Dr. Rahman stood beside the bed, his voice steady,
"She didn't just faint, This girl… she has just endured three panic attacks in less than five minutes."
A pause.
"The body simply gave up trying to keep pace."
Fahim stood still for a moment, the doctor's words hanging in the air like a heavy curtain.
Then he exhaled slowly.
Not as a brother.
But as a fellow physician.
"…Three acute panic cycles in under five minutes," he repeated quietly.
"That kind of autonomic cascade… it's rare at this intensity."
Dr. Rahman turned slightly toward him, acknowledging the shift in tone,
"You're a doctor. "
Fahim nodded once.
"Yes and I'm trying to understand the pattern."
Fahim stepped closer to the bedside, careful not to disturb Maya.
"She didn't present like a typical panic disorder case. The onset was too rapid.
Too… situationally triggered."
Dr. Rahman listened without interrupting.
"The initial episode outside—hyperventilation, dissociation signs, possible flashback response."
He frowned slightly.
"And the third collapse—complete autonomic shutdown.
That sequence suggests cumulative trauma activation, not isolated anxiety."
Dr. Rahman nodded slowly,
"You're seeing it correctly."
Fahim's expression tightened.
"Then we're not dealing with a single episode."
"Yes. "
"Doctor… when she was speaking earlier—she wasn't responding to us consistently.
There were structured pauses. Dialogue-like patterns. As if she was engaged in an internal conversation."
Dr. Rahman chose his words carefully,
"That can occur in extreme dissociative states.
The mind externalizes internal conflict when it cannot integrate emotional stress."
Fahim nodded slowly, absorbing it.
"So it's not necessarily psychosis in the classical sense."
A pause.
"It could be trauma-driven dissociation with intrusive cognitive intrusions."
"You're thinking in the right direction."
Fahim exhaled, running a hand through his wet hair,
"But the intensity…
I've seen panic disorders. PTSD cases. Acute stress reactions.
But nothing with this level of rapid cycling and complete physiological collapse."
Dr. Rahman responded calmly,
"That's because this is not a textbook presentation."
"Then what's your working impression?"
"Severe trauma-related dissociative episodes with acute panic escalation.
Possibly with embedded trigger-linked memory activation."
Fahim's eyes widened slightly.
He understood immediately what that implied.
"So the episodes are being driven by specific stimuli."
"Yes. "
"Likely sensory or emotional triggers.
In this case, the thunder, the environmental stress, and earlier psychological distress acted as catalysts."
Fahim looked down again at Maya.
"So her brain is not just reacting to the present.
It's reliving something."
"She is only fifteen," he said, more softly now.
"But her body is reacting as though it has lived through repeated psychological trauma."
A brief pause.
"This is what happens when the nervous system is pushed beyond its limit.She's been holding it in for a long time.
For this reason, her body reacted as though it was facing a serious threat."
Then he spoke again, his voice lower now,
"She is only fifteen,But what I am seeing… this level of breakdown in the nervous system…It does not happen in isolation."
A pause settled in the room.
"It happens when a mind is repeatedly pushed beyond its capacity to tolerate fear, distress, or emotional shock."
Fahim's expression tightened slightly,
"This is cumulative. Layered. Built over time."
"I need to be very clear with all of you,
This level of psychological trauma in someone so young does not develop without cause."
A pause.
"It means there has been prolonged exposure to something deeply distressing."
He stopped for a moment, as if choosing whether or not to continue.
Then he did.
"Whatever she has endured… it has left an imprint not only on her mind, but on her body's automatic responses.
Whoever has done this to her…"
A brief silence.
"It is sustained psychological damage…this level of harm is not accidental.
Whoever was responsible… they were destructive to it, very much . They are absolutely monster."
Mahi let out a broken breath . Her hand covered her mouth.
Fahan finally broke the silence,
"Doctor...…is recovery possible?"
"Yes."
A brief pause.
"But only in the presence of sustained safety, consistency, and trust.
