The Sound of Home. 

The Sound of Home. 

“Bhaijaan (Brother) Uzair!” 

The two young women at the front practically shrieked his name, using the familiar Urdu endearment reserved only for a brother.

Both of them nearly threw themselves at him. Before he could even fully step inside, both of them came rushing toward him like a storm of excitement.

Uzair barely had time to react before Sabba threw herself at his arm while Zara immediately started complaining.

A smile found its way to his face without effort.

His adopted sisters.

Sabba and Zara.

Not by blood—but in every way that mattered, they were his sisters, and he loved them as such.

And clearly, the feeling was mutual.

Now he was finally home. Wasn't he? 

“You never told us you were coming!” Sabba pouted dramatically, crossing her arms while Zara nodded beside her like her personal witness.

“If you had told us, we could’ve prepared properly, you know.”

“Prepared for what?” Uzair raised a brow, amused. “A proper interrogation?”

“For your welcome, obviously!” Zara huffed. “You disappear for months and return like a thief in the night.”

He let out a quiet laugh.

Strange. The hardness he carried outside the house softened instantly around them.

Just hours ago, he had been sitting in a room where every word carried blood behind it.

And now here he was—being scolded by two girls who looked ready to start a war over not being informed of his arrival.

Oddly enough…

This felt far more dangerous. But exactly a home. 

“Why didn’t you tell us?!”

“What she said!”

Both of them stared at him with accusing, narrowed eyes, as though he had committed the greatest betrayal imaginable.

Uzair placed a hand dramatically over the left side of his white shirt clad-chest. His eyes were mischievous. 

“Wow. Really? You aren’t happy to have your brother back after six long months? I’m hurt. I thought you guys would be happier. Yet, here I am getting scolded.”

He pouted shamelessly, earning matching glares from both of them. But they didn't deny the fact that they were scolding him. 

“Calm your horses, girls,” he added, watching their grinning, overly enthusiastic faces.

That only made them laugh harder. With a teasing grin, he tugged at both their cheeks, earning loud, exaggerated yelps in return.

“Hey!” they protested in unison, swatting his hands away.

The sound filled the house so easily—warm, loud, and familiar—that for a moment, everything felt light again.

“We definitely are happy!” Sabba protested. “But where were you? Why were you so busy?”

Uzair sighed dramatically, shaking his head.

“Ah, life. What else can I say?”

They ignored his vague reply. 

“And more importantly,” Zara narrowed her eyes suspiciously, “where are our gifts?”

Uzair blinked.

“Excuse me?”

“You disappeared for six months,” Sabba said firmly. “Compensation is required.”

He let out a quiet laugh.

“So this is what I’m worth to you? Gifts?”

“Obviously,” Zara answered without shame. Sabba nodded in agreement with a large grin on her face. 

Before he could reply, Sabba’s expression softened slightly.

“You look tired.”

That caught him off guard.

For a second, the teasing disappeared.

Uzair smiled, quieter this time.

“That obvious?”

They both looked at him like the answer was painfully clear.

And suddenly, the noise, the laughter, the complaining—it all felt like something dangerously close to peace.

Noticing the sudden change in mood, Zara wasted no time pointing a finger at him, determined to lighten the moment.

“Don’t make fun of us, brother!”

“I would never,” he replied, far too innocently. “How could I even dare?”

That only made them laugh again.

“Fine. I’ll take you shopping. That should earn me some mercy, right?”

“Yay!” they shrieked, instantly forgetting their complaints.

“Now that’s more like it,” Zara grinned.

And somehow, in moments like these, the weight of the outside world felt a little less heavy.

Just then, Zara gasped dramatically.

“Oh no.”

“What?”

“Maa.”

Uzair froze. Now that was a tactical error. Wasn't it? 

Sabba crossed her arms.

“You came home and didn’t tell her first?”

The silence that followed was terrifying.

“Sorry to break it to you, but you’re a complete goner. And no—we’re not helping.”

They exchanged a look before grinning in perfect sync.

Uzair sighed.

“I may have made a tactical error.” He admitted. 

Both girls burst into laughter.

And for the first time in months, he laughed with them without weight behind it.

For the first time in so long, he felt a sense of lightness settle within him. This was home—the only place he had ever truly belonged. And for once, he allowed himself to stay in that feeling… without thinking about when it would end.

Their moment was interrupted when another figure appeared.

All three heads turned at the sound in perfect sync.

The moment she stepped in, the air shifted—not quieter, but softer.

“Ahem!”

“Finally!” Sabba whispered dramatically. “The real authority has arrived.”

They both shared a smile, happiness was obvious on both of their faces. 

“Hmmm… what do we have here?” A suave, melodious voice broke through, laced with quiet amusement.

Uzair didn’t need a second glance.

His head snapped toward the source instantly, excitement flashing across his face as he moved toward her almost on instinct.

“Maa—”

He stopped himself just short of lifting her off the ground, settling instead for pulling her into a tight embrace, mindful of her small frame. He kissed her forehead, lovingly. 

But the restraint did nothing to hide the emotion behind it.

The excitement—no, the relief—was evident on both their faces.

For a moment, he wasn’t the man who had just walked out of danger.

He was just her son. The one she had raised all these years like her own. 

She wrapped her arms around him without hesitation, holding him just as tightly—as if making sure he was really there. She felt relieved with him being here—by her side. 

“You came back,” she murmured softly, more to herself than to him. Thank god, he did. “You're here.”

“I am.”

Uzair smiled against her shoulder.

“Thank god, you are.”

Again her arms came around him instantly, as if she had been waiting for this moment longer than she would ever admit.

“I always do.”

She pulled back just enough to cup his face, studying him like she was checking for damage.

“I’m fine,” he assured her.

“You better be,” she said, though her eyes lingered on him, checking for what he didn’t say.

She didn’t look convinced. Yet, she let it go. 

Behind them, Sabba nudged Zara.

“Told you,” she whispered. “Now he’s not escaping.”

Zara grinned.

“Not this time.”

“Not for a while.”

The excitement was obvious on both their faces.

“How have you been, Maa?” he asked, his voice softening in a way it never did outside these walls. Lovingly, he stared at her fragile form with devotion. 

The adoration in his tone didn’t go unnoticed.

She smiled—warm, familiar—and leaned in to press a gentle kiss to his forehead, lingering for just a second longer than usual.

“Huh? Now someone remembers his Maa?” She remarked, her tone dripping with sarcasm as she pulled back.

But her hands didn’t leave him.

Instead, they moved to cup his face, her eyes scanning him carefully—checking, searching.

For injuries.

For exhaustion.

For truth.

Uzair smiled faintly.

“I was busy.”

She raised a brow.

Was he? 

“Busy enough to forget your Maa?”

Before he could respond, Sabba jumped in.

“He didn’t even tell us he was coming!”

Zara nodded immediately.

“Exactly. Very suspicious behaviour.”

Uzair sighed, shaking his head. “I thought we already sorted it out. Was I mistaken?”

“We can't just forgive you yet!” Sabba replied. 

“I see how it is. I come home after months and this is my welcome?”

“You deserve worse,” Neelam maa replied instantly—but there was no real bite in her words.

Only relief.

And something softer.

Something she wouldn’t say out loud.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~