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Chapter Seven
"Where is Rehaan?" Fahmida asked as Faiza was just about to sit down at the dinner table. They had decided to dine at the Hotel's own restaurant as the weather was just too poor for them to go out.
Faiza shrugged. "I think he's still in his room. He was on the phone when I called him down. I think from work?"
Fahmida huffed. "This boy! Always with his work." She shook her head. Hamza stood from his seat and waved his arms out, gesturing his grandmother to pick him up. Fahmida smiled as she picked the gleeful toddler who began to kick the edge of the table, messing the white table cloth. Humera, looking at her brother began to wriggle out of her mother's arms and tried to leap onto the table. Naila stopped her before she fell, scolding her to stop it. Hamza giggled before Ibrahim picked him off the table and sat him in his lap.
"Amma, I'll go see where he is." Faiza replied. Raina made her way through the hall to where the Malik family were sat. Instantly, the children began to squeal as she emerged, getting excited on seeing new faces. "Raina! Hey!" Faiza exclaimed as Raina greeted them all. "Anyway, I'll be back." She said, leaving to find her brother.
"How are you Raina?" Fahmida asked as Ibrahim pulled his chair towards the other side so that Raina could sit next to Fahmida. "How was work?"
"It was fine, Aunty." She replied. "And you all?"
"I ill!" Humera shouted out.
"I ill as well!" Hamza said, pretending to cough. "But Chachu fixed us!"
Raina smiled at the toddlers. "These two are so naughty." Nailla laughed. "We were planning to go sightseeing but you know what it's like with the weather."
"Yeah, it seems like it's going to rain." Raina replied.
"Oh, I hope not. We were thinking about going to Disneyland Paris tomorrow." Naila replied, biting her lip in thought.
"Disneyland!" Humera shrieked as her mother shushed her.
"I wanna go too! Daddy? Can I go too, pwease?" Hamza asked his father, impatiently.
"Everyone is going to go, okay?" Ibrahim replied laughing. A waiter came over placing two menus on the table. Ibrahim thanked him as Hamza snatched the leather covered menu and pretended to read.
Fahmida laughed. "You know, it's never a quiet moment with children. Especially children like these two." She said to Raina.
Raina nodded, admiring the way Naila caressed Humera's hair as she too began to inspect the menu. "I'll bet."
"So, what are you doing tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow?" Raina said. "Well, as soon as my colleagues that were meant to come yesterday arrive, we have a meeting with the people from Vogue. They were considering on using our clothes for their upcoming magazine issue so I have to sort that out." She replied nervously.
"Wait, Vogue?" Naila asked, getting interested. Raina nodded. "Wow, that's pretty amazing. They're like one of the biggest Magazine companies out there. Just a word of advice..." She laughed lightly. "...just don't mention this to Faiza. That girl is seriously mad about these things."
Ibrahim and Fahmida laughed whilst the twins looked at each other confused. They, not wanting to be out of the action, started to laugh too. Raina smiled, nodding.
"Bhai!" Faiza knocked on Rehaan's door loudly before groaning. "Bhai! Come on!"
Rehaan who was leaning his phone on his shoulder as he used his hands to open the door allowed Faiza in who stood in front, her hands on her hips. "Are you seriously still on there?"
"Yeah. No that's fine. Okay, thanks for that. Yeah, our flight is on Thursday." He laughed. "I'll be at the Hospital on Friday. Sure, okay bye." He ended the call before looking at Faiza. "What?" He asked.
"We're on holiday! That means NO work calls." She frowned.
He pushed her out of the room and locked his door, slipping the key into his pocket. "I know, I know. But it was an important call, you know there's a Arts convention next week at the hospital. I have to attend a meeting on Friday to prepare for it." He smiled, proudly. It was the sort of things he liked. A way to make children smile. So many times he had seen weak children get upset, not about their illness but about having to spend dreary days at the hospital. He had tried his hardest to make them laugh but even that was becoming difficult. A few weeks back he had called a local Arts society, who were talented in a range of different activities: dancing, singing, acting and painting. It was decided that they would attend the Hospital to give these children a day of happiness.
"Uff oh, Bhai! I swear you are just like Raina some times!" He turned his head at the mention of her name.
"Meaning?" He asked subtly.
Faiza rolled her eyes as they walked down the stairs. "You know, Raina is like a total work-a-holic! Whenever she does something, it's always about work." She laughed lightly. "But you know, she's sort of..." She struggled to think of the right word. "...strange."
He frowned wondering what Faiza was talking about. "Strange?"
She nodded. "I mean she's cool and all but I don't know. You know before, we were talking and it seemed like everything was alright and then I asked about her sister. I don't know what happened but she just ignored it and told me to get ready for dinner." He creased his forehead in thought. "I'm probably just thinking about it too much though. I mean, she did seem tired and probably didn't want to talk."
Rehaan nodded. "You probably annoyed her, just like you always do." He laughed as they entered the Restaurant hall.
"Oh whatever!" She hurried off to the table leaving Rehaan trailing behind. He thought about her words, knowing full well that there was something troubling Raina. Was there something wrong with her sister? He wondered.
"There you both are!" Fahmida said as Faiza sat besides Naila, leaving Rehaan to sit besides Raina and Ibrahim. He and Faiza glanced at the menu before the waiter arrived to order their meals.
Within a few minutes, the loud twins had began to quieten down as they took their individual seats besides Ibrahim and Naila. A waiter brought over a metallic food carrier before placing the plates onto the table.
