-Open Your Eyes, Remember Me- A ZaYa FF *Hiatus* (Note: Pg 56, 6/1) - Page 9

Open Your Eyes, Remember Me

Chapter 2

Same day, 12:30 PM

Dr. Malik's Office, AIIMS, Bhopal

"Partial amnesia?" Zain asked, baffled.

"Yes, Mr. Abdullah. Partial amnesia. I had my doubts, isliye hamne unka brain scan operation ke kuch ghanto baad karwa diya tha. And I'm afraid the reports are not in favor. She has an inflammation in her brain, Mr. Abdullah, jiski wajah se she's lost a part of her memory. She's lost a year." Dr. Malik stated.

"Lekin doctor, shock ki wajah se yeh hua hai na...inflammation khatam ho jayega toh kuch dino mein uski memory waapis aa jayegi, right?" Zain asked. His voice was shaking. And he already knew Dr. Malik's answer before hearing it.

"Aa bhi sakti hai, aur nahin bhi. Medical science has still not understood the depths of the human brain. We cannot say anything for sure." Dr. Malik explained.

"Lekin we can try to make her remember. Ham use yaad dilane ki koshish kar sakte hain." Zain argued.

"No, Mr. Abdullah!" Dr. Malik said, alarmed. "I would advise against that. Such cases are rare, but I've handled a few of them. Jab bhi patient ko kuch bhi yaad dilane ki koshish ki jaati thi, they started to have a severe headache. Zyada press karne par woh behosh ho jaate the. It differs from person to person. Kuch ko sirf headache hi hota hai but others...others are not so lucky." Dr. Malik trailed off. "All in all, the consequences are not good. Don't even think of trying to make her remember anything." Dr. Malik said.

"Kya hum use yeh bata sakte hain ki uska memory loss hua hai?" Zain asked.

"Nahin Mr. Abdullah. Aise desparate measures adopt karke unki haalat aur zyaada bigad jayegi. Baat ko samajhne ki koshish kariye." Dr. Malik reasoned.

"Toh doctor ab..." Zain stopped, unable to think of anything to say.

"Ab kuch nahin, Mr. Abdullah. Have faith in the Almighty. In gehraaiyoon tak medical science toh nahin pahunch paayi hai lekin dil se maangi hui duaaen wahaan zaroor pahunchi hain. And one more advice, try to behave as normally as you can around her." Dr. Malik smiled.

Zain was far from being normal.

***

Zain had just discussed the conversation he'd had with Dr. Malik with Shabana and Ghulam. He had strictly warned them against telling Aaliya anything remotely connected to her past.

And he could not bear to look at their grief stricken faces hence he had excused himself from there.

He sat in Aaliya's room and was scanning through her reports which showed positive test for Cerebral Edema' or in simpler terms, a swelling in the brain when his eyes fell upon an album.

A wedding album to be precise or his wedding album, to be more precise.

He opened the first page, and then the second and the third. He realized in almost all the photos Aaliya had tears in her eyes and his face looked like a balloon.

He remembered how angry he was and how sad, how utterly sad he was when Usman had decided to get him married to Aaliya, without his consent, without his opinion.

If, to that sadness, you add 10,000. Then multiply it with 9,99,99,999. Then raise it to the power 56,866 and again multiply the balance with 12,76,85,990, then you might, emphasis on might, be able to estimate the amount of sadness and grief Zain now felt.

His life had shattered, totally and completely. His world had fallen apart. He could not see light anymore. He had fallen into this deep abyss whose darkness was swallowing him, slowly but steadily.

He was lost in his thoughts when someone hit his head, hard.

He turned to look, frustrated.

"Who the hell--" He started. And stopped. Standing behind him was him. As in him himself.

"Besharam Zain." he muttered under his breath. "Tum? Tum phir aa gaye yahan? Koi sharam hayaa nahin hai kya? Bina knock kiye..." He trailed, hiding the wedding album in the nearest cupboard.

"Mein toh hoon hi besharam. Lekin tune toh yaar Phattu-ness ki uuchaiyoon chuu liya hai. Ek National Award toh banta hai boss. The Phattu Of The Year Award goes to..." Besharam Zain said.

