FF: IPKKND My Life Story Thread#2 [COMPLETED]

Hi friends!

After receiving an overwhelming response to my FF: IPKKND My Life Story which is reaching 150 pages (old thread link: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/iss-pyaar-ko-kya-naam-doon/3014195/ipkknd-my-life-story-imp-note-on-pg-145 )

I'm making this new thread to continue the chapters. However, I have copied the Prologue page below as well as all the chapters from the start for ease of the new readers.

Introduction

IPKKND no doubt stole our hearts for being so unique but in my heart, it holds a special place for another reason. It captures many incidents of my life in a beautiful way, some good, some bad but nevertheless the characters Arnav and Khushi are very close portrayal of me and my husband (not only in personalities and beliefs but also physical appearance). And please don't assume I look exactly like Sanaya or my hubby looks like Barun! LOL! The character of Khushi required someone who is petite, fair, innocent -faced, delicate structured, has cute looks that attracts everyone, one who thinks from the heart, wants to see everyone in a win-win situation, lives in the moment and that is what I am and look like as well. While the character of ASR required someone arrogant looking, perfect postured, straight forward, fierce when angry, extremely intelligent and street smart, carries himself with grace and charisma, weighs everything in life based on the end result and far sighted, which is what my hubby SRK is like.

I have noted more than 15 incidents of my life being aired on the show, some better in reality and some better shown on the show. So now I'm going to put those incidents in the form of a story/FF keeping the characters intact i.e. me as Khushi and my hubby as ASR. The only difference this FF would have from other FF (that maybe imaginary), is that this is based on real life.

I think when we see all that on the screen, it may be quite entertaining. Whereas, in reality when we are tested like Khushi was, it isn't as merry as it seems. A situation where even when you say or do the right thing, you will be cornered till you can explain your actions or words in the right way at the right time. And if you cannot do that, you will be punished for it and similarly if accused of anything, you are deemed guilty till you can prove your innocence. Where if you haven't prepared yourself with all the facts of the conversation or request you are about to make, your conversation will end in 2 minutes. Where no one is a match against ASR's witty one-liners and when he wants to make a point, he does not need to argue at all to prove anything. He simply asks a few short questions and leads you to his point, rather than convince you about it.

This narration will be as close to reality as possible and will be followed by a situation based Vm, mostly by my buddies Abeer, Ghausia, Salsa & Parisa (so please comment on that as well).

Shariqa

Prologue: My Story (Meri Kahaani)

This is a story of my life with incidents and dialogues that have actually happened. The characters are inspired by Khushi and Arnav of IPKKND but the background and facts will be entirely different from the show (i.e. will be based on reality, although I may have to twist and turn some facts to mould them to flow with the story). Hope you will enjoy the ride down my memory lane.

Arnav Saleem Riyaasat is an arrogant, shrewd and straightforward personality. A well-established muslim businessman in Australia, who is dealing in IT software. A self-made man, who has learnt from the bitter experience of life, the way to deal with people ' a complete perfectionist. He has a younger brother called Akash, who is totally the opposite in personality but still, they share a great bonding. Lavanya is his closest friend and colleague, who is a young divorcee. His mother Anjuman resides in India and being very religious she keeps travelling off and on to the religious places in Saudi Arabia and sometimes visits her son in Australia.

Khushi Khan Gul is a well-educated, chirpy, and naive but a capable girl, who is good at almost everything she tries but lacks in self-confidence. A muslim girl residing in Dubai, who has great faith in Allah (the Lord of the Mankind, Jinns and all that exists) and speaks to Him often. Her family is about to migrate to Canada having obtained a permanent residency status and is looking forward to finding her a match in Canada. Payal is her closest friend.

Destiny plays a role and her path crosses ASR's and she is completely torn apart between her parents' wishes and the divine occurrences (not romantic) that happen between her and ASR.

It's a tale of adventure, humour, heartache, faith, realization, love and hatred that continues till date ;)

Some of the IPKKND incidents that are common in my life are:

Khushi asking God to show her signs when the right person arrives, Diwali shock, heated conversation leading to Khushi leaving the city, her photo shoot in red sari, Khushi's silent treatment towards ASR, Khushi's unexpected engagement, Khushi and Arnav bet where the winner gets to ask for almost anything, splashing water at each other, written contracts for financial agreements, furniture fight, ASR in garden whenever in distress, Khushi speaking to God whenever in trouble, Khushi helping ASR and Lavanya to get together at her own cost, ASR's dislike for sweets and Khushi's craze for it, Divine occurance whenever they are together (instead of the wind, ASR & I have a divine connection of mind that makes us think of the exact same thing at the same moment more than often and its frequency sometimes scares us), dream sequence of ASR planning a surprise for Khushi, etc.

ARHI Vm made by my dear friend ACTywm (Abeer) on my story - Meri Kahani:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kSTGoTGgxA&feature=youtu.be[/YOUTUBE]

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kSTGoTGgxA&feature=youtu.be

Cheers,

Shariqa_here

My Story: Chapter 1

Khushi was sitting in front of her computer and staring at the zoomed in pic of Arnav Saleem Riyaasat on her screen. The photo looked so real that she felt uncomfortable at the intensity at which his eyes seemed to be staring at her. His sharp features, glowing face and lean athletic body made him look really hansome and enticing. She felt dazed and was lost in thought.

Her father had wanted her to get married ever since she had turned 20 but she had kept postponing it all the while in the name of her studies and now that she was in the final year of her MBA, she knew well there was no more escape from it. Her 9-5 job as an HR Officer in an MNC and her MBA classes after work kept her thoroughly busy leaving only the weekends at her disposal for socialising with friends and family.

"If you don't find a good match for yourself before your graduation, then don't complain when we do the honours for you. Offcourse we are not going to force anyone on you but it will be mandatory for you to make a selection from our list of shortlisted potential grooms". Her father's words echoed in her ears.

She had had many admirers in her office as well as her university due to her cute innocent looks and her petite figure that made her look good in anything she wore, be it western or traditional and brought her lots of attention and complements. But somehow she had stayed clear of any slight possibility of a relationship. Her bitter experience in the past with Shyam had left her in a state, where she did not want to interact with men at any level or trust any man again. He had been with her in the early years of her BBA. A very shady personality who pretended to be very helpful in assignments and projects and one day, he actually proposed to Khushi. She smartly told him to speak to her parents if he was serious, as this was the best way to scare away playboys. To her surprise he came to her house and won the heart of not only her best friend Payal but her parents as well. Just when the time came for the parents of both sides to meet, she realized his parents were not aware of their son's intentions and nor were they willing to get him married to a non-bengali girl (as Khushi was from the northern side of India). So Shyam conveniently moved on to a relationship with a Bengali girl in the same university, leaving Khushi to brood over the sudden rejection.

Ever since the incident, Khushi got herself busy with studies and work. Her only amusement was driving through the blood-thirsty roads of Shaikh Zayed in Dubai, which is lined with beautiful glass sky-scrapers and highest speed limit posts, with loud trance music so it could fill her emptiness when she was by herself in the car. With her love for sweets, her silly pranks, her ability to make people around her laugh, her passion for singing and dancing with her family and friends, she successfully covered up the scars that remained in her heart from the eyes of the world. She spent a lot of time trying out new restaurants with Payal, and after dinner, they sat for hours together by the river banks of Bur Dubai Creek, watching the reflection of city lights on the waves and sharing their day to day affairs.

"I'm very happy for you Payal! Jeejaji really doesn't know what a diamond he has got! And please stop crying. I will be fine. Allah has created us in pairs. When the right time comes my prince charming will arrive from a place we would have never imagined and when that happens, I will wait for a sign from Allah. I have always asked Him for it and you know '"

"No prayer is ever lost in Allah's court, as Allah answers them all" Both echoed the repeated saying in the hadith books (for muslims) and hugged each other.

Although Khushi was overjoyed see Payal getting married but deep inside she knew she will be deprived of her only companion, with whom she felt secure and could share everything underneath the sky. Not only would it leave a blank spot in her life but will also further worsen the pressure of her parents, who had been waiting for Khushi's marriage for a long time but kept it low for her studies. Now that Payal was married and Khushi's MBA was about to finish within the year, Khushi knew well she could no longer evade the issue.

Since Khushi had failed to find a suitor for herself due to her lack of interest, her father took over the matter. But again finding a groom for a daughter in countries outside India is not as easy as it is in India (where you know lot of people and someone or the other can refer you to families looking out for a match for their son). People living abroad always face a great challenge when it comes to marrying their daughters. Firstly, because they don't have the option of marrying their daughters in India, since she has always lived abroad and may find it difficult to not only adjust to a new family but also to the new surroundings and life style, which might be a contrast to the environment abroad. Second issue is, there are very few families that a person living abroad has time to socialize with as friends and occasionally meets a few colleagues' families at parties organised by work places. Hence if there was no potential groom for your daughter within the small pool of your contacts, you really were left at the mercy of those few contacts, to lead you to potential grooms they knew from their other own contacts (which would be few again).

Having exhausted all his contacts, Khushi's father finally resorted to his last option ' Shaadi.com (a matrimonial site that almost all Indian parents living abroad, who have children of marriageable age and no contacts to lead them to potential grooms, register their children at). The rules he laid down were simple. Khushi had to go through profiles of many guys each day, only those in Canada and if no one in Canada seemed right, then the next option was Dubai, with the condition that the guy must at least be willing to settle in Canada at some point in future. The reason being her family was in the process of migrating to Canada in a year's time. All expats who lived in Dubai were on working visas. So once they retire, they had to return to their home country, unless they migrate to one of the western countries that gives them its citizenship and allows them to stay there permanently. This is exactly what Khushi's father had done and hence he hoped to find an alliance in Canada itself for her, so their only daughter could be easily accessible for her parents and vice versa.

Khushi spent hours going through the profiles of guys in Canada but nothing really caught her eye. And then her eyes fell upon the top listed profiles that were given more prominence and then finally her eyes landed on a picture of a very handsome guy "Arnav Saleem Riyasat". 'Wow" Khushi thought as she could not take her eyes off him. She entered his profile to read his details.

"A well established young Australian businessman dealing in IT software. A perfectionist who expects nothing less from his life partner. Straight forward and hard working. Prefers to be given his space, when needed and is looking for a life partner who can independently handle household issues, as well as carry herself well at social events."

Khushi's mind started racing, "If he is all that successful, well settled in Australia and to add to all that, he is no doubt good looking, he should have girls all over him everywhere. Then what the heck is he doing on Shaadi.com? This must be a fake profile! And even if it weren't, I have no business in it, as he is not even in Canada." No sooner had she said this, the host of the profile came online. Khushi was aware that shaadi.com allowed members to see who was checking out their profile and hence immediately closed it but it was too late. She could see the chat request from Arnav Saleem Riyasat flashing on her screen! Her heart was thumping in her chest and one part of her mind was screaming, "No Khushi! Don't! Just don't accept it! You were almost drooling over him a while back, you might just give it away" the other part screaming, "What are you waiting for? Just accept it! How else will you know him?"

ARHI Vm on Khushi's plight in this situation:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZJbmOHw87E&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLF127DFDBFE4504F6[/YOUTUBE]

Link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZJbmOHw87E&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLF127DFDBFE4504F6

Cheers,

Shariqa_Here

My Story: Chapter 2

Khushi put her hand on her chest and pacified herself, "It is Ok Khushi..relax! It is only a chat and he already knows you were looking at his profile. Only those who are guilty of doing something wrong, either run or hide. You haven't done anything wrong, so just accept it and be normal."

Finally she clicks the accept button and the chat begins:

ASR: "Hi! Khushi Khan Gul?"

KKG: "Yes & you are Arnav Saleem Riyaasat?"

ASR: "Yes I am. Saw you looking at my profile, so initiated the chat. Are you alright with chatting right now?"

KKG: "Yes I am. Can I ask you a question?"

ASR: "Sure"

KKG: "Why are you on shaadi.com?"

ASR: "Just the same reason you are!"

