to us. We don't get to justify...suicide. Because...Allah never puts us through any difficulty beyond our limit to handle..this life..it's problems. He...Allah is there. He is always...there for us. Even if the entire universe abandons you, Allah is the only One, who always stays."

Mateen felt the muscles in his neck tightening from restraint. He didn't wish to breakdown in front of her, but it was getting harder for him to not do otherwise.

"My Baaba...He would always say, don't be so hard on yourself....Leave the past where it belongs. He told me once..He said, 'Hajra, I want you to know...that it's okay if you only save one person in your life... and it's okay if that person is you.'"

She had finally mustered the strength to turn around to face him, only to find his eyes already glued to her. He was watching her with all his vulnerabilities etched on his face; on display for her to see—and a small, sad smile formed its way across her lips, as she peered down at him.

"It's okay to forgive yourself, Mateen...It's okay to move on...Because right now, we are here. You are here. And you're alive. And you can't quit. This—This is not the end. Not for you. You'll stay and you'll get through this. You WILL get through this. You have to."

He had finally looked away with a gasp and Hajra didn't wait to watch him crumbling; to glue and piece himself back again—Only this time stronger.

"Hajra?" His voice broke her trance.

"Yeah, I think I stopped hating you after that." She replied finally.

———————-

"Are you ready?"

"Yes." Her reply came after a moments' break.

"Has it started, yet?"

"It's so noisy here. Ammar and Isra have wrecked a havoc."

"Hajra?"

"Bug."

Mateen tapped impatiently on his phone's screen, while anxiously awaiting Hajra's response. Just when he was beginning to give up, the screen blinked with her message.

"Yes."

A bright smile immediately lit up Mateen's features and just before he could go ahead and respond, another message popped up.

"Do you want to see?"

Instantly his face perked up and he excitedly punched his affirmation on the keypad. After a few moment's wait, his screen had popped up with pics of the courtyard filled with guests, followed by a picture of her henna stained hands.

"Pretty?" The caption read under the henna picture and Mateen exhaled a sad, disappointed sigh.

"Very pretty."

And then as an afterthought, he added without much contemplation.

"Like you."

Just as he had sent it, he instantly dropped his face in his hands with an internal groan, as the realisation of his actions struck him. Blush crept up his face, as he awaited her reaction.

On the other end, Aymen who had gotten this wild idea to tease Mateen with Hajra's henna picture instead of hers, was laughing her head off after reading his reply.

"I am dying. I can't breathe—!" She gasped out between hysterical fits of laughter, while Hajra sat in her place, crimson faced and thoroughly embarrassed. Looking up at Aymen through a pout, she snatched her phone from Aymen's hand and once again sat down on her bed to reply to him with shaky hands.

"Thankyou."

Seeing her reply allowed Mateen to exhale a relieved chuckle. Ammar who was watching his friend losing it from a distance, slowly crept up behind Mateen; who was sitting on the sofa on one end of the room designated for the groom. The Sangeet event for the groom's side was being conducted in Mateen's house, after Ammar and Isra's constant pestering.

"Can you take a video call?"

Hajra felt herself furiously blushing while staring at her phone's screen and after only a moment's contemplation, she nervously managed to type her reply.

"Yes."

Mateen's smile deepened as he saw her response. He was so engrossed in his emotions that he didn't even notice the two sinister figures following him up to his room.

Just when she had managed to push Aymen out of her room, the phone started ringing with Mateen's call. For a moment she just stood there with a flushed face and a rapid heartbeat. She couldn't tell why but she was feeling tingly all over. Almost, as if her feet weren't touching ground anymore.

With a racing pulse, she turned towards the dressing table. Giving herself a quick glance in the mirror, she adjusted her hair and makeup. Even though nothing was out of place, she still couldn't help but erase the nervousness bubbling in the pits of her heart.

Seating herself down on the bed, she answered his call. The few split seconds it took to connect the call, got Hajra all nervous and excited. It was a weird feeling and she now could clearly relate to the metaphor, butterflies in my stomach.

When the call finally got connected, she bit down on her smile which seemed to automatically appear on her face every time, at just the mention of Mateen's name.

She was mentally prepared to see his face on the screen, but to her extreme disappointment, only got to see some room, with a background noise of Mateen in argument with Ammar and some girl.

"Oh. She's picked up—"

"Ammar! RETURN IT—this instant—!"

"Why? You guys have whole lives to look at eachother's faces—"

"Hey, Hajra—"

Hajra's eyes widened at Ammar's unanticipated face on the screen and she could only gape at him open mouthed, at a loss for words.

