MAQAAM - Chapter 13: Chapter 13
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The screech of wheels on the tiled floor never bothered her, not even distracting her from staring at the ceiling with a wide-eyed wonder. The patterns and designs created an intricate pattern she had missed on their arrival. The bustling airport was filled with rigorous announcements calling latecomers, delivering updates and schedule changes, and running various advertisement campaigns that now she could name and sing along. The chatter of passengers, although buzzing and irritating, never held her back from grinning at strangers and waving at little dumplings being carried around by stressed parents. She wondered if having a kid could make a vacation feel like a chore. Not that she was going to think a lot about it.
"Eyes infront, Ini." Rahil reminded her for the fifth time they had entered the airport.
"How could I not see this beauty before?" She wondered to herself, not caring about the glare shot her way.
"Look infront, Inara." Oh, full name.
She had to listen now but a change in the ceiling design made her halt.
"We will be late." Grumbling, Rahil nudged her to keep walking as they glided in the midst of it all, navigating their way through the maze of check-in counters, security checks, and boarding gates with as much grace as that of an Orangutan on a circular swing.
Her man was annoyed beyond understanding. He was always the epitome of focus and efficiency, yet today he was jittery, apprehensive, and alarmed. One hand on her elbow, with another he held their carry-on luggage. While there was a small tote bag she had kept for some essentials, his had his beloved laptop.
Not the one she had glared at as a newly married, this one was a slim-fit Mac she had gifted him on their third anniversary. The CTO of Zariy needed an upgrade.
Yup, the man had succeeded after years of relentless hard work. It was only a dream come true for her to read his name in the Forbes list of 100 budding entrepreneurs. She had witnessed him putting days, nights, and even dawns at times he had faced a challenge. He may have coaxed her into sleeping but he stayed awake until he had achieved his goals.
Now, Zariy was a Unicorn with its massive market size and penetration in the Indian subcontinent.
Not that he gave in to her pleas or threats. After 4 years of marriage, Inara was still working for someone else as an assistant Manager on her way to another promotion but nowhere close to being his CMO.
The man wouldn't budge.
"Inara, could you please be careful while walking?" he chided, pulling her away from a couple busy in talking. They could have bumped into her.
"It wasn't my fault. They bumped into me." She huffed complaining, scowling childishly when it was her fault too. Not that she was going to admit it. Because, if she did this man would be carrying her across the airport irrespective of the eyes and words that will follow them. He was already acting like a protective bear around her.
"You cannot blame others every time. If you can prevent something, you should."
Rolling her eyes, she snatched the passport from his hand and decidedly passed it to the front desk. She knew it took a million checks at arrival but why were there so many at departure?
She was tired, excited to fly back home after a week in Rome, yet bone-tired.
The place was just amazing.
A sprawling tapestry of history and culture. She could hardly believe she had breathed in the heart of Italy, explored places she had wanted to, and spent a calm week with this man she loved.
Her gaze kept darting when they roamed the streets, to the towering edifice of the Colosseum, its ancient stones whispering tales of gladiators and emperors. She could almost hear the roar of the crowd, and feel the tension in the air as combatants faced off in the arena. The sheer scale of the structure had left her breathless, a testament to the grandeur of the Roman Empire. Then there was the Roman Forum, a complex of ruins that once served as flagbearer to the Roman Empire. She was able to imagine the rulers pacing the lengths of hallways. The queens and children around the temples, government buildings, and marketplaces, that now lay in ruin. Each one is a piece of the puzzle that made up ancient Rome. She had walked among the ruins and touched the stones that had witnessed the rise and fall of one of history's greatest empires.
An empire she had read and talked Rahil's ears off.
She was never a history geek but a single fiction book on her desk had made her surf through the internet archives. Curiosity had made home in her heart, so much that she ended up coaxing him into taking a trip to Rome instead of anything he offered her.
Few months before, he promised to take her to Mussoorie for a weekend but ended up canceling the whole because of an emergency meeting. Inara had thrown silent treatment his way for straight 4 hours until she dropped her pledge and cried at her failed trip in his arms, punching and yelling. All in his arms.
The man has plummeted to the ground. He had promised to take her to any part of the planet, only if she would stop crying and forgive him.
She had.
And, Rahil Sohail had planned an entire week for her in Rome.
Oh, how she loved this man.
Vacations were her favorite part of the year, and vacations with Rahil were her Christmas presents. She had come to anticipate them giddily each time they had some time in their hand.
"I want to eat Pizza." She uttered the words as her mind played tricks with her. The aroma of freshly baked pizza from the pizzeria they had frequented in this week enticed her. "I should have talked more to that woman and learned how she made it."
"I will make you something better once we are home." Rahil pulled her to him, placing a quick peck on her hair as he placed the line moved and the man infront of them moved. "Or if you want to eat now, we will go to the café here. Are you hungry?"
"No." She quipped. She had eaten just an hour back. "If I keep eating, I will be no less than a whale in a few months."
"I won't mind." He shrugged and side-glanced at her to take a full check of her current state. "Not a whale but a baby Hippo. You will look cute."
"Shut up, Rahil." She winced. The imagination of her waddling in their room crossed her and she shuddered.
"You can shed the weight later if you want." He added collecting the passports and boarding passes.
"Are you calling me fat?" She gritted, and now the offense was catching up to her.
"Never said the word." He played around with his weapons. He jutted his head to the other side where the waiting lounge was situated "Come. Let's sit and wait for the final call. You will be tired standing."
Making a funny face, she followed behind him and dumped herself in the couch seats much to Rahil's chagrin. The sharp glare in his eyes made her grin and lean on him with her charming smile.
"What can I do for you to act a little less recklessly?" He asked with a genuine frown.
"Keep loving me." Her words made him sigh and shake his head twice.
"That is the very reason I deal with you, Ini." He quipped and placed his arm behind her seat letting her lean and close her eyes for a while. "Give some rest to your eyes and brain. It needs to fly back with us in one piece."
"I will let you have your fill of sarcasm for once." She bestowed compassion on him and breathed in his familiar comfort. "I am too tired to make you pay for it."
He snorted. "So grateful, your highness."
Ignoring him, she closed her eyes for some while. The days were hard but the nights were harder.
These days, all she felt like doing was sleeping but not sleeping at the same time.
