The Middle

The air becomes thinner as they go up higher, and even though she’s filling her lungs, she’s not getting enough oxygen. Grey spots threaten her consciousness, and she’s about to sway, but shakes her head. Left foot left foot left foot right. Ridiculous Dr. Seuss phrases flash through her mind.

“Tough luck being the only girl huh” Mr. A comes up next to her and smiles, the sun halo-ing his head as she blinks up at him. He’s the campus jock, often seen chirpy, awake, and freshly showered after his morning jog heading to breakfast at 7 AM. She’s usually stumbling out from the computer lab after an all-nighter at that time.

“I’m just glad they’re not witnessing my humiliation right now” she manages between gasps, and they both laugh. She’s a good foot shorter than them all, and as they curse in the knee deep snow she has to pull her leg out of the thigh deep white powder one leg at a time, slowing them all down.

“We’re all secretly glad we’re getting breaks while you catch up to us you slowpoke” offers someone in front of her chivalrously, breath hitching as they all struggle uphill.

“Plus you smell nicer than these guys!” Someone else calls out from the back of the line. There’s a rumble of male snickers.

The faculty member chaperoning the college expedition casually strolls to the side, unzips, and takes a piss into the snow, making her realize he’s not much older than them.

“I’m horrified how easy men have it when camping. I had to strip off three layers to go to the bathroom earlier this morning, nearly got frostbite” she whispers so only Mr. A can hear, making him snort.

Someone calls for a break, and the line halts. They’re all feeling the burn now. People are bent over, hands on knees, sweat dripping. Skinny college computer science majors, smokers, gamers, frequent hash users, unable to deal with extended winter break adventure in the Pakistani mountains.

Someone passes a bottle down the line, and everyone takes a swig, oblivious to germs and backwash. She desperately rolls the orange flavor on her tongue, trying to absorb the essential salts.

“Look behind you, you can see the five red dots of our campsite.” Mr. A ducks down close to her, completely unaffected by exertion, and she feels a little breathless again, which has nothing to do with the altitude. The mountains have given him a he-man type aura, his day old fuzz ridiculously attractive.

“It’s about to get steep” the guide says from the front of the line. Mr. A hands her his ice pick, the view behind him opening up to astounding white mountains.

She stumbles, face planting in the snow. She manages to turn, still lying flat on the ground panting up while classmates step around her. She glares at the sky, trying to catch her breath but not quite succeeding because of the thin air.

He joins her on the snow, “It’ll be easier to breathe if you stand up” he offers kindly. He watches her flop around slipping trying to get up, and hauls her up with one easy tug. “You haven’t done this before have you?” He states the obvious.

“Born and bred at sea level” she loses some of her breathlessness now that she’s upright. Somehow she manages to start walking again.

“Yeet! The final point!” someone whoops from around the corner. Fresh enthusiasm ripples through the group, and she hears the clicks of untied carabiners and ice picks falling as bodies collapse in relief up ahead.

She grits her teeth and staggers forward, sweating yet freezing, shamelessly gripping Mr. A for support, and goes onward.

Leaving Z

Time slows as I fumble with the door handle, clumsy. I can’t seem to feel my fingers. I see Z’s lips move in impatience, but I can’t understand him because of the roaring in my ears. I feel an invisible weight holding down my chest. My arm is numb, and I’m suddenly having trouble breathing. I manage to grip the latch in my sweaty hands and push open the car door. A tinny voice calls out a flight boarding in the distance. The ceiling is high, and I notice pigeons near the fans that move in slow motion, not creating any breeze.  I almost close the door and tell him to take me back. I’ve made a mistake.

The baby protests in my arms and I refocus. The sudden sunlight after the air-conditioned car is bothering her. I automatically shade her face with my free hand, dropping the suitcase I’m pulling out with a loud clack. My ears throb, and my chest makes similar cracking sounds, like my heart is throbbing hard trying to break free. Squeezing my ribs from the inside, somewhere between heartbreak and heartache. I gasp, and grit my teeth so tears don’t fall out. I press my palm on my chest, trying to will myself to move forward.

Z hisses and throws the car into park, his brown eyes irritated as gets out. The grey t-shirt I got him last summer flexes over his biceps as he lifts up the suitcase easily and automatically holds my arm as he guides me to the correct gate. He was the first boy to hold my hand, he had just grabbed it as we walked over to the dance floor at Sarah’s party in eighth grade. I remember being dizzy with excitement, trying not to smile to hide my braces as my friends frantically gave thumbs up signs and high fived each other in a smoky corner as I slow danced with him. He was the jock, the most popular boy in school. My heart hammers to be let out again, and I have to look away from his hold.

I catch a teenager elbow her sister as they watch us, his six foot movie-star like handsomeness still attractive. He’s leaning over me, concerned, but all I see are my eyes exaggeratedly big reflected in his aviators. He’s worried because I lost thirty pounds on my already thin five ten frame. It was like post-partum sucked everything out of me, leaving only sadness. My arm feels like a brown twig, ready to snap if I take the weight of the suitcase. My mother had packed it for me last week, her eyes more lined and her hair more grey than I remembered. She had also helped me pack up all my other things, seven years of marriage fitting into ten boxes. I had smuggled them out, one carton at a time, while she sang nursery rhymes to distract the baby.

I hold up the line to enter the terminal, pausing awkwardly adjusting the suitcase to a more comfortable spot on my hand, juggling the baby and my handbag trying to find my ticket. A suited man glares and jostles past me, and I move to the side. Z appears again, takes the baby out of my hands and reaches into the front pocket of my suitcase and pulls out the ticket. I see the crease in his eyebrows and I know he’s annoyed that I didn’t remember to take it out in the car.

He hesitates, and then surprises me by leaning forward, his lips cool against my sweaty cheek. We haven’t kissed since we had the baby ten months ago. We haven’t had sex in over a year. I close my eyes, but my traitorous body responds, and I’m back in the Maldives on our honeymoon, we’re sweating at Male airport and he’s kissing me while we wait in line at immigration. We were so young and stupid, embarrassingly oblivious to everyone around us.

“It feels different this time. It’s hard to see my little girl go” he says. He’s still holding the baby, and I feel a different kind of horror. I quickly snatch her back, the wrap slipping to the floor. Z’s forehead wrinkles in confusion, his lips in a line of familiar irritation. He bends to pick up the cloth. I grip the ticket a little tighter, cold air-conditioner wafting from the freedom of the airport beyond the doorway.

