Saad's pov: 

As soon as we headed out of Suva airport, the humid air and the faintly familiar moist smell hit my face, reminding me of her. Of my wife. This was the same place where we met and our story started. This was the same place where I spent a few of the most precious moments of my life. And yet, now this was the same place which was the reason for my nightmares. The same place where once happiness resided now resided nothing but haunting memories and painful encounters. I never knew a mere place could have this effect on me. Or that it could be the reason for this much hurt. 

Looking around, I blinked my glazed orbs, trying not to let my tears flow. Dabbing under my eyes discreetly, I gulped the lump formed in my throat. 'Not now. Not here.' I reminded myself while closing my eyes and taking a few deep breaths. 

"Saad! Yaar, I'm tired!" I was brought out of my dazed state when Ali whined while patting my shoulder loudly, making me wince slightly. 

(Man,)

"Abhi to we haven't even reached the location. How can you get tired so soon?" Shrugging my shoulder out of his hold, I replied while trying to ease the knots formed on my neck. 

(Until now) 

"Allah, yaha se kaha jaana hai ab?! Aur kitni der lagegi?" Looking horrified, he exclaimed worriedly. 

(God, where do we have to go now?! And how much more time will it take?) 

"Hame abhi yaha se Ba town jaana hai which is 3 hours away from here by road." Looking around while trying to spot our car which the office had arranged for us, I replied. 

(We have to go to Ba town now which is 3 hours away from here by road.)!

"Ya Allah, what was I thinking when I decided to come here with him?! Couldn't you have stopped me from coming here?!" He whined dramatically, making me roll my eyes. 

"Aapka drama khatam ho gaya ho to hum ab chale yaha se drama king ji?" Finally spotting the car with a guy, most probably the driver, standing there with a board in his hands, I inquired. 

(If you are done then can we leave Mr. Drama king?) 

"Mai koi drama wagera nahi kar raha hu, sach hi keh raha hu. Allah jaane maine tumhe apna sabse accha dost kis mauke par aur kis liye bana liya tha?! Jab dekho tab mujhe tang karte rehte ho! Sharam nahi aati kya mujhe tang karne me? Aur jab meri shaadi ho jayegi tab to mujhe meri biwi tang karne ke liye hogi hi naa?! To abhi se tum mujhe kyu tang karte ho? Aisi bhi konsi dushmani hai tumhari mujh se?!" He went on rambling, making me look at him incredulously. What was with him and bringing up the topic of marriage in almost every conversation? 

(I'm not kidding. God knows when and why I made you my best friend?! You are always annoying me! Don't you feel ashamed by doing that? And when I get married, my wife will be there to annoy me, right? Then why do you annoy me now? Why do you hate me so much?!) 

"Ya Allah, chup ho jao ab! Maine galti hi kar di tumhe kuch bhi keh kar. Kitna bolte ho tum!" Finally getting fed up, I muttered in annoyance. 

(Oh God, shut up! It was my mistake to even tell you anything. You speak too much!) 

"Haa haa, mai to-" Just a glare from me and he quickly shut his mouth, but not before grumbling something under his breath. Rubbing my forefinger and thumb on my forehead, I closed my eyes as a tired groan escaped my lips. I was already having a headache and his rant was just the perfect cherry on top of the cake. 

(Yeah yeah, I'm-) 

"Kya hua?" Furrowing his brows, he looked at me quizzically. 

(What happened?) 

"Nothing, let's go." Giving him a side glance, I muttered before walking towards the already waiting car. 

._._._. 

"Ab yaha kaha ghum rahe ho yaar, jaldi wapas aao na, mujhe bhook lag rahi hai." Ali whined as soon as I picked up the call, making me regret my decision of picking up his call in the first place. 

(Where are you roaming here now, come back soon man, I'm hungry.) 

"Yaar mai thodi yaha ghumne aaya hu, mai to khana lene hi aaya hu na." Squeezing my eyes shut, I muttered while scratching a finger on my forehead. It was around 10 at night and since it had gotten late at work tonight, asking my co-workers to head back to the hotel, I decided to grab our dinner. 

(I'm not here to roam around, I'm here to take food only!) 

"Haa lekin phir bhi, haathi kud rhe hai mere pet me. Dekho tumko gudgud ki aawaz nahi aa rahi hai kya?" Again whining like a kid, he replied. He reminded me of Wali whenever he behaved like that. No actually, he was even worse than Wali when it came to whining and being a child! 

