Posted:
Not proof read.
*****
Zain approached her apprehensively. He didn't know why he was feeling so nervous. That too because of Mamu Ki Bhanji. He presumed he must have eaten something weird because all of a sudden he found her cute instead of annoying. He now laughed at her antics, found it adorable that she insists on eating chocolate while reading, even if it does not last long.
He for once, in six months of their marriage, was looking forward to spend time with her.
Looked for excuses to talk to her-even if it meant to ask her to fetch a glass of water or open a bottle. He was getting weird looks from her and knowing smirks from his family.
When he mentioned his sudden fondness of his wife to his best friend Rizwan, he made a sound that sounded suspiciously like the cracking of a whip.
"I am not getting whipped by Mamu Ki Bhanji." He growled in a low voice.
"Keep telling yourself that bro." Said Rizwan in a voice someone uses while death.
"Repeat that line 5 times a day for a month and you might convince me. But I would have a hard time you know-since all you can talk about how bhabhi's nose gets all cute and red and scrunched up when she is angry!. If that does not indicate that you are unforunately in love, I don't know what is."
They say that denial is the first step towards love. All Zain wanted to do was find "them" and beat them black and blue for saying such nonsense things.
"Mamu Ki Bhanji?" He called tentatively.
She looked up from the laptop.
"Yeah?" She asked wearily.
"Umm..there is a launch party for the n-new project today." He stammered.
She nodded. This was Zain's first project and he had worked his arse off for this project. She had never seen him dedicated towards anything with such passion- even football.
She was puzzled at first. Aaliya had a bad case of profiling and when she met Zain, she had pegged him to be the happy go lucky types who cared about nothing but parties and legs. But he kept suprising her in a good way. And soon she learned from Chand Khala that he strived to make an image of his own- an image that wasn't supported by his father's vast empire, fame or wealth.
"So..umm, can you you know, pick up an outfit for me?"
She stared at him blankly.
"You want me to select you an outfit?"
"Cause you know-I ahem,suck at fashion and probably go for a tacky Zebra Print."
She laughed out loud.
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Yeah, I don't want all the elites to drop out of heart attack when they see you in zebra Print."
He smiled, his eyes twinkling.
Aaliya's heart went 'Ka-bump.' He always smirked,never smiled.
"I bet they are a bunch of 60 year old stuck ups anyway. They are liable to have a heart attack before I even get there. Anyways, I am thinking neon. Or leopard print."
"No."
****
"Yellow?"
"No."
"Pink?"
"No."
"Black?"
"..."
"..."
"No."
Zain groaned. "What the hell Mamu Ki Bhanji?! Pick a color. For god sakes, it is just a tie!"
He was currently wearing a crisp white shirt,top two buttons open, a black waistcoat on with black pants of course.
With dishevelled hair, Aaliya personally thought he could go on the cover page for a magazine for top bed hairs.
"you think he is sexy."
"No, I dont."
"You just want to run your hands through his hair. And that sexy stubble. And his eyes, aren't they brown? And his lips..you want to run your tounge over them and kiss him senseless.
You want to do the x with him."
She was apalled at her own subconcious.
"I certainly do not want to!"
"See? You are talking to yourself again!"
Zain's voice jerked her out of her thoughts.
"What? No!"
"Yes you do."
"Freak." Chided her subconcious.
Yeah, well that makes two of us. She thought dryly.
"Yeah,you do. You stare of in space and nod and make faces."
"Huh."
"I knew I married a freak."
"Yeah? Well I married a moron." She shot back.
"Yeah, well I am your moron." Zain said playfully and bumped his shoulder with hers.
Heart skidded to a stop as she stared at him blankly.
Zain, upon realising what he said, went red face and started stammering.
"You know..like we are umm married and uh, techinically, we are each others..so umm,uh, we are- I mean I am." He stopped.
Taking a deep breath and redeeming his self, he took another tie and said- "Blue?"
"No."
In the end, she chose a dark sapphire shirt, navy blue pants and a black blazer, no tie.
She had to admit, he looked good.
"Nice job Mamu Ki Bhanji. What are you wearing?"