Never had she felt this confused, sleep-deprived, and hungry at once.
She is going to blame Rahil for all of this.
"Sleep, Ini." His fingers massaged her scalp gently, lulling her into heaving a sigh and finding some moments of peace before their flight. The ride back home was supposed to be full of excitement, happiness, souvenirs, and so much more.
It still was but now they were taking a blessing back home from Rome.
"Wake up, Ini." A gentle tap on her cheeks made her frown, blinking she felt him pulling her cheek to wake her from her short nap. "You can sleep in the flight."
Inara moaned in protest yet sat back. His hand was quick to help her up supporting her back. "Fine. I can walk now."
"Tell me if you feel any discomfort." Rahil took a quick sweep of her, stilling at her flat belly and back to her face making her heart flutter at his care.
"It is the size of an almond." Inara pursed her lips to stop smiling as the shuttle transported them to the plane. "You cannot even make out its existence."
"It did a damn good job surprising us." His words referring to the news they received in the middle of their week made her grimace sheepishly. "If not for your sudden sick spell, we would have never known this was a three-people trip."
Inara had ignored her symptoms like a pro. The urge to vomit her dinner out or the sudden dizzy spells she had brushed off as her excitement for travel deserved another long thought, something she didn't care enough about. Rather, she had jumped around the house, giggling, and squealing like a schoolgirl while they packed their things for a week in her current favorite city.
"Guess how many couples get to know they are expecting between their trip to Rome." Whatever it was, Inara was ecstatic at the timing. "Knowing you, you would have put me on a home arrest and we would have never visited here. Our baby is smart not to upset its mother."
"Like mother like daughter." He mumbled yet Inara caught on his words.
Whirling to face him, she didn't care if the people dodged them in the line and made their way inside the Airbus. "What daughter? We are having a son."
Her sudden declaration made heads turn towards them.
Not that she cared.
Steepling her finger in his chest, she threatened "Main aapko koi aur female se nahi bataungi. Ammi is going to be the only exception." (I am not sharing you with another female. Ammi is going to be the only exception.)
"That will be our daughter." Rahil deadpanned, explaining to her as if she were a baby.
She was carrying a baby.
"No females. Only a son."
Rahil's wide eyes shined with mirth at her blatant display of jealousy.
Oh, she was a jealous woman alright.
When it came to this man, she was ready to act like a barbaric.
"Fine." He raised his palms in mock surrender. "Let's board the plane now, shall we?"
She knew he didn't actually give up, but he had forwarded a finger to her and she very well knew how to take a hand instead.
"Better." She stepped inside the Airbus and waited for him to hand over the tickets to the Airhostess.
"Good morning, Ma'am. Sir." The lady smiled at them. Lucky for her, she didn't spare another glance to Rahil, or else her hormonal self would have kicked her smile off her face.
Was she acting violent? Absolutely.
Did she care? Nope.
"Your seats are in the front. 5A and 5B."
"You upgraded us?" Inara hissed for her husband's ears. Having money didn't make her less stingy, more so in comparison to Rahil. The man had changed her into his Pro version while he took her good qualities.
"There is hardly any leg-space back there. You would have been sore." How this man make her want to kiss him and push him in a single sentence?
"That's too much money."
Rahil shot her a frown. "Stop being a miser, Ini. We can afford this."
"That doesn't mean we will spend money like water from a running tap."
He shook his head loading their luggage in the overhead bin. "Do you want the window seat?"
"Rahil, it is your hard-earned money." Her reasoning seemed to be failing.
"Our money." He corrected her and made her sit, taking the aisle seat. The leg space was a lot, and so was the comfort. She cannot ignore that.
"I would have managed. It was only a few hours." Why she was dragging the topic was beyond her understanding. It was all her hormones. "We should be saving now that we are not alone."
Her words made him press his eyes in exhaustion. "Exactly. We are not alone, Ini. We can compromise but this child won't. I will give him or her anything and everything I can. The second your doctor confirmed you were pregnant, yours and baby's comfort is all that matters to me. Some amount will not make me watch you sacrifice. Our baby will have everything. As parents, this is our responsibility. We are bringing him/her into this world."
Were there any arguments left in her system? Enough to last hours.
Did she want to word them and fight this man? Never.
"You are going to be an amazing father." Inara blinked the moisture back and smiled. She knew he would be the best father. She had seen him play with her niece.
The little toddler, Humaira, was a fighter.
Iram had delivered a premature child. While doctors rallied a list of tests to be performed on the little soul, Iram had cried in apology in Inara's arms. Saying a thousand sorry and gallons of tears, the sisters had embraced their past and locked it behind them.
By the time their parents arrived, doctors had declared the baby to be delicate and in need of artificial life support until her lungs responded.
It was a battle of weeks. Long weeks that Iram had stayed watching her daughter fight for some oxygen while her belief in her love for Ashfaq waived off. After everything that happened, there was a small hope in her heart that the man would repent his sins and come begging toward her.
He did not.
Neither did his family.
Inara had stayed in the background to support her but it was Iram's decision to take. When the doctor handed over her little girl to the craving mother, her last thread towards the notion of love broke. Humaira did not breathe another long hour in this world using her lungs when the mother in Iram decided to divorce Ashfaq. Her father was already enraged enough, her announcement was the final nail in the coffin.
Farish Khan had dragged Qadri's through the mud for hurting his daughter and grandchild. Ashfaq begged not guilty yet justice prevailed in the fast-track court in case of Domestic Abuse, attempted murder, and female foeticide.
The Gynac lost its license permanently while the senior Qadri couple was sentenced to 3 years each and Ashfaq got an imprisonment of 8 years.
Iram was now a single mother putting her degree in Mass media to good use by working in a finance news channel. She lived on a floor below Inara's so that Afreen could babysit the little love while her mother went to work, giving ample time for Inara and Rahil to bond with their chipmunk.
Jamila, their mother had made several trips back and forth to convince Iram to live with them, only to end up with a refusal from her younger sister.
Something had transpired in Iram in these years, the girl who once liked riches, the smooth lifestyle, and glittering dust – no matter if it was gold or not – had become a woman who worked hard to cater to her daughter's needs.
A woman Inara looked up to on her difficult days.
Never did she know there would come a time like this.
She was now proud. So proud to be Iram Khan's sister.
