Posted:
Hey there,
Here's a lil something I couldn't stop myself from penning down. This idea, is an old one and I have written it in my style, hope you will like reading this. This story could have had both, either a happy ending or a sad one. Not able to decide which one to take, I have given this story both (to keep all my readers happy 😃). The first post is with the happy end and the second is with the sad one. Pick your like and Happy Reading 😃
We Always Were
I remember when I first met Zoya Farooqui. It was a warm summer day and I was six years old playing in the front yard of my house when a station wagon flanked by a large moving truck pulled up to the house next to ours. She got out of the back of the station wagon with a smile on her face, her hair in a pair of pigtails and wearing a light blue summer dress. Seeing her, I felt a funny feeling within which I hadn't ever felt before and didn't know what to call it. But it was a new sensation my heart felt something completely different.
I stood there, watching her standing with one hand on her waist and the other securely in her mother's, watching her father give instructions to the moving men. Then suddenly getting restless she started pulling at her mother's hand to take her insides. Just as they turned around, I saw brown eyes that sparkled with life. They drew me in and the sensation in my heart intensified. While her Abbu instructed the moving men with their furniture and stuff, she and her Ammi came over and introduced themselves to me and my Ammi. Over time, our parents became close friends, and of course that meant that Zoya and I became friends as well. All of that summer we hung out together and I learnt that she was a bit of a tomboy, preferring to climb trees and wrestle than play with dolls or have tea parties. That first day I saw her was one of the few times I remember ever seeing her wear a dress, her preferred attire being jeans and t-shirts.
As we grew up, we grew closer as friends. Our parents thinking nothing of us having sleepovers were we would try and stay up all night, only to pass out shortly before sunrise. Over the years, I started to understand what the weird feelings I had for her were. It was love. I was in love with my best friend. I remember when we were fourteen, we were talking about the rumors of some kids at school going out together and when I asked her what she would say if people started to say that she and I were going out. Zoya stared at me for a moment before busting up laughing.
"That would be weird Asad," she said. "That would be so weird. You and I are so close. You know we're best friends."
I forced a slight chuckle and said, "Yeah... Yeah, that would be weird. Best friends it is"
But inside I was crushed. I could feel each crack as my heart broke. Here I was, in love with the girl of my dreams, and she viewed me as nothing more than a friend... Oh correct that, Best Friend. The years passed on, and my feelings for her intensified. I was still in love with her, even though she didn't have those feelings for me. It was difficult for me to behave as if nothing was there, as if she was only a friend but with a lot of self control, I managed doing so. Where I got all this control at that young age is beyond me and life went on.
During our senior year of high school, I was going to ask her to prom. For months I had been planning on how I would ask her. I rehearsed in front of my mirror hundreds of times, had prepared myself so well as to not fumble with words and not feel nervous telling her about my feelings. I was going to tell her everything about how I felt in the hopes that she would see me in the same way I saw her and say yes. However, the day before I was going to tell her, Zoya came bouncing up to me in the hall between classes with a huge smile on her face and dropped another bomb on me. She told me about how this cute guy she liked in her science class had just asked her to prom. She looked at me expectantly for a reaction and I like her dutiful best friend, yet again plastered a smile on my face as I told her how happy I was for her, but once again, I was crushed inside. Zoya then told me that all we needed to do was get me a date, and the four of us could go to prom together.
"That's okay," I said. "I'm not really big on the idea of prom. I was just planning on staying home and watching some action movie"
"Come on, Asad," she said. "It's prom. You have to go to prom."
"I don't want to," I said as I put my books away in my locker.
"Why not?" she asked as I slammed my locker closed.
"I just don't," I said and walked away. Nothing more was said about it.
The night of prom came, and I watched from my bedroom window as her date picked her up. In her prom dress Zoya looked even more beautiful and gorgeous than she normally did with a hint of makeup and her hair all done up. This was the second time in my life that I had seen her wear a dress. I spent the night watching TV, but not really paying attention to what was on. My heart and my mind both conjuring up scenes and scenarios of what must be happening at the prom. It was just a couple hours after Zoya left that I heard a car pull up next door. Looking out my window, I saw Zoya getting out of her prom dates car, looking really pissed.
"Come on," he called out to her, but she just kept walking while giving him the finger before she went into her house and slammed the door. "Fine," her date shouted. He then got back into his car and sped off.
A half hour later, there was a knock on my bedroom door.
"Yeah," I said. The door opened and Zoya walked in wearing a pair of sweats and a t-shirt with Kermit the Frog on it.
"Stupid fool" she said as she walked in and plopped herself down on my bed.
"What did I do?" I asked.
"Not you," she said. "My date. He was such a disaster. We got to the hotel were the prom was and the first thing he does is go talk to his friends. Then later when he actually spends time with me, we dance and he leaned in and whispers in my ear that he got us a room... I mean look at his guts. Bloody... Allah Miyan what's wrong with him... He actually thought I was going to sleep with him."
