It was very dark. The darkness created a deafening and numb effect on one's senses. Only two pairs of eyes glistened in the long hallway of Purani Haveli.
Outside the thunderstorm had created havoc with the nature. Tree branches were flying in the air. The rain fell on the old window panes of the huge bungalow heavily. One or two broken panes signalled that it was going to be a stormy night. The old house was situated on the countryside and there was no chance of restoring electrical supply until the storm was over. The sound of the heavy rain drops and gushing wind along with the emptiness of the Purani Haveli gave an eerie feeling to its occupants.
"Mr. Khan, where are you?" said Zoya in a tone a little louder than a whisper.
"Ms. Farooqui, I am here, don't worry!" Asad replied back in concern.
"Mr. Khan, please don't go away anywhere, please stay here!" cried Zoya in a childlike tone.
"Yes Ms. Farooqui, I will be here, please don't be scared," assured Azad.
"Scared? Allah Miyan what's wrong with you? I am not scared, I I am well ummm just concerned about you. I don't want you to be lost in this well not-so-scary bungalow," Zoya replied completely unconvinced of her courage!
"Aaah yes Ms. Farooqui, thank you very much for your concern," replied Asad with a smirk on his face.
"Oh you are welcome Mr. Khan, by the way have you found the matchbox yet?" asked Zoya
Asad seemed to be looking for something in the dark, trying to feel his way through the strange alignment of furniture in the hallway. His hand touched a small box and he was relieved that he had finally found a matchbox.
"Yes, Ms. Farooqui, we are lucky, there is a matchbox here!" Asad replied back in relief.
Zoya tried to move towards the direction of Asad's voice. She used her left hand for navigating through the dark and finally it touched Asad's cheeks and she jumped in horror.
"Aaahhh," screamed Zoya.
"Zoya, it's me," Asad replied with concern.
"Oh Mr. Khan it's you, thank God it is you, woof what a relief!" replied Zoya breathing heavily and sighing in relief.
"Yes it is me! Why? What did you think?" Asad asked, slightly amused.
"Well ummm nothing, I just thought that, ummm never mind. Shall we light the candle?" replied Zoya in a timid voice.
Asad replied in an "hmmm" and lit the matchstick and brought it up to his face. Zoya's face glowed in the small light emanating from the matchstick. Her fringes lay strewn across her forehead. Little beads of perspiration had formed on the forehead and temple. Her eyes looked anxious and she looked into Asad's eyes like a small girl who has finally found her safe haven.
Asad kept looking into Zoya's eyes until the matchstick burned his hand and fell on the ground, once again throwing them into a void of darkness.
"Mr. Khan, are you okay? Are you hurt?" asked Zoya in deep concern.
"Yes, Ms. Farooqui, I am fine, thank you!" replied Asad and this time he lit the candle without burning his hand.
Zoya held the candle in old rusted iron candelabra. The candle was glowing softly in the centre of it. Asad and Zoya were finally relieved to have a source of light after being subjected to darkness for more than an hour. Their eyes were still adjusting to the sudden light from the candle, as they finally looked at each other. Their eyes met under the hue of the candlelight and they felt comforted and warm.
Zoya was dressed in a soft white sweater with and a pair of blue jeans. Her eyes had small traces of kajal and her lips trembled a little from the cold. Asad wore a blue and white checked shirt under a grey tweed jacket teamed with a pair of denims. His hair was ruffled due to the wind. However, his face was clean shaven and he looked in form.
Zoya kept staring at her man and was lost in her own world when Asad called out her name.
"Yes, Mr. Khan, sorry I am a bit lost," replied Zoya, finally breaking away from her stupor.
"Hmmm, I can see that, are you comfortable Ms. Farooqui? Do you need anything?" asked Asad.
By this time, Asad and Zoya had settled themselves into two wing chairs which were placed in front of the giant window. Asad closed the window tightly and placed the candle at the centre table. The chairs smelled of dampness but they were quite comfortable in the soft cushions. Zoya sat cross legged in her chair and was rubbing her feet and hand in order to bring some warmth to her body. Asad opened his jacket and placed it over her to protect her from the cold. Zoya was reluctant but she knew there was no point in arguing with Asad. She smiled shyly as he settled down next to her on the second chair.
"Are you still feeling cold?" asked Asad.
"No, Mr. Khan, I am perfectly fine, thank you," replied Zoya with a smile.