"I will try each day." Rahil confided; brief uncertainty crossed his features but left before she could point it out. "Now, if you aren't sleepy, we can complete your novel together."
His offer was tempting.
"Always in." She grinned.
"...This is your pilot...The seatbelt signs are on. We are landing in Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in 20 minutes."
She woke from her slumber, her head on his shoulder while he dozed near her.
Poking her finger in his arm she softly called his name. "Wake up."
Unlike her, he was quick to sit back straight. They tied the belts back.
The plane touched down smoothly on the runway, the wheels skidding slightly as they made contact with the tarmac. Inara's hand instinctively went to her belly, a protective gesture that is going to become second nature to her. Rahil, sitting next to her, gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Do you feel uneasy?" He asked.
"No. Little flutter." She admitted sheepishly.
"Welcome to Hyderabad," the pilot's voice echoed through the cabin, bringing a wide smile to Inara's face. She looked out of the window, her eyes taking in the familiar sights of her home city.
"We are home." She cheered, touching her belly, and mumbling the words to the little soul that may or may not hear her yet. "This is your hometown, Squirt."
"You are not calling it that." He chided her with a fake frown.
"I will. My baby. My wish."
He rolled his eyes. "Can't win you."
"Why do you even try?" Oh, she enjoyed having the last words.
As they disembarked from the plane, Inara couldn't help but feel a wave of nostalgia wash over her. The airport was bustling with activity, but to her, it felt like coming home. The familiar sounds, the familiar smells, everything was just as she remembered.
Rahil, ever the protective husband, guided her through the crowd, his arm securely around her. They collected their luggage and made their way to the exit, the anticipation building with each step.
"What will we tell, Ammi?" She asked pouting, the taxi was coming to pick them up in a few minutes.
"Truth?" He offered. "You are with a child. What more is to be said?"
"It is not that simple." Or was it? She had no idea.
She was nervous, shy, and suddenly burdened. She wasn't carrying a national secret in her heart yet the feeling was familiar.
Or what she thought something like that would feel.
"Stop stressing. We will go home, take a shower, eat, and tell Ammi. As simple as that." He reassured her.
The taxi came to a standstill below their apartment complex. The once 2 BHK apartment was merged with the adjacent one and now the place had 5 spacious rooms, 2 different living areas, a balcony, and a medium-sized kitchen she loved cooking in. They had renovated the place last Ramadan.
An Eidi for Inara as Rahil said.
"Why is the elevator moving so quickly?" She muttered to herself but he heard.
"Are you nervous, Ini?" He was amused.
This man was enjoying her misery, oh, how he will pay for it.
He rang the bell and she galloped inside her stomach. Why was she so jittery?
It was Afreen, one woman she could bare her heart to. Telling her she was going to be a grandmother would be no less than breaking the news of her winning a Nobel prize.
Yet her heart pounded in her chest. Fiddling with the hem of her kurta, her eyes darting around the hallway.
Rahil watched her with amusement, a knowing smile on his face. He had never seen her this jittery, this nervous. It was endearing, in a way. "What are you worried about?" he asked, his voice teasing.
Inara shot him a glare, but it lacked any real heat. "Stop laughing at me." She chided him. "I should be worried a little, no? I mean, it's not every day you tell your mother-in-law you're pregnant."
Rahil chuckled, wrapping an arm around her. "She's going to be over the moon, you'll see."
Before Inara could respond, Afreen opened the door with a huge smile on her face.
"I missed you two." She said, her eyes lighting up at the sight of them. "How was Rome?"
Inara opened her mouth to respond, but instead of telling her about the trip, she ended up sprouting her little secret. "Rahil got me knocked up, Ammi."
The room fell silent.
"Inara!" Rahil was scandalized.
Afreen blinked at her words while Inara realized her words. "Umm...what?"
"Oh no," She gasped in panic, palms slapping her mouth shut. She looked at Rahil with panic in her eyes ready to flow past her waterline. "I am... I didn't mean it that way..."
"She means we are pregnant, Ammi." He clarified rubbing her back in comfort. "You're going to be a grandmother."
Inara needed to thank the Almighty for him, he was always the one doing damage control after her slip-ups.
"You two!" Afreen shook her head. "Step in. Who tells such amazing news at the threshold?"
Inara took a deep breath, calming her nerves as he guided her to a seat.
"It is fine." He cupped her face. "Stop overthinking."
She swallowed. "I am sorry."
"Inara, yaar. It wasn't a big deal." He coaxed her.
"Step aside," Afreen commanded.
Rahil watched her settle near her, making her drink some water and caressing her head.
"How do you feel now?" Afreen asked in her motherly gentleness that made Inara hiccup. "Mera Baccha! Why are you crying? You both are going to have a baby. Isn't it a wonderful news?"
"Yes." Inara nodded, a tear trickling down her cheek. "It is."
"See." She smiled wiping her cheek. "Why are you crying then? What you said is true. Rahil did knock you up."
Her attempt at a joke made Inara sputter a chuckle.
"Not you too, Ammi." He snorted bashfully, shaking his head at their exchange of amused grins.
"How did you get to know? And when?" She asked the important questions.
"On our fourth day in Rome." Rahil answered sitting on the armrest beside Inara, "She was too tired and dizzy. Had fever after she ate too many ice-creams..."
"Gelato." Her correction did not bother him.
"The doctor got tests performed on her. The reports revealed she is pregnant. The gestational age says she is 7 weeks along but our Madame here was oblivious to her health."
"You need to be more vigilant, Inara," Afreen commented and she nodded her head like a school kid getting third punishment of the day. "You have another life depending on you. I want my children safe and cared for. This is something you will make sure of, Rahil."
"Roger that, Captain." He mocked a salute.
☆ ☆ ☆
"Maa!" Came the barrelling voice towards her, making Iram drop to her knees. She engulfed her lifeline in her arms uncaring of the day's fatigue or the tons of grocery bags she had carried to the fifth floor because of lift maintenance.
These small arms around her and the coconut fragrance her little miracle sauntered were enough to make her forget the entire world.
"Did my fairy miss me?" She murmured in her jungle of curly hairs, the only feature her daughter inherited from her sperm donor, rest of this hurricane was a copy of her, literally and figuratively.
