Predestined

| Déjà Vu |

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Bia

It was Sarib Bhai's birthday.

Shehzad quietly got ready and headed out to the cemetery early in the morning even before breakfast. I gave him his space because I could imagine how he must be feeling. 

But to my surprise, as I prepared breakfast, the doorbell rang and I opened the front door to find Mishal standing there. "Assalam Alaikum, Mishal!"

"Walaikum Assalam!" She gave me a small smile. "I hope you don't mind me stopping by basically uninvited."

"Of course I don't mind! Come inside!" I stepped back to let her in. I closed the door and we walked into the living room. "Is Maaz at school?"

"Yes." She headed straight for the window and stared out. It had rained last night, and the sunlight was reflecting in the puddles that lit up the ground below, sparkling magnificently. "Is Shehzad not home?" 

"No, he's gone to the...cemetery." I carefully observed her expressions. "He said that he was going to take Maaz out this evening?" 

"Yeah, he wants to continue the tradition that he had with Sarib through Maaz." Mishal nodded. "Anyway, since you and I are both off today, do you want to go shopping with me? Maaz is growing up, Ma Sha Allah, and I've been meaning to go and buy more clothes for him. Plus, since I'm redecorating, I need to look for new things for myself as well." 

"Sure, I'd like that." I told her. I wondered if she was looking for a distraction, considering the day, and I wouldn't blame her if she was. 

****

We ended up in one of the biggest malls in Lahore, and Mishal and I were talking and even laughing as we discussed various (light) topics in our lives. 

"Okay, we need to go to the Rose Luxe." Mishal said once we were done with the shopping. "They have a proper English tea room there that's incredibly popular. Delicious sandwiches, cakes and perfect tea. It's owned by the brother of one of Tara's close friends, and we have a secret promo code that allows us discount." She smiled.

"Rose Luxe?" I asked. "Are you talking about Faiz Jamshed?" 

"You know him?" 

"I know his wife Anaya. She's a writer, and we've met at some writing events back in London." I replied. "I was covering a book fair for my old job, and I met her there. She's very sweet and down-to-earth." 

"Cool. Let's go." I shrugged.

As we arrived there, I was in awe. The Tea Room was decorated in a theme that could only be described as 'Queen Elizabeth's Tea Party'. There were flowers adorning the entire room, in beautiful colours of red, pink, purple and white. The china cups and saucers had a majestic appearance which was complimented by the three-tier cake stand on each table that held a variety of pastries and sandwiches.  

"Wow. I feel homesick being here." I muttered, feeling like I was visiting one of the Palaces back in the UK, which often had tea rooms such as this one. 

"Hey! Every woman is a queen in their own right, and every queen deserves a regal tea party." Mishal grinned at me as we both were led to a table by a maître d', who was dressed like a true English butler.

We had the delicious items set out for us, and were served tea from a proper tea pot.

"Look, Bia, I have actually called you out for an ulterior motive." She played with the ring on her finger as she spoke, looking almost nervous.