"Fish Parmienter." He served the dish to Fahmida, Ibrahim and Naila. "Pomme Frites, for the little 'uns." He placed the dish in front of Humera and Hamza who eyed it intensively. "Grilled Chicken." To Faiza. "And finalement, Pates Aux Legumes, or in order words, Vegetable Pasta to Sir and Madame." He gave to Rehaan and Raina before smiling and walking off.
"Yuck, how can you eat pasta?" Faiza said, wriggling her nose. "I swear you both are the same." She bite into her chicken and started to chew.
Raina and Rehaan looked at each other at the same time before looking away in awkwardness. They slowly ate their food whilst the others were busy trying to make sure Humera and Hamza ate properly. Around them, many other families and people on holiday were enjoying the luxury of the Hotel. Though it was cold, there was a loud buzz as people indulged into their food, music being played softly in the background.
"So, you're leaving on Thursday right? I mean, with us?" Ibrahim asked Raina.
She nodded. "Yeah, same flight." She gave them a smile as Ibrahim nodded understanding.
"We seriously have to keep in contact though!" Faiza chirped. "I mean, bhai shouldn't be the only one to keep you." Rehaan coughed, quickly drinking a glass of water. He huffed quietly as the others started to make conversation.
"Absolutely, you have to come around to see us whenever you can." Fahmida agreed. Raina struggled to say anything before halting.
"Sure." She replied, trying not to look at anyone in particular.
When everyone had finished eating, they all made their way to their respected rooms as it was getting late. Faiza yawned as she waved goodnight to her family and entered the room. She changed into her night clothes and leapt into the bed. Raina came in to see Faiza already sleeping. She smiled, knowing that she was probably tired. She got changed and cleansed herself before dimming the lights and getting into bed. She turned onto her right side, and tried to close her eyes.
Memories of her sister came to mind. "Raina, Afaa!" Aafiya laughed. She was two years younger than Raina, and was completely naive. She rolled her eyes as she tried to push Raina, who was pretending to be asleep. "I know you're not really sleeping." They were ten and twelve, and loved to play around. "Afaa!" Aafiya's voice started to echo as the older Raina started to spurn in her sleep. She awoke, and rubbed her eyes.
She couldn't sleep.
As usual.
She sighed, getting out of bed slowly as to not wake Faiza up. Wearing a black hoodie over her sleeveless top, she opened the door and walked out. She would always find herself doing this. Always going out to walk or read a book, anything to fall asleep even if it was for a while. She walked down the corridor to where there was a small midnight coffee bar open for the night. Ordering a strong cup of coffee, she sat down near a corner and started to sip, trying to stop herself from thinking about things that don't need to be remembered. She watched others laughing: couples drinking together as they talked. She closed her eyes, remembering about how she too was like this. Her and him. She would laugh at his lame jokes, even if she didn't feel like laughing. She only did it because he expected her to laugh. She was foolish to get into any sort of relationship with him, he was only ever abusing her trust. Again and again.
Rehaan woke up, completely free from tiredness. He sat up, and glanced at the clock. Just past two am. He wondered what to do, knowing that he wasn't able to go back to sleep again. He sighed, before thinking about the mini coffee bar that he had seen earlier. He wondered whether it was open. Rehaan got up and went down to where people were still lounging about. He ordered a cup of coffee before turning around to see Raina near the back. He watched her, holding her beverage and thinking deep into space. He walked over to her, who was totally oblivious that he was there.
"Hey." He said. "Do you mind if I sit here?" He asked. He smiled and sat down as soon as she nodded her head.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, after sipping.
"I could ask you the same." He smiled.
"I couldn't sleep." She looked away from when she said that. "You?"
"I had too much sleep." He tried to make a joke before making a face. "Sorry, bad joke."
She smiled. "It's okay."
"So can I know why you can't sleep?" He asked her. She looked at him, confused. "Sorry, I'm a Doctor so sometimes I..."
She laughed lightly at his nervousness. "So you feel like you have to take care of everyone even if they might not be ill?"
"I didn't say that." He smirked. "But I suppose, it's something like that."
She smirked at his comment. "It's soo like that!"
"Hey, it's not my fault I like to practice medicine here and there."
"Oh come on, you would practically sit there reading a big book this thick..." She gestured her fingers at least five centimetres wide. "..and not get bored." She pulled a face before laughing as she drank the last remaining drops of her coffee.
He gasped. "Like you haven't done that."
She shook her head. "Nope, never. I would never, never put myself through so much boredom. Yaaawn!" She pretended to yawn as he rolled his eyes, trying not to laugh.
"Oh and what about you Miss Fashionista?" She stifled a laugh. "When did you start wearing make up and dressing up and looking beautiful?" He bit his bottom lip as soon as he said the last line. He closed his eyes and hissed, groaning that he had said that to her face!
She began to laugh. He opened one eye and then the other to see her holding her stomach, giggling away. He looked down, blushing. "I...er...I should go." He tried not to look into her eyes. "It's getting late." He didn't wait for her response, instead got out of the seat and walked away, fast.
Raina watched behind, smirking as he did. She couldn't believe that he had called her beautiful but the situation was so awkward that she couldn't help but laugh. She glanced at the clock and realised that it was nearly three. She began to yawn, feeling sleepy before throwing her finished coffee into the bin. She walked, smiling, her eyes glistening into her room. She slowly closed the door before getting into her bed.
That night, she had slept soundly for once. For the first time, she didn't wake up to her nightmares but to a peaceful dream.
Edited by ZAHARA. -
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