Where Shadows Reach

The signs

Meerab was twirling along with the dance troupe to a dance number when she first felt a jolt of pain at the base of her neck.

Murtasim who was eagerly watching his wife dance noticed her face change in an instant. A look of pain crossed it and she paused for a second before continuing her dance.

Murtasim hurried towards her through the twirling figures.
Stopping in front of her he waited for her to notice him.

Smiling when she did, he asked. "Meerab, are you ok? Maybe you should take a break, let's get some food. I am hungry."

With that he held her hand and they walked off the stage towards the lavish buffet laid out on one side.

Mariyam hurried after them, getting them seated at their special table and making sure the waiters attended to them.

Mariyam sat down to join them as Meerab insisted.
Murtasim dug into the delicious food even as guests interrupted their meal with well wishes for the newlyweds.

It was during the meal that Meerab's pain she had felt earlier intensified, making her feel nauseous. She was unable to continue eating.

A few minutes later she excused herself, dragging Mariyam with her she headed off towards the rest rooms.

Meerab threw up and felt the headache ease up a little, but she could not return to the reception as the bright lights made her headache worse.

She opted to rest for a few minutes in one of the dressing rooms as Mariyam applied ice packs for her hoping to ease the headache

Murtasim sat with Meerab at the hospital waiting for their token number to be called.

He had lost count of the number of times Meerab had been to the hospital.

Ever since their reception, it had been one thing after another. Endless tests and hospital visits with no concrete diagnosis.

The doctors themselves were puzzled by her symptoms as none of the tests showed any physical reasons for them.

There were the unbearable headaches she would have, skin rashes, her loss of appetite, lethargy as well as insomnia.

They were living in a rented two bedroom apartment near her parents home. The plan was to stay there until her internship was done. Murtasim worked from home on most days heading off to meet his lawyers at their offices when needed.

His uncle, Anwar was handling onsite problems at the estate for a few months until they returned to the Haveli.

More than three months had passed since the wedding.

She was able to continue her internship even with her physical ailments.

It was a bit bizarre the way she felt better while at work.
Meerab actually looked forward to the office hours as it eased up her headaches on most days. The more time she spent away from home the better she felt.

Her gaps in memory continued happening. Murtasim would find her lost in thought around the house but mostly in front of mirrors.

He did not think much of it until one day he heard voices coming from his bedroom.
There was a distinct male voice and he assumed his father in law had come to visit.
Who else would be in the bedroom with Meerab.

Murtasim stopped at the open door and was about to greet his father in law when he noticed there was no one else in the room except Meerab.