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WARNING: The topic of mental health is mentioned in the first point of view.

Also, the first few scenes occurred BEFORE the unwanted visit by Amara's father-in-law. Do not get confused with the timelines.

*

Saad

I chased after Omar Bhai happily, running around the garden of our maternal grandparents' house. I was six and Bhai was eight, and we were just visiting as Mamu was in Lahore with Mumani and baby Hania. 

When I couldn't catch Bhai, I burst into tears. "Mamma! He won't let me catch him!" 

And then I blinked. And I was alone in the garden. There was nobody around, not Bhai, not Mamma, no Mamu and his family, and not even the guards.

"Where is everyone gone? I'm alone! Mamma!"  I spun around in a full circle, my eyes searching for my family.

Another blink of an eye, and I was still there, but I was grown up now. And in front of me was a beautiful sight. Madiha was rocking baby Shezan in her arms as she paced around, trying to calm him down. Our little baby son was crying. My wife's face was hidden from me by a dupatta.

"Let me..." I stepped towards her.

She turned to me and I saw the burns on her face. She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but instead of words, a loud piercing scream escaped her mouth. 

"Madiha!" I yelled.

She disappeared into thin air.

And Shezan was falling.

I raced towards him, and he kept falling. No matter how much I ran towards him, I wasn't getting any closer. "Shezan!" 

"SHEZAN!"

"Shezan!" I woke up on the cold floor of my room with a jolt. A stream of drool dribbled down my cheek, pooling on the floor. 

Tears escaped my eyes and sobs shook my shoulders as I lay there on the floor crying.

"Why is everyone mad at me, Maddy?" I asked between sobs. "Where's Mamma? I want Mamma. She can never hate me. Mamma loves me. She can never stay angry at me for long. I'm her baby, her little Saad." I smiled. "It's okay. Omar Bhai will talk to her, convince her. She always listens to him. She'll come. They'll come. We'll be a family again, Maddy." 

My eyes raised up from the floor and towards the window. "Mamu?" 

He was there, Fawad Mamu. He looked like he did when Hania was a baby, but it was him. 

"Mamu!" I started crying again. "Mamma listens to you too! Talk to her! I miss her voice!"

He walked over to me and crouched down in front of me, giving me a sad smile.

"Mamu, do you hate me too?" I asked. "I don't know what I did wrong. Why is everyone mad at me?" 

And then he wasn't there anymore. 

"MAMU, COME BACK! YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAME TO SEE ME! MAMU!" I screamed out.

A couple of nurses came in, bringing injections with them to sedate me or something.

"Please call my Mamu!" I begged them before they pierced my skin with the needle. I felt drowsy within moments and I dozed off.

****

Fawad

"Are you sure about this?" Zafar asked me from the driving seat.

"He has been calling for me." I sighed. "If he really is not in the right state of mind, I'd rather not cause him further distress. He's serving his legal punishment, and the rest is up to Allah. But for me, I cannot live with my conscience if I don't go see him once." 

"You owe him nothing, Bhai." 

"I know. But he is and always will be Fari's son, and because of that relation, his state still pains me." I got out of the car. 

I was meant to go back with Mina tonight when Zafar had called me to tell me that Saad had been calling for me. It had been a tough decision, but I had decided to come, after discussing with Mina, of course. 

I gave Saad's name at the reception, signed in on a register, and got a lanyard with a Visitor Pass which I wore around my neck. I was then escorted by one of the nurses who worked there.

"For your own safety you will only be able to speak to him from behind protective glass." She explained. "You'll only get twenty minutes, unfortunately." She knocked on a large door, which was opened by a guard.

I stepped inside, and there, behind the protective glass wall sat a clean-shaven Saad, staring sadly at his hands. I walked over and sat opposite him and he looked up.

"Mamu!" A wide smile appeared on his face, and he suddenly reminded me of that innocent child who used to ask me for chocolate, hoping that I'd give him some behind his mother's back.

