"Arz kiya hai:
Hogayi hai subah, par Jahapanah hain abhi bhi neend mein,
Hogayi hai subah, par Jahapanah hain abhi bhi neend mein,
Shaadi ki saalgirah hai aaj, ab toh meherbaan huiye apne iss kaneez pe!"
Asad blinked his eyes open as a smile formed on his face. And what greeted his sight was the most beautiful woman on earth; he could swear his life on it. Dressed in a red anarkali, his favourite one, with her wet hair sticking to her face and with that beautiful dimpled smile adorning her lips, she made the most ethereal sight ever. She was his angel, his life and currently his wife, Zoya. How he loved waking up to see this every morning!
This had been the routine since the past one year. Asad's sleeping habits had gone down the drain. He would normally be one of the early wakers of the house, and Zoya, the last one. But after his marriage, there was a sudden role reversal! Zoya would be up before him, and would normally wake him up either by whispering in his ears, or by a small kiss on his cheeks, or on his lips especially if they were in an *ahem ahem* position the previous night; and on some days, like today, wake him up by reciting one of her infamous shayaris. He still couldn't belive that those shayaris which gave him migraine attacks before suddenly sounded like the sweetest and funniest poems on earth! Love sure does change people, he mused. But unbeknownst to Zoya, and to the rest of the members of the house, Asad's sleeping habits hadn't changed at all! He would wake up way before Zoya but pretend to be asleep, just to see which method she used to wake him up with! So, shayari today I guess! Wouldn't have minded a kiss though..., went Asad's thoughts as he finally stirred and opened his eyes fully.
Zoya's smile changed into a frown as she ranted off, "Hogayi neend poori Jahapanah?! Pehle to kitni jaldi uth jaate they aur mujhe late uthne ke liye daant te they, ab khud hi hamesha late! Time dekha hai janaab? 8 baj rahe hain! Office nahi jaana hai kya apko?!"
Keeping his gaze fixed on Zoya he finally sat up as his smirk widened to form his patented 'Zoya smile', as she called it.
"Ab aap mujhe ghoor ghoor ke has kyun rahein hain?! Joke bol rahi hoon kya main?! Uthiye jaldi!"
"And a very happy first anniversary to you too Zoya", smiled Asad. Zoya's frown vanished as she ran across the room to engulf Asad in a hug, to which he responded immediately. He buried his face into her neck, breathing in the lovely scent of her freshly shampooed hair. Ahh, jannat issey kehte hain, thought Asad. "Saalgirah mubaarak ho Mr. Khan", whispered Zoya into his ears, breaking his chain of thoughts. He was about to hug her more tightly when she broke off, leaving him disappointed. Asad pouted cutely and called her, "Zoyaaa!"
"Ab aap mujhe yeh puppy-dog wala look mat dijiye! Iss par mera copyright hai, pata nahi aapko?", smiled Zoya mischieviously, her eyes glinting. "Ab jaldi uthkar ready ho jaayiye, aapko ek ghante mein office ke liye nikalna hai. Main kitchen mein jaa rahi hoon phoophi ki madat karne ."
She was about to turn back and leave when Asad caught her wrist and pulled back. Zoya lost her balance and fell right on top of him. Her cheeks heated up as she felt their bodies collide, pressed up against each other. Even after a whole year of marriage, these moments still seemed to take her breath away, leaving her heart racing, as though in a 400metre dash. Her eyes, which had closed under the impact of the fall, fluttered open to meet two chocolate brown orbs, boring into her soul. Why was he always ready to kill her, thought Zoya. Her face turned redder, if possible, and some incoherent sentence that had started forming in her head, was lost into the oblivion. Her power of speech also seemed to have gone on a holiday. She lost herself into his eyes, drowning in them for the millionth time as their faces came closer. Just as they were at their closest, their noses touching and their lips were barely an inch apart that Asad, albeit without breaking eye contact, spoke, "Aap hamesha mujhe apne bhaijaan banane par kyun tuli huyi rehti hain?"
Zoya, who had totally drowned in the moment, couldn't make any sense out of Asad's question and was too dazed to answer, so all she could manage was, "Huh?! Kya? Bhai...aap? Huh...?"
Asad's smirk deepened, "Aap abhi bhi ammi ko phoophi bula rahi hain, toh agar woh aapki phoophi huyi toh kya main aapka bhaijaan nahi ho gaya? Nikaah kiye huye ek saal mein hi aap mujhse uug gayi hain kya, jo mujhe apna bhai banana chahti hain? Iraada kya hai aapka sahibaan?"
Zoya's eyes widened as realization dawned upon her. Flustered completely, she somehow spoke, "Nahi! Woh...main actually...woh actually galti se..."
