The Eclipsed Heart

Chapter 23

Murtasim woke up to the gentle caress of morning sunlight shinning through the sheer white curtains, casting a warm glow on the room. As consciousness seeped into his groggy mind, he felt a dull throb in his head, a lingering reminder of a disrupted sleep the night before.

His surroundings slowly came into focus, however, as he tried to get up, he felt a weight pinning down his right arm. Turning his gaze to his side, Murtasim found Meerab peacefully sprawled on top of his arm. It was an unusual sight for him, as Meerab's usual nighttime antics involved random slaps or kicks, not this unexpectedly odd embrace.

Still caught in the hazy realm between dreams and reality, Murtasim hesitated to disturb Meerab's peaceful slumber, considering how she kept on working all night long. Yet, he couldn't ignore the awkwardness of the situation, and a desire to free his arm tugged at him. As he attempted to free himself, Meerab stirred, released an inaudible yet annoyed murmur, drawing closer to him. In that fleeting moment, Murtasim felt the warmth of Meerab's breath on his neck, giving rise to goosebumps all over his body.

The sun, determined to interrupt Meerab's serene slumber, played a game of hide-and-seek with her chestnut brown hair that creating a disheveled curtain that shielded her face from the morning light. Murtasim, caught in the quiet ballet of dawn, found his hand instinctively rising to liberate her delicate features from the captivity of her own locks.

Meerab's hair had an artful way of covering her entire face. As Murtasim gently slid his fingers through the strands, he marveled at the silky texture beneath his touch. It felt oddly strange but he couldn't stop himself.

Examining her up close, he noticed the faint furrow of her eyebrows, a subtle protest against the intrusion of sunlight into her realm of dreams. Her rosy, chubby cheeks were gently puffed up, and her lips formed a dainty pout – an unintentional expression that transformed her into a living, breathing mochi. The sight struck Murtasim with an unexpected warmth, a revelation of Meerab's innocent and cuteness.

"You're so cute," the echo of Murtasim's own words lingered in the air like an unexpected ghost. Panic surged through him as the memory of the previous night flooded back, and he felt a sudden urgency to disentangle himself from the unintended tenderness.

In a hasty attempt to free his arm from Meerab, Murtasim jerked away with such abruptness that it resulted in an unintended consequence. With the uneasiness bubbling inside him, Murtasim's jerk made Meerab roll of the bed and fall down with a loud thud.

"OW! WHAT THE HELL!" Meerab's shout echoed, her voice a mix of pain and annoyance as she gathered herself from the floor. Murtasim, now sitting upright, avoided meeting her eyes, a flush of embarrassment burning the upper tip of his ears.

Meerab, nursing a growing ache from the unexpected fall, shot Murtasim a look that could pierce through steel. Her eyes, a potent mix of irritation and disbelief, bore into him as she regained her composure. "Do you not have any sense of how to share a bed, Mr. Khan? How dare you push me off like this?" Her voice carried a reproach.

Murtasim, still caught in the aftermath of his ill-fated escape attempt from awkwardness, stammered out an apology. "I—I'm sorry, Meerab. It was a total accident. I didn't mean to..."

Meerab however, cut him off with an annoyed sigh, her eyes rolling for added effect. "Accident or not, Mr. Khan, you could use some lessons in bed-sharing etiquette. No, seriously, in your 30 years of life, you've learned nothing, have you?"

An indignant spark flickered in Murtasim's eyes as he retorted, "Excuse me? Can you stop bringing my age into everything? And if this is about bed-sharing etiquettes, Miss Meerab, then I don't think someone who sleeps in abnormal positions, slaps and kicks others, and snores out loudly should be the one lecturing me!" With a huff of annoyance, he stood up from the bed, his frustration evident.