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Ashes. That's what her life had become. Not now. It had been like this for years. Eons maybe. But she had risen through those ashes like a phoenix. She was made of those ashes. Ashes that burned the wrong from within. She wasn't a damsel in distress. Her wings weren't clipped. She knew how to fly and soar above the sky.

It was her diary. Her chapters. Her scribbles. And she wrote her fate herself. No one was allowed to edit it. She hadn't given that right to anyone. Not anymore.

One month and a week it had been since she'd been living under his roof. But now she had had enough. She couldn't live there anymore. Not that anyone had ever objected her or shown any form of rudeness towards her even in the slightest. She was being treated like their own family member there and the bond that she had developed with the occupants of that house was something she'd cherish forever.

Well, except for Azlan.

But she didn't have anything against him anymore. All those hard feelings had been vanquished by his constant care for people around him. Especially Ayyan. Never in her wildest dreams she could have imagined him to be this thoughtful even though he was a philanthropist.

But now her sojourn at this house needed to come to an end. No, house wasn't the right word to describe this feeling.

Home was.

But she also didn't want to become a burden on them, neither did she want to exploit their generosity. She was a self sufficient lady who knew how to take care of herself.

She also knew, convincing them wouldn't be a piece of cake because the first time she had even broached up the topic of her leaving, the idea had been brushed off by Sameena immediately.

She had announced with finality and authority.

Living in hotel wouldn't be a cakewalk, she knew that. She had no trust in these people in power and no one could blame her for that. The reason she had chosen to live in a small village where people were close knitted and cared for each other. And now after developing such a wholesome bond with all the family members of this house, it had become difficult manifolds. These people had a knack for taking in the stranger and turning them into their family in such a short span of time.

"Lost somewhere?" Her musings were broken by Raina's arrival, holding two cups of coffee in each hand.

Safa who was taking in the mesmerizing sight of the moon sprinkled with stars as she stood by the window, turned her head towards Raina. A heart warming smile reached her cranberry lips.

"Here."

She extended the cup towards her. Safa grabbed it as she pinched the bridge of Raiana's nose playfully.

"Thank you!"

But today, there was something different in Raina's stance. She was jittery around her as she circled the ring on her slender finger.

Safa raised a perfect eyebrow.

Raina took a deep sigh before commencing. "There's something I have to talk to you about." She announced, almost stammering.

"Yes, what is it?" Her voice was soft and kind, as she put the cup on the side table.

"First, come sit here." Raina steered her towards the bed and once settled, Safa asked her to go on.

"Umm... I was just concerned about those..." She paused, the next word stuck in her throat as if it'd scratch it and bleed it over. On catching Safa's entire concentration focused on her, she proceeded, "...scars. Those scars of yours."

The changing shades on Safa's face was an enough indication for Raina that she had pushed the wrong button. But she had to do it one way or another. And each time the reaction would have been the same. So, she took the plunge today. But to her surprise, Safa was quick to pull herself together.

"Look, Raina, I don't like talking on this topic." Her saccharine tone was a testament of the facade she had pulled up and managed it so cautiously.

Because talking about one's destructive past isn't easy but Safa Hayat had made it easy. A mask in front of the world.

"Look, don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to be intrusive here. I'm just saying that seeking help will be good for your cause. There are professional people trained for this job, you know? Therapists. They can help you and you can get back to normal."

"From which angle do I look abnormal to you?"

Just what she was expecting. And it wasn't just Safa's perception of this suggestion that had compelled her to dart this question at her. Her words had come out all wrong; especially the 'normal' part and so, her reaction wasn't something out of norm.

"You're taking me all wrong. That's not what I meant. You see; when you catch a cold, you go to doctor's, right?" She shifted in her position, nervously. "Take Ayyan for example. He has an illness for which he is seeking help. The only difference between you and him is that his is physical and yours is emotional for which you need emotional help."

She had deliberately used the word 'help' so Safa wouldn't treat it as a clinical term and step back before even considering it, thinking of being called abnormal who needed treatment for her right state of mind.

With calculating and a bit scared look, she peered at Safa from beneath her spectacles and found her immersed in what she had just said.

"I can give you bhai's therapist's number if you are ready."

To say a wave of shock had locked Safa in its tentacles would be an understatement as she abruptly craned her head towards Raina.

"Azlan's seeing a therapist?" She asked, the shock in her eyes quite perceptible. "Why?" She couldn't stop herself from asking.

"Well, let's just say, you're not the only one who has been through hell."

The pain of the entire world was stuffed in Raina's heavy and agonizing tone as her eyes went hollow and she got lost somewhere far behind this world; this universe which was just a plethora of hidden secrets and darkest nightmares.

******

A/N