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"I... uh..." She dwindled as her heart hammered erratically against her ribcage. Impulsively, she pulled her sleeves down, not knowing what to say.

She was petrified as her obsidian eyes swirled with fright. What if Raina told Azlan? What if they threw her in the mental asylum, thinking she scarred her own self?

"It's okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Her reverie was broken by Raina's soft voice as she felt a bed dip on her side and saw Raina sitting there. "I don't want to be intrusive. It's just that I couldn't control myself on seeing your jagged skin." She put a hand on Safa's knee. "I'm sorry!" Raina's eyes went mystic making Safa befuddle. How could she- a complete stranger- feel sorry for what she'd been through when her own family members never gave a hoot?

Safa sniffed as she held Raina's hand. "You don't have to." Her cranberry lips stretched into a weak smile. "I'm not a victim anymore. I'm a survivor." She assured with resilience, her voice firm and intact.

Raina craned her head up in utter adoration. Just a few hours ago, this woman was shivering due to cold as she sat there in the living room. And now the one sitting in front of her was an entirely different woman who didn't flinch at the wrath of coldness inflicted upon her. Just how strong and vulnerable humans are at the same time!

"Can I ask you something?" Raina circled her ring around her dainty finger- a nervous habit of hers. Safa nodded, signaling her to go on.

"Have you ever shared it with someone? Whatever you've been through?" She almost stuttered. She didn't want to intrude but she also didn't want to let her feel that she was alone in this battle.

A humourless chortle escaped her lips as she shook her head sideways. "What's the point?" She spun her head towards her, her eyes scnruched up, floundering against the plethora of tears that yearned to let go. But no. She wouldn't cry. She didn't need anyone's sympathy. She was stubborn that way.

"Ye duniya ro kar sunti hai aur hass kar urati hai."

(This world listens while crying and then laughs everything off.)

The tint of bitterness wasn't hidden from her tone. Neither did she try. Sometimes you need to let the venom out so it doesn't consume you.

Raina's stomach gave a churn, her back ramrod straight. Even if this world laughs everything off, there are certain people who are trained to listen to you, understand you, and help you through the trauma. But she didn't recommend her as of now because like every other person, she knew what her answer would be. So she saved it for another time when Safa wouldn't already have so much on her plate to take care of.

"Raina, I'd really appreciate if you didn't-"

"I know. I won't tell anyone. It's our secret." She assured her before she could even complete her sentence and Safa thanked her for being so understanding.

******

Their father was back in the village from his excursion and as he flopped down on the sofa, he shouted for Mansha to bring him a glass of water.

Ire rose up in his ruthless eyes on not receiving any answer as he shot up on his feet, uttering profanities.

"Such useless kids!" He muttered to himself as he steered his way towards the kitchen. On finding it empty, he checked the rooms. His senses alerted as he surveyed the small house, devoid of any human presence except his.

"These children are good for nothing. Never at home when needed." He shook his head, making his mind to give them a piece of his wrath once they'd return home.

Finally, the door creaked open and Mansha walked in, her face marred with abundance of tears, lips wobbling as her entire body shivered, wreaking of the gruesome news she had heard about her baby brother.

But it wasn't the wrecked mess of his daughter's disastrous condition that caught his attention but the man standing beside her.

"WHO THE HELL IS THIS MAN? THIS IS WHAT YOU DO BEHIND ME?" He roared like an untamed lion as she shuddered under his thick manly voice.

Arham balled his hands into fist, his jawline stiff. "Look sir, it's not what you think." He tried to be as calm as he could but the man next to him listened to no one.

"Now you'll tell me what to think after spending-" He paused as the words clogged in his throat. No matter what, he couldn't say stuff like that about his daughter.

"There's something you need to know." Arham said, composing himself.

His eyes dilated to full extent as he looked back and forth between his daughter and Arham. "Is she?" His tone, shocking and merciless, laced with loath as he stated at her with disgust. She instantly craned her head up, shocked at how he could even think something like that.

Arham gulped hardly as his Adam's apple jutted out. He had always been great at holding his anger back but this cracked his demeanor. But he stayed quiet. He had to. Because the news that he was going to break next was no less than a deadcall for parents.

"Again, not what you think." His voice was soft but the hint of authority wasn't hidden from anyone. "It's about your son."

"What about him? What did he do now?" He clenched his teeth. A suppressed sob left Mansha's quivering lips. Her hair, a whirlpool of mess as if they hadn't been brushed in days.

"He has cancer." He announced in one go, without stammering, without holding back. Even, he couldn't stand such agonizingly brutal words lingering on his tongue for longer than two seconds.

A loud gasp tore its way out of his hanging mouth as he staggered back, his eyes petrified, bulging out of their hollow sockets.

"YOU'RE LYING!" He seethed as his voice boomed out and reverberated between the harrowing walls of the house which could never become a home. A home to the children he had abandoned after their mother died. The woman he loved so deeply and the reason he never treated Ayyan well as she lost her last breath giving birth to him. Him being the walking reminder of the woman he stole life from.

Arham shook his head in negative.

His knees crashed on the floor, his entire body lifeless as he dropped his head in his quavering hands.

"Baba!" Mansha splintered towards him and dropped to the floor herself as she held his heavy stature. Arham ran to get a glass of cold water.

Tears cascaded down her father's face as he regretted each moment he treated Ayyan like he was the cause of his mother death. He could never love him no matter how much he tried. His mere presence around him always reminded him of that fateful night when he lost the love of his life, blaming their child ever since.

But now that he was just an inch away from losing the testament to their love, he felt like losing his ownself. He was their child. A beautiful memento of their love. Part his, Part hers.

His eyes raked with abundance of tears as he held his daughter close to his heart. A heart that she was supposed to rule but he never gave her that right: the right every girl has on her father.

He was cruel. Cruel beyond lengths and now that he was losing one of them, he realized their importance. What would he do without either of them? They were his small world that reminded him of their mother. She might not be around them anymore, but her children carried her existence. They kept her alive and without them, she was dead in true sense.

******

A/N

Imma go crash now. My eyes are literally drooping. Loads of love!