BEYOND THE REALMS #wattys2018

Chapter 36

She checked the time; it was 10 AM. Alisa thought about going to the Azmi house to meet Mr.and Mrs. Azmi. She told Radha that she would be back in a while and Radha reminded her about her meeting with the lawyer after lunch. Radha told her that Vishu had said that he would come to pick her up. Alisa nodded her head and left for the Azmi's house.

When she reached there, she knocked at their door. Their maid greeted her and let her in. Mr and Mrs. Azmi were having breakfast and were very happy to see her. They asked her to join her for breakfast, to which she politely refused, but she pulled a chair and sat with them on the table. She asked about Nazifa, and it triggered a flustered tirade from Mrs. Zainab Azmi!

"She is still asleep. I have tried to wake her up twice, but she's not ready to leave the bed yet. I don't know what's wrong with children these day. On one hand, my daughter is a sleepyhead, while on the other hand, my son has seemed to have lost his sleep." She shook her head in disappointment.

Alisa's heart fluttered at the mention of his name. She quickly scolded her heart and urged it to behave. While she was busy in doing that, Mrs Azmi's complaints about her kids had not stopped. She continued to address her husband and Alisa simultaneously,

"Do you know, Syed and Alisa, last night Zayn stayed up all night. I went upstairs to hang his ironed shirt when I saw him busy in sketching something. I asked him what he was doing, as he looked totally engrossed in his sketchbook. He just said that he was working on some drawings for a client who had asked him to do some interior designing for his office. I told him to sleep, and he said he would, but this morning,when I went upstairs on the terrace, I saw him standing there lost in some deep thoughts. I asked if he had been up all night, to which he just shrugged and said he would go and get ready for office! And then he left without breakfast!" Her voice was laced with worry and a little anger. She continued,

"You tell Syed, is this anywhere near normal behavior? Without sleep, without breakfast...I don't know what's eating up at him?" She finished sadly.

Mr. Azmi was listening to her attentively. He thought for a while and then patted her hand and tried to console her by saying that he would speak to Zayn when he would come home.

Alisa was listening to them quietly. Mrs. Azmi looked at her and said,

"Alisa, can you please go and wake Nazifa up? One child didn't sleep all night and the other child is over sleeping!"

A smile came on Alisa and Mr.Azmi's face on hearing Mrs.Zainab Azmi's disgruntled comment. Alisa quickly nodded and got up from her chair.

When she reached the upper storey, she knocked at Nazifa's room. She didn't reply, so Alisa opened the door and went inside. Nazifa's room was a mess! There were clothes piled up on the chair beside her writing desk, and different pairs of shoes were lying haphazardly here and there on the floor. Her bed was a crumpled mess of sheets and her quilt, and somewhere in between them, Nazifa was also huddled.

Alisa peeked from one side of the bed and spotted Nazifa's head. A smile came on her lips on seeing the innocent face of the sweet girl. She removed some stuff from the bed to make space for herself and then she sat beside her. Once settled near her, she called her softly,

"Nazifa, wake up...."

Nazifa produced a "unnnhhh" sound and moved further inside the tent of her quilt. Alisa chuckled at her stance and decided to call her again. This time Nazifa's pretty face emerged from the tent, and she spoke groggily,

"What happened Maa...."

Alisa chucked her under her chin and said teasingly,

"It's me,Alisa. Wake up sleepy head!."

This time Nazifa's eyes fluttered open and she looked at Alisa in surprise. A smile came on her sleepy face finally and she sat upright.

"Alisaaaaaa...What a pleasant surprise! Good morning." She said, her voice was still laced with some traces of sleep.

Alisa rumpled Nazifa's hair fondly and said,

"Your mom sent me here to wake you up. Now come on, freshen up while I wait for you downstairs."

As soon as she reached for the door knob, she heard Nazifa's squeal.

"Alisaaa wait....please do me a favor. Yesterday I showered in Zayn bhaiyyu's bathroom, and I forgot my shampoo and conditioner there. Could you please fetch it for me while I quickly dash to the toilet?"

Alisa's smile doused on her face. She was hesitant to go in his room in his absence, but Nazifa was already rushing inside the toilet, leaving no choice for Alisa but to do as she had been requested to.

She quietly opened the door of Zayn's room and entered inside and was welcomed by the exotic fragrance of the masculine perfume that was Zayn's signature fragrance. She inhaled the scent and then looked around. His room was spotless clean. She went in his dressing room which led to his bathroom. She opened the door and found a neat and clean bathroom. The air inside still carried the traces of Zayn's masculine body wash and his shampoo. Alisa's senses were being swamped by his personal things. Going inside his bathroom felt...strange... very intimate in some way...She caught herself in the mid of her thoughts. They were disturbing her now, so she hurriedly went to the cubicle where his body wash and shampoo were lying. Right beside them, she saw a feminine shampoo and it's conditioner. She quickly picked the two bottles and left his bathroom. As she was passing by his bed, her gaze fell on a sketchbook lying on his bedside table. She didn't know what possessed her in that moment, but she went to his side table and picked his sketchbook. She opened it and on many pages, saw different sketches and designs of rooms and offices along with their measurements and other important details written. She flipped some more pages and came to a halt on one page.

That page was in the middle of the book, and it didn't have any design or plan drawn on it....

It was a scenery...

And in that scenery, Alisa saw the drawing of a girl...her eyes were closed...she was perched on a rock...by a flowing river...her feet were touching the water...the sun was setting in the background...

And Alisa recognized that girl instantly...

She was no one else but her!

Waves of stunned disbelief washed over her...

Apparently Zayn Ali Azmi had spent his night drawing Alisa Hyder-Ahmed's sketch!

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Author's Note: Next chapter will have Shamharouche's story and maybe you get a little sneak peak into the other "realm!" ;) Stay tuned guys... Love you all.. :*

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