Eternal Bliss With You (#1 ETERNAL SERIES)

5-This✔

MARAM

Somehow, the passengers had all found their way back to the spot where the bus had broken down the night before. When Maram and Ashraf arrived at the spot, the passengers were already inside the bus and the engine was running.

"Is everybody in?" The driver asked in a loud voice. For a moment, there was a deafening silence as the passengers looked at each other, trying to figure out if there was a missing passenger.

"No." One of the passengers seated at the last seat on the bus shouted.

"Toh Bismillah." The driver reversed the bus, driving off away from the accident spot.

Maram leaned her head against the window as she stared into space. Her hands were clasped against each other as the harsh breeze kissed her cheeks, almost freezing them.

"Hey."

She turned wordlessly, staring at the Ashraf. "Don't touch me," she whispered lowly.

"Here," he passed her a bottle. "You're cold."

She hesitated, eyeing the mini flask with suspicion. Ashraf noticed this, and took the flask from her, twisting the cap open.

"It's Lipton." He showed her the contents of the bottle.

After two minutes of silence, and a mini battle in her head, she stretches her hands, taking the bottle from him.

"Bismillah, " she mouthed. The warm liquid drizzled down her throat and she mildly cringed.
"Thanks," she whispered as she passed the bottle back to him after three sips.

Ashraf once again read the look on her face, his lips stretching into an awkward smile.
"You don't like it?" He probed.

" It's bitter," she said.

" wow, but I added sugar."

Maram briefly closed her eyes, keeping the urge to sniff at bay. The cold was getting to her and she was a few minutes away from turning into a stone.

"Are you okay?"

She opened her eyes, meeting Ashraf's coffee brown ones. "I'm not," she replied bluntly.

Ashraf instinctively touched the jacket he had on, and asked her. "Should I let you have my jacket for a while until we land?"

Maram shook her head. "No, thanks."

"Oh, okay."

The next thirty minutes went in a blur. Maram jolted in her sleep and woke up due to the several potholes on the road. The driver had sped and had gotten into one with great force, pulling her out of the dreamland.

This will be my last time travelling on a bus, she said to herself mentally. Just then, she noticed that her body temperature had gone down drastically, and her headache reduced by a great fraction.

She glanced over her shoulder at Ashraf who was sleeping soundly despite the numerous frequent jerks made by the bus.
A deep sleeper he is.

Putting on her earbuds, she played Hafsatu's favourite playlist on her phone, reminiscing about the memories it brought. A cracking noise got to her ear, making her crane her neck to the last seat on the left.

A young girl who looked like she was in her early teens made a cracking noise with the knuckles on the fingers of both hands, alternating between them.

Maram's eyes fluttered, blurring the girl's image in her eyes, and she slowly blinked her eyes. Her hands subconsciously clasped each other tightly, her breath quickening while she swallowed the lump in her throat instantly diverting her eyes.