14. LATE DREAMING

"You rubbed the sand over my palm,

And I screamed; sensing my nightmares dragging me back to the sea,

My sand clad hands saved me from drowning,

And now I understood, you didn't left just a sand for me, but a part of you, I will cherish."

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Her loose tendrils dancing in the wind. As she ran across the street, don't know where. She ran on those streets like she knew by her heart. In the corner of her eyes she saw two kids seating on a bench, munching on the sandwich in their hands.

She wanted to stop by them and talk to them. But, her feet never stopped running, as she panted turning over the street. Suddenly, the beautifully coloured houses and stores, shops changed into huge, tall trees.

The sun went hiding behind the big, dark clouds. For the first time ever in her life, she was scared of those clouds; which was a floating land peace for her.

"Zohra." someone called, she knew this someone.

Moving her head frantically she searched for the owner of the voice.

Her steps halted seeing the abandoned house in the middle of the woods. Seeing the house, a wide smile made its way onto her face. Sprinting to the house she pushed the door open.

The sight that she was visited by made her throat leave a blood curling scream.

There, in the center of the house, sat her nanny with her head limp and blood trickling out of her neck from a split. Someone held her hand and her waist dragging her away from the sight.

"It’s alright." she heard the voice saying. But she was not in her right mind to hear him.

"I am not a liar." she murmured shaking her head fearing the situation.

Something crawled out of the house towards them making her scream and thrash in his arms. Black, veiny, thin; without skin, with long dirty nails clawing her feet. Tears streamed out of her eyes as she hugged him screaming.

"Zohra?" he shook her shoulders.

She was too feared to hear his calls.

"Zohra. Wake up it’s your dream!" he cried shaking her shoulders.

Her head ached. Suddenly her back was pressed in to the soft mattress. Someone was hovering over her. Patting her head. Whispering sweet nothings into her ears.

She sensed his hands around her waist, and his breathing fanning over her nape.

"I am awake-" her voice husky and raw due to sleep.

He pulled himself away from her, wiping the tears traces away from her face.

"Bad dream?" He asked pouring water into the glass.

"Nightmare." her whisper rang in the silent room.

He kissed the crown of her head and patted her head. She chuckled seeing him babying her.

"I am not a kid, I will get over it." pushing away the duvet from her body she softly padded into the washroom.

His gaze lingered upon her as she closed the door behind herself with a heavy sigh.

"I am not what you think." murmuring she shrugged out of her clothes and jumped into the shower

He stood up with a heavy heart. Seeing her going through so much. Jumping down the stairs he stood in the kitchen making pancakes for her and avocado bread for himself.

Soft padding hit his ears as he finished serving coffee into his mug.

"Waqas. I am getting late and I don't feel like eating anything. Please drop me at the kindergarten." her voice rang in the empty hall as he pinned her with a soft glare.

"You are going nowhere without eating anything." his stern voice made her strut to the table and seat on the chair beside him.

"So, after school you are going to come at my neurology department?" He asked and sensed her discomfort making place in her.

She hesitated but soon nodded her head at his words and swallowed down her pancakes.

Dusting her hands she stood up and wore her sneakers.

He too stood up and kept the empty utensils in the sink.

"Sara will come over and clean the house in the absence." he informed her picking up his files and car key.

Her brows furrowed at his words but she said nothing and moved out of the house.

He sensed her silence as a discomfort and thought to have a talk with her. Sliding inside the car, he bites his inner cheek, thinking hard about what to talk. Narrowing his eyes on the road he stepped on accelerator making the car zoom past the empty lane.

"How is everything?" He initiated the talk.

"Fine"

"Did you find any difficulty in the school?"

"No."

He scratched his head at her short answers and looked at her, who gazed out of the window. Watching the trees, houses, buildings passing over.

"That receptionist was pretty, right?" When nothing worked he teased her.

Jerking her head to him she threw a hard and fierce glare at him, making his eyes shine in amusement.

"I am always a fallen leaf for color full eyes. And she had bright blue eyes. I liked that." he muttered keeping his one hand on elbow and scratching his chin with the other.

"Yeah, sure like her. And I will gift you those same eyes. Not fake, real one. It will be better if I claw out her eyes and gift them to you. You can do whatever with them. As long as you are not looking at them."

A throaty laugh escaped from his mouth listening to her words. Butterflies again thrashed in the cage she kept them hiding. She huffed, her red tinted cheeks. And turned away from him.

"Hey, com'on I am kidding." he laughed intertwining their hands.

"I was thinking about how sharp jaw Mirhan has and he looks beautiful in pastel orange color." she murmured still looking out of the window.

He pressed hard on the break, stopping the car with a screech.

It happened so sudden that she took her sweet time to understand what happened. He was pressing over her or to say hovering over her. It was hard to say. His hands roamed over the curves of her body, making her hitch her breath.

His forest green eyes looking at her so intensely, she felt her world collapsing. He was so near to her, she was so near to shattering; they both were so near to collapsing into the world they made for themselves.

"This pretty mouth should never say a word about any other man. And if it did, you shall witness yourself fulfilling a punishment. You have never heard of." his words fell heavy on her lips. She was still, not moving. Her heart thudded so loudly, she feared he could hear it. He closed the gap between them so slowly, it pained.

Car honks made them startled and pushes them back into their seats. No wise words exchanged between them as he started driving again.

A ticklish feeling settled in her stomach. As she re-winded the scene in her head. Her cheeks turned so rosy, he found it hard to label with any name of the shades of red.

"Your cheeks have fifty shades of red." he said without any shame. Her eyes popped out wide at his, oh-so-not-saint-words. She cleared her throat loudly as he stopped at her destination.

"Take care." he said leaning over and kissing the corner of her lips. She gaped at him and soon opened the door; almost face falling on the ground. Leaving a squeaky bye behind, she ran; as he laughed at her feet, sprinting away.

"Why don't humans fly?" Groaning she flee away from his sight.