Can we pretend that

airplanes in the night sky

are like shootin' stars

I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now

Aaban asked curiously, "Who could that be?"

They weren't used to entertaining guests so his interest was piqued. He opened the door to find a young man in a sharp business suit.

"Excuse me, does Miss Tahera Tabassum live here?" the man asked politely.

Aaban nodded, "She does but who are you, why are you looking for my sister?"

The man smiled, "I'm Mr. Taahir Rahman's personal assistant, my name is Nadir Sheikh. CEO wants me to send something over to Miss Tahera. May I know if she's home?"

The moment Nadir revealed he worked for the Rahman Family, Aaban's expression dimmed.

However, his good manners still compelled him to say, "My sister is not feeling so well at the moment, but please come in."

"Thank you."

The horrible sound proofing of their apartment's walls and the apartment's cramped overall space meant that Tahera could hear their exchange even though she was inside her bedroom.

Their apartment only had two rooms and one living area. The living area was barely big enough to fit the little furniture they had.

Aaban led Nadir into Tahera's bedroom where a sickly Tahera laid slumped against her bed's headboard.

Nadir's measured expression slipped for a moment to reveal his shock. He couldn't believe the fragile looking woman in the room was the same woman he once served as his boss' wife and the young master's mother...

His temporary shock was quickly covered up by his good training, and he deferentially presented a cheque to Tahera.

"Nice to meet you again, Miss Tabassum. CEO wants me to present this to you. He said this originally belongs to you so please accept it."

Even before Tahera laid her eyes on it, she knew it was a cheque for one hundred million BDT.

She guessed correctly that Taahir had just found out the alimony cheque given to her three years ago was rejected. She rejected it three years ago and she was going to reject it again.

"Tell your boss I'm thankful but I can't accept this. He doesn't owe me anything so I won't take this from him," Taahir said nonchalantly.

Nadir was surprised. Confused, he added, "Miss Tahera, aren't you going to check how much money is on it first?"

"It's one hundred million, right?"

"Yes..." Nadir's shock only deepened. Since she knew how much money was on it, why would she reject it outright?

Tahera noticed his confusion so she answered, "I didn't take the money three years ago and the thought to claim it hadn't even crossed my mind, so I won't accept it now. Go back and tell Taahir the only thing he owes me is to give our son a good life."

"But..."

"Aaban, please help me show Mr. Sheikh out. I'm tired."

"Mr. Sheikh, you heard my sister. We won't accept his money," Aaban echoed as he moved to lead Nadir out.

Before Nadir left their home, he tried to persuade Aaban to accept the cheque on his sister's behalf but his offer was firmly rejected.

Staring at the closed wooden door, Nadir couldn't help but be intrigued by this family.

It was obvious that they were in need of money so why wouldn't they just accept his offer?

It was one hundred million BDT! Is it possible that their integrity couldn't be bought or they felt the amount offered was too little? Nadir couldn't figure out an answer.

He rushed back to the company and reported everything to Taahir. Taahir was not surprised by Tahera's response. He added, "That's all she said?"

"Yes. Miss Tahera said she won't accept anything and her only request is that CEO takes good care of the young master."

Taahir chuckled, "Tahseen is my son, I will take good care of him without her telling me to. Since she doesn't want the cheque, then leave it be."

"Alright, CEO. If there's nothing else, I shall take my leave now." Just as Nadir turned to leave his office, Taahir suddenly said, "Wait..."

"Is there something else, CEO ?" Nadir turned around to ask.

Taahir's dark eyes shone slightly when he asked, "How is Tahera's physical condition?"

Nadir thought about it and answered truthfully, "Ms. Tahera appeared to be physically weak but mentally sound. She was very collected and her eyes held firm during our conversations. She should be fine."

Taahir was inwardly relieved. "Thank you, you can go now."

"Yes."

After Nadir left, Taahir stared at the returned cheque. He was pricked by guilt and felt that he had to do something for Tahera. Maybe he should clear his schedule, and hash it out with her personally.

Tahera said clearly that she doesn't want his money but for Taahir, the money was originally hers, he didn't want to owe her anything either.

Taahir ruminated on it at length before collecting himself to focus on his work.

Tahera, on the other hand, was stymied by Aaban's insistence that she go to the hospital.

He insisted she go for a body check. He had tried both begging and intimidating but they were all to no avail until...

"Sis, if you still refuse to go to the hospital, I'll call Taahir to ask for the one hundred million. I know your reluctance comes from your refusal to add to our financial burden so the cheque will come in handy!" Aaban threatened.

Tahera couldn't help but laugh. She pulled herself up from her bed and surrendered, "Alright, you win. I'll go the hospital but on one condition."

Aaban cheered. "Yes! Fine, name your price!"

"If I cleared the body check, you'll stop bothering me if I want to stay at home, I detest the smell of the hospital."

Aaban nodded hurriedly. "It's a promise!"