And only if the environment that caused this harm is no longer allowed to continue in any form."
He turned slightly toward Fahim
"I am going to give her mild sedative. Only to stabilize her nervous system and reduce residual agitation."
"I'll handle the dosage oversight."
"I will return tomorrow," he said.
"If there is any change—positive or negative—you inform me immediately."
Mahim nodded once,
"Thank you, doctor."
The silence that followed was unbearable.
Fahad was the first to break the silence.
His voice came out rough, unsteady.
"This… is worse than we thought."
Farhan stood near the doorway,
"She always looked… in control."
Fahan exhaled sharply,
"So all this time…We didn't notice anything?"
Ohi stepped closer,
"I thought she was just… quiet."
Nahi gave a short, uneasy laugh that had no humor in it.
"This is not quiet.This is someone holding themselves together until they couldn't anymore."
Anik stood slightly apart from the group.
"I thought she was avoiding me.
I didn't think she was… struggling like this."
"How did I not see this?"
Fahim finally spoke, breaking the silence with clinical calm,
"Right now, blame is not useful."
Mahi's hand flew to her chest. She sobbed quietly,
"My daughter… my child… what did she endure out there?"
"Mahi—" Mahim's voice cracked.
He reached for her, but she pulled away, her tears drowning him out.
Fahad stepped forward, his usual composure shattered,
" We'll protect her. Whoever—whatever—hurt her, we'll — We'll burn the world down if we must."
Fahan's voice cut in, sangry.
"But how?
She won't speak. She won't tell us. She locks it all inside and we stand here. What use is our power if she won't let us in?"
"Enough," Mahim said, voice heavy.
Farhan—still pale from his earlier outburst—sat heavily on a chair in the corner, head in his hands.
"She thought I was going to hit her. When I touched her.
She looked at me like… like I was the one. Like I was—"
"Farhan, no." Mahi moved toward him, pulling him against her chest like she had when he was a boy.
He didn't resist.
His broad shoulders shook under her hands.
"She wasn't seeing you. She was seeing someone else. Whoever did this… she still lives in shadow."
Anik had not moved.
He sat beside the bed, close enough that Maya's hand almost brushed his sleeve. His eyes never left her face.
The stillness in her, the refusal of expression—it terrified the others. But to him, it was a riddle he needed to solve.
He leaned closer, voice low, controlled. "Maya…"
She didn't stir.
"I'll find him, Whoever touched you. Whoever scarred your soule. I'll tear him apart with my own hands."
Fahad shot him a look, "This isn't the time for—"
"No, You don't understand. She doesn't need pity. She doesn't need tears. She needs someone who won't stop until he's dead."
Mahim's stare pinned him.
But Anik didn't flinch. His jaw stayed locked, his hands tight on the edge of the mattress.
And Maya lay there.
Her breathing shallow, uneven at times, then steady again—like a fragile rhythm refusing to collapse completely.
Fahad spoke first, his voice low.
"…She's didn't responding to us."
Mahi's hand trembled where it hovered near the blanket,
"What does that mean?"
Fahim chose his words with care.
"It means her awareness is… withdrawn.
Like the mind has stepped back from the immediate environment to protect itself."
Ohi stepped back a little, unsettled.
"This is… terrifying."
One by one, they began to leave the room.
But slowly, as if stepping away from Maya felt like abandoning something fragile that could shatter the moment they turned their backs.
Mahi was the last to rise from her chair beside the bed.
Her fingers hovered for a second near Maya's blanket, then withdrew . She couldn't bring herself to touch her again.
Fahad lingered near the doorway.
Then he turned away without a word.
The weight of helplessness followed him out.
Farhan hesitated in the middle of the room.
He left quietly, shoulders lowered.
Fahan followed next.
Faha and Fahish moved together.
Neither spoke.
The sketchbook remained in Fahish's hands, pressed carefully against his chest like something sacred and broken at the same time.
The door closed softly behind them.
The hallway felt colder.
Larger.