"No faify (Fairy). I don't have wings, Mumma." She wrinkled her nose, as if calling her fairy insulted her definition of supernatural creatures.
"But you have me." Iram pinched her nose biting her grin back as the chubby cheeks huffed in a scowl. "Your Mumma can make anything happen, no?"
"Yes!" She squealed. "Inafa (Inara) Khala says you can."
Iram owed her everything to Inara.
Her life, her daughter's life, and most importantly her freedom. If it wasn't for her elder sister, she may have died fighting with her unborn child in that hell. The man she claimed to love, the one she had betrayed her sister for had left no stone unturned to make her regret her life choices every waking second.
He made her abhor her soul, the aftereffects were now cracks in her life which she can never heal, or hide for that matter. Like the scar on her face, there was one on her heart and brain.
She may have risen from the ashes for the betterment of her daughter, but she would never be the girl who wished for love, home, and stability.
Now her wishes were limited to her daughter's smiles, her needs, her days, and her nights. Only Humaira.
There was nothing left in Iram except the face, which too was scarred and a testament to the abusive relationship she had invited on herself.
"Khala ki chamchi." Pasting a sloppy kiss on her toddler's face much to her chagrin, Iram stood back and picked her weights, shifting the maximum in one hand to somehow manage to hold her daughter's hand. They may be in the hallway of their floor, a few steps away from their apartment but the fear of losing her daughter to unfathomable events still lingered in her mind.
When no juggling through the bags could make it possible for her to hold Humaira, Iram braced her heart for this once.
"Will you hold my dupatta and walk with me? Mumma has too many things to hold your hand, baby." Her sweet child compiled. Luckily, her daughter wasn't stubborn. Inara may have rubbed off on her in certain aspects of mischiefs but she never troubled Iram.
Somehow, her daughter understood her silence better than other mortals and breathed to comply to her words.
"Good girl." She air kissed her little love and started walking slowly to match pace with her. "What did you do with Khala today? And why were you running in the hallway alone?"
"Not alone, Mumma." Humaira deadpanned as if she was done explaining sense to her elders. "I was playing with Friya (Priya), she comes to hef (her) Mumma and I came to you."
"What did you play?"
"Ice-ice" She quipped immediately.
"Ice water." Iram's correction was ignored. "Where is Khala?"
"Oh, Khalu scold." She giggled with mirth. "She was playing with us. Khalu saw."
Iram snorted back a grin. Inara was in her third month of pregnancy but the girl could never be careful. Her need to jump around often made her fall into trouble with Rahil.
Not that she would blame the man. He was on the verge of having grey hair all because her elder sister acted younger than her daughter.
"Then?" Her source of information beamed, ready to share gossip with her.
Another trait of Old Iram, she loved gossiping around until she realized what it felt like to stand on the other side of the spectrum.
"Khalu picked me up and took Khala inside. We ate ice-cfeam (cream) hiding from Dadu. Watched Poko Melon, and Khala slept so I fan. (ran)" Her animated expressions made her hold back a chuckle.
Humaira was the only happiness in her life, and she had every intention to protect this little of light she was blessed with.
Unlocking the door, she placed the bags on her countertop with a groan. The bags were heavy. Drinking a glass of water and offering some to Humaira, she kneeled behind her daughter to have another fill of hers.
"You did wrong today, Humi." Caressing her face, she pulled her mother's face. "You should never leave without informing Khala. What if she worries for you after waking up?"
"I will go back to hef. (her)" Her simple solutions made Iram smile. How she wished the world was equally simple and easy to decipher.
"That's not how things work, baby. You stay with Khala until Mumma comes to pick you up. If Khala sleeps, Humaira should take a nap too. Only then, my Humaira will get Afreen Dadu's candies or if you will act like a bad kid, she will not give you any."
Humaira's wide eyes made her continue.
"So, what did you learn? Never step out without informing your elders. Do you understand?"
"Yes." She bobbed her head.
"Good. Now you can play with your puzzles until Mumma comes back." She yanked her braid playfully and went to freshen up in the hallway guest bath. This apartment belonged to Rahil's friend who leased it to her, much to her parents and Inara's relief. For, her daughter had immediate family within her reach. The one who loved her like their own.
"Do you want to eat something?" Iram called out to Humaira who sat busy with her pieces of Lego.
No response meant a big fat no.
She understood and started sorting the bags when the front door was knocked upon.
"Who is it now?" Iram glanced at the timing and back at her daughter pouting at the puzzle pieces.
The bell rang again and she threw the hand cloth on the counter before moving towards the door.
Answering, she met the delivery man frowning at the brown envelope in his hand and at the printed list.
"Yes?" She prompted wondering if there was a pending delivery on her name, that too this late in the evening.
"Delivery from the District court."
Her heart stopped. Is Ashfaq out? Or have his parents appealed in the high court to reduce his jail term?
Before a thousand thoughts could make their way in her brain, her daughter's squeal pushed them back.
"P...papers?" She swallowed, gaze darting towards the small ticket attached to the front. Address, barcode, and nothing more.
"Yes, case-related documents. Can you ask Advocate sir to step out?"
"Sorry?" She frowned "There is no Advocate. Are you sure of the address?"
The man scowled at the envelope and back at her "Is this not Advocate Salman's house?"
"No. It is mine." She clarified. Did some advocate live in here? Why had she not known before? "Can you check the address again?"
"It says 508."
"That should be me." Iram and the delivery man snapped towards the adjacent door, the commanding voice holding all her attention at once. The source was the man who opened the door a little more to step out and meet their vision.
There stood a stranger she had never met in her life, nor bumped into in all these years. The neighbor's flat belonged to a couple who had relocated a few weeks before to Bangalore.
"Advocate Salman?" The middle-aged delivery man asked for confirmation.
"Yes." The man tipped his chin in the form of a nod. His eyes darted towards her for a brief second and moved back to the man who cleared the distance between them.
"Take this. Sign here."
Iram witnessed the exchange, curious about the man's whereabouts but pushed them down. She had to get some intel on this man who shared her wall, just to make sure there was no threat to her daughter.
As soon as the man turned to leave, her restrained to not speak faltered.
"Your flat number is 509." She said for his information. "Please get the address changed."
"Ah, yes." He did not look embarrassed, just indifferent. "Apologies for the trouble."
"Thank you." She nodded, glancing behind her to check Humaira as a second nature.
