~Aab-e-ravaan ki tarha tumhary khusbo behty hain mere khoon main~

                           ________

Jalal gazed at his wife's slumped body as she looked at her belly and caresssed it sofly.

Her eyes watering every few seconds.

She had remained at her parents house and refused to move back with jalal, even though he had begged her several times but she would just not budge.

"You deserve this" mocked his coscience.
And he did.
But he was ready to repent, to beg for her forgivness.

"Hazi...khuda ke lie khana kha lo...abhi dawa bhi leni hai meri jaan." He whispered softly getting closer to her bed.

She shook her head lightly and looked at his face for a brief second, before lowering her eyes again.
Tired eyes, and an even tired soul, she saw.
"Aap chale kyun nahi jate Jalal, kyun itna taraddud kar rahe hain? Nahi rehna mujhy aapke saath, chor den ye zidh. Mujhy nahi chahiye apka tars. Khula hi behtar rahe ga hamare lie." Saying this she turned her head to the other side and closed her eyes.

Jalal stood there in shock.
Allah! He was the worst husband, his little wife had done nothing , yet he hurt her so much.

He then kneeled in front of her and whispered in a broken yet determined voice: " Hazal jo kaho gy dun ga bas khula nahi...tum mujhsy mat baat karna, mere saath nahi rehna? Tkh hai. Meri taraf dekho gy bhi nahi? Tkh hai. Jo tum chaho gy main karun ga lekin talak...wo main nahi de sakta tumhe. Mere lie Allah ka sabse qeemty tofa ho tum".

Was he being selfish? Yes he was but nothing could stop him from redeeming his mistake. He would repent for the rest of his life if he had to.
Would she ever forgive him? He did not know, afterall he had questioned her character but he knew that if she did, he would be the most blessed man on earth.

Hazal broke down in sobs as she listened to his words.
Without thinking much she grabbed his collar and pulled him towards herself. "SO THIS IS HOW YOU TREAT YOUR MOST PRECIOUS PISSESSIONS? WHAT DID I DO WRONG FOR YOU TO QUESTION ME LIKE THAT? KYUN MUJHY ITNY AAZIYAT DI APNE YOUSUF!?" she sobbed against his chest as he cried tears of guilt with her.

"Aur is sabh main mere bacchon ki kya galaty thy...wo kyun kaat rahe hain is sbh ki saza" her sobs had now subsided but the tears still continued to soak her husband's shirt.

Tiredness took over her body as she finally drifted into dreamland, still hugging him to her chest.

____________

It had now been a month to the incident and Jalal would visit his nur e nazar everyday. Day and night.

His mornings started and ended with her. She was the only thing on his mind.

However She would not even spare him a glance, but her presence was enought to soothe his heart.

Sometimes he would just sit at her door and listen to her angelic voice giggling with Ayaan, as both mother-son duo played together.

Ayaan had been sleeping with his ammi for the past month, leaving his father alone in his room at night.
Loneliness had started creeping into the walls of his bedroom, leaving jalal in tears every night.

Just like any other day, jalal had woken up, gotten dressed and was headed to his destination.
"Assalam-o-alaikum chachi." He greeted as he entered.
"W salam chachi ki jaan." she caressed his tired face and asked him to have breakfast to which the man politely declined.

"Main...main zara upar sy ho ky ata hun." he lightly said.

The lady raised her hands and prayed for her kids, for their happiness.
Jalal had narrated the whole incident to all of his elders and siblings, immensely ashamed.

Hazal's father and brothers were burning with rage at his words but they could also see the infinite guilt and love the young man carried in his eyes.

After a lot of 'threats' and a few tears from his mothers and sisters he was ready to give it all for his sukoon.

Jalal took slow steps towards her room and listened to the silence regning it.

He exhaled a shallow breath and ,as always, kneeled close to the door, just enough to slide the lilac khat under her door.

This was how his night were spent, writing letters to his jaan e jahan.
They were coated with so much dard, ishq , shiddat and a few aansun of his.

She never responded though and he never asked her about them, even though his heart broke a little bit every single day.

_____

On the other side of the door Hazal sobbed seeing her husbands shadow, just like every morning.

She looked at her sidetable and lovingly gazed at the open envelopes.

"Was she being too harsh?' she questioned herself. His words kept playing in her head like a broken record and she could feel the hurt creeping in again.

This man was her soul,her heart, her peace and seeing him so broken and dishieveld broke her heart, but he had to learn that if there was no trust in their relationship it was a lost case.

His loving and affactionate words made her heart ache with longing, the letter would be always clutched inti her hands everynight as she dissapeared into a restfull slumber.

___________

"Baba is so sorry for being late meri jaan" jalal  hoised up  an excited ayaan out of his sister's arms.

