Under That Niqab

26. The Encounter II

A/N: There are going to be two time skips in this story. The first one is here and the second, you'll know when!
Ignore the mistakes if any.

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3rd Person's pov

Time skip-Two years later-

The vibration felt below his arm from the table was not his focus of attention, rather it was the wall clock with a pendulum going back and forth continuously uninterrupted and it moved with no sign of standing still, it's terminal was neither the extreme right where it seemed to halt for a milli second and then moved back to the extreme left. His eyes were settled on the cycle of continued rhythmic movement with his mind making him think about his own life, how akin it was to the pendulum.

His mobile vibrated for a long time before it ceased to disturb him. His trance being broken a minute after, by the loud irritating sound of the office telephone ringing.

He groaned because now he had to receive it, though he knew who exactly was trying to vex him on a bright Sunday afternoon.

"I knew you would be in office" Zaki's expected whine fell into his ears. "You had to be here by this time you know that?"

"A bit of head ache, I'll be there in an hour" he replied pushing the swivel chair back until there was enough space for him to stand.

"Take a medicine will you? I'm sure it will be in the first aid box and if its a lot head back home and rest"

"'I'll be there, its nothing serious"He dragged his fingers along the table picking his phone up and sliding into his pocket, walked out of the cabin.

The sun was warm on his face but not irritating, maybe because he was seated in an air conditioned room earlier for a prolonged time that the warmth felt good. Perhaps excess of anything can get one eventually fed up of it.

He came out of the office building to find his driver snoring with no care of the world, jolting up.

"Home" He mumbled getting into the backseat. The word home felt so wrong to pronounce for some reason.

Two years have passed since he kept on loosing everything he needed to survive, only to receive what he had wanted. No contentment whatsoever..

The thought of having no one when he gets back home, made him spend most of his hours in the office that even on Sundays he didn't want some leisure time for if he does that he knew he will go insane.

He turned into a workaholic after his mother passed away few months back, leaving him all alone to deal with the knots of this vicious world.

Him being all work and no rest was beneficial for his company though, it was soaring new heights all these years with awards, pent up contracts, expanding connections and what not.

He put his sunglasses on and rested his elbow on the car window watching the rushing cars and occasional horns , taking all the hospitality the Sun was offering him.

His throbbing head felt a little better by the time his car made a gentle halt in front of his home. Making way straight to his mother's room, he dropped himself on the plain white sheets of her bed.

There was no comparison though, of the comfort his mother's lap had provided him over the years and her bed, He still came here occasionally to feel her presence, this was the only way he was seeking comfort these days.

A tear drop left his eye falling onto the bed and instantly being soaked into the sheets when he closed his eyes.

That tear was not because he was crying, rather of exhaustion you may say.