Yakeen Ka Safar: A Sequel

Chapter 8

                       

The days in Asfandyar and Zubia's lives were passing peacefully. When they were not at the hospital they were at home watching movies, reading books and having conversations over endless cups of tea and coffee, enjoying the comfort of each other's presence. For Zubia, simply being in Asfandyar's proximity was enough. Even if they were doing nothing exciting, just sitting and talking. He just had that effect on her. And the feeling was mutual. 

Gaiti, Haroon and Saim would visit very often too, and when they came the whole family would sometimes gather in the living room and play games, just like they used to back in the old days when Daniyal had been alive.

Asfandyar, always mature and practical, had stopped caring for such activities anymore and thought he was too old for them. It was something the old 'Asfi' would enjoy. But he had to admit playing these games with his family, no matter how childish they were, was a lot of fun and these moments were very precious to him.

Especially with Zubia, because he found her reactions priceless and comical. He loved watching her uninhibited and carefree side. Loved it when she shrieked with joy after winning. Once she had even done a happy dance with Gaiti after they won a game of charades and seeing her do that had driven him almost crazy.  He knew he would have lost all control had his family not been there. It was Zubia who was always bringing 'Asfi' out to the surface.

It was during these game nights that it was revealed how fiercely competitive they both were. They had many silly arguments too. Sometimes Zubia would accuse Asfandyar of cheating and he would retaliate by saying she just wasn't playing well enough. Other times one of them would get annoyed and stop playing and would need to be calmed down by the other. But it was never serious. They rarely had any serious fights. 

Asfandyar now knew his wife so well that he could sometimes read her face and predict what her next move was going to be. And whenever they played cards he could always tell when she was bluffing just by the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes. This particular ability of his annoyed her as he was much better at it than she was. Their arguments were a source of entertainment for the entire family because not even five minutes later they would be back to normal, as if nothing had happened.

However they wouldn't always argue. On some occasions Asfi's protective and caring instincts would kick in eyeing the sad look on his wife's face when she was on the verge of losing her last piece on the board. He would pretend not to see it even though he could have clearly eliminated it using the number he had just rolled with the dice, but would instead choose to make a different move. This would earn him a lot of glares from Gaiti, who herself was quite competitive as well, and she would make fun of him for not paying attention to the game. 

Zubia though, knowing her husband was very sharp and didn't make silly mistakes like that, would shoot him a grateful smile which he returned with a smirk. It was small moments like these which made a world of difference to her. It made her feel like he had her back, always. It was a lovely feeling to experience.

One such evening they were all sitting in the living room. It was raining outside and the beautiful blue shade of the sky had changed into hues of grey. Haroon and Asfandyar were talking about the medical camp they had conducted a few days back while Saim played games on Haroon's phone and Usman uncle and Lubna aunty were watching TV. 

A few minutes later Gaiti and Zubia emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray of tea and warm pakoras. After a heated debate it was decided that they would play a board game instead of watching a movie. The game was set up. They all gathered around the table and the soothing sound of the rain served as background music. Zubia distributed the pieces, automatically placing the red ones in front of her husband because it was his favourite colour.