­­Mornings are a sign of new beginning but those early hues don't always have to be filled with hope. Sometimes those are just a melancholic start of an even lugubrious end. But that does not mean the end of the end will be the mirror image of the beginning. The journey might be galore with thorns but destiny could be beautiful. As peaceful as the first croon of bird in the morning. As pure as the tear shed during midnight prayer.

Propped up on the barstool at the counter, she was halfway through the second cup of coffee when a soft knock emerged on the door.

"I'll go check." Asmara piqued in as she put a hand on Safa's slouched shoulder who wasn't bothered in the least, anyway.

"I just wanted to hug her one last time." Mansha's gloomy voice traversed the premises of the living room like the last sunset. Excruciating and an indication of nothing but darkness ahead.

Wait... what do you mean?" Completely unconcerned by her surroundings, the words took Safa by arrant shock as she spun around, abruptly.

With doleful eyes, Mansha strode towards her with calculated steps. "We're leaving!" Her voice was torn apart as it carried the burden of thousand years and a pain of eternity.

"Leaving?" Her face contorted into bafflement as she gawked at her.

With a slight nod, Mansha took Safa's hands in hers and dropped a lingering kiss on them. "Thank you so much for everything you did for us. You were no less than a mother to both of us. I wish I could live with you forever, but we have decided to leave this place. It's too painful to live here. I lost both mama and Ayy..." her voice cracked as a ball of tear scratched her throat, mimicking her eyes. "...it's just too difficult. I can't do this anymore. We are leaving for Karachi this evening. Baba has promised he'll admit me in the best school. He has completely changed. He's not the same anymore. He even makes breakfast for the both of us and we do all other chores together as well." A saddening smile had occupied her lips. "But you just don't worry. I'll call you every day. Promise."

It took her a minute to process all this information but she understood and she was happy for her.

"I'll miss you so much, my bacha!" Pulling her in a tight hug, she stroke her braided hair. "And I pray to Allah that wherever you go in life, it serves you with the best of everything."

"Ameen!" Asmara sniffed from where she was drinking at the heart wrenching sight."

All three of them, then, had breakfast together which included less conversation and more Mansha and Asmara throwing concerned glances at each other at the change in Safa's behavior.

******

The night glow of the moon flapped its wings over a saturnine Azlan as he devoured the serenity of the ripples forming on the surface of the sea from where he was sprawled in the bench. His initial goal was to just get the information from the person he was here to get it from, but after everything he had heard, his brain went numb. He had fallen too weak to go back to Pakistan. He needed some time to register everything in his head. It was too agonizing. He needed space.

Lost in his own chain of thoughts, his trance was broken by a loud cry of the kid who had just tripped over the football he was playing with.

"Ayyan..." He instantly shot up on his feet. But reality didn't spare him much time and hit his brain like a hard rock. There was no Ayyan, anymore. Not his.

Another cry of the boy and he shrugged the thoughts off to go and help him but was beaten by another boy, just a bit older than the first, who reached there first.

"You okay, brother?" He made the first boy stand up with his protective arms around his shoulders and sat him in the nearby bench. "Shhh!" Wiping his brother's tear stained face with his own little hands, he dropped a fleeting kiss on his forehead before meticulously inspecting the wound on his knee.

Azlan who was noticing all this with keen interest was taken back to a memory lane he had sworn not to go back to. Ever.

"I'm sorry?" The second boy pulled Azlan out of his stupor while the first one looked at him in confusion. Dwelling in his memory, when his feet had taken him to the two boys, he had no idea.

"I... uh... is your brother okay?" He stammered. "I can take him to the doctor's if you want."

"No, he's fine. But, thank you!" The first boy divulged with a slight smile before he held his brother's hand and started walking away while a thin shard of pain stung Azlan's heart.

******

Once done with all the chores, Asmara ensconced herself on the couch with her cup of evening tea. These past days weren't easy on her either but she managed it quite well and didn't lose her cool. Safa, on the other hand, was trying to act normal and going to school regularly but who was she trying to fool? Everyone observed the change in her stance. The lively Safa had gotten lost somewhere inside her.

As Asmara took the first sip, her phone chimed to life and a sheen of glass appeared in her eyes. Arham had gone back to Islamabad now that his job here was done. There was no need of him here anymore. There was no place for him here either. Never was. Never will be.

Putting the phone on silent, she tried to focus on something else. This was the second time he was calling her since he had gone back and even though she didn't want him to, she did not have it in her to tell him not to. It didn't make any sense, she knew. But it placated her that she hadn't lost something that wasn't even hers in the first place. Lost in her musings, a message bell pulled her out of her reverie.

