By the time all the formalities were done at the hospital it was already past noon.

They had picked up some of her favourite snacks on the way to the Haveli even though she was not in the mood for eating any of it.

Mari had insisted they stop over and Meerab did not want to make a fuss by disagreeing. Murtasim patiently walked around the shop with them until they got back to the car.

Every few minutes he would ask her if she was feeling fine, irritated with his constant hovering Meerab had almost snapped at him, instead chose to reply through gritted teeth "I'm fine."

He had looked taken aback by her tone and irritated look.

She felt bad the instant she said it, he was just trying to look out for her but her mood was not improving with this delay in returning to the Haveli.

When they reached the Haveli Murtasim had gotten out and headed to his room after handing over the car keys to a waiting Bakhtu.

Mari and Meerab were accosted by the welcome party.
H

er parents and Ma Begum were waiting at the driveway when they exited the vehicle.

Hugging Meerab over and over again, welcoming her back home, before she finally informed her mother that she was too tired and needed to lie down.

They immediately started fussing around and helping her into the house and walking with her to the bedroom and making sure she was comfortably tucked in with everything she would need within reach.

Snacks, water, juice, her phone plugged into the charger, Meerab laughed "I should get sick more often, then I get to have all of you to fuss around me."

"Beti, dont say that, we will fuss around you even if you are not sick." Her mama informed her nervously "We dont need you getting sick like that again. Insha Allah we will have someone here tomorrow to help with the healing."

"Who?" Meerab wanted to know.

"We will see if it works out. First get some rest." Her father informed her.

"Meerab, dont hesitate to call me if you need anything." Ma Begum called out from the doorway heading out of the room after she had fussed around Meerab's pillows.

Being back at the Haveli after what felt like ages was good for Meerab.

She had actually chosen to be back in her own room instead of Mariyam's.

After the uncomfortable hospital bed it felt like heaven to lie down on her personal sheets.

It must have been the effect of her medication that she dozed off moments after the door closed behind them.

A few hours of dreamlesss sleep later Meerab woke up to find Mari sitting on the other side of the bed busy scrolling on her phone.

Satisfied that she was not alone Meerab fell right back to sleep but this time she did dream.

There was nothing in her dream, literally nothing. It was as if something was wrong with her eyesight because even after staring for some time all she could see was emptiness in front of her.

It was not dark at all, there was some source of light but she could not see the source anywhere. There were no objects, not even walls or floors or a ceiling. It just seemed like an endless white space without anything to gauge how big or small it was.

No shadows marred beneath her feet as she looked down and when she held out her hand she could clearly see it in front of her.

She tried to touch something on either side of her, extending her hands but she felt nothing, not even air. It felt like some kind of sensory deprivation as there was no sound or smell.

'This is a weird dream' she mumbled to herself. Then she sensed something to her left, like a grey shadow on her perpheral vision. She turned as a figure walked out of the white and stepped forward in front of her. It was the entity,the tall dark shadow man, her nostrils flared with the smell of rotting fish that seemed to travel from him to her.

Meerab was not as scared as she had been earlier. She felt kind of mellowed out as if her feelings were slow to rise up.

The anger and fear was there within her but it felt less aggressive than before, as if she had tempered it down for the moment.

"What do you want?" She asked it.
"Why are you harassing me?"

In a gutteral voice "You cannot be his!" The disembodied voice insisted. She assumed it was the entity speaking even though the voice seemed to come from near her ears.

Whose?" She asked puzzled by this repetetive statement.

"His. You cannot marry him." The voice growled.

"You mean Murtasim?" Meerab asked. "Why does it bother you whom I marry? Meri Marzi. No one else has a say in the matter." She stated vehemently. "Who are you anyway to come and dictate my life like this?"

"You cannot be his!" The voice growled again."You are mine!"

"In your dreams!" Meerab would have laughed out loud but the mellow feeling suppressed her laughter along with her fear.

"I will not let you be his." It insisted in the same gutteral tone. The shadow moved close to her as it spoke, the stench increasing with the movement.

Meerab took a step back almost turning around to run away as the disembodied voice whispered in her ear "Mine!" The sound seemingly echoeing all around her

"mine..mine..mine" until the sound faded away and she woke up in her bed the sound still reverberating within her head.

Mari was right next to her in bed fast asleep. Meerab checked the clock on the wall and it was almost eight at night.