"What do you mean?"
"Umm..I mean what are you wearing?"
"I am going too?"
"Of course!"
"..."
"..."
"I didn't invite you right?" He asked slowly, as if realising that he had to in the first place.
"Oh Zain!" Aaliya cried out, exasperated.
****
"Zain,what's wrong?" She asked as she sat by him in the car.
"Nothing." He said in a very unconvincing tone.
She kept mum, not pressing matters further. Instead, she slipped her hands into his.
He looked at her, suprised. She smiled a bit. A smile which he returned.
****
Outside the venue.
"Aaliya?" He whispered.
She shivered a little.
"Hmm?"
He took her hand in hers again.
"This is my first project. I work very hard for this and I know the blueprints are good." He sounded like he was trying to reassure himself.
"Okay."
"Don't leave my hand tonight, please? I am very nervous."
She could tell. His palms were sweating.
"I won't. I promise." She said simply.
He shot her a look which looked grateful and some other emotion she couldn't figure out.
"You look beautiful by the way."
She blushed as they entered.
"Thanks." She whispered.
"Hello Mr Abdullah. Mrs Abdullah." An elderly man greeted them. Zain shot Aaliya a look.
She rolled her eyes.
"This way please." He gestured to the end of the corridor.
"Thank you Mr Jacob." Zain said in a smooth voice. "Your wife is well I presume?"
"All is god's grace Zain."
He smiled and moved forward.
"It was probably good that I did not wear the Zebra print."
Aaliya chuckled.
"Zain!" A voice called out.
They both turned.
A beautiful lady,in her mid thirties was striding towards them. Her aura oozed confidence and feminism.
The grip on Aaliya's hand tightened.
"That's Ms.Veronica Varghese." Zain whispered to Aaliya. She is ranked among the most powerful women of the decade.
"Hello!" She greeted Zain with a large smile and hugged him and kissed him on his cheek.
Aaliya suddenly saw green. A feeling she couldn't understand,a pang in her stomach.
"Fancy seeing you here." Veronica mocked.
"Very funny. It is my project after all."
"And who might this be?" She asked, surveying Aaliya with her critical eyes which lingered on their hands for a moment too long.
She felt vulnerable under her eye. She was self concious all of a sudden.
"She is my wife, Aaliya Zain Abdullah."
Aaliya was a bit taken aback at the pride in his voice but it did not show on her face.
"Finally tied down have you? That is sad, I had plans for you Abdullah."
He smiled wryly.
"I have said this before and I am repeating it now- I am certainly not interested."
She looked at their interwined hands again.
"We'll see."
And just like that she was gone.
"What plans?" Aaliya asked when she was out of earshot.
"Later." He murmered as they entered the halls.
"Zain!" A frantic Rizwan appeared out of thin air.
"You" he wheezed. "Backstage. Needed." He doubled over trying to catch his breath.
Zain tore towards the stage,leaving Aaliya alone and empty handed.
"I need to work out more." Rizwan declared, straightning up.
He smiled at Aaliya and walked away.
Aaliya was at a sudden loss. She did not know anyone there and was feeling awkward, standing alone at a party.
She resented Zain at the moment.
And suddenly the lights went off, Zain appeared on the stage, while a presentation played in the background on a screen.
She quietly made her way to the corner of the room and watched quiet intently.
Zain had that capacity to mesmerize the audience. She admired him from a distance away, glad for the excuse to stare at him for long.
When the lights came on, the whole room burst into applause and Zain was engulfed in a swarm of well wishers.
Her sombre mood still existed but she was proud of her husband.
A moment or two later, her hand was intertwined with his. She looked up in surprise.
"Traitor." He whispered.
"You were the one who left me."
"Whatever." He said and placed a swift kiss on her cheek.
They were at each others side the whole night.
*****
Likes and comments are heartily appreciated :D
It saddens me to say this but you folks are a bunch of lazy people who do not bother to comment. Why so?
It is not that easy to write. Please understand. I have a 100 views and 1 comment.
I am not asking for appreciation, I am asking for feedback. I will be happy if you people manage to do so.
