"You're going to be my present and my future. You're going to hold all my babies because I'm going to be the lucky man to marry you. You're going to love me again, Maryam Khan. Slowly and then all together. And I will watch you as you do."
Imran and...
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Maryam felt her heart thud against her chest with every step she took in the direction of the sliding glass door of the giant hospital. She wanted to slow down the pace she was walking at. Pause to drink a glass of water from the dispenser placed in the far corner by the entrance. Catch her breath and calm herself down before she faces her beloved father.
Yet, amidst all of that, she couldn't wait to see what life had set up for her. Maryam wanted to break in a sprint and run all the way up to whatever floor Arif Ismail Khan was placed on to make sure he was okay. That he is not as bad as she is taking him to be.
Fahad, who was leading them all does not stop by the receptionist to ask what room he was in. This gesture of his only fueled Maryam's anxiety. Because it meant he's seen her father and the condition he was in.
Maryam gulps or tries to with the boulder in her throat. As they marched into the hallway, the smell of chemicals filled her nostrils. She felt the slightest bit of nausea rise from the pit of her stomach. Sucking in a sharp breath, she resolves to focus on her breathing and nothing else.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Her resolve begins to chip away the second Fahad comes to a skidding halt. She looks up and around her to find a glass wall on her left. Her feet take her closer and a choked gasp leaves her mouth.
"Baba,"
From her periphery, she noticed a man with a doctor's coat walking out of her father's room. Getting into action, her mother rushed towards him.
"Doctor, my husband–"
"He's suffered from a heart attack." Tears rushed to Maryam's eyes. "Accident ki wajah se sirf sar pe maar lagi. Nothing major there. Bus, dil kamzor hogya."
The man had a solemn expression on his face as he delivered the news. He's done this a lot, to many other families. But this was a first for the Khans.
"Can we meet him?" Emad inquired with a strong voice.
"I'll let you inside in a couple of minutes." With that said, he strides away.
Maryam looks back at her father. Blinking rapidly to clear her vision, she bites the inside of her cheek to not let a whimper out. She wanted to be strong. Or at least show that she was.
Her baba would not approve of her crying and sobbing like that. Chanting the sentence in her mind, Maryam looks over her shoulder to see the Abdullahs jogging down the hallway towards them.