Down the corridor, Mahi stood still for a moment longer than the rest.
—
Mahim gathered everyone in the corridor outside her room.
The servants stood in a tight line near the wall, heads lowered.
He spoke slowly,
"No one speaks of what happened tonight outside these walls."
A pause.
"Not a word."
His gaze moved across the staff, ensuring every person understood.
"Not to anyone."
Only the distant sound of rain against the windows filled the gap.
"Do you understand?"
One by one, the servants lowered their heads and nodded.
"Yes, sir," came the quiet chorus.
"If I hear even a rumor leaving this house…
There will be consequences."
The warning was calm, but unmistakably final.
The servants nodded again, more firmly this time.
" Understood, sir. "
Nearby, the brothers stood together in silence.
Fahad's jaw was tight, his eyes dark with thought.
Fahim remained composed, but his gaze was distant, still processing everything he had witnessed.
Farhan looked exhausted, as though the weight of the night had settled fully onto his shoulders.
Fahan and Faha stood quietly, neither speaking, neither moving.
Fahish held the sketchbook closer to his side, as if anchoring himself to something real.
After a moment, Fahad spoke softly.
"…No one will talk. Understand? "
One by one, the brothers nodded.
Their faces grave, serious.
Night settled deeper over the mansion.
The living room remained occupied, though no one truly sat in comfort.
A single lamp near Maya's room cast a muted golden glow down the corridor.
Inside the living room, silence stretched too long.
Fahad sat rigidly, elbows resting on his knees, staring at nothing in particular.
His mind replayed every moment.
Farhan leaned back slightly, eyes half-lowered.
Exhaustion had taken over his body, but not his thoughts.
Fahim sat apart from the rest.
A notebook lay open beside him, untouched.
Mahi sat near the edge of the sofa, hands folded tightly in her lap.
She did not cry .
But the stillness in her face was heavier than tears.
Mahim stood by the window.
His reflection merged faintly with the glass.
Farhan's voice was almost a whisper,
"…She's been carrying this alone for a long time."
Fahad's jaw tightened.
"So what now?"
"Now we observe."
Mahi's voice broke softly.
"…Will she remember any of this when she wakes up?"
"I don't know. " Fahim replied.
"Enough. Everyone should rest."
His gaze moved across the room, leaving no room for argument,
"What happened tonight… will not be solved by exhaustion."
Farhan rose quietly, adjusting his sleeves.
He didn't speak.
Just gave a small, tired nod.
Mahi nodded faintly. Then turned away.
One by one, the family dispersed into the vast mansion.
The lights dimmed gradually behind them.
Leaving only faint pools of gold along the hallway.
Outside, the storm had quieted.
[ 08:40 AM ]
Morning arrived quietly.
The storm of the previous night had vanished, leaving behind a sky washed clean by rain.
Sunlight spilled through the tall windows of the Sunayana mansion, casting pale gold across polished floors and marble walls.
Birds sang somewhere beyond the gardens.
Fountains murmured softly.
The world had resumed its ordinary rhythm.
Inside the mansion, The dining hall was unusually subdued.
Servants moved carefully, speaking in hushed voices.
Even the clinking of cutlery seemed quieter than usual.
Mahim sat at the head of the table, a cup of untouched coffee before him.
A newspaper rested in his hands, but he hadn't turned a page in several minutes.
His thoughts were elsewhere.
Mahi sat nearby.She had slept little.
The dark circles beneath her eyes made that obvious.
Every few minutes, her gaze drifted toward the doorway.
Toward Maya's room.
Fahad entered first.
He took his seat without comment.
A few moments later, Fahim arrived.
He sat down quietly.
Farhan followed.
Soon Fahan, Faha, and Fahish joined them.
Then the cousins.
Breakfast had been served.
Yet conversation struggled to begin.
Every topic seemed to circle back toward the same unspoken concern.
Finally, Fahan broke the silence.
"...Has anyone checked on her this morning?"
Mahi nodded, "Twice.She was still asleep."
