Saad's pov :

"No, bhai didn't talk to anyone." I heard Alayna saying as I completed my prayer.

"No, they aren't home yet." After a while of silence, she said quietly, making me confused. Who was she talking to?

"Oh bhai is done with his prayer, you can talk to him." She said while glancing at me and making her way towards me. I raised my brow, silently asking her who it was. Extending the phone to me, she replied, "It's Zee bhai."

Nodding my head, I grabbed the phone and saw her leaving for the washroom. "Assalamualikum." I said while standing up and making my way towards the bed.

"Walikumussalam. You didn't call them yet?" He asked me, confused.

"I tried calling them but it went straight to voicemail." I replied in a tired voice, sitting while leaning back on the headboard.

"Oh... When did they leave?" I could hear shuffling from his side as he questioned me.

"I have no idea. But when I woke up, they were gone." I replied while closing my eyes.

"You woke up during fajr, right?" He asked me, uncertainty clear in his voice.

"Yes, why?" I was confused at his queries.

"God ladke! Are you crazy? Unlog jab se gayab hai aur tum mujhse ab number maang rahe ho? Jabse kya kar rahe the?" He questioned in frustration as I heard him starting his car. (God boy! Are you crazy? They haven't been home since morning and you are asking for their number from me now? What were you doing until now?)

"Unke aane ka intezaar?" I replied uncertainly, unsure about where this was going. (Waiting for their arrival?)

"Allah yaar! Accha ab mai tumhare yaha aa raha hu, taiyyar raho. We will check around and try to find them." Groaning in frustration, he replied. (God man! Okay now I'm coming to your house, be ready. We will check around and try to find them.)

"Okay." I replied, feeling grateful for his help. He didn't even know me that well but was ready to help me? There aren't many people like that in this world.

"Be ready, I will be there in fifteen to twenty minutes." He said as I heard a horn from his side.

"Okay but you shouldn't be talking while driving. Just call me when you reach here." I said while glancing at the bag in front of me.

"Yeah I know, okay." He hung the call after that and plugging my mobile to charge, I started packing my remaining stuff. Whether we find them or not, we still have to go back and be there by tomorrow, I realised.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Alayna coming out of the washroom and grabbing her hijab. "Get ready, we will be going in fifteen minutes." I told her and saw her nodding her head before heading to pray on the already spread prayer mat.

._._._.

"I don't think we will be able to find them here too." He muttered with a sigh as he turned off the ignition of the car.

"But let's check it out once anyways." I replied in a tired voice as I opened the door of the car. We were roaming around the streets from the past three hours but to no luck. Alayna was so tired that she might just go to sleep right now. And I felt bad for having to take her everywhere with me. She came here to enjoy her holidays, not roam around the streets trying to find someone.

"Yeah, let's do it. But first we should pray Asr. It's getting late." He replied, glancing at his watch.

I hummed in response while looking back at Alayna. "You want to come out or stay here?" I asked, apologetically.

"I will come out." She replied with a smile while opening the back door of the car.

"Okay." I replied, turning to look back at Zeeshan. "Do you have a prayer mat or where do we pray?"

"I have a prayer mat." He smiled while opening the door and making his way towards the back seat. Opening the door opposite to Alayna's side, he grabbed a prayer mat from the back.

Making my way out of the car and closing the door, I handed Alayna a water bottle and waited for him to find a spot to pray. But I was confused when he just came towards us and spread his prayer mat in front of us, beside the car.

He chuckled at my expression before shaking his head. "We can pray here, it won't be a problem."

"Oh okay." I muttered, embarrassed.

We already had our wudu, so one by one, we prayed. The left side of the footpath where we were praying, seemed to be an old playground.  It was empty save for a few trees and a damaged football net.

After praying, we asked people around there if they had seen them. Sometimes going as far as visiting the restaurants, shops or societies. But sadly, it was to no avail. We couldn't find them anywhere and soon enough, the sun was setting, the colours spreading on the sky slowly, signalling the end of the day.

Defeated, after praying magrib at the same spot, we sat in the car, this time, deciding to head home. The atmosphere was tense, the silence too loud, too suffocating. "I think we should grab something to eat before heading home." Zeeshan finally uttered, breaking the unbearable atmosphere.

"Yeah, I guess. What do you want to have?" I questioned, trying to engage us in a conversation.

"Anything that you guys would like to have." He replied, concentrating on his driving.

"What do you want to eat Alayna?" I asked her, glancing back at her to find her almost dozed off already while leaning her head on the window. Hearing her name, she jerked awake before looking at me.

"I don't feel like eating anything." Her reply took me off guard. All of this was so draining to me but she was just a young girl. A seven years old girl. What toll would it have taken on her? I didn't even think about it.

"But you can't go to sleep empty stomach." I told her sternly before turning back to look ahead, this time thinking what to buy for dinner.

._._._.

"So you mean to say that you both are going back tonight?" Zeeshan asked me, incredulously. Alayna was sleeping upstairs after praying Isha and having dinner, which I had to force her to eat. It was around ten at night now and I was sitting in the living room with Zeeshan, letting him know my further plan.