KKG: "(silly me) I mean you sound very well off and usually guys who are well off receive way too many proposals, be it from friends or relatives. So why shaadi.com?"

ASR: "It's simple. I can't keep shuttling back and forth to India and other countries to check out girls for marriage, due to my hectic work schedule here in Australia. So I promised my mom that I will be doing that right from here, through shaadi.com. My updates satisfy her and it works well for me, so all good. Now your turn. Why did you choose shaadi.com?"

KKG: "We are migrating to Canada and dad wants to find someone there for me but as he does not know many people in Canada, he has chosen shaadi.com as a medium."

ASR: "Oh really? Then why were you looking at my profile, when I'm not from Canada?"

There was a pause as Khushi bit her lip. She realised she shouldn't have given that information. Now what was she supposed to reply.

ASR: "I'm still waiting for your reply"

KKG: "Well I think I got into it by mistake" Khushi typed in hurry, as he did not seem to be giving her enough time to think.

ASR: "Did you? Well if this was a mistake, we shouldn't be speaking right now."

Khushi paused again as she realised the chat was not heading in the right direction. At this rate it was going to end in a very negative way. She really did not want to the chat to end this way so she immediately typed:

KKG: "Look that is not what I meant"

ASR: "So what did you mean?"

Khushi was sweating and felt totally cornered by her opponent. Was she supposed to tell him she found him extremely attractive in the picture and hence couldn't help but read his profile. That was the last thing she would do on earth.

ASR: "????????????"

KKG: "Look I'm new to this website and I'm still exploring how to use it. Your profile was among those that were prominently displayed on the website's front page, so I clicked on it randomly."

Khushi thanked Allah in her heart for giving her the presence of mind to explain herself honestly, while not disclosing everything that could have got her into an embarrassing situation.

Arnav Saleem Riyaasat had chatted with many girls and he had come across so many who would say false things just to put up a good impression in front of him. He was weary of such girls and the street smart personality that he was, no one was spared from his sly pattern of questioning that would lead them either to make a mistake due to not being ready for it and/or it would lead them to confess the truth. He then chose whether or not to continue chatting with them.

Khushi's honest answer did put him at ease but he was not the kind of person to trust any one's word without checking. So he went into Khushi's profile details immediately, where her date of registration was given.

ASR: "So you have registered just a month back?"

KKG: "Yes but how did you know? Oh you must have read my profile."

Khushi realised who she was speaking to was not an easy going person but someone who would go back and do a background check on anything that slipped off her tongue. So she needed to really speak carefully i.e. although she knew there was nothing to lie about but he did seem like the kind of person, who would not spare you for even using a wrong word.

KKG: "And you have been on the website since the last 2 years!"

ASR: "Yes! Not my fault, if you have registered so late."

KKG: "What?"

Khushi was shocked to read his spontaneous flirty line. So this must be his style - to stun people with his spontaneous one-liners (they least expect from him) and then laugh at their temporary loss of speech, as they recover from the shock.

ASR: "Hope you have a good sense of humour because that was a joke!"

KKG: "No I don't! I have actually taken that seriously and you have to marry me now!"

There was a pause. Khushi enjoyed every second of it, controlling herself from falling off her chair, laughing at what his plight might have been after reading her line. Lol!

KKG: "I hope your sense of humour is still intact Mr Arnav Saleem Riyaasat."

ASR: "It is! I can see that you have given me a taste of my own medicine here. I like that."

This was the first time someone had put ASR's joke on him and he could already see Khushi in a different light. She was honest, diplomatic and knew how to handle a flirtatious joke without falling for it or reacting negatively over it.

ASR: "A good sense of humor is important"

KKG: "It is very important to have a good sense of humor"

There was a pause when ASR and Khushi realised they were typing exactly the same message to each other and had pressed enter at the same time.

ASR: "That was weird!"

KKG: "Weird coincidence, isn't it?"

ASR and Khushi froze for a few seconds and smiled in amazement. They were typing exactly the same thing at the same time again. Getting out of the daze, both started typing again:

ASR: "Are you there?"

KKG: "U there?"

ASR: "OK STOP! JUST HOLD IT THERE KHUSHI! WE NEED TO START THIS CONVERSATION AGAIN."

KKG: "Alright '

So where shall we start from? hmm'what were you doing before this chat?"

ASR: "Having stir fried beans with pasta"

KKG: "Beans are good for health"

ASR: "Beans are good for your health"

Both Khushi and ASR were shocked yet again. Coincidences happen once or twice not so many times. They had both chatted with many earlier but they had never experienced anything reoccurring like this before. They both smiled as they paused and looked at their screens in disbelief. They realised they were very much alike, when it came to responding. They had the same tendency or approach to anything they came across at the same time.

This was a divine connection but it was too early to jump into any conclusions. Besides ASR now knew Khushi was to get married to someone from Canada and Khushi knew his nature was too mysterious, so expecting anything to materialise with him in future would be a big mistake. Somehow the incident had made her feel connected with him and she did not want to fall for him further.

'Snap out of it Khushi! You know he is not your type. He has been on the website for the last 2 years and yet not found anyone or was he even looking for anyone? It looks like this website is just another excuse for his mother and just so he does not have to lie to her, he does chat with girls for the heck of it. Your father wants to see you married in a year's time. Don't let your heart wander around such people, who can break it again.'

ASR: "Are you there Khushi?"

KKG: "Oh yes I am but I got to go now. I just remembered I have got work that I need to finish soon."

ASR: "Alright then. It was nice chatting with you. Is this the usual time you come online?"

KKG: "I don't have a specific time. I just come online when ever I get a chance to."

ASR: "Well then come online tomorrow, if you get a chance. I will be waiting."

Khushi skipped a beat and her eyes became wide staring at the last line he had typed. Arnav Singh Riyaasat will be waiting for her? Did he just say that?

Does he say he will wait to all the girls he chats with, on shaadi.com? That did not seem likely at all. He seemed like the type who will wait to be asked and if he did not wish to chat further, no one could convince him about it. And even if he wished to chat again, he may only ask if they can make it. If not, he wouldn't give a damn.

His last words seemed to take control over her completely. Since the time they had started chatting, this was the first time she felt softness in his words and that seemed to melt her resistance.

He was straight forward, meant whatever he said and never said anything without a reason. If he said he will be waiting, he means he is looking forward to chatting with her again. He knew well Khushi had met him by chance and she was seeking proposals from Canada. He also knew Khushi was not giving him any specific time but still he went on to invite her for a chat next day at anytime convenient for her and felt the need to mention that he will wait for her!

"Insha-Allah - I will try" Khushi managed to type at last, recovering from her thoughts.

That night, Khushi recollected how her eyes stopped on ASR's picture among all others that had been displayed prominently. How he had come online that very minute she was looking at his profile and how so many coincidences happened with him, while they chatted. Was this a sign from Allah that she had asked for?

ARHI Vm on Khushi's thought in this situation:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2vFtKofvwE&sns=fb[/YOUTUBE]

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2vFtKofvwE&sns=fb

Cheers,

Shariqa_here

My Story: Chapter 3

Khushi was woken up by her alarm clock that rang loudly. She stretches herself with a smile, after switching it off. She glances at the clock on the wall opposite to her bed . 'It was 9'o clock on a Saturday morning. Brilliant! Saturday was the only common day off for both Dubai and Australia (i.e. Dubai has Friday and Saturday as weekend days while Australia has Saturday and Sunday as weekend days).

A whole day off to speak with Arnav Saleem Riyaasat, who must be waiting for her.

Australia is 7 hours ahead of Dubai, so it must be 4 pm on his side. He must be having his evening tea and sitting online, while doing other work alongside. Last night's conversation was magical for both of them and Khushi couldn't wait to see him online again. Her heart was nervous, yet excited!

Her thoughts were suddenly cut off by loud voices that came from her parent's room that was right next to hers.

She quickly went and opened her door to see what the commotion was about.

Dad: "Look! We are not looking for alliances anywhere, before we have explored our options in Canada."

Mom: "But the boy is really good. The best part is, Khushi already knows him."

Khushi gulped hearing her name. Who were they talking about? Which boy?

Her mind started searching through names and faces among her friends who had met her parents. After the Shyam fiasco, she had hardly brought anyone home to meet her parents. Suddenly a face flashed through her memory ' NK i.e. Naveen Khushtar! He was her close friend Sarina's elder brother. She remembered how he used to tag along for all her group plans, along with Sarina. Be it going for concerts, movies or Eid get-togethers at home, he was always there. He worked alongside his uncle, who was a renowned businessman in Dubai, dealing in Electronics. He had his eyes set on Khushi ever since he had seen her at Sarina's place. He had even joined Khushi's MBA classes to be with her, although Khushi never saw him as anything other than a friend's brother and a classmate. To top it all, when Khushi had enquired from Sarina, if she knew a good place where she could buy a handy jewellery box from, she was shocked to see a beautiful jewellery box delivered to her place by NK's driver, the very next day. When Khushi refused to accept the gift from him (as she was not interested in him), he had insisted that she keeps it as a gift from Sarina and her family at least. Khushi's mother had become very fond of him due to his generosity and kind gestures. Despite Khushi's constant rejection of the whole idea of marrying him, her mom was completely for him and would time and again bring up the subject, much to Khushi's dismay. However, she had not spoken of him for a long while, giving Khushi the break she very much needed from him but what had happened suddenly for her mother to be discussing about him with her father? & that too, so early in the morning? Something wasn't quite right here. Khushi moved closer to their door to hear her parent's conversation clearly.

Mom: "His mother just spoke to me this morning regarding his proposal. They all seem very nice and his sister is Khushi's friend. Why go so far as Canada, when a great match is available next door?

Dad; "Next door? Have you forgotten we are migrating to Canada? And that NK is a nice guy. I have no grudges against him but he surely cannot leave his business and settle in Canada with our daughter."

Mom: "But.."

Dad: "No buts! I have made myself very clear right from the start that Khushi will marry someone in Canada! And if we don't find anyone proper out there, we need to focus on boys who are able to move to Canada to settle there with her. I have no idea why you are even arguing. Don't you want to see our only daughter and son in law near us as we grow old?

Khushi could hear her father's tone change to an emotional one and she could tell his eyes must have filled with tears saying that. Her heart sank as she realised how much it meant to her father to see her get married in Canada. And here she was weaving dreams of Arnav Saleem Riyaasat from Australia, who said he did not even like travelling outside Australia to see girls, leave alone settling in Canada for one!

Khushi looked remorsefully at Arnav Saleem Riyaasat's downloaded picture on her computer screen. "I'm sorry but I don't think we will be able to chat again. Your charm did side-track me from what I was supposed to do last night but I am back on track now and this time, I will make sure I don't make that mistake again!"

"Sometimes we look for signs so badly that we start seeing them where they are not meant to be. I know you will wait for me today but the moment you will realise I did not show up online today or nor will I show up on any other day, you will forget me and move on to chat with others on the website, who are online when you are."

Her eyes filled with tears just at the very thought of losing him. Khushi strained her watery eyes to look at the clock on her wall again. It was 10 am already. She sets her alarm for 8 pm.

"8 pm on my side will be 3 am on your side Arnavji. That is when you will be in deep sleep and I can do my search for Canadian profiles without facing you. I'm sorry I'm not even letting you know before moving out of your range. I cannot tell you that I'm not interested, when I am and I cannot tell you I won't ever chat with you again, as I don't want to say that to you. I just can't!"

Wiping her tears, Khushi moved towards her pile of books that were having book marks all over. She opened them to refer to the book marked pages for her assignment and started working on it to keep her mind occupied till the time for chat on ASR's side had elapsed. This was the first time a weekend day seemed to go slow as she found herself struggling to control her temptation to login and see him online time and again. He was not the sweet kind of guy Khushi would have imagined for herself but there was something about his personality that captivated her. Perhaps his honesty and straightforwardness that she had never seen in any man before. Unlike other men, he was not out to flatter her and had the guts to say 'if her viewing his profile was a mistake, they should not be chatting!' It really made her wonder if his harsh straightforwardness was a cover-up to hold back fake people from getting to his heart. Perhaps that was the challenge for any woman he met i.e. to be able to break the ice and reach out to his heart despite the barriers he puts up. So the lucky girl will never need to worry about competition because if she survived the challenge and made it, it would be a unique victory. Khushi felt flattered that she could make it well through their first chat session and the urge of continuing the challenge was driving her insane. Alas! The very thought of her father and priorities took precedence over her desire and she finally let her mind win over her heart. The only way she could continue to do the needful was by avoiding him and that was best for her and her family.

