Deceptions

Chapter 3

"Wow! Look at all those pretty mountains!" Mahi exclaimed, her face glued to the binoculars she had in hand.

"Come on, Mahi. We've been to Murree dozens of times. If anybody should be amazed, it has to be Ayra," Taimoor spoke up from the front seat.

I rolled my eyes, "You think they don't have mountains in Germany?"

"This is Pakistan. If we had the time, we would have taken you to Swat or Gilgit, maybe even Skardu. People say the mountains there are better than Switzerland's," Asher quipped from the backseat.

I looked outside, and I had to admit, Murree really was a beautiful place. Greenery surrounded us as we travelled through the roads.

The trip was planned two days ago at the farmhouse. Uncle Raza and his wife couldn't make it since they had prior decided engagements, but they happily sent Mahi and Sania with us. Uncle Furqan and his wife couldn't come either. It was just my family, Uncle Asim's family, and the youngsters.

"Man, this place is so cold. I really wish Lahore could experience some of this chill once in a while," Sania muttered, running a comb through her light brown hair.

"Tell me about it. It was so hot, our cousins fried an egg at the side of the road yesterday. They even sent a video," Mahi chimed as she applied nailpolish on her toenails. "Are you used to such heat Ayra?"

I shrugged. "Germany had a pretty cool temperature throughout the year, but I guess the Lahori heat is etched into my body. I didn't feel even slightly uncomfortable, to be honest."

A knock at the door of our room caught our attention. Night had fallen outside already, and a cool breeze, like really cool, blew threw the air. Sania opened the door to reveal Saif standing outside.

"Hey Saif," she smiled. Her arms were behind her back, and I could see her playing with her fingers in an almost squirmish manner.

"Hey San-San," he joked, stepping into the room. "You girls done applying dozens of whites on your faces?"

"Take a hike, Saif," Mahi snarled, getting up.

"I don't know why girls like to apply so much makeup. Natural beauty is way too underrated," he spoke.

I almost scoffed, but then I saw her giggling like a high school girl as she looked at Saif with lovestruck eyes. I raised an eyebrow. Interesting.

"Makeup was made for women. If we won't wear it, who else is going to?" I mocked back, earning a snicker from Mahi.

"Okay, okay. Before you two start another one of your wars, let's go to dinner. I'm famished," Mahi clapped her hands, walking out the door.

Saif and I threw each other irritated looks before I stepped out. We were dining at a restaurant that Dad and Uncle Asim used to frequent in their youth. We found them laughing and chatting heartily away at the dinner table.

After dinner, we all went back to our hotel. I so badly wanted to listen in on the conversation between Dad and Uncle Asim, but I couldn't find an opportunity for that. Dad's phone had been ringing an awful lot lately, too. Something was definitely up, and I had no idea what.

About around 1 in the evening, me and the girls were playing cards in our room when suddenly Asher burst into the room.

"Ayra! Hurry, Uncle Rashid collapsed!"

His words hit me like a brick as my eyes went wide, and hands froze. Dad had collapsed?! Though it felt like an hour, it took me 10 seconds to put my shoes on, grab my jacket, and sprint out of the room, the others at my heel.