"I completed shifting just today morning." The man admitted, meeting her eyes, and holding contact before they faltered on her temple where the scar lived rent-free before averting back. "Zayd Salman, Advocate."
She nodded unwantedly. "Iram Khan, Journalist."
"Eyes infront, Ini." Rahil reminded her for the fifth time they had entered the airport.
"How could I not see this beauty before?" She wondered to herself, not caring about the glare shot her way.
"Look infront, Inara." Oh, full name.
She had to listen now but a change in the ceiling design made her halt.
"We will be late." Grumbling, Rahil nudged her to keep walking as they glided in the midst of it all, navigating their way through the maze of check-in counters, security checks, and boarding gates with as much grace as that of an Orangutan on a circular swing.
Her man was annoyed beyond understanding. He was always the epitome of focus and efficiency, yet today he was jittery, apprehensive, and alarmed. One hand on her elbow, with another he held their carry-on luggage. While there was a small tote bag she had kept for some essentials, his had his beloved laptop.
Not the one she had glared at as a newly married, this one was a slim-fit Mac she had gifted him on their third anniversary. The CTO of Zariy needed an upgrade.
Yup, the man had succeeded after years of relentless hard work. It was only a dream come true for her to read his name in the Forbes list of 100 budding entrepreneurs. She had witnessed him putting days, nights, and even dawns at times he had faced a challenge. He may have coaxed her into sleeping but he stayed awake until he had achieved his goals.
Now, Zariy was a Unicorn with its massive market size and penetration in the Indian subcontinent.
Not that he gave in to her pleas or threats. After 4 years of marriage, Inara was still working for someone else as an assistant Manager on her way to another promotion but nowhere close to being his CMO.
The man wouldn't budge.
"Inara, could you please be careful while walking?" he chided, pulling her away from a couple busy in talking. They could have bumped into her.
"It wasn't my fault. They bumped into me." She huffed complaining, scowling childishly when it was her fault too. Not that she was going to admit it. Because, if she did this man would be carrying her across the airport irrespective of the eyes and words that will follow them. He was already acting like a protective bear around her.
"You cannot blame others every time. If you can prevent something, you should."
Rolling her eyes, she snatched the passport from his hand and decidedly passed it to the front desk. She knew it took a million checks at arrival but why were there so many at departure?
She was tired, excited to fly back home after a week in Rome, yet bone-tired.
The place was just amazing.
A sprawling tapestry of history and culture. She could hardly believe she had breathed in the heart of Italy, explored places she had wanted to, and spent a calm week with this man she loved.
Her gaze kept darting when they roamed the streets, to the towering edifice of the Colosseum, its ancient stones whispering tales of gladiators and emperors. She could almost hear the roar of the crowd, and feel the tension in the air as combatants faced off in the arena. The sheer scale of the structure had left her breathless, a testament to the grandeur of the Roman Empire. Then there was the Roman Forum, a complex of ruins that once served as flagbearer to the Roman Empire. She was able to imagine the rulers pacing the lengths of hallways. The queens and children around the temples, government buildings, and marketplaces, that now lay in ruin. Each one is a piece of the puzzle that made up ancient Rome. She had walked among the ruins and touched the stones that had witnessed the rise and fall of one of history's greatest empires.
An empire she had read and talked Rahil's ears off.
She was never a history geek but a single fiction book on her desk had made her surf through the internet archives. Curiosity had made home in her heart, so much that she ended up coaxing him into taking a trip to Rome instead of anything he offered her.
Few months before, he promised to take her to Mussoorie for a weekend but ended up canceling the whole because of an emergency meeting. Inara had thrown silent treatment his way for straight 4 hours until she dropped her pledge and cried at her failed trip in his arms, punching and yelling. All in his arms.
The man has plummeted to the ground. He had promised to take her to any part of the planet, only if she would stop crying and forgive him.
She had.
And, Rahil Sohail had planned an entire week for her in Rome.
Oh, how she loved this man.
Vacations were her favorite part of the year, and vacations with Rahil were her Christmas presents. She had come to anticipate them giddily each time they had some time in their hand.
"I want to eat Pizza." She uttered the words as her mind played tricks with her. The aroma of freshly baked pizza from the pizzeria they had frequented in this week enticed her. "I should have talked more to that woman and learned how she made it."
"I will make you something better once we are home." Rahil pulled her to him, placing a quick peck on her hair as he placed the line moved and the man infront of them moved. "Or if you want to eat now, we will go to the café here. Are you hungry?"
"No." She quipped. She had eaten just an hour back. "If I keep eating, I will be no less than a whale in a few months."
"I won't mind." He shrugged and side-glanced at her to take a full check of her current state. "Not a whale but a baby Hippo. You will look cute."
"Shut up, Rahil." She winced. The imagination of her waddling in their room crossed her and she shuddered.
"You can shed the weight later if you want." He added collecting the passports and boarding passes.
"Are you calling me fat?" She gritted, and now the offense was catching up to her.
"Never said the word." He played around with his weapons. He jutted his head to the other side where the waiting lounge was situated "Come. Let's sit and wait for the final call. You will be tired standing."
Making a funny face, she followed behind him and dumped herself in the couch seats much to Rahil's chagrin. The sharp glare in his eyes made her grin and lean on him with her charming smile.
"What can I do for you to act a little less recklessly?" He asked with a genuine frown.
"Keep loving me." Her words made him sigh and shake his head twice.
"That is the very reason I deal with you, Ini." He quipped and placed his arm behind her seat letting her lean and close her eyes for a while. "Give some rest to your eyes and brain. It needs to fly back with us in one piece."
"I will let you have your fill of sarcasm for once." She bestowed compassion on him and breathed in his familiar comfort. "I am too tired to make you pay for it."
He snorted. "So grateful, your highness."
Ignoring him, she closed her eyes for some while. The days were hard but the nights were harder.
These days, all she felt like doing was sleeping but not sleeping at the same time.
Never had she felt this confused, sleep-deprived, and hungry at once.
She is going to blame Rahil for all of this.
"Sleep, Ini." His fingers massaged her scalp gently, lulling her into heaving a sigh and finding some moments of peace before their flight. The ride back home was supposed to be full of excitement, happiness, souvenirs, and so much more.
It still was but now they were taking a blessing back home from Rome.