Meanwhile ASR lifted his head from his pile of files to check his computer screen for the umpteenth time. He had been in his room from the morning and was hardly moving away from the vicinity of his computer screen. He worked on his files to distract himself from the annoying wait and while doing so, lost count of the number of cups of tea he had had.

"C'mon Khushi. What is taking you so long?"

"Well it is a weekend anyway, she may have guests whom she is caught up with at home. But she could have sent a message at least"

As the clock struck 12 am on ASR's wall, he froze in disbelief. No one had ever done that to him i.e. kept him waiting and not showed up till the end and that too without any messages!

He looked at his computer screen one last time in dismay, before heading towards his bed. Having set the alarm on his bed side clock, he pulled his blanket over himself and closed his eyes.

The alarm rang on Khushi's table and she puts her pen down, while closing her books. It was 8pm on her side which means 3 am on ASR's side.

Ruefully Khushi logs into her profile at Shaadi.com and begins her search for Canadian profiles. She had received 3 requests from Canada, which she accepts and emails her father's email address to them for further correspondence. "If dad wants me to marry in Canada, I will let him pick who he wants me to chat with. Chatting with ASR was unplanned and even if it weren't, it would make no sense in asking him to correspond with dad, since he does not match Dad's requirement.'

Suddenly she feels a stir inside her as if she felt like ASR wanted to talk to her at the moment. What nonsense! My senses have gone bonkers. Why would he want to speak to me at this time? It is 3 am at his end and he must be fast asleep in his bed. The sudden ping on her screen gives her a start as she looks up to see who had signed in. It was none other than ASR! How could he possibly be online at 3 am? She desperately heads to log out before he sees her online but as usual, he is very quick for her and his chat request starts flashing on her screen, even before she could reach for her log out button. Khushi looks at the incoming chat request in disappointment. All her efforts to evade him throughout the day had gone down the drain. Now she had no choice but to face him.

She clicks accept rather hesitantly this time. It scared her to think how he would treat her for not coming online all the while, considering how rude or blunt he could be in his straightforwardness.

ASR: "Khushi! You are finally online! What took you so long?"

Khushi gulped wondering what her answer should be.

KKG: "I had assignments to finish"

ASR: "Couldn't you send me a message?

KKG: "Apologies I did not but how come you are online this late?

ASR: "Well I said I'll be waiting. I realised the day at your end had not ended, so I had put an alarm for every hour till it did, just so I keep my word that I gave you."

Khushi felt miserable and completely guilty after reading his words. She bursts into tears. Due to the turn of events at her end, she had spent the whole day fighting her desire to chat with him and even put him in an inconvenient situation. She just had to tell him the truth now. There was no other way out. Without wasting another second she started typing quickly and hit enter. When she looked up at her screen, she saw two lines instead of one that she had typed:

ASR: "Anyway, I want to suggest something."

KKG: "I want to say something."

There was a pause. She could almost sense him chuckle in excitement, as she read his next line.

ASR: "Well I made it first, so I get to go first."

KKG: "Why do I get this feeling we are always playing an unsaid game, which does not become obvious until one of us wins?"

ASR: Exactly what I was going to suggest - Let's play a game!

Khushi's eyes widen as she reads his suggestion in shock. He wants to play a game with her at 3 am in the morning! He has got to be kidding!

ASR: "Well if I have stayed up this late, I might as well make it worthwhile."

ASR; "I will ask you 5 questions but I don't want you to answer them right away. Note down your answers, I will do the same & we will share them at the end.

Imagine you are in a forest and as you walk along:

-you come across a beautiful house with an open door.

' Do you go inside?

' Do you look at it from outside?

- at the doorstep of the house, you find the following. Which would you pick?

' Ring of 1 key

' Ring of 2 identical keys

' Ring of 3 identical keys

-behind the house, you see a lovely waterfall. What do you think is its speed?

' 3km/hr

' 5km/hr

' 7km/hr

-near the waterfalls, you see a horse. What color do you think it is?

' White

' Black

-near the waterfalls, there is a wooden box. Is it:

' Open

' Closed

Ready with you answers?"

ASR and Khushi share their answers at the same time and realize all their answers were alike, except for 1!

ASR: "So you do think like me but differ in one."

Khushi: "What is the meaning of all these questions?"

ASR:

"The house denotes life and choosing to go inside means you like exploring life. We both chose to go inside, which means we both love exploring life and enjoy challenges.

The keys denote number of best friends you tend to keep or prefer to trust. We both chose one key, so we both like to keep one central person as the keeper of our secrets.

Horse denotes your lover. And the color denotes whether you easily trust someone for a relationship or not. We both chose a black horse, which means we will not let anyone in our lives easily, until we truly trust that person.

The waterfall denotes your sex drive. It could be high if you choose a higher speed and vice versa. This is where we differ. You chose 3 and I chose 7! "

Khushi held her breath over the pause that followed, desperately waiting for him to continue, so he could move past the controversial topic. To her relief the pause did not last too long and he continued.

ASR: "The wooden box denotes your heart. If open, you do let people know what is in your heart freely and if not, you don't. We both saw a closed box and hence we tend to keep things in our heart, locked in from those around us.

When I chatted with you the first time, I did feel you were exactly like this but wasn't sure. The result of this game confirms it. The game is actually called a personality test, by the way.

Now, based on these results, I can confirm my thoughts about you. Correct me, if I'm wrong. You are on shaadi.com because you are willing to explore the options of life that makes your parents happy. Deep inside you are not happy and you hide that from everyone. You are scared to trust anyone or to be in any relationship and that is why you feel safe in letting your parents take that risk for you."

Khushi is stunned at the accuracy of his judgement about her and the style in which he used a simple game to prove himself. No one had read her mind or heart so well before. She felt he had unlocked the locks she had put around her heart all these years. And he did it so easily, like it was a child's play for him. She could hide everything she wanted from the world but not from him. It frightened her to what extent he could read her without even looking at her. She could not imagine what he was capable of, if they did actually meet!

ASR: "Khushi! Are you there? I'm through with what I had to say. It is your turn now. You wanted to say something?"

Khushi breaks off from her thoughts scared of typing anything. He could read her beyond what she typed. She couldn't continue chatting with him at this rate, where he could take her for a ride and uncover all the secrets of her heart. This was just too risky. A brilliant idea sparked her mind.

KKG: Yes I did ' I just wanted to suggest that you write to me, rather than sit up all night to chat.

ASR: "LOL ' You have a Deal"

Khushi was content that her idea would allow her to have more control of the information she shared with Arnav Saleem Riyaasat in future and that meant at least one victory for her over his daring ability to uncover her secrets. She was totally enamoured of him and had forgotten all about her father's decision and was completely oblivious to what the idea would entail for them in future or its consequences.

A Vm on Khushi evading ASR only to be caught by him in the end:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqq7MQNGJLk[/YOUTUBE]

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqq7MQNGJLk

Cheers,

Shariqa_here

My Story - Chapter 4

The daily exchange of letters via email commenced between Arnav and Khushi. Fingers did not get tired of typing endless words on either side, be it day or night. There were plenty of coincidences like sending letters at the same time, asking the same questions or mentioning the same topics, which had become so frequent that it did not amuse them any longer.

"Allah I had asked for one sign when the person you have selected for me arrives. Just one thing that should happen only with him and no one else. You have actually given me so many. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

As the days passed, life bloomed to its fullest beauty for Khushi. Earlier she used to sing and dance to make her family happy but now her heart wanted sing and dance to reflect the joy and contentment within her. There was a glow on her face and a smile of happiness that was noticed by everyone around her. She now wore bright colored clothes to her work place and university. Dark and dull colors that would hide her from the eyes of the world, used to be her only attire before but not anymore. Now, she wanted to see only bright colors around her and especially on herself. Everything around her looked more beautiful than ever before. Grass looked greener, stars looked shinier and she could even hear the winds blowing whistles at her smile. Dubai skies were filled with clouds that drizzled bringing about a new freshness in the air that made Khushi rejoice.

It was the most exhilarating feeling that she could not express in words. The vacant spot left by Payal's absence was now filled with Arnav Saleem Riyaasat! The times that she used to spend at restaurants and at the banks of Bur Dubai Creek, discussing her life with Payal, now were replaced with sharing life's updates with Arnav via letters and vice versa. They wrote pages on their preferences, plans, opinions, favourites, etc. Basically anything underneath the sky was a topic of discussion for them and each topic would go on for days.

Wherever she went, everything small or big reminded her of him.

When she drove through the Jumeirah road that was lined with breathtaking beaches and she looked at the gorgeous hotel Burj-ul-Arab that stood magnificently on the waves, she remembered how they had written about it in the letters that they had received from both sides at the same time.

"I have heard a lot about a 7 start hotel in Dubai called Burj-ul-Arab. Would love to try it out anytime I transit via Dubai. Have you been there?"

"Have you ever heard of Burj-ul-Arab Hotel in Dubai? It is also used to symbolize United Arab Emirates. Just like Sydney Harbour Bridge would symbolize Australia."

She blushed looking at a silver key ring in her hand that she had purchased recently. It was a small rectangular silver slab, which had a glass center that was exquisitely engraved in the shape of Burj-ul-Arab. The beauty of it was, when the slab was pressed, a beautiful blue light would emit from the center, making the glass image more prominent and breathtakingly beautiful to look at. The blue light would also reflect on the silver slab surrounding the image, giving a heavenly effect on the overall.

"This is a gift for you for when we meet. This will remind you of our special coincidence regarding Burj-ul-Arab" She smiled excitedly as she put it neatly in the expensive cushioned gift box carefully.

When she went to any restaurant with her parents, every food that was ordered reminded her of their tastes.

ASR: "I hate sweets"

KKG: "I love sweets"

ASR: "I love sea food"

KKG: "I hate sea food"

ASR: "I hate mushrooms"

KKG: "I hate mushrooms"

ASR: "So if we ever go out to a restaurant together, there is one thing common that we won't be ordering but then again, we won't be able to share any dish that we do order."

KKG: "Great! That way we get to have our favourite dish all by ourselves..no sharing! What more would we want?"

ASR: "! Yes, I would like that!"

When Khushi switched on her car's radio and heard the bollywood song that would be aired repeatedly in those days, even that reminded her of him:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJFBrZfOXn8&feature=related

ASR: "Have you heard the song 'In Dino' from the Bollywood movie 'life in Metro'? I love its music."

KKG: "That is my favourite song! I love its words!"

Khushi would drive back home, lost in the song and the new meaning it brought to her life. It felt as if he was dedicating it to her. The words fit her life at the moment so well: "Life has been so dull'I want to fill it with colors now,

& the loneliness I have lived with'I want to leave it now."

When she looked at herself in the mirror, she carefully looked at her eyes remembering his prank on her.

ASR: "Khushi I have caught your lie on your profile!"

KKG: "What?"

ASR: "You have lied that the color of your eyes is black!"

KKG: "So it is!"

ASR: "You haven't seen yourself closely. Have you? Here! Take a look at this."

Khushi was stunned to look at the picture file he had sent her with his letter. It was a zoomed in image of her eyes, cut out from her original picture. It clearly showed brown eyes with black pupils that she had never realised she had! It must be the reflection of her black hair that must make them look black at first instance. More than the realisation of her real physical appearance, it was another bone chilling thought that made her freeze. He has been zooming into her pictures! OMG! She did not reply back to this particular letter out of shock and utter shyness for the blunder she had made. Nevertheless, she got another letter from him that put her back at ease.