The sheen of precipitation had now started marring her face in full torrents. She pressed her lips tautly to suppress whatever she was feeling she wasn't supposed to. Everything happens for the best... she thought. It was for their own good.

******

One week. Seven days. Seven days had passed since the night it happened but the agony she was going through was still the same. The void was still the same, pulling her towards itself with each passing second. She did not think if she had it in her to bear with all the anguish yet here she was. Still so cursed to be alive. She abhorred herself for not being dead. Why was it that she always survived? Always! Why was it that people she loved always had to die?

It wasn't his age to be dead. It was hers. He didn't deserve it. She did.

Cinching the shawl closer to her chest, she traversed forward, under the silent glow of the moon. Everything was quiet. So quiet that it petrified her. She always preferred solitude but, right now, this eeriness was gnawing at her. There was no movement in the trees, no usual noises. And it all shifted her mind back to Azlan which brought her nothing but ire rising up like a bile in her throat. While they were all here mourning, he was there in USA, enjoying himself. Oh, just how she had been wrong about him. He was nothing but selfish. Just selfish.

While in her heart, even she knew she was just nitpicking to hate him. To muffle the incandescent feelings soaring inside her. She didn't want to venture there. Acknowledging would bring her nothing but another tale of heartbreak. Another blow of turbulent mess. Another reason not to trust anyone. Another reason not to believe in that holy emotion.

She inhaled deeply as she tried diverting her mind but everything always came back to him. There wasn't even a single moment in these pas t days when she hadn't thought about him. She had gotten so used to his presence that it was killing her that he wasn't there for her when she needed it the most. Oh, just how much she hated this feeling! Her mood depending upon him wasn't something she ever anticipated would happen. But, this is what life is. The most unexpected things comes from the people you least expect them from.

She had just taken a few more steps forward when a commotion from the school under construction caught her attention. Following the chaos of noises, she rambled towards it, halting behind a tree to see what was going on and the egregious sight that welcomed her took her off guards.

A lean frame of a man was bent down on knees while the back faced her. His hair was clenched in the hand of a man she didn't take more than a second to recognize. He was a member of TTC - Khalil Pasha's most trusted pawn. Her nose flared as ire whooshed through her entire body like a sharp blow of fire from hell.

With a bit of a struggle, the man on the ground stood up and punched the man right in his face. He fell backward, and as the former one turned around, the side of his face came into the focus of her eyes, making her gasp. It was Azlan, his face dripping with blood. With heavy steps, he tumbled towards the other man who was busy in splashing oil on the building but the first one was quick to catch him.

Two against one. He needed help. He was no superhero. Taking hurried but silent steps, she scurried towards the other side of the building.

"What do you think we are? A joke?" The man holding Azlan spat in sheer anger.

"No, I think y'all are a complete circus." He snickered with a condescending look evident on his face. He might be in excruciating pain, right now, but Azlan Shehryar always had a knack for keeping the sass intact.

Another sharp blow of punch hit his face and the exorbitant rings on the man's fingers almost crashed his cheekbones.

"You think you are so funny! Not so much with the bravery, though, hun?" He sneered.

"Yeah, two against one. Rich!" A smug crept up on his face. "You guys are so brave that you had to put a cloth on my face and beat me to the point I couldn't stand up. Your daddy must be so proud of you. I definitely lose." He mordantly threw his hands up in surrender.

If this man wasn't going to kill him, his attitude definitely would.

Just as he was about to be served with another piece of wrath, Safa's voice echoed through the vastness of the deadly night.

"Leave him or I'll kill him." Both, Azlan and the man, turned their heads towards her as their eyes widened.

The second man was under complete grip of hers, her one hand clutching his hand that she had so meticulously twisted behind his back, tightly, while the other one holding a machete so close to his throat if he moved, he'd definitely get himself killed.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy?" The man holding Azlan yelped, furiously, while Azlan looked at her with pride in his eyes, not scared at all. This woman was made of steel. No one knew that better than him.

"Yes, very much!" She rebuked back.

"Put the weapon down this instant." He ordered.

"Yeah, as if I'm gonna listen to you." She sniggered.

"You have no idea who you are dealing with." His growl made the trees thunder. But her? Only chuckle!

"Oh no, honey, you have no idea who YOU are dealing with." The scornful touch to her tone wasn't hidden while the man in her grip looked at his partner with pleading eyes. Her grip was so strong, he couldn't move. For one small woman, she was way tougher and strong than they could have imagined.

The man holding Azlan turned his head towards him with warning in his eyes.

"Control your worker or I will."

