Sunshine on the street

“Wake up, Sunshine.”

She opened her eyes to the filtered sunlight illuminating her little room. It was half past two, and she was still sleeping in her pajamas. On an ordinary Sunday, she would have decided to stay in the comfort of her night suit for the rest of the day, and avoided the banging on the door till the delivery guy would leave the groceries outside. (She probably didn’t even remember what he looked like anymore. He had a beard, she was positive about that.) But today was different. Today she had to go back home for a loved one’s birthday due in two days.

Home. Strangely enough, the word didn’t sound as warm as it did three years ago, but that was the only place in the world that could still bring a smile to her barren lips.

She wasn’t someone who would leave packing for the last hour, so all she had to do now was to fix herself a quick breakfast and reach the bus station before five. At four p.m she had changed into the same outfit she had worn to work yesterday and was about to call the uber when her cellphone rang. It was from the hospital. She answered the call.

“Hello,” It was the new doctor, Saim. Or Saarim? Strangely enough, the new guy seemed to remember every detail about her while she struggled to even remember his name.

“Hello, is everything alright?” She asked.

“Sort of, I can’t find Ghulam Rasool’s file. I’ve been told you were the one handling his case?”

“Yes I was. I think I left it with the staff girl, Nasreen. Did you ask her?”

“Oh here she comes with it. Thank you Nasreen, Doctor Saira and I were just talking about you, may you live long,” at which Nasreen giggled and her childlike laugh jingled in Saira’s ear.

“Um I was in a bit of a hurry,” she tried to excuse herself from Saarim, who seemed to have completely forgotten about her.

“Oh yes, of course. You must be leaving for Muzaffarabad.”

Of course he knew her hometown. He seemed to know everything.

“Have a safe journey, and come back refreshed. Allah Hafiz.” He hung up before she even responded. He was always a little weird around her. But she waved it off briskly and called the uber. She couldn’t be late.

* * * * * * * * * *

It had been a month since Saarim had started working in the anesthesia department of Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi and there was a lot to learn. He belonged to Lahore and this city was mostly, if not completely, alien to him. But he liked his colleagues and his seniors, who not only welcomed an ambitious young lad like him with open arms but also very quickly replaced the friends he had left behind at home. Everybody treated him like one of their own. Well, everyone except Saira.

For some reason, he had been attracted to her from the very first day. Those deep, brown eyes seemed to carry in them the weight of a life time. There was an element of mystery to her, like there was something she was hiding behind the curtain of her lashes. And he longed to discover her, to decipher her past and see through her. But, unfortunately, she was the only one of her colleagues who never bothered to make an effort to talk to him. Which was also something new to him, because he had always been the center of attention everywhere. Especially girls used to shower him with attention and sometimes affection, which he always politely turned down. And why wouldn’t they, he had it all, after all. Be it charming looks, good humor, money, or talent he was lagging behind in no department. And yet Saira remained as unaffected by him as she was on the first day. Sometimes, she would even forget his name, though a part of him wanted to believe that she did that on purpose. It was such an easy name, after all. But for some reason, her cold empty eyes and formal manners bothered him more than they should have. And no matter how many times he waved it off, it was always the last thing he thought about before he closed his eyes at night.

* * * * * * * * * * * *