Sundus Haroon

 Chapter # 4 Resumption After a week, Reda and I went to see Hana together on the weekend. She was having her breakfast. She was unbothered by our presence. She did appear frail and tired. The porridge was being served to her by the nurse. Read cleared his throat to inquire about her health. She was silent throughout. She signed her response without looking at us when the nurse appealed to her. "Do you remember us, Sister Hana? We are related to Mehmet." "Do you remember Aariz?  Your next-door neighbor. Maria's husband and....." She looked stunned and interrupted Reda before he could finish his sentence.,” Aariz!” Her teary-hazel eyes locked with mine. She then looked at Reda, and her eyes returned to me. I stood and approached her, greeting her as I went. The nurse anticipated that Hana would learn about her family today. She tried to give her a few more scoops, but we all knew she wasn't going to. Reda motioned to the nurse, and they both exited th...

  Chapter # 3  The untold misery. As I look back on our married life, I can't help but think of it as a complete roller coaster ride. Maria, my wife, was a dominant partner . She always wanted to be in control. In those early years, we faced our fair share of differences, but as time went on, I found myself surrendering more and more to her dominant personality. Maria was possessive and aggressive when it came to me. She would fight anyone and everyone to keep me by her side, but she could just as easily turn that aggression on me. Our arguments were fierce and often left me feeling drained and defeated. Despite the ups and downs of our relationship, there was no denying the depth of Maria's love for me. She was passionate and devoted, and I knew that I would always be her top priority. As I sit here now, reflecting on our life together, I can't help but feel grateful for every moment we shared, even the critical ones.   Almost three years into our marriage, Maria...

 Chapter #2 How I Met Maria. Maria was my batchmate in college. She was an absolute tomboy in female skin. And I’ve always been an introvert. I’d rather use sign language than speak actual words. I was also choosy in making friends. And I think it is a sensible thing. I only had a few friends in college and none of them were girls. I had this strange feeling for girls. I always respected them but never felt like making them friends. Many guys were popular for having lots of female friends but I never felt the need of doing that too. My friends thought I was shy. I was never shy. They used to call me “shy-Shang”. I never minded that pet name; it was quite cool. Additionally, I’ve been a quite good-looking boy in my school. I was a topper too. I was so focused on my studies that I never wasted my time on dating and partying. I grew into an even gentleman in college.    I belonged to a very noble and well-off family. Both my parents were doctors and we had a very stable fami...

 Chapter # 1 The plane crashed my life into pieces. I saw that plane coming towards my neighborhood knocking off my entire world. As it strikes the neighborhood the world went black. At first, I could hardly hear but then the voices cleared out.   On June 24 th around 8:45 to 9 in the morning. I woke up early, it was Sunday. My wife and my six-year-old daughter were still sleeping. I had toast with a cup of coffee for breakfast. I kissed my wife and my daughter and headed towards my garage, for a usual weekly car wash. I parked my car near the entrance gate. Where the sun shined bright. My neighbor who was my distant relative too was back from somewhere. Mehmet was holding his toddler while his wife who had their daughter in her hands walked past greeting me. I shook hands with him. We had a brief chit-chat, and then he went inside since they were tired. I headed back to my car to continue. I sat in the car and switched the radio on while I started cleaning the dashboard....