Chapter 1b
Haya had only bad experiences on her first day at Rahat's house. Still she was happy and content as after days she was with her grandmother. The entire day Haya and Dilshad had barely spent time together. After dinner Dilshad asked Haya to come to the room as soon as she finished up in the kitchen. When she did not return for an hour Dilshad came to check up on her and saw that the main door of the house was open. She went out and saw that Haya was out in the garden. She was sitting on the stone bench and gazing at the stars just like her mamu used to. Dilshad came and sat next to her. Haya put her head on Dilshad's lap and asked Dilshad to stroke her hair. Haya had read descriptions of the night and the beautiful sounds that would break the silence of the night. In Punjab, Sanam used to tell her the about the sounds she heard and Haya would try to imagine them. On this night she asked Dilshad about the sounds she heard. Dilshad told her that she heard the sounds of crickets. Haya scrunched her nose as Sanam had told her that the sound was too bugging. It was getting late. Just as they were coming back inside Dilshad stopped. She heard the sound of someone singing and in the background the guitar was being played. Koi humdum na raha... Koi sahara na raha...Hum kisi ke na rahe... Koi humara na raha...' She told Haya what she heard to which Haya replied that it must be airing on some FM channel. Dilshad laughed and told her that no FM channel was playing any songs after midnight due to some technical issues. It had to be someone who was singing.
Haya (Signs): Badi ammi it is a sad song na? I think unka dil toot gaya hoga. He must be in great pain na?
Dilshad: Haan meri bacchi sirf sad song nahi tha I heard the pain in his voice too. Now let's go it is too late we have to wake up early.
Haya (Signs): Haan nahi toh M M M will be angry.
Dilshad: Who M M M?
Haya (Signs): Mean Munisa Madam...
Dilshad: Tch...
Dilshad and Haya came to their room and went to bed. A sweet smile played on Haya's lips every night when she slept. She had the same dream on each night ever since she had turned 18 years of age. She was dressed in a red bridal trousseau. The sun was about to set behind her. She saw a white horse gallop towards her and on it was a man dressed in black. She never saw his face. This time her dream was a bit different the masked man was about to reveal his face. Haya smiled in her sleep as finally she would see the face of the man who was meant to be with her and who she was meant to be with. She was eager to see his face but before she could, a shadow of a man in a dimly lit room flashed in her dream. Haya woke up with a startle. Her breathing got heavy. She was perspiring. She wiped her face and sucked her lips. She was feeling thirsty. The water jug was empty so she went to the kitchen to refill it. Just as she turned she was face to face with a dark figure. The glass water jug fell from her hand and before she knew a hand was on her mouth to prevent her from screaming. The light was turned on and Haya saw that that dark figure was Rahat.
Rahat: Chup. Now I will take my hand off of your mouth. Do not scream.
Haya nodded and Rahat took his hand off her mouth. Haya saw an empty jug in his hand so he too had come there to refill it. Munisa had heard the crashing sound and came to the kitchen. She saw Haya pick up the pieces of glass.
Munisa: Ya Allah! Now what have you done girl? You broke that jug? Do you even know how expensive it was? Shoaib had got it from his first Dubai trip. Kaam ki na kaaj ki dushman anaaj ki.
Rahat: Munisa stop it. Bina baat ko jaane kuch bhi bol rahi ho. I want the one who dropped it. Mujhse toota hai ye jug. I don't believe it ek kaanch ke jug je liye itna tamasha. Go to bed.
Haya and Munisa both could not believe the manner in which Rahat spoke with Munisa. Haya was shocked to see the badtameez man save her from the wrath of his sister. The same man who could not say please' took her blame on himself! Maybe he was not as badtameez as she had thought him to be. Munisa too could not believe that her kid brother took Haya's side and reprimand his own sister in front of an outsider. Both Haya and Munisa left. Rahat too went to his room. He did not drink water even when he was thirsty. He stood near the window and looked up at the sky.
Rahat: Maine uss ladki ki side li. Why did I do it? Maybe I was at fault after all so I protected her. If I hadn't scared her she would not have broken the jug. Yes that is it.
