Stairway to Heaven

23. Path to Redemption

Moments passed when she left the room in a total uproar.

While Shams and his father Senator Rehman hurled insults and threats at Hajra, who was no longer in their presence; Shahid Abbasi leisurely reclined in his seat, carefully pondering over his next move.

Staring blankly into space, with his one hand rubbing his chin, he considered the fire spitting little girl who would clearly prove to be a little too much trouble for him in the near future.

"Senator Rehman—Why don't us adults sort out this issue between ourselves. What do you say about golf this weekend?"

Shahid Abbasi gleamed his business smile, which did little to hide his shrewd mindset. That paired with his dynamic persona, had gotten him this far and there wasn't anything that was going to stop him now.

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Her feet touched the wet asphalt, before the umbrella opened ahead of her and she stepped out of the Rikshaw in front of the hospital's entrance.

For a long moment, she kept standing in her place in a trance; the raindrops continuing to splash against her umbrella.

Slightly tilting it away from her face, Hajra turned up her gaze skywards to catch some raindrops in the safety of her palm. As if she could hide them away as her treasure; just like that memory from more than a year ago, which had always made his face appear infront of her eyes whenever it rained after that day.

Drawing her eyes close with a sigh, she let a few raindrops streak her cheeks. Almost as if hoping to let them soak her dry and withering existence.

With a shake of head, Hajra brushed away her thoughts and closed the distance to entrance. She inched towards the lift but upon seeing the herd of patients crowding it, she continued on stairs. Her thoughts filled with agendas for today, when she finally arrived on her desired floor.

"Hajra!" She looked up with a smile forming on her lips, at Aymen's familiar greeting; which immediately faltered when she saw him standing behind the nurse's station, huddled in with the rest of his classmates.

As if someone had delivered a hard, fast punch to her gut; Hajra felt all the breath knocking out of her gut when his eyes met hers from across the room and froze there.

Without realising anything going around her anymore, Hajra kept putting one foot infront of the other. Her gaze never once leaving his, while her heart continued to hammer wildly against her ribcage.

She felt goosebumps rising on her skin, as a result of the surge of emotions seizing her existence in its suffocating embrace. Yet, she didn't look away and neither did he; despite the tears welling up in his brown orbs.

And then as if a trance was broken, the fragile thread connecting the two of them finally snapped.

No matter how many times Hajra replayed this memory in her head, she could never find out who was the first one to look away that day. But then she would return to present and realise that it didn't matter anyways.

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1 YEAR LATER

"—Make sure to not get caught this time!"

Ammar and Mateen were walking through the corridor with the rest of their group, when they passed by Hajra and her group of friends.