Farhan lowered his gaze,
"That's probably good."
Fahim stirred his tea absentmindedly,
"Her body needs recovery , so does her nervous system."
The breakfast table emptied sooner than usual.
No one had much appetite.
Their thoughts had remained upstairs from the moment they woke.
Mahi was the first to stand,
"I want to see her."
Mahim folded his newspaper, "Let's go."
Chairs scraped softly against the floor.
One by one, the family rose.
Nobody suggested staying behind.
Together, they made their way upstairs.
Their footsteps echoed softly against the polished floor.
As they approached Maya's room, Mahi's pace slowed.
A nervousness settled over her.
She didn't know what she would find.
Whether Maya would remember.Whether she would be frightened.
Whether she would wake at all.
The door stood closed.
Then Mahi carefully reached for the handle.
The metal felt cold beneath her fingers.
The door opened slowly.
Without a sound.Morning sunlight spilled through the tall windows.
Golden beams stretched across the room.
The bedside lamp turned off.The curtains slightly open.
And there—
Maya lay sleeping peacefully.
Her breathing was steady.
The tension that had twisted her features the previous night seemed gone for now.
Dark hair rested across the pillow.
One gloved hand lay atop the blanket.
The family froze near the doorway. Almost afraid to disturb the scene.
Mahi released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
A small sound of relief escaped her.
"She's sleeping." Naya whispered.
Fahim stepped forward carefully.
He quietly observed her breathing.
After a moment, he nodded.
"She's stable."
The statement immediately eased some of the tension in the room.
Fahan finally exhaled, "Good."
Even Anik looked relieved, "That's good."
—
the sight of her sleeping peacefully felt almost precious.
Something fragile.
Something worth protecting.
At first, there was nothing .
Not sound, not even memory.
Only darkness, endless and silent.
Then — a breath. Her own.
Maya's eyelids fluttered, her eyes opened slowly.
The world returned in fragments, scattered pieces stitching themselves together:
The ceiling's pale glow, the faint hum of the air conditioner, the sterile quiet that clung too tightly to her ears.
But inside—
Inside her chest, there was a strange emptiness.The kind left behind after surviving something exhausting.
It felt less like waking and more like surfacing from beneath deep, suffocating water.
Her lungs worked cautiously, as though even breathing required permission.
She shifted her head. Her gaze drifted toward the far side of the room.
And froze.
People.
Too many people.
Mahi had been sitting beside the bed.
Mahim in the corner, his back iron-straight, fists hidden behind him, the storm in his veins disguised by rigid stillness.
Fahad, restless as fire caged in too small a room.
Fahan, leaning into the dresser's shadow.
The twins, Faha and Fahish, pressed shoulder to shoulder near the door.
Behind them, the servants. Wide-eyed, whispering among themselves, too afraid to move.
Even cousins peering from the hallway, their faces pale as sunlight, caught between fear and pity.
All of them watching her. All of them waiting.
a moment, she simply looked at them.
The room itself seemed to become awkward under her gaze.
Fahan was the first to look away.
Suddenly very interested in a spot on the wall.
Nahi rubbed the back of his neck.
For once, appearing uncomfortable.
Ohi straightened slightly. As though he had been caught doing something he shouldn't.
Her voice came out rough from sleep.
"...Why?
You are all in my room.
What happened? Is the world destroyed or what ?"
Yet somehow that single question made several people feel strangely guilty.
Fahan immediately pointed at Fahim.
"His fault."
"What?"
"You told everyone she was awake."
"Because she was awake."
"That doesn't explain why the entire population of the mansion is in here."
Fahan threw both hands into the air.
"The point is that I told Father."
He pointed toward Mahim.
"Father told Mother."
He pointed toward Mahi.
"Mother told literally everyone with functioning ears."
"I informed people." Mahi corrected.
"That's just a polite way of saying you told everyone."
The room somehow became even more awkward.
Maya listened to the argument unfold around her.
Accusations about who had told whom.
