Loving You

CHAPTER# 1

"Nooreh... Nooreh...Noori! Stop running, you will fall at this pace, baby. Mama cannot run fast. Wait for mama.."

"I am going to get some ice cream, momma." Nine-year-old Nooreh called while running towards the ice cream truck.

"Oh, God! this kid never listens to me" Arminah Fawaaz Khan mumbled angrily. Nooreh, stubborn as always, was running towards the ice cream truck to get herself her favorite thing in the world: ICE CREAM! Upon reaching the ice cream truck, she got herself some ice cream. When Arminah reached Nooreh, she was heavily panting. Being 7 months pregnant and living in a completely new environment had made her extremely weak. Her condition could easily tell that she wasn't able to adjust to Pakistan.

"Nooreh! How many times have I told you to not rush out of the house alone? It is not safe outside. Not many people can appreciate a foreigner here. We are leaving in a few minutes and look at you. You are all sweaty now from running."

"Mama, I just wanted ice cream for myself. " Nooreh sulked.

"You have your ice cream now! Go and change your clothes. Look at all this dirt. Go hurry change." Arminah ordered her mischievous nine-year-old who couldn't stay still and had spoiled her new clothes by running and playing in the dirt.

===========================================================================================

Arminah went into the house to see her husband Fawaz lounging on the sofa while listening to the phone.

"Yes, Mustafa?" Fawaz was on a call with his best friend and business partner from his university. He came to Pakistan to meet him after many years. Fawaz brought his family to Pakistan so they could witness the culture and beauty of it. He wanted his family to know about their homeland.

"I'll be there in half an hour... Yeah, see you soon" After listening on the phone for a while, he replied, cutting the call. Arminah figured Mustafa must be asking about their whereabouts as they ought to meet them."

"Honey, are you ready? We should leave now. Mustafa's family is waiting for us." Fawaz asked Arminah after ending the call.

"Yes. Just let me call Nooreh. NOOREH!" Arminah summoned Nooreh, and soon she saw her appearing on the staircase.

"Daddy let's go... I can't wait to meet Azy... oh and also Zayn. Though I don't like it when he talks about his guns and everything..."

Nooreh started speaking after sighting her father. Arminah felt herself missing a breath as she heard about guns. That is what she did not like about Pakistanis. They were obsessed with their weapons. She did not want her kids to grow up in such an environment.

Arminah had always believed what people said about Pakistan and was not willing to change her perception of it. She, like every other foreigner, did not know what Pakistan was and started to hate it without knowing the reality. She was not willing to come to Pakistan when Fawaz had proposed it and had refused to bulge, but gradually when Fawaz coaxed her, she couldn't hold her rebuttal and had given in.

Her ancestors were Pakistani but she was American-born and had never once visited Pakistan. Hence, she was holding a grudge against Pakistan and its people without a solid reason.

==================================================================================

Fawaz Khan lived in the USA his whole life and married Arminah Khan, who was born in America and was brought up there too.

Fawaz Khan was a Pakistani who moved to America at a young age with his parents. Being the only child, he never had many friends, but he made himself a true friend. When he enrolled at university, Mustafa Ali Khan! Mustafa was a Pakistani who was on scholarship doing an MBA like Fawaz Khan. They had both clicked instantly and had been inseparable since then.

Mustafa went back immediately after his MBA to manage his father's business while Fawaz stayed in the USA. Mustafa was from a Khan family where there was a custom of early marriage. He got married to Seema Khan right after he came back to Pakistan and had three sons. The eldest was Xaviar Ali Khan and followed by twins Azriel and Zayn three years later.

========================================================================================