Chaos in the Canvas √

14 | sundays

که عشق آسان نمود اول ولی افتاد مشکل‌ها
For love seemed easy at first, but then came difficulties

Sunday - 12:31pm

Five days.

Five days since the death of her grandfather, five days of immeasurable nightmares, five days of haunting memories, five days of absolute regrets and five days of unparalleled pain.

And as each day blended into night, the emotions grew intense - the pain multiplying, the happiness dividing. Every night was a night of newfound misery and terrifying dream, every breath only a burden to the already crushed heart.

How she had managed to live through the week was beyond her, how she was even alive was a mystery to her. Maybe people were right when they said that nobody dies for a person, but why had they then refused to acknowledge that maybe life doesn't stop for anyone but the desire to live it vanishes absolutely, and with that the sense of that beautiful emotion that goes by the name of hope.

And Hemayal Khakwani knew well enough that hope, in any form or colour, is substantial for making the heart beat.

And after the death of her Dadu, she still breathed, she still ate, she did all the things she did before - except live. The art of living was forgotten by her, hidden and concealed in layers of satin and dust. How one lives in difficult times, how one stands up after a fall, how one keeps the head straight even after a blow - these were the lessons she had been taught by her grandfather, these were the lessons she had forgotten as soon as he had finally slept under layers of earth.

"Hami? You are going somewhere?" Mehmal asked as she stepped inside the room, the door of which was already open, making Hemayal's eyes gain focus and turn towards her.

"Yes. Back." Hemayal replied slowly, resuming the packing she had paused a few moments before.

"Why?" Mehmal sounded incredulous as she asked.

"Why not?" Hemayal cast a sideways glance, not taking her concentration off the packing for even a second however.

"You had two weeks off." Mehmal stated in an exasperated tone, catching Hemayal by the arm and distancing her from the suitcase spread before them on the bed.

"And two weeks are over, Mehmal." Hemayal reminded her cousin with a small smile.

"Really?" Mehmal could not believe the speed with which the previous two weeks had passed.

"Yes." Hemayal patted Mehmal's hand from her free one before taking the other one from her hold, attention once again turning back to the suitcase.

"Don't go, Hami. Stay for a few more days." Mehmal pleaded and a sad smile touched Hemayal's face, making her turn her head towards Mehmal for a split second before resuming her work.

"I have to go back one day, Mehmal. It is better if I go back and continue my work now, it will distract my mind." Hemayal never talked without reason and this time too, she had reason, a reason so solid that it rendered Mehmal completely silence for a while.

"I understand, but don't you think it will only add to your troubles and problems by absorbing yourself in work right now?" Hemayal observed Mehmal's words, thinking of how cautiously and beautifully she tried to persuade her.

"Work is the best healer, Mehmal." Hemayal answered, a depth of an ocean settled in her soul.

"But going out in the war when the previous wounds have not healed yet is absurdity, is it not?" Mehmal questioned, their conversation scratching layers of hidden words and meaning.