The Unspoken Words

Chapter 1.

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The Unspoken Words, chapter 1.

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The chilly wind swirled against the pew near the dry lawn where the funeral had been held.

A young man in his early twenties  was slumped on the pew with a numb look plastered on his face albeit the little traces of fatigue that appeared on it.

He stared at the retreating backs of, according to him, 'fake' people who had visited his mother's funeral to offer condolences.

He sighed and lifted himself off the bench, turning around to meet the compassionate face of old Mr. Grey, the head of the staff of the manor.

He had always been a great fatherly figure to Areez. Mr.Grey clasped his shoulder in a reassuring way.

"Son, I have been informed, you want to settle down in the city," the old man confirmed.

The younger silently nodded in agreement.

"And sell this place, if I am not mistaken?"

He nodded again.

The old man looked distressed. "I can understand that you need investment to start a new life in the city," he said, "but are you ready to lose the place you spent your entire childhood in?"

"I don't know Martin," Areez sighed, "I'd rather forget the good memories.There's no point since its a painful ending to every part."

Mr. Grey gave a small understanding smile. "As you wish son, I'll help you sort out things and look for a suitable client as soon as I can. You can, meanwhile, stay here or look up for a permanent place to accommodate in the city."

"I'll be leaving for the city in a day or two. Thank you for everything. Oh, and about that girl..." Areez said as his gaze trailed to a young girl across them, kneeled down on the ground, hands on her lap.

He had come to know she couldn't speak or understand English.

She was staring at the ground with furrowed brows, deep in thought. She was wearing a loose flaxen cotton blouse and a long turquoise skirt. She also had a white scarf cutely wrapped around her head. Her skin was a pale white but a slight blush grazed her cheeks due to the crisp air. She was pretty much oblivious to the stares of either men.

"You don't need to worry about her. She knows a few words here and there. It might seem difficult at first, as it did to us, but it all turned out fine. She was very close to your mother too..."

No wonder she was the person mum cared about the most, Areez thought.

He somewhat hated her because she almost- no, totally replaced his place in his mother's heart. He was mama's little boy all along and as soon as he left for a few years, she came out of  nowhere and won a place in his mother's heart - enough to receive her care till the last breath.

"Where did you find her anyway? She doesn't look like she's from around here." Areez asked, turning back to look at Mr.Grey.

"We found her..the year you left. We dont know where she originally belongs to. Something, uh, horrible happened in the town. She was one of the victims." The old man found himself uncomfortable to talk about the topic.

Although Areez had half-pretended to be interested in the conversation earlier, now he was genuinely inquistive.
"What happened?", he asked.

"Doesn't matter. Anyways I have to leave now. I won't be there henceforth -just the servants, until you leave. I'll inform you if anything comes up." The old man gave a last look to the girl and then patted Areez's shoulder saying, "Good luck, son."

Areez genuinely smiled at the man and thanked him once again before walking towards the mysterious girl.

When at a near distance, he murmured a "Hey."

She looked up, her train of thoughts breaking. She had been quite depressed at the sudden death of the woman she had learned to love over the past three years. She was the first person the girl had trusted apart from her deceased parents.

She had seen the man before in old photos 'ma', as she liked to call Areez's mother, had shown her.

"What's your name?" Areez asked. Although he had been informed she spoke a language different to English, he expected her to answer a question as simple as this.

And she did. "Uzma" she said, her voice just above a whisper, but he heard it.

She averted her gaze back to ground and started fidgeting with the hem of her scarf.

Areez cleared his throat and said, "So, uh, will you be joining me to settle into the city?"

Why am I asking her this? She has to anyway! I'm her guardian now that is. And obviously she didn't understand that. He thought.

She looked up again, eyes perplexed and a confused frown on her face.

"Nevermind" he sighed. "Let's get in. It's too cold out here." He offered her a hand.

She stared at it for a moment before picking herself up from the ground and Areez just had to awkwardly pull his hand back.

She wasn't very tall, just about 5'3 and had a slim figure. Areez on the other hand, was tall at 6'2 and with a fairly built body.

He followed her after a last glance at the lawn, where the depressing aura still filled the air.

His gaze then met the manor they were heading to. An enormous mansion, beautifully sculptured.
His father had designed it when Areez was eight. The same year he had lost his father.

He pushed the thoughts to the back of his head and instead chose to think about which company he was going to apply for a job when he would return to the city, with a girl he couldn't communicate with.

Another burden. He thought. My own mess was enough.

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