Chapter 4
It had been a such a tiring day for Zubiya. Guests after guests had been coming for her mayoon/uptan function at Dr. Asifa's place. It was a ladies function which was kept fairly simple on Zubiya's insistence. She didn't want every function to be held on a large scale, because the wedding was anyway going to be a grand event. The guests had started coming in at around 12, and by the time they all left, it was 3 in the afternoon. She still hadn't washed off all the uptan that the ladies had applied on her. Most of it had dried on her skin, and she knew she would have to struggle with soap and water to get it off.
Lubna Aunty had especially come up to her during the function and explained something.
"Zubiya beta, aaj ka function itna important iss liye hai, kyunke iss ke baad tum officially Mayoon ki dulhan hogi. Puraane zamane main tou iss rasam ki itni importance hoti thi ke dulhanon ko mayon ke baad se kuch bhi karna allowed nahi hota tha. Mujhe pata hai aaj kal society has progressed a lot, but there's something you should know-"
'Mama ke kehne ka matlab ye hai ke ab tum shaadi ke din tak Asfi se nahi mil sakti," Gaiti interrupted, her face glowing with humour.
"Gaiti, tum meri nayi bahu ko tang mat karo," Lubna Aunty said while lightly hugging Zubiya.
"Mama main tou sirf bata rahi thi," Gaiti replied innocently.
"Aunty aap fikar na karein, hum log nahi milenge," Zubiya managed to say, her face crimson with embarrassment.
"Aisay waaday na karo jo poore karna mushkil hojaye," Gaiti whispered in Zubiya's ear.
Zubiya was glad that they were on leave from the hospital, or else it would really have become difficult to stay away from Asfi.
"Zubiya, Dr. Shehroze and I are going to the hospital to discuss a case with Dr. Haroon. You look really tired, I think you should rest for a while," Dr. Asifa interrupted Zubiya's thoughts while walking into her room.
"No no, I'm fine. I hope everything is going well at the hospital," Zubiya replied with some concern.
"Oh yes, you don't need to worry about it at all. You and Asfand deserve this break so much, I wish you guys had agreed to a couple of more days."
"Aray nahi nahi. You know we like working at the hospital, so it's not a burden at all," Zubiya explained.
"Okay then, we'll be back by late evening, and then we can celebrate your last night here at our house," Dr. Asifa smiled at her.
Zubiya had had many moments of realisation in the past couple of days. She kept telling herself that it was finally happening. Her once scattered, helpless life was now coming together. And most of all, she was happy about it. Sometimes she felt she didn't have enough words to thank God. It was their wedding tomorrow. She would finally be his wife. Perhaps a few months ago, if someone had questioned her about marriage, she would've reacted in the most harsh of ways. But this was her, the same Zubiya, who was more than looking forward to this new phase of her life.
As she heard the front door close, she got up and dragged herself to the kitchen. She needed some caffeine in her system. She filled a kettle with water and set it on the stove. Some trays of uptan, mehendi, flowers and mithai were still lying on the kitchen counter. She decided to organise them neatly while the water boiled.
Holding a bowl of uptan, she was levelling it down with a spoon when she felt a large hand circling around her waist and settling on her stomach. Her heart almost stopped beating as she struggled against the hold, trying to turn around.
"Sshh," he whispered, his mouth next to her ear. "It's me."
"Oh God. You scared the hell out of me," she exclaimed. "The next time you decide to break in, please take a moment and inform me in advance. Warna mujhe heart attack hojayga"
"Poori dunya ke logon ne aa ke tumhe uptan lagaya aaj. Tou mein kese peeche reh sakta tha? Mujhe tou aana hi tha na," Asfi said.
"Aapko pata hai, Aunty ne kaha hai ke hum kal se pehle nahi mil sakte. It's a ritual. Aur main ne unko promise kiya tha ke main aap se nahi milungi. Aap ne mera promise break karwa dia."
He was still holding her, her back against his front.
"Lekin iss ki responsibility tumhare upar thori aaygi. Main aaya hun na. I'll be responsible," he told her.
"Aap hamesha yahi kehte hain. Last time bhi aap ne kaha tha ke 'I'll handle it!' Lekin uss ke baad Gaiti Bhabi ki itni saari teasing ke sath mujhe deal karna para tha."
"Iss dafa tou Gaiti Bhabi ko bhi nahi pata chalega ke hum mile hain," he chuckled.
"Waisay aap andar kaise aaye? Without ringing the bell?" She asked.
"Dr. Shehroze apne ghar ki spare keys ka ek set meray paas rakhwate hain."
"Wah wah. Aur aap un keys ka in cheezon ke liye istimal karte hain," she shook her head while tilting it backwards.
"Madam, ye bohat important cheezain hain," he commented.
She was wearing a pale yellow short-sleeved kameez with a patiala shalwar. Her hair was left loose, albeit slightly messed up now after the event.
He glanced at the uptan bowl she had been working on. And immediately his gaze fell on her arms and face laden with uptan. Most of it had dried out now, remnants of it clinging on to her skin.
His hand slowly went to the bowl, his fingers dipping in and scraping out some of it.
"Ye kia kar rahe hain aap?" She asked.
Not answering her question, Asfi's hand came to her neck, and he began to smooth out the uptan on her skin in devilish motion.
He was staring directly into her eyes, his eyes fiery and unblinking. Zubiya gasped, unable to breath. Her hand touched his, attempting to stop him. But it seemed like he was in another world. His hands teasingly smothered the uptan on her neck. The chilly temperature of his fingers seeped through the layer of uptan, touching her skin and sending currents of adrenaline gushing around her system. Her mind was turning dizzy, as if she was under the effect of some drug.
The sound of the boiling water alerted them, and Zubiya broke away from him to turn off the stove. She set the kettle aside, taking a dreadfully long time to make her cup of coffee.
He was leaning against the kitchen counter, studying her carefully. He knew she was nervous around him, her usually measured movements seemed relatively shaky right now. He went ahead and steadied her hands.
"Calm down, Zubiya, it's okay," he said softly. "I had no idea ke 2017 main bhi larkiyan iss tarah sharmati hain"
"Main sharma tou nahi rahi thi, bas aise hi," she said.
Keeping an arm around her shoulders, he carelessly began to play with strands of her hair. He twisted them around while she stirred her coffee.
"Aapko kisi se bhi dar nahi lagta na, agar Dr. Shehroze aur Dr. Asifa aagaye tou kia hoga?" She asked.
"Thora dar tou lagta hai, lekin when I think of meeting you, tou woh sara dar face karna bhi worth it lagne lagta hai," he explained.
"Har baat ka jawab hota hai aap ke paas," she told him. "Lekin ab aap jaye, we're not supposed to be meeting anyway."
"Tou I guess ab main tumhe kal Nikah ke waqt hi dekhunga."
"Yeah, but not if you find another way to sneak in and secretly meet me," she smiled at him.
"Ab tou main poori koshish karunga," he laughed.
Running the back of his hand across her cheek, he felt the smoothness of her skin. Slowly reaching her lower lip, he ran his thumb across it. Her eyes closed in the moment and she sent a silent prayer to God, asking him to not let her faint out of nervousness.
Lightly touching his lips to her cheek, he placed a soft kiss.
"Kal milte hain," he whispered.
And he was gone.
Enjoyy, and please do give your feedback, it means a lot to me :)
Real Estate
Book Talk
Shiv Shakti
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
10