It hurt a lot seeing him like that, but seeing his state made me fear Allah even more. Our deeds were never left unrewarded or unpunished. No more how evil an act, it will always have an end, and when the end comes, the punishment begins. I was the father of two daughters, and that father inside me loathed my own nephew for what he did to an innocent young girl. 

But at the end of the day he was also my baby sister's son. The intense and severe pain that Fariha was going through just imagining her son's state, made me want to wish to Allah to ease Saad's pain.

But then Hania and Iman's father awoke again and wondered if I would want to forgive this man had the victim been, God forbid, Hania or Iman.

"Is Mamma here too?" Saad glanced behind me, looking hopeful.

"Take my advice, Saad." I spoke up softly. "Keep asking Allah for forgiveness. This is between you and Him now, there's nothing anyone else can do." 

Madiha, his biggest victim, had died possibly without forgiving him, and knowing what we knew about our religion, that until she forgave him, Allah wouldn't forgive him either.

And my heart shattered for Fari again. She'd dedicated her life to her kids, even when she'd lost all hope from Umair. Her kids had been her whole world, and even when she married Zafar, she'd been worried about Omar and Saad. She'd become a mother at twenty-one and since then she'd been nothing but a brilliant mother to them. And this is how this ungrateful brat had repaid my sister?

"Maddy is saying hello." He shook his head. "No, she's saying 'Salaam'." 

I stood up. "Just continue asking for forgiveness. That's all I can say to you, kid." I turned to walk away, unable to bear seeing him in that state anymore. I loved my nephews like my own sons, but I couldn't overlook what he had done. 

"Tell Mamma I love her." He whispered.

If I told her that, Fari probably wouldn't survive it. "Somewhere deep, deep down she loves you too, Saad." 

Why was I showing mercy to a heartless murderer? Because I could tell that his mind had stopped functioning properly, medically speaking. His ability to reason or think practically was decreasing. He was stuck in a lonely past, trapped in the delusional world created by his mind, caused by the guilt, the trauma and all the negative feelings. I had no desire to be cruel to such a person, a person who was fighting a losing battle with their own mind. I had no right to increase his punishment with my words. 

Disappointment and hurt was making my heart sink as I headed out.

But I saw that I was not the only one feeling that way. As I got into the car beside Zafar, I saw that his eyes were red from unshed tears, or probably shed tears. No matter what, he had the heart of a father, even when it came to Saad. 

"Sometimes I wish that Madiha had forgiven him before she died." He admitted. 

I didn't reply, but a secret part of me silently agreed. 

This was family. Deep down, we all were fighting our inner battles relating to Saad: should we forgive him and risk being unfair to Madiha, or should we torture ourselves for the remainder of our lives by keeping our distance from him?

****

Author's Note: This was most likely the last Saad scene, but I'm not sure right now.

*

Amara

I stood facing my father-in-law and his elder brother at the front door of my flat. Muraad had specifically asked me not to let Imtiaz Uncle into the flat in his absence, even if Azeem Uncle was present.

'Yeh sun kar bohat ajeeb lagay ga tumhe, Amore, laikin meri ghair moujodgi main Imtiaz Taya ko kabhi is flat main na ghusnay daina, chahey Abbu bhi saath hon unke. Unhain beshak keh dena ke maine mana kiya hai.' My husband had warned me the day after my rukhsati, when Nausheen Aunty had mentioned that Imtiaz Taya had wanted to visit..

*"This may sound strange to you, Amore, but in my absence, never let Imtiaz Taya enter this flat, even if Abbu is with him. You can tell him that I've asked you not to let them in."

"I'm sorry, Uncle. I can't let you both in." I tried to sound brave, but my voice trembled slightly.

"Ex-cuse me?!" Azeem Uncle looked enraged. "This is my son's home." 