(Yeah but still, elephants are jumping in my stomach. Can't you hear their growl?) 

Abdul Wali was Maaz bhai and Zara bhabi's two years old son, who had everyone wrapped around his little fingers. And when I say that, I mean it, quite literally. 

"Haa bhai, mujhe yaha se tumhare pet k gudgud ki aawaz aa rahi hai." Giving no one in particular a tight lipped smile, I replied sarcastically. 

(Yeah man, I can hear your stomach's growl from here.) 

"Dekha tumne, mujhe kitni bhook lagi hai? Mere pet ki aawaz waha tak pahunch gayi! Zara socho mai kitna bhooka honga?!" He murmured with a sigh. 

(You see, how hungry I'm? My stomach's growl reached you! Just think about how hungry I might be?!) 

"Tum mujhe ye bata do k tum kab bhooke nahi rehte ho? Aadha din to tumhara khane ke baare me sochne me chala jaata hai. Aur baaki ka aadha din khane me aur sone me." Looking out of the window at the darkness surrounding us, I replied. That darkness reminded me of my dark days, when I felt like there was no hope left in my life and no door could be seen. That was a really dark phase of my life. 

(Tell me when are you not hungry? Half of your day goes by in thinking about food while the other half goes by in eating and sleeping.) 

"Hawww! Did you just say that I don't think or work at all?! That's so rude of you, Saad! Aise nahi kehte, dil ko thes pahuchti hai!" I could imagine him keeping a hand at his heart as he replied with a sudden gasp. 

(You shouldn't say that, it hurts my heart!) 

"Maine aisa kab kaha ab? Matlab ke kuch bhi?" Rolling my eyes, I inquired while turning my gaze away from the window. 

(Now when did I say that? I mean, anything?) 

"Tumhare kehne ka yahi to matlab tha, ke mai khane aur sone k alawa aur kuch nahi karta. Kitne patthar-dil insaan ho gaye ho tum yaar." 

(You meant that only, that I don't do anything other than eating and sleeping. How cold-hearted have you become!)

"Tumhare saath reh reh kar banda agar pagal na ho to wohi bohot badi baat hai. Mai to phir bhi sirf patthar-dil hua hu, kuch aur nahi." Leaning back on the seat, I murmured while closing my eyes. 

(It's a big thing if a person doesn't go mad while living with you. Be thankful that I have just turned cold hearted, not anything else.) 

"Astagfirullah ab mai itna bhi koi bura insaan nahi hu ke log pagal ho jaye. Ek hadd hoti hai exaggeration ki yaar, tum to usko bhi paar karne me lage hue ho! Bas mil jaane do ek baar bhabi ko, phir mai unko bataunga ke tum kya se kya ho gaye dekhte dekhte. Phir jab wo tumhari khabar lengi tab tumhe pata chalega." I could literally feel him shaking his head in dejection. 

(God, now I'm not that bad that a person would go crazy. There is a limit for exaggeration and you are trying to cross it too! Just let me meet your wife then I will tell her what have you become now! Then when she will take your class, you will know.) 

"Haan ji, theek hai. Aapko jo batana hoga aap bata dijiyega. Lekin usse pehle aapki bhabi to hame mile. Phir dekhte hai. Aur ab agar tumhari bakwaas khatam ho gayi ho to mai phone rakhu?" Raising a brow, which he obviously couldn't see, I asked him, tired. 

(Okay, fine. You can tell her whatever you want. But before that let me find your sister-in-law first. Then we will see. Now if you are done can I hang the call?) 

"Dekho jab maine bhabi ka naam liya to tum kitne adab se baat kar rahe the, aise hi mere se hamesha baat kiya karo na, accha lagta hai." Ya Allah, how much more of a kid could he become when hungry?! Actually, even kids behave better than him! 

(See how politely you were talking when I took your wife's name, always talk like that with me too, it feels nice.) 

"Mai yaha tumhe accha feel karne baitha hu kya jo tum mujhe apni khwahishaat bata rahe ho? Sach me yaar, agar tumhe aap aap sunne ka bada shauk ho raha hai to shaadi kar hi lo. Karti rahegi tumhari biwi aap aap, aur sunte rehna tum use baith ke." Getting annoyed, I grumbled with a frown. "Aur waise bhi, tum uss layak nahi ho." I added under my breath quietly. 

