“Keep your head down,” he murmured to her and helped her out. She did as he asked, holding Gul on her shoulder. And it was like she was engulfed in a human bubble of men — his security.
“Move,” he commanded, and like a well-oiled machine, they all began to move, her footsteps in sync with his. Her eyes caught the jacket sleeve closest to her and recoiled. It was wet, the steely iron stench heavy in her nostrils.
“Are you bleeding?” She gasped, not having a free hand to reach for him.
“It’s alright.”
She blinked, gaping in horror. The fabric was singed.
They were huddled into something that felt like an elevator and the ding took them up. A long alley, a swipe to open a door and then the way cleared in front of her, the men sieving away. Atharva ushered her inside the door and pulled it shut, staying out himself. She jumped at the click. Then glanced around. It looked like a hotel room, luxurious, with a double bed, the view of the mountains from pristine windows.
Gul’s head shifted. Iram glanced down but she was passed out cold. She glanced behind her at the door but there was nothing there. Atharva had pulled it shut in quiet rage. She didn’t know what was going on or how he was here. Was he even here officially? The thought sent a chill down her spine.
Iram padded to the bed and lay Gul in the middle of the bed. She pulled the duvet over her, making a mental note to get Atharva to call Mehrunisa immediately. The alarm would have sounded by now. And if Faiz found out about Atharva… another shiver rolled down her spine.
The door beeped open and in strode Atharva, the alley behind him now deserted, Fahad behind him. Fahad froze, his face shocked.
“The child’s mother,” Atharva barked. “Do you have her number?”
She gaped.
“I am asking, do you have her number?”
Iram snapped — “Yes, yes…”
“Give it to Fahad.”
“She is my sis…” Iram stopped.
“He knows.”
She swallowed — “Mehrunisa. She is my… sister. She needs to be informed.”
“Does she know about you?”
“Yes. But her brother does not know. Please, be careful… the alarm would have sounded. We abandoned the car and came to the mosque to you…”
Atharva’s shocked eyes lit with twin embers — “You came to me?”
“The driver said Indian Kashmir’s CM was here. I couldn’t leave Gul alone so we got down to get chestnuts. The mosque was cordoned so I waited outside…”
Nothing happened on his face. He took a deep breath — “Give Fahad your sister’s number.”
Iram relayed the number from memory, then saw Atharva give a nod before Fahad looked at her with a semblance of a smile and stepped back, closing the door behind him.
The room was plunged into silence.
Iram stared at Atharva. He looked suddenly like a stranger. He hadn’t looked so strange earlier.
She saw him walk down the room, pushing out of his jacket. His white shirtsleeve was splattered with dried red. Iram covered the distance between them and reached for his bicep but he grabbed hers and snatched her into his chest. Her head bounced on that solid wall and her breath stuck again. Her body broke into shivers. Her face rose, chin on his sternum, looking into his still blank eyes. They were sparked with something now. Like a current. Her body wracked, disintegrating. Something was extremely right and something was absolutely not.
Her face twisted. That sob rose again. Her mouth opened, the first syllable of his name still stuck.
He did not look away.
She opened her mouth, tried again. A gasp of an ‘a,’ tongue to the back of her teeth, rolling to the back of her dry mouth. A gasp of a ‘v.’
His arms came around her and she was engulfed into him. Her cocoon. A wail rose from her throat. Her mouth pushed wide open and she wailed with that chasm on his chest.Babies are gone. Babies are gone. I am gone. You have to bear this.