Haya woke up hoping that her second day in this house would not be as bad as the first day. Haya and Dilshad were given house hold chores which they did without complaining. Haya after washing the clothes went out to the backyard to put them on the clothes line. She wrung the clothes, jerked them to remove creases and put them on the clothes line. When she jerked the clothes the some of the extra water droplets fell on her face. She looked like the morning flower on which dew drops were formed. While putting the clothes her eyes fell on the glass window through which her eyes met Rahat's. They shared an intense gaze but then he looked away from her. Haya found him to be weird. Not that she was interested in continuing the gaze. Her eyes fell on her dupatta which had fallen off of her shoulder. So that was the reason he looked away. He is indeed not badtameez. She put her dupatta back on her shoulder and continued with her work. She was unaware that another pair of eyes was ogling her. Just as she was leaving, she once again looked towards Rahat's window. She could not see him but saw a guitar. Could he be the gup chup singer whom Dilshad had heard sing the sad songs the previous night?
She went to the back room and placed the bucket there. When she was going to her room she banged into a man. She was not going to fall even then he put his arm around her waist and pulled her into him. Haya tried to wriggle out of his clutches. The man suddenly let her go.
Munisa: Shoaib you are back.
Shoaib: Munisa who is she?
Munisa: She is Haya. Yaad hai aapko I told you about my distant cousin Dilshad, unki navasi hai.
Shoaib: Oh ho toh sali sahiba ki navasi hain aap. How are you? Welcome to our home.
Munisa: Shoaib she is deaf and mute.
Shoaib gave a sad smile and put his hand on Haya's head which he then glided it down to her shoulder and placed it right where her brassier strap was. Haya felt awkward and wanted to get away. Munisa told her to get water for Shoaib and also arrange for tea and snacks. Haya was relieved for the work order she got. Munisa was not there in the living area. Haya hesitantly brought water for Shoaib. He saw that Haya was being smart as she brought the glass of water in a tray. He smiled at her. When she brought the tea and snacks she kept the tray on the tea table.
Shoaib: Haya please give the tea cup in my hand. Dubai se lamba safar karke aaya hoon toh kamar mein dard ho raha hai. Plane mein jet lag hota hai.
When Haya gave him the tea cup he touched her fingers but took away his hand as soon as he saw Munisa approach them. Haya too left the tea cup at the same moment and it fell. The hot tea spilled on Shoaib's pants. The tea cup was saved as it fell on the rug. An angry Shoaib went to the room with Munisa following him. A slight smile came to Haya's lips. She cleaned up the mess. She went to her room and did what she loved best. She removed a dupatta and began her karigari on it. She could do it for hours. She hid herself from the trouble named Shoaib but another trouble was coming her way.
Rahat was in his room. He was troubled with the way he was becoming around Haya. He had never looked at another girl other than his beloved, Naazneen. He had closed his heart to the world after he lost Naaz. He could not understand what was it that made him incline towards Haya. He hated himself for looking at Haya. He hated himself for the eye gazes. He hated himself for touching Haya even if it was to prevent her from screaming. He wanted to forget about all the times he had seen Haya. The best way to forget about Haya was to remember Naaz. He removed an antique wooden chest from his almira. In it he kept his most valuable treasure, tokens of memories of Naaz. He removed each one be one and looked at it lovingly. He lost himself in the happy days he had lived with Naaz. At last he took out her yellow chiffon dupatta. He could smell her fragrance in it still. The corner of her dupatta fell in the tea cup.
Rahat: Oh no what have I done? Naaz ka dupatta maine kharab kar diya.
He went out of his room and saw Haya. She saw him and faced away from him because she did not want to speak with him after the morning gaze they shared. He did not want to speak with her but she was the only one. He had no choice but to give her the message for Munisa.
Rahat: Tell Munisa to clean this dupatta and return it to me as soon as possible.
Haya did not hear what he said so she went to the room to finish the work on her dupatta. In the afternoon Munisa and Shoaib had gone shopping. They took Dilshad along with them so they could make her pick up the bags. Haya and Rahat were alone in the house. Haya was sitting near the window of her room and she saw a man enter the gates of the house. She went and opened the door. The man told her that he was called by Munisa to give old clothes in exchange of vessels. Haya knew where the bundle of old clothes Munisa had left. She got it and gave it to the man and in exchange she got a small utensil. She did not bargain much with the man because by now she understood that Bhopal was very different from her hometown in Punjab. The man was leaving and as they have a habit he looked around the house if he could scout for some more clothes. His eyes fell on a yellow cloth. Haya saw that and remembered that Rahat had brought it out of his room. She looked at it. It was old and also spoiled. She thought that that dupatta was to be given away too so she gave it to that man. The man told her that he would be coming next Monday if there were any more old clothes. Haya nodded a yes.