"Wake up, Ini." A gentle tap on her cheeks made her frown, blinking she felt him pulling her cheek to wake her from her short nap. "You can sleep in the flight."
Inara moaned in protest yet sat back. His hand was quick to help her up supporting her back. "Fine. I can walk now."
"Tell me if you feel any discomfort." Rahil took a quick sweep of her, stilling at her flat belly and back to her face making her heart flutter at his care.
"It is the size of an almond." Inara pursed her lips to stop smiling as the shuttle transported them to the plane. "You cannot even make out its existence."
"It did a damn good job surprising us." His words referring to the news they received in the middle of their week made her grimace sheepishly. "If not for your sudden sick spell, we would have never known this was a three-people trip."
Inara had ignored her symptoms like a pro. The urge to vomit her dinner out or the sudden dizzy spells she had brushed off as her excitement for travel deserved another long thought, something she didn't care enough about. Rather, she had jumped around the house, giggling, and squealing like a schoolgirl while they packed their things for a week in her current favorite city.
"Guess how many couples get to know they are expecting between their trip to Rome." Whatever it was, Inara was ecstatic at the timing. "Knowing you, you would have put me on a home arrest and we would have never visited here. Our baby is smart not to upset its mother."
"Like mother like daughter." He mumbled yet Inara caught on his words.
Whirling to face him, she didn't care if the people dodged them in the line and made their way inside the Airbus. "What daughter? We are having a son."
Her sudden declaration made heads turn towards them.
Not that she cared.
Steepling her finger in his chest, she threatened "Main aapko koi aur female se nahi bataungi. Ammi is going to be the only exception." (I am not sharing you with another female. Ammi is going to be the only exception.)
"That will be our daughter." Rahil deadpanned, explaining to her as if she were a baby.
She was carrying a baby.
"No females. Only a son."
Rahil's wide eyes shined with mirth at her blatant display of jealousy.
Oh, she was a jealous woman alright.
When it came to this man, she was ready to act like a barbaric.
"Fine." He raised his palms in mock surrender. "Let's board the plane now, shall we?"
She knew he didn't actually give up, but he had forwarded a finger to her and she very well knew how to take a hand instead.
"Better." She stepped inside the Airbus and waited for him to hand over the tickets to the Airhostess.
"Good morning, Ma'am. Sir." The lady smiled at them. Lucky for her, she didn't spare another glance to Rahil, or else her hormonal self would have kicked her smile off her face.
Was she acting violent? Absolutely.
Did she care? Nope.
"Your seats are in the front. 5A and 5B."
"You upgraded us?" Inara hissed for her husband's ears. Having money didn't make her less stingy, more so in comparison to Rahil. The man had changed her into his Pro version while he took her good qualities.
"There is hardly any leg-space back there. You would have been sore." How this man make her want to kiss him and push him in a single sentence?
"That's too much money."
Rahil shot her a frown. "Stop being a miser, Ini. We can afford this."
"That doesn't mean we will spend money like water from a running tap."
He shook his head loading their luggage in the overhead bin. "Do you want the window seat?"
"Rahil, it is your hard-earned money." Her reasoning seemed to be failing.
"Our money." He corrected her and made her sit, taking the aisle seat. The leg space was a lot, and so was the comfort. She cannot ignore that.
"I would have managed. It was only a few hours." Why she was dragging the topic was beyond her understanding. It was all her hormones. "We should be saving now that we are not alone."
Her words made him press his eyes in exhaustion. "Exactly. We are not alone, Ini. We can compromise but this child won't. I will give him or her anything and everything I can. The second your doctor confirmed you were pregnant, yours and baby's comfort is all that matters to me. Some amount will not make me watch you sacrifice. Our baby will have everything. As parents, this is our responsibility. We are bringing him/her into this world."
Were there any arguments left in her system? Enough to last hours.
Did she want to word them and fight this man? Never.
"You are going to be an amazing father." Inara blinked the moisture back and smiled. She knew he would be the best father. She had seen him play with her niece.
The little toddler, Humaira, was a fighter.
Iram had delivered a premature child. While doctors rallied a list of tests to be performed on the little soul, Iram had cried in apology in Inara's arms. Saying a thousand sorry and gallons of tears, the sisters had embraced their past and locked it behind them.
By the time their parents arrived, doctors had declared the baby to be delicate and in need of artificial life support until her lungs responded.
It was a battle of weeks. Long weeks that Iram had stayed watching her daughter fight for some oxygen while her belief in her love for Ashfaq waived off. After everything that happened, there was a small hope in her heart that the man would repent his sins and come begging toward her.
He did not.
Neither did his family.
Inara had stayed in the background to support her but it was Iram's decision to take. When the doctor handed over her little girl to the craving mother, her last thread towards the notion of love broke. Humaira did not breathe another long hour in this world using her lungs when the mother in Iram decided to divorce Ashfaq. Her father was already enraged enough, her announcement was the final nail in the coffin.
Farish Khan had dragged Qadri's through the mud for hurting his daughter and grandchild. Ashfaq begged not guilty yet justice prevailed in the fast-track court in case of Domestic Abuse, attempted murder, and female foeticide.
The Gynac lost its license permanently while the senior Qadri couple was sentenced to 3 years each and Ashfaq got an imprisonment of 8 years.
Iram was now a single mother putting her degree in Mass media to good use by working in a finance news channel. She lived on a floor below Inara's so that Afreen could babysit the little love while her mother went to work, giving ample time for Inara and Rahil to bond with their chipmunk.
Jamila, their mother had made several trips back and forth to convince Iram to live with them, only to end up with a refusal from her younger sister.
Something had transpired in Iram in these years, the girl who once liked riches, the smooth lifestyle, and glittering dust – no matter if it was gold or not – had become a woman who worked hard to cater to her daughter's needs.
A woman Inara looked up to on her difficult days.
Never did she know there would come a time like this.
She was now proud. So proud to be Iram Khan's sister.
"I will try each day." Rahil confided; brief uncertainty crossed his features but left before she could point it out. "Now, if you aren't sleepy, we can complete your novel together."
His offer was tempting.
"Always in." She grinned.
"...This is your pilot...The seatbelt signs are on. We are landing in Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in 20 minutes."
She woke from her slumber, her head on his shoulder while he dozed near her.