"And mine. It's my home too, and I can't let you in, I'm sorry." I said. "Whether you're a mehram to me or not, that's another discussion. But I barely know you, or your brother, and I'm not comfortable with letting you inside in the absence of my husband. You can come back when he's home." 

"Yeh choti si bachi rokay gi tujhe apne hi bete ke ghar jaane se?" Imtiaz Taya spat out, glaring at me. 

*"This little girl will stop you from going into your own son's home?"

 "Jis bete ki baraat pe bhi Uncle nahin aaye?" The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them.

*"The son's whose wedding Uncle didn't even attend?"- She's of course referring to the day she moved in with him, and not the Nikah.

"Sahi kehte hain log. Ladki chahe khoobsurat bhi ho, uski zubaan hamesha lambi hoti hai, jis ki wajah se uski khhoobsurati bhi zaya ho jaati hai." Taya muttered.

*"People are right. Even if a girl is beautiful, she talks back too much, which makes her beauty go to waste." 

Yes, this disgusting man was talking about his nephew's wife this way.

I shut the door on their faces and locked it, shaking.

"Jo beta apne baap ke liye taras gaya hai, woh apne baap ki khatir talaq bhi de daiga! Dekhna tum, ladki! Pachtao gi!" Azeem Uncle shouted.

*"The son who is yearning for his father, will divorce his wife for his father's sake! You'll see, girl! You'll regret it!"

Aur jo banda apne Rab se itni mohabbat karta hai, ke Us ki khatir apne baap ke aagay uff tak nahin karta, woh talaq jaisi napasand cheez ko bilawajah kabhi bhi nahin soch sakta! I comforted myself.

*"And the man who loves his God so much, that for His sake doesn't say a word of protest in front of his father, he would never think of such a dislikeable act [to God] like divorce without a valid reason!"

I was scared, I had to admit. What if they somehow broke into the apartment? I knew, deep down, that I was being irrational, but there had to be a seriously huge reason why Muraad refused his Uncle's entry into our flat in his absence. I trusted my husband completely.

But I busied myself in setting my flat the way I wanted it. Again, Muraad had told me to make it mine and do whatever I wanted with it.

But after seeing the way Imtiaz Taya had been staring at me, a new fear had formed inside me.

With Muraad going away for weeks, would I really be safe?

****

Zaid

Omar Bhai and his family left for London merely hours after Mamu and Mumani.

It was just me, Noor, Mamma and Papa at home, and it felt too quiet. 

As I came downstairs that morning for breakfast, Papa and Mamma were going somewhere.

"Assalam Alaikum! Where are you guys going leaving the kids alone at home?" I smiled.

"Walaikum Assalam!" They both replied. 

"Your mother has finally agreed to see a counsellor recommended by Omar. He has often met her relating patients, and he says that she's a brilliant doctor." Papa pulled out a card from his pocket, adjusting his glasses to read properly. "Her name is Dr Mehween, and she has years of experience."

*MehweenGR you're here!

Reminder, if you want to be a part of Where We Belong, let me know. It's a small thank you for sticking with me through the FOL journey.

Mamma adjusted her dupatta over her head. "Maybe she will help me find my way back to you all." 

"In Sha Allah." I walked over to her and kissed her forehead. "The first step is always a person's own willingness to get help. I'm proud of you, Mamma." 

"We all are." Papa agreed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "You are, without doubt, the strongest woman that I've ever known, Ma Sha Allah. Even my own mother used to say that about you." 

I looked at my father, and he discreetly shook his head. He'd clearly decided not to let her know about Mamu's visit to see Saad. Her maternal heart would yearn for him, and if she went and saw him in that state, she would not be able to bear it. She knew that he wasn't well, but to actually see him like that would be too much for her.

And no damn way were any of us willing to risk her health or life.

"I hope Dr Mehween helps you." I whispered. "If Omar Bhai recommended her, she must be the best." 

"Don't forget the water!" Noor came out of the kitchen holding two water bottles. "It's a long car journey, and with the heat and the traffic, you'd both need water." 