"Shut up! Just. Shut. Up. I'm not in a mood. Get lost from here." Zain barked.

"Apne aap se baat karne ka mood nahin? Yeh kya losers ki tarah muh latkaaye tehel rahe ho? Take a chill pill, dude." Besharam Zain smirked.

And Zain lost it.

"Take a chill pill? Yeah right. Chill pill my foot! Wahan meri biwi mujhe pehchaanti tak nahin hai aur mein yahaan chill karoon. Woh aankhe...woh aankhe jin mein meine apne liye sirf mohabbat dekhi...aaj woh aankhe mujhe aise dekhti hain jaise woh mujhe jaanti tak nahin. She looks at me with that strange...that strange look. Aur toh aur woh yeh samjhti hai ki parson uska nikaah hai! Woh bhi us...us gadhe Zeeshan ke saath. Use kuch yaad nahin. Nothing. Na hamara nikaah, na hamaara rishta, na hamara pyaar, na mein! But hey! I'm not supposed to be fretting about it. It's all cool. I should take a chill pill. And relax. And enjoy." He spit out, sarcastically.

"Acchaa...hmm..problem toh badi hai. Lekin iska solution kya hoga?" Besharam Zain said. "Arey haan! Dekh shakal toh tune waise bana hi rakkhi hai. Ab ek kaam kar ek sharaab ki botal le aur Devdaas ki tarah jaakar Yamuna mein beh jaa. Kaam khatam. Paisa Hazam. Aur problem? Problem solved!"

"What nonsense are you--"

"Nonsense? Oh haan, mein toh nonsense hi kar raha hoon. Tu toh jaise bahot sense ki baat kar raha hai, na? Dekh phattu, Aaliya ke saath jo kuch bhi hua, bura hua. Nahin hona chaahiye tha. Lekin your sulking around the house will just not make the situation any better. Usko tum nahin yaad ho, par tumhe toh woh yaad hai na? Zain memory loss bhale hi hua ho uska lekin woh abhi bhi tumhari Aaliya hai. Tumhari biwi. Tumahari Mamu-Ki-Bhanji. She's still Malika-E-Zain. Bas samjh lo ek parda sa pada hai, aur uske peeche, uske peeche wahi puraani Aaliya hai. Aur yeh jo tumhe woh strange looks deti hai na, woh isliye nahin kyuki woh tumhe pehchaanti nahin. Zain those strange looks are the result of her realizing that you are something more to her, that you mean to her when you shouldn't. She's confused as to why she feels you seem so familiar, when you should be a complete stranger to her. Her memory is getting triggered by your presence. Can't you see it, Phattu?" Besharam Zain said.

"Lekin mein.."

"Lekin Vekin kuch nahin. Dekh Zain, normal behave kar uske saamne, samjhe?"

"Normal?"

"Yaad hai tujhe woh Zain jo ek saal pehle London se Bhopal aaya tha? Woh carefree mastikhor? Jo Aaliya to tease karne ka ek mauka nahin chodta tha? Aur jo is Zain ki tarah Devdas toh definitely nahin tha. Zain tu use force karke use kuch yaad nahin dila sakta. Just be yourself, shaayad ye work kar jaye. Be cool. Be yourself. Meri baton ko mat bhoolna, samjhe? Besharam hoon, Beaqal nahin." He winked, and with that Besharam Zain disappeared.

"Be Cool. Be yourself." Zain repeated those lines like a mantra under his breath.

Suddenly Aaliya's phone beeped. Zain turned to look. It was a message from an unknown number.

"Zain! Mera phone mujhe do!" Aaliya yelled at him, coming out of the washroom.

"Haan haan pakdo! Mujhe koi shauk nhin hai doosro ke messages padhne ka!" Zain yelled back, trying to act cool, calm amd composed just as Besharam Zain had asked him to.

He started to hand it over to her when he saw the wallpaper. It was a picture of their Second Nikaah, both smiling at the camera. They both looked--

Wait!

It was a picture of their Second Nikaah.

Which was Aaliya's cell phone's wallpaper.