"Ammar you—!"

For a split second Mateen's face popped up on the screen and Hajra was sure her heart had skipped a beat.

"Hajra! Everyone's waiting dear. Come on let's go—!"

Before she could think any further, Humera had barged into her room. It only took her a moment to end the call, before she let Humera bring her out into the courtyard, where the Dholki event was being held.

—————————

"When will I see you?"

It was after midnight, but she was still strolling in her courtyard, while on the phone with him.

"Tomorrow, InshaAllah." She answered slowly, while taking hold of a fairy light dangling from the tree.

"Yeah. But I miss you right now." He said out of nowhere and Hajra shyly turned her gaze down to her feet.

"You know how I am sure you're my soulmate?"

Hajra felt her breath hitch in her throat at his words.

"How?" She managed to quack out with great difficulty.

"Because you always hear what I am thinking about, without my need to say it—"

His words caused blushed to creep up her neck and she gulped in reaponse; pressing the back of her fingers against her heated cheeks.

"Hajra? You still there?" He pulled away the phone to check the call. Barely managing to keep her heartbeat stable enough to function normally, she mustered the strength to hum in response and acknowledged her presence.

"What?"

"Nothing—"

"Nothing?"

"Wha—What am I supposed—to say—to this—I don't know—" She returned embarrassed and Mateen grinned mischievously on the other end.

"Are you embarrassed, Bug? Because I am professing my undying love to you?" She blushed furiously at his comments.

Without a fraction of doubt, Hajra knew Mateen was doing it on purpose to aggravate her.

"But what to do? Because after tonight, you're stuck with me forever. No place to run and hide anymore, Bug."

"Stop...it...Give my heart some time to get used to this..." She pressed a trembling hand against her heated cheeks but he was having way too much fun to stop just now.

"Too bad. I am an impatient man, Bug—"

Just in that moment, Hajra wished she was the Hajra from before, who wasn't stupidly in love with this infuriating human; who knew just where to hit her and how hard to turn her into a dysfunctional, worthless mess of a person, who was nothing but a naive girl in love.

"Who could have known that the mighty and undefeatable Hajra could act so shy and cute. I couldn't have imagined even in my wildest dream that I would live to see the light of day after even thinking about saying such things to you—Let alone still get to marry you."

"You mean that bet? I guess, you did win afterall, huh—" She returned with a pout and once again resumed to strolling.

"On the contrary, you've beaten me twice on the same bet, now. I wanted to make you fall for me but instead I became the one to fall for you, then and even now—"

Hajra averted her gaze towards the night sky with a sigh.

"Yet, you never change. You were trouble then, still are—and I am sure, you will come up with new ways to trouble me, from here on too." She shook her head in dismay and Mateen grinned cheekily on the other end, as he looked away from the starry sky.

"Yeap! I can totally get used to this."

"Used to what?" Hajra frowned at this. Keeping up with Mateen and his ever changing moods was a feat which no one but Hajra Sajjad could succeed at.

"Your scolding."

"Really? Don't worry, then. I am sure you will give me plenty reasons for it." She stifled her smile, as his mirth filled laughter resounded on the other end.

"Good night, Bug. Dream a sweet dream of me. I love you always."

"Good night. See you tomorrow. InshaAllah."

————————

"No other explanation. You've casted a magic spell on my brother here. Anyways, I know now that I have to steer clear of all this marriage business. Nuh-uh. No thankyou, mate!" Ammar huffed in dissatisfaction and Hajra only beamed at him with a smile in response, before turning to face Mateen, sitting beside her.

"I am a magician, apparently." She retorted proudly with a tilt of head and Mateen's smile only deepened as he peered at her face.

"Good for me." He returned mischievously, without taking his eyes off of her for even a moment and brought up her hand in his grasp.

"Kill me." Ammar groaned in exasperation and turned away from them with a roll of eyes.

"I agree. Someone really ought to put you out of your misery. Since there's no way a whiney loser like you could ever find a person insane enough to put up with you for long enough. Kudos to Mateen for holding out this long—" Aymen sitting on the stage opposite to his chair, turned to watch him with a fake smile plastered on her face.

"Are you trying to be funny?" Ammar turned to her sourly, with raised eyebrows; inquiring in a voice laced with disgust.

"I am not known for my humor." She returned dryly without trying to mask her loathe for him this time.

"Okay. Hold." The photographer yelled, as he clicked their picture.

DONE ALHUMDULILLAH!!!
Eagerly looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the finale, InshaAllah 🤩♥️