BEYOND THE REALMS #wattys2018

Chapter 37

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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A surge of inconsolable grief engulfed Alisa at the realization of how deep Zayn's feelings had gone for her. She looked at the lines in her palms, remembered Reza holding those hands... and her grief multiplied. She was just a rotten mess...and she had had her fair share of happiness in life with Reza and her parents, while Zayn deserved a lot more than falling for a girl like her...a girl who was now dead from within...a girl who could not bring any happiness to anyone.

Her heart was breaking into millions of pieces because she knew that Zayn had become a light source for her...he used to make her feel better...she had started to feel cherished...again...but she could not let him come close to her...because... she didn't deserve him!

Releasing a heavy breath, it took her a couple of moments to compose herself. She put the sketchbook back on the table and left his room. Her spirits had plummeted down below point zero and she just wanted to hide somewhere and weep. She knocked at Nazifa's bathroom door and called out to her that she had some work to do and that she would see her later. She quietly left the shampoo and conditioner bottles on Nazifa's bathroom door and came downstairs. She made her excuses to Mr. and Mrs. Azmi and left the house immediately. Her heart was extremely heavy and she just wanted to burst into tears in solitude. The emotions of loss,grief and dread consumed her and she was totally lost in them. She was on her way to the front door of the Hafeez Manzil when,without thinking, she turned towards the west gardens. Tears started rolling on her cheeks and she ran towards the fountain in the centre of the gardens. Once she reached there, she fell down on her knees and burst into helpless tears. Her heart was exploding with pain ...and that's when she heard a quiet voice from her right side,

"Lisa...."

She was startled to hear his voice. Her head jerked towards him and seeing him right beside her in broad daylight wreaked more havoc on her senses, and her crying intensified.

It was unbearable for him to see her crying like that. He was feeling as if his own heart would explode. Last night only he had made her smile...he had made sure of that...and yet, here she was, crying in his gardens as if she had lost someone very dear to her...again!

Her pain was affecting him too,it was going beyond his endurance power, and unable to see it, he did what was within his power. He laid his hand on her back.

Alisa felt his calming heat seeping through her body and in an instant, the war within herself started to cease. She felt as if his body was giving off energy to her body...energy to hold herself up again...energy to emerge out as a victorious warrior, albeit bruised and battered,from the war zone of her own emotions.

As her sobs came to a halt, he removed his hand from her back and rose up from the grass. Alisa also started to get up, but she staggered, and his arm held her by her elbow. Once she was stable , he left her elbow and brought his hand towards her forehead, but stopped just before tapping his nail on it. He looked into her eyes, as if seeking her permission, and she just bowed her head in defeat. He put his finger nail on her forehead and closed his eyes. He saw in her mind what had happened in Zayn's room and he also read her own thoughts about it. Taking a deep breath, he brought his hand down and said,

"I will always have your back, Lisa. I will watch out for you from behind...but right now, you have to follow me."

Having said that, he started walking ahead of her. Alisa registered his somber tone and realized that he was also upset. She recalled his theory about their emotional connectivity,and it dawned on her that she was probably the cause of his distress. Feeling responsible for ruining his mood too, she decided to quietly follow him and apologize to him for all this mess.

Shamharouche led her to a very ancient Oak tree in the farthest corner of the garden. When Alisa came to stand right beside him, he extended his hand towards her. She hesitantly looked at the tree and then at his hand.Looking at his deep, thoughtful expression, without annoying him further, she quietly laid her hand on his. This was the first time she had held his hand, and it was not a normal human to human touch. It was something exceptional...something very powerful! As soon as her hand touched his hand, she felt a massive jolt. It was as if an earthquake had come; she lost her balance and was about to fall when Shamharouche's fingers tightened around hers. She heard him say some words in a foreign language and she started feeling dizzy. Her eyes clenched shut automatically.

After several seconds, she heard his voice.

"Open your eyes Lisa."

Alisa's eyes fluttered open and what she saw made her gasp aloud.She was no longer standing in the west gardens of Hafeez Manzil. She didn't even think she was standing in her own world.

The world she knew had changed somehow...and what was in front of her eyes was strange...exquisitely - beautifully - strange.

She forgot everything in that instant and just looked around her with eyes and mouth wide open with astonishment and reluctant intrigue. 

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