Serenity

Start again

She was still wide awake, refusing to close her eyes, in the darkness the unsteady beating of her heart resounded in her ears, each time she ceased to feel the pulse under her fingertips it faltered.

He opened his eyes and adjusted to the darkness, everything ached, everything hurt. He breathed in harshly with closed eyes, dragging himself away from the searing pain in his back. He swallowed, his mouth parched and dry. At least she was not angry with him anymore,

'Sakina' the whisper broke the pretence of serenity the darkness seemed to portray 'Water'

She jerked up and supported his head, the coolness of the water was a relief, he was disappointed when the burning returned. She disappeared for a while and returned with the bowl refilled

'My uncle said you should consume water in abundance while you are recovering, you lost a lost of blood'

It was after he had almost emptied the clay water utensil that he spoke
'What happened?'

'You were wounded Zalmai by an arrow. You've been unconscious for a whole day and night'

He didn't remember anything besides the pain 'How is the wound?'

'Uncle says its a flesh wound not too deep, the wound became more severe because your idiot tribe and equally idiotic healer decided to remove the arrow. When Gulden came with uncle to retract it he found the arrow to be strange, it was not an arrow crafted in pukhtunkhwa. He said he shall speak with you tomorrow'

Then she fell silent, she wanted to tell him she felt regret for the words she had uttered, she had not meant them at all but she was a Danaii and apologies and forgiveness were two things they did not exceed others in.

'I -- I'm sorry' these were the hardest, heaviest words she had ever uttered. Certainly she had said those words many times to her uncle, but she had never meant it and he knew it all too well.

He was sure his ears had deceived him, a danaii uttering words of apology? As rare as their apology was it was the most sincere thing in Pukhtunkhwa, for they would never proclaim it until it was fully and truly meant. Zalmai had always been a man of a few words, he had never known how to express himself. What was he to say now when she had said such words he never thought she would utter.

'I guess we were both blameworthy'

'I wish sometimes you were more perceptive Zalmai. I've grown up with such people my whole life so to see people who don't see anything except the apparent is hard'

Of course she still wanted him to see she was not someone who wrongly accused his sister. She wished he would not be so blind, it would cause him great loss later on. He could not distinguish the good in people or the bad, to Zalmai everyone was either good or bad. He didn't think people could change in the blink of an eye.

'Why don't we put this aside Sakina and start afresh?'

He would never understand so that is exactly what she did.