His eyes searched for a certain someone but he couldnt find her anywhere.

'must be in her room' he sighed.

He then walked towards his car and made his munchkin sit in his baby car seat.
Ayaan laughed as he looked outside the window, excited to be going somewhere with his father after a long time.

" Ba'ba, yaan where 'oing?" The littke guy smiled.
"Aaj baba ki jaan apne bhai aur behna sy milne ja rahe hain" Jalal caressed his son's glowing face.

As they arrived Ayaan held his father's finger and both walked towards the graveyard.

Tears flowed from Jalal's eyes as he sat down and caressed the minuscle graves.

His babies.

He hastily wiped them away to not scare Ayaan and then the both of them started talking and telling all about their days to the angels now in heaven.

"Baba me a big bhaiu abh" ayaan tild his dad.
"Ji ji, aap to abh baba ky bhare bete ho" he chuckled at the happiness in his baby's eyes.

The duo rode back home, unaware of a certain green eyed lady who gazed at them with all the love in the world.

______
It had been a few days since Jalal's last visit at the Daryab mansion and Hazal had been waiting for her man to show up, but he'd just not come over again.
After checking on Ayaan who was peacefully sleeping She hesitantly walked down the stairs, towards Qainat who was sitting leisurely on the couch.

Qainat smiled at her best friend and offered her a bit of the halwa she was having.
Hazal munched on the delicacy and then spoke:" aj doctor ky pas appointment nahi thy tumhary?"

"Han yaar lekin saad aaj late a rahein hai to unhone time change krwa dia. You know how he is... akele to Jane nahi Dena mujhy" Qainat explained.
Hazal nodded smiling as she recalled how whipped her brother was for his wife and baby.

"Accha wo... Ayaan ka boht dil kar raha tha apne baba sy Milne ka...to Maine socha tumse puchun" she looked down a little embarrassed.
"Achaa ayaan ko yaad a rhy thy?" Qainat teased as Hazal became a ripe tomato.

"Wo bhai Kuch dinon ky lie Islamabad gaye hain business ky silsile main." Qainat narrated.
"Oh...Accha" Hazal nodded understandingly.
"Hmmm" qainat smiled.

____________
Hazal smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror, she had dressed up after a long time and looked absolutely stunning.
She fixed a piece of her hair and then peeked through the window to see if her mijazi khuda's car had been parked into the garage.

When she found it empty she heaved a small sigh of disappointment and sat back on the bed.
"Itny der kyun laga rahy hain" she questioned.
Saad had told her that they'd be home by noon but it was already two o'clock and no sign of them.
Ayaan trotted towards his ammi and signalled her that he was hungry so the lady clad in blue picked him up and headed towards the kitchen.
" ammi ki jaan ko bhuk lagy hai?" She cooed and the little baby nodded.
As she fed hin a frantic Saad  descended down the stairs, with Rameez hot on his heel, headed towards the door, paying no attention to anyone.
Hazal gazed worriedly at her brothers and an unpleasant sensation filled her stomach... leaving her uneasy and worried.

Her lips unconsciously  started reciting Darud shareef, praying for everyone's safety.

As she put Ayaan to sleep her eyes went towards the clock again.
12:03 am.
She sighed dejectedly and sat on the bed worriedly.

"Kahan reh Gaye aap yousuf" she whispered to her dimly lit room.
Just as she was about to close her eyes her phone rang loudly, interuooting the silence regning.

It was her tayi ammi.
As she put the phone to her ear the loid painful wailing made the ground beneath Hazal's feet slip away.

_____________

She sat numb in front of the hospital door. Her eyes red from all the crying and praying. 
She sat on the hospital chair with a dupatta resting on her head and her hands trembling in her lap.
Her body quivered as a few tears escaped her eyes again.
"Hazal bacche honsla rakho... jbh bhai uthengy to unhy kesa lagy ga yeh jaan ky tumne apna esa bura haal banaya hua hai...hmm?" Samar caressed the girl's cheeks as she herself struggled to remain calm.

"Bhabhi...Allah kis cheez ki saza de rahe hain hame?" She sobbed.
The rest of the males were pacing around the hallway, waiting for the doctors to say something.
Saad had prohibited his wife to come at the hospital knowing how emotional she would've gotten looking at the state her brother was in.
Maryam bibi had almost collapsed after hearing the news of Jalal's accident and was now resting at home with qainat and Hazal's ammi.

As the doctor finally came out of the operating room Hazal and Saad leaped out of their seats.
"Aap fikr mat karein patient sbh khatry sy bahir hain, lekin we have to monitor him for the next week so his wounds can heal properly. The wounds are too many and we're worried that any movement could rip the stitches."

