Here is part 2. Waiting impatiently for the comments and critiques. Thanks to everyone who liked and commented the first part.
This part is dedicated to CC (CanadianChik). She kept telling me about Nikah 'Urfi - secret Nikah. Some of the things she said, had also inspired me for this FF.
XXX
"My name" I explain, the lines of worry ease from her face and she gives me the smile, the one that brightens up the darkest of my days.
=====================================================================
His name had just slipped out unintentionally. I have been dreaming fo the moment when I use his name for the first time, the time when I would have the right to call him by his own name. And it was not this. Yet, the smile on his face was evidence that jo bhi hota hai, ache ke liye hota hai. How did I get so lucky in love?
"Asad" I repeat as he envelopes me into another bone crushing hug. Maybe this was our solace, out destiny, being here right now, in each other's embrace, reveling in our love.
I suddenly remember the reason I was here in the first place. Tears begin to well up in my eyes and I try hard to not let them spill. I know my tears would break my man further, but something's are just beyond one's control. Fate always has its own way.
=====================================================================
I feel a wet spot form on my shoulder, where her cheek lay. She was shedding silent tears and I am unsure if they are tears of happiness or not, but they do tug at my heart nevertheless. They take me back to my thoughts from before she came.
I lead her to the couch and sit her down. I sit down on the floor facing her, the pads of my thumbs wiping those tears off. She stares at me with those big eyes, unsure what was going on in my mind.
"Zoya, I am sorry. Please don't cry. I am sorry that we could not marry as planned today. Kya aap mujhe ek aur baar maaf kar payengi? Mujhe hamesha se darr tha ki mein aapko khush nahi kar paoonga, and lately I had started to think otherwise too. But l guess..." he finally spoke after what felt like an eternity.
"Aap yeh kya keh rahe hain? How could I ever think of getting married when my sister was in so much pain? Sorry to mujhe kehna chahiye. Hamesha meri laparwahi ke kaaran is parivaar par musibat aati hai, aur yeh sab jo aaj hua hai woh bhi meri hi wajah se hua hai. Aap kisine mujhe kuch nahi kaha, bus chup chap sab jhel diya. But my conscious knows I am guilty. Aap please mujhe maaf kar dijiye. Mujh par chillaiyein, daantiyein, par aise chup chap mujhse dur mat ho jaiye. I cannot take this distance between us." she cries some more.
I look at her, as tears leave a trail down her face, helpless. What is she talking about? How can anything be her fault?
"Yeh aap kya keh rahi hain? How is any of this your fault?" I hold her face in my hands, gently rubbing away the tears and pleading her to stop crying.
"Did you make Imraan come back to Najma? Did you make Imraan sleep with and impregnate Tanveer? Did you make Tanveer do the awful things she did? The answer is no Zoya. Infact, you have only saved my sister from a lifelong punishment of living with a man like Imraan. A man who cannot see his own faults and own up to them. A man who has no problem lying, a man without a conscious." I continue
"But...but I pushed you guys for the engagement. I pushed you guys to fix a wedding date. And I did not tell you about Tanveer as soon as I started having my doubts. If I had not been so impulsive and foolish, things could have ended differently." she said sniffing.
"And I let you do those things Zoya, don't you see it? Despite my concerns and misgivings, I let Najma's tears sway me. I ignored the signs of Imraan's deceit at the engagement, yet you followed your gut. Are we all not at fault here? How can you just blame yourself?"
"But.." I place a finger on her lips, efficiently shutting her out. "no more..."
{Song is in background: Aur Ahista by Pankaj Udhas}
Aur aahista kijiye baatein, dhadkane koi sun raha hoga - 2
Labz girne na paaye honton se, waqt ke haath inko chun lenge
Kaan rakhte hain ye darodeevar, raaz ki saari baat sun lenge
Aur aahista kijiye baatein
Our silence spoke volumes. It was a moment that we dare not disturb, lest it slips away.
Aise bolo ki dil ka afsaana, dil sune aur nigaah dohraaye - 2
Apne chaaro taraf ki ye duniya
Saans ka shor bhi na sun paaye, na sun paaye
Aur aahista kijiye baatein, dhadkane koi sun raha hoga
Labz girne na paaye hoton se, waqt ke haath inko chun lenge
Kaan rakhate hain ye darodeevar, raaz ki saari baat sun lenge
Aur aahista kijiye batein...