(Am I sitting here to make you feel good that you are telling me your wishes? Get married if you actually want to listen to someone talk politely with you. Your wife will keep talking politely and you keep listening to her.) 
(And anyways, you don't deserve it.) 

"Kya? Kya kaha tumne aakhir me?" He sounded baffled to say the least. 

(What? What did you say in the end?) 

"Kuch nahi mere bhai! Asal sawal ka to tumhe jawab dena nahi hai, lekin maine kya kaha ye zaroor sunna hai. Ab mai phone rakhu?" Exasperated, I exclaimed in frustration, wanting to bang my head on the window. Why was he my friend, again? No actually, how was he my friend, again? 

(Nothing! You don't want to answer the actual question but want to know what I said. Now should I hang the call?) 

"Sadiyal! Haa haa jo karna hai karo, waise bhi tum meri baat sunte kaha ho!"  

(Rude! Yeah yeah, do whatever you want to do, when do you even listen to me!) 

"Abhi tak to mai ghade ki baat sun raha tha na!" Mumbling under my breath, I shook my head at his antics. 

(Until now I was listening to a donkey, right?) 

"Ab ye gadha beech me kaha se aaya?" Sounding incredulous, he inquired. But before I could reply to him, the car came to an abrupt halt, making me jerk forward harshly. 

(Now where did this donkey come from in between?) 

Frowning, just as I looked up to ask the driver what the matter was, a bent woman standing in front of the car met my gaze. 

It was dark outside so we couldn't exactly look at her face, plus her dark hair covered one side of her face, as if she was running and suddenly had to come to an abrupt halt, just like us. The bright headlights, strangely enough, seemed to be the only source of light on this road. And maybe due to them, the woman's clothes seemed cream, or maybe she was wearing a cream outfit. 

I was still too shocked to comprehend anything when I saw the driver quickly opening the door and heading out. Following his trail, I suddenly realised that our carelessness could have hit a woman and caused much more damage, if not for halting our car at the right time. The driver seemed to be talking to her, asking her something when she shook her head vigorously before trying to stand straight. It looked like she had managed to injure her knee. 

"I will talk to you after returning back." Without even hearing whatever Ali was saying, I ended the call before opening the back seat door. But just as I stepped out, someone rushed to that woman's side and told something to the driver before whisking her away. She limped on her way back, making me frown. If she was hurt, why didn't she come with us to the hospital? 

Sitting back inside and closing the car door, I waited for the driver to settle in before asking him my questions. It was weird because if it would have been anyone else, then they would have definitely demanded an apology, a refund or maybe a medical check-up. And if not anything like that, then at least they would have created a scene or something. 

"What happened? Why did she suddenly leave just like that?" Once the driver started the car again, getting worried, I inquired. 

"The woman insisted that she was alright even when I offered her help and told her that I could take her to the hospital. She wasn't ready to go anywhere and said that her kids were waiting for her. I told her that I could at least drop her back at her house but she denied saying that she had a car around here." He explained as we continued our way back to the hotel. 

"Oh. Did she actually look alright?" Concerned, I asked him while raising a brow. An injured woman denying help looked suspicious. But I really hoped that there wasn't anything actually suspicious about the incident. 

"I don't know. It is too dark outside to look at anything." He mumbled guiltily while glancing at me through the rear view mirror. 

"Oh. And who was that guy who took her away?" Sighing, I inquired curiously. 

"He said that he was her friend and would take her back home before taking her away." Frowning, he replied, strangely enough, looking disturbed.

"I really hope that's the case." Shaking all of the negative thoughts away, I said while leaning back on my seat. I shouldn't overthink about just  a random incident, it would definitely mess up my mind. 

"I hope the same." 

._._._. 

"Where the hell are you man?! It's getting late already!" Ali yelled as soon as I picked up the call, making me squeeze my eyes shut as I pulled the phone away from my ear. 

"Don't curse Ali. And I'm stuck in traffic right now, thanks to your forgetful mind." Shaking my head, I reprimanded him with a sigh. 

"It isn't my fault that I thought that you guys already brought the presentation…" He mumbled, sounding embarrassed. 