ASR: "I didn't get a reply back. I know what you are thinking & no! I did not zoom into any other part of your picture. It was just something about your eyes that caught my attention. So I had to zoom in, only to discover they are different from what they seem. I know my limitations as a Muslim"

When Khushi went out for shopping to Meena Bazar to buy formal wear that she needed for a presentation at her workplace, her eyes fell on green salwars and ghagras displayed in the line of shops in the lane she was walking in. His words flashed through her mind.

ASR: "I actually love green color and I think it looks good on women for some reason."

"& that is one color I have never been comfortable wearing" Khushi thinks to herself as she stops in front of those shops.

KKG: "So what if I have never been comfortable with it? It might be because I have never explored all its shades on myself yet. But there is always a first time!"

Khushi suddenly hears a big honk in the driveway next to the parking lot and blinks her eyes to see clearly. She realises she is standing in front of her car's open boot in the Meena Bazar parking lot with all her shopping bags filled with shalwar suits of different shades of green, still in her hands. It was like the color green represented Arnav Saleem Riyaasat. Just one look at it had send her down a memory lane of beautiful memories of their conversation and the way it connected with her life. He was not around but she felt his presence everywhere through his words.

She smiles at her flashback and recovering from its effects, she quickly drives home.

Khushi heads to the kitchen to help her mother lay dinner on the table, singing their favourite song. As everyone sits down for dinner, Khushi's father flashes a blue envelope in front of Khushi and asks her in excitement,

Dad: "Khushi! Guess what I have in my hands?"

KKG: "What is it dad?"

Dad: "Tickets from Emirates Airlines! We are going to Canada next month! Remember the Canadian profiles you had sent my email address to? I have been corresponding with the boys and their parents for the last 6 months and I think they seem very interested in you. Everything has been discussed. We will meet all three families separately and then based on whomever it works out with, we will have an engagement ceremony there and come back to Dubai for your wedding arrangements. I know your final exams are on next week but once they are over, I would like you to chat with the three boys till we get to Canada."

Khushi froze unable to react to the situation. She was shell-shocked and found it hard to register all the information that had just been passed to her. She barely recollected the 3 requests she had received and forwarded her dad's email address to. Her hands tightened on the edge of her dupatta, as she realized what a blunder she had committed. Back then she did not think seriously about anyone. So going with her dad's choice was easy. However, the situation was entirely different now. She had been so engrossed in Arnav Saleem Riyaasat's letters and thoughts that she did not realize 6 months had gone by and with every passing day she had only become more fond of him. She really wished she could just confess to her dad but would he understand? More than her dad's reaction, what troubled her was Arnav had never mentioned anything about his marriage plans yet. As far as interest goes, she knew without doubt he was interested in her. Why else would he spend so much time writing lengthy letters to her every day in response to her own lengthy ones? She had even received letters from him, where he had mentioned he was writing to her during the breaks he had between his meetings. Besides that, she knew they shared a divine bond like no other and that definitely had been instrumental in bringing them close. The honeymoon period was over. It was high time they spoke up. There was no point in speaking with dad or mom on the matter until she had a word from him.

Dad: "Khushi beta? Are you listening?"

KKG: "Uh Yes Dad - I am. Just feeling a bit tired, that is all"

Khushi's reaction did not go unnoticed by her mom. She had been observing the change in Khushi for months. Unable to contain her curiosity any further, she followed Khushi till her room. Her eyes fell on the sets of green salwar suits on her bed and she could no longer hold herself from confronting her daughter,

Mom: "Khushi! You have bought green salwar sets? A color you have never worn in all these years! & you seemed fresh and happy all the while until the news of our trip to Canada was conveyed to you. Are you hiding something from us beta?"

"Be frank ' you know the muslim hadith that says 'whatever wrong children do behind their parent's back, even if they are not known in this world, it will be publicly announced on the day or resurrection as the son/daughter of so and so, has committed this sin & everything will be in front of our eyes then."

Khushi was startled by the sudden questioning of her mom who had never suspected her till date. Her eyes filled with tears of hurt as she mastered the courage to answer her.

"I know the hadith mom and if I were to commit a sin, I would be more worried about earning Allah's wrath than your and dad's. For you and dad will come to know later but Allah is with us by His knowledge all the time. Not a leaf falls without his knowledge. Am I right?"

Signs of relief spread on her mother's face and she cups Khushi's with a smile and kisses her forehead. "Love you beta! Your dad and I are going out for shopping now, as it is going to be really cold in Canada and we need to buy warm clothes. Take care of yourself" and then leaves her room.

No sooner had she left, Khushi swiftly moves towards her computer. "Everything is going out of hand and there is no time. I have to chat with him today. Today a letter will not suffice."

No sooner had she logged in, she found his message already there,

ASR: "I was wondering if we can have a chat tonight, as I wish to discuss something. I will be waiting like I did the first time."

"He always says exactly what I wish to say right before me!" Khushi smiled as this was not the first time they had had a coincidence.

As she sat desperately waiting for him to come online, her mind wondered what was on his mind that he wanted to discuss. Every minute was passing like an hour and she was sweating nervously over how she could best put the question of marriage to him. She could see his interest but asking for commitment was a completely different ball game all together.

'Are you crazy Khushi? Are you really going to ask Arnav Saleem Riyaasat, if he is willing to marry you and that too within this year, based on your parent's expectations? That would be absurd! If he had it in his mind to marry you, he would have popped the question already. The reason he hasn't is probably because he has either not thought about it or if he has, he still needs more time before getting on to that stage. In any case, asking him directly about it is like taking a plunge from a high cliff with a hope that you won't get hurt. Moreover, it has been the custom for generations that a man proposes to a woman and not the other way round. Where is your dignity?'

Khushi moves her hand nervously over the other, as she walks about in front of her Pc frantically and answers her conscience. 'But if I won't ask him, what other option do I have? I definitely have no time left. It won't be long before I would be sitting in Canada for other proposals and getting engaged to someone I don't know. Of course, I know I can chat with them to get to know them beforehand but why would I even want to do that, when the person who has all the signs from Allah is already in my life. Think Khushi think! There has to be a way. As the hindi proverb goes 'the best way is the way in which the snake can be killed and the stick is also not broken!' There has to be a way for me to get my answer from him and that too without popping the question directly.'

The most delirious moment arrived when she heard a ping from her PC. Arnav Saleem Riyaasat was online! Khushi gulped at the fact that she was not ready. What was she going to say?

Perhaps it was best to check his reaction to her announcement that she cannot chat with him for 2 weeks due to her exams. That would at least give away if she mattered to him at all. Before she could finish typing her sentence, she read his message on her screen.

ASR: "Khushi! I'm glad you could make it for this chat. I have a conference next month and there will be a vigorous training session for it in the next two weeks. I'm afraid I won't be able to write to you during then."

KKG: "I was going to say the same thing. I have my exams on from next week and may not be able to write or chat as well."

ASR: "Lol! We mostly say the same things together. Don't we?"

KKG: Well that is not all I have to say. My parents have made up their minds to visit Canada next month in pursuit of alliances for me.

There was a pause. Khushi felt he must be shocked. If he felt anything for her, this was the right time for him to say so.

ASR: "Well...good luck then"

It was Khushi's turn to be shocked. Good luck? Is that all he wanted to say? Perhaps he doesn't want to put up the question because he does not want to face rejection and that is why he is playing safe.

KKG: "Well I don't know about you but I will definitely miss you." Khushi took the first step daringly to test the waters.

ASR: "No you won't! You hardly know me!

Khushi felt her breathing had stopped momentarily. For the first time, she was not able to follow him. What did he mean?

KKG: "We don't know each other after chatting for 6 months?"

ASR: "No we don't. We still haven't met. Islamically, you should take a decision to marry a person only after you have met that person. There is a reason for that. Until the meeting, you are only assuming.

The fact is, I can't meet you before you leave for Canada. So I'll have to let you go. & just so you can clear your mind off me i.e. for you to be able to give a fair chance to the guys in Canada, I think we should not be in contact until then. If you are back without getting engaged, let me know and we can discuss a meeting then.

I hope you didn't think our writing to each other meant I have decided to marry you?"

A Vm on Khushi's true feelings and the male version is probably what she wanted to hear:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DczfpuyQltY[/YOUTUBE]

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DczfpuyQltY

Love,

Shariqa_here

(P.S. - Thank you for all the PM requests that everyone has sent to me. I just want to sincerely thank you all for reading my story. & just so I don't miss sending you my updates, please ensure you have either sent me a 'buddy request' or accepted mine)

My Story - Chapter 5

Khushi found herself standing alone at the banks of Bur Dubai Creek, watching the waves melt as they reached the banks. The sun was setting in the cold waters with its beautiful glow and reflection fading gradually, welcoming the approaching darkness of the night. Her eyes looked deeply into the waters as if trying to see through its depths. The cold wind that blew through her hair did not make her shiver at all as she felt her senses and emotions were frozen inside to such an extent that the cold feeling around her did not bother her.

Tears flowed down her cheeks as she realised she was at a point in her life where it was hard to stay where she was and even more difficult to move on. She felt as if someone had badly scarred her soul. She had been living surrounded by dreams that were made of glass. That one blow had shattered everything completely, leaving her trapped in the remains, which she knew she would never be able to escape from without hurting herself further.

The first few days went unnoticed for Khushi, as she prepared diligently for her final exams. It was only after they finished that she felt the full impact of his absence. The memories of their chat haunted her whenever she retired to her room and she found herself unable to suppress the hope of seeing a letter or a message from him, apologizing for his cold behaviour. She kept checking her inbox in hope of a remorse that might set everything back to normal again but as days passed by her hopes faded too. Her dying hopes were replaced by growing depression that kept her awake at nights sobbing as she could not express her feelings in front of everyone during the day.

It was not the fact that he did not want to commit to her that hurt her. It was the way he asked her to give a fair chance to other guys that vexed her. How could he be so insensitive and oblivious to the special connection of mind that they shared? How could he just disregard the beautiful moments they had shared profusely writing to each other everyday? Did he really not feel anything at all?

But if that is what he wanted, that is what he should get. The more Khushi thought about it, the more she became determined to ensure that she gave the guys in Canada a fair chance. She loathed the way he asked her to come back and fall at his mercy if nothing worked out for her in Canada. That was the last thing she wanted to do on earth.

To protect her self respect, it became absolutely imperative for her to ensure she finalised her alliance in Canada before returning. The best way to do that was to take it more seriously now. She would need to polish her shaadi.com profile in terms of her write up and replace her simple basic photos with sleek professional ones. This would not only bring in more proposals for her parents to choose from but most importantly pass on the much needed message on to Arnav Saleem Riyaasat that she had not only moved on but also taken his suggestion quite sincerely.

Khushi called one of Dubai's best photographers of the time and arranged a photo shoot at her place with professional lights, fan and wall papers that were brought in to create the right effect. Her parents were absolutely thrilled to see their daughter finally taking her wedding plans seriously. It was like she was on a mission to leave no stone unturned towards getting the alliance of her parent's choice in Canada. The atmosphere was festive with her parents dropping in for some emotional and funny family shots other than those for Khushi's portfolio.

The photographer chose 3 specific themes for Khushi's clothes, stating this would bring out the best in her, considering her youthful look and petite structure and asked her to leave her hair open in all shots:

1. Fusion of Indian and Western look

(Khushi wore a deep rani pink colored short kuta (just 1 inch above her knees) followed by a bell bottom pant of the same rani pink color and the same self-design material. A broad shiny turquoise blue lace outlined the ends of her short sleeves, her square neckline, ends of her short kurta and the bottom end of her bell bottom pants. This was accompanied by a thin rani pink dupatta with the same blue lace outline, which fell delicately like a ribbon on her neck. She looked sideways with a slight smile as the fan blew through her open straight hair that had beautiful curls at the ends that fell in steps, just below her shoulders.