His immediate mission was to get his sister to the hospital. Everything else that came later could wait.

Aaban packed their overnight bags in a hurry, and escorted Tahera to the hospital.

Tahera returned to the hospital that she escaped from yesterday. The doctors and nurses that knew her scolded her lightly. She accepted it with nothing but a smile, and they eventually stopped.

Tahera's body check turned out to be fine, but the doctor wanted her to stay at the hospital for a few days for further observation.

An extended stay at such a prestigious hospital would burn a giant hole in their wallet.

Tahera didn't admit it out loud but she planned to return home that day. It was not that she wasn't careful of her health but she didn't want to burden her uncle's family.

She was caught between a rock and a hard place because she knew she had to be physically healthy before she could go out and work.

However, lying there at the hospital with the IV feeding into her arms, she was wrenched by guilt and anger.

She might have dealt with it better if she didn't recover her memory but now that she had regained them, she was furious at herself for being so useless.

How she wished she could pull out the drip feed and start looking for work instantly.

As the saying goes, money isn't everything, but there certainly are many things that one can't do without money.

Tahera at that moment truly felt the restrictions brought on by the lack of money...

Aaban was also trying hard to earn a living. Even at the hospital, he was typing away on his four-year-old, budget laptop.

"What are you doing?" Tahera asked.

Aaban lifted his eyes off the screen and smiled. "Doing some freelance work. A senior requested my help writing a software program. It'll get us 3000 BDT after I'm done."

Tahera's eyes shone slightly. "You get paid instantly after the job is done?"

"Yup, the senior knows about our situation so he always pays on time. Actually, he wanted to offer me another project that pays for 20000 BDT but it's too difficult and he needs it done in two days. I'm writing him a message to tell him I can't do it."

"What is this 20000 BDT job about?"

Aaban was taken aback. He had no idea why his sister would suddenly be curious about a project that he was going to reject but he explained it patiently, "It's to code a mini game. I've done something like this before but it took me four days. My senior wanted this done in two days so I'm sure I can't finish it on time."

"Let me take a look at it..." Tahera sat up in her bed. Aaban quickly put away his laptop to stop her, adding, "Sis, please sit still, you're going to pull out the IV."

"You worry too much. Let me see what kind of mini-game you're making," Tahera smiled.

Aaban was an only son, so after his father took in Tahera, she became the big sister that he always wanted but never had.

Maybe it was the power elder siblings hold over their younger counterparts but for some reason, Aaban was always ready to entertain Tahera's requests.

Tahera had never once coerced her brother into doing things with either words or force, but Aaban had an unnatural obeisance towards his sister.

He intuited that there was something extraordinary and impressive about his sister even though he couldn't exactly put his fingers on it. The last six years they spent together hadn't cleared up the mystery either...

"This is it," Aaban said as he turned the laptop screen around, "But Sis, why would you want to look at this?"

Tahera moved the cursor around and clicked on a few buttons. She realized it really was a simple mini-game.

"Can you lend me your laptop for one hour?" she asked.

Aaban assumed she want to play the game because she was bored.

"Sis, you should take this chance to rest. If you're really that bored, why not sleep? Playing video games is not good for your recovery..."

"I'll return it to you in an hour. I saw some books in your bag, that'll keep you entertained in the meantime," Tahera said in a tone that brooked no argument. Aaban obediently complied.

As mentioned above, he rarely resisted his sister's demands. Above all else, he would feel inscrutably happy every time he managed to fulfill his sister's demand...

Aaban took out a programming text book and advised worriedly, "I'll only let you play for one hour, okay? If you don't return my laptop then, I won't let you play with it next time."

Tahera ignored him. She stared at the screen as her fingers slowly warmed to the sensations that she was once familiar with.

Tahera's thoughts wavered as she stared at the codes that appeared on screen. It had been years since she worked with these 0's and 1's.

She had forgotten the knowledge that was once imprinted in her mind. There was still a barrier that stood between her and these piles of codes even though she should have recovered her memory.

It felt surreal even after she finished writing a line of code. She couldn't help but wonder if the code she wrote were nothing more than a line of nonsense.

However, her fingers continued working as if they were moving on their own, surviving on motor memory that was seared into her brain. Things became clearer as more completed code began to appear on screen.

Her confidence grew as time went on until her fingers were dancing swiftly over the keyboard. Tahera was lost in the moment.

Aaban was curious what his sister was doing. He pulled his body forward and peered at his laptop screen. When he saw the lines of codes that kept appearing on screen, he almost fell to the floor in shock.

How could this be! Since when did his sister learn to code and not only that, how was she so damn good at it?

Aaban rubbed his eyes and examined it closer to make sure she wasn't typing random numbers.

He wasn't imagining things, she was really writing that mini-game that he intended to reject.

She didn't stop to think, refer to books, or even check for mistakes. She just kept on writing with a speed that he could barely keep up with.

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