I smiled at her concern for my parents. She truly was an amazing person, Ma Sha Allah.

"Thank you, beta." Papa patted my wife's head. "Allah khush rakhe aapko. Ameen."

*"May Allah keep you happy. Ameen."

And so, we watched my parents drive off, before coming back inside.

"My cupcake is sprinkled with love, kindness and compassion." I wrapped my arms around her once we had shut the front door behind us. "You know how sprinkles add to the appearance of cupcakes? Just like that these qualities of yours add to your beauty, making you into a truly delicious cupcake." 

"Zaid." She blushed, resting her forehead against my shoulder. 

Using my thumb and index finger, I gently lifted up her chin, making her look up at me. A light dust of freckles covered her cheek. I'd noticed how they became more prominent in hotter days, otherwise they could easily be missed if you didn't look at Noor too closely. Her hair and her almond-shaped eyes were like her mother's, but her facial features strongly resembled her father's. 

I rubbed my thumb over her soft lips. She closed her eyes at my touch. "We're home alone." 

"So?" She placed her hands over my hips.

"So, I'm imagining all the things that I want to do with you right now. Would you care to make my fantasies a reality, Mrs Zaid?" 

She giggled, and I took her hand and we both rushed upstairs for some well-earned private time alone in the house.

Let's just say that this time we didn't need to be quiet.

At all.

****

Amara

To calm myself down, I decided to watch some videos on YouTube, of Mr Muraad Azeem at his best.

We had a smart TV, so I played the video on it.

I was torturing myself, and my poor newlywed body. The way he shot sixers across the ground, his biceps working hard. The way he dove to catch a ball, exposing his abs in the process. I placed my right hand over my heart, feeling my heart beat wildly seeing the man it loved in full action.

How had I avoided cricket so long? I never even imagined that one of the players on the cricket team would end up as my husband.

"If you wanted to have s*x you could have just called me home?"

I actually shrieked, startled. I turned on the sofa and saw my husband standing just by the front door, smirking. "W-Why would you assume that I want to...do it?" 

"You look flushed while looking at videos of me." He walked over to me. "It's okay, baby, it's normal. We're newly married, filled with intense lust and desire for each other. It happens." 

"You're home early." I stood up and backed away from me. My body was trembling from the desire that I'd been desperately trying to supress. 

"I planned a little surprise for you, but it involved other people so now I'm not sure if that's a good idea." He continued walking towards me and I continued backing away from him.

"W-What surprise?" I whispered, my mouth suddenly so dry that it craved water. I hurried towards the kitchen. 

"Why are you running away? I thought you wanted me." He sounded amused.

"What surprise, Muraad?" I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, unscrewed the cap and took a swig from it after sitting down on the barstool at the kitchen island,  as he went to wash his hands in the bathroom down the hall.

"It's only if you're up for it." He returned and took the bottle from me once I'd drank as much as I'd needed. Unscrewing the cap again, he sat down beside me and drank the rest. 

I looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"I was thinking of a little housewarming party, a quick thing tonight." He suggested. "For now, it could be just your cousins, but when I'm back from West Indies, we could have a formal dinner for your parents, your Chachu and Chachi and Ammi. But for now, let's have the cousins over." 

"That sounds like a fun idea. But we'll ask Bilal to sit down before we tell him. He wouldn't believe that he's being invited to a housewarming party at THE Muraad Azeem's home."

"Is he really that huge a fan of cricket?" 

"He once waited five hours just to catch a glimpse of Shoaib Akhtar, the former cricketer!" I giggled. "Yeah, he's crazy when it comes to cricket. He says that he's already a celebrity amongst his friends for being related to the nation's beloved all-rounder." 

He smiled, but glanced away.

"What's wrong?" I placed my hand over his and squeezed it.

"You have no idea what cricket means to me, Amore. It's not just a sport or my career. It has actually helped me through some of the most difficult times of my life." 

