The Paradise Inn sat on a small hill at the north side of the driveway which linked back to the motorway. It was popular for its scrumptious sandwiches and coffee which was served in minutes. The waiters and the staff were efficient and competent which resulted in the restaurant the most sought out by the people travelling by the motorway. Haashir and Aida walked insight, inhaling the luscious smell of Jasmine that wafted along the halls. A waiter materialized to their side and ushered them towards the family hall, where many other families sat dining and enjoying their meal. Haashir chose a corner table with was blocked by the window from one side and a wall from the other side. He liked the view of the setting sun from there and so did Aida. They ordered sandwiches and coffee for themselves and sat back, watching the sunset over the horizon, an orange orb that shone as it moved lower to meet the horizon.
“I love this time of the day, everyone tries to get back to their homes; animals, bird and even us, the human beings. The desperation to reach their families provides the determination to reach their destination, just like that day when my father…” she stopped, looking in horror at Haashir. He took hold of her hand and squeezed her fingers, giving her the strength that she needed.
“I want to find out who was involved. I want to know why they killed my father because I know it for sure; he did not want to die.” Aida said, desperately.
“I will find out everything, Aida. I will provide justice to your father and peace to your family. I promise you.” Haashir said.
“You will?” She looked him straight into his eyes, trying to read something there. Haashir blinked and looked away.
“Yes, I will. I will never let you down, Aida. I’ll be always there for you.” He promised. Aida blinked away the tears that were starting to gather in her eyes. She looked around to change the topic and at that moment, the waiter brought their order. The both ate in silence, occasionally looking at each other and then, they were back on the motorway towards their destination. There was silence between them, only broken by the soft music playing on the car stereo. Haashir was starting to understand Aida more as she spent more time with him. Whenever she tried to cope with her pain and loss, she would retreat within herself and stay quiet for some time. He had experienced this habit of her on many occasion and by now, he understood that she needed the silence to reign in her emotions and neutralize her feelings.
They drove in silence for an hour, in which Haashir would occasionally look at her. Her head was resting on the back of the seat, her eyes closed and breathing slow.
She was asleep.
Haashir lowered down the volume of the music playing and relaxed back in his seat, driving with the efficiency with which he used to drive since he was sixteen years old. He was taking Aida to Lahore but the hidden truths that Lahore had in store for her, he was not sure she was ready to see them yet. He still wanted his precious Aida to be as much protected from all this as he wanted but somehow she was coming directly in the line of fire. This case was complicated and however much he tried to untangle, it became more complicated. There were pieces of the puzzle missing and he couldn’t decide where to look for them. Ahmar had faxed him the phone records of her father on the day of his death and he still had to look them over.
He glanced at the sleeping girl beside him and was overcome with an emotion he couldn’t understand. He head was resting on her left shoulder, a strand of her hair was covering her face and there was an expression of such peace and tranquility that he had never seen before even though she was sleeping in a car.
Aida woke up after two hours, having slept through almost half of the journey. They were only an hour’s distance away from Lahore. She looked at the clock on the dashboard which showed the hour of eight-thirty.
