"How are you?" Seraphina asked, breaking the hug with that old lady, Clara.
"I'm good, my child and you're looking so beautiful,"
Seraphina smiled, hearing her
"She is indeed just not only beautiful from outside but a more beautiful hearted girl, just like you had told me, Arzal," Clara smiled
Seraphina trailed her eyes at him, startled that he had talked to Clara about her.
"And I'm lucky to call this beautiful human mine and the love of my life," He stated, gazing at her azure eyes. She blushed and looked down.
" You both really look fated to be together and hope you remain together always," Clara said.
"We'll, always," He clutched her hand.
A warm smile crept on Seraphina's face whereas her heart fluttered at his alluring words.
"Ok now, let's eat something or else I'll faint out of hunger," He said, earning a chuckle from Clara.
"The food is ready. Let's go inside,"
He nodded at Clara and looked at Seraphina.
"Let's go," He tightened their intertwined palms and she gladly followed him inside that place.
"Yum.. This spaghetti is so tasty," She commented, chewing her food like a happy kid. He smiled. He had made all those arrangements for their dinner and had even made the place decorated from inside.
They both were having their dinner. They requested Clara to join them but she refused, saying she had already had her dinner and gave the couple their privacy to enjoy their moment.
"Aunt Clara really makes very tasty food. There's magic in her hands,"
Arzal chortled, at her words.
"That's why her food is my very favourite from my school days and till now," He said, making her smile too.
"I always used to save my pocket money and then used to spend it on to buy her food in my school's cafeteria and aunt Clara even used to give me food even if I sometimes used to forget the money and didn't pay her,"
Seraphina had never heard him talking so freely and happily. It was like she was seeing a new Arzal before her who was carefree and unbothered about everything.
"School days were the best days of my life. Me and Nick used to be the toppers in our class. Yeah.. First we were like after each other's neck because we always used to get same marks in every subject but then we became best buddy as one day we got an assignment together and we really started getting along with each other well after that,"
Seraphina noticed as he was telling her his story, his beautiful smile didn't fall from his face, indicating how beautiful those days were really for him which made her happy too.
"And we both had even troubled our new classmates together and even our principal had called for our mothers to tell them about their son's precious activities in school," He chuckled, remembering those days.
"And my mum had beaten me that day with a stick for troubling my classmates,"
Seraphina chuckled, as he uttered that to her. He also laughed.
"Don't laugh.. that had hurted pretty bad,"
"Well you deserved it for troubling your new classmates, Mr Grayson," Seraphina teased him, making him narrowed his eyes playfully.
She giggled and further stated.
"I'll tell aunt Rebecca to beat you again and this time I'll help her in finding the stick,"
As soon as she said those words, Seraphina noticed his smile faded from his face completely. That old Arzal had again come back, who had those firm walls built up all around him to guard his true emotions.
Seraphina became confused at his sudden change in mood. She was about to ask him what had happened but Clara came in.
"Do you want something else?" She asked, beaming.
"No, we're done," He uttered in his usual cold tone, making both Seraphina and Clara untidy.
He got up and said to Seraphina, firmly
"Let's go,"
Seraphina nodded and then looked at Clara. She flashed her an apologetic smile which Clara returned with an understanding grin and then the couple left from there.
His sharp grey eyes were focused on the road as he was driving his car. Seraphina noticed he was clutching the wheel more strongly than necessary and the speed of the car had even increased to a dangerous extent.
His face hardened. His jaw, tightly set. She wondered what had gotten into him. She was about to ask him but then noticed he had accelerated the speed more.
"Slow down a bit, please... " She told him, concerned for their safety but witnessed him increase the speed more, like her words weren't audible for him.
She was about to tell him to slow down again but then noticed him forcefully pulled back his car.
Seraphina shrugged at her seat, aggressively and then looked at him, bewildered.
"What happened?" She finally dared to ask him.
He tossed his head at her and her eyes widened by watching his reddened eyes which were even glistening with tears. Her heart ached. Seraphina immediately opened her seatbelt and leaned closer to him.
"Please tell me, what happened?" She palmed his face and gazed at him, worriedly.
He didn't reply but just stared at her, silently until a tear slipped down his eyes. Seraphina's gaze on its own blurred with tears by watching him crying. She firmly cupped his face and wiped his tears away.
"Wh... "
"She left me alone,"
Seraphina became confused, at his words. Now he was looking vulnerable as more tears gathered into his eyes.
"I loved her so much. I promised her that I'll try to be the best but she still left me alone," He uttered, staring at her.
"Who?" She asked.
Arzal sighed heavily and took his teary eyes away from her and then looked at the night sky through the car's window.
"My mum. She left me alone,"
His words confused her more but his mom, Rebecca lived with him then why he was saying it but her confusion faded, when he tilted his head to look at her again.
"Rebecca isn't my mother. She's my mum's cousin,"
The revelation hitted her like a truck.
"She's taking care of me from the day my mum had committed s..suicide,"
Seraphina's eyes widened. She looked at him, bewildered. More tears rolled down from her cheek.
"My mum, Arzia committed suicide when I was 16,"
A lone tear fell from her eyes
"I came from my school with a hope to see my mum, waiting for me to feed me, to hug me but I had found my mum lifeless on the floor, with that pool of blood around her which were coming from her slitted wrist," Almost a sob broke out from his mouth as he continued to tell her about his past
"And from that day, Rebecca, my mum's cousin, has been taking care of me, like her own son. She didn't even think about marrying and getting her own family. She has just devoted her entire life to look after me after my mum left him,"
Now Arzal's tears betrayed him badly. Without saying anything further, Seraphina sat on his lap by stretching herself.
She kissed his entire face. His tears and then pecked his head, lovingly. Arzal looked at her where he saw crying too because she knew the pain of losing parents.
"Your mum is always with you," She softly breathed out, gazing at him.
"Because our parents are in our hearts and they are living with us with every beat of our heart, Arzal, "
He teared up more and then pressed his lips over her because she was the only cure of that aching fear of loneliness he was feeling from that day, he had seen his mother leaving him.