"Talk to me." I said. "That's what I'm here for. Tell me everything, Muraad. Now that I'm your wife, you shouldn't rely solely on cricket to feel better. You should talk to me. Tell me exactly about the situations that you have gotten away from through cricket." 

He took my hand. "Let's go somewhere a little more comfortable." 

****

Muraad lay on the sofa with his head in my lap, his legs hanging off the other side. "My parents couldn't have anymore children after Abbu had an accident when I was five. I guess that's why he pinned all his hopes on me. He wanted me to achieve the top rankings academically, but instead I was falling in love with sports, in particular, cricket. Initially, he told me off and I got scared off him and I stopped playing. But then I started playing again at school. Abbu had admitted me into a private school to ensure that I got the best studies, and instead I joined the cricket team at the school which enraged him." 

I listened quietly and brushed his hair off his forehead.

"I played in the streets in the other kids, usually away from our home so that he didn't see me play. While the fathers of the other kids often cheered them on, my father slapped me publicly if he caught me playing. But eventually came a time when it just increased my determination and soon I wasn't willing to give up cricket for anything in the world. My sports' teacher had said that I had potential to go far, and I used that encouragement to attempt to build a career in cricket. When I told Abbu that decision, I thought that he'd kill me, but now I had my mind set. I was going to be a professional cricketer, and nobody could change my mind about it." 

He continued after a short pause. "I made it into the Under-19s team, and he kicked me out of his home. He told me not to come back until I was ready to give up this craziness of mine. I studied in a boys' hostel during that time. When I made it into the national men's cricket team, I had hope that Abbu would finally accept me. Instead, he told me that I should stay the hell away from him and Ammi. I had to manage a lot on my own, Amore. I had to live on my own, and learn to survive on my own. It had been a lonely life, and cricket was the one thing that kept me sane." He looked up into my eyes. "Until you came along." 

I hadn't wanted to be a doctor. Ibrahim Bhai gave up on being a doctor. Our parents never said anything to us about it, and had accepted our choices. Yes, they were disappointed, but they didn't disown us. Noor had given up a dentistry career, but even Chachu and Chachi hadn't given her a hard time about it. We were blessed to have such parents.

"I'm so sorry, Muraad. Nobody deserves what you went through." 

He sat up and looked at me. "On the bright side, my determination led me to my career, which in turn led me to you." He took my hand in his. "Thank you for being so disinterested in cricket and for not treating me like a celebrity. These were the first reasons that I fell in love with you." 

"Wait. You fell in love with me for being disinterested in cricket?" 

"Strangely enough, yes. You honestly told an athlete to his face that you found his sport boring." He lifted our linked hands and kissed the back of mine. "I found that adorable and refreshing."

"So, if I started to like cricket now, you'd fall out of love with me?" I grinned.

"Possibly." He gave me a teasing smile before quickly pecking my lips. "No, Amore. You own my heart now. There's no going back." 

"I once swung the bat with so much force that I fell over." I muttered, randomly. "I think Ibrahim Bhai almost died laughing." 

He chuckled. 

I moved closer to him, squeezing his hand. "You're an incredible person. Even after facing such difficulties, you remain such a wonderful human being, with so much regard for your parents. Allah will reward you for it all, In Sha Allah." 

On the other hand was his father, who had let his brother talk to his own daughter-in-law in such a manner and had not said a word.

But then again, if he had never shown regard for Muraad, why would he show it for me?

"I love you. I'm proud of you." I told him. "And from now on, I promise to watch all the matches that you play, unless there's a valid and genuine reason that I can't." 

"I love you so much, Amara Muraad Azeem." He leaned forward, pressing his lips against mine. 

And as we kissed, I had the sudden nagging thought that I hadn't told him about his father and uncle's visit. But I had no intention of keeping it from him. I didn't want to cause problems between father and son, but my husband had the right to know when someone was making me feel unsafe and uncomfortable, especially in my own home.

