In The Pursuit Of Love

Pain

"Here I am afflicted by pain and You are The Most Merciful of all the Merciful." – Al Anbya (83)

Shock.

Utter shock.

Each and every pair of eyes instantly shifted towards the voice, except for Mehreen.

Blood rushed to every part of her body and suddenly she was back to her surroundings, her numbness all gone. The dark spots which had earlier covered her eyes now cleared away.

But she didn't dare turn and meet her gaze with his. She was too very shocked to do just that. An all too familiar voice had her rooted to the spot, her eyes wide, her breathing shallow. She could feel Nargis' hands on her shoulders flinch and had already heard a soft yet sharp gasp escape her mouth.

Nargis couldn't even remove her gaze from Zeeshan's face when a voice almost rotated their entire world. She looked back in utter shock, towards the voice, towards the two boys, and couldn't really tell who uttered the words. A minute of analyzing, and she was sure it was the boy who had his head down, the other looking at him in what can be called as shock and only shock.

The other members of the family had the same expression, no one able to utter a single word. And then the very next second, as if he took the time to believe his ears heard it all right, Zeeshan charged towards his target and grabbed the boy's collar.

And it was at that very moment, everyone in the room realized his presence. Feeling some movement and a person walking past her in haste, Mehreen's gaze followed his brother's back and she knew that her brother was here. Her heart calmed a bit.

Everyone ran towards Zeeshan in order to hold him down.

"What do you think you are saying?" Zeeshan growled, pulling the boy from his collar.

"Zeeshan, a-are you fine?" the boy almost whispered as his gaze fell on Zeeshan's wounds.

As Aamina came towards the commotion in order to put some sense into the boys, one look at her son's face and she gasped.

"Zeeshan, what happened?" she immediately rushed towards him and touched his face, while Adil tried with all his might to remove his hold from the boy's collar. Zeeshan's gaze never left his target, as he kept on staring, murdering him with his rage-filled eyes.

"Zeeshan leave him and explain what happened to you?" Aamina's brother ordered making Zeeshan leave him, but his gaze never shifted. Mehreen felt her legs move on their own and she came to stand infront of him, her heartbeats reaching to a new level as her eyes fell on his blood-stained face, her eyes stained with tears.

Zeeshan looked up, into his sister's eyes and what he saw made him clench his teeth and fist his hands to the point that he was sure the blood was drawn from his palms. It wasn't the visible tears though; it was the hurt, the pain, the distress, and the desolation, behind her tears, which he could clearly recognize.

A few seconds of pin-drop silence later, he sighed knowing everyone was waiting for his answer and he very subtly turned to look at Nargis, making her gasp, and then shifted his gaze towards his family members.

Taking a small step towards Mehreen, he engulfed her into his arms and dropping a soft kiss on her head, he whispered, as if only for her to hear, "I am fine, chidiya. You are fine"

"I just- a ball hit me. I am fine, but," he turned towards the boy, "How dare you say something like that, Rudra?" he said with clenched teeth, his arms tightening protectively around his sister.

Mehreen flinched upon hearing his name and buried herself more into her brother's embrace. She just wanted to disappear from this earth and her brother's arms were doing just that.