"Yeah right! It's our fault that we gave you the responsibility of bringing the presentation with you." I muttered, closing my eyes and leaning my head back while rubbing two fingers on my forehead. It was getting stressful, having to reach there before time. 

"When did you give it to me? And when you know that I could be careless, then why did you give me that responsibility?" He whined, making me want to knock my head somewhere. He had a point actually, why did we even give him that responsibility in the first place?! 

"When you were busy daydreaming about your future. And don't ask me that question! I thought that this was your chance to prove yourself to Mehta sir that you could be responsible too but look at what you proved him once again!" 

"You didn't tell me that this was my chance to prove myself!" 

"Yeah, we need to give you instructions on each and every step, right?" I replied, honey dripping from my words. 

"No, that's what I mean-" 

"Just listen to me now. The meeting will be starting in around twenty minutes and I don't think I will be able to reach there until then so-" 

"Then who is going to give the presentation?!" Before I could even complete my sentence, he exclaimed, sounding worried. 

"Ya Allah ladke! Listen to me first! You will be giving the presentation. I'm going to send you the PowerPoint presentation through mail and just go through it once before the meeting." Shaking my head, I replied sternly. 

(Oh God boy!)

"But how can I- I mean… I can't man! I can't do it! It's too hard!" I could hear him pacing around anxiously. This guy would never change! 

"You can and you will. I know that you will be able to do it. Now I'm going to hang up the call and see if I'm able to send you the file. Okay?" Checking the time on my watch, I told him. 

"Yaar, this is such a big responsibility. I feel like I will mess something up again…" 

(Man,) 

"Just believe in yourself and go for it. You were preparing for this meeting anyway before it got transferred to me, right? So trust yourself. And remember, this is your chance to prove yourself. Don't miss it!" Sighing, I told him assuringly, hoping for him to not mess up anything this time. 

"Uh... okay. No promises but I will try my best..." Taking a deep breath, he mumbled quietly. 

"Good! All the best!" 

"Jazak Allahu Khairan, I think I will need it… Now quickly send me the file, I'm just going to inform others about this change of our plan." He muttered hurriedly and I could hear shuffling from the other side, indicating that he was heading to our co-workers. 

(Thank you.) 

"Okay Allah hafiz." 

"Allah hafiz." Hanging up the call and running my hand through my hair, I quickly attached the presentation in the mail and sent it to him, hoping that the connection here was stable enough and would not create any problems. 

Looking up from my mobile, once again, I noticed the long traffic jam blocking our way. It was so frustrating to get stuck in a traffic jam, especially when we had to reach somewhere on time. But looking at the jam in front of me and on the Google map of the driver's mobile showing our route, I knew it would take at least an hour for it to clear up. Sighing, I leaned my head back before keeping my hand on my forehead. 

It was getting late and I was in no mood to stay in the car for an hour or so. Noticing the time on my wristwatch, I realised that it was going to be time for Jummah prayer soon. Looking out of the window with a sigh, I noticed housing on the streets on the left side of the sidewalk, where our car was stuck. 

"Will there be any mosques around here?" I inquired curiously as my gaze roamed around, taking in the beauty of this place as a small smile invaded my lips. 

"Yes, there is one around here in one of the streets." The driver replied as once again our car halted with a jerk. 

"Okay then, turn left and park the car by the end of the street. We should just pray if the situation is going to remain the same." 

"Okay. Would you like to have something before heading to the mosque?" Glancing at the rearview mirror, he asked me in concern. 

"We will see what we can get on the way to the mosque." Shaking my head slightly, I replied. 

"Okay." 

After struggling for a few minutes, we finally managed to turn into one of the streets. They were pretty wide, spacious with greenery on both the sides. Rolling the window down, I inhaled the humid smell of woods and river. It was a bit different from the usual scent of my hometown, kind of refreshing. 

"Can we walk from here?" Watching the light hustle bustle of the streets, I asked him, desperately wanting to get out of the car and have a fresh breath of air. 

"Uh… yeah. I will just park the car here." He replied, already turning to the left side to park the car. 

Humming in response, I continued to admire my surroundings, wishing her to be here with me, by my side. She would have loved this place. 

._._._. 

• Who do you think came in front of the car? Was it intentional or just a random incident?

I know this might just be a filler chapter but this was needed to get the story rolling.

._._._.