Asad burst into laughter. Zoya, though flustered still, wasn't surprised at all. Asad laughing openly was a frequent sight in the house in the past year; so although it was shocking at first, she loved to see this sight now. Amidst chuckles, Asad managed, "Abhi abhi toh aap mujhe apke copyrighted puppy-dog wala face use karne par daant rahi thi, ab aap mere naam pe patented dialogue istemal kar rahi hain?! Aap hi kehti hain na ki 'Woh main actually' mere patented dialogues hain?"
"Asad! Maine galti se keh diya tha okay? Mujhe koi shaukh nahi hai aapki lines churane ki! Woh to bas...aur maine ammi ko galti se hi phoophi kaha tha, samjhe? Kya karoon, aadat hai na, itni jaldi jaati nahi. Ab chhodiye mujhe jaldi!" ranted a thoroughly embarrassed Zoya, as she fidgeted to get off her husband. Asad watched her intently, the smirk refusing to leave his lips. She looks so cute when she's embarrassed and blushing like this, he thought. He tightened his arms around her waist this time, not letting her go.
"Kyun, aapko saara din mere saath aise rehne mein koi aitraaz hai? Ajeeb hain aap, kaun si biwi apne shauhar ko saalgirah ke din office bhejna chahti hai? Yahan yeh banda aas lagaye baitha tha ki aaj office chhod ke saara din apni khoobsurat begum ke saath waqt bitayega, aur aap hain ki..." Asad couldn't complete his sentence as he felt Zoya's lips on his cheeks, giving him a huge, sloppy kiss as he hugged him tighter. She jumped up from him, her eyes shining in joy as she happy danced around the room like a kid. "Yaaayyy! Aap office nahin jaa rahe! Yippeee!!! Aap aj saara din mere saath waqt bitayenge! Yaahhooo!!!"
Asad sat up and watched his childlike innocent wife happily dancing. How happy he had made her just by promising to skip office and spend the entire day with her. No lavish dinners, clothes or parties, just a few heartfelt words were more than enough to make her happy. His eyes crinkled at the corners as tried to stop his tears, tears of pure happiness. How much joy had this woman filled into his life?! So much light, so many colours...as though the dark shadows of his past never existed. He was still baffled as to what made him hate her so much in the beginning. Zoya only deserved to be loved, and he considered himself lucky to be the one she had chosen to love. I will never let anything hurt you or take that smile of your face Zoya, he promised himself, unaware of the ghosts of her past which were threatening to come out and reveal themselves, upturning the life of this happily married couple.
"Calm down Zoya!"called Asad. Zoya ran upto him and hugged him tightly. "I love you so so much Asad! Aap sabse achhe hain!"
"Tum bhi sabse achhi ho Zoya. I love you too...", said Asad as he snuggled into her neck again, not wanting to let go of this precious moment.
"Ahem ahem!" The sound of someone clearing their throat loudly jerked them out of each other's arms as they realized the person standing at the open door of their bedroom to be their ammi.
"Agar miyaan-biwi ko romance karna tha to darwaza bandh karke bhi kar sakte they!" admonished Dilshad, trying hard to control her laughter on seeing the shocked and heavily embarrassed faces of her son and daughter-in-law.
Asad, now blushing like a bobbin on being caught red-handed by his mother, stammered, "Na...nahi ammi! Ai...aisi koi baat nahi hai! Woh to...woh to hum bas...yunhi..."
"Haan, haan Asad main samajh gayi. Sab samajh gayi. Main yahan tum dono breakfast ke liye bulane aayi thi, bas. Aur haan, nikaah ki pehli saalgirah Mubarak ho!", smiled Dilshad.
This time Asad and Zoya both raced to Dilshad together, hugging her together. Dilshad smiled, though taken aback at first, and patted their heads as she cooed, "Awww mere pyaare bachheee...!"
Najma, who had been passing by, stopped at the sight of the happy couple in their mother's arms. She placed her hands on her hips and huffed. "Haan haan! Mujhe toh bhool hi jao aap sablog! Mujhe kaunsa haq hai isme included hone ki?!"
"Aww meri Tamatar gusse mein laal ho gayi? Aa jaao meri pyaari behna, tumhare bina yeh family hug adhoora hai!", called Asad, smiling widely.
Najma laughed and ran in to join the hug. It was her happy family and nobody could destroy their happiness now, or so she believed...
And there went the first chapter! Hopefully I have managed to induce a horrible headache in all of you now, so get those joote and sade andey tamaatar and lemme have 'em!
On a serious note, if you guys think this is any good, do drop in a like and a comment, and if possible, a review 😃. And if you think this is trash, constructive criticism is welcome😃 I already have the second chapter in mind, with a huge twist (hint, hint 😆) but I will write it only if you guys want me to continue this. If not, then this will be an OS and you guys can forget I ever wrote this.😭Till then, do leave me some love guys!!! Pretty please??😃
Itti Si Khushi Sab TV
Anupamaa
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