Destiny - مقدر

28 - At The End Of It All - یہ سب کے آخر میں

"True love doesn't have a happy ending, because true love never ends." - Divyesh Bhagat 

"How are you feeling today?" I asked, pressing a wet cotton bud gently to Daniyal's bruised, cut forehead. He winced in pain, smiling weakly. "I feel fine..." He winced again. "Honestly, I do." He added, seeing the worry in my eyes. I nodded, "Okay...if you're sure." 
It was clear that his attention wasn't fully on me, he was looking at something, staring at something with sheer concentration. After the crash, it wasn't surprising. He had been so ready to have his life taken away from him. He was ready to die, but it seemed Allah had other plans for him. For that I was grateful. 

 The hospital room was devoid of beauty. Its walls were simply cream, not peeling or dirty, just cream. There was no decoration at all other than the limp curtain that separated Daniyal's bed from the three others in here. It was perhaps once the kind of green that reminds people of spring-time and hope, but it's faded so much that the hue was insipid. At the far end were windows in brown metal frames, only openable at the top. Not a single person in the room had flowers, cards or home brought food other than Daniyal. His bed was practically buried beneath various flowers, cards and gifts. Photo frames, balloons and Asian delicacies. Other patients were sleeping to pass the time or staring at nothing at all. There were stands for intravenous drips and monitors. At the door were dispensers for rubber gloves, hand sanitizer and soap. 

I turn back to Daniyal whose eyes are still glued to the tablet that he is holding firmly in his lap. He is biting his lower lip and quickly scanning the subtitles as they came and went on the screen. I finish cleaning his wounds and then drop the cotton bud back into the cup of water and put it on his side-table. To finish, I kissed the wound on his head and he looked up, beaming at me. "When did the nurse last come and change the dressing?" I asked, pressing my forehead against his. He looked up from his screen again. "Aqsa, you know you don't have to worry so much." 
"I've already left you for three days straight! I need to make sure you're okay." I said, holding his chin and staring into his eyes. "I promise you, I am okay." He smiled deeply with green eyes that instantly calmed me down and made me feel weak. He leaned forward so that our heads were touching and kissed me, long and soft, and my heart did a flip. I slumped back in my seat, but I didn't dare take my eyes off of him. He smirked at me out of the corner of his eye, and I nudged him playfully in the arm.

He turned back to his screen and rewound the video so that he didn't miss anything. I wondered what he was watching that required so much attention. Probably those Asian dramas  that I absolutely cannot stand. Everything is just so dramatic, so incredibly meaningless. Suddenly, a nurse burst through the doors in blue scrubs, looking serious and a tiny bit sleepy. Her face softened into a smile when she saw Daniyal lying in his bed with a tablet in both hands and pumping hand sanitizer into her hands and rubbing it thoroughly, she made her way to him. He'd always had that irresistible charm about him that made everyone like him. It was like a magnet that pulled people towards him. 

"Hey Dani! How are you today?" She chirped. Daniyal knows how much I hate it when people call him Dani and so the corner of his lip lifted into a smirk. I cringe at the word 'Dani', I almost hurl when people use it. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and winked, I sniggered back. "Hello Rafat! I'm fine, thank you." Daniyal replied, smiling at the nurse.  "That's good to hear." She turned to me. "Hello, you must be Daniyal's wife! He talks about you non-stop!" She giggled. I nodded, putting my hand up so that she could shake it. He talks about me non-stop? Sounds just like him, I couldn't help feeling incredibly loved. "I'm Aqsa." 
She shook my hand before pausing and looking from Daniyal to me, "Aqsa...Aqsa Aziz?! You're that woman my mum was watching on TV! Ah, I remember...that's so cool! Daniyal, you didn't tell me your wife was a living legend!" 

I beamed graciously, a legend? That was incredibly kind of her but I wouldn't go that far. Daniyal chuckled, "I'm sorry, Rafat. But indeed, she is a legend." He replied, smiling at me with proudness. She picked the clipboard up from the end of his bed and scribbled on it in black pen. "That's really cool. The most famous person we've ever had in these wards was Mumtaz Yasin. Quite an arrogant man if you ask me." She looked at our confused faces. "That man from those chipati adverts, with the long orange beard? The man whose daughter does some haram things but then in the end, she still found her roots." 

Both Daniyal and I laughed together. "That advert is absolutely awful! The plot line is ridiculous!" I chuckled, shaking my head. Daniyal nodded, "Indeed. She goes out clubbing, drinks alcohol and dances inappropriately with boys but then in the end, she just comes home and has a chipati or two. What sort of a message is that?" We both laughed again. "That no matter what happens, chipatis will always be a significant part of your life."
Rafat giggled, "Well they're still trying to sell chipatis, in the end. This isn't some Bollywood film starring Shahrukh Khan!" 

She finished completing all of the tests, and changing Daniyal's dressing. As she unwrapped the old, bloodied dressing from Daniyal's arm, she grimaced. There was much less blood than previously, but blood always comes with a warning sign. It's just natural human instinct to feel alarmed when you see blood. She peered over his shoulder. "What are you watching then?" 
He looked down at the screen and clicked the volume button, he had been watching it with subtitles. "We are the problem, and we can also be the solution." 

He was watching my speech. He had seen my speech. I hadn't actually brought it up around him yet, but he had seen it. He'd actually seen it! "Didn't you watch that live? I thought I put in on the TV for you?" Rafat asked. "Of course, but I'm watching it for a second time. Or...fifth? I've lost count." He smirked. I huffed, graciously and tilted my head to see him staring at me on the screen. I beamed, cheeks turning pink from embarrassment. "That really was a great speech, sister. In this day and age, it's really important to have people like you." 
"Thank you, Rafat. I really appreciate it. " 

"You winged it?" Daniyal asked, looking up at me as the speech ended. I nodded, "There wasn't any time to write anything." 
"It was beautiful, jaan. Absolutely beautiful." He beamed with pride, pausing the video. Sensing that three was becoming a crowd, Rafat finished the dressing and began walking towards the door. "Call me if you need anything." 
"Thanks Rafat." Daniyal smiled as she left the room. 

"When you came on the screen I nearly screamed." He laughed, kissing my head. I held his hand in mine and laughed with him. "Really?" 
"I was so excited. Any time anyone said anything I would shush them. I wouldn't even let the nurse in when she came to take my bloods." He smirked. "Did you enjoy it then?" I asked. 
"Enjoy it? I absolutely loved it. I know I will never stop listening to it." 
I smiled, "You know... I did it for you." 

He squeezed my hand, "I know. And I absolutely love you for it. More than I already do." 
I laid my head against his arm, "I love you Daniyal. I don't know what I would've done if you died." 
"You would've lived the best life possible, because you're strong and you're brave." 
"I'm really lucky, aren't I?" 
He smirked, "Would you call everything that you've been through lucky?" 
"It's not about then though...it's about now. It's about the future, what it holds for us both." 
"Allah has a plan for us. And I know it's going to be good, as long as you're in it." 
I wrapped my arms around him and closed my eyes. "I love you." 
"I love you too, jaan." 

- THE END -