For a brief moment, the room felt almost normal.
She blinked once.
Then slowly pushed herself upright.
The blanket slipped from her shoulders.
Fell into her lap and then she saw it.
Her hand.
Bare.
Her glove was gone . She froze completely.
Her breath caught only slightly.
A tiny disruption in her composure.
Her eyes lowered to her uncovered hand.
A genuine alarm crossed her face.
Immediately, her fingers twitched, then lunged.
She yanked her sleeve down with such violence the fabric burned against her arm. She clutched it around her hand like it was the last shield left between herself and the world.
But it was too late.
But it too late.
The room had already fallen silent.
Because they had seen.
The marks scattered across her skin.
Deep, brutal carvings.
Lines gouged into her flesh, layered upon each other, twisted patterns of pain etched into her skin with something far crueller than ink.
Mahi's face drained of color.
Farhan stopped breathing for a moment.
Fahan's unfinished sentence died instantly.
Even Fahad looked stunned.
Anik took a step forward instinctively.
Then stopped.
The look on Maya's face warned him away.
Fahim felt a knot form in his chest.
His gaze lowered.
Because he realized staring would only make it worse.
One by one, the others did the same.
Their eyes shifted away.
Giving her what little privacy they still could.
And suddenly, a question appeared in every mind at once.
How long?
How long had she been hiding them?
How long had she worn those gloves?
How much of her life had been spent making sure nobody saw?
Maya's hand tightened. Her instinct was simple.
Hide it.
But there were too many eyes.
Too many witnesses.
Mahi looked as though her heart had broken all over again,
"...Maya?"
But Maya didn't answer. Her head remained bowed.She did not look up,
"Where is my glove?"
No one answered.The absence of a response seemed to tell her everything she needed to know.
Without another word, she rose from the bed.
She walked toward her wardrobe.
She opened the cabinet and reached inside.
And after a moment, pulled out another glove.
She slipped it onto her hand with practiced familiarity.Straightened the cuff.
Checked that it covered everything she wanted covered.
When she finished, she closed the drawer and shut the closet door.
Turning back toward the room, she found everyone staring at her.
As if someone had pressed pause on the entire household.
"What happened?
Is everyone feeling unwell?
You all look sick."
A pause.
"Why do all of your faces look like they've rotated three hundred and sixty degrees?"
Fahan nearly choked.
Nahi let out a startled sound that was halfway between coughs .
Even Fahim blinked.
Ohi suddenly became fascinated by the curtains.
"Why did everyone's face change at the same time?"
A pause.
"Was there some kind of meeting I wasn't invited to?"
Under normal circumstances, the comment might have earned laughter.
Today, it only deepened the silence.
"I'm tired," she said simply.
Looking at her now, it was almost impossible to reconcile what they had seen moments earlier with the girl standing calmly before them.
Because she was standing there acting as though nothing unusual had happened.
Farhan looked at her.Then at Fahad.Then at Fahim.
Finally he muttered,
"I think we're the ones having a crisis.
She's standing there asking why we look strange."
Mahim's voice broke the silence,
"Maya."
"Yes?"
His throat tightened.
For a man who had built empires, who had stared down enemies and storms alike, it was absurd how hard it was to find words before his own daughter.
"How are you feeling?"
"Fine."
Fahad leaned forward suddenly,
"Fine? You call that fine? Maya, last night you—"
—had a bad dream."
"Don't do this. Don't lie to us. We saw—"
"You saw nothing. You saw a dream you weren't meant to see. That's all it was."
"No, Maya, it wasn't just a dream… those scars—"
Maya's gloved hand lifted slightly. Her gaze settled on her mother,
"Don't speak of them."
Her voice was quiet,
"Don't look at them. It means nothing."
"Maya..."
"It means nothing."
"That doesn't make sense."
"It doesn't need to."
"Then why hide it?"
"People ask questions.Questions waste time."
She said quietly, "I meant what I said."
Silence.
"Don't speak of it again."
