#2
Dilshad stared at her son's face in shock. No. Shock was an understatement. She was flushing with surprise and overwhelmed, as she looked into his dark eyes of blue, as dark as the night, with a question so obviously written all over her face. Did he really...?
"Asad?", her voice barely above a whisper.
Swallowing slowly, turning himself fully to face his mother, he let his hands grip his mother's tender elbows.
"Ammi..", he said, looking into her embers, recognising the question, "Get ready."
Her lips parted as his soft words, sprinkled with unmistaken love for his sisters living out of the boundaries of this house, shocked her even more. Though it was a good shock.
Her hand went up to cup his face, "Asad?", her voice ringing with a delight she knew no bounds of. But it came out as a question. Her eyes brimmed with tears, as she saw her son, swallowing the lump in his throat, while looking down at their feet and back up only to gasp on seeing his dark blue eyes, shining with pearls like hers.
A faint touch of a smile played on those soft lips, that was always set in a thin line. Yet it reached his eyes, conveying what she so longed to see in his eyes. Swallowing hard, his hand rested on his mother's, lacing his fingers through hers, gripping onto it tightly, as he brought it to his lips, to drop a wet kiss on her palm, and let it stay there a moment longer.
"Oh, my child!", she cried, pulling her tall son into her embrace, enveloping him as tightly as possible.
The voice of Najma awoke her, making both of them turn to her.
Softly laughing and wiping her tears, she beckoned Najma, and held her by her arms. "Najma.. Go, get ready!"
Najma turned to look at her brother, watching her with a faint knowing smile on his face. His eyes blinked in assurance, lighting her face up with happiness. "Really?", looking at her mother and brother, in turn, before hugging her brother tightly, and squeezing his arm, as the tears seemingly rolled down her cheeks. A pat on her head was enough for her to understand that it was time. Pulling away, and giving a satisfied smile to her mother, she was about to walk away, when her mother's voice stopped.
"What about Zoya? Asad... Won't it be impolite to leave her alone at home, while we go out there?", Dilshad said concern etching her pretty face.
"Ammi but.." he was about to continue when he saw his mother look up at him with anticipation. She knew what he was about to say. The last thing he wanted was their very much kept secret surfacing in front of Zoya, or anybody outside the family. "Her questions...", breathing in deeply, and looking at Najma, he blinked, "Fine." He clasped his hands behind him making his point. "Just tell her to keep her mouth shut!"
Before his mother or sister could say anything in defense of Zoya, he quickly turned and walked to his room to change.
Dilshad stared at her son's retreating back in shock, before chuckling and shaking her head in disbelief.
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"But Najma! Where are we going that we have to dress up in shararas? Looking at the way you are dressing up, I doubt that it is anything related to any small outings or dinner or anything like that!", Zoya exclaimed as she crossed her arms on her chest. Springing up beside Najma suddenly, she whispered excitedly, "Is it a wedding?? Huh? Or a reception? Come on! Tell me, Najma!!", shaking her new BFF by her shoulders, on seeing her smile secretively. "Najma!! If you don't tell me..", pointing a threatening finger at her, "then I won't come!", she sat down with a huff on the bed they shared, and looked away.
"No problem! If you don't come, then Bhaijaan can breathe easily even!", stifling her laughter at her own joke, and continuing to zip up the blouse from her side.
Hawing at her BFF, she stepped out of the bed with a scowl and said, "Haww... So Mr. Akdu Ahmed Khan is also in this? Ohkay! Now no one can stop me from coming! Not you, not your Akdu Bhaijaan!", stomping off to the bathroom to freshen up.
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"Ammi? Are you ready?", asked Asad, as he walked into the living room wearing an electric blue sherwani with intricate work in black, and black churidar, straightening his collar and sleeves. He looked around to see Najma coming out of her room and closing the door behind her, whilst giggling softly. She was dressed in a cute copper coloured sharara, with intricate work all around in olive green, and a dupatta, she was struggling with.
"Najma? What happened?", he shook his head in askance.
The second she heard Asad's voice, Najma immediately stopped giggling and shook her head in response, as if saying 'Nothing'.
Seeing her struggle more with that dupatta, he twitched his lips, catching her attention and pulling her closer, to help her with the dupatta.
Just as he was going on about pinning the dupatta properly, he heard a faint click of the door, followed by a thud, indicating it being shut. The sound of tinkles and crinkles, caught his attention, as he carelessly, turned to his left only to look up at somebody he couldn't recognise. Yet the face looked familiar. The face was turned the other way, while two beautiful hands were working on putting a jhumka into the earlobe. And just as she turned, his breath caught up in his throat, as he instantly recognised her, letting his eyes wander from top to bottom and the other way round.