I’m at the doorway, but hesitate before I cross to the other side. Z ignores the protesting security guard and pulls me be back. The suitcase falls unnoticed to the floor. He holds us, ignoring the stares, his face crumpled. For the first time in the lifetime I’ve known him he’s crying. “Don’t go please” he’s holding me, begging in my ear. “I know I don’t have any right to ask after what I’ve done” He clutches me desperately, his voice rasping low and urgent, his neck strained. “Just one more chance. Please. I swear it will work this time”. How did he even know? We’re making the baby protest with our jostling. We pause to look at her, this perfect little being I would fight a war for. I look at him, knowing he doesn’t feel the same way. I notice the tiny wrinkles around his eyes. I want to stay, but time is passing, everything’s growing old and nothing has changed. I disentangle from his arms, step back and turn around, baby still crying.

The Wonder Twins

Her arm muscles are quivering with agony. She is gasping for breath so loudly, she becomes scared someone will hear. She's wearing black, head scarf covering her hair, trying to climb over the boarding school fence at five minutes to midnight.

From experience, the guards that patrol the grounds at night are fairly indifferent to the background sounds of woods and mountains. But if she's caught, they will take her straight to the Principal, a formidable Jesuit missionary who will definitely cane her again. Her backside still throbs with the echoes of last week's episode.

Suddenly, she's over, and momentum swings her to the other side and she thuds painfully on her side. She's up, a quick careful check for her precious money and water bottle, and then runs to the corner of the road where the last bus will stop at midnight and take her to the sweet freedom of Islamabad, where she will catch another bus to her hometown Lahore.

Sweat runs down her back, even though its a cold night. The bus is coming up the street, and she's made it to the stop, but is still terrified someone from the school gate will look out and spot her. Finally, the bus pulls up with a squeal of rusty brakes, and she jumps in. She's the only passenger at this stop. 

The driver gives her a look. An avuncular fellow, who clearly knows she's from the school and on an illicit mission. She had planned to slip him fifty rupees, but given her nerves and his look, she gives him the full two hundred and whispers "chai paani kay liyay" (for some tea or water) a universal declaration of the polite intention to give a bribe.

  

He looks at her, then the red currency notes, then his eyes flick back to the passengers that are either half asleep or indifferently watching. The notes disappear down his shalwar and he nods her to the back of bus.

Fundi

They thump down the stairs like a herd of elephants, and crash into the living room destroying the peace.

 “I’ve baked two pies for you kids.” Her mom is dwarfed by the crowd, on her way out to a meeting.

Choruses of “thanks Mrs. S” are heard as they swarm the kitchen table like ants. A jingle of a key, a quick kiss on a cheek, and the door shuts.

“Hi blondie” my brother’s best friend Fadi ruffles my hair, and thumps on the sofa next to me, his legs covering up most of the three seater.  “What’s going on in blondie land?” He snatches my book with one hand, holding a can of string cheese in another. He presses it directly into his mouth.

“One - Go away. Two - that’s disgusting. Three - my hair is brown.” I use the cushion to swat him away like the pest he is, and grab my book before he reads the love scenes out loud like last time.

“Come on! You should be swooning that I’m even talking to you!” Grinning, he tosses aside the cheese string and moves on to the whipped cream can. “I’m hot stuff since I made captain”

“Fundi! The captain is bothering me!” A rumble of chuckles ripples through the group interspersed by repellant smacking sounds of perpetually starving teenaged boys eating.

“Yeah dude, stop torturing little kids.” My brother says unhelpfully.

“I’m ONE year younger than you. We could practically be twins!” I try not to yell, but it’s an effort.

“Relax blondie. We’re about to start our game anyway.” Fadi says.

“I hope you all lose!”

Disapproving looks dart towards my sofa as they make their way back up to Fundi’s room.

“Yeah then we’ll have to call you again to save us” Fadi says, grinning, not moving. He’s remembering last weekend when he had to wake me up and drag me to the Xbox to join their raiding party against some Korean team and I had gotten in a surprise head shot.

“Yeah Fundi threw those pajamas away without telling me. Those were my favorite!”

“Yeaahhhh I’m with him on that one. Those rags were obscene”

I eyeroll. “Yeah obscene like you cashing in Sarah’s v-card.”

He’s pauses mid-unfold getting up, and his eyes widen. “How on earth did you know that!?”

“More like she popped his cherry.” Fundi offers from the stairs. “Are you coming or not man?”

“Does the whole school know!? What the fuck!”

“Chillax dude, panties, twist, all that” Fundi’s voice recedes as he goes up the stairs.

“It’s like that rumor about you and that douchebag with the blue hair blondie”

“One – a rumor is not the truth, like you are Sarah. Two – he has purple hair. Three – a tattoo makes him cool, NOT a douchebag. Four - the boy is just a friend.”

“Yeah a friend who wants to get in your obscene pajamas.” He makes finger quotes around the word friend. “Boys are disgusting blondie. Tell me if you want me to talk to him”

“Don’t you dare talk to him!” I mimic his finger quotes around the word talk. “You guys have frightened away enough boys from liking me anyway, it’s exasperating.”

“Oh please. Dunking one kid in the pool doesn’t count as frightening away anyone. He was telling everyone he made out with you, it’s a good thing I heard him”

“Because he DID make out with me. And he didn’t after the dunking incident. You should be my wingman, not the cockblocker”

“Ergh that word blondie. Never want to hear that from you” He mock shudders.

“Cock. Dick. Penis. Schlong. Peter.”

He’s making a face but then he howls with laughter. “Peter? You’ve named my penis peter?”

“Argh no I have NOT. It’s a thing. People call penises’ peters”

“You’re hilarious blondie.” His shoulders are shaking as he gets up, hazel eyes lit with mirth. “If you ever decide to stop reading those trashy romance books and start talking to real people, give me a call.” He starts walking back to the game.

I throw the cushion at his retreating back, and go back to my book.

Orange tshirt

He wakes up just knowing she's back. Not questioning it, he jumps out of the warmth onto the hideously cold floor, cursing as he trips, then pauses to untangle his foot from the blankets. He opens his door, but then goes back, grabs a jacket, and presses the espresso machine on his desk and fills a travel mug while throwing on a warm sweater.