Poking her finger in his arm she softly called his name. "Wake up."
Unlike her, he was quick to sit back straight. They tied the belts back.
The plane touched down smoothly on the runway, the wheels skidding slightly as they made contact with the tarmac. Inara's hand instinctively went to her belly, a protective gesture that is going to become second nature to her. Rahil, sitting next to her, gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Do you feel uneasy?" He asked.
"No. Little flutter." She admitted sheepishly.
"Welcome to Hyderabad," the pilot's voice echoed through the cabin, bringing a wide smile to Inara's face. She looked out of the window, her eyes taking in the familiar sights of her home city.
"We are home." She cheered, touching her belly, and mumbling the words to the little soul that may or may not hear her yet. "This is your hometown, Squirt."
"You are not calling it that." He chided her with a fake frown.
"I will. My baby. My wish."
He rolled his eyes. "Can't win you."
"Why do you even try?" Oh, she enjoyed having the last words.
As they disembarked from the plane, Inara couldn't help but feel a wave of nostalgia wash over her. The airport was bustling with activity, but to her, it felt like coming home. The familiar sounds, the familiar smells, everything was just as she remembered.
Rahil, ever the protective husband, guided her through the crowd, his arm securely around her. They collected their luggage and made their way to the exit, the anticipation building with each step.
"What will we tell, Ammi?" She asked pouting, the taxi was coming to pick them up in a few minutes.
"Truth?" He offered. "You are with a child. What more is to be said?"
"It is not that simple." Or was it? She had no idea.
She was nervous, shy, and suddenly burdened. She wasn't carrying a national secret in her heart yet the feeling was familiar.
Or what she thought something like that would feel.
"Stop stressing. We will go home, take a shower, eat, and tell Ammi. As simple as that." He reassured her.
The taxi came to a standstill below their apartment complex. The once 2 BHK apartment was merged with the adjacent one and now the place had 5 spacious rooms, 2 different living areas, a balcony, and a medium-sized kitchen she loved cooking in. They had renovated the place last Ramadan.
An Eidi for Inara as Rahil said.
"Why is the elevator moving so quickly?" She muttered to herself but he heard.
"Are you nervous, Ini?" He was amused.
This man was enjoying her misery, oh, how he will pay for it.
He rang the bell and she galloped inside her stomach. Why was she so jittery?
It was Afreen, one woman she could bare her heart to. Telling her she was going to be a grandmother would be no less than breaking the news of her winning a Nobel prize.
Yet her heart pounded in her chest. Fiddling with the hem of her kurta, her eyes darting around the hallway.
Rahil watched her with amusement, a knowing smile on his face. He had never seen her this jittery, this nervous. It was endearing, in a way. "What are you worried about?" he asked, his voice teasing.
Inara shot him a glare, but it lacked any real heat. "Stop laughing at me." She chided him. "I should be worried a little, no? I mean, it's not every day you tell your mother-in-law you're pregnant."
Rahil chuckled, wrapping an arm around her. "She's going to be over the moon, you'll see."
Before Inara could respond, Afreen opened the door with a huge smile on her face.
"I missed you two." She said, her eyes lighting up at the sight of them. "How was Rome?"
Inara opened her mouth to respond, but instead of telling her about the trip, she ended up sprouting her little secret. "Rahil got me knocked up, Ammi."
The room fell silent.
"Inara!" Rahil was scandalized.
Afreen blinked at her words while Inara realized her words. "Umm...what?"
"Oh no," She gasped in panic, palms slapping her mouth shut. She looked at Rahil with panic in her eyes ready to flow past her waterline. "I am... I didn't mean it that way..."
"She means we are pregnant, Ammi." He clarified rubbing her back in comfort. "You're going to be a grandmother."
Inara needed to thank the Almighty for him, he was always the one doing damage control after her slip-ups.
"You two!" Afreen shook her head. "Step in. Who tells such amazing news at the threshold?"
Inara took a deep breath, calming her nerves as he guided her to a seat.
"It is fine." He cupped her face. "Stop overthinking."
She swallowed. "I am sorry."
"Inara, yaar. It wasn't a big deal." He coaxed her.
"Step aside," Afreen commanded.
Rahil watched her settle near her, making her drink some water and caressing her head.
"How do you feel now?" Afreen asked in her motherly gentleness that made Inara hiccup. "Mera Baccha! Why are you crying? You both are going to have a baby. Isn't it a wonderful news?"
"Yes." Inara nodded, a tear trickling down her cheek. "It is."
"See." She smiled wiping her cheek. "Why are you crying then? What you said is true. Rahil did knock you up."
Her attempt at a joke made Inara sputter a chuckle.
"Not you too, Ammi." He snorted bashfully, shaking his head at their exchange of amused grins.
"How did you get to know? And when?" She asked the important questions.
"On our fourth day in Rome." Rahil answered sitting on the armrest beside Inara, "She was too tired and dizzy. Had fever after she ate too many ice-creams..."
"Gelato." Her correction did not bother him.
"The doctor got tests performed on her. The reports revealed she is pregnant. The gestational age says she is 7 weeks along but our Madame here was oblivious to her health."
"You need to be more vigilant, Inara," Afreen commented and she nodded her head like a school kid getting third punishment of the day. "You have another life depending on you. I want my children safe and cared for. This is something you will make sure of, Rahil."
"Roger that, Captain." He mocked a salute.
☆ ☆ ☆
"Maa!" Came the barrelling voice towards her, making Iram drop to her knees. She engulfed her lifeline in her arms uncaring of the day's fatigue or the tons of grocery bags she had carried to the fifth floor because of lift maintenance.
These small arms around her and the coconut fragrance her little miracle sauntered were enough to make her forget the entire world.
"Did my fairy miss me?" She murmured in her jungle of curly hairs, the only feature her daughter inherited from her sperm donor, rest of this hurricane was a copy of her, literally and figuratively.
"No faify (Fairy). I don't have wings, Mumma." She wrinkled her nose, as if calling her fairy insulted her definition of supernatural creatures.
"But you have me." Iram pinched her nose biting her grin back as the chubby cheeks huffed in a scowl. "Your Mumma can make anything happen, no?"
"Yes!" She squealed. "Inafa (Inara) Khala says you can."
Iram owed her everything to Inara.