After the strange dream Meerab felt that she should feel some kind of fear but felt nothing. Someone insisting she do something they wanted was too ordinary to feel afraid about, even if that thing was a dark shadowy figure.

'No one gets to tell me what to do.' She confirmed to herself. Her own parents had let her make her own choice in almost everything in life. They did guide her but never pushed her to do anything.

Who was this dark entity to insist she follow what it tells her to do. With a huff and a flick of her hair she got off the bed and went to freshen up before waking up Mari to go down for dinner.

Meerab had enough of eating in bed. She wanted to sit at the table,listening to everyone chatter away around her.

The dream had made her miss being surrounded by the voices of her loved ones.

At the dinner table they tried to act normal but they kept taking furtive looks at her to make sure she was doing all right. Checking her plate or adding items for her to taste.

Even the maids had come up to check on her as she walked to the dining room with Mari. Smiling and asking after her health, making her feel so loved and cared for.

"Meerab bibi, are you ok?" Feena asked at the bottom of the stairs. "Can I get you anything special? Something sweet?"

"Thank you Feena, nothing for now." Meerab replied smiling.

Meerab looked around the table and felt grateful for the presence of each and everyone.
Except for Murtasim everyone had joined, he seemed to have skipped dinner.

Meerab had asked after him. "Bhai already ate, he is in the office." Was Mari's distracted reply as she was busy enjoying her food.

The relief of having Meerab back was evdient in the way everyone was wholeheartedly involved in their dinner.

None of them had been able to eat or sleep well while Meerab was unwell, each one of them had been worried for her, praying for her recovery.

________________

Meerab knocked on the open door to Murtasim's office. He called out a "come in" from the sofa hidden by the door.

He was sitting with some papers spread out on the coffee table in front of him.

As Meerab peeked her head around, he saw her and called out "Meerab! I am just getting some files in order."

She walked over and sat down in one corner of the sofa. "You didn't come for dinner."

"Yeah, I ate already." Was his nonchalant reply.

"Are you avoiding me? Haven't seen you since we came back from the hospital." She wanted to know.

"Not really, but you did seem a bit irritated with me earlier. Plus I had some work to catch up with." He explained.

"I was irritated, not with you, just with being at the hospital and people hovering around me as if I am an invalid." Meerab looked at him directly waiting for him to look up from his papers.

When he met her eyes she said "Thank you, I am not upset with you so stop avoiding me please."

His eyes softened as he inquired "Did you get some rest?"

"Yeah, but I dreamt of it again. Kept insisting that I do not marry you."

"What is this thing's obsession with your marriage?" He frowned.

"Apparently I am his." Meerab related her nightmare to Murtasim in detail.

"You are not, no matter how many times it insists, you will not become this thing's. Obsessed creep!" He said angrily.

Meerab reached over and touched his clenched fist, making him aware of the anger he was exhibiting. Relaxing his fist he tried to explain but simply ended with "I dont like it."

Meerab smiled at him but he frowned at her "I really don't like it." He insisted "I know Murtasim." She said acknowledging his statement.

He had endless questions for her regarding the recent dream.

After discussing and dissecting the dream in detail Meerab stretched her arms forward and yawned.

"Lets get you to bed, the doctor recommended you get a lot of rest." He said holding out his hand to help her up.

She put her hand in his and pulled herself up almost landing in his arms as she got up. They stood toe to toe as he steadied her, her forehead almost touching his lips. She looked up at his face to say thank you but was distracted by the look on his face.

His eyes darkened as their eyes met, his right palm that was cupping her elbow moved higher up her arm.His hand grazed her shoulder as he gently moved his hand and rubbed her back.

"It will be all right Meerab, I am here for you."

"I know." She was so close that she could feel his breathe on her hair and see the curl of his eyelashes in detail.

The air warmed between them as they stood staring at each other for what seemed like eternity before he broke contact by taking a step back saying.

"Let's go, have you taken your night medication?" He asked clearing his throat.

________________

The next morning at around five thirty she awoke from a dreamless sleep smiling to herself, feeling well rested.

Stretching her body she reached over for her phone that was on a bedside table, glad that Mari had not stayed the night with her.

Having the bed to herself meant she could stretch as much as she wanted without disturbing anyone else.