He sneaks out into the stunning mountain views, into a blue black sky streaked with orange and red from the sunrise. She's sitting at the edge, legs dangling down the green slope, wearing a neon orange t-shirt that should clash with nature, but doesn't. She's absently chaining daisies together, oblivious to the goosebumps.

"I brought you coffee" he offers from behind her.

"I would have killed you if you hadn't" she says by way of invitation, knowing it will make him smile

And sure enough, he's grinning as he throws the jacket at her, and thumps down. He curses as he predictably slops hot caffeine onto his hand.

She rolls her eyes, used to his 6' 2" clumsiness.  While other boys would have been basketball or volleyball stars with that gift, he was just too gangly and uncoordinated to do more than smack his forehead on all the school doorways and trip over stray bags. He once rolled down an entire flight of stairs making the class snort with laughter for weeks whenever they passed the landing dent.

"How have you survived sixteen years without maiming yourself"

"Maa ki dua" he gestures to the heavens, making her smile.

They sit companionably at the top of the slope, watching the sunrise. She shivers a little, and sidles closer to his body warmth, hugging the coffee mug for some respite. The chowkidar emerges from his hut at the foot of the hill, breath misting. He crosses to the woods and disappears into the fog on the other side of the road, probably to get some firewood before he's needed for the household chores.

"She's going to kill you" he's close to her ear, not very loud, in case her mother is up for fajr and hears them.

"Fuck them all" her bravado is somewhat muted by her shivering.

"You can come live with us when they throw you out" he laughs. "Or you can use the treehouse. But it gets freezing so tell me and I'll give you a sleeping bag or something"

"You live too close. The treehouse practically hangs outside the living room" she gestures to the large tree behind her, the boundary wall between the two houses invisible in the woods. "Plus she wants me to go away. That's why she sent me to that fucking boarding school." He puts a hand on her back to ease her anguish. She thinks of the nuns, the stupid rules, the horrible girls, and her breath hisses out in indignation.

"They fucking caned me" the words fall out, anguished, because she knows there isn't anyone else in the world who would care. Even though she's held strong for four days, she now folds over, remembering the whips, her hands covering her face but not keeping the tears in. She dissolves into his lap. His hand on her back has stilled, and he forgets to breathe. His other hand has clenched, killing some daisies, and he fights to suck in some air. The thought of her amid insane power crazy old women, unprotected, his eyes literally mist over with red

"What the fuck"

It takes them a second to realize that the voice is not either one of them, but someone behind them. They jump guiltily, but the damage is done, and her cousin's loud voice has brought the early risers out to the door to gape at them. 

Orange Tshirt

Her arm muscles are quivering with agony. She is gasping for breath so loudly, she becomes scared someone will hear. She's wearing black, head scarf covering her hair, trying to climb over the boarding school fence at five minutes to midnight.

From experience, the guards that patrol the grounds at night are fairly indifferent to the background sounds of woods and mountains. But if she's caught, they will take her straight to the Principal, a formidable Jesuit missionary who will definitely cane her again. Her backside still throbs with the echoes of last week's episode.

Suddenly, she's over, and momentum swings her to the other side and she thuds painfully on her side. She's up, a quick careful check for her precious money and water bottle, and then runs to the corner of the road where the last bus will stop at midnight and take her to the sweet freedom of Islamabad, where she will catch another bus to her hometown Lahore.


Sweat runs down her back, even though its a cold night. The bus is coming up the street, and she's made it to the stop, but is still terrified someone from the school gate will look out and spot her. Finally, the bus pulls up with a squeal of rusty brakes, and she jumps in. She's the only passenger at this stop.

The driver gives her a look. An avuncular fellow, who clearly knows she's from the school and on an illicit mission. She had planned to slip him fifty rupees, but given her nerves and his look, she gives him the full two hundred and whispers "chai paani kay liyay" (for some tea or water) a universal declaration of the polite intention to give a bribe.

He looks at her, then the red currency notes, then his eyes flick back to the passengers that are either half asleep or indifferently watching. The notes disappear down his shalwar and he nods her to the back of bus.

Once upon a summer

I enter his living room, and immediately feel this social anxiety fueled heart stopping horror when I don't see anyone. Did I get the day wrong?  I panic, feeling like I've missed an exam or something. Calm down, breathe. Adulthood takes over. The room is cool, in contrast to the sweltering Karachi summer outside, lights on, snacks laid out, so clearly company is expected. I'm not early by any standards, and the staff that led me here knew I was coming. Where is everyone?

Mr. Famous Last Name walks in from the other door, and I feel that sweet rush of relief, and that simultaneous pull of attraction. I like his face.

He lights up when he notices I'm standing there. "I'm glad you made it!" he says happily.

We hug, and it feels good to see him again. We both don't live in Karachi the corporate capital, but seem to fly in frequently enough to have met a dozen times in the last six months. I associate my business trips with him and his old and now empty family home, more than my sister who I stay with. She's usually too busy with work, kids, routine, and our schedules rarely overlap, except for our 530 AM coffee before the kids are woken up.

"Where is everyone!" I ask.

"S had to leave town yesterday for a few days, just got off the phone with R he can't make it, and F is saying she's running late at work. It looks like it's just us non Karachi'ites meeting today" He looks a little... guilty? Sheepish?

We've hung alone before, but always on the cusp of friendship bordering on attraction. I've never really been sure if we've been old friends catching up, or adults mutually attracted to each other to see how this will turn out. We start off normally, but then we seem to switch gears mid-conversation into something sexual. Like when we all went to the beach, running to the sea and I felt this deep stomach flipping pull when he took off his shirt to reveal his washboard six pack to jump into the water with everyone. Or when we were talking about something innocuous another time, and R came running up and spilled my water on my t-shirt, and I noticed his eyes go black as he looked at my chest, before quickly averting his eyes and offering me a spare shirt. Tonight suddenly seems more intimate, and I'm not ready for this. Adulthood has made me value my friendships much more than a roll in the hay which can come and go any time.

"Oh! Should we postpone this then?" I suggest.

"Nah let's watch it and share spoilers with them for ditching us" he laughs, and I love the way his eyes crinkle at the corner.

I'm a little hesitant, but my son is already with my sister for the night, and I'm not complaining about a rare stretch of freedom.

We get chips, dip, popcorn, which I have no plans on touching because who needs all those empty calories, and then A dims the lights as the entire wall flickers to life with the movie.