And he was handing it over to her.

To Aaliya.

Shit! Zain thought.

He made a split second decision and shouted. "Nahinnn! Nahin doonga tumhe!" He said, keeping the phone high above his head.

"Zain! Zain! Mera phone do! Zain!" Aaliya screamed at him, standing on her toes to reach her phone but to no avail. One thing she had to accept, this guy was tall. Like, shit tall.

"Itna pareshaan karti ho tum mujhe. Mera bhi to kuch haq banta hai na! Le sako toh le lo!" He said back as he ran outside.

"Zain! Tumhe toh mein abhi dekhti hoon! Gadhaa kahin kaa! Idiot! Mein aa rahi hoon..." Aaliya yelled as she ran after him.

Zain quickly typed 'Kitkit', successfully unlocking Aaliya's mobile and changed the wallpaper as he ran towards the lobby, removing the password too in the process.

"Zain ke bacche!" Aaliya yelled after him.

"Pakdo pakdo! Mujhe pakdooo..." Zain said moving the phone towards her and pulling it away before she could grab it.

"Accha! Tumhe kya lagta hai mein tumhe paka nahin sakti? Bachpan mein saari races mein tumhe harati thi. Abhi dekho tum." Aaliya shot back, breathing heavily. He was at an arms length away from her. If only she could lunge at him and grab her phone back. She launched herself on him.

"Aaliya! Marwaogi kyaaa???!!!" Zain screamed as he saw Aaliya jump towards him. He did not even get time to think as her body hit his and they were falling.

Zain landed with a thud with Aaliya on top of him. Her silky brown curls cascaded down and pooled around his face and her huge green orbs were sucking him in.

Aaliya removed on of her hands from his chest and moved it along his shoulder towards his upper arm. She traced a finger along his biceps, his upper arm moving on to his elbow and finally coming to rest on the back of his hand.

"Aaliya..." Zain said, aware of their proximity and the sensations her touch was arousing within him.

Aaliya gave him one of those smiles, which seemed more like a grin, which she usually gave when she was tricking him or--

"Gotcha!" Aaliya moved so fast that Zain could not even grasp what was happening as she opened his fist in which he was holding her phone, snatched it away from him and gracefully lifted herself off him.

She must've opened the message because she smiled that blushy-blushy smile which made Zain wonder who the sender was.

He started to ask her when Shabana called him. "Zain beta! Zara idhar aao, jaldi!"

"Jee phoops aa raha hoon!" Zain called back.

He decided he would deal with his Mamu Ki Bhaanji later.

Right now, he had some work to do.

***

April 3rd, 2014, 1:00 AM

The Ghulam Residence

"Yaar bahot bore ho rahe hain. Kuch karte hain na." Ayaan drawled.

"Ayaan bhaijaan! Ayaan bhaijaan! Chalo musical chairs khelte hain!" Humeira suggested.

"Abey chup kar! Musical chairs it seems, bewakoof ki aulaad. Apni tarah baccha samajh rakkha hai mujhe?" Ayaan said.

"Toh kya khelenge ham log?" Najma asked.

It was 1 o'clock in the night. The elders were asleep. But all the young lads and ladies in the Ghulam Residence were bursting with energy.

"Dumb Charades!" Nuzhat chirped.

"Kaun aadhi raat ko khel raha hai Dumb Charades?" Zain came walking.

"Zain jeeju--" Najma started

"Aaee! Shh.." Zain whispered.

"Oh sorry. Zain bhaijaan! Aap bhi aaiye na, hamare saath kheliye." Najma asked.

"Haan. Haan isme kehne ki kya baat hai? Here I am. Chalo shuru karo." Zain joined them.

"Ek minute! Aapi! Aaliya aapi! Aapi kahan hain aappp?? Aaapiii..." Najma screamed.

"Kya hua? Raat ke ek baje poora ghar ko sar par kyu utha rakkha hai?" Aaliya came out from her room.

"Aapi Dumb Charades khelne jaa rahe hain hum, aaiye na kheliye na hamare saath." Nuzhat whined.

"Dumb Charades? Itni raat ko? Dimaag kharaab ho gaya hai kya?"