2. Western semi formal studious look

(For this, Khushi wore a black formal bell bottom pants with a black lacy and frilly top that had puff short sleeves with elastic. She wore glasses that sat just a little lower than where they should be on her nose, while she gave a pensive look at the camera, holding a pen to her lips with an open book in her other hand right in front of her).

3. Antique Bridal look

(Here Khushi wore a long floating ghagra with black satin as the base color of the dress that was covered all over by a black revealing net which was filled with intricate gold metal work all over. The net had light gold work as it started from the waist which gradually became heavier as it reached the bottom, where the black satin underneath fades into magnificent red satin. The same pattern was followed on her heavy blouse that is slim from the chest and and gets broader and heavier as it reaches the waist where the mermaid shape of the ghagra started from. She allows her black net dupatta (which fades into red net at its two ends) to fall majestically behind her waist with the two ends flowing through her arced elbows all the way down, hanging just inches above the floor. The light antique jewellery she wore with it complimented her attire, giving her the look of a newlywed bride.)

The photos looked worth putting on a magazine cover. Khushi was amazed to see the clarity and perfection. This was the first time she actually wondered if this sober pretty girl in the pictures was really her. Not really. If someone would have suggested something like this a few months back, she would have laughed sarcastically and dismissed it as a joke. It amazed her how much Arnav Saleem Riyaasat's behaviour had changed her. This was not her real self but it was the hurt inside her that pushed her to such limits.

Her thoughts were again interrupted by a loud music coming from a passing cruise that was having a party on it. She realized she was still standing on the banks of Bur Dubai creek and the sun had long set. Now the dark waters looked alive with beautiful reflections of street light and decorative ships that flashed colourful lights on it as they sailed. She could hear the song clearly now ' 'Waiting for tonight' by Jennifer Lopez

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY0yZZOUwYY&feature=em-share_video_user

It reminded her, this was the very night she had been preparing for. She had her flight to Canada tomorrow morning. Prior to heading for Burdubai, she was actually busy packing until she accidentally came across the Burjul Arab key ring and that had brought her packing to a halt. She forced herself to throw it outside her window, only to pick it up again later. Khushi was feeling mixed emotions that were driving her insane. She drove to Bur Dubai creek to find some solace: through watching the waves, inhaling the freshness around her and most importantly by throwing away the Burjul Arab key ring in those waters, before flying to Canada. At least that way, she could ensure she has thrown it away at a place she would never be able to retrieve it from and then his thoughts will not haunt her any more.

The moment she had taken it out of its box to have a look at it for one last time, it started flashing beautifully with her touch. All the lovely memories of her chat and the divine exchange with Arnav Saleem Riyasat flashed through her mind and eventually their final chat that shattered her completely, causing an ocean of emotion to gush from her eyes. It had been a month since they had exchanged any letters and now she was ready to leave for Canada to give a fair chance to the guys there. The hurt inside her seemed to refresh itself each time his last words flashed through her memory. Was it ever going to heal?

Suddenly Khushi feels a warm hand on her shoulder. Her eyes become wide as she knows well she had not mentioned about her whereabouts to anyone i.e. not her parents and definitely not any of her friends. She spins around startled to see who it was.

"Khushi? I'm so glad I have found you here. Had to meet you before you left for Canada!"

"Payal? Oh my God! It is you!" Khushi mumbled in a broken voice, wiping the tears off her eyes and hugging her.

"What happened Khushi? Are you alright?"

Khushi remorsefully fills Payal in on the recent updates of her life.

"Look Khushi! I know what happened was awful but do understand this. He is not the type of person any girl would feel comfortable with anyway. I mean he must have an impressive personality and must be very practical and all that but that is only good for first impression and definitely not good for a happy relationship. I mean, we girls need someone caring, supportive and reliable. Not someone with whom every moment of your life is unpredictable and challenging."

"I know what you are saying Payal. It is just that we had a divine connection of mind that made this special. All I know is, if it is not him, I could marry anyone in the world who may match my parents' criteria and mine. It would be like any other relationship that one would grow comfortable in. There would be nothing divine about it."

Khushi's flight lands at the Toronto airport and her parents grab a cab to her aunt's place. She reluctantly gets into the car realising the new chapter in her life had begun, although she wasn't sure how far she was ready for it. She felt as if she was stepping into quick sand that would gradually sink her, with nothing around to hold on to, to save herself from sinking and nor did she have the choice to avoid stepping into it. Throughout the drive she kept gazing at the sky from the cab's window so as to evade her parents gaze. Even the song playing in the Canadian cab seemed to reflect her mood. The music was cold yet soothing and it had the words that reflected the feeling of hate and love at the same time ('Say it Right' by Nelly Furtado):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKIasOz_qrA

"You don't mean no.. nothing at all to me,

But you got what it takes to set me free,

Oh you could mean everything to me"

Khushi struggles to control her emotions as her eyes brim with tears.

"Khushi! That is the CN Tower! It is used as a symbol for Canada, just like Burj ul Arab is used to symbolize U.A.E."

http://www.bestourism.com/img/items/big/1186/CN-Tower-in-Toronto-Canada_CN-Tower-view_4377.jpg

Khushi skipped a beat hearing her dad's words. As she stared at the beautiful tower they were passing, she recalled her own words to Arnav Saleem Riyaasat "Have you ever heard of Burj-ul-Arab Hotel in Dubai? It is also used to symbolize United Arab Emirates just like Sydney Harbour Bridge would symbolize Australia."

She impulsively clutches on to her purse tightly and with her eyes shut, she starts praying in her heart, "O Allah! I have read that You do answer the prayer of those who are travelling. I am travelling, so please answer my prayers. Please save me from what I'm going through. Please set my affairs right and make me content with whatever You have Ordained for me. For You are the Best Disposer of all affairs - Ameen."

Dad: "Day after tomorrow, we will be going to the Niagra Falls and will meet the first family there on the Maid of the Mist."

KKG: "Maid of the Mist?"

Dad: "The Maid of the Mist is a boat tour of Niagara Falls. (The actual boats used are each named Maid of the Mist, followed by a different Roman numeral in each case.) The boat starts off at a calm part of the Niagara River, near the Rainbow Bridge, and takes its passengers past the American and Bridal Veil Falls, then into the dense mist of spray inside the curve of the Horseshoe Falls, also known as the Canadian Falls. The tour is available starting from either the Canadian or American side of the river, returning to the starting point in each case. You can actually see the people on the American side waving at you when you are looking at the waterfalls from the Canadian side and vise versa.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Maid_of_the_Mist_-_pot-o-gold.jpg/819px-Maid_of_the_Mist_-_pot-o-gold.jpg

After that we will meet another family for lunch in the best Halal Pak-Indian restaurant in the Mississauga area of Toronto called Sahara restaurant. I have heard the food there is really great!

The third family that was interested to meet us, is unfortunately still not back from their trip to India and hence we will have to skip our plans with them."

The day of meeting the candidates arrived. Khushi's nervousness increased by every minute, although she tried her level best to prepare herself mentally for it and accept any outcome. She and her parents sat on the Maid of the Mist wearing blue water resistant plastic covers provided to them. However no one showed up nor was their cell phone reachable. Khushi sighed a relief and walked through the crowd standing in the boat to the edge, leaving her parents to discuss further plans of the day.

She stood at the edge of the boat with her camera to take snaps of the beautiful Niagra falls and the breathtaking rainbows around those falls. Suddenly there was a jerk and the camera nearly slipped off her hands.

"Careful! There can be a lot of turbulence in the water as we approach the Horseshoe falls."

Khushi turned around to see who the male voice that spoke to her belonged to . She saw a familiar face staring at her with a concerned look.

"Arshad here Khushi. Your parents are having a chat with mine and they told me you were here."

"Oh sorry I did not recognize you. It is just that I had seen your picture on shaadi.com ages ago.

Just then there was a big uproar and gasps were heard all around as cold water splashed on everyone on the boat. They had reached the dense mist near the Horseshoe falls. Khushi could barely see clearly and wiped her eyes desperately to clear her vision.

"Relax. This is the beauty of this ride. Guess what must be the speed of the waterfalls for it to create such a dense mist?

"Seven!" Khushi said impulsively looking lost in the view of the waterfalls.

"Seven?" Arshad stared at her with a questioning look.

Khushi was mortified when she realised what she had just said. She recollected that was the answer given by Arnav Saleem Riyaasat in the personality test game that they had played where the waterfalls denoted a person's sex drive! Even when she was not thinking about Arnav Saleem Riyaasat, his words were subconsciously in her mind!

"Oh you must have meant seven-ty! 70 mph? That is pretty close Khushi. The real speed is 68 mph."

"Ah I think we should get going now as our parents might be waiting" Khushi quickly tried to cut the conversation short as she was no longer in the mood of continuing. The last thing she wanted to do is talk about waterfalls.

The next candidate and his family was already waiting at Sahara restaurant although Khushi and her parents were on time. Everyone introduced themselves and headed for the generous buffet that was laid in the other end of the restaurant. As Khushi was filling her plate with food, she noticed from the corner of her eyes the tall candidate staring at her. There was something about his gaze that made her feel uncomfortable.

"Hey Khushi! How are you sweet-heart?"

Khushi looked at him shocked for what he had just called her and that too when he hardly knew her.

"I'm good Shiraz and would appreciate if you just call me Khushi"

"Sure sweety oops Khushi. So have you done any sight seeing around yet?

"Yeah, just been to the Niagra falls'it was beautiful!"

"Hey, why don't you allow me to show you around. That way we can get to know each other better."

Khushi was again shocked at his blunt broad-minded invitation. She knew this was un-islamic. Not that she was extremely religious but that did not mean she would go around with men (she was not familiar with) all by herself. Talking to them separately while her parents were somewhere around was still acceptable.

Before she could reply, he excused himself for a sec and walked up to a young Russian lady standing at the other end of the buffet table.

"Excuse me Love but the zipper of your dress isn't zipped properly. Would you like me to fix it for you, since you are holding a plate?"

"Oh yes please ' thank you"

He slid his fingers under the back neckline of her dress to put it together and casually brought her zip up.

Khushi was horrified to see him touch a woman's clothes without any hesitation. It told a lot about his character. She did not realize she had tilted her plate allowing the curry to flow onto her right hand and then unconsciously placed the same hand on her face to suppress her shock over the scene in front of her eyes.

She stares at him completely speechless as he walks back to her. He looks at her with a confused look and then reaches out to touch her face. Khushi steps back with a start.

"Hey, you have got something on your face. I was only trying to remove it."

"I can do that myself" Khushi replies in a low tone that suppressed anger. Informing the waiter she will be back for her plate, she rushes to the restroom.

As she stands infront of the mirror wiping the curry off her face, she looks at her eyes and remembers how she was actually suspecting Arnav Saleem Riyaasat's character for zooming into her eyes. His sincere dignified words flashed through her mind, "I know my limitations as a Muslim."

She joins both the families at the table, ensuring she chose the farthest seat from Shiraz. She was very quiet throughout the lunch and even as she headed back to her aunt's home.

The moment Khushi and her parents step inside her aunt's home, they receive the good news from her aunt about Arshad's parents call, wherein they expressed their interest in making Khushi their daughter in law. Her mother went hysterical with excitement and brought out a green salwar suit to show her aunt. It was from the bunch that that Khushi had bought and later kept aside to be returned. She places the dupatta on Khushi's head and compliments her on how good the color looked on her.

Mom: "You forgot to pack the clothes of your latest favourite color but I thought I will bring one at least, especially since we look forward to an engagement ceremony here. Just say yes Khushi'and we can start the preparations"

Dad: "Let her take her time to think over it perhaps for a week. Don't rush her. You take your time to think over it beta and then let us know."

KKG: "Thanks dad! I will." Khushi managed to reply struggling to keep her calm against the painful surge of emotions inside her. She pulled the green dupatta off her head and ran to her room upstairs. Locking it, she sinks to the ground breathing heavily, letting out every emotion she had been holding back.

"I tried everything to forget him but I failed. I cannot push myself any further Allah.

Please help me. Please!