"Kya Ham unse mil sakty hain" Saad asked and the doctor nodded, telling them that he'd probably wake up in a few days due to the light injury on his head.

Everyone looked at Hazal, asking her to go in but she sat down on the chair beside her and brought her trembling hands up to her face.
Her body shook as she sobbed, covering her eyes and mouth.
"Alhamdulillah" she weeped and thanked the Almighty.

In the meantime everyone had visited Jalal and were now asking Hazal if she wanted to go inside, worried that she'd have a panic attack at the sight of their son.

The trembling girl nodded meekly and stepoed towards the hospital room.

Her breath got stuck in her throat as she looked at her husband's condition, her heart clenching painfully at the sight of him.

He lay there, on the bed, lifeless.
The upper half of his body was covered in a big bandage and the wound just above his heart created a red patch on the white bandage.

A drunk driver had straight up crashed into his veichle as he returned from his bussiness trip, leaving Jalal to almost die as he himself fled the spot.

Hazal covered her mouth with her hand as tears fell down her face.
She took a few steps forward and was now standing near him.

She slowly brought her hand up to his face and caressed his stubble filled chin.
"Apko mujhy satana accha lagta hai kya?" She whispered with a sad smile.

"Aise mafi mangta hai bhala koi" she held his hand ans kissed his knuckles.
"Boht satate hain ap apny begum ko yousuf" she lay her head near his hand and unknowingly drifted into slumber with her azeez-e-mann.

_________

"Yousuf araam sy!" Hazal scolded her husband as he adjusted his position on the bed.
"Hazi main tkh hun meri jaan...idhr ao...mere paas bheto" he assured her and motioned with his two fingers.

She slowly walked towards him and sat on the bed.
"Itny dinon baad ankhain khuli hain mery, apna chehra hi sahi sy dikha do zalima!" He spoke lovingly as he tilted her head up with his fingers.

Hazal bit her lower lip as she looked into his hazel.
"Tch...yeh aisy roya na karo...mere dil py zulm krty ho tum aisy" he wiped her cheeks and brought her face to his chest, to which she happily complied.

"Mujhy kabhi akela mat chor kr jayega yousuf! Ap main jaan basti hai mery aur Ayaan ki" she closed her eyes and a few more tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Kabhi nahi begum" he kissed her head, blessed by the Almighty for the most precious gift he had ever received.

____________

18 years later

"Mama!!" A little 10 year old girl ran towards her mother in a hurry.
"Jee mama ki jaan, kya baat hai?" She bent to her height and questioned.
"Mama main yaan bhai ky saath ice cream khane chali jaun please?" Yashfa made puppy eyes towards her mother.

"Yashfi apka gala kharab hai beta...esy bukhar ho jaye ja mama ki jaan ko" Hazal tried explaining to the mischivious girl.

"Lekin mama maine khani hai!!" She whined.
"Yashfi beta aise nahi krte! Wesy bhi apky bhai apne doston ky saath ja rahy hon gy... Ap kahan jao gy unky saath!".

The little girl pouted when her brother came in and picked up his dil ka tukra.
" Mama kyu mana kar rahin hain aap yashfi ko? Mera baby ky to aaj itny acchy marks ayen hain test main, treat to banti hai" Ayaan kissed his sister's chubby cheek as she grinned.

Hazal shook her head at her kids and waved them a hand, telling them to do whatever since they weren't going to listen to her anyways.
Ayaan came foeward and pecked his mother's forhead and then both the siblings bid her goodbye.

11 years ago, a little angel had made her way into the jalal family's lives.
Yashfa Jalal Baig.

She was the blessing they didn't know they needed.
Hazal had completed her masters when she found out that after years of  grief and duas Allah had finally blessed them with a khushkhabri.

The little pumpkin had captured everyone around her little chubby fingers, especially her father amd brother.

Ayaan had been super protective of  his sister from the beginning and as time passed  she was more his daughter than sister due to their age gap.

She was the princess of the house.

A pair of arms sneaked their way around Hazal's waist and stomach as she tended to dinner.
She lightly smiled and turned around.
"Aaj jaldi a gaye aap" she smiled up at him
"Hmm...kisi ki boht yaad a rhy thy" Jalal caressed his lady's flush cheeks.
"Accha g...kiski yaad main satayen hue thy aap Jalal sahab." She bit her lip.
"Hai koi khaas...aap nahi jaanty mohtarma." Jalal teased and as a result got a little slap on the bicep.

The house echoed with the meloudious laughter of the beautiful couple as they immersed themselves in each others essence.

Their life was finally content.
Allah had given them their peace.

__________________

AOA!

I'm so sorry for the mistakes.

guess who's back hahaah!

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!

Will be writing more soon, InshAllah.