“Something keeps me holding on to nothing.” - Haunted. Ajabdeh hated hospitals. The smell, the sense of panic in the air, the people around, sickness, death and worse, her last memory of being in a hospital was losing her grandmother. As soon as she drove into the parking lot, Jalal jumped out and ran towards the emergency wing, without waiting for her. She parked the car in the designated spot and turned off the ignition. Then she stared at herself, looking rather sleepless, and stared in the rear-view mirror. Sighing heavily, she straightened her hair in a bun and opened the compartment to her left to take out a mask. She didn’t know how Rukaiya was and what made her do it. All she understood was that she had been a bad friend to the two people who had been nothing but kind and supportive to her. She let out a soft prayer as her eyes shone. All she wanted was for Rukaiya to be safe. Jalal ran through the corridor to find his parents sitting on a bench near one of the emergency r...
I know you by heart, and you don’t even know where I start. - Come in with the Rain “Who told you to confide in him? Is he your guardian?” Jalal looked up from the wooden floor of his hotel room to see Ajabdeh’s visibly irked face as she paced the room. “You said I can tell him.” He frowned. Ajabdeh inhaled, closing her eyes to calm herself. “I did, but I meant when and if he asked. Why do you feel answerable to him?” Jalal looked confused at her words. He got up from his couch and cleared his throat. “Well, we were just talking… he said he was single, so I…” Jalal tried to underplay the events. “What is done is done.” He observed. “It’s okay. Let's go down for dinner.” He tried to walk up to Ajabdeh and hold her shoulder, while she shrugged it off. “It is not okay.” She retorted, “You don’t understand.” She looked at him briefly with regret. He didn’t understand how the explanation of his relationship with her to Pratap appeared as if he was probably in the wrong. Or that t...
Oh, they sit around talking about the meaning of life and the book that just saved them that I hadn’t heard of - I bet you think about me. “Are you sure?” Pratap raised his eyebrows as Jalal looked flustered. “I am. Of course, I didn’t mean it. It was a joke! Ajab knows that.” Jalal could sense Pratap’s jaws tightening at his words. “It’s Ajab now, huh? Quite a friendship you two have.” Pratap almost taunted. This was when Jalal lost his cool. “Yeah, we do, what is wrong with that? Should we take your permission to be friends or speak, or flirt?” Pratap looked a little flushed as he spoke: “Who are you anyway?” “I didn’t mean… I don’t want you to get hurt. Any of you.” Pratap shook his head. “Yeah, thanks for your concern, Pratap, but I will never hurt her the way you do.” Jalal didn’t mean for the words to come out the way he did, and Pratap immediately took it to his stride. “Wow, what do you even mean? Is the purpose of my life to hurt Ajabdeh? Are you insane?” He retorted as J...
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I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this - Paper Rings. Sometimes life becomes too good to be true; happy and peaceful, and problems seem to vanish overnight. Usually, that is the calm before the storm life throws at you. Ever since their vacation at Sarang Pura and their eventual return to the city, Ajabdeh couldn’t help but notice a welcome change in Pratap. Not only was he friendly with her since their vacation, but he also spent time with Jalal, Shakti, Heer and her by the pool on lazy afternoons when Jalal strummed his guitar, and Ajabdeh hummed along. Jalal observed that he must be healing from his breakup for the better. Shakti noticed it too, but none of them pointed it out to make him conscious. But Ajabdeh was confused. She was used to his cold aloofness towards her, for as long as she could remember. He wasn’t a fan of her antics, and even his pity was understandable, but she couldn’t quite place what he was doing this time around. At times, when she laughed...
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Last updated: February 4, 2026.
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