I remember the hadith where 3 people were stuck in a cave, when the mouth of the cave was blocked by a huge boulder that was unmovable. Each of them made a dua (supplication) to You mentioning a good deed they had done purely for Your sake. With each person's dua, You ordered the boulder to move a little till they were all able to get out safely by Your Mercy. I want to make a similar dua to You.

I am stuck in a similar situation in my life, where no one can help me but You. I have maintained my dignity and have not given into the peer pressure of sinful acts. If what I have done is worthy of any credit in Your Eyes, then please let him also feel, what I'm feeling right now. I know that is impossible for someone like him but surely Allah, You are able to do everything!"

Suddenly Arnav Saleem Riyaasat's final stern words flash through her mind, "I hope you didn't think our writing to each other meant I have decided to marry you?"

Khushi stops crying and freezes as reality dawns on her. He had withdrawn from her in their last chat and if he had left a few strings still open for later, her reply to him had cut every last bit of it. She had made it clear it was over from her side as well:

"I just wanted to let you know I'm going to Canada. But you are right, we shouldn't be speaking from now on. As far as arranging a meeting upon my return is concerned, I don't think we will need to meet, Mr Arnav Saleem Riyaasat! Because I will give the guys in Canada a fair chance! "

Khushi wipes her tears looking like an injured warrior who had just lost the battle that her life depended on.

"I have already announced my decision. He must have seen my new photos by now and realized I have moved on. I have no choice but to forget him."

A Vm painstakingly made by my darling friend ACTywm (Abeer) for this chapter of my story. (Please do comment on the Vm as well):

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ6YejSRlcw&feature=youtu.be[/YOUTUBE]

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ6YejSRlcw&feature=youtu.be

Cheers,

Shariqa_here

(P.S. - Thank you for all the PM requests that everyone has sent to me. I just want to sincerely thank you all for reading my story. & just so I don't miss sending you my updates, please ensure you have either sent me a 'buddy request' or accepted mine)

My Story - Chapter 6

Three days had passed since Arshad's family had proposed to Khushi's and were waiting for an answer by the end of that week. Khushi could see the time ticking away while she stood by the window in her room and stared at the sky. It was the only spot that gave her solace, as she felt the closest to Allah (God) there. It was as if she felt Allah was Watching her, as she searched for His signs in the sky. A place where she could vent her hidden pain; she could cry, she could let her tears flow silently, she could stay still for hours, without having to give any explanation to anyone.

She hated going downstairs as she loathed overhearing the plans made by her mom and aunt in regard to the arrangements for an engagement ceremony at home. Although it did irritate her to the core, she did not blame them for being so excited. After all, it was the first wedding to be planned in the family after many years. They had the right to be excited and plan it in full swing.

Her dad played the role of a silent observer, often nodding at all the plans and giving Khushi a smile of reassurance from time to time, as if he understood how ridiculous their plans seemed and reassuring her it can be changed, if she wanted it any differently. Khushi smiled back as if responding that it was all good and she did not mind however they wished to organise it. It no longer seemed like she was thinking over whether she would marry Arshad or not but seemed more like she was in the middle of planning her wedding with him! Either way, she knew she had to move on and accept her fate as it presented to her.

On the fourth day, when she logged into her shaadi profile to notify them of her successful alliance with Arshad and also to check the option of deleting her profile, she came across a new message in her inbox. It was from Arnav Saleem Riyaasat!

She held her breath as she clicked on it. Her heart was racing with a new ray of hope.

"Khushi, I hope you are doing well. You must be in Canada when reading this. How is the weather? Most importantly, how has your meeting with the guys in Canada been? In our last chat, I know we had decided to not get in touch until you are back but I just realised you did not mention when you are back or how long I need to wait to hear back from you. So do let me know."

In the first instance, Khushi was overjoyed to see at least a message from him. He had not dismissed her from his life taking her last words as the verdict. He was actually waiting for her! But as she reread the message, she realised the real content. All he wanted to know was, if she had given a fair chance to the guys in Canada and the date by which he could expect her back with her side of the story. It was either that he was taunting her on if she had done what she had claimed to do in their last chat or he was just waiting to know the date by which he could write her off as one of the unsuccessful candidates from his list. Because nowhere in all these days he made any attempt to get in touch with her prior to her trip to Canada. & finally when he did, there was no mention of any remorse over the harshness of his last words to her. He did not even mention anything about what he felt about their sudden withdrawal from writing to each other every day or where he felt they stood at this stage. Furthermore, she hated the nonchalant tone of the message asking her about the weather in Canada and her meeting with the guys in Canada. It was like he was relaxed 'completely unmoved by what had happened or could happen!

She felt completely apprehensive and ignored the message al together. After a couple of days, she found another message in her inbox from Arnav Saleem Riyaasat. This was unbelievable! Another message in such a short span of time did not make sense, especially since he had not felt the need to get in touch with her for about a month and a half prior to this.

"Khushi I'm not sure if you received my previous message. In case you haven't, I just want to know by when you are back in Dubai? The reason being, we had not discussed any date in our last chat and I need to let my mom know, so she can call your parents and arrange a meeting."

Khushi's heart leapt with joy reading this. He was not taunting at her in his last message nor did he want a date to write her off. He was actually waiting to know her date of return to set up a meeting and would like to discuss this with his mom!

A beautiful smile spread across Khushi's face as she excitedly turned towards the staircase leading down to the family room to break the news to her family. She was not even half way through the stairs when she suddenly stopped. What was she going to say? There is a guy who wants to see her and she would like to hold/decline the current proposal to meet him and his family. That too when there is no guarantee this guy would propose to her.

Khushi remembers ASR's words from their last chat, "I hope you didn't think our writing to each other meant I have decided to marry you?"

She knew what those words meant. Regardless of whatever bonding they shared, he will not base his decision of marriage on it. Then what was it that he wanted to be able to make that decision?

Khushi really wished she knew.

When Arnav Saleem Riyaasat chatted with her last, he least expected her to give him the news of her travel to Canada at such a short notice. The stress of his training and conference was not less. To add to that the turn of events at Khushi's end startled him. He loathed the idea of making a decision to travel on the spot. He was definitely not able travel for a meeting with her before her scheduled travel due to his conference. Given the circumstances, he thought it was best to let fate take its course.

The least of what he expected in that situation was Khushi expressing her feelings freely "I don't know about you but I will definitely miss you."

That triggered him to doing what he always did, when he felt any girl clinging on to him with her feelings unnecessarily. He told her off.

The moment he did that he realised it must have hit her hard as there was silence. He went on to explain himself quickly hoping she would be able to see it from his perspective. However, her silence worried him further. Was she really understanding what he was saying? Or simply continuing to misunderstand him?

When the silence continued from Khushi's end despite what he explained, his eyes fell on her last question on the chat screen, "We don't know each other after chatting for six months?" His eyes widened at a thought that hit him reading that. 'She didn't possibly think I have decided to marry her! Enjoying a chat with someone from the perspective of deciding if you want to marry that person is one thing. It cannot possibly mean you have already decided to marry that person. What if you chat with multiple people, does that mean you are going to marry them all?'

He had chatted with many girls and one thing he knew from his experience was on chat girls tell you what they want you to know about them. When he met them he could actually see all that they did not tell him: their tone of voice, their expressions when they spoke, their behaviour, their attitude, their reactions, everything that spoke volumes about who they really were. He admired the Islamic hadith that in fact required people to see each other before marriage. It was very rightly put there for a good reason.

He enjoyed his chats with Khushi and the coincidences intrigued him to continue his conversations with her. However, she had never expressed her feelings the way she did that day. This put him into further doubt as to why would a girl like Khushi, who had never seemed clingy, suddenly seemed otherwise'unless she misunderstood his writing to her as his commitment. Nevertheless, he had to clarify this with her for his own surety, "Hope you didn't think our writing to each other meant I have decided to marry you?"

Khushi's reply did not answer his question but put him into a deep thought. "I just wanted to let you know I'm going to Canada". Really? Was that all she wanted to do? "I don't think we will need to meet, Mr Arnav Saleem Riyaasat! Because I will give the guys in Canada a fair chance! " Did she really mean that? She thinks we won't need to meet in any circumstance?

He silently watched her chat session freeze on his laptop screen, as she hurriedly logged off.

The following three weeks went horribly busy for him with the training sessions he was attending with his staff and then finalizing the documents for the conference took days. He would think of Khushi during his breaks and wonder what she might be up to, as these breaks were the usual times he used to break free from all the stress and look out for her letter and spend his time responding to it.

Her last words disturbed him as he hoped she would not take any wrong decision in haste or anger. He felt restricted from sending her any messages, remembering that he was the one who had proposed they shouldn't get in touch during the period to help clear her mind off him, so she is able to give a fair chance to the guys in Canada. It was only fair for him to do that, since he could not commit to her without meeting her first. But then was he really ready to forget her in case she did get engaged? Well one thing he knew from experience is that nothing in life is indispensible. Life goes on regardless of whether you get to have what you want or not.

Although he had mentally prepared himself to forget her in case things did not work out; it was only after the conference was over that reality hit him. He really felt like a major part of his routine had gone missing. There was something special about their chats that had kept him intrigued all the while. There was an empty feeling that lingered on endlessly.

He struggled to keep himself busy at work to avoid thinking about her. At home he spent most of his time in the garden. The only place where he felt he could vent his frustration in a peaceful manner.

He went on to her profile randomly and was stunned to see the changes. It did not take him long to realise that was her response to his suggestion. She really was giving the guys in Canada a fair go. He went through her sleek photos and admired the beauty of each. It was like her previous photos never showed much of her clearly as these ones did. Now he could see her sharp innocent features more clearly, especially her eyes.

He knew he had no choice but to wait for her to come back. He hoped she wouldn't have got engaged. At least not till they had met and had had an opportunity to take a decision about each other. No matter how hard he tried not to think about her, he could not help but think about her. He knew he was waiting for her but for how long?

It occurred to him that she had never mentioned when she was returning from Canada. So how long was he supposed to wait to hear back from her? 'Well, chatting or exchanging letters is not allowed but there is no harm in asking her about her date of return, which was obviously missed out in our last conversation,' he thought with a smirk. Deep inside he hid his joy that this slip-up would now give them the opportunity to interact with each other without breaking the rules.

To his disappointment Khushi did not respond to his first message. He wrote another one, giving it the benefit of doubt that it must have gone missing (a very common thing online). His disappointment increased when he did not get a reply to the second one as well.

Why was Khushi not responding? Was it possible she was not checking her mails there? But why won't she do that? Unless she was busy. That does not justify it. Even if she was busy meeting families of the guys in Canada, she would still have the time to come online later. Unless...

He hesitated to complete his sentence, as he did not want to utter the dreadful thought that struck his mind. She could be busy with the arrangements for her engagement!

The sudden ringing of his cell phone shook him off his thoughts.

"Salam-Alaikum Arnav beta. I have called to let you know I have finally booked my tickets (from India) to Saudi Arabia, for next week. Hope you remember your promise."

"Valekum Assalam. Yes Mom I do. I had cancelled the meeting with your friend's daughters last year but had promised you that I will do it after my Conference this year i.e. whenever you travel to Saudi after the Conference, I will join you. A Muslim's word is as good as a promise. I never say anything that I may not be able to fulfil. I will be there Insha-Allah."

He hangs up and sits down to type a last message to Khushi.

"Khushi, I haven't heard back from you on my previous two messages. If you have found your match in Canada, the least you can do is let me know. This is so I know if I need to speak to my mom about arranging a meeting for us or not. I will be leaving for Saudi next week to meet my mom and the girls, she wishes me to meet with, over there. I can be in touch from there next, if you respond."

A Vm from Arnav Saleem Riyaasat's POV with glimpses of Khushi's plight:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe7KK5-ARbc[/YOUTUBE]

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe7KK5-ARbc

Cheers,

Shariqa_here

(P.S. - Thank you for all the PM requests that everyone has sent to me. I just want to sincerely thank you all for reading my story. & just so I don't miss sending you my updates, please ensure you have either sent me a 'buddy request' or accepted mine. Also to ensure my Pms reach you, please make sure your inbox isn't full)

Note: My next update i.e. Chapter 7 will be posted by 19 July Insha-Allah (God Willing)

My Story - Chapter 7

Standing midway in the staircase, Khushi musters up the courage to continue down towards the hall where everyone is sitting.

