Part 214 – All That Matters

As narrated by Nemo

My heart had broken into the tiniest little pieces. I had said what I had said, and I meant it but I had no idea that I would feel this terrible. I was so accustomed to always having what I wanted and I was so accustomed to her…how was I ever going to live without her? A lump formed in my throat as I fought back the urge to cry. This entire situation was harder than it looked..by a very, very long shot.

Riza squeezed my shoulder reassuringly as he sat down next to me. ” I know that it can’t be easy bru…but you gave her every reason to believe in her dreams once again “, and he lifted his head in the direction of a quiet Aara , smiling occasionally at something that one of the girls said. “It’s going to take time for her too…but with you behind her, it will be much easier ”
And that sealed it for me. A strange feeling filled my entire being, one that comes I guess from seeing the one that you love being happy even though they aren’t yours…even if they are but an arms length away from you. Sometimes the greatest journey in life is the one between two people, two hearts.

Funny enough that I had thought that this was the end, but it wasn’t. I would never look at her in a way that would be disgraceful to her. Aara was my pride, my heart..and I would love her even though she wasn’t mine, I would love her because I truly did and I couldn’t erase it even if I wanted to. I didn’t know what tomorrow held in store for me, but I knew that every day from now on would be painful and I didn’t know how long it would last or if it would ever end. ..but for now, it was time for me to live up to the promise that I had made…

———————————————————————–

As narrated by Aara :

I sat with the others around the braai, listening to Zainab talk about her wedding, listening to Immy talk about how he was looking for a bigger place, listening to Laeeka talk about the changes she had made to my outfit. I never imagined being bound to a wheelchair for my best friends wedding, but I guess that it could have been much worse. Nemo and Riza seemed to be engrossed in a deep conversation, Zoheb and Mari were in the kitchen and Arshoo threw in a comment or two every so often. .lol..one of his “not so funny yet he thought that it was hilarious” comments…and it felt good, this whole setup, the atmosphere was comforting.

“What are you two talking about? “,Laeeka said, looking at Riza

“Errrr why?”, Riza said with a small smile on his face

“Oh my. .do I have anything to be worried about? “,she chuckled

“With you and him it’s romance, with us it’s bro-mance “, Nemo laughed

“Why don’t I think of lines like that!”, Arshad chipped in

“You really want to know? “, Nemo laughed again and winked at me when he caught me looking at him

“Are you okay? “, I mouthed to him

And he simply smiled and nodded once…

I should know better. ..

“I was going to save this for later but I couldn’t resist “, Zoheb said as he made his way outside, holding what looked like a chocolate cake in his hands

My thoughts immediately drifted back to their baking disaster and all that I could think of was that I hope that this wasn’t for me!

“You baked AGAIN? “,Zainab asked in disbelief

“I supervised him so there’s no need to be worried “, Mari grinned

I pretended not to hear and started tapping into my phone. Farmville was a good enough distraction! And well, I was happily harvesting my crops when I noticed a pair of shoes in front of me…A pair of Nike takkies to be specific, and one that I had helped him choose.

I lifted my eyes slowly, and watched him smile at me, holding out this ridiculous cake for me to see.

“What? ”

“Look closely”,he said, ignoring the rudeness in my choice of word

“That’s a lovely cake Zaydaan”, I replied as I tried to ignore the fact that it had my name and a smiley face on it, surrounded by dainty chocolate hearts.

“Zoheb…his name is Zoheb you monkey, now come on and cut this cake already “,Nemo said as he started to push my wheelchair towards the table

“Really, his name is “Zoheb you monkey ” ?”

“Shurrup “,Nemo laughed and pinched my shoulder at the same time

So here I was, sitting at the table, knife in hand , still feeling quite broken inside, my best friend was in pain, nothingness whirled around in my heart. I wished that I could just plunge head first into this chocolate cake and just stay there!

By now everyone had surrounded me, probably because they were waiting for an awful reaction because I was saved from Zoheb and Nemo’s maas and milo cake…and that seemed like centuries ago.

There was a single candle at the centre of the cake and I focused on it for no reason in particular…and within seconds, I was drawn to it.“Like a moth to a flame “…I said in my head…and just as suddenly, everything droned out. An invisible filter muted out everything except the sound of his voice, softly whispering into my ear…and I closed my eyes and allowed this feeling to engulf me completely, bound to a wheelchair yet there I was again. I could smell the sweetness that lingered in the air, I could feel the waves rush up to me and gently touch my toes, I was here. ..I was here!

I could feel a smile trickle onto my face as those beautiful memories returned..as I was momentarily transported to where no amount of love or friendship or hurt hindered the feeling that I felt when I was there. It was just me, and I had shared it with him.

A tear fell from my eye as I blew out the candle, and when it wouldn’t go off I turned,overwhelmed by this new gesture and looked at Zoheb as he crouched down next to me

No words needed to be spoken. Nothing needed to be said. He knew and I knew. And that was all that mattered.

———————————————————————————-
Author’s Note:

Salaams / Hi

I know that this post is short…but it’s a thank you and a stepping stone to being back 🙂 I’m just so tired that my tired is tired;)

Hubby is well and doing better each day but the changes will take some time getting used to. Thank you all for your duas, prayers, messages, your emails..I really appreciate it, I know that I haven’t replied to all of you but I will Insha Allah. I was just really pressed for time.

Anyhow…Jumma Mubarak, hope you guys have a lovely weekend. I will try and post again by Sunday…hopefully

Much Love,

Shazia