"Dumb Charades khelne ka koi time bhi hota hai kya, Teacher Ji? Aap bata dijiye, next time ham wahi time table follow karenge." Zain said, very sweetly.

"Zain tum na--" She moved towards him, her finger poking in his chest.

"Haan, mein na." He leaned into her face.

"Huh." She moved away, frustrated.

"Huh." He moved away too, mimicking her. "Rehne do Nuzhat, yeh bechari dar rahi hai. Guts chaahiye Zain Abdullah ke against khelne ke liye. She doesn't have it in her."

"Accha? Guts nahin mere paas? Tumhe kya lagta hai, darti hoon mein tumse?" Aaliya defended herself.

"Lagta nahin hai," He moved closer to her. "Pata hai." He leaned into her face, his voice almost a whisper now. "Mamu Ki Bhaanji." He breathed. And cursed himself. He was not, not supposed to say anything that was even remotely connected to her past. And here he was, reminding her of something which was an integral part of her earlier life.

There was a moment of confusion on her face. Again, she gave him that strange look. That knowing-but-still-not-knowing-him' look.

"Kya hua darr gayin?" Zain said, trying to divert her attention from the words he'd uttered earlier.

"Darr aur mein? Oh Please Zain, your sentence is a contradiction in itself. Khelungi mein. Aur is tingu ko haraungi bhi." Aaliya scoffed.

"Okayyy!! Toh theek hai. Ayaan bhai, mein aur Humeira ek team mein. Aur Zain jeej--Uh, I mean, bhaijaan, Aaliya Aapi aur Najma ek team mein. Done?" Nuzhat clarified.

"Same team? Same team mein rahenge toh mein kaise haraungi iss tingu ko? Mujhe is Zain Gadhe Abdullah ke team mein nahin rehna. Never."

"Aur mein toh jaise is Aaliya Daayan Haider ke team mein aane ke liye mara jaa raha hoon. Actually haan mein toh mara ja raha hoon. Aliya pleaseee pleeeaseee mujhheee apni team mein le looo." He bent down and held her legs. "Hayyeee pleassseee Aaliyyaaa. Mein mara jaa raha hoon. Le lo. Le lo. Le Lo" He hugged her legs.

"Ugh, Zain! Zain chodo mujhe!! Paagal" Aaliya struggled to move as Zain hugged her legs tighter.

"Nahinnn yeehhh zulmm mujhee pe mat karooo. Le lo, le lo, Your Highnesss, apni team mein le lo...!!!" Zain screamed.

"Zain chodo mujhe! Zainn!!" Aaliya screamed as she stumbled down. "Aaahhh!!" she screamed as she fell.

She closed her eyes, expecting the impact of the cold hard ground.

And the impact did come.

Hard and sharp, as she landed flat on her bum. When Zoya falls Asad is always there to catch her, whenever Khushi falls Arnav always comes to her rescue. But when I fall...I land flat on my bum. Aaliya thought remembering her TV shows and sighing at her sad, sad life.

And then erupted laughter.

"Hahaaahhaahaha!!! Aaj mein neeche...Aasmaan uupar..." Zain sang. How she wished she could wipe that smirk off his idiotic face. "Help?" He offered his hand which she flatly declined getting up on her own, wincing as pain shot up her ah...bum, you know.

"Haila! Aapi aap theek toh hain na?" Nuzhat ran towards her.

"Theek hoon mein Nuzhat. Lekin kuch logo ka haal jald hi bigadne waala hai." She said, looking at Zain, straight in the eye.

"Mujhe intezaar rahega us waqt ka..Mamu ki Bhaanji." He said.

"Accha ab game shuru karen?" Najma asked.

"Yes, come on!"

***

"Umm Ummm.." Nuzhat struggled with the gestures as she tried to make Ayaan and Humeira understand the name of the movie.

"Kya? Fingers? Hawa?" Ayaan asked as she made a circle in the air earning a good lot of laughter from the other team and death glares from Nuzhat.

"Ummm!!! Uhh.." She shook her head wildly. Why was Ayaan bhaijaan so dense? she thought to herself.

