A Twist of Fate (Dhoombros included) under MAJOR editing

Finding Love Again

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The day had finally come when I was no longer a second year resident, I was a third year, my last year. I had just finished my last day as a second year, and was on my way out to go home and clean. Those were my fabulous plans for the three month break I had, to clean and cook and watch Netflix until I dropped.

I didn't necessarily care about my indifference to this long-deserved break, I was just happy that I only had a year left before I could practice medicine. I was proud of myself. As the days had passed on after my mother had left us all, I directed all my disappointment, my grief over to work. Dedicating each and everyday to make one person's life better, to try and save someone from killing themselves, I often spent my free time at the therapy center in the other wing of the hospital. Volunteering to talk to people, to talk about myself and just let myself go in the group therapy sessions was an outlet to all the pain I had been bearing. An outlet that I will always be thankful for.

Rehan had resorted to leaving me alone most of the time except when he was home and we had dinner together, usually consisting of awkward, polite conversations. It was astounding to see how our relationship had been going downhill, neither of us properly trying to fix it. He had decided to give me time to myself, but he didn't know that I craved for love. I wanted to be held, I wanted to be hugged, I wanted to have someone I could just lean back on and let the troubles go by. I wanted him to hold me through the whirlwind of the twists that our fates were taking. But I was just too damn stubborn to ask, and he was too aloof to understand me.

As I reached home, I went inside and whipped away my Hijab, giving my hair the freedom they desperately needed. I heard the sound of the shower running in the bedroom, indicating that Rehan was home early today. A little blush appeared on my face as I looked away from the bedroom, wanting to get water. As I headed towards the kitchen, I saw two envelopes sitting on top of each other on a messy pile. I pushed my hair away from my face and opened the envelopes my glass in one hand as I took a large sip. Ripping the envelope and opening up the piece of paper, my eyes widened at the sight of an Emirates ticket with a receipt.

It had Rehan's name titled to it and my entire body suddenly froze.

My blood turned cold as I prepared myself for what this could possibly mean. Was he going to leave again? I took a deep breath trying to calm the inner demons in my chest. My eyes started to water, as I thought about him leaving again. I didn't think I could do it again, not see him for so many weeks. I clutched the ticket in my hand and read it over and over again, making sure I wasn't dramatizing. He was going to travel through Europe, to England for two weeks, to France for two weeks, and then make a three week trip to Australia. He would be gone for two months almost.

And I was completely, utterly okay with that. I was totally happy with that, its not like I would miss him or that I needed him or that I couldn't stand not seeing his stupidly handsome face for more than a few hours. Of course it wasn't. I put his ticket on the table and tried to blink back my tears and pick up the second envelope. As I tore that one open, my mouth dropped and my eyes turned into saucers.

On the ticket it read, 'Mrs. Aliyah Ahmed' and had the exact same travel dates and locations as Rehan had on his ticket. I tried to close my eyes and open them again to try and make sense of this. I read and reread over and over again to make sure I wasn't just imagining things. We were taking a trip around the world, together. Was this a honeymoon? Or a gift? Or just a holiday? What did this mean? As I pondered over the turn of events, a small smile appeared on my face as hope gripped my heart. We were going on a holiday together, to celebrate something, anything.

In that very second of realization, I made up my mind that I would convey my feelings. I didn't know how I would do it, but I would tell him, show him, do anything to show my love for him. He had taken this step in our relationship and I was ever so grateful that he made the first move because I had been wanting one signal, one sign that he too wanted to be with me even after everything. Tears streamed down my face as I smiled and closed my eyes as relief soared through me and hopefulness fluttered in my belly. I put the envelope down and walked towards the sofa to lean against it and think about a way to tell him that I wanted to be with him. Maybe I could set up a surprise for him when we were traveling. Or maybe when we got to France, I could tell him at the Eiffel Tower? What if I wrote it on a post-it note? What if I wrote a poem?