Asad smiled back at her and silence fell between them as they disappeared into their own thoughts. Asad and Zoya had planned to get away from the busy city life for a while. The mundane city life had tired their body and mind. They wanted to be away from the crowd and spend some quality time with each other. Asad decided to bring her to his old palatial bungalow which was situated on the outskirts of Bhopal. This bungalow was owned by Asad's maternal grandmother and now it belonged to Asad. They had only arrived at the location a few hours ago when bad weather struck. It had been a long drive and they were quite tired. The electricity went out almost immediately and since Asad had not informed anyone about their visit, there was no house help close by. However, Asad had no intentions of calling up anyone as he wanted to stay with Zoya all alone. They found their way into the house and luckily Zoya's feet struck candelabra with a candle on it. Asad started looking through the house for a matchbox and he was certain there would be one close by somewhere. After an hour or so, he finally seemed to have found one.
The old palatial bungalow was surrounded by lush greens on either side of it. There was huge driveway in front and a beautiful kitchen garden at the back. Asad made sure that the bungalow was well maintained but the old window panes had given away under the strong effect of the storm that night.
The hallway was explicitly decorated with antique furniture and it looked nothing short of a King's palace.
Zoya looked around and admired the rich taste of Asad's ancestors. She got up from her chair and started looking around. Although the dim candle light was only lighting up a section of the hall, she could appreciate the interiors. She was awestruck by their beauty when she stumbled on something and fell on the ground.
Asad was lost in his thoughts when he heard Zoya's cry and dashed across the room. He rushed to her and helped her in getting up from the floor. She had tripped over a small corner table.
Asad looked at Zoya and asked with concern, "Are you okay? Why did you get up from your seat?"
"But Mr. Khan, I just wanted to look around and..." Cried Zoya
"There is no need to look around in the dark; you can keep that for the morning. And now come and sit with me, that's it," affirmed Asad.
Zoya made a sad face and went and sat on her chair. She was looking away from Asad clearly annoyed at his sudden outburst. Asad looked at her from his seat and felt bad that he scolded her unnecessarily.
"Ms. Farooqui," called Asad.
Zoya didn't reply. She just hid her face in her arms and kept looking out of the window.
"The storm will not stop if you keep staring outside the window," said Asad failing in his attempt to be funny.
Zoya glared at him and went back to her silent staring.
Asad got up from his chair and went and sat down on his knees in front of Zoya. She was surprised but continued sulking. Asad took her hand in his hands and started rubbing them. Although Zoya was angry at him, the girl inside her jumped in happiness. The warmth of his hands radiated into her body instantly. Suddenly, she felt a deep sense of longing in her gut.
Asad kept rubbing her hands and once or twice stole quick glances at her face. Clearly, he was smitten by her innocence and beauty. He stood on his knees and arched his head up and kissed her left cheek. Zoya was taken by surprise but she didn't budge from her position and closed her eyes. He kissed her right cheek next and she held his hands tightly. Asad went on to kiss her eyes and then placed a soft kiss on her cold lips. She opened her eyes slowly and they looked into Asad's soft eyes and she could feel his pain through his eyes. He was truly sorry for his behaviour and she had forgiven him even before he asked for it. She hugged him in a tight embrace and kissed him on his cheeks.
Asad looked relieved and contended. He held her in his arms for a long time and they separated only when their bodies started complaining due to their awkward positions. Asad stood up and so did Zoya. He swept her in his arms in one slow motion and she obliged with his action. He bent down slightly so that Zoya could pick up the candelabra. He started walking towards the giant staircase stationed at the centre of the hallway right opposite to its entrance. He walked up the stairs and they reached a room on right hand side of the first floor. Asad opened the door by pushing it with his toes and they entered into the room. Zoya was looking at Asad all throughout this time, lost in his love.
She realised that Asad had reached his destination and she held up the candle to look at the room. A huge four poster bed lay at the centre of the room. On one side there was a huge fireplace with a mantelpiece. And on another side there were two winged chairs similar to the ones downstairs but bigger in size and more comfortable. The wall opposite to the bed was tastefully decorated with a giant antique mirror and an old handcrafted wooden dressing table. The floor was covered in soft beige carpet. The room had minimum furniture but the large room bore a sense of warmth and love.
Asad place Zoya on the soft bed which had a white embroidered canopy and white lace curtains were tied on the arms of the bed. The bed had a very thick and soft mattress covered with soft white bed linen and a soft duvet was placed at the foot of the bed. She lay on the bed and sunk into its warmth. Asad took the candle from her hand and started to light a fire in the fire place. After a couple of minutes, the fire was crackling away through the silent night and warming up the place under its heat. Asad placed the candle on the mantelpiece and turned to look at Zoya.
Kindly leave your comments and do let me know if you would like me to post the second half too 😊
Here is the link to the second part of the story:
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
CID
4