He settles in at the other end of the sofa, and I am a little relieved that there is a comfortable old friend vibe vs. date alone vibe.

Somewhere between the dim lights, cold room, comfortable sofa, and my permanent state of exhaustion, I fall asleep. I surface a little while later, noticing that the movie is still on, but I have a  throw on me keeping me warm. I wonder briefly if he's noticed I'm asleep but then go back under before I can ask.

I briefly wake up again during a loud action sequence, and notice that I'm now lying horizontal on the sofa, and my legs are in his lap, my calves across his thighs under the makeshift blanket. I consider checking in with the baby sitter, but before I can reach for the phone, the nap feels too good and pulls me under again.

I wake up, and the credits are rolling. Shit I fell asleep through the entire movie. I'm not quite surprised, as I haven't had the mental bandwidth to stay awake through an entire movie since I gave birth. Hilariously, I notice that A is asleep as well, snoring slightly.

I check for drool, and realize I'm still lying down my legs sprawled over him. Nothing says platonic friendship like falling asleep together. I can't help but laugh again, but bite my lip and try to clamp it down so I don't wake him up. The situation feels funnier by the second, and I'm trying to still my shaking shoulders, wondering if I should get up, when his eyes flick open.

It takes him a second to re-surface, and then he notices me dying of laughter and we both crack up at normal volume.

"Well that's a first" he says, and is reaching for my legs to either tickle my feet or put them down.

"Is that a Cornetto in your pocket or are you just happy to see me" I shriek with laughter, referring to an old joke.

"You did NOT just go there" he flings my legs off him, and stands up immediately. "I am NOT a fifteen year old walking hard-on anymore!" he says part defensively and part laughing. I can't stop shrieking with laughter. He reaches over and grabs me in a neck lock and ruffles my hair. I'm still howling with laughter but also with horror at my hair getting ruined, trying to get him off me. "Plus she never wore a bra, and our uniforms were SEE THROUGH. And it was twenty years ago!" he's trying to yell above my laughter.

I finally free myself and scramble up, and he stands up annoyed but also seeing the humor. "I will SO tell everyone we slept together" he finally comes up as revenge. I laugh some more because it's technically true. He's stretching his long frame, over six feet of lean muscle, and my mind switches gears to thinking about him, naked, in bed, over me. God I have such a dirty mind!

He hits the remote to get the lights on, and the spell is broken as the background noise stops and we're suddenly in silence.

"Dear God that was a great nap" he says, looking mildly surprised. "I can never just simply fall asleep anymore!"

"I do it all the time! I should have warned you" I chuckle. "But now I probably won't be able to sleep for the rest of the night"

"I thought it was hilarious when you nodded off by the way. But not anymore. I think I'm going to watch movies to nap forever now" his eyes still hold mirth.

I quickly check again for drool and smudged makeup, and hunt under the sofa for my bag.

"Ok I'm going to go now" "Let's grab some dinner" we say simultaneously. Then laugh.

"You're going to be up, let's just hang out a little while more" he says. "I'll drop you back later."

"Oh! Ok, why not" One night of freedom from single mom-ing sounds pretty good, why not extend it a little longer. It's not like anything other than Netflix or a book await me. Maybe some emails or finishing that report. Hanging out sounds better. "I'll try to stay awake this time, but try to be more interesting" I poke his side, and he elbows me while grabbing the phone and dialing take out.

"Pizza?" He asks, and he's read my mind. Yum. 

He's talking on the phone, and walks over to the liquor cabinet and pulls out some scotch. I wrinkle my nose in disgust when he silently offers me some while continuing to order. He points to wine, and I shrug a why not. He covers the mouthpiece and asks if I want anything else, and then finishes up the call.

"So how have you been" He says as he comes around to my side of the bar, sitting on the stool next to me. I turn to him, and our knees almost bump.

"Trapped in travel lust. Dying to take my next vacation" I say.

"Who isn't!" We discuss the pros and cons of Europe in the summer vs. East Asian beaches. He tells me about his new real estate investment in Pattaya, I tell him about how my Borneo jungle walk was amazing, but I preferred the Langkawi resort with its beach and giant pool which had a resident monitor lizard. I sigh as I recount a wedding I saw from my beach lounger, a man in a full Scottish kilt marrying a beautiful local in her sea of white lace, as the wedding party had a crazy time well into the night.

"You should have a destination wedding" he suggests. "I can see you in a wedding gown in the beach" His eyes go a little dark, and our gear notches up to sexual tension for some reason.

"And mandatory flipflops and tequila shots to enter!" I crack to lighten the mood.

"Oh my God Z was completely and utterly plastered on your mehndi you remember! He refused to leave till his friends came and physically picked him up and took him home" he laughs, but is shaking his head in disbelief. "He was an ass even then!"

"Yes! I had suggested taking some wine to calm my nerves before the wedding and he threw a fit and completely forbade me from having any alcohol. And then the first time I had seen him at our wedding, he was so drunk he couldn't walk!" I can laugh about it now, but it had annoyed me for quite a while at the time.

Suddenly, the lights go off. Startled, I skid off the stool, mom-reflex kicking in, automatically about to head for baby R. I'm fumbling around unfamiliar hands and legs, when A grabs my arm to steady me, and the automatic generator kicks in and the lights flick back on.

"What on earth are you doing" he's looking at me with a raised eyebrow like I'm crazy. I'm tangled in his legs, his arm on me, while he sits on the barstool looking at me quizzically. "Oh! Mom skills, was trying to run to R to make sure he's not scared" I laugh, feeling stupid. R isn't even here, but some habits are pure instinct. "Plus I'm not used to these stupid power outages!" I laugh.

"Idiot" He says, but there is something in his eyes. Suddenly the gear is kicked up a notch, and I'm too close. I put a hand on his chest, he seems to be leaning in and I'm helpless to stop him.

"I've been wanting to do this forever" he murmurs, bringing his forehead down to mine. "Please?" He says in a low voice, and I can feel this liquid heat shoot through me. I shudder slightly, trying to think of a good reason to say no, but I can't form coherent thoughts other than us, together, my hands all over him. I lean up on my toes, and close the distance, and we both moan as we finally kiss.