In the evening,
Rahat: Munisa where is the dupatta?
Munisa: Kaunsa dupatta?
Rahat: The dupatta I gave the new girl to give it to you so that you could clean it and return it to me. Naaz ka dupatta.
Munisa: Rahat, Haya did not give me any dupatta. Wait I will ask her and get back to you.
Munisa asked Haya about a yellow dupatta. Haya signed to her that she gave it to the man who gave her the utensil in exchange of clothes. It was old and spoiled so she thought it was to be given away. She looked at Munisa innocently and waited for Munisa to tell her if she did something wrong. Munisa did not tell her anything. She came out of the room and smiled.
Munisa: Mere shauhar par garam chai girayi thi na iss ladki ne. Now I will make my brother avenge my husband's insult. Rahat and Haya both will not know anything about it.
Munisa went to Rahat's room and told him everything adding her own spicy twist to Haya's innocent mistake. Rahat was furious at Haya's carelessness. More than that he questioned her authority to give away something which was not hers? He like a raging bull stormed towards her room and thrashed open the door. Haya was sitting near the window doing her embroidery. She was shocked to see Rahat barge into a girls room without asking for her permission to enter. It was his home but she was staying in that room. His normally calm and pleasant demeanor slowly changed and his face contorted in an all - consuming anger. He was like a volcano releasing it's pent up emotions into the darkness. His eyes sparkled with ferocity and he gave her a death stare.
Rahat: What the hell!!! Samajthi kya ho tum khud ko? With whose permission you gave away something that did not belong to you? Had I not specifically told you to give that dupatta to Munisa? Why did you not give it to her? If you did not want to do a simple thing I asked you to you should have told me so I would not have bothered you. Kya hua koi explanation nahi hai? Why the hell are you blankly staring at me? Sunayi nahi diya jo maine kaha? Answer me damn it. Beheri ho? Goongi ho? Nahi tum deaf ya mute nahi ho you are heartless. Tumhaare liye kisi aur ki feelings ka koi importance nahi hai na. I swear mere saamne mat aana warna pata nahi main kya kar baithoonga.
Rahat stormed out of her room just like he had stormed in. Haya froze in her place. She could not move, tears came to her eyes. She sat there silently with tears flowing from her eyes. She could not understand one thing, Why was she crying?' She somehow managed to get up from her place and stood in front of the mirror.
Haya (Thinking): Why Haya why are you crying? All your life people have been calling you deaf and mute. You have been mocked because of your inabilities. Aate jaate sadak par roz tumhe aise log milte hain who make fun of you. They too ask you if you are deaf or mute when you do not respond to them. Then why are you crying when Rahat said the same things to you. Why does it affect you? Why Haya why?
She stood there in front of the mirror asking the same question again and again. Why did Rahat calling her deaf and mute hurt her so much? Why did a stranger affect her?
A troubled Rahat paced in his room. He could not get the sight out of his mind. Tears, he had brought tears to a girl's eyes. He could not bear the sting which her tears brought to his soul and heart. His heart, did he still have it with him because he had given his heart his whole heart to a special girl many years ago.
Rahat: How could I do it? I was so rude to her. The way I yelled at her is just ... I brought tears to her eyes. Was she really at fault? I was the one who was careless. I handed over one of my most prized possessions to a stranger. I should have given that dupatta to Munisa myself and not relied on someone else. Should I apologize to her? Yes I should.
Rahat opened the door of his bedroom and walked over to Haya's room. The door was open. He saw her stand in front of the mirror. Haya saw Rahat's image with hers in the mirror of the cupboard. Their eyes met once more and they had the same intense eye lock they had been having from the first time they saw each other. Without breaking the eye contact Rahat took one more step forward. Rahat was about to knock and ask permission to enter but before he could Haya slammed the door shut. Rahat was shocked and angry at Haya's actions.
Rahat: Badtameez ladki. She does not deserve an apology from Rahat Amjad Sheikh.
He went back to his room and shut the door and locked it from inside. Haya heard Rahat slam shut his bedroom door. She opened the door of her bedroom and tilted her head to look at the door of the room opposite to hers. That door was closed. She too shut the door of her bedroom.
Kuch toh hai tere mere darmiyaan,
Warna yoon baar baar mulakaat na hoti,
Labon pe khamoshi, aankhon se yoon baat na hoti...
Book Talk
Shiv Shakti
14