Then she simply gave up trying to understand them.Turning toward the doorway, she spoke to one of the servants standing nearby.
"Can you bring me something to eat?"
The servant immediately straightened.
"Of course, Miss Maya."
Then she turned and walked toward the door.
The door closed behind her.
CLICK.
Nahi dropped onto a nearby chair,
"How is she so calm?"
"Calm?" Ohi turned toward him.
"That wasn't calm."
"Then what was it?"
"I don't know."
A pause.
"But it wasn't normal."
"She saw all of us staring at her.She knew something was wrong.
And she still acted like nothing happened."
"She's hiding. She wants us to believe nothing happened."
Mahi shaking her head,
"She doesn't trust us. She thinks if she shows weakness, we'll treat her differently."
Fahad tilted forward and said,
"She is different now! How do we sit here and pretend like nothing happened?
How do we eat and laugh when she's walking around with scars like that?"
Fahan's voice came sharp,
"Because that's exactly what she wants. She wants us to pretend.
To play along with her game."
Farhan, quiet until now, whispered hoarsely.
"No… not a game. It's survival.
She learned to act like nothing happened because that's the only way she could live through it."
"When you're carrying something for years.....
You stop expecting anyone to understand.
And eventually... you stop expecting help."
" These weren't accidents. Those scars weren't cuts. They were carved. Over and over. Someone did this to her."
And then —
A voice.
Anik.
"She didn't want us to see."
Every head turned to him.
"She covered it the second she woke up,
That wasn't shame. That was… protection."
"Protection from what?"
"From *us.* "
Fahim turned slowly from the rain-streaked window.
"Something happened to her. Before us. Something that left scars we cannot see. We must find the truth."
Fahad lifted his head,
"How?
She won't speak. She won't even look at us half the time. If we push, she'll only… break ."
"She's already broken. "
Mahi shook her head,
"Don't. Don't say broken. She's not broken. She's alive. That is enough."
"Enough?"
Then Anik's voice cut through,"She will speak anyway . She said, ' She was fine.' But she wasn't."
The discussion continued for several more minutes.
Mahim folded his arms.
"We act normally, no questioning her about what we saw, no whispering when she enters a room.
No looking at her like she's made of glass."
"She decides when she wants to talk."
Mahi nodded slowly, "You're right."
She whispered.
"If she feels cornered, she'll only pull further away."
"Treating her differently overnight would confirm every fear she already has.
If she believes people will change the moment they see her vulnerabilities..."
Faha's expression tightened.
"Then we shouldn't prove her right."
Fahad leaned back and exhaled heavily,
"So we pretend nothing happened."
A pause.
"We just don't force it."
Ohi agreed.
Nahi groaned dramatically,
"This is going to be impossible."
Fahis immediately pointed at him,
"Especially for you."
"Why me?"
"Because you have the self-control of a falling brick."
"That's offensive."
"It's also accurate."
For the first time that morning, a few small smiles appeared.
Maya sat in her usual place in the living room.
A sketchbook rested on her lap.
One gloved hand held the page steady.
The other guided the pencil.
Scratch.....
Scratch.....
Scratch.....
The soft sound of graphite moving across paper filled the room.
She seemed completely absorbed in her work.
As if the previous night had never happened.
As if the morning in her bedroom had never happened.
As if nothing at all had changed.
A few minutes later, Anik entered the room.
She sat near the window.
Sunlight spilled across the pages of her sketchbook.
Her head was slightly lowered. Dark hair falling around her face.
Anik lowered himself onto a sofa nearby.
For a while, he simply watched.
"You're pretending."
"I'm living."
Anik stared at her,
"That's not the same thing."
Maya turned a page, "Sometimes it is."
Anik exhaled sharply,
"You nearly collapsed yesterday."
"Ohhh... I remember that ."
"You scared everyone."
"That wasn't my intention."
"You act like none of it matters."
"I just don't have the energy to make it the only thing that matters."
Anik had no immediate response.
His jaw clenched, his mind turning faster than he could contain. He wanted to ask.
He wanted to demand. He wanted to break through that wall of silence she carried like armor.
But one look at her face — that calm mask — and he knew.
If he pushed, he would lose her. So he stayed silent and watched her draw.
The pencil slowed, Then stopped.
For a long moment, she simply stared at the page.
In the corner of the page, beneath unfinished lines and shadows, she wrote quietly:
"If I pretend long enough, maybe they'll forget."
A pause.
"Maybe I will forget..."
Yama's voice surfaced,
"Try . But you know what happens when truth surfaces."
Maya's pencil hovered above the page.
"You can hide it behind silence, behind drawings, behind polite breathing…
But you cannot erase what is already written in you."
"I never tried to erase it. Only to survive beside it."
Then Yama spoke almost circling her thoughts,
"You think they will stay the same when they know everything?
You think their eyes will remain soft?"
Arab's face stared back at her from the paper.
"You're drawing him again. Years have passed."
"I know."
"And yet you keep returning to the same face."
The pencil traced a shadow beneath Arab's eyes.
"Because I remember him."
A quiet laugh echoed through the darkness.
"The past cannot disappoint you.The past cannot leave again."
The pencil stopped moving.
"You're wrong."
"Am I?"
"I survived."
"Exactly.
You survived. You didn't even know how to live ."
"What's the difference?"
For a moment, Yama did not answer.
"You destroy things."
"Only when necessary."
"That's a terrible definition."
"It's an effective one."
"You're impossible."
"And you're stubborn."
The pencil touched the paper again.
scritch… scritch…
—
Somehow—they chose silence.
[Afternoon, 04:47 Pm ]
Everything looked the same.
Mahi stood longer than necessary,
"Should I… call her?"
A servant hesitated,
"Miss Maya is already in the living room, Madam."
"…Already?"
"Yes, Madam."
In the living room —
Fahad sat with his phone in hand but the screen hadn't changed in minutes.
Fahan leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, staring at the table like it held answers.
Fahim adjusted his glasses, though they didn't need adjusting.
Mahi entered then, her gaze immediately finding the empty chair,
"She hasn't drink tea yet ?"
Fahim answered gently, "No. "
Mahi nodded slowly, "I'll call her."
"No," Mahim's voice came from the doorway.
All heads turned.
"Let her come on her own."
Mahi looked at him,"Mahim… she barely spoke all day ."
Mahim stepped forward,
"We are doing exactly what she wants.
It's necessary."
Fahad leaned back slightly, muttering under his breath, "This feels like a play."
Faha replied just as quietly, "Then follow the script."
Then, She come,
"The weather looks nice today,"
"It does."
Fahad stared at his plate. "I have a meeting later."
Fahan added, forcing normalcy into his tone, "I might go out in the evening."
Fahim adjusted his sleeve. "I have work at the clinic."
" Ohh...I see, " Mahi replied.
Farhan looked at Maya, "Did you eat well, sis ? "
"Yes."
Farhan nodded, "…Good."
"Maya."
"Yes?"
"Do you want tea?"
"No, thanks ."
Mahi nodded, " Alright."
Fahad cleared his throat.
"…The project meeting got postponed."
"Good," Fahan replied too quickly.
Then added, "I mean—saves time."
Farhan nodded once, "I might go out later."
Mahi adjusted the teacup in front of her,
"I'm thinking of arranging a small party."
Fahad lifted his eyes slightly from his phone,
"A party?"
Mahi nodded once.
Farhan exhaled quietly, "…It might help."
Fahim adjusted his glasses, thoughtful,
"A controlled social environment could be beneficial."
Nahi nodded.
"That sounds like a hospital party."
"Everything sounds like a hospital if Fahim is involved." Fahad muttered.
A faint ripple of tension eased into something almost like familiarity.
Mahi finally turned slightly toward Mahim.
Then he spoke, "Okay."
"Alright then,I'll plan it."