Iman, what are you doing here?" Ahmer's voice cut through the air like a sharp blade. Moments later, he and Amma appeared out of nowhere.
Ruwaid was taken aback. He knew Ahmer as Ayesha's fiancé-Ayesha, his maternal cousin. He had met him once or twice. But he had no idea about Ahmer's connection to Iman.
"Iman, get down right now," Ahmer barked.
"Ahmer, you don't understand. These people haven't even started the treatment for that poor woman!" Iman tried to explain, desperate.
"Get down right now or I'll call Uncle and have him come here himself!" Ahmer's fury was sky-high. He looked moments away from losing control.
Iman didn't have much choice. She climbed down.
"Amma, please get her in the car. Don't let her step out until I return," Ahmer instructed sternly.
"Ruwaid, what are you doing here?" he turned to him, clearly annoyed.
"She was in my car. We brought the woman here," Ruwaid explained, trying to stay calm.
Ahmer clenched his jaw. "Yaar, I'm really sorry. My sister's a little out of line sometimes."
"It's okay," Ruwaid replied, trying to lighten the mood with a smile.
After nearly half an hour of persuasion and pressure, Ahmer and Ruwaid managed to get the videos deleted from the hospital staff and convince them to erase the CCTV footage.
As they returned outside, Iman jumped out of the car, despite Amma's protest.
"Is the woman okay? Nothing happened, right?" Iman asked Ruwaid with genuine concern. Her worry made his heart ache. Who cared this much about strangers these days?
Ahmer ignored them and walked straight ahead, still fuming.
"Don't worry, she's perfectly fine. She'll be discharged tomorrow," Ruwaid reassured Iman.
"Thank God. And thank you-so much-for standing by me," Iman said sincerely.
"My pleasure," Ruwaid replied, and for a fleeting moment, he wished he could stop her from leaving.
Inside the car, Ahmer was furious.
"People have hardships in life. But in our lives, the hardship is Iman," he muttered. "Same meaning, different name. Every peaceful day is followed by anxiety. What will Iman do next? Today I'll tell Uncle everything. This is the result of your and Khala's unnecessary affection, Amma. She's gotten so bold she's making protest videos against a hospital while standing inside it! If I hadn't come today, I don't know what might have happened."
Ahmer began to drive. Iman and Amma put on their earphones. Ahmer called Ayesha.
"Yes, Ayesha. Iman is with me. We're coming home. What do you need from her? No, stay there. I'll tell you everything when I get back."
...
When Ruwaid got home, he found his mother sitting in the lounge. He laid his head on her lap.
"Is everything okay? Why this sudden affection today?" she asked, smiling.
"Just felt like it."
"You've been quiet for days. What's going on? Did someone enter your life, or perhaps... leave?" she asked with a knowing look.
"Someone entered," he corrected.
"Oh? Who is she, then?"
"I don't know much yet. Just that she's... special. Her eyes, Mom-I've never seen eyes so beautiful. When I look into them, I'm afraid I might get lost in their light. I don't even know if she's really that beautiful or if it's just how I see her."
His mother observed him closely, reading the truth on his face.
"Tell me who she is," she asked.
"Not yet. Just wait a bit more. I'll introduce you soon."
...
Back home, Ayesha couldn't stop laughing, while Iman sipped her juice like it was the most important task in the world. Ahmer had just come back inside after telling Raza Sahib everything, despite Amma's best efforts to stop him.
The three of them now sat outside, Ahmer calming down with a glass of water.
"Chill, she won't do it again. Amma will talk to her," Ayesha assured him.
Ahmer shot her a glare. Ayesha felt guilty. She knew Iman never listened when it came to right and wrong. Everyone knew she had changed drastically after what had happened four years ago.
...
That night, Ruwaid lay in bed, unable to stop thinking about Iman-her anger, her concern for that woman. It was all so unusual. Yet with each passing day, she was growing on him.
He'd had female friends before, but no one had ever made a place in his heart like this. Iman was the first.
...
A few days later, Ruwaid was on his way back from Hyderabad when traffic suddenly came to a halt on the highway. He stepped out to find out what had happened.
An oil tanker had collided with an electric pole. Oil had spilled everywhere. The road wouldn't reopen for several hours. It was 11 p.m.
Just then, a familiar car pulled up. At first, he wasn't sure, but then he recognized it. It was Iman's.
She stepped out, and he walked up to her, surprised. "Iman? What are you doing here?"
"We had a meeting. Ahmer and Ayesha left earlier, but my car got stuck behind."
Her phone rang. It was Ahmer.
"Yes, Ahmer, we're stuck because of traffic. No, you go ahead. What's the point in waiting? Ghafoor chacha is here, and so is Ruwaid. They're stuck too."
She handed the phone to Ruwaid. "Talk to him."
After speaking briefly, she handed the phone back.
"Are you okay, Iman?" Ruwaid asked.
"I'm fine. You seem more worried than me," she smiled.
She looked around. "I'm hungry. Will you eat with me?"
"G... sure. Let's eat."
They walked to a nearby restaurant lined with outdoor takhts (cots). Ruwaid headed inside, but Iman stopped him.
"Let's sit outside."
"It's cold out here, and you're not even wearing a jacket."
"It's fine. If it gets too cold, we'll go in."
He gave in. They sat on a takht.
"What will you have?" he asked.
"Daal and sabzi."
Ruwaid choked on his water. The waiter chuckled.
"You want daal and sabzi? We can order something else too."
"This is what I like. You can get whatever you want."
"Okay, one daal, one sabzi, and a kebab," he told the waiter.
Some boys sat behind them, and Ruwaid grew uneasy.
"Iman, switch sides with me," he requested.
She didn't understand at first but quickly caught on when she glanced behind.
"How strange," she thought. "Who even cares this much these days?"
They ate, talked, and laughed like they'd known each other for years. Iman looked nothing like a big CEO right now-cross-legged on a takht, eating daal.
After dinner, Iman started shivering.
Ruwaid noticed. Without a word, he took off his jacket and offered it to her.
"Look, I know this is very filmi, but what can I do?"
"What about you? Won't you feel cold?"
"I'll be fine. You wear it."
Iman hesitated but accepted.
Later, as she returned from calling her parents, she saw Ruwaid with a cup of tea.
"Have you seen Ghafoor chacha?"
"Yes, he's asleep over there. You should sleep in your car."
"Every time we meet, there's always some drama happening," Iman sighed.
"I don't mind anymore. Since I met you, even drama feels easy."
She paused mid-sip. His words echoed in her mind.
"Maybe I'm imagining things. Why would he say that?"
She shook her head and went to her car.
Exhausted, she soon fell asleep. When she woke up, she was startled to see someone outside her car, sitting on a chair right beside her door.
It was Ruwaid. He had fallen asleep without a jacket, curled up on a plastic chair in the cold.
"He stayed... to protect me
. But why?"
She gently placed the jacket over him.
The call to Fajr prayer echoed through the air.
As she stepped forward to make wudhu, she heard him whisper.
"Iman..."