-Sanika
*****
Zain approached her apprehensively. He didn't know why he was feeling so nervous. That too because of Mamu Ki Bhanji. He presumed he must have eaten something weird because all of a sudden he found her cute instead of annoying. He now laughed at her antics, found it adorable that she insists on eating chocolate while reading, even if it does not last long.
He for once, in six months of their marriage, was looking forward to spend time with her.
Looked for excuses to talk to her-even if it meant to ask her to fetch a glass of water or open a bottle. He was getting weird looks from her and knowing smirks from his family.
When he mentioned his sudden fondness of his wife to his best friend Rizwan, he made a sound that sounded suspiciously like the cracking of a whip.
"I am not getting whipped by Mamu Ki Bhanji." He growled in a low voice.
"Keep telling yourself that bro." Said Rizwan in a voice someone uses while death.
"Repeat that line 5 times a day for a month and you might convince me. But I would have a hard time you know-since all you can talk about how bhabhi's nose gets all cute and red and scrunched up when she is angry!. If that does not indicate that you are unforunately in love, I don't know what is."
They say that denial is the first step towards love. All Zain wanted to do was find "them" and beat them black and blue for saying such nonsense things.
"Mamu Ki Bhanji?" He called tentatively.
She looked up from the laptop.
"Yeah?" She asked wearily.
"Umm..there is a launch party for the n-new project today." He stammered.
She nodded. This was Zain's first project and he had worked his arse off for this project. She had never seen him dedicated towards anything with such passion- even football.
She was puzzled at first. Aaliya had a bad case of profiling and when she met Zain, she had pegged him to be the happy go lucky types who cared about nothing but parties and legs. But he kept suprising her in a good way. And soon she learned from Chand Khala that he strived to make an image of his own- an image that wasn't supported by his father's vast empire, fame or wealth.
"So..umm, can you you know, pick up an outfit for me?"
She stared at him blankly.
"You want me to select you an outfit?"
"Cause you know-I ahem,suck at fashion and probably go for a tacky Zebra Print."
She laughed out loud.
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Yeah, I don't want all the elites to drop out of heart attack when they see you in zebra Print."
He smiled, his eyes twinkling.
Aaliya's heart went 'Ka-bump.' He always smirked,never smiled.
"I bet they are a bunch of 60 year old stuck ups anyway. They are liable to have a heart attack before I even get there. Anyways, I am thinking neon. Or leopard print."
"No."
****
"Yellow?"
"No."
"Pink?"
"No."
"Black?"
"..."
"..."
"No."
Zain groaned. "What the hell Mamu Ki Bhanji?! Pick a color. For god sakes, it is just a tie!"
He was currently wearing a crisp white shirt,top two buttons open, a black waistcoat on with black pants of course.
With dishevelled hair, Aaliya personally thought he could go on the cover page for a magazine for top bed hairs.
"you think he is sexy."
"No, I dont."
"You just want to run your hands through his hair. And that sexy stubble. And his eyes, aren't they brown? And his lips..you want to run your tounge over them and kiss him senseless.
You want to do the x with him."
She was apalled at her own subconcious.
"I certainly do not want to!"
"See? You are talking to yourself again!"
Zain's voice jerked her out of her thoughts.
"What? No!"
"Yes you do."
"Freak." Chided her subconcious.
Yeah, well that makes two of us. She thought dryly.
"Yeah,you do. You stare of in space and nod and make faces."
"Huh."
"I knew I married a freak."
"Yeah? Well I married a moron." She shot back.
"Yeah, well I am your moron." Zain said playfully and bumped his shoulder with hers.
Heart skidded to a stop as she stared at him blankly.
Zain, upon realising what he said, went red face and started stammering.
"You know..like we are umm married and uh, techinically, we are each others..so umm,uh, we are- I mean I am." He stopped.
Taking a deep breath and redeeming his self, he took another tie and said- "Blue?"
"No."
In the end, she chose a dark sapphire shirt, navy blue pants and a black blazer, no tie.
She had to admit, he looked good.
"Nice job Mamu Ki Bhanji. What are you wearing?"
"What do you mean?"
