Together Ever After ~ An Asfiya Fanfic (Complete)

Always Have Faith

The breeze that was flowing today was slightly cooler than usual. A sign that winter was just around the corner, although in Neelum the weather more or less remained chilly throughout the year. Zubiya stepped outside in the lawn with small tray in her hand, which had tea and a few biscuits Gaiti had baked earlier that evening. They had all gone to a relatives wedding close by, Gaiti, Maama, Baba and Dr.Haroon along with Saim. That meant that she and Asfandyar had the whole house and the evening to themselves. They rarely got this kind of opportunity owing to their busy schedule at the hospital. Today both decided to get off from work early, exhausted from the ER duty they had the night before.

Zubiya placed the tray on the table and sat down on the chair beside her husband. Asfi was working on his laptop and paused momentarily to acknowledge his wife and pick up the tea from the tray. After he had finished writing an email, he turned towards Zubiya to ask her about her day, a usual practice he followed diligently. Not much to his surprise, he found her distracted, lost in her own thoughts. After two years of marriage, he had got to know her well enough to know that this was a habit of hers, getting lost in her own world from time to time. But what caught his attention was the kind of unsettling expression of gloom and worry that had taken over her face.

"Zubiya kaha khoyi huyi ho? Sab theek hain na?"

Coming back to reality, Zubiya turned to Asfi to answer his question.

"Haan theek hain, bus who ek case ke bare mein soch rahi thi. Aaj ek patient aayi thi hospital mein. 78 years ki ek aurat hain, pichhle 17 saal se Alzheimer's hain unhe. Kaafi advanced stage mein hain, vitals bhi unstable hain. Maine ICU mein admit karwa diya. Poochhne par maloom huya ke unhe apne bare mein kuch bhi yaad nahi hain, apna naam bhi nahi." She paused for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts.

"Par mujhe sabse zyada dukh hua yeh dekh ke, ke itni critical halaat mein bhi unke family se koi nahi aaya aaj hospital, siway unke husband ke, jo khud kaafi bimaar lag rahe the. Maine jab unhe kaha ke woh ghar jake rest kare aur kisi aur ko bhej de, toh pata hain unho ne kya kaha? 'Beta humara yahan koi nahi hain. Humare teen bacche bahir rehte hain aur agar main unse kahoon bhi toh woh nahi ayenge. Unke liye hum boorhe maa baap ek boj ban gaye he jinse who chhutkara pana chahte hain. Aap meri fikar mat karo. Main yaha apne biwi ke saath reh loonga.'" Zubiya let out a long sigh and waited for a reaction from Asfi. He looked at her patiently, gesturing her to go on.

"Unho ne mujhe bataya ke shaadi ke 55 saal mein woh aur unki wife kabhi ek din ke liye bhi alag nahi rahe. Jab se unhe Alzheimer's huya he, tabse woh hi unka dhyaan rakhte aaye hain. Unka khaana-peena, dawai, yaha tak ki bathroom le jana, sab kuch who karte hain. Yeh jaante huye ke jin ke liye woh yeh sab kar rahe hain, unko toh most of the time who yaad bhi nahi rehte. Woh roz poochhti hain, 'Tum kaun ho?' Aur who roz unhe patience ke saath samjhate hain. Maine apne zindagi mein bauhat sari aurto ko dekha hain apne shauhar pe jaan nichhawar karte huye, lekin pehli dafa kisi mard ko dekha hain apne biwi ko apni duniya banate huye."

Her voice was starting to break now. Asfi sensed this and gently placed his hands over hers, reassuringly.

"Pata hain kya Asfi? Meri ammi hamesha ek baat kehti thi. Ek aurat ke zindagi mein ek point par aake sab door chale jaate hain. Maa baap ho ya bacche, sab apni zindagi mein busy ho jate hain. Agar koi saath reh jaata hain toh woh hain uska shauhar. Woh mujhe hamesha kehti ke 'Zubiya, kabhi apne shauhar ka saath mat chhorna beta.' Shayad isi liye itne zulm uthaane ke baad bhi unho ne kabhi Abbi ka saath nahi chhora."

Zubiya had told him everything about her past. He was the only one she could confide in and she trusted him more than she trusted herself. Asfi never let her down; instead, he would always build up her courage and help her out. She would find a strange kind of solace in sharing her deepest secrets with him. She always regretted making the mistake of thinking that he would misunderstand her if she told him the truth, but that was all in the past now.

"Asfi main aapse kuch pooch sakti hoon?"

Asfi nodded in agreement, but something told him he already knew what she was about to ask.

"Agar Allah na kare, zindagi ke kisi mor par humein kuch aisa face karna pare, aap mera saath toh chhorenge na?" She knew it was a pointless question, she already knew what his answer was going to be. But Asfi saying it himself would strengthen her belief by manifolds and it would mean so much to her.

Asfandyar looked at his wife. His lips started to curl into a smile, but he was careful not to let it show, as he thought it might come off as him not being serious about the question and he would offend Zubiya. He firmly gripped her hand with his, and softly looked into her eyes.

"Zubiya tum mere liye woh niyamat ho, jisko Allah ne khud meri zindagi mein bheja hain. Tum se milne se pehle mein zinda tha, but after you came into my life, it found a meaning. Tumne mujhe phirse khush rehna sikhaya, aeitbaar karna sikahya, pyaar karna sikahya. Tumhe aisa kyun lagta hain mein tumhara saath chhor doonga? Tum agar mujhe bhool bi jayogi na, toh bhi main tumhe kabhi apne aap se door nahi jane doonga. And that's a promise."

Sometimes Zubiya felt like even if she thanked Allah every single moment of her life, it wouldn't be enough for everything he has blessed her with. She was complete. Her life was complete. And Asfi without a doubt, was the best thing about it.