Her life, her daughter's life, and most importantly her freedom. If it wasn't for her elder sister, she may have died fighting with her unborn child in that hell. The man she claimed to love, the one she had betrayed her sister for had left no stone unturned to make her regret her life choices every waking second.
He made her abhor her soul, the aftereffects were now cracks in her life which she can never heal, or hide for that matter. Like the scar on her face, there was one on her heart and brain.
She may have risen from the ashes for the betterment of her daughter, but she would never be the girl who wished for love, home, and stability.
Now her wishes were limited to her daughter's smiles, her needs, her days, and her nights. Only Humaira.
There was nothing left in Iram except the face, which too was scarred and a testament to the abusive relationship she had invited on herself.
"Khala ki chamchi." Pasting a sloppy kiss on her toddler's face much to her chagrin, Iram stood back and picked her weights, shifting the maximum in one hand to somehow manage to hold her daughter's hand. They may be in the hallway of their floor, a few steps away from their apartment but the fear of losing her daughter to unfathomable events still lingered in her mind.
When no juggling through the bags could make it possible for her to hold Humaira, Iram braced her heart for this once.
"Will you hold my dupatta and walk with me? Mumma has too many things to hold your hand, baby." Her sweet child compiled. Luckily, her daughter wasn't stubborn. Inara may have rubbed off on her in certain aspects of mischiefs but she never troubled Iram.
Somehow, her daughter understood her silence better than other mortals and breathed to comply to her words.
"Good girl." She air kissed her little love and started walking slowly to match pace with her. "What did you do with Khala today? And why were you running in the hallway alone?"
"Not alone, Mumma." Humaira deadpanned as if she was done explaining sense to her elders. "I was playing with Friya (Priya), she comes to hef (her) Mumma and I came to you."
"What did you play?"
"Ice-ice" She quipped immediately.
"Ice water." Iram's correction was ignored. "Where is Khala?"
"Oh, Khalu scold." She giggled with mirth. "She was playing with us. Khalu saw."
Iram snorted back a grin. Inara was in her third month of pregnancy but the girl could never be careful. Her need to jump around often made her fall into trouble with Rahil.
Not that she would blame the man. He was on the verge of having grey hair all because her elder sister acted younger than her daughter.
"Then?" Her source of information beamed, ready to share gossip with her.
Another trait of Old Iram, she loved gossiping around until she realized what it felt like to stand on the other side of the spectrum.
"Khalu picked me up and took Khala inside. We ate ice-cfeam (cream) hiding from Dadu. Watched Poko Melon, and Khala slept so I fan. (ran)" Her animated expressions made her hold back a chuckle.
Humaira was the only happiness in her life, and she had every intention to protect this little of light she was blessed with.
Unlocking the door, she placed the bags on her countertop with a groan. The bags were heavy. Drinking a glass of water and offering some to Humaira, she kneeled behind her daughter to have another fill of hers.
"You did wrong today, Humi." Caressing her face, she pulled her mother's face. "You should never leave without informing Khala. What if she worries for you after waking up?"
"I will go back to hef. (her)" Her simple solutions made Iram smile. How she wished the world was equally simple and easy to decipher.
"That's not how things work, baby. You stay with Khala until Mumma comes to pick you up. If Khala sleeps, Humaira should take a nap too. Only then, my Humaira will get Afreen Dadu's candies or if you will act like a bad kid, she will not give you any."
Humaira's wide eyes made her continue.
"So, what did you learn? Never step out without informing your elders. Do you understand?"
"Yes." She bobbed her head.
"Good. Now you can play with your puzzles until Mumma comes back." She yanked her braid playfully and went to freshen up in the hallway guest bath. This apartment belonged to Rahil's friend who leased it to her, much to her parents and Inara's relief. For, her daughter had immediate family within her reach. The one who loved her like their own.
"Do you want to eat something?" Iram called out to Humaira who sat busy with her pieces of Lego.
No response meant a big fat no.
She understood and started sorting the bags when the front door was knocked upon.
"Who is it now?" Iram glanced at the timing and back at her daughter pouting at the puzzle pieces.
The bell rang again and she threw the hand cloth on the counter before moving towards the door.
Answering, she met the delivery man frowning at the brown envelope in his hand and at the printed list.
"Yes?" She prompted wondering if there was a pending delivery on her name, that too this late in the evening.
"Delivery from the District court."
Her heart stopped. Is Ashfaq out? Or have his parents appealed in the high court to reduce his jail term?
Before a thousand thoughts could make their way in her brain, her daughter's squeal pushed them back.
"P...papers?" She swallowed, gaze darting towards the small ticket attached to the front. Address, barcode, and nothing more.
"Yes, case-related documents. Can you ask Advocate sir to step out?"
"Sorry?" She frowned "There is no Advocate. Are you sure of the address?"
The man scowled at the envelope and back at her "Is this not Advocate Salman's house?"
"No. It is mine." She clarified. Did some advocate live in here? Why had she not known before? "Can you check the address again?"
"It says 508."
"That should be me." Iram and the delivery man snapped towards the adjacent door, the commanding voice holding all her attention at once. The source was the man who opened the door a little more to step out and meet their vision.
There stood a stranger she had never met in her life, nor bumped into in all these years. The neighbor's flat belonged to a couple who had relocated a few weeks before to Bangalore.
"Advocate Salman?" The middle-aged delivery man asked for confirmation.
"Yes." The man tipped his chin in the form of a nod. His eyes darted towards her for a brief second and moved back to the man who cleared the distance between them.
"Take this. Sign here."
Iram witnessed the exchange, curious about the man's whereabouts but pushed them down. She had to get some intel on this man who shared her wall, just to make sure there was no threat to her daughter.
As soon as the man turned to leave, her restrained to not speak faltered.
"Your flat number is 509." She said for his information. "Please get the address changed."
"Ah, yes." He did not look embarrassed, just indifferent. "Apologies for the trouble."
"Thank you." She nodded, glancing behind her to check Humaira as a second nature.
"I completed shifting just today morning." The man admitted, meeting her eyes, and holding contact before they faltered on her temple where the scar lived rent-free before averting back. "Zayd Salman, Advocate."
She nodded unwantedly. "Iram Khan, Journalist."
End of MAQAAM Chapter 13. View all chapters or return to MAQAAM book page.