Dad: "Khushi, good you are here beta. We had promised Arshad's family we would reply today. Hope it is all good with you, so we can go ahead with it."

KKG: No dad'I'm not ready to ahead!

No sooner had Khushi spoken those words, all the commotion in the hall came to a stop. Both her mom and her aunt came running towards her to confirm they had heard right.

KKG: I know this must be strange for you, given that I have been alright with going ahead with any Canadian alliance so far but please'this is about my entire life. There is an alliance that I'm particularly interested in but not sure yet. However, before I make up my mind on that, I don't want t commit else where. And I will make up my mind only after meeting them.

Dad: Has the person proposed to you?

KKG: "No dad and I don't know if he will. But that is not important. The important thing is I'm not able to think about any alliance until this one is wrapped up.

I cannot go ahead with one alliance while thinking about another one and keeping the 'what if' question in my heart for life. It would not be fair on the person I marry either.

& I know what you might be thinking. If I give up the current proposal and then there is none from the other side, we might have to start from scratch all over again. Moreover, the next question would be if I will get another alliance as good as the one I'm rejecting right now? But please don't worry. I have read in the Quran that 'Allah has made us in pairs. For every good man, there is a good woman and vice versa. [23:26]' So regardless of who I marry, if I'm good I will get a good partner."

Mom: "You want to reject a good proposal which is all set for one that has no certainty and one we don't even know if it is good or not? Even if it was good, for all you know, that person will just come and leave, rejecting you. & let us say you don't receive any proposals after that? What will you do then?"

Aunt: "Beta marriage is not a joke. You can't make such irrational decisions on the spur of the moment. A good proposal is a blessing. You should not be rejecting it like that. The only reason it is genuine enough for anyone to reject a proposal is if there is anything you dislike about the guy/his family or if you have a better proposal in hand. You have neither!"

KKG: "I know!" (a pause follows as Khushi looks down with a defeated look and then looks up with tears brimming in her eyes)

"But I also know Allah has already written everyone's destiny."

Khushi turns towards her mom and continues' "If I'm destined to remain unmarried, no one can change that regardless of whether I receive proposals or not."

Khushi now turns towards her aunt and continues' "& If I'm destined to marry Arshad, trust me, even if I reject it, something or the other will happen on both our sides that will lead to our marriage eventually. But if I'm not destined to marry him, then even if I accept it, something or the other will happen such that it will not go ahead."

Khushi's dad stares pensively at Khushi, her mom and then her aunt as a pinching silence floods the place and seems to continue forever. Finally her dad breaks the silence.

Dad: "Well we can't force you to marry anyone off-course, hence there is no point in continuing this discussion any further. So when are we seeing this other alliance of yours?"

A big smile spreads across Khushi's face as she wipes her tears and rushes to hug her dad, while her mom and aunt stare at them in disbelief.

Dad: "Khushi! I will talk to Arshad's father today. Don't worry about it. I know how to put this in a polite manner but before that, I think I still need to convince your mom and aunt, so you can go to your room beta. We can discuss the meeting details later."

Khushi runs upstairs to her room as she cannot wait to reply back to Arnav Saleem Riyaasat. She felt as if she had won a battle or conquered a territory after a long struggle.

KKG: "I'm sorry I took long to reply but I needed to sort something out with my family before I did that. Although the proposals were good, we haven't finalised anything yet and will be returning to Dubai next week. Let me know when you want to meet, so I can let my parents know."

The moment Khushi hit the 'send' button, she notices a third message from him already waiting for her, which she had missed earlier. She quickly opened it and her eyes widened as she felt a pinch in her heart.

His third message read, "Khushi, I haven't heard back from you on my previous two messages. If you have found your match in Canada, the least you can do is let me know. This is so I know if I need to speak to my mom about arranging a meeting for us or not. I will be leaving for Saudi next week to meet my mom and the girls, she wishes me to meet with, over there. I can be in touch from there next, if you respond."

Had she been naive enough to reject her proposal and go after this man to be with him, she would have been shattered. It would have been like she closed a door that was open for her for another one, where she needs to stand in cue to get her turn. Here she had refused to see any proposals before seeing him based on his messages but on the other hand he could not give a meeting with her priority over his meeting with other girls! So in reality she was just one of the candidates he would be meeting among the many others. What was the point in sending her messages, when he was about to go and meet other girls? He should have met them and then blessed her with his meeting-proposal after that, if he was unsuccessful. She understood well that the bonding they shared meant nothing to him but keeping her in line with other girls meant he really did not see her in any different light or acknowledge the fact they had been chatting for 6 months prior to this.

"I don't know why I took such a big step and hurt my parents for meeting someone like him. I wish I had seen this message before. I really would not have." Khushi thinks aloud.

She was almost in tears when she hears a ping. A reply from Arnav Saleem Riyaasat to the one she had just sent, had come through. She had not got over the hurt caused by his previous message and here there was another one to add to it.

ASR: "Khushi. I will be able to make it to Dubai in two weeks time. Mom will be in touch with your parents once you are back. However, I wish to clarify this with you beforehand. Hope you know this is just a meeting. I'm not coming to marry you."

Although Khushi was well aware of his intentions but for some reason his bluntness took her aback. His four messages within a week said one thing about him that he really wanted her back but his words had a different note that made him look very distant from her. A realization crept inside her.

She went to her window and looked out at the sky.

"Allah'You have done this, haven't You? I have no doubt that You Must have made him feel what I felt. And You did this because of my supplication. Thank you.

Or else why would a person like him, who stays firm on his words as if they were engraved in stone, feel compelled to go against his own words and send me messages one after the other? He was happy to wait for me to come back and respond initially so what changed his mind?

I'm sure, after reading my response, he must have calmed down but then realized how much his messages must have given away what he felt. So now to cover-up again, he has gone back to being himself. Someone who will always choose to do what he thinks is right over what he feels/wants."

Khushi turns towards her computer where his last message is displayed on her screen, "One day Allah will show you whatever you did was not what you decided but what Allah made you do. You cannot practically decide everything for yourself and your life the way you want it. I just hope you don't realize that when I'm gone because that would be too late."

Khushi sits down to type a reply to his message, "I know you are just coming to meet me. I don't think I have told you anything otherwise. So you need not worry. See you then."

She knew she had given up on him. A person who is not true to his feelings; one who does what he thinks is right, over what he feels right, is not worth agonizing over. She felt drained with the entire ordeal that she had gone through because of him in the past few months.

"How can someone you have never met, take over your life, like you have no control over it and how can everything around you, remind you of him? Even more so, how can someone think of the same thing, you think of, at the same time?

I would definitely like to see this person at least once in life and put a nice ending to it. So when I look back in life, I will not remember him with tears but with joy that I had met someone in the world, who had the same frame of mind as me."

One day I will be able to narrate to my friends that someone like that had come for my alliance. Although nothing worked out between us, I gave him a Burjul Arab key ring ' as a souvenir and a token of thanks for taking the trouble of coming to see me."

Khushi removes the Burjul Arab key ring from her bag and looks at it. "I know the emotions that led me into buying you are different but now you will have to serve a different purpose. And once he takes you and departs from my life, I will organize a get-together with my friends and keep myself busy for the first few days. So once I'm past the point where I can feel bad or break down, I know I will be fine and then I will be all set to start a new chapter of my life Insha-Allah (God Willing)."

Two weeks pass in flash and the most awaited day i.e. the day of their meeting arrives.

"Today on your way back from office, make sure you stop at my parlour. Lesley will give you a good make-up. And Khushi! Make sure you wear something gorgeous for this evening. You are always very casually dressed and you never wear any makeup other than lipstick. His mom has said he is very picky and has only rejected girls so far. Hence, we really need to prepare a little more for this alliance and at the same time we need to be ready for any outcome."

Khushi's thoughts were interrupted by someone calling her.

"Khushiji! Your phone is ringing!" said the office boy.

Khushi finds herself holding a file and standing in front of a filing cabinet. She was looking for a file before plunging into the flashback of her mom's instructions for the evening, given to her before she left for office. She was barely able to concentrate at work.

She quickly rushes to her desk to pick her phone that was still ringing. The call was one of those that Khushi would often receive being in HR Department, asking her about vacancies and the process of application at her workplace. She would always be polite and bear with the callers who pestered the life out of her by telling her their entire life story in the mid of urgent tasks that she had to tend to. But for some reason today was one day, Khushi was really not in position to handle it and wanted to hang up badly. Especially since she had to finish work quickly, so as to leave early and do all the needful before Arnav Saleem Riyaasat's family stepped into her place.

Regardless of how politely she convinced the caller that she would do everything in her means to put his resume forward to her boss, he kept insisting he needed a job, not a recommendation. Although he tested Khushi's patience for an hour, she maintained her calm as he sounded like he must be of her father's age. Had he not been desperate, he probably would not be doing this to her. Finally when she kept the phone, assuring him his resume will be given its due importance for all openings at her workplace, she looked at the clock. It was already 5 pm! Khushi freaked out realizing she has no time to do anything now and must head for her parlour. She knew it took anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour to go from one place to another in Dubai, during the peak hour traffic, even if the two places were close.

Khushi rushes to her mom's parlour in Karama area. She felt like a robot fulfilling an instruction given to her. Her mind had stopped working due to her nervousness. After Lesley finishes with her make-up, she rushes back to her car to head for home. The last thing she wanted was to reach after the guests. The moment she stepped out of her lift and turns towards her luxurious apartment, she stops abruptly. There were shoes lying outside the door of her entrance!

She skips a beat, "They are here! What am I supposed to do? Should I just barge in and say salaam to everyone and leave them wondering why I was out until so late? They will see my make-up and know I was out getting myself ready to entice their son!"

She rushes back to her car that she had parked in the parking lot under her building and drives to the nearest Spinneys. Buying a bottle of water and a pack of tissues, Khushi splashes water all over her face and wipes it dry with the tissues and finally puts on her regular cream and lipstick.

"It is just a casual meeting Khushi, so be as casual as possible. Don't do anything that will make him feel you have done it to attract him. You know he is not here to marry you."

She enters her house only to find some neighborhood children walking out after handing some sweets for an occasion in their house. Khushi sighs a big relief. They were not here and this would give her some time to carefully decide on something elegant but simple to wear.

She runs through all her dresses in her wardrobe and picks a simple lilac short kurta that was the slimmest fit on her slender figure. It had tiny silver flowers that very elegantly flowed all over, while the neckline, short sleeves and short slits on her sides were all outlined by a silver piping. It had a very slim lilac chudidaar that ended in beautiful but delicate folds clutching her ankle. A plain lilac ribbon to go on her neck with light artificial jewellery that matched her dress, completed the look she wanted to give herself.

"Simple and elegant" She said looking at herself in the mirror. "The inauguration for the green dress can wait for my party, once he leaves." She winks at herself.

The doorbell rings! And she spins around to see her room's door opening at the same time.

Mom: "Khushi-are you ready? What have you done? Where's your make-up? & why are you dressed so simple? You are supposed to be dressing up as a prospective bride!"

Khushi stays silent not give away her change in attitude towards Arnav Saleem Riyaasat's alliance, especially after what she had done in Canada, much to her parent's disappointment.

Mom: "Anyway, they are here now, so there is no time for a change. I'm going to meet them, so you better get ready to bring in the tray of drinks shortly. There are 9 glasses on it, so be careful."

Khushi waited for the voices to pass from the entrance to the hall and then to the main lounge area. She hid behind the grand curtain that was parted at the entrance of the lounge. Her eyes were searching through the crowd of people who had walked in. Her heart beat was increasing by the minute and suddenly, she spotted him!

