As time passed, Samreen's inquiries about Shahina's life grew. So much so that Shahina has to switch off her phone from time to time, upon asking, she gave a vague reason about her upcoming exams. Shahina didn't want her family to get involved with her or the Black Eagles by any means. Yet, she couldn't say no to Samreen when she begged her to visit their home after exams. Shahina gingerly agreed to it, for the sake of her peace of mind, for a few days.
Unfortunately, those few days went by in the blink of an eye, and she found herself in her family's house just after the end of her exam. Samreen called her the day before a day of her last paper, requesting her to have lunch with her after it. But instead, Shahina proposed to visit their house. She wanted to be done with this formality as soon as possible. She didn't feel any emotions towards any of her family members, or perhaps it was clouded by the fear of being involved with the Black Eagles. They have more enemies than she could even count, and all she wanted was for them to stay away from her.
Also, she didn't want to recall anything related to her past, it was hard enough to move on in the first place. The more she got attached to them, the more their inquiries increased. About her family and about the horrible days she spent in captivity.
~*~
“I don’t have the words to thank Allah.” Once again, Shahina heard her mother’s voice as she wiped her tears. She wasn’t talking much, just kept staring at her with glittering eyes and a small smile. However, Shahina was completely unfazed by it, the only moment her heart moved was the time when her mother hugged her and broke down in tears.
Samreen was frantically running around the house to prepare some snacks for her sister, as she refused to have lunch. Even though she was famished, the idea of spending more than an hour was too much for her. She wasn’t confident about how to reply if her sister or mother inquired about the people she was living with. Shahina could feel the doubt in Samreen’s eyes after witnessing the luxurious cars she rides in. But luckily, so far she hasn’t opened her mouth about it, and she wasn’t planning to give her the chance to do so.
“How did your exams go?” Her mother asked, smiling at her, as if her eyes couldn’t have enough of watching her daughter.
“It went good.” And her smile widened.
“Why don’t you stay for lunch. I have cooked everything by myself today.”
“Perhaps some other day, I am not feeling very well because of sleep deprivation.”
“Yes, you must be studying hard lately…” She continued after a pause, “I have informed your father, he probably came early after picking up your brother from school… Speaking of him, has Samreen told you about Omer?”
“Yes, she did.” Shahina uncomfortably changed her position after hearing about her father.
“He would be delighted to meet you.” And in response, she just smiled.
Shahina wasn’t a talker to begin with, and taking a lead in any conversation was out of the question for her. Especially in such awkward situations. Her mother kept glancing at her, hoping she would say anything, and Shahina was looking everywhere, trying to avoid eye contact. Soon, Samreen appeared from the door holding a tea tray, and Shahina thanked Allah in her heart.
Samreen served her Shami Kabab, telling her that she used to love it. However, she didn’t recall any memory of it, nor was she able to recognise the taste. Or perhaps her mind was solely occupied with the thought of leaving this place as soon as possible. She wanted to avoid meeting her father because somewhere in her heart, she blamed her father for what had happened to her.
“Thank you for the snacks. I should leave now.” Shahina abruptly stood up from her seat after finishing her tea.
“Stay a bit more. I still have so much to talk.” Samreen said before their mother could open her mouth.
“I am exhausted. I really need some rest.”
Samreen bit her lip and glanced at her mother, who was staring at Shahina dejectedly. For a moment, Shahina’s heart ached at the sight, but she was already at her limit, so she apologized to her mother and left, saying goodbye. But to her luck, the moment she left the room, a young boy came rushing inside the main door, but stopped abruptly after looking at Shahina.
“Assalam o Allaikum.” The next moment, she heard a familiar voice and saw her father coming inside the house.
The moment Shahina saw her father’s face, a flash of memories hit her head, her vision got blurry, and she felt like all the energy of her body was drained instantly. Yet, she somehow managed to push herself to the door and almost ran towards her car. She could hear her family's voices from behind, but she was unable to understand anything.
Upon witnessing the situation, Shahina’s driver got alerted and quickly opened the car door for her. As soon as she got inside, he slammed the door shut and turned towards her family. Shahina’s father, who tried to come closer, was stopped by the driver, and he sensed something in his body language that made him retreat instantly.
______________________________
Assalam o Allaikum & hello!
Shahina finally met her family. But why did she run away from her father?
Wait for next Saturday for the upcoming chapter.
Don’t forget to vote & comment!
Take care :)
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