I nodded my head in affirmative as I scrolled through my mobile, checking for the flights available. "Yes, we have to go. My parents don't know about this nikkah and they still think we are here just because of my business trip and for Alayna's vacation. And we are supposed to be there by tomorrow."

"And what about aunty and everyone else?" He asked while keeping aside his sandwich to look at me seriously.

"It seems like they have already left to I don't even know where. And if I have to, I will come back after leaving Alayna there. I can't risk staying here with her for longer. I can already see her getting sad and depressed. All this is already taking a toll on her. And I don't want all these things to affect her in any way." I replied while looking up from my mobile and grabbing my sandwich.

"Hmm... You have a point... But why would they suddenly leave? And that too like this?" He questioned, lost deep in his thoughts.

"Even I'm thinking the same thing. I have no idea why they would do that." I replied, finally keeping my mobile aside after booking the tickets.

"Don't worry. In Sha Allah you will be able to find them soon." He said with a small smile, as if coming out of a trance. "But do you have any idea where they could have gone?" He added questioningly, picking up his sandwich again.

"In Sha Allah." I murmured softly before shaking my head. "No, I have no idea. None of them even mentioned anything like that. It all seems so sudden." I muttered, feeling my hunger decreasing by the second.

"Wait, let me ask Emaan if she knows something about this." Suddenly, he exclaimed hopefully while taking out his mobile.

I didn't let my hopes get high because I had a feeling that even she didn't know anything about this. But I stayed silent as I watched him calling his sister and asking her about them. I saw his face falling after hearing her replies and I knew I wasn't wrong. Shaking his head, he muttered something before disconnecting the call.

I looked away, tears brimming my eyes once again as I felt the rush of emotions altogether. 'I need to stay strong. I can't let my guard down. This is just a test.' I reminded myself as I blinked my eyes to clear them up.

I glanced at him to see him already looking at me. He shook his head sadly and I smiled at him, trying to cheer him up. "It's okay yaar, mujhe pehle se hi lag raha tha ke use nahi pata hoga." I told him as I urged him to finish his sandwich. "Chalo ab, finish your sandwich." (It's okay man, I already knew that she wouldn't have known anything about this.) (Okay now, finish your sandwich.)

"Hmm... Kar raha hu." He replied while taking a bite to show me. I just shook my head with a small smile. (Hmm... I'm finishing it.)

"Accha, I want your help." I told him, getting serious.

"Haa bolo na. What can I do for you?" He replied, sitting straight. (Yes tell me. What can I do for you?)

"I want you to keep an eye around here for me and let me know if you guys find them. And also, I will be giving you the key to this house so can you please come and check up here every once in a while? I'm sorry, I know I'm asking for too much but I don't know anyone else here and-" I started and before I could continue, he interrupted me.

"Oh hello mister! Why are you apologising? And this is not too much to ask. I will actually be glad to help you. And you don't have to give me the keys, I think ammi already has them since aunty gave her one a long time back, just in case." He said, waving my apology away.

I smiled at him gratefully. "Jazak Allahu Khairan. I don't even know how to thank you enough for whatever you have done for me. You don't even know us that well but here you are, helping me out and being here for me when I need someone."

"Waiyyakum. Now you are making me embarrassed. Don't say these things man, I'm glad to be here for you. Now tell me, did you book your flight already?" He questioned, changing the topic.

I inhaled loudly before replying. "Yeah, I did."

"Oh, when is it?" He asked me curiously while taking a bite.

"After fajr. Around 5:30 or so I guess." I replied with a frown as I tried to recall the exact time.

"Oh okay. And when will you be leaving for the airport?" He asked me, going deep in his thoughts once again.

"Around three or four I guess. Why?" I questioned, looking at him curiously.

"Oh aise hi. How will you be going? To the airport, I mean." He added, finishing the last bit of his sandwich. (Oh just like that.)

"Accha. Cab I guess." I replied, thinking about his question. (Okay)

"Oh. Okay then, I will be taking you guys to the airport." He announced with a grin.

"It's okay, you don't have to do that. We will manage." Looking at him incredulously, I replied.

"Naah, I already told you. Now I'm not backing off. Now go and rest, we have to go in a few hours." He said, shooing me away while stretching his arms.

Shaking my head, I smiled. "Okay okay, I'm going. You can sleep in the guest room if you want. And also, before I forget about it, don't forget to take the remaining stuff from the kitchen. It's all going to go to waste if you don't take it with you." I replied sternly while getting up from the couch.

"Yeah, even I'm going to sleep for a while now. And okay sir, I will remember that." He too got up with a yawn.

._._._.

"You have all the stuff with you, right?" Zeeshan asked me once again as he kept aside the bags.

"Yes, I do. Don't worry about it." I replied, looking through my bag.

"Okay. And... Why does it look like you didn't sleep at all?" He trailed off with a frown while staring at me.

"I did sleep." I defended myself weakly while glancing up at him before looking at the kitchen cabinets once again.

That wasn't entirely a lie. I did sleep, but just not much. At first I couldn't even sleep, my thoughts weren't leaving me alone and my mind was on high alert. I was afraid that maybe, if this time I sleep, I might lose my sister too. And I didn't want for that to happen. So I tried to look out for her even though she was sleeping beside me. But I just couldn't help it.

