Substitute Wife

Chapter-48

Author's pov

Maryam was standing in front of Yardan's final resting place with Yamir, Omaira and Mehzabin. According to his wish, he was laid to rest beside his mother.

The kids were sobbing non-stop looking at Yardan's burial. Omaira was devastated from the inside. She can't believe her father is no more. Yamir was hiccuping and his whole face was clouded with sadness. Yardan's face was flashing in front of him continuously making him numb.

Mehzabin was crying non-stop seeing her siblings crying. She doesn't understand a lot of things but she was sad to look at her siblings. She raised her face to meet Maryam's eyes who were standing like a statue. There were no tears in her eyes. It's hard to understand how she was feeling. There was no expression on her face. Not a single drop of tear left her eyes after Yardan's death.

" Baba, how could you leave us like that?" Omaira asked hiccuping.

Yamir asked loudly," Are you angry with me, Baba? That's why you left us."

Listening to them Maryam placed her hands on their shoulders. Turning behind both of them hugged her tightly and burst into more tears. Hugging them back Maryam started rubbing their backs gently.

" You shouldn't cry like that. You should pray for your Baba so that Allah may forgive his sins and grants him Jannah(heaven)," Maryam said controlling her tears and then kissing their heads gently.

Yamir asked breaking the hug," He just left us like that!!!"

His voice was heavy with pain. His face was tear-stained and his eyes were completely red. Maryam's heart twisted in pain seeing her son like that.

" It was Almighty's wish. No one can deny Him. Try to understand, baccha(dear)," Maryam said wiping away Yamir's tears but they kept coming out of his eyes. 

After staying in front of Yardan's final resting place Maryam returned home with the kids. She doesn't want to feel anything but somewhat she felt the whole house empty without Yardan. Was she missing him? She has no idea what she was feeling.

The children were hungry but none of them took even a single bite. Maryam tried to feed them but they refused. She just hopes they don't fall sick like that.

It was almost midnight and after a lot of struggle finally Maryam managed to bring some sleep to Mehzabin's eyes. She was asking for Yardan non-stop giving Maryam a hard time. She was crying and searching for her Baba. Maryam took relaxed breathing when Mehzabin closed her eyes.

Then, Maryam went to Omaira's room. A few hours ago she put Omaira into bed. As expected Omaira wasn't sleeping. Maryam wasn't expecting Omaira to be praying.

Sitting on a prayer mattress Omaira's hands were raised in dua(prayer). Her head and body were fully covered by a long piece of clothing. She was crying silently and praying for her father.

Maryam waited until Omaira finished her praying. No sooner had she finished her praying than she hugged Maryam tightly and broke down into hysterical sobbing. Maryam hugged her back.

Stroking Omaira's hair Maryam said softly," Don't cry, baby. Your Baba will be hurt if he sees you crying like that."

Breaking the hug Omaira wiped away her tears. She looked at Maryam with glossy eyes.

" Mamma, I miss Baba," Omaira said innocently.

Maryam answered holding her hands gently," I know, baby. Don't worry about your Baba. He is in a good place."

A few moments later Omaira placed her head in Maryam's lap and closed her eyes. Maryam started stroking her silky hair gently to make her sleep.

" Mamma, I heard that good people don't live long in this world. Baba was a good man. That's why he didn't live long with us, right?" Omaira asked looking at Maryam's face.

The stiffness in Maryam was prominent. She stopped stroking Omaira's hair and looked out the window. Only a sigh left her mouth.

" Yes, he was a good man," Maryam answered with hesitation.

Settling Omaira in the bed Maryam forwarded her legs to Yamir's room. She knew that he wasn't sleeping either. As expected Yamir was crying while holding Yardan's wheelchair. He was sitting on the ground holding Yardan's wheelchair.

Sensing Maryam's presence Yamir said hiccuping," Baba.....he used to sit here."

Getting close to Yamir she sat beside him and pulled him into a tight hug. Yamir broke down into sobbing and Maryam let him cry to his heart's content. She didn't say anything until he stopped crying on his own.

" Yamir, this life is not eternal. Today or tomorrow we all have to leave this world like your Baba. That's the order of things, my son," Maryam said stroking Yamir's hair softly.

Then she said," You and Omaira are praying for your father. The Almighty doesn't ignore such innocent kids' prayers. Your father is doing fine under Almighty's mercy."

" Don't you pray for Baba?" Yamir asked.

His question made Maryam completely speechless. She just stared at Yamir with uncomfortable eyes.

" I will pray for him," Maryam managed to say.

Almost 40 minutes later Maryam managed to put Yamir on the bed. Sitting beside his head she kept patting his head gently until he closed his eyes. When she was sure that he is sleeping she covered his body with a comforter and left his room.

She thought for a few moments about Yamir's question. Shouldn't she pray for Yardan? She tried but she couldn't force herself to pray for him. Neither she wishes good for him nor she wishes bad for him. She has no feelings for him. The only thing that was bothering her was Yamir and Omaira's helpless crying.

A few days later

" Mehu...... I am...here...... Catch me if you can," Yamir told Mehzabin twirling around her.

She had a blindfold on her eyes and she was trying to catch her siblings. She was playing with her siblings in the garden.

" I am here....... I will give you candies if you manage to catch me," Omaira said shaking a packet of candies.

The sound made Mehzabin so excited that she started running here and there. Her giggling echoed through the whole place. She was looking like a small bunny while running here and there.

Maryam was seeing all these from the balcony and sipping on a cup of coffee. She took relaxed breathing seeing the kids so happy. After Yardan's death, it was the first time she was seeing them smiling. It took a lot of effort for her to console Yamir and Omaira. Yardan's death had left a big scar in their hearts. She is glad that slowly they are recovering from this trauma.

Her concentration was broken by her phone. She got startled when it started ringing. She noticed the caller id. It's from her office. It was her PA.

" Hello," She said.

Her PA informed her," Mam, Mr Sadat just confirmed to me that he wants to invest in our Abu Dhabi project. Should I ready the contract papers?"

Maryam had a frown appearing on her forehead. She has no clue what he was talking about.

" Abu Dhabi project? Mr Sadat? What are you saying?" Maryam questioned back that stunned her PA.

He reminded her," Mam, last week you had a meeting with him. There you told him about the Abu Dhabi project."

Maryam tried to recall when she had the meeting but nothing appeared in her memory. Feeling a sudden discomfort she cut the call and then switched it off.

Sitting on the bed she started trying to recall but nothing was coming into her mind. After a lot of struggle finally, she could recall. She took a long breath after remembering but she wasn't understanding what was wrong with her. It was not the first time she had forgotten something like that.

Recently, she can't remember anything for too long. Often she gets zoned out like she has lost herself in a different dimension. There was something wrong with her that she wasn't understanding properly.

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