Once upon a spring

I'm trying to put R to bed, which entails lying down in the dark, and starting one million rituals of procrastination of getting water, going to the bathroom, eating a snack, re-brushing teeth, going to the bathroom again, and then (my personal favorite) a little three year old snuggling into the crook of my arm and saying "so how did your day go mama?" or "tell me about your life mama", and often discussions of eternity, death, the meaning of life. He often startles me with his memory, recalling things I don't realize he was present for let alone even remembers. Whenever I'm tempted to shush him to sleep, I think God he'll be a teenager soon, will he ever talk to me like this again? And I always delay sleep just that little bit longer so we can talk.

Some days we have the luxury of time, some days we don't. We reached Karachi today for some work meetings, and I have to go out for dinner with an old school friend tonight. I need him asleep!

I lie in bed, praying he gives in to the yawns of exhaustion.

Children have a sixth sense about this, and never cooperate. Or maybe its the excitement of the new city and his cousins. He keeps pulling himself back from the brink.

I can hear the doorbell ring, my nanny letting in my dinner companion. She knows the drill, she tells him to wait "madahm" will be right out, and hopefully remembers to give him something to drink or snack on.

I mentally try to decide what to wear, so I save time. Did I pack the red top? I think I decided not to. The silver then. And probably the grey pants. Were they too short? Nah it's Karachi, it's ok. Feel a pang that I didn't pack my silver Jimmy Choo's, so will have to make do with my flats.

R's breathing stills. I try to shift, but his eyes flip open. Dang it.

I imagine doing my makeup. I had read something somewhere that pro athletes imagine doing the routine in their mind. Something about muscle memory, making routines faster or easier to do in real life. I imagine putting on the eyeliner flawlessly. The brows, the highlighter, the blush. I'm on my mascara when R goes back under. I wait till I've mentally done my lips before I shift again.

He stays asleep, and I'm free. I fling on my clothes in half a minute, mentally calculating how long Mr. famous last name must have been waiting. Probably twenty minutes tops. I put on my makeup as I just practiced, and it only takes 2.5 minutes. Yank on my earrings and shoes, and am out in five.

Sneak open the door, and whisper out to the living room where he is waiting for me.

He stands up, and I try to ignore the stomach flip when I see him.

We air kiss, and I apologize for making him late.

His eyes crinkle "I'm used to it by now" he laughs, referring to the last time we met and I was forty minutes late because of traffic.

"Putting a toddler to sleep ain't easy bud!" I mock punch his arm. "Let's get out of here before he..."
before I can say the words, there is my baby rumpled from bed, rubbing his eyes, pajama's hitched up his legs standing behind me

"Mama don't go"

Shit. 

I quickly pick him up, mentally consigning the stupid nanny to hell. Why didn't she snag him at the door and put him back to bed! Idiot!

People obviously know I'm a single mom, but its another thing to literally have a toddler show up in front of my date. Is this even a date? Or is it a friend thing? I don't know!

R's eyes are welling up. "I want to come with you mama!" he says, clinging to my neck. I know its going to be another forty minutes before he calms down and goes back to sleep. Damn it! 

I meet his eyes over R's head.

"Let's take him with us" he says

What!

"Erm that's a bad idea. Why don't we just take a rain check A" I say. Mr. Famous last name has no kids, and clearly no clue.

His face falls.

Shit. He was probably hungry or something and annoyed his dinner plans got canceled. 

But R has heard "Caah mama, let's go in the cah" Damn it. 

A joins in "Listen its up to you, but you're only here for one night, let's just try to do this"

Against my better judgement, I start walking to the car, toddler in my arms. God help me please

We get into the Audi, I ask him to disable the airbag for my seat. He's a little startled, but googles something and fiddles with another something and then its done.

R can't believe he got his way. He's all chatty in my arms, and A tries to make conversation with him. Cute. Maybe we can salvage this after all.

But then we get stuck in bloody traffic, and R falls asleep. Drool on my silver silk shirt, warm body stuck to me heating me up in the AC cold of the car.

We reach the dinner place, and we both look at each other, unsure of what to do. A looks at me, looks at the sleeping R, and then back at me. I can't help but laugh.

"I told you so!" I can't help saying.

"Let me see if we can push our reservation forward" he says. "Maybe we can go drop him back?"

"Sweetie, it's not happening. I'm sorry, let's head back" I say, used to many many years of failed social outings.

"Wait. Why don't I go grab some food for us from inside, and maybe I can come over and eat it at your sister's place?" he suggests.

"Oh! Er. Ok. Sure, let's try that"

We go back home, food cartons in tow. I put R into bed, for the night this time. We eat, me on the floor cushions an ear trained to the door, A on this sofa. He joins me on the floor around dessert, and we talk into the night. 

Once upon a winter

Karachi traffic seems worse every time I  return. I'm battling bumper to bumper, its already been twenty minutes and I could reach out and still touch the gate of the house I just left. I can feel the frustration build in my chest and pump out of my tapping fingers and leg that jiggles up and down. The car clock flips to the next minute, and traffic still doesn't move. I curse, then guiltily check the rear view mirror. The nanny says "He ees fine madhaam" in that weird Tagalo lilt. My three year old is lost in his lego blocks, and hasn't heard anything. Whew, close call! 

The phone beeps. My old school friend and coffee buddy Mr. Famous Last Name must be getting worried. I was planning on reaching fashionably late (or on time by Pakistan standards) but not THAT late. I had to catch up with him (after ten years!) and then head to the business offices on top of the mall for a meeting I had flown into the city for.

I attempt to respond to the message, but then see a gap in the road and race another car into the spot in front that just seems to have freed up. The cars nearly hit, but I eyeball the other driver, showing him he shouldn't try to push me around, but I don't make any of the rude hand gestures I would have made in my youth. high five for being older and wiser.

I finally make it to the mall, and hand the valet the key with one hand and dial Mr. Famous Last  Name with the other. "I'm here, but have to drop R over to the play area, you want to meet there instead?"

"ummm is it possible for you to come back this side? I'm parked here and halfway through my coffee"

"oh ok" i try not to show my exasperation

I hike over to the far corner of the ginormous mall, manage to stand in line, get the weird mall currency the play area runs on without bursting with impatience. I pause as I hand over the tokens to my nanny. She is really very stupid, I'm not very sure I can trust her alone with my son. She's been with you two years you fuckwit. He loves her, they've done this a million times back at home. Just fucking fuck it out of here. I tell her one more time to stay within the area, not go to any bathroom or anything, and to call me if he so much as sneezes. She manages to remain impassively polite, and not roll her eyes at me. After my third hug my son finally says "mama go! i want caah!" and toddles over to the arcade car game leaving me behind.