She pointed her thumb towards the ground.

"Hindi?" Humeira asked.

"Hmmm! Hmm!" Nuzhat shook her head in agreement and then immediately made another circle in the air.

"Tick tick 1..." Aaliya, Zain and Najma started the countdown.

"Hindi...circle..." Ayaan thought confused.

"Circle ka hindi translation?!" Najma asked.

Nuzhat's face lit up. "Hmm!! Hmm!!"

"Gola? Gol?" Ayaan asked.

"Hmm!!!" She jumped. "Gol, okay, ab movie name ka second part." Humeira asked.

She made a one minute gesture and took something out of her purse.

"Tick tick 2..."

"Kya yaar tum log cheating kar rahe ho...Itni jaldi tick tick two?" Ayaan whined.

"Shut up Ayaan. Dekh, Nuzhat is ready." Zain replied.

"Paise?" Ayaan said.

"Tick tick 3..."

"Hmm!! Hmm.." Nuzhat said encouraging him to say more.

"Money? Cash? Notes?" Humeira tried.

Nuzhat clutched at her hair, frustrated.

"Nahiii!! Aap log" She started.

"Cheating! Cheating!" The other team screamed. "Nuzhat, muh band. Chup bilkul." Aaliya said.

"Hmm.." Nuzhat moaned sadly.

"Tick tick 4..."

"Kya Nuzhat yeh paise kyu dikha rahi ho?" Ayaan asked.

"Bhaijaan, aap bhi na. Sochiye, kuch aur synonyms sochiye paise ke." Humeira said.

"Hmm.." Nuzhat said.

"Tick tick 5..."

"Kya synonyms? Rupaiyya? Ya phir daaku style mein, Maal? Ya phir--"

"Hmmm!! Hmmm!! Hmmm!!" Nuzhat bounced up and down.

"Tick tick 6..."

"Maal? Gol...Maal? Oh GOLMAAL!! Yayayayyy Golmaal Golmaal! Mil gaya hame. Haha Losers ab tumhari baari!" Ayaan danced.

Ayaan Humeira and Nuzhat high- fived as the other three sighed.

-------[sneak peek starts]-------

"Okay! Kaun aa raha hai aapki team se?" Humeira asked.

"Mein! Mein aaungi." Aaliya stepped forward.

"Tab toh jeet chuke ham." Zain said.

"Excuse me?" Aaloya scoffed.

"You're excused." Zain said, stepping aside and gesturing her to go.

"Huh.." Aaliya scoffed and turned towards Humeira.

"Movie name?" she asked.

After a good five minute discussion they finally decided upon a name which Nuzhat whispered in Aaliya's ears.

Aaliya's eyes widened. "Arey! Lekin yeh toh cheating hai! Iski acting kaise kar sakte hain? Iski koi acting hi nahin hai..." Aaliya argued.

"Everything is fair in love and war, Aapi." Nuzhat winked.

"And this , my dear Aapi, is war." Ayaan smirked.

"Aapi!" Najma called her. "Jaldi kariye. Hawa bahot tez chal rahi hai. Baarish hone waali hai shayad."

"Okay." She moved towards the center and turned towards her team members.

She cleared her throat and pointed her thumb towards the ground.

"Hindi movie hai." Najma said.

"Hmm." Aaliya replied and took out two fingers.

"Two words." Zain said.

"Hmm!" Aaliya said again.

Again she took out two fingers.

"Second word." Najma said.

Then she took out her two fingers again.

"Phir se? Yeh paagal hai Mamu Ki Bhaanji. Najma, ise nikaalo hamare team se. Kuch nahin aa--AAAhhh...OOUUcchh..." He screamed as Aaliya stomped her foot on his toes.

"Ummppp" She said keeping a finger on her lips, asking him to shut his mouth.

She turned towards Najma still showing the two fingers.

"Do? Fingers? Kyaaa Aapi?" Najma asked confused.

"Ughhh!!" She took out the fingers one by one. Showing two again.

"Two? 2?" Zain said.

"HMMM!!" Aliya jumped wildly.

"Okay so second word is two."

