“Wake up, Sunshine,” Raamiz sang in his usual manner.

“No, not yet. I haven't spent enough time with you,” Saira moaned.

“But you know what day it is. You have promises to keep, my dear. You wouldn’t keep them waiting would you?” Raamiz stared right into her eyes.

“But you won’t be there. And I don’t know when will I see you again.” Saira knew how much her crying bothered him but she couldn’t help the tears that now trickled down her eyes, leaving thin streaks on her cheeks.

“I’ll always be with you, in your heart,” he said.

“Always,” she repeated and woke up.

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

In his bedroom, at night, Saarim pulled out the notebook from his bag and ran his hand over her name written in beautiful hadnwriting on top. Saira Ramiz. He opened the notebook to the first entry.

“November 20, 2017.

"Wake up, Sunshine."

I woke up to Ramiz's soft whisper in my ear. As he gently played with a strand of stray hair on my forehead, I looked with awe at the man who has become my everything in a matter of a few years. When he wakes me up every morning with the same phrase, I often wonder what would happen if someday he doesn't. Would the Sun still rise? Would the sun rays still dance into the room to eliminate the shadows of the night? Would my eyes still open to see the morning light? I guess not. I hope not.”

Saira was married? Saarim was slightly appalled and slightly confused. He had never seen Saira with a man, and as far as he knew, she lived alone in a small house in Chorangi town.

What happened between them? They seemed to be absolutely in love with each other, then what could have gone wrong? He needed answers. After a few minutes of speculation, he logged into his Facebook account.

"Time to put social media to use, " he muttered while typing in his password.

He had good stalking skills, and Raamiz Rizvi from Muzaffarabad wasn't hard to find any way. He clicked on the profile picture and Saira's unmistakably deep brown eyes looked back at him. He looked long at her, and noticed that there was something different about her. She was smiling! It was a beautiful smile, so radiant that it not only lit up her own eyes but also of the man standing next to her.

At which Saarim slowly averted his eyes to Raamiz's face. He was handsome; not in a way that strikes you right away, but if you looked long enough, you could see the beauty of a perfectly shaped face with features that separately were very ordinary but put together, they fitted perfectly and complemented each other. His eyes turned back to Saira's face. He realized with a startle that he had never seen her smile before.

"Moon-smile," he wondered with envy. "Only exists when it has a Sun to reflect off," he repeated the lines from a novel he'd been reading. In that moment, Saarim felt an unexplained pang of jealousy towards this man he had never met before. And he soon realized that he never would as his eyes fell on one of the comments on his picture.

"Rest in peace, brother. You will be missed."

Rest in peace? This man was...dead? Saarim could hear his heart beating against his ribs.

No! How could it be? All his feelings of envy were replaced by horror and remorse in an instant. How could he die? Such a loss, such a pain; he could feel his own heart breaking at the thought.

He got up and pushed the balcony door wide open. A wave of fresh air swept into the room and Saarim hurriedly wrapped the shawl around his shoulders. It was the mid of November and nights in Pindi were starting to get cold. He walked out to the terrace and looked up at the sky. The nearly full moon lit up the otherwise dark, starless night sky.

"Moon-smile. No light of it's own unless it has a Sun to reflect off." No wonder she didn't smile anymore.

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

Saira hurriedly ran the comb through her waist-long hair and bidding a quick goodbye to her parents sat in the car waiting for her at the entrance. It was Raamiz’s birthday, and he had always wanted to celebrate it with his family- his mother and father. Being an only child, Raamiz had always been showered with love at home. There was not one thing that his parents would deny him. So when he told them about Saira they were more than happy to welcome her to their house.

The car parked outside the shabby little house and Saira walked to the door. She never had to ring the bell because this was her own house and she was always welcome inside. She paused for a moment, inhaling deeply, calming herself down. Then she opened the door and stormed in.

There they were, Mr and Mrs. Rizvi, waiting for her in the living room, with big smiles and open arms. They were her in-laws, parents of her late husband. She was all that they had now, and they were all that she had of him. She wiped the tears from her eyes and ran into their embrace. Happy Birthday Raamiz.

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