It was Zoya.
She was clad in a lovely cream coloured sharara, plump at the bottom, i.e. near her legs and feet, and a blouse that would rather be called a halfway cut kurta from all four sides to the hips, and a collar studded with intricate work in gold, and long sleeves, covering her arms to her wrist.
She stepped forward once again, as her eyebrows furrowed in concentration, while her hands worked on her other earlobe. Her lips shimmered in the gloss of cherries, light and simple, while her face was devoid of any make up except for her eyes, lined with kohl, and a bit accentuation giving her winged eyed look. Her hair was pulled up into a high pony tail, a few strands framing her face from either side, and fringes curled inwards, and set perfectly on her forehead.
He was shaken out of his reverie, by Najma, who was complaining of his unbearable squeeze on her shoulders.
"Bhaijaan!! What're you doing?! You're hurting me!", shaking Asad by his arm.
"Huh?", Asad blinked, and set his jaw firmly, pushing away all absurd thoughts trying to come into his view, as the image of Zoya kept on flashing before his eyes. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, he breathed in and out deeply and finished off pinning up the dupatta before anything else went wrong.
"Thanks Bhaijaan! I'll go look for Ammi!", nodding at him. "Zoya? Wow! You look very good! Beautiful!", walking up to Zoya and holding her arm.
"Thank you, Najma! You look gorgeous too!", cupping Najma's face, and grinning.
"Why, thank you!", lowering her eyes shyly, and also in embarrassment on realising her brother's presence still in the room. "I.. I'll come in a minute!"
Just as Najma left the living room, Asad looked away from Zoya before she caught him. Caught me? Why the hell would she catch me? I've done nothing wrong!
Zoya's attention got caught by a dark colour moving. She blinked to realise that it was Akdu Ahmed Khan in a sherwani looking... Wait a minute! A sherwani? A S-H-E-R-W-A-N-I?!, she thought to herself as her eyes winded on seeing the outfit. He.Is.Wearing.A.Sherwani. And.Is.looking... Hot!
WHAT?!
In that instant she saw him turn to her with an eyebrows raised elegantly, and eyes trained on her. Rather piercing her by looking straight into her own eyes. She heard him, "Excuse me?"
"Huh?" she blinked.
"Did you say something?", half turning, and swaying a bit on one foot.
Oh god! And he is wearing Mojris too! Allah Miyah! What's wrong with me?! Why am I...
Before she could let this thought continue, she replied, "Uh.. Nothing! Why?", realising that she had said her 'WHAT?!' very much aloud indeed.
"I just heard." he frowned, before rolling his eyes at her and looking away, tapping his feet.
Squeezing her fingers, and stepping forward, she bit her lip and said, "Where... are we... going?"
Asad turned to see her looking everywhere but him. Just as she was about to look at him, he looked away, and said, "A wedding."
A frown replaced her mouth, she continued, "Whose wedding?"
"Why does it matter to you?", turning to her with his eyes closed in irritation.
"Well, FYI, it does! Do you take me for a Gatecrasher?"
"Well, I take you for a Life-crasher!", biting back, and looking straight into her whiskey brown eyes, conveying her what all he thought of her and why, with this stare.
She gaped at his audacity of saying something like that to her. Infuriated, she stomped up to him, "Well, I might as well say that to you too, Mr. Akdu Ahmed Khan!"
"Excuse me?", turning fully to her, annoyance pouring out from his eyes. "What did you just call me?", glaring at her.
"You heard me!", raising her chin challenge. "And I will continue to call you that, for a Lifetime, because you show no chances of changing that attitude of yours!", shaking her head from side to side, gracefully, and pointing a finger at his face.
His hand shot up to catch hold of her finger, and step closer in irritation. "You...", glaring into her whiskey brown eyes, that looked bigger than usual and deeper than intended to look. Suddenly he realised that they were very much close to each other. So close that their noses were brushing against each other faintly.
He instantly left her finger and stepped back, feeling her do the same, and as if on cue, his mother and sister walked out to the living room together, indicating that they were all ready.
"Shall we?", asked Dilshad smiling up to everyone.
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Nikhat breathed in the fresh, cool air of winter, that brush against her cheeks, leaving behind a cute blush on her cheeks, as she settled her head on her hands on the sill of the window, looking out at the sky. She had lifted her dupatta from her face, to see clearly, and avoid any more obstruction in her view. The whole attire was so heavy, and now