"GOLMAAL 2! Wow Ayaan! How original. Tumne hame Golmaal 2 di? That is so--"

"Oye hello! Hamne koi Golmaal two voo nahin di hai. Ullu nahin hain hum!" Nuzhat replied.

"Umm Umm" Aaliya made a heart shape with her hands.

"Tick Tick 1..." The other team screamed.

"Dil?" Zain asked.

Aaliya shook her head.

"Tick tick 2..."

"Pyaar?"

"Uhuh"

"Tick tick 3..."

"Love?"

It was a no from her side again.

"Mohabbat?"

"Tsk..UGHHH!" Aaaliya screamed frustrated.

"Tick tick 4..."

She pointed at him.

"Mein?" "Hmm.." She gestured him to come towards her. He complied.

"Umm." She pointed towards his jacket. "Ummm.." She said.

"Jacket utaaroon?" Zain asked bewildered.

"Hmm.." She said.

"Tick tick 5..."

"Badi cheap ho yaar tum. Mujhe strip karne ko keh rahi ho. Woh bhi aise public mein, sabke saamne. Haye meri izzat per kalank lagne waala hai..." He hugged himself, partly because of the drama he was creating but mostly out of cold. The cool wind blowing was not any help either.

She hit him and gestured him to hurry up as they were running short of time. "Okay..okay utaarta hoon, wait...Lo, pakdo. Ab?"

She draped the jacket over her head and pouted and finally blew a kiss in the air. The wind was blowing her curls away from her face and to Zain she looked absolutel ethereal.

"Mamu Ki Bhaanji..." Zain said slowly. "Tum kehna kya chaah rahi ho? Mujhe tumahre iraade nek nahin lag--" Zain had not finished his sentence when suddenly he was pulled towards Aaliya and the jacket was now draped over both of their heads.

Aaliya grabbed his face in her hands and brought it close to hers, so much that they were merely inches apart. They were both breathing heavily.

"Ab samajh mein aaya...Mamu Ke Bete?" She whispered.

The wind took up speed and Aaliya gasped as the first droplets of rain showered upon her. Zain's jacket was almost useless in providing them shelter and water ran down their faces soaking them wet.

Zain snaked his arms around her waist bringing her impossibly closer, breathing in her scent.

"Aashiqui..." He breathed into her face.

Aaliya started to remove her hands from his face but Zain took hold of her hand with one of his, the other securely at her waist. He kept her hand back on the side of his face and covering it with his, he leaned into her touch. A touch he'd been craving for so long. A craving so intense that it was burning him from within.

Water ran like pearls down her face. Zain was so close that he could count the droplets on her eyelashes, hear the erratic rhythm of her heart which was matching his own.

He raised his hand and removed a lone strand of hair sticking to her face. He moved his hand along the side of her face, above her throat and tracing her collar bone he took hold of the side of her neck and tilted her face up. Aaliya fisted his shirt in her hands as Zain leaned in.

--------[sneak peek ends]--------

***

"Humeira? Yeh Zain jeeju aur Aaliya Aapi itni der se jacket ke andar kya kar rahe hain?" Najma asked Humeira.

The four of them had taken shelter inside the house but were confused as to what the duo was doing in the rain.

"Pata nahin baaji." Humeira replied, just as confused.

"Lagta hai Aashiqui 2 recreate ho rahi hai." Ayaan snickered.

"Bhaijaan! Allah Miyaan! Agar un dono ne kiss viss kar liya toh?" Nuzhat asked horrified.

"Ya Allah! Bahot bada panga ho jayega phir toh. Aaliya Aapi ko toh pata bhI nahin hai ki unka nikaah ho chukka hai. Aise mein Zain Jeeju ne emotional flow mein unhe kiss viss kar liya toh..." Najma trailed off, too scared to think of the consequences.

"Hame unhe rokna hoga." Humeira said finally.

"Haan...lekin kaise?" Ayaan asked.

***

Zain caressed the side of her face and Aaliya's eyes flutterd close out of their own accord. Their noses were almost touching.

Aaliya could feel his breath hitting her upper lip and despite the frigid weather and the howling wind outside, Aaliya was not cold anymore.