'Wow Masha-Allah! He looks way better than his photograph! His formal shirt neatly tucked in giving away his lean build that was neither heavy nor skinny. He looked fit and carried himself with a charisma that could not go unnoticed. His face was clean shaved and had a glow. His eyes gleamed with self-confidence; he had a sharp jawline and a controlled smile on his face. He spoke to her father with confidence like he knew when and where to put on his charm.

Khushi was again caught in shock at who she had really called to her place. No wonder he had so much of arrogance about himself and could get away after rejecting girls for the last two and a half years! A person who can do anything wrong but still within the limits of being right and make you want to question your own principles due to his own unmatchable accuracy.

It was pretty clear he knew his worth well and probably had the capability of judging everyone else's worth pretty accurately too. She recalled how accurately he had judged her in the first chat itself and then confirmed it on the basis of a personality test!

Khushi shivered at the thought of going in front of him. Although she never felt this way before any meeting in her life, she could not help it. She had met a lot of men who admired her at work and at her university but she had never seen anyone like ASR before. He was different. Perhaps if she met him at work or university, he would not have even noticed her.

Mom: "Please wait' I will just call her! Khushi!"

Khushi's heart was in her throat hearing the final call. She hesitantly lifts the silver tray of 9 glasses and moves from her kitchen to the hall and then to the lounge. Her hands were shivering and no matter how much she forced them to stay still, they were out of her control, adding to her fervour of self-consciousness.

Due to the sound of glasses trembling on the tray, every ongoing conversation in the lounge came to a halt, as all eyes turned towards her, much to her disappointment. Giving up on her hands, Khushi moves ahead, with her eyes glued to the tray and offers it to whoever was sitting on the sofa before her. She slowly lifts her head to see why there had been no attempt from the guest's side to pick the glass. Her eyes meet the questioning eyes of Arnav Saleem Riyaasat, who was sitting in front of her comfortably, making no attempt to pick a glass. Rather his eyes drifted from hers, all the way down to her toes and then back to her eyes again. He can't be serious! Is he checking me out in front of my parents and his, instead of taking a glass? With everyone staring, does he expect me to stand in front of him all day and wait for him to do the honours? Khushi was almost on the verge of prompting him to pick a glass. To her relief, before she did that he leaned in and picked up a glass, although without taking his eyes off her.

Khushi quickly moved away to serve everyone else. She could feel his gaze from the corner of her eyes, wherever she went. As she mustered the courage to confidently introduce herself, she was thrilled to receive a warm response from everyone. However, she noticed he was quiet and still staring at her. She turns away and leaves, feeling conscious again.

He must be shocked and wondering why he came to meet me in the first place. Or like a typical businessman, he must be looking at this whole thing as a waste of time and money. Nevertheless, I guess once I give him the souvenir, he may reconsider this meeting at least worth getting something i.e. worth a beautiful Burjul Arab key-ring!

Her dad gets up to show his uncle the view from the lounge's balcony. Her mom was busy chatting with his mother and aunt. His aunt's small daughter kept running around and checking out the showpieces lying on her buffet table from time to time. He joins the little girl and starts conversing with her, while Khushi arranges the table. As she puts the plate one by one and moves gradually to the other end, she feels him moving at her pace on the other side while showing the show pieces lying on the buffet table parallel to the dining table. This could be a mere coincidence. Nevertheless, she moves away to the corner of the lounge waiting for her mom to join her in the kitchen. Her eyes fall on him again staring at her from where he was standing in the other end of the lounge. This time she does not move her gaze away from his. Her eyes search his eyes and his body language for answers to what really was on his mind. Why was he staring at her?

To her horror, he blatantly maintains his gaze and moves forward towards her. No! He is not going to just walk up to me and start talking; not before our parents suggest it or till when they are unaware of it at least. His mother notices her son and turns to see where he is heading and quickly gets up to follow after him.

Khushi stares in shock wondering what her next move should be. It would look ridiculous if she simply turned and ran away. If she had to, she needed to do it in a non-obvious way but that wasn't possible considering she already knew he was walking up to her while she looked at him in shock.

ASR: "Washroom?"

KKG: "In the hall. Left from the entrance" Khushi manages to reply pointing in the direction of the powder room and he leaves to her relief.

ASR's mom: "So Khushi'you both must know each other very well? I heard you have chatted with him for 6 months!"

KKG: (pause) "oh no'I hardly know him. I just know he is here for a meeting and that is about it. Sorry aunty.. you will need to excuse me...I need to help mom serve dinner now. I will be back shortly."

Khushi quickly excuses herself and flees to the Kitchen. At the dinner table, his uncle who has a great sense of humor, cracks jokes one after the other and everyone has a great time laughing and complimenting him throughout.

It was really late in the morning when the whole ritual of dinner, sweets and tea finishes. Every one prepares to leave. Khushi realizes she and ASR did not have a chance to talk face to face and no one actually spoke about the alliance. Well perhaps, there was no need to. She hurriedly gives him the souvenir while he stares at her with a confused look.

KKG: "This is for you"

ASR: "For me? Why?"

KKG: "as a souvenir for your visit to Dubai & a note of thanks from all of us'for taking the trouble 'thanks & goodbye!"

ASR: Thanks...bye! (he takes it with an amused look)

Everyone leaves. He is the last to leave and does so giving her a last look.

As soon as they leave, Khushi's mom turns to her.

Mom: "Did he say anything to you regarding the alliance?"

Khushi looked at her mom's anxious face.

KKG: "Mom I don't think we should be expecting anything from them. After all, we have just rejected an alliance in Canada. They have the right to do the same."

Mom: "What are you saying? Are you out of your mind?"

Dad: "Calm down. This is not in her hands. Khushi you go to your room."

Khushi runs to her room hurt by the manner in which her mom spoke to her. But she couldn't blame her again. She was to blame for their plight.

"Allah! I have had my share of getting hurt but since I know him well, it is easier for me to take rejection, and also because I expected it anyway. But please give my parents patience to deal with it and also please arrange the alliance they want for me. I don't want to see them hurt"

Her door flings open as her dad walks in. "Are you alright?"

KKG: " I'm fine dad" (wiping her tears)

Dad: "You can go to stay over at Payal's place for a few days if that will make you feel any better."

KKG: "That is alright dad. She and other friends will be coming over for a get-together day after tomorrow and I have a lot to plan for it. So I'm good."

Dad: "That is the spirit. If you know how to keep yourself happy, you will never be sad in life, regardless of the circumstances, you come across."

Khushi spend most of the time next day outdoors shopping for the get-together.

On the day of the get-together, the door bell rings. She opens the door only to find some uncles and aunties entering, as she says 'salam' (muslim greeting) and looks at her parents bewildered.

Mom: "I thought we oldies need to keep ourselves happy as well. Your dad told me about your plan so I thought we could combine it with some of our friends too."

Khushi smiled at the thought that her mom was at least happy now, whatever be the source.

Khushi sits with her friends as guests keep pouring in and she keeps opening the door every now and then as her mom is busy with the catering service and her dad with the guests.

Suddenly Arnav Saleem Riyasat walks in with his family. This time he was wearing a sleek 2 piece suit with a tie and looking very smartly dressed for a party. But what was he doing here? No one told her he was invited!

Khushi makes her way straight towards her dad after escorting the unexpected guests to a seat. Her dad greets them first, after which he is pulled away by Khushi.

KKG: "Dad! you and mom didn't tell me they were invited!"

Dad: "Well we had to invite them. How else would you get engaged?"

KKG: "Engaged?"

Khushi was shell-shocked. She turned towards Arnav Saleem Riyaasat, who was intently watching her reaction with a smirk on his face.

Mom: "Khushi! I'm glad you are wearing a green party wear today. His mom told me he loves green."

He stepped forward and spoke to her father and removed a red box from his pocket. His mom followed with another bigger box.

Khushi's dad announced the engagement ceremony was to begin and requested the guests to get ready with their cameras.

Khushi's friends stared at her in astonishment, while she returned the same look back.

Her mom came forward with a Rado watch (as ring wasn't an option since muslim men were not allowed to wear jewellery or gold).

ASR puts the ring on Khushi's finger, followed by a bracelet from his mom's side. Khushi puts on the watch for him and everyone claps. The couple stands still amidst the flashes of light that fall on them from every direction.

After the completion of the ceremony and rituals, he excuses himself as he receives a call and then heads toward her dad's study room with her dad's permission to check an urgent email. For some reason the reception was bad in the lounge and hence he thought it was best to check his mails through the available internet at her place.

Khushi stares at her ring and at Payal who looks upset. She knew she needed to speak with Payal but she needed to speak with ASR first. She had just got engaged to a man who she had not had a chance to speak with face to face. She really needed to know what was on his mind.

She walked up to the study and stared at him blankly as he sat in front of the computer. He turns around and looks at her and smiles.

ASR: "Oh hi!"

KKG: "Salam"

"Valekum..Glad you are here. The ring and the bracelet were long ordered by mom for her daughter-in-law but I have something else for you that I had bought in Saudi. It kind of matched the bracelet and the ring."

He removes a small box from his other pocket and opens it. He pulls out a beautiful heart-shaped pendant that was studded with a combination of zirconium and black sapphire stones. As he stood up holding the pendant and started moving forward removing the tangles of the chain, Khushi stepped back with a start. She quickly puts her hand forward, "I can wear it myself!"

He stops and stares at her with an amused look on his face. "I was going to give it you anyway. I know my limitations as a muslim."

Khushi looks away embarrassed. Yes! how could she forget? She wanted to hit herself hard for assuming so much and even worse, she had been vocal about it. Now he knows what she was thinking!

He drops the locket into her hand and looks at her with a smile. "By the way, you look better than your photographs in reality."

Khushi's eyes become big as she realized this is what she felt about him the first time her eyes fell on him in her lounge! He was still echoing her thoughts!

KKG: " & I thought'.(Just shut up Khushi! What the hell are you doing? Now are you going to express every thought of yours to him?)

Uh 'I mean' thanks its nice 'I had better get going now." said Khushi, frantically wanting to leave. She knew she needed to talk to him but that will need to wait till she was better prepared to face him.

She runs to her room and thanks Allah for the way everything had turned out eventually. Everyone was happy and most of all, her own happiness knew no bounds. Everything was just perfect!

Little did she know everyone was happy except the one person, who she trusted the most. Payal. She had known everything from the time it had all started and watched Khushi get engaged in front of her fretful eyes. There was a lot Payal had been noticing that Khushi had failed to notice in her surprise over the sudden turn of events.

Payal had been moving around in the party long enough to overhear his uncle's conversation with someone and that made her eye-brows rise. "Well Arnav is responsible for that." His last words shocked her even more, "I don't think we should be discussing that here, unless Arnav himself wishes to disclose that!"

Payal heads towards Khushi's room to talk to her, even more desperate than ever. She could not bear to think Khushi would marry a wrong man, who was not being true to her!

She opens the door of her room and finds her happily saying something facing the sky while standing in her room's balcony. She herself stops for a moment to thank Allah she found Khushi alone at last!

A Vm painstakingly made by my dear friend Ghausia (Mistiix3) on the events of this chapter (please leave comments for her as well):

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM-q6qSlnX4&feature=youtu.be[/YOUTUBE]

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM-q6qSlnX4&feature=youtu.be

Cheers,

Shariqa_here

(P.S. - Thank you for all the PM requests that everyone has sent to me. I just want to sincerely thank you all for reading my story. & just so I don't miss sending you my updates, please ensure you have either sent me a 'buddy request' or accepted mine. Also to ensure my Pms reach you, please make sure your inbox isn't full)

Note: My next update i.e. Chapter 8 will be posted by 30 August Insha-Allah (God Willing) as I'm away on a month's break for the holy month of Ramadan (20 July - 20 August, 2012). Ramadan Kareem! now that it has arrived!

Please don't forget to leave your detailed comments, which I will be viewing during this break but will comment only after I resume my writing on IF again.

May Allah accept all our fasts and give us the patience to keep them right inshaAllah and may He Shower His countless blessings on us-Ameen. Please remember me in your duas as well.