Checking her phone for messages she saw a message from her Mama and Baba to come down for breakfast with them when she woke up.

A few were from Murtasim.

At 1:00 am "Are you ok?"

1:30 am " sleeping?"

2:00 am " I am awake, if you have a nightmare, call me. :)"

Again at 3:00 am "Im on the balcony, missing you."

That last one surprised Meerab more than the rest of it. The 'missing you' message made her smile. It did seem like a long time since they had been on the balcony together.

After freshening up and doing her morning prayers she got dressed in a cream salwar kameez with a white checkered stole over her shoulders.

Since it was not time for breakfast yet she wandered out onto the balcony. The sun had not risen but the horizon looked golden as if in preparation to greet the rising sun.

She stood on the shady balcony that was slowly being lit up by the light of the skies. She felt someone's presence behind her and slowly turned around.

There was no one behind her but she noticed a blanket on one of the lounge chairs Meerab slowly walked towards it.

Someone was underneath the blanket, lifting a corner she peeked underneath and found Murtasim confortably sleeping on a pillow. Removing the blanket from over his face she stood studying his sleeping form.

Lying on his back with one arm under his head and the other arm resting above his head on the pillow. Meerab guessed that hand had been holding the blanket over his head.

Meerab was not sure if she should wake him up and disturb his sleep or just leave him here until breakfast time.

She was tucking back his blanket around his shoulder when he opened his eyes and sleepily looked around before he eyes came to rest on her face. She sat down across from him on the other lounge chair.

"Meerab?" his sleep filled voice whispered as if he could not believe she was here. "I fell asleep." He said with a smile.

A sleepy smile filled with nothing but happiness. There was no sign of a smirk today. Meerab rather liked this early morning Murtasim, slow and sleepy with a huskiness in his voice.

As he slowly came awake, the rising sun cast golden light on his sleep infused eyes, making them glow as he turned towards her. Getting up from the chair he stretched his body taller than his normal height, his strong arms locked behind his head. His tee shirt rode up his stomach, giving her a glimpse of well muscled abs.

She watched in fascination as he stretched, yawned several times before sitting back down in front of her.

"Good Morning" he said casually rubbing his hands on his face and combing his hair back with his fingers.

Funnily enough his fingers actually mussed it up more almost tempting Meerab to put her own hands in there to tame it back down.

She sat with her chin in her hand as he went through the normal motions of a person waking up.

"Good Morning? Doesnt seem like you had a good night's sleep Murtasim." She observed casually.

"Did you sleep here the whole night?"

"I couldnt sleep so came out here, thought maybe you might come out and join me for a chat." He said with a smile that crinkled around his eyes, even making his dimple line visible. She could not help but smile at this man in front of her.

"Why Murtasim? You should get some more sleep before breakfast.Maybe in your bed this time." She said laughing.

"No, I'll shower and have an early breakfast. Need to be in office to attend some calls today. Did you sleep well?" He asked in a concerned voice ignoring her 'why' question, to which she nodded with "best sleep in ages".

Meerab wanted to ask him about his messages from last night but was not sure if she really wanted to discuss it right that moment.

Gathering up some courage she started just as he grabbed his blanket and started folding it around the pillow "You messaged me late last night? I was asleep."

"Yeah, was sitting here thinking of you and I missed you so messaged to check if you were awake." He explained matter of factly, his hands busy with the blanket.

Meerab's heart skipped a beat hearing him say he missed her especially when he had seen her several times yesteday and spent a lot of time together at the hospital, why would he miss her last night.

He bunched up the pillow and blanket under one arm, turned around and surprisingly dropped a kiss on her bent head "I'll see you at breakfast."

He turned around to walk towards the door, took a few steps, stopped and whispered."Damn!"

He turned right back around to see her shocked face looking up at him.

"Sorry yaar, I dont know what just happened..." his sentence trailed off, sheepishly locking eyes with her.

Meerab was too surprised to say anything, simply staring at him with her large eyes seeming even larger in shock, but she did not seem angry.

She looked like she was trying to hold back her laughter.

Murtasim took off to his room before Meerab could think of something to say. He could not explain even to himself what just happened. Maybe he can justify it by blaming it on his lack of sleep.

After the shower he stood in front of his mirror towel drying his hair, replaying the scene in his head. He laughed out loud at himself "So stupid! How am I going to face her now."