"Yeah, we'll see!" He threw a sheepish smile his way.

"So you are not giving up, are you, little woman?"

"Considering this heavy man is literally shaking in my hold, yes, the little woman is really having her fun, right now." She shot back and a hump sound oozed from the man's mouth in fright. "So now, coming straight to the point, would you like his head to be served on a platter to your clan or should I throw it in a lake?"

"No no no please, Bhai, save me from this witch. Pleaseeeeeeee!"

"No, save me from this staunch smell of alcohol he is reeking with or I will." She jibed.

"Bhai, please!" He yammered indistinctly and a chortle escaped Azlan's lips which only put fuel in burning fire and fumed the man further.

"Everything is so funny to you, isn't it?" He said with indignation.

"Well, we are supposed to laugh while seeing the jokers, aren't we? She's a dark knight one, though."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

He was just about to punch him when a loud growl of his partner stopped him in his movement. He turned around and to his shock, a very thin streak of blood had formed on his neck. That was the moment when the almost comical situation for Azlan wore off and he stunned to acute horror.

"Ms. Hayat, what are you doing?" He yelled.

"I haven't done anything yet. Just grazed the knife on his neck. But I can't promise anything."

"This woman is crazy. Admit her in mental asylum."

"Are you leaving or should I actually do something this time?" She asked with authority.

"Ms. Hayat, step away, please!" Azlan almost begged.

"I'm sorry, I don't talk to cowards" came back the reply.

"Excuse me?" He arched both his eyebrows up, baffled.

"Excused." She replied, crudely. "You know, it's usually always the other way around. Usually the guy saves the girl. And look at you!" She mocked.

"Well, some women don't need men to save them. They are their own saviors."

His reply tugged at her heart as it skipped a bit. She hadn't expected this. Not from him, anyway. Her eyes bored into his obsidian ones, demonically scintillating under the white glow of the moon. The demonic that was his purity. Even with his face morphed into different hues of red, nobody could still steal the grandeur aura he held. She could still oh so easily trace the carpet of his stubble casually spread across his stubborn cheeks. His hair was disheveled as the small locks fell over his forehead while the ends brushed against his nape.

She felt chill under his eyes completely glued to her which held so many emotions she couldn't decipher yet felt so closed to. As if she was a part of them. The part of his inexorable eyes. Oh, just how much she had craved his presence this entire week. He always made her uncomfortable yet he was the only comfort she didn't know she needed. Now, she did.

And now, she knew something else as well. This time she had finally let all those stifled feelings approach to surface. She had fallen for him. For his care for Ayyan and all other children around the world. For his love for his little sister. For his protectiveness towards her but never showing and accepting it. For his respect towards his parents. For him. So deeply. So irrevocably.

Never in her life she had imagined she'd experience this feeling like this. In this mess. This situation. This chasm of emptiness. She had always imagined it like a Disney moment. Butterflies flying in stomach. Everything becoming beautiful. But it was no Eureka moment. It was anything but that with this gruesome reality she was living in. It was no hyperventilating feeling. It was simple. It was scary.

As she engrossed in her pool of revelations, the man took advantage of her lose grip and pulled away. She jerked back in surprise and lost the balance. Everything happened in such a jiffy that she spontaneously held the man for support she was holding captive a few minutes ago and the knife thrust inside his left bicep. A loud growl reverberated around the premises as everyone gasped.

"FREAKING MAD WOMAN!" The second man shouted as he ran for his life, soon followed by the first one.

Both Azlan and Safa peered at their retreating figures in shock. They couldn't believe one of them was the same man throwing tantrums at Azlan a few minutes ago. Cowards!

"You alright?" The moment was broken by Azlan as he tried moving towards her but to no avail.

"Oh no, stay put." She instantly headed towards him. "I hope now you have learned not to play hard always." She almost chided, placing his arm around the back of her shoulders to provide him support. "When you know how dangerous they are, why did you get involved with them in the first place?" It was hard for her to carry his weight as they trudged forward and he made sure not to depend on her a lot.

"Because my mother didn't teach me to surrender when the devil unleashes itself."

Her face turned towards him mechanically as she stared at him.

And for this.

She had fallen for this courage. This sanity. This thinking.

Once back in the shack, she made him sit on the south side of the bed.

"Alright, I'm going to bandage the wounds on your face but for other part of the body...eww...you have to go see a doctor." She yammered earning a major eye roll from him. "Where's the first aid box, now?" She asked and he pointed towards the drawer to the left of his bed. Following the direction, she moved forward towards the table.

"Where did you get that knife from, anyway?" He asked, intrigued.