Regrets | ✔

XIV

Rana whispered the last bits of her prayers, wishing for Allah's help.

Her heart still beat a little harder every time she thought about last nights events.
She had wanted it all to be just a nightmare, but the bruise on her wrist said otherwise.

She didn't know what to now.

Whether to go back to Karachi, leave Adeel behind once and for all, perhaps apply for her old job.

But there was a voice inside her head telling her she had to wait.

Give him a chance to at least apologise.

So far this morning, however, there had be no sign of him.
Neither Gulab Khan nor Bibi had seen or heard of their employer, and Rana couldn't fathom where he had been all night.

A light knock was heard behind her.

She turned to see her husband at the door, holding something in his hands.

"May I come in?" Adeel asked.

"You may do whatever you want." Rana gritted through her teeth. "You never seem to need or ask what I have to say."

Adeel let out a exhausted sigh, having expected this sort of reaction.
The old him would have let all his anger rage towards her, but he told himself a mantra all the time.

I'm sorry, the old Adeel can't come on the phone right now.
Why?
Because he's dead.

"I just wanted to give you this." He said, softly placing the mahogany box in her hands.

Rana knew this trick that men had, replacing any emotional response with material gifts, and she wasn't about to fall for it.

As she began to push it back towards him again, Adeel stopped her.

"Just look at it, please." He begged.

She reluctantly gave in, slowly opening the box, and the object inside may have been the greatest gift of all.

A golden and rose Quran was placed upon a red cloth, shining a wonderful light into the room and in her heart.

Rana was lost for words.

"I know this can't fix our problems, but I'm sorry." Adeel said.

For the first time his wife noticed the bags under his eyes from the long night, the slop of his shoulders from fatigue and mess of his hair.

She almost felt guilty.

She couldn't let him break her this easily, not like he could before.
But she had softened enough to speak to him properly again.

"Freshen up, Adeel. I'll tell Bibi to set breakfast." She told him.

Rana placed the box holding the Quran on her table, before exiting the room.

"Yes, Gul-e-Rana." He said, too late for her to hear.

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