A strong gust of air blows into the room. I tuck her wispy hair in place behind her ears as she shys' away. I stand up to close the windows, but my eyes never leave hers.
Aayiye band karle darwaaze, raat sapne chura na le jaaye - 2
Koi jhonka hawa ka aawara, dil ki baaton ko uda na le jaye, na le jaye
Aur aahista kijiye baatein, dhadkane koi sun raha hoga
Labz girne na paaye hoton se, waqt ke haath inko chun lenge
Kaan rakhte hain ye darodeevar, raaz ki saari baat sun lenge
Aur aahista kijiye baatein
I sit besides her pulling her closer to me. We both sat there, our backs to the wall, as we relaxed into this moment of togetherness. Why can't we remain like this forever?
Aaj itne kareeb aa jaao , duriyon ka kahi nishaan na rahe - 2
Aise ek dusare me gum ho jayen, faasla koi darmiya na reh jaye, na reh jaye
Aur aahista kijiye baatein, dhadkane koi sun raha hoga
Labz girne na paaye hoton se, waqt ke haath inko chun lenge
Kaan rakhte hain ye darodeevar, raaz ki saari baat sun lenge
Aur aahista kijiye baatein
"Do you trust me?" I finally speak, my mind made up.
"Without a doubt." her voice did not falter.
"I will fix this mess. Can you do something for me?"
"Aap maang kar to dekhiye"
"Stop blaming yourself, please. Aaj Allah ne aapko zariya banake hum par meherbani ki hain, humein unka shukriya ada karna chahiye. Unse guzaarish karni chahiye ki woh ab hamari khwaish bhi puri karien. Will you come to the Mazaar with me tomorrow?"
She nods her head in response. They were so many things we could talk about, but that would have ruined the calm we felt right not. We remain on the couch, just like that until sleep takes over. Tomorrow will bring a new beginning, I was sure of it.
=====================================================================Zoya received a parcel late, next morning with a note. Please meet me at the Bari Masjid at 2:00 pm and wear this if you can.
She was surprised to see the contents, but she loved this thing about Asad. He never failed to surprise her. Leaving for the masjid was not hard, since there was no one around to question her departure.
At the masjid, once they had said their prayers, they happened to meet the maulvi who was supposed to get them married yesterday. Asad smiled at maulvi saab and followed him to another part of the building. Ayaan and Humeria were both present in the room and smiled on seeing them. Rashid stood in a corner, he was here on Ayaan's insistence, again uninvited.
What is going on here? She looked around the room to take in the setting. Was it really happening? Is this what it seems to be? She wondered as tears started to form in her eyes.
Asad, who stood besides her observing her, squeezed her hand in his and gave her the assurance that she sought. And before she could protest he whispered to her "Zoya aapne kaha tha ke aap mujh par yakeen rakhti hain, to is baar koi sawaal nahi. This is something I want for us, something I need to do."
"It is just that it does not feel right without Phoopi and Najma..." she wished she could just comply to Asad's wish. But then what is a marriage when the family is not present.
"Toh kuch der intezaar kar lo" they both heard Dilshaad's voice and looked around for her. Rashid lifted his phone and Dilshaad spoke again.
Soon, Dilshaad and Najma joined them in person. "Bhaijaan, kal jo hua so hua. Uska yeh matlab to nahi ke hum aapki khushi mein shareek nahi honge ya aap muneing shaamil na karien? Aapne mujhe itna khudgarz samjha hai kya?" Najma spoke as she hugged both Zoya and Asad.
The maulvi completed the required rituals. Asad and Zoya said their Qubool Hais' as their families stood as witnesses to their union.
=====================================================================
"To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage." - Lao Tzu
"Once in awhile, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale." - Anonymous
"You will find as you look back upon your life, that the moments when you really lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love." - Henry Drummond
XXX
I could have added more things, was tempted to. But this was what I came up with.
Rivs
CID
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
Bigg Boss 19
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
124