Eyes closed, fingers laced underneath her curled brown locks, she was dreaming of the day she first met him. What she wouldn't give to live that moment again. But what she had with him today was more than enough. He had just opened to door to a new life; with the newly adorned sharp cut diamond on her third finger, he'd given her everyday of the rest of their lives to look forward to. For the last hours, he had been traced circles on her round hips, trying to make up his mind whether or not to wake her from a peaceful slumber. Often, either out of the guilt of keeping her up or the greed of watching her smile as she rose, he would sit by her side for hours in the morning. Their breakfast would inevitably get cold but she reasoned that his near perfect cooking made stale scrambled eggs taste like caviar. Truth be told, she hated caviar but she would never tell him that. Just the thought of having him care that much was enough to endure a lifetime of cold meals.
"Good morning", he whispered as the beeping of the alarm clock tore her rested eyes from sleep.
She wiped the drool forming on the side of her cheek and he reached over to steal a quick kiss.
"I am gross", she all but pinned him underneath her.
A sly smile adorned his features as he prepared for his comeback. "You are right. Look at how big your eye-bugger is".
This teasing tone of his invited a light punch to the chest and he took advantage of her distracted disposition to reverse roles. He was back on top and his lips now treading dangerously low on her frame.
"What do you think you are doing?" she pulled on his coiffeur with the strength of a trained warrior.
"Honey, I will only be five minutes", he replied meekly and continued where he left off.
"Oh no you won't!"
Even though he understood the implied meaning of her words, for the sake of kicks, he simply glanced over it. "What do you mean love? Five years going on six, you know I never take long".
As soon as the words escaped his mouth, the attack begun. One pull and his head was hovering over hers. One, two, three pounds to the chest.
"You pervert! Just you wait, you are not getting out of here alive". As if he saw what was coming next, he straightened himself upright and made a run for all that was dear to him. Soon a pillow hit him from across the room and goose feathers were flying in the air like a scene from the holiday movies. Except, theirs was not a holiday. Halfway into the lovers' quarrel, she broke down. Her misty eyes looking right at the marble ground, she sobbed loudly and called his name.
"Together or not, our love is doomed. We cannot be! If we stay, they will tear us apart. They will break me till I no longer remember you or what we looked like holding hands. If we leave, they will find us and then break us. There's no way out. They own us, you and I, we're slaves".
He gripped her in a tight embrace as if fearing a strong wind might take her away. When they first met, he'd known they would end up here eventually. He was a Hindu and her a Muslimah. They could never have anything more than a few dark nights together and that's how he wanted it going in- a woman to grace his bed during the long winter nights, a companion that would make him forget how alone he really was. But somewhere along the way, she became more than a thing with a pulse. She became his reason to drive below the speed limit, his reason to quit smoking pot and take up guitar lessons, his reason to finally trim down the bear gut and hit the gym.
Here they were, six years later, on the same white floor where their journey began. He'd proposed to her the night before and she'd said yes without a blink. But a good night sleep later, they were both having second thoughts. With families like theirs, who needed enemies?
"Don't marry me", she said controlling her overwhelmed breathing.
"I won't", he sighed, "but I can't let you go either".
"Marry the woman you mother picked for you".
"What about you? I love you".
"I will still be here, always. I can be your first love, your sweetheart, your soulmate. The Rukaiya to your Jalal".
He wasn't convinced that he heard her fine so he asked her to repeat herself.
"I said, you can marry a Jodha to appease your parents. We can still love each other like Rukaiya did Jalal..."
Cutting her off, he shook her shoulders firmly. "Wake up woman! Read the history books, Rukaiya may be the first queen in the high court but it is Jodha whom we remember with pride. Lovers swear by the story of Jodha and Akbar. You may not think a harm in it now but you are packing me up for another. Trust me, you do not want to be my Rukaiya".
He took his leave, his lover now calm and pondering over the meaning of his words.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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