I rush back to the other friggin corner of the bloody building, calling my boss on speaker phone to tell her I am at the venue and would see her 5 minutes before the meeting, while I send a quick meeting reminder text to the attendees, and try at the same time to find that damn coffee place. People are easing away from my crazy eyes as I speed walk while I talk and type.

Momentum makes me practically skid to a stop  in front of the place. "Umm I'm meeting someone here" I say, suddenly awkward, craning my neck to find him. Feel a moment of fear in case I don't recognize him, but no there he is. phew. He's on the side booths that are placed a step higher than the central seating area. They usually need reservations for those, he must have gotten lucky.

I start walking over, and he looks up from his now empty coffee cup, sees me, and smiles.

Wow.

Did my chest just do a weird thing? Seriously? What the fuck

I chalk up the weird feeling to the impending stress induced heart attack because of the last forty minutes of traffic.

We air kiss hello, and even though I have agnosia and can sit next to a toaster with burning bread and not smell a fucking thing, I get a whiff of his cologne, and holy shit it smells good. Did I just fucking smell him. Fuckity fuck what is up with me today. Get a grip! I suddenly feel the need to check my hair as we sit back down.

He looks relieved to see me. "I thought you wouldn't show!" he says sheepishly, raising his hand to the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"It was the damn traffic! What the hell has happened to Karachi dude!"

He looks even more relieved that I have a good excuse "Yes! there's that construction  at the roundabout, you shouldn't have come from there!"

I eye roll, and we both laugh. Holy shit my heart just rolled over why is he cuter than what I remember! It's been fifteen years since we were in school together, and apparently my standards were a lot higher back then because I remember he was considered as one of the cute ones, but nothing that would cause funny feelings in my dusty nether regions. Currently being post-thirty and still having a flat stomach, all his hair on his head, and dear god those biceps in that work shirt and I'm imagining major sexy times with him. what the fuck did I just think of sexy times. focus! focus! no sexy time! bad girl.

We're talking about work. I explain that I have to leave in an hour because I have a meeting upstairs.
"I waited forty minutes for you! Why do I only get an hour! No fair" he cries, and while I secretly think about his chocolate brown eyes I outwardly just shrug and apologize because work is work, out of my hands.

We catch up, and time is gone before I even order. He's a writer on the side, just emancipated himself from his famous last name father, and is living alone. (No inlaws if we get married woot) We laugh about his crazy school stories, but from the cold light of adulthood I know that it couldn't have been easy for him to be shunted off to boarding school in England just because his dad had moved on to wife number three. He's smart enough to know I'm thinking of  my own situation, and is assuring me that R will turn out ok and that my single-mom-ness is much more normal than his fucked up family.  He leans forward in earnestness, and if I hadn't moved back I get the feeling we would have bumped foreheads. These tables are absurdly small.

I feel my phone vibrate next to my thigh, and I surreptitiously glance down to check my phone, and my boss is telling me that she has reached the mall and is heading to the meeting venue.

"You look the same as you did in school!" he exclaims, and I have to look up (those eyes!) in incredulity, because first I'm much fatter (ok I did just lose a lot of weight recently, but nothing compared to when I was a frikkin teenager) and second I now know how to put on killer makeup and thread my eyebrows thank you very much.

My conflicted disbelief / outrage must have shown because he quickly said "in a good way! You look great! We should meet again, and let me take you for a proper dinner next time!" My boss must have made it to the place by now. If I make it out of here in the next two minutes, I can make it on time.

"Yes! We must meet again" I'm thrilled to have a way to wrap up the conversation so I can get out of there before I'm fired. "I'll let you know next time I'm back in town" and then start to get up.

I must have sounded thrilled too, because he lights up.

I'm picking up my bag and am doing that ridiculous side crawl shimmy one has to do to get out of a booth when I realize shit. did i just agree to go on a date with him.  I'm panicking thinking back to the conversation and don't notice the step.

I try to grab the table but miss, and I'm on my way to the ground when suddenly my arm is caught and I'm helpfully up-righted. His other hand is on my waist. "Whoa there are you ok"

"you saved my life!" shit did i say that out loud. My overies just exploded.

He laughs, his eyes crinkling slightly at the corners, and raises his eyebrows. "so you definitely owe me time for dinner" He's smiling, too close
don't think of sexy times, don't think of sexy times!

God he's hot.

We hug and say goodbye, and can feel the imprint of his hand of my waist throughout the meeting as I present about North Pakistan and the tremendous growth potential and lobby for more resources.  

Chanel

I'm wobbling in my heels, so I thump my bag down on the table and stumble not too gracefully onto the chair. Silently curse the gentleman who designs wildly popular expensive shoes that are not made for human feet. We're in the outside veranda of the famous restaurant, beautiful vines dripping down and Joan Armatrading playing the background.

S gives my bag a look "Holy moly batman" she says eyeing the red patent.

"The color?" I ask, a little confused. 

"Are you kidding?" M says from my other side

"What!" i say, not sure what they're on about.

"that bag is... gorgeous! it costs as much as a car" T says from across the table with an eyeroll.

"Yeah! You're always about NGO this and environment that. I never thought you'd stoop to descending into the bowels of consumerism, and with THAT" S laughs

"Oh! My parents got it for me. why is this even a topic of conversation! i want to hear about your trainer's obsession with your ass T" I nibble the salmon from the appetizers someone has helpfully already ordered, and change the topic. They howl with laughter and the conversation changes focus, and I'm relieved.

I hadn't used this bag in a while. It was a gift for being a good girl.

Nearly a decade ago now.

I had just left him for the third time. Escaped to Lahore. I had begged my parents to let me stay, to not send me back to the horror story that was my married life. The night before I had told them I couldn't do it anymore. The violent fights. The financial stress. The lying. The cheating. The awful awful in-laws. I cried at the airport. But they had been merciless. They both had murmured about being strong, about making a home, about growing up and making a life, and sent me off on my way. Strangers had offered me tissues on the plane, and at the airport bathroom I had put in eyedrops, buried my red nose and puffy eyes under Helena Rubenstien's super thick foundation and painted on a face that didn't show the emotional wreckage. And two months later I had conceived R, and my birthday rolled around to the red patent Chanel that cost as much as a car. A gift to the gods of conscience, for sacrificing their third born at the alter of a bad marriage. With my pregnancy and my car accident and delivery and the consultancies and the three jobs I was juggling with a six month old I had never had a chance to take it out.

