A Queen's Touch & Some Glitter

پندرواں باب - Chapter 15

پندرواں باب — Chapter 15
THE QUEEN IS SURROUNDED

THE NIGHT WAS STARRY. The usual darkness had been left behind as the sky turned prussian blue with the radiance of the clusters of stars. The moon was larger than ever, shining on the large streets of the residential area. The marble and stone driveways that reached out to the streets, were slightly wet. An aftermath of the torrential downpour that had subsided only a few moments ago. The hour was late, the streets were silent. An occasional car splashing the water accumulated as it drove by.

The air smelt of rain. The trees washed of the days of silt. Now standing bright and tall under the starlit pathways. The roads turning silver. Inside the homes, the heaters were roaring. The cold had yet again returned with a force. Unusual for a February in Lahore.

Inside the large bedroom of the Raees's only daughter, the white lights were still on. The room illuminated, the curtains open as the chilly breeze blew inside. The young woman, held a fondness for such cold winds after a rain. They were the most calm and serene. A direct caress on her skin to her felt like God's mercy. The soles of her feet were covered in thick black woolen socks. Her fingers, numb as they typed away on the sleek black keyboard of her mac.

Lyana's pitch black hair rested on her shoulders. The wisps, waving like sea waves. Waiting for the moon and winds to send them into a rage. Her turtleneck crop top raised slightly as she reached out to the built in shelf. Her hands hovering over the spine of a ring binded note book.

The mechanical pencil was raised against her lips as she flipped through the hard pages. Her eyes taking in each detail of what former designers had done. Reading the stories of what were proposed to be dresses worn by the women in court in around the early 1600's and 1700's. A time when Mughal glory was at a high.

Her honey brown orbs flickered to her phone time and again. Waiting for something. Counting down the minutes inside her head as her black manicured fingernails, scratched her hair. The pressure of her final project, due in two months and the pending decision about her marriage, had deprived her of sleep and peace, to put it lightly.

Lyana crossed her black leggings clad legs. Moving in her plush white chair. Opening the large sketchbook. Placing the tip of the pencil against it as she drew a silhouette. She would see what she came up with. Her mind a whirlpool of ideas at the moment. Gazing down at her cup of tea, she took the last sip. Sighing at the familiar warmth fill her throat.

Tea and her were the best of friends. Coffee a big no. Tea provided her with the solace and warmth she had long stopped searching for in people. They betrayed, tea never did. Coffee, the most expensive ones even, gave her a headache that made it seem like her skull would crack. Just like humans.

Disappointed with the fact that the tea had run out, and the clock was only just striking one am, Lyana turned to her laptop. Perhaps Nirvana could help her stay awake. Their loud music, rhythmic yet strong enough to ensure she would not flop on her heavy oakwood desk.

Before her fingers could click play on 'Smells like Teen Spirit', her phone rang. The caller id, showing Alam. A world emoji next to it. He had quite truly become her whole world, super fast. Lyana's lips pulled into a wide smile on their own accord. Her long fingers wrapping around the wide phone as she answered the call.

"Assalamualikum". Lyana rasped.
Her hands turning the speaker on and placing the phone back in its place on the phone holder.
"Waalikumassalam," his tired sigh sounded.
Alamgeer had been in a meeting all day. Lyana had waited for his call like a child deprived of their parents attention. To hear his tired voice now, worried her.