PART 20
Panchi emerged from Shabbir's car to meet with the furious gaze of her mother. Obediently she went to her trailer in close pursuit of her mother; she didn't get time to look at Shabbir but could tell he was staring at them.
"Panchi…" her mother shouted as soon as the door was closed behind them, "Kaha thi tum?"
"Mama…" Panchi attempted weakly
Her mother breathed deeply and Panchi tensed, "Panchi…Tum jaanti ho ke tumhare papa aur muje koi itraaz nahi hai ke tum bahaar jao, logo se milo…lekin itni laparvahi?"
Panchi's head was bent in silence, which perhaps did not help to serve her case.
"Panchi…main kuch pooch rahi hoon!"
"Mama, aap jaante hai…main Shabbir ke saath thi…"
"Beta…" her mother's voice softened slightly but her tone remained reprimanding, "Tum jaan ti ho main Shabbir ke bare main kya sooch thi hoon…Sari raat?"
"Mama…aap bhi jaan te hain…ke main Shabbir ke bare me kya sooch thi hoon…" Panchi's voice was small however her mother did not miss the defiant note in her words.
"Panchi…tum samaj ti kyun nahi? Who tumhare liye theek nahi hai…beta, tumhi socho…tum dono kitne alag ho…"
"Mama, iss mein aise kya baat aayi? Aap aur papa bhi alag hai…lekin aap to ek doosre se pyaar karte hai na?"
"Panchi, zindh mat karo…"
"Mama, zindh to aap kar rahe hai…"
"Panchi, main nahi chahati ke kal koi tumhare bare main kuch kahe…"
"Kaun Mama? Aur muje parva nahi hai…"
Panchi looked up and she saw anger in her mother's eyes and instantly hers mirrored the same. Without a second look, she walked out of her trailer and towards Shabbir's.
She ignored the bewildered spot boys she pushed past and disregarded the director calling her name. She slammed the door shut of Shabbir's trailer and he turned to her in surprise. His make-up artist made a hasty exit, but Panchi did not miss the knowing look she gave her.
Panchi's chest heaved; she was fuming and was taken aback by her response. Just hearing someone say Shabbir's name in anything other than affection made her angry and knew it was her own fault for not clearing things out earlier.
"Panchi!" Shabbir was saying to her now, "Kya hua?"
Concern was clear in his eyes and she ran to him as he opened his arms.
"Shabbir…Mama…" she was close to tears now and Shabbir's hands curled into fists. He hated seeing her like this and wondered as to what had set her off.
"Panchi…calm down…dere se batao…kya hua? Tumhari mama ne kya kaha?" he sat her down on his chair and kneeled beside her, stroking her arms soothingly.
She dropped her head in her hands and hiccuped gently, Shabbir smiled at her and she dropped forward so that her head rested against his.
"Oh…Shabbir, I'm sorry…pata nahi muje kya ho jaata hai…"
"Don't worry jaan…I like the way your nose flares up when you're angry…"
"Shabbir! It does not!"
Shabbir shifted his eyes deviously and bit his tongue; he shook his head and whispered, "It does a little bit…"
Panchi laughed but her cheeks were hot and she fiddled with her fingers until Shabbir slipped his hand into hers. She squeezed them and Shabbir pulled her down off the chair and onto his lap. They were both seated on the floor now and Panchi's legs were tangled in his.
"So…" said Shabbir, as he tucked her hair behind her ear, "I take it your mother doesn't approve?"
He knew how to mask his disappointment and for her sake was making light of the situation. Panchi shook her head in dissent and her eyes became sad again. He held her against his chest tightly, his mind ticking, what did this mean for them?
"Panchi…let me talk to her…"
"No Shabbir…koi zaroorat nahi hai…tum kyun safai douge?"
"Panchi…"
"Nahi Shabbir…agar woh samajna na chahe…to na sahi…"
"Accha baba, naraz mat ho…"
She hugged him again and they sat together, their fingers intertwined. Shabbir bought her hand up and kissed her fingers, making Panchi smile.
It was after a few minutes that someone came to knock at their door, Shabbir shouted immediately to wait outside and Panchi knew that the person would probably have run away in fear by now. Both of them were aware of why they were disrupted, it was time for the shoot. Panchi looked at Shabbir regretfully, unwilling to move, but he pulled her arms up. Holding her up as she pretended to go limp. He laughed, making her stand straight and pushing her towards the door.
She opened the door slowly and was met with the gaze of a dozen or so people, she made a point to ignore them and walk with dignity into the house. Shabbir followed not shortly after, though he did not have the good fortune to be able to pass uninterrupted. He heard snide comments, but it fell on deaf ears, frankly Shabbir didn't care.
Once the shoot had ended, Shabbir saw Panchi and her mother leave abruptly in their car. He decided to let her be for the moment, he would call her later.
Panchi sat in her room; she was irritated and didn't know what to do with herself, she was behaving like a child, she knew it. Her mother hadn't spoken a word since their outburst.
She felt her phone vibrate and looked at it absentmindedly, surprisingly it was from Sanjeeda.
"Panchi…"
"Hi…"
"Look I called because I wanted to see if you're okay…people at the shoot were talking and then the article…"
"Yes, I'm fine, what have they been saying?"
"Nothing…you don't worry about things like that…all I want to know is, that you're alright."
"I am, I promise, thank you for calling…"
"And this about Shabbir…?"
"Sanjeeda, you know him, of course it's not true…we're together."
Sanjeeda was clearly astounded; she was silent for a while until she finally laughed, "Well, took you long enough."
Panchi was glad she called; it made her feel better and thanked Sanjeeda again for the call.
Panchi lay on her back on her bed, sleep overtook her and she closed her eyes. It was dark when she forced her eyes open again and she looked at her phone quickly, partly to check the time and partly to see if Shabbir had called. He hadn't and Panchi felt a pang of disappointment, she decided to call him. She had just placed the phone to her ears; she heard something collide against her window. And then again, Panchi went closer to investigate, she pried open the window and saw Shabbir standing below.
Panchi stood shocked, staring at him, "Shabbir!"She hissed, "What are you doing?" she trailed off laughing
He didn't speak, but motioned for her to come down; she looked around her room aimlessly then laughed at herself as no one was there. She debated over what to do…but he knew she would come down anyway. It was late and he could see the house was quite, this was a risk but he knew she had been upset, he needed to do this for her.
She came down as expected; she was dressed in her night clothes and was shivering against the cold wind. He went to her and envolped her quickly. She pulled him against the wall, so that if anyone was looking out, they wouldn't be able to see them.
"Hey…" he whispered
She simply shoved his shoulder, and then buried herself against him. He moved back and kissed her softly, when he pulled back, she had kept her eyes closed and he thought he heard a sigh.
"Hey…" she whispered back this time and opened her eyes
He had her hands in his now and began pulling her, she couldn't see his car but once they had passed the gates of her house, she saw he had hidden it behind some trees.
"Where are we going?"
Shabbir put a finger to his lips and winked at her, mouthing "Trust me…"
😊
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