Obscured Affection (ON HOLD)

When Sara opened her eyes, she saw that her mother had made a lot of preparations. She was arranging a variety of dishes.

"We are just two people... and you're working as if the entire neighborhood is coming over to eat,"

Sara said irritably as she sat on the chair near Rida.

"I'm doing all this for my son-in-law... Who are you to stop me?" Rida said with a laugh, and Sara smiled while checking the time.

It was 7 in the evening, but Arsal still hadn't arrived. She was a bit sad, but deep down, she still hoped he might come to pick her up.

***

Arsal was exhausted after searching everywhere. He couldn’t find Azlaan anywhere. Holding his head, he sat in the car and started praying for Azlaan’s safety when his phone rang.

Ishaq had replied to his message, saying that Azlaan was with him.

Arsal felt a little relieved, but thinking about Azlaan’s illness, he immediately asked Ishaq about his condition. Ishaq informed him that Azlaan had been with them for quite a while and was behaving completely normally.

Feeling a bit more at ease, Arsal started heading towards Sara's house but then took a different route, remembering something.

***

"I won!"

At Ishaq’s sudden voice, everyone's attention turned toward him.

Azlaan, who had been lost in his thoughts while looking at Safoora, suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to make something. He randomly raised his hand in the air, pretending it was paper, and Ishaq, making a scissors gesture, beat him.

Azlaan smiled and started drinking his juice while watching him.

Safoora and Mahnoor were looking at them with questioning eyes, unable to understand what was happening.

"Ask your question," Ishaq said, noticing their curiosity.

Safoora and Mahnoor both now looked at Azlaan with even more interest.

"I need to go home... I’ll meet you later,"

Azlaan quickly said, placing his glass down and leaving. But before he left, he cast a glance at Safoora.

Once he was out of their sight, he stood nearby, hidden behind the bushes, smiling while looking at Safoora.

Safoora and Mahnoor were just as confused as Ishaq. They couldn’t make sense of Azlaan’s strange behavior but acted unaware and entered the house.

The house was very quiet. No one was around. Sabeena was resting in her room, and a lady who helped with the household chores was busy cleaning the kitchen as usual.

"Let’s go to my room,"

As soon as they entered, Safoora said this to Mahnoor and took her to her room. Ishaq also followed behind but went into his own room.

Mahnoor was very tired after working all day and wanted to rest. Safoora had also been very busy in Sara’s absence, so both freshened up, chatted for a bit, and then fell asleep on the bed.

***

There was a knock at the door. Overjoyed, Sara rushed to the door and, just as she expected, Arsal was standing there. Arsal greeted her with salaam, and Sara replied and stepped aside to let him in.

"This is for you,"

He handed her a rose and came inside.

Sara smiled as she took the rose and followed him inside, where she saw that he had handed over an entire bouquet of roses to her mother.