"Umm..I mean what are you wearing?"
"I am going too?"
"Of course!"
"..."
"..."
"I didn't invite you right?" He asked slowly, as if realising that he had to in the first place.
"Oh Zain!" Aaliya cried out, exasperated.
****
"Zain,what's wrong?" She asked as she sat by him in the car.
"Nothing." He said in a very unconvincing tone.
She kept mum, not pressing matters further. Instead, she slipped her hands into his.
He looked at her, suprised. She smiled a bit. A smile which he returned.
****
Outside the venue.
"Aaliya?" He whispered.
She shivered a little.
"Hmm?"
He took her hand in hers again.
"This is my first project. I work very hard for this and I know the blueprints are good." He sounded like he was trying to reassure himself.
"Okay."
"Don't leave my hand tonight, please? I am very nervous."
She could tell. His palms were sweating.
"I won't. I promise." She said simply.
He shot her a look which looked grateful and some other emotion she couldn't figure out.
"You look beautiful by the way."
She blushed as they entered.
"Thanks." She whispered.
"Hello Mr Abdullah. Mrs Abdullah." An elderly man greeted them. Zain shot Aaliya a look.
She rolled her eyes.
"This way please." He gestured to the end of the corridor.
"Thank you Mr Jacob." Zain said in a smooth voice. "Your wife is well I presume?"
"All is god's grace Zain."
He smiled and moved forward.
"It was probably good that I did not wear the Zebra print."
Aaliya chuckled.
"Zain!" A voice called out.
They both turned.
A beautiful lady,in her mid thirties was striding towards them. Her aura oozed confidence and feminism.
The grip on Aaliya's hand tightened.
"That's Ms.Veronica Varghese." Zain whispered to Aaliya. She is ranked among the most powerful women of the decade.
"Hello!" She greeted Zain with a large smile and hugged him and kissed him on his cheek.
Aaliya suddenly saw green. A feeling she couldn't understand,a pang in her stomach.
"Fancy seeing you here." Veronica mocked.
"Very funny. It is my project after all."
"And who might this be?" She asked, surveying Aaliya with her critical eyes which lingered on their hands for a moment too long.
She felt vulnerable under her eye. She was self concious all of a sudden.
"She is my wife, Aaliya Zain Abdullah."
Aaliya was a bit taken aback at the pride in his voice but it did not show on her face.
"Finally tied down have you? That is sad, I had plans for you Abdullah."
He smiled wryly.
"I have said this before and I am repeating it now- I am certainly not interested."
She looked at their interwined hands again.
"We'll see."
And just like that she was gone.
"What plans?" Aaliya asked when she was out of earshot.
"Later." He murmered as they entered the halls.
"Zain!" A frantic Rizwan appeared out of thin air.
"You" he wheezed. "Backstage. Needed." He doubled over trying to catch his breath.
Zain tore towards the stage,leaving Aaliya alone and empty handed.
"I need to work out more." Rizwan declared, straightning up.
He smiled at Aaliya and walked away.
Aaliya was at a sudden loss. She did not know anyone there and was feeling awkward, standing alone at a party.
She resented Zain at the moment.
And suddenly the lights went off, Zain appeared on the stage, while a presentation played in the background on a screen.
She quietly made her way to the corner of the room and watched quiet intently.
Zain had that capacity to mesmerize the audience. She admired him from a distance away, glad for the excuse to stare at him for long.
When the lights came on, the whole room burst into applause and Zain was engulfed in a swarm of well wishers.
Her sombre mood still existed but she was proud of her husband.
A moment or two later, her hand was intertwined with his. She looked up in surprise.
"Traitor." He whispered.
"You were the one who left me."
"Whatever." He said and placed a swift kiss on her cheek.
They were at each others side the whole night.
*****
Likes and comments are heartily appreciated :D
It saddens me to say this but you folks are a bunch of lazy people who do not bother to comment. Why so?
It is not that easy to write. Please understand. I have a 100 views and 1 comment.
I am not asking for appreciation, I am asking for feedback. I will be happy if you people manage to do so.
-Sanika
Writers Corner: Books, Stories & Poems
