Written Among The Stars.

Chapter 1 - Meeting the "bossy" boss!

"Hanie jaan, [Love] Get up. You're gonna be late for the prayer and your job interview." She heard her mother speak softly as she caressed her cheeks with her knuckles and tucked her hair away from her face.

She groaned and pushed her head deeper in the pillow. "Mumma, please 5 more minutes."

She whined. These 5 minutes of sleep in the morning were just so precious to her. Parents won't ever understand the value of these.

"Hanie, you have slept through an hour, asking for 5 minutes." She chuckled.

She sighed heavily and sat in an upright position in her bed. She then sleepily hugged her mother and kissed her cheek. She loved her mother more than anyone else in the world and that was because she was her baby. Not only hers, she was the baby of the entire family. She was younger of the two siblings and her father had left no stone unturned in fulfilling her every wish and demand. She lived royally there.

Picking up her phone from the night stand, she checked the time.

"Is Yousaf bhai up?" She asked. [Brother]

"I'm just going to wake that sleepy head too." She chuckled as she made her way out to the room next to hers.

Hanie was her nickname which was often confused with "honey" but either way, it was sweet.

Her real name was Haneen Ahmad and she really loved it. Her paternal grandmother had named her when she was born. She was a Pakistani born Canadian and the youngest and only daughter. Yousaf Ahmad was her elder brother. He was the most important part of her life after her parents. Her mother, Alia Ahmad, whom she loved more than her life. She was literally the oxygen of her life along with her father, Ahmad Hussain. She couldn't imagine spending a day without seeing them. They were her only role models. She lived with her family in a cozy house, suitable for their small family.

She had completed her studies in the subject of Architecture and Designing and was currently jobless so she needed to get a job as soon as possible.

It wasn't a necessity but a passion. Many people in desi societies disagreed with the idea of women working on equal ranks with men. But she thought that if one was following the commands of the Almighty, then there was nothing wrong in working outside. A woman should be strong enough, mentally and physically, to be able to survive in difficult times on her own as an independent person. How long can one depend on their parents, siblings or even husband?

She wanted to work. She wanted to be independent and she wanted to make use of her long and exhausting studies.

She got up from the bed and pulled up her straight light brown hair in a messy bun. Brushing her teeth and performing the ablution, she prayed the Fajr Salah.
She changed into her camouflaged track suit and pinned the black and green hijab around her head, wearing her joggers. As she made her way downstairs, she noticed that her mother had already laid out the breakfast on the kitchen counter and Yousaf, dressed in his plain grey t-shirt and black and white striped trousers, was already digging into it, without any concern regarding the surroundings.

"Yousaf Bhai, have some mercy on your poor stomach! It must have been begging you to stop, thinking "Man!! where am I trapped?" She tried to joke, making a sad face as she settled on the bar stool.

"Hasna tha?" [Was I supposed to laugh?] He snapped back.

"We don't say NO to food ever!" He spoke closing his eyes, moaning like a mad man and relishing every bit of the home-made milk cake.