CHAPTER 5: LATE NIGHT ESCAPADES.

Ayesha sat on her bed, her gaze fixed in front of her. The darkness surrounded her vision. She had been awake for a while now, having slept for a mere two hours. Her eyes ached due to the lack of sleep, but she couldn't go back to sleep due to fear of having the same nightmare for the second time. She pulled her knees closer to her chest and placed her chin on top of them. Ayesha was pulled out of her stupor by the clanking and clattering of pots and pans. Curious, she lifted her feeble body off the bed and followed the sounds.

The sounds increased as she approached the kitchen. It was 2:00 in the morning, and Ayesha wondered who was insane to enter the kitchen so early in the morning. She stepped around the corner to find the lights in the kitchen on, and one figure in the kitchen was glaring at the other.

"Bhai (Brother), it's not my fault you decided to sulk instead of eating dinner." Ayesha recognized the guy to be Abbas, Zeeshan's younger brother.

Ayesha watched as Zeeshan glared at his brother, his height assisting in intimidating him. Ayesha glanced around to find a couple of pots and vegetables scattered on the kitchen counter. It looked more like a mess being made than work being done. Quickly calculating in her head, Ayesha decided to take charge before the two of them shed any blood on the beautiful marble counter.

Her feeble fingers raised into a small fist as she knocked on the door frame. The two males turned to her, one in relief while the other in confusion. Ayesha stepped into the kitchen, her steps small, her stance hesitant. She reached where Zeeshan and Abbas were standing and gestured at them to move aside.

She then turned to the counter and scanned the litter of vegetables. She picked up a carrot, white onions, red and yellow bell peppers some french beans, and green onions. She then made her way to the fridge, recalling the leftover white rice she saw after dinner. Meanwhile, the 2 male figures watched on with wide eyes. Abbas watched on with confusion while Zeeshan watched in adoration.

Ayesha pulled the chopping board closer to her and began chopping up the ingredients. She then grabbed a pan and set it over the gas knob. Turning it on, she added olive oil and let it heat up. She then sautéd the chopped vegetables except for the onions which were meant for garnish. She added in the rice, mixed it, and added a little soy sauce for flavour and some spices. Once that was well mixed, she added in the chopped onions for garnish and turned off the gas.

She grabbed two plates from the cupboard above the sink and plated the rice before passing it over to the two zombies in the room. As quickly as she could, she left the kitchen while secretly smiling at their bedazzled faces. She subconsciously reminded herself of the stack of dishes she had to wash before she went back to sleep.

******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Zeeshan woke up in the middle of the night, his stomach aching in hunger. He clicked his tongue and made his way to his parent's room. Midway, he stopped and re-routed to his younger brother's room. It was way too late to disturb his mother, that too for food. He was a grown man now.

Minutes later, he was dragging his brother down the stairs and into the kitchen. Abbas made sure to whine every second until they reached. While his brother woke from the half-asleep state he was in, Zeeshan began removing pans from the shelves, and vegetables from the refrigerator.

"Bhai (Brother), it's not my fault you decided to sulk instead of eating dinner. " Abbas whined for the nth time that night.

Zeeshan turned to him and glared at his shorter form. He watched as fear began to make roots in his eyes, and commended him for his resistance. Just then, a knock sounded around them. It was the innocent doe-eyed beauty. She was clad in beige pyjamas and had a large scarf wrapped around her upper half. She looked like she had gotten up a while ago from her messy hair. Zeeshan was entranced as she walked in and took control of the area as if she owned it. Once she had placed a plate of piping hot rice in his hands, he watched her walk away as if nothing had happened.

"Woah Bhai, did you see that?!?" He heard Abbas ask.

"Every. Single. Bit." He replied with a hint of a smile.

Abbas and Zeeshan settled against the countertop and began eating.

"Woah, what amazing food! If she was here, I'd kiss her hands." Abbas remarked.

Angered at the thought of his little brother kissing the beauty's eyes, Zeeshan smacked the back of his brother's head and reprimanded him for the choice of his words.

"Watch what you're saying. Your tongue is going to get you in trouble someday. Finish eating quietly and go back to sleep."

Zeeshan then rolled his eyes as his brother made a worthless attempt at pouting and widening his eyes.

Minutes later, Abbas returned to his room while Zeeshan gathered the dishes into the sink and cleaned up the countertop. He then rolled his sleeves up and began washing the dishes. That's when he felt someone's gaze burn into his back. He turned to find Ayesha at the door, watching him. He complimented her for the amazing food she made and watched as she rushed away like she was caught doing something morally wrong.

******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

About ten to fifteen minutes later, Ayesha traced her path to the kitchen. There, she found Zeeshan working at the sink, his large hand dipping into the soapy water to pull out the messy dishes and then scrubbing them with the sponge he had in the other hand. Zeeshan turned in her direction feeling someone's eyes on him. Startled, Ayesha looked on like a deer caught in headlights.

"Thank you for the food." She heard him say, " It was delicious."

Ayesha blushed in response. She then waved a hand in response and rushed her flustering self back to her bedroom.