Chapter 8

The next day, she woke up to a beautiful and charming weather. The wind was cold, but it was all cloudy. It was weekend. She got dressed in a blue jean pants and a white shirt, and wore sweater from above to feel a bit warm. After breakfast, she was doing her assignments when she remembered that she has to go today somewhere. She couldn’t decide that whether she should go or not, but stevens attitude last night let her made up her mind that she should pay him last visit and take her bracelet because it was more important to her. She couldn't lose her father's last gift. 

The weather was still same, but she quit the idea of wearing sweater. She was looking chic in that outfit, and with natural untie hair of mid back length swaying around her neck with the wind, made her look alluring. She took a bus and walked the half way to his office. She reached and stood outside the tall building for a while, took a deep breath and realised wind was tasting pleasant and lively. A cold shiver ran down her spine as she realised that she was going to meet steven for final time. Then she entered. She asked on the counter for stevens office and took the elevator to 69th floor. As she reached, she again asked the assistant whose office was just outside the stevens office. She could only see walls made up of glass and glass door at the front and its luxury outlook was stating that it must be his office. 

“mam, do you have any appointment?” asked the assistant. “I don’t know about that, but yesterday he told me to come to his office at 4” replied stella. “may I know your name?” 

“it's stella” 

“you may sit there; I'll tell you in a moment” said assistant pointing towards the blue coloured sofas located opposite to her desk. 

Stella sits there quietly, watching the assistant making a call and then going into his office. Then after a while she came. Stella stood up. “mam, he is not in his office and he cannot meet you, you may go now” said in a firm voice. 

“that's not it, he asked me to come because I left something mistakenly to him and he had to return it to me today” explained stella in shock after the deny. 

“mam you're mistaken, he is not in his office and he don’t want to meet you, maybe you're at the wrong place, please leave” her words were clear enough. 

She couldn't say anything further, it was a great insult to her. She felt broken, dejected. But there was something which she was feeling at the moment, being watched! She was looking miserable as her self-respect was torn into pieces. She was regretting for believing in him and making a wrong decision. But the sense of being watched was overwhelming. She walked past his office, crestfallen. Through one of the windows, someone was standing silently watching her sad face and observing her, she noticed. In a second the curtains were pulled, and she didn’t see him anymore. She stepped in the elevator and with every passing floor she grew more despondent. 

The weather no more seemed charming to her. She felt bothered by the chilly wind. Her tears ran down her cheeks but turned cold as the wind passed her and flew more slowly. She wanted them to flow continuously, taking away all her sadness, her broken pride and dignity but nature was not either supporting her. She was lacking self-worth, after being insulted like this her high self-esteem was shattered. She walked past the road and rather than taking a bus she started to walk on footpath. “why he even asked me to come, if he feels so low to meet me? He enjoyed watching me hurt and being disrespected, he lied that he was not there while he watched my pride shattering, I'm no one to him, he feels disgusted to see me as he considers me as his ugly truth” a splash of thoughts. 

She didn’t even notice that for how long she walked but until she reached her house, some tears were dried on the cheek, some on neck and some reached her shirt collar and made it wet, giving a cooling effect to her collarbone. All the way after thinking, finally she made a decision. She hoped that her mother would not notice her face. She reached the door but a sound captured her attention. Someone was reciting a holy book, it was in Arabic, she did not understand it but a sense of tranquillity, peace she felt in her mind. The reciter again came up with the translation and read “AND PUT THY TRUST IN ALLAH, AND ENOUGH IS ALLAH AS A DISPOSER OF AFFAIRS” 

And she was dazzled for a moment. She stopped there; she could not move anymore. She froze, couldn't sense anything, her body was not supporting her anymore she felt useless, only the words sparked her mind and it kept rewinding.