When I couldn't take it anymore, I decided to pray few raka'at's of nafil prayer for their safety before finally falling asleep for a while. That was until I was woken up by a bad dream and I just couldn't bring myself to sleep after that. So I came downstairs and started packing all the edible stuff into bags for him to take.

"If you say so." He let it slide, still eyeing me suspiciously.

"Okay, I think everything's done." I tried changing the topic as I opened the refrigerator once again.

"I guess." He came beside me, checking it once before unplugging it. "But this is too much stuff." He huffed, eyeing almost a dozen bags which were kept aside.

"Maybe but what can we do?" I muttered with a sigh as I watched his face in amusement.

"Maybe you can take some stuff back with you?" He suggested hopefully, making me chuckle.

"Yeah right! And what will I answer my parents?" I questioned sarcastically while raising my brow.

"Yahi ke unki bahu ne unhe tohfe bheje hai." He replied mischievously in a teasing tone. (Tell them that their daughter-in-law sent them gifts.)

"Ha ha ha, very funny! Mujhe itni jaldi suli par chadne ka shauk nahi hai." I retorted, looking away. (Ha ha ha, very funny! I don't have any wish to get killed so soon.)

"Beta tum to tabhi suli par chad gaye the jab tumne shaadi ki thi. Ye baat shaadi se pehle sochni chahiye thi." He replied back while looking at me. (You were gone the moment you got married. You should have thought about this before getting married.)

"Yaaar!" I groaned, hiding my face in my hands. "Ab tum bhi mat shuru ho jao." (God! Now don't you get started too.)

"Maine abhi kuch shuru hi kaha kia hai janab." He teased further, making me rub my face in my hands as a sigh escaped my lips. (When did I even start anything mister.)

"By the way, I don't regret marrying her." I told him firmly while looking back at him. My hands falling back by my side. I was contemplating whether to add yet or not when he brought me out of my conflict.

"When did I say that you regret it anyways?" He asked me, once again in a teasing tone.

"Nahi, I was just clearing it to you since you said that I should have thought about it before marrying her." I replied, embarrassed. (No,)

"Accha. Waise mujhe pata hai. Tumhe batane ki zarurat nahi thi. Lekin phir bhi, shukriya batane ka." He smirked, making me look away. (I see. But I know that. You didn't have to tell. But still, thank you for letting me know.)

"Ab late nhi ho raha hai jaane ke liye?" I muttered, trying to change the topic. (Is it not getting late now?)

"Ye to mujhe puchna chahiye tumse." He replied with a chuckle. "Aur waise tum itne laal kyu ho rahe ho?" He added, seeming to look busy as he picked up the bags, ready to take them out and keep them in his car. (I should be asking you this.) (And by the way, why are you going so red?)

"Nahi, mai kyu laal hounga?" I replied consciously as I touched my cheeks. "Chalo tum samaan bahar rakho, mai upar dekh ke aata hu." I added quickly before he could reply anything and heard him chuckle as I made my way out of the kitchen. Shaking my head, I headed upstairs to wake Alayna up and check if anything was left there. (No, why would I go red?) (Okay keep these stuff outside, I will check everything upstairs and come back.)

._._._.

We headed out of the airport side by side with the crowd, some of them coming out with us while some headed inside. Alayna was hopping beside me in happiness, a wide grin adorning her face. Thankfully, she didn't think or ask me much about Atifa and Amira. Because honestly speaking, I didn't know what I would have answered her.

Spotting bhai and bhabi in the crowd waiting for their relatives or friends, Alayna squealed, her arms spreading out as she ran towards them. I shook my head as a smile tugged my lips. Bhai smiled widely as he bent down to catch and hug her. Bhabi laughed while shaking her head as she turned to look at me, expectantly.

Oh yeah, they still didn't know about them disappearing suddenly. I didn't inform them because I had to come here today anyway. And I didn't see any point in worrying them beforehand. In fact, I didn't even call them yesterday because I was sure they would have asked me about them and I didn't know how to answer their questions.

Sighing, I gave her a small smile as I neared them. "Assalamualikum." I greeted, giving bhai a side hug.

"Walikumussalam dulhe ji. Kaise hai aap?" He replied teasingly with a grin. (Walikumussalam Mr. Groom. How are you?)

"Walikumussalam dulhe raja." Bhabi too replied, looking at me eagerly. (Walikumussalam Mr. Groom.)

"Alhamdulillah bhai, aap log kaise hai?" I asked them with a smile. (We are fine brother, how are you guys?)

"Alhamdulillah hum sab bhi theek hai." He replied, letting Alayna down as she went to hug bhabi. (We all are fine too.)

"Umm... Where is she?" Bhabi finally asked me with a frown when she saw that I wasn't telling anything else. A frown formed on bhai's face too as he looked at me, realising her question.

I just shook my head while looking away, sadness settling in my heart once again as my thoughts drifted off to her. To them, once again.

._._._.

▪ Where do you think they went?

._._._.