ONE INTOXICATED NIGHT OF DESTINY AND TWINKLING STRAS OF LOVE
FIRST SHOT
Asad sat down on the not so smooth surface of the floating stage at the middle of night after discarding his suit jacket and loosening his tie. His eyes closed in their own accord and a peaceful sigh escaped his lips as the cool water of the lake touched his bare feet after he had rolled up his pants as well as his shirt sleeves. Since childhood this place had been his own little hideout from the world. It was a middle sized floating surface, god knows made of what materials, which was situated in the middle of a quiet, peaceful and absolutely breathtaking lake, known to almost none. It was connected with the land by a very narrow path. This place had something magical about it which always calmed Asad, soothed him and made him feel peaceful. And now when he was having one of his worst days in life, this place again offered him her arms of solace.
"Upset?" This simple but sudden one word question almost had Asad Ahmad Khan jumping in fear and startle. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice that someone else was already sitting there. The fact that this place was never visited by anyone else other than him had also caused his ignorance to the person sitting beside him. His head whipped in the direction of the voice which was coming from his left and the moment his eyes landed on the speaker, his breathing halted and his heart missed few silly beats before thumping with a new found vigor. In front of him was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She looked heavenly or maybe she was truly some angel who had come from heaven, his mind wondered. Dressed in a simple white kurti and blue denim, her long, night-sky like hair dancing in the gentle breeze and her ethereal face glowing without any make-up except kohl which highlighted her soulful chocolaty brown eyes... she definitely looked like a fairy princess.
" You know, sometimes strangers are the best persons to pour your heart to because firstly they don't judge you and secondly never again meet you." Zoya said when he didn't answer. The voice broke his reverie and clearing his throat, Asad averted his gaze from her face.
" Today I found out that my childhood best friend whom I trusted a lot, has got pregnant without getting married and she was all set to trap me and make me believe that the baby was mine. So she could emotionally blackmail me to marrying her as she wanted my money, property and power." Asad let out in one breath while sighing heavily at the end. The day had turned out to a nightmare to his whole family and him and letting it out loud actually made him feel a bit better. He didn't know why he felt like sharing his horrible day with her.
"Wow! I must say you had quite a daily-soap like day, haan. I met my father today for the first time and he refused to accept me. He said that my existence is nothing but a shame for him and his respectful family as he never publicly got married to my deceased mother. He loves his position in the society more than this so-called daughter of his." Asad's head snapped in her direction as he heard her extra chirpy voice which highly contradicted her words. He desperately searched her face for any signs of joke in stunned silence and though there was a beaming smile on her lips but tears glistening in her eyes confirmed his worst fears. She wasn't joking and this broke his heart. Unknowingly a sharp but known pain twisted his heart and he felt beating that spineless creature black and blue who refused to acknowledge his own daughter.
" Am I that bad that my own father never cared for me? Never loved me?" She asked with the same innocent wide eyes of hers locking his midnight-black ones.
" No. You are not bad, in fact you are the most amazing girl I and on that matter anyone can ever meet. If one is not human enough to recognize your goodness, it is his fault not yours. He is the stupid looser here because he lost the chance of having the best daughter any father can wish for." The confident words which left Asad's mouth even before he could think anything, earned him a huge dimpled smile from Zoya and an even huger heart-attack from his subconscious. The walking talking book of tameez' and tehzeeb' suddenly having huge paragraphs from some love-sick majnu was not something not something even Asad's subconscious also couldn't handle.
" You are really very very veeerrryyy cute Mr. Stranger." Zoya said giggling merrily and pulled his cheeks. Asad's ears and cheeks turned a warm shade of red at her remark.
" Awww! You are blushing?! How do you do this? You know so many times I so badly want to blush but can never actually turn my cheeks pink. I mean I get embarrassed or shy but my cheeks never turn red. I think there is some blood circulation problem." Zoya concluded while poking her cheek. A cute frown and an even cuter pout was gracing her face. Her serious, thoughtful expression broke Asad's self-control and burst out laughing. Her silly talks had him in splits.
" Your abbu also left you?" Zoya who was till then admiring his carefree laugh, asked suddenly out of the blue, bringing Asad's laughter to a sudden halt.
" The pain in your eyes seemed familiar." She answered with a serene smile sensing his questioning gaze.
" I was eight years old and my sister was one year old when he left us along with our ammi for some other woman who was the daughter of a rich businessman. He wanted to become rich. So he married her and left us... never to look back." A heavy silence settled in after he stopped which was broken by Zoya's giggles.
" I guess both of our fathers are stupid. Your father also lost the chance of having the most amazing son in the world." Her words brough a smile to Asad's face and his insides warmed.
" I think so too." Asad replied to her first comment with a chuckle and Zoya continued to giggle. They sat there in comfortable silence, dipping their feet in the cold water and slightly splashing it. The full moon shone above them, compensating for the lack of light there as its moony glow added a fairy-tale like touch to the whole atmosphere. Gentle breeze ruffled their hair and kissed their bodies while whispering sweet nothings. The crickets faintly buzzed somewhere far in the background. And that was when a light-bulb went on in Asad's head.
"Are you drunk?" Asad asked her with wide eyes as the unusual vibe he was getting from her constant smile finally started to make a sense.
" Nope. I never drink. I was feeling very sad and I saw some people laughing really hard at a roadside stall. I asked them why they were laughing and they showed me a lassi type drink. I was really tired from constant crying, so I gulped it down and since then I am just feeling like laughing. Hehe." Zoya explained with a puppy face and ended with a giggle and Asad almost face-palmed himself. He understood what must had happened. It was holy just yesterday. So many vendors were still selling bhang.
" Where do you live?" Asad thought of dropping her as it was really very late at
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