The feeling of being in his arms was something so familiar, it was as if she'd been there all her life, as if she belonged there.

Yet there was a small and insignificant part of her which screamed at her to pull back. That she was not supposed to be here. But Aaliya had long thrown rationality out of the window.

Right now she wanted this moment to last forever. She parted her lips as Zain leaned into her face and--

"TICKK TICKK TENN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Aaliya jerked out of Zain's hold, throwing the jacket off from above their heads.

"Aapi! Bhaijaan! Idhar!" Najma motioned them to get inside.

"Dekha na! Haar gaye hum Aapi! Aap dono--" Najma started.

"Chup kar Najma. Neend aa rahi hai mujhe...mein jaa rahi hoon sone." Aaliya said in a clipped tone.

"Zain bhaij--" Humeira started.
"Kal. It's too cold here. I gotta change." Zain said as he made his way to the room.

Zain and Aaliya didn't care whether they lost or won. They did not care about anything that that moment.Well, maybe except for the pounding in their heads and thumping of their hearts which were out of control, racing as if prompted by an electrical surge.

***

April 3rd, 2014, 9:00 AM

The Ghulam Residence

"As-Salam-Walekum Ammi!" Aaliya said as she entered the kitchen.

"Walekum-As-Salam Beta. Kya hua? Aaj itni der tak soti reh gayi tum? 9 baj rahe hain. Tabiyat theek hai na beta tumhari?" Shabana asked her.

"Jee Ammi...bas...aankh hi nahin khuli." She lied. She hadn't slept a wink. The events of last night played over and over again in her head.

"Aaliya beta? Subah Subah itna tayyar kyu? Kahin jaa rahi ho?" Shabana asked, confused to see her daughter so dressed up early in the morning.

"Arey! Wahi toh mein aapse pooch rahi thi ki aap tayyar kyu nahin hain? Jaldi kariye woh--"

"Aaj kuch khaas hai? Tayyar hone ki kya zaroorat?" Shabana asked.

"Ammi! Jaan ke kyu anjaan ban rahi hain? Z--"

"Salam-Walekum Samdhan Ji!" A shrill voice rang out as Asmita Ahmed made her way into the Ghulam Residence.

"Walekum-As-Salam Ammi!" Aaliya smiled, going towards her.

"Haye meri bahu! Kaisi hai tu?" Zeeshan's mother smiled hugging Aaliya.

"Arey! Samdhan Ji! Aaiye na! Gale nahin milengi?" Asmita said making her way towards Shabana.

To say Shabana was shocked would be an under statement. She stood frozen, rooted to her place. How was she here? How did she know? What will she do? Questions rose in her mind, questions whose answers she did not have. Questions whose answers she dreaded to get.

Asmita came towards Shabana and hugged her. When Shabana tried to resist, she whispered, "Chup chaap mera kehna maanti rahiye Samdhan Ji. Ek ghalti, aur Aaliya ko hum sab sach sach bata denge. Aur sochiye toh zara, agar aapki phool si bitiya ko yeh pata chala ki uski yaaddaasht kho chuki hai. Agar use apne ateet ke bare mein pata chala, toh kya woh yeh sab seh paayegi? Kahin yeh phool murjha na jaaye..." She trailed off as she pulled herself from the hug and smiled sweetly at a traumatized Shabana.

A smile so fake that it burned Shabana's eyes.

***

Okay okay I know you just feel like murdering me right now. But I know you won't. Cause you love me 😛 Haha..I love you too ❤️ Plus you won't get anymore updates if you kill me, so yeah, bear with me.😆

Don't lose hope because of Zeeshan's mom's entry. More drama is in store. Trust me, let the story unfold. 😉

Please Like&&Comment. Aapke comments padh ke mujhe Kuch Kuch Hota Hai 😳

And don't expect Chapter 3 anytime soon. 😛

For PMs please buddy the account mystories_PM,

P.S.-- DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE LENGTH OF THE UPDATES? THEY'RE TOO LONG, YEAH? SHOULD I MAKE THE CHAPTERS SHORTER? PLEASE TELL.