Someone had packed it for me and send it with the boxes that I had smuggled out before I left for good.

I had found it at the back of my mothers closet, and then taken it out seven years later, and taken it to this lunch because it matched my stilettos, forgetting the memories I had pushed under the proverbial carpet.

They haven't gotten me anything like this since then. And while I outwardly laugh and talk about the party last night and how to cure a toddlers obsession with sugar, I can't help but feel the weight of parental disappointment that suddenly seems to have settled on my shoulders, like an invisible anvil.

Something something

It's cold. She enters the room, thinking of the awkward small talk, cringe worthy pauses, and self loathing at poor social skills that will come in the dark later at night. It's not very loud, thank the Lord, but at first scan she doesn't know a single person. Social anxiety hell.

Then. Bliss. A friend. A good one. She air kisses him, thrilled, grasping his arm like the life vest it is. She asks where his latest amour is, he rolls his eyes, they grin and grab some drinks from the bar and sit on a convenient sofa.

"I could see you start to panic" he laughed, knowing her well.

"You could have come up sooner" she punches his arm.

"Relax dude" he grins, brown friendly kind eyes. They clink glasses, take a sip and survey the room.

"Were we ever that young?" she thinks, watching what must surely be fifteen year olds writhing to the music on the dance floor.

"They're in their twenties. And yes we were" he answers her thoughts, to her startled laugh.

"I feel so old. And alone" She confesses.

"It's ok, at least you have a beautiful five year old waiting for you at home. I have a lonely empty house. And the ghosts of my dead parents". She snorts into her drink.

"And your millions". His turn to snort, but his expression becomes darker as it always does when he thinks about their loss.

Sarah joins them, his latest. She is wearing a red dress, slit up the side. Sexy clothes three months into the relationship means she's still trying, and he is not into her. A bad sign. They all air kiss, cosy on the sofa in an alien room. They occasionally jump up to mingle here and mingle there. After thirty minutes, she is done, and ducks out to call the valet without saying goodbye to anyone.

"Ghosting already? I thought you had another half an hour in you" She jumps guiltily as he catches her outside the main door, as the valet pulls her car up front.

"Break up with her already darling. If she's boring you so much you're looking for my company, you must  be desperate to get away from her". He winces.

"God you are so direct it hurts sometimes"

The car pulls up. He shoos the valet aside and opens the door for her. Good boy. She gets in, but he hesitates before closing the door. She looks up questioningly. "Say hi to the little guy from me" he says, and shuts the door.

She drives home, wondering what he really wanted to say. Confusing man.

anger management

i feel depression come on. like the flu. the grey creeping up the walls. into my feet from the ground. into my heart. pulling it down down down into the concrete.

friends will help it.

where did they all go? they got lost in the black.

i prop up cardboard fake silhouettes and talk to them. talk to me.

she hates me. both of them. old eyes. berating me for my lack of discipline and control. hating me wanting me to die and be gone from their lives. forced to have me live.

*******

i lie in the grass, clouds pass overhead, the day is beautiful. flowers - i can smell them. i can hear my son playing not too far away, poking his new friend with some stick with a giggling joy only kids know how to experience.

i am so tired. i've been awake since 5 AM. my neck hurts.

i've sunk down down down into a rabbit hole that swallowed me. the sky is purple down here, grey clouds going fast fast fast. my son - i hope he's not here, its not a nice place.

she is here.

i can feel her before i see her.

the purple one. holding the fire in her hands. i have dreamt of her often, and here she is.

"i have waited for you a long time bitch"

did she say that or did i?

our voices are overlapping. she is me and i am her.

i am standing holding fire in my hands. i am purple. i am upstairs on the grass, help me God I am standing near my son.

i am going to burn him.

i am going to pour the fire into his brain, into his eyes, into his heart and sole. till he cries. till his soul bursts in pain. till he lives in hell on earth, infected with the rage of fire.

NO

THIS WILL NOT BE

i have clawed my way back underground. i am tearing into my soul. clawing out my eyes. i have blood on my nails. i am fighting for something more precious than my pathetic soul. i am fighting for my son. she will not have him. not like she had me when i was young.

did i really have you little one? she says. or is it me?

my father is standing between her and me. she is pouring the fire into him. he is screaming, but struggling to stay silent so that i, 4 years old, do not wake up sleeping on the mattress on the floor of his room.

his mother before him.

his mothers mother before her.

i have waited for you. they all say.

pour it into me, we all say. spare the child. into me.

my brain bursts. fire pours out of my eyes, my nose, my heart, my soul.

it is done.

she is gone.

there is only me, on the grass, with the fire burning in the grey underneath.

i stand over him, my precious baby, my heart. my soul. my life. i am yelling at him. i am angry. he is looking with eyes that hurt - why is mama yelling? we are both wondering. stop poking him with that stick - my mouth twists and spit leaps out the sparks the words ignite. the fire is in me. i cannot keep it in. it pours out burning everything in front. how many burns can my little boy take before it enters him?

like i did. like those before me.

dream

my belly is full, comfortable heat thrumming from my insides

i'm walking through the field

the green is taller than i am

i look down and i have holes in me

boils in my flesh, from nails that were hammered in

but even though the scabs ooze pus, i am humming humming humming

i touch a flower here, a vine there

if i crane my neck high enough, there is a sky, and a cheel wheeling overhead

the nails are gone, and i have torn myself free, clawed out of the dirt and into the green green green

and i have a skip in my step

because i know my baby plays only a little ahead and i will see him soon

dream

i am standing on an abyss.
the edges crumble
its dark out tonight
the supermoon looms overhead
a wolf howls

i know its a dream then. how else would there be wolves?

it changes to a dog snarling.

suddenly there is beach sand under my toes
waves
and the beautiful sunset that only karachi has

and i know it is a dream because i only dream of karachi now

my wrists are cut
blood drips down my hands onto my feet, into the sand
the waves wash it all away and i breathe deeply and i swear i can smell it like its real

i wake up still hearing waves

dream

the breeze. the eternal breeze. she closes her eyes, and knows its a dream because of the breeze.

there is no wind here.

she is in a garden. suddenly it is still.