"Sorry to hear your night sucked," I said genuine feeling bad for her. I had seen her excitedly getting things ready for her prom night. I knew it always is a big deal with girls and to top it, her date was the cute guy she liked too. Zoya moved next to me as she rest her head on my shoulder. Instantly I smelled the green apple shampoo that she uses.
"I should've gone with you," she said. "At least then I would've had a good time, and not have to worry about you trying doing all that shit with me".
"Yeah," I said, once again feeling that pain inside as I was reminded that I could never have the woman I loved.
After high school, we went off to college. By some stroke of luck, or maybe misfortune depending how you look at it, Zoya and I got accepted to the same school.
I never dated in high school, hoping that one day Zoya would start to feel for me the way I felt for her. But in college, I tried to date. Those dates never went past the first one. As hard as I tried to move on, I couldn't. Zoya was the one I loved and every girl paled in comparison to her. Zoya dated as well, and I put on a brave and happy face when she would tell me about them. During our final year in college, Zoya moved to an apartment off campus with some of her friends while I stayed in the dorms. It was during that time she met Saif. Even I had to admit that he seemed like a good guy and treated Zoya the way she deserved. As much as I wanted to be with her, I was at least happy she had found someone that made her happy and treated her well.
That is until one night she called me...
"He's been cheating on me," she cried on the other end of the phone. Hearing her break down over the phone like that, I couldn't hold on and I told her I would be right over. I jumped into my car and raced over to her apartment. She was by herself when I walked through the door without knocking. I found Zoya in her room, on her bed with a box of tissues. I sat down next to her and held her as she cried and told me how he had been seeing someone behind her back for the last couple months because he got tired of waiting to have sex with her.
"You mean, you guys haven't..." I started to ask.
"No," she said. "I mean... I want to. But at the same time, I don't because I want to give myself on my wedding night."
I don't know what suddenly came over me. I had managed to keep my feelings hidden from her for the last fifteen years. But tonight, I suddenly let it all out when I whispered, "I love you."
Zoya pulled away from me and stared at me blankly for a minute.
"You what?" she asked, her voice flat.
"I love you," I said. "I've loved you since the first time I saw you. I've loved you all of these years. Everyday I see you is the greatest and the worst day on my life rolled into one because of how much I want to reach out and hold you in my arms butbinkniw I can't, not the way I want to at least. My heart breaks every single day because I know you don't feel the same way that I do and that you and I will never be together. It kills me to know that the most perfect woman in the world is right in front of me and she sees me as nothing more than a friend." I laid it all out there as I bared my soul to her. For nearly ten minutes I continued to tell her how much I loved her and what she meant to me. The entire time, she just sat there with a blank, expressionless look on her face. Not getting any response from her in the most important ten minutes of my life I knew we would never be.
With a heart full of pain and regret I said "I'm sorry," after I was finished. "This... This is the last thing you need to deal with now. I'll... I'm gonna go." I said and picking up my car keys from her bed I walked out of her room and left the apartment she shared with her friends. I was just getting to my car when I heard footsteps running up behind me. I turned around, expecting to be mugged, when Zoya launched herself at me. Her lips attaching to my own in a forcefull kiss. It was my first kiss. We stood there next to my car for five minutes as we passionately kissed.
"Stupid, pagal,," she said and slapped me across the face when the kiss ended. "Why the hell did you wait so long to tell me?"
I didn't answer her. Instead, I pulled her to me and kissed her again. We ended up back in her room and continued to make out on her bed for nearly an hour.
"Asad," she said breathlessly. "I need you."
"I'm here," I told her.
"No," she said, looking me in the eyes. "I need you."
Like a light bulb going on, I understood what she meant. "Zoya," I said. "Are you sure?"
She just nodded her head. "But you said you want to wait until your wedding night.." Rolling her eyes at me she said "Yes that was with other guys when I wasn't sure if they would really marry me... But you... I know you will" she finished kissing me so tenderly that it tingled my body all over. We took our relationship to the next level the same night. As we both tried to calm or erratic heartbeats and our ragged breathing Zoya rolled me over onto my back and rested her head against my chest. "Thank you," she said.
"For what?" I asked.
"For you," she said, looking up at me and smiling. We kissed tenderly for a little bit before going to sleep. We woke up a few hours later finding her room drenched in the early morning sunlight. That was a start to numerous such mornings that we shared. As we both finished college, I took hold of the reigns of my father's business and Zoya went on to complete her degree in computer technology and 2 years later we were married. The love that we shared never fading.
P.S. Expecting you all to hit the like button and leave back your comments and feedback encouraging me to keep writing.
Love always,
ChocoBerry ❤️
Udne Ki Aasha
Cricket
126