And then a sad thought occurred to me. First his father rejected his cricket. What if I'm unable to enjoy it as well?

No, shut up, Amara. Enjoy it or not, you need to support him. He's your husband, your life partner. You need to get him out of his painful past and make him realise that he had a supporter who would cheer for him her entire life. In Sha Allah.

****

A couple of hours later, our flat was filled with the liveliness of the Sheikh family youngsters. Well, Ismael Bhai and Rabia Bhabi had been unable to come because of the kids, but everyone else was here. Armaan Bhai, Bilal, Noor and Zaid Bhai.

We were having a pizza party basically, with boxes spread over the kitchen island. A pile of disposable paper plates was set beside them, with tall bottles of soft drinking resting on the kitchen counter that we had specially declared the 'drinks area'.

"Aaj pizza allowed hai?" I teased Muraad as I grabbed a slice of spicy chicken pizza.

*"Is pizza allowed today?"

"It's okay considering that I hadn't had fast food in at least three weeks." He shrugged.

I smiled, before I turned to yell at my big brother. "Armaan Bhai, did you take the curly fries?!"

My brother smirked at me. "Too late. They met a gruesome end in my belly." He patted his stomach.

"They were mine!" I glared at him.

"Have you seen how generous Mama is as a host? And then there's you!" Bhai laughed.

"Mama's also taught us how to behave as guests, which clearly you forgot!"

"I'll order more, Amore." Muraad casually wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"No, that's fine. I just like picking arguments with my brothers. They're hardly serious, but it's how we are." I grinned. "Usually I would end up going to Papa to complain." I sighed. "God, I was such a brat!"

"Was?!" Armaan Bhai looked at Bilal. "Billu, she thinks she has grown out of that brattiness! How delusional!" He laughed.

"Bro, she's my wife now." Muraad was smiling, and his tone was polite, but we could all tell that his tone held some sort of a warning.

Noor grinned knowingly at me.

I blushed. A part of me was really attracted by the way Muraad was standing up for me in front of my own brother.

The doorbell rang.

"That must be Nomi. Since his family has a professional nurse now, I asked him to come over with Maheen Appi so that they both can have a break." Muraad headed to the front door.

I saw Armaan Bhai straighten up, running a hand through his hair, and I bit back a smile.

To his disappointment, it was only Nomi.

"Maheen wanted to stay home with Ammi." Nomi explained. "I tried to bring her but..."

"It's okay, I can understand." Muraad replied.

And so, we all had a fun evening of bonding and laughter. Even Nomi participated actively. It was a beautiful, fun night and it almost made me forget that Muraad was leaving tomorrow night.

Almost.

****

"I wish you didn't have to go." I sobbed in his arms in our bed that night. "I'm going to miss our togetherness so much!"

"Amore, it's literally my work." He kissed the side of my head.

"I know." I sniffed. "I'm still sad though."

Tell him.

"Muraad?"

"Hmm?" His bare chest rose underneath my head as he hmmed his reply.

"Uncle and Imtiaz Taya came over today, but I didn't let them in." I told him.

He tensed up, looking down at him. "Let me guess. He said something degrading to women?"

"They were offended about not being let in." I replied. "And yeah, comments were made."

"Why don't you go and stay at your parents' house while I'm away?"

"Muraad, that's not a solution. You go away so often. I can't go there each time!"

"Amore..."

"I'll go if needs be." I kissed his chest.

But he continued looking worried.

"Trust me, Muraad. You married a strong girl. I know how to handle myself." I said.

Maybe I should have listened to Muraad. He knew the two men, I didn't. I should have just trusted him.

****

By the end of this chapter, I was so sleepy that I didn't even know what to write lol.

Consider it a bonus chapter!

Would Amara be in danger when Muraad's gone?

Will Fariha finally find help?

Thoughts and comments?

Thank you for reading and don't forget to vote!