she hears a koel.

there is a tree. an old one. all kinds of plants overgrown. a vine, dripping down over everything. ivy on the brick walls. somewhere behind her back, the old house is there. the one with the doors within doors within doors. the one with the bay windows she's spent her youth sitting on. its been empty a long long time through, ghosts of servants past waiting for the mistress to return home. is she the new owner?

there is a blast.

she must hurry.

they're coming.

ramblings

i am a superhero.

i wear shiny boots, have shiny hair, shiny belt, shiny eyes, shiny underpants
i have perky boobs, perky nose, perky bum, perky everything

i am soft
i am saggy
i don't own clothes that don't have poo, vomit or pee
i am a mommy

i can hold my pee for hours while i rock the baby

i can sleep only three hours and still be functional

i have slept only three hours for over a year now and am still functional

i can carry a baby, three times my bodyweight, and a carry cot, and still lock the house, open the car, and safely install everyone and everything in its place

i can work a job, and take care of the house, and not have any help

i can hold onto a spar that is myself, usually at ungodly hours in the night, and sigh and think

damn

i am a superhero

27:19

in my mind, it plays like this:

its dark. things hiding in the air.

am empty puppet with a little shiny triangle in his hand.

looks up from the fly in his net.

sees our little family, happy in our little pool of light.

comes shrieking towards us with beserk rage, hungry, clawing

i scream

clutch my baby closer. cower under the flimsy flimsy door. praying he will miss us.

a blast of light.

was it something i did right?

was it the prayers? mine or my mothers?

was it the sadqa lying in a little box to be given away?

was it my thought - give it to that little boy zeeshan. when zeeshan said, i'll give it later, i thought - let the onus be on you then sir. go with God.

was it just Allah having mercy.

it was just that - a flip of a coin. a shot fired. a shot unfired. something stopped him that second. wasn't his humanity. wasn't his fear. wasn't his uncertainity. wasn't our tinted windows. wasn't zeeshan's army jacket. wasn't a glimpse of a baby. wasn't my scream. something. that can only be. God.

thank you.

ashkura.

circles

the green vine drips down, and i stare out the window watching the bees buzz in and out. what a perfect summer, sans wind. lahore drips with serenity, little boys swimming in a cold nehr, wasps stinging playing children, cuckoos calling and millions of birds whirring overhead. my numerous nieces and nephews play outside, much like my cousins and i did when we were little and my grandmother lived here instead of my parents. we've moved one generation on, my grandmother passing, my parents moving in, and now my kids, and my cousins's kids play in the garden like we did. circles while standing still.

when i was very little, on those rare occasions when i was allowed to go play with my grown up siblings and cousins, my mother would stand at the window and watch me. i would look over occasionally and be immeasurably reassured, and then immeasurably embarrassed years later when i thought i was too grown up for that. being the youngest has its down side.

the house was very different then, but so much the same. trees, real trees that you never find anywhere else. trees to climb, trees to fall out of, trees trees trees. trees with bugs you wouldn't want to go near, but invariably of you got pushed in starting outraged shakaits to adults. bicycles, races, kho kho, baraf pani and some unknown game called garden garden. do my kids today play the same games? the squeals, laughter, howls after scrapes and outraged fights over imagined injustices sound the same regardless. my youngest, so tiny, just having learnt how to walk, is running with the older ones, not even realizing what the game is, running towards the den instead of away. she falls often, and my heart breaks a little bit as she picks herself up on her chubby legs and brushes grass off her tiny little hands, and keeps on running. so little, yet so big. once in a while, she too looks over at me, as i stand at the floor to ceiling glass window watching the garden.

six letter word beginning with F

we're on a boat, the sea breeze whose memory haunts me in other cities is ever present, gently ruffling hair, blowing beautiful beautiful clouds over a pink and orange sunset. its a work thing, and even though we all bitched about having to see each other after a long hard day, we're all thrilled and a little giddy to be there. what a view. what great weather. its one of those evenings where summer is ending, and hints of the winter to come blow in the wind.

z is there. chatting with a group of people he doesn't know, as comfortable as a fish in water. i would die a thousand deaths if i left his side in a crowd i don't know. he says something, and the entire group laughs till their sides hurt. the new guy breaks away to get a beer, and happily jostles me at the cooler saying "hey your husband is hilarious!"" eyes shining with the fervour of newly meeting z. z has that effect on people. people tend to talk to me and be pleasantly surprised i'm not as bitchy as i look. z they love at first sight. like i did. oh well.

i'm watching the fish swim close to the surface, the pink reflection in grey water, and the wind in my hair, and my very pregnant stomach finally at some measure of peace after sitting cramped in front of a desk the whole day. a perfect ending to a long day. i sigh in contentment. just as z breaks away to go to the cooler, i feel something stir. "z!" i look over. he's noticed my expression and is already walking towards me. "i feel the baby kicking!" i whisper so others don't hear and get weirded out. i'm thrilled. i read somewhere there's a 50% chance of losing the baby in the first 6 months, and i'm convinced that one day i'll wake up and the baby won't be there. but its there right now. kicking! i didn't even know it had legs!

"wow baby!" z says, putting his arms around me and both his palms on my baby bump. he feels the kick too, and gives an awed choke. we're cheek to cheek, looking at the sunset, and i sneak a look at him. his eyes have this pole axed expression that says "wow, we made something real". he'd been worried looking at ultrasound alien lumps and not feeling anything fatherly.

right there, he gives me a quick kiss. on the lips! in front of work people, and boat wallas and everything! and i'm grinning so hard i don't care.

and then people come over to find out what the fuss is about, and there's a round to the upcoming footballer to be, and general people feeling my tummy to feel the bump and by then its too late baby is apparently exhausted and silent therefore in my tummy.

a little clot of light. born. emerges in the world ten fingers ten toes. and creates a thread in the tapestry of the world. a unique shimmery color - a mix of the parents making a different color. bringing so much hope, so much aspiration, so much absolute sheer love. grows. into an angry, infantile teenager, stupid, ignorant, cringes when it thinks back to its youth. mature. still so much to learn, so little known. life knocks you down, you must learn to get up. old. wisdom, in a body burnt away. a husk, too little to pass on, too much still to learn, such a limited time you come to terms with your own mortality. and you die, curled up in the fetal position you were born in, a little clot of light, and the generations of humanity continue. death.

eternity.