Scarred Petals

Epilogue

"You can run..." Shehryar spoke, his voice low in warning, but she could see the mischief in his eyes as he stared at her, barely keeping away a smile. "But if I catch you..."

"You'll do what, Shehryar?" Fariya crossed her arms and grinned at him as she slowly started to back away, her bare feet digging into the sand underneath.

"Papa!" A small voice yelled out angrily, and the young boy glared at his father, pouting slightly. "Mama ko tang na karein!"

*"Don't bother Mama!"

And Shehryar couldn't help but laugh at his barely three year old son as he picked him up and pinched his most gently. "Your chhota protector doesn't want me to bother you, Fariya." Then he set down the boy back on the sand who huffed and crossed his arms, reminding Shehryar of how Fariya looked when she was 'angry'.

He knelt down on the ground by Farhad and whispered in his ear, out of Fariya's earshot as she squinted at her husband and son who, no doubt, were plotting against her now. "How about we chase Mama together?"

That had all of Fahad's anger melting away as he bounced on his feet and clapped his hands, beaming up at his father before he turned to his mother. "Mama, run!" She laughed and immediately swirled on her feet to run away, her white dupatta flying behind her.

The boy struggled to keep up with his mother on his tiny legs and feet but tried his best nonetheless. Shehryar stood still for a few moments, watching his little family with a small smile of adoration. And other than the love he felt for both his wife and son, he was filled with pride for Fariya.

The way she ran so freely, laughed so freely, lived so freely... She'd come so far from the woman he'd met almost four years ago.

Then he finally launched into action and ran, taking no longer than a minute to catch up to Fariya who tried to run faster and dodge his outstretched hand.

She laughed and squealed, the sound as bright and soulful as it had ever been and just as powerful over his heart as it had been the first time he saw her. He just hadn't known right away then that she was supposed to be his partner for the rest of the journey called life. Beside Shehryar and Fariya, Farhad giggled too, enjoying the sight of his father chasing his mother like they were little kids— kids of his age rather than being his parents.

And Shehryar let her run a little more as he slowed his footsteps, leaving large imprints on the sand with the smaller ones of his wife and the tiny ones of his son.

"Mama, stop running!" Farhad panted, already growing tired. Why was his mother so fast? He thought as he struggled to keep up with her.

Shehryar smiled at his son and slowed a little more, now falling in step with him. As much as he loved Farhad, he loved Fariya all the same. He couldn't find it in himself to ask her to stop running, even if it was for the sake of their son. Not when he knew how much time and effort it had taken for her to reach where she was now.

He had merely been an insignificant crutch that was always by her side whenever she needed him.

Fariya, however, would disagree. For her, Shehryar was the guiding light that helped her through her dark times.

And finally done with the games, Shehryar sped up again and successfully caught her in his arms. She laughed wholeheartedly, not even trying to free herself as his arms banded around her middle to pull her back against his chest. The sheer joy on her face was enough to make him grin at her. Farhad stopped in front of them and instantly fell down on the sand, albeit a little dramatically that had both of them raising an eyebrow at him as he sprawled on the sand and huffed, a little mad at his mother. He had been chasing her first, but she let his father catch her and not him.

Shehryar stole a small, sweet little kiss from her before she wiggled out of his arms and crouched down on the sand and picked Farhad up, setting him down on her lap. Shehryar, too, crouched beside them and put his arms around both of them, the couple watching their son be a dramatic little kid as he crossed his arms and huffed again, pouting slightly.

"I hate you!"

Fariya's eyebrows knitted together, but she had to bite her lip to keep a smile from breaking away. "But I love you!"

"But you let Papa catch you and not me!" The boy argued and waved a finger at his father who watched the whole exchange with poorly contained amusement.

"We're one little family, buddy. It doesn't really matter." But still, to make up to his son for stealing his mother from him, Shehryar picked him up from under his arms and lifted him up above his head before spinning him around in the air, causing Farhad to squeal in excitement as he spread his arms and pretended to actually fly.

Fariya stood there and quietly watched her two favorite men in the world, though Farhad was a little too young to be a man, and wondered how exactly had she gotten this lucky. She even whispered a little 'Alhamdulillah' under her breath for having them and for Junaid and his family to have rejected her.

Because she knew Shehryar loved her more than she ever thought she could be loved, scars and all.

And finally, when Farhad started getting a little queasy, Shehryar set him down on the sand, his attention immediately stolen by a little girl sitting far away on the sand with her family as she built shapes on the sand.

Fariya, who noticed her three-year-old son watching the girl carefully, smiled inwardly, remembering the thousand other times her husband had watched her in the same way.

"I think he has a crush." She whispered to Shehryar who had been looking at Farhad too.

"I think I have a crush, too." Shehryar whispered back as his eyes set on Fariya, who still after years, managed to blush every time he looked at her in that way.

"Do you?"

"Yes, and I got her something too." Shehryar fished something out from his back pocket that he'd been hiding for hours now and held it out to her. Fariya smiled and rose on toes to press a quick kiss to his cheek as she took her gift from him.

A white rose.