Maliks & Millennials

Week 1 Saturday, 6.53 a.m.

Before beginning the story, I'd like to give a shoutout to VeraMicic for her ground-breaking Bullied series. You've been a massive inspiration :)

Arabic words in the chapter: Ya: Oh - Allah: God.

Urdu words in the chapter: Lahore: a city in Pakistan.

______________________

Ding.

The seat-belt sign lit up.

Among the 700 or so passengers aboard the Airbus A380-800, Mehwish (Mesh) Malik fumbled with the buckle of her seat belt, perhaps with unrequired haste. She couldn't help it, she was a little too anxious. Cursing the genius who designed airplane seatbelts, Mesh finally slumped back into her rather torturesome seat; the damned seatbelt at last secured but practically digging into her intestines. 

She let out a frustrated breath. Then she jabbed her sister with her elbow. 

'Ann,' she grit through her teeth, 'Oi. We're about to land.'

'Hush,' Annie Malik, the dear sister in question, whispered back, 'He's about to confess his undying love for her.'

Mesh deadpanned at the in-flight entertainment TV screen. On cue, the guy ungracefully slumped to the floor in an unattractive heap; drunken to the core. Mesh deadpanned at Annie instead.

'Damn,' was Annie's belated reply, 'you let me down massively, fictional guy who is supposed to be the hero of this god-damned movie.'

'Alright, let's shut this off now. We're about to touch ground.' 

'Already?'

You'd know if you weren't so engrossed in chic-lit TV, Mesh mentally retorted. Not a few minutes later, the cabin crew made the call for landing. 

There is this thing about airplane travel. Practically anyone who has ever traveled by air would hold witness to it. At that moment, Mesh found herself relishing in it too. As the plane changed course to land, Mesh braced herself for the plethora of emotions to follow. The landing stage of flight, as you could call it, always started with the gradually accelerating descent. Mesh found herself lightly pressed into her seat, the adrenaline surged up like a tide, and her heart protested. She could faintly feel its beat in her fingertips. It stayed that way for some excruciating, long minutes - all the while, the plane picked up its pace. It had grown eerily quiet now, with the only sounds being that of the plane's engines and the drag of the wind against the accelerating body of the plane. It was as if the hundreds of passengers were all quietly relishing the same feeling. They probably were.

Just when the suspense of the descent got unbearable, the plane started its gradual yet firm braking. Mesh's heart gave a small jump. This was the moment. As the tires touched ground, and the friction racked the body of the plane in oscillations, Mesh became a whirl-wind of emotions. The adrenaline hit her in insistent waves; she was elated, the thought of touching ground sent a joyous wave through her entire body - but like always, there was that ounce of fear. The plane - like always - put an evident effort in braking, and like all the other times before, Mesh worried. What if - she didn't dare complete the sentence. She had heard enough about unsuccessful plane landings and crashes to even let her thoughts turn that way. 

Ya Allah - Oh God. 

And a silent prayer.

The cabin crew announced their safe arrival and advised the passengers of the country's residing regulations and the sort.

'The administering faculty of Allama Iqbal International Airport, on behalf of the Independent Republic of Pakistan, would like to welcome all passengers to Lahore. Have a wonderful stay.'

This is it.

'Did you just make a prayer?' scoffed Annie, 'are you kidding me right now?'

Mesh only smirked back. Yes, she was known to be a tad bit over-reactive, but a person of firm faith nonetheless. Then she spotted their father who was a few rows down the aisle, retrieving their luggage. A wave of sympathy washed over her as she recalled the events from a few hours ago. She snapped her head back to Annie, frowning a little.

'You know what?' Mesh began, hoisting her backpack over her shoulder, 'I think that of all the people on earth, you and dad are perhaps the only two who can't live without each other.'

Annie's heated gaze met her sister's. She was well aware where this was headed.

'Not gonna happen,' she curtly replied.

Mesh guffawed, 'You don't even know what I was about to say.'

'Sure,' Ann retorted, 'Who do you take me for? I've known you for 18 years - that's longer than since when you gained consciousness of your own life.'

'Well, if we're being direct about this,' Mesh snorted, 'go and patch things up with him. Dad hates being upset with you - and you know it. Who am I kidding? You're probably dying to apologize to him too, knowing you.'

Not waiting for a response, Mesh marched her way out of the plane.

'Mesh, love, explain to me the definition of "family",' Annie nonchalantly asked, 'And don't frown at me like that.'

'Is this a trick question?'

'Humour me.'

Is this about dad? Mesh wondered.

Annie was glaring at the airport staff who had just requested her travel documents. She produced said documents and smacked them on the Passport Control desktop. The guy behind the counter tried in vain to mask his cringe. Annie only glared back at him.

This is definitely about dad.

'Ann, will you stop already?' Mesh chastised, then turning to the Passport Control guy, 'Excuse my sister's childish behavior. It's been a long day already and we've just got off a 14-hour flight.'

'Tough luck,' he said, sounding genuinely empathetic, 'Although when you think about it, you do need 8 whole hours just to get to the other side of the ocean.'

'Congrats, Columbus, you know your way around the globe,' Ann forced through clenched teeth.

Mesh restrained the urge to elbow her. At least she was making an active effort to be a tad bit more civil. Come to think of it, no one had been terminally harmed yet. 

Passport Control guy made a wise decision by opting to ignore the gradually enraging girl.

'There you are, Miss Malik. Have a wonderful stay.'

'Thanks for that,' Mesh reply curtly, 'And thanks for... bearing with us. See ya.'

Mesh turned on her heel and shot off in the direction of the arrival gate. She could faintly make out Annie's departing remark to Passport Control guy.

'Before you ask, we are in no way related to Zayn Malik.'

That's chapter 1 you lot! Tell me what you think about it!

Edit: I've gone back to proof-read this, but if you still spot any factual errors, typos or anything of the sort, let me know!