14

everyone headed towards the breakfast table. sheer khurma was specially prepared for the occasion. hartaj had a sweet tooth , a smile broke on his smile seeing the dish. "mom, you made it right?" he asked as he preferred the dish made by her than any maid or even gul beghum . 

" yes! it was made by her.. though, it should have been prepared by the new daughter in law " gul beghum said before shehnaaz beghum could even utter a word. 

" its not a big deal, gul " shehnaaz beghum said not wanting any bitterness on the eid day.

"your this extra care isnt going to let her learn her responsibilities " gul beghum said with a humph. 

mahrosh left the spoon , placing her hands in her lap. hukumyar could see the color leaving her face,he felt his heart constricting. she was only 15, her age wasnt to worry about all these things. 

he held her hand under the table, pressing it softly , giving the support, telling her that she wasnt alone. hukumyar was noticing that the sadness lingered for longer periods with each passing day and he hated himself for making her suffer like this. 

-------------------

hukumyar and mahrosh were in their room at noon. mahrosh was sitting on bed, watching her hands. she was still quite from what happened on the breakfast table. she was also missing her parents alot. it was her first eid without them . 

hukumyar sat near her ," your wallet, i dont need all of this " she said handing him the wallet. 

" take, what you want" he was adamant. 

mahrosh took a few notes and handed him the purse with a small smile. she remembered the morning, he had woke her up running a hand through her hair, he was the first one to wish her eid.in all the previous year, it had been her mom , who woke her up. 

and now, the way he was giving her eidi, it reminded her of her family again . she wrapped her arms around his neck , taking him by surprise. 

" what happened?" he asked softly, as he felt her breath hitching with crying silently . 

" missing -- mom and dad" she said not moving away . hukumyar wrapped his arms around her, giving her a bear hug. 

" rosh! always remember that i am here for you "he said comforting her. 

she moved back looking at him , hukumyar wiped her tears and then flicked her nose. " i dont like you crying " he said frowning. 

mahrosh smiled sweetly. " Thankyou for everything you do for me " she said in a low voice, looking down . 

hukumyaar lifted her chin, " never thank me for taking care of you , i do it because i want to, because it makes me happy." he said .

2 days passed , filled with bitter sweet moments. hukumyar and rosh returned to karachi on 3rd day of eid .

hukumyar had told hassan laghari about his plan to open his own hospital, hassan laghari wanted him to return , but agreed then. he wanted his sons to do what they wanted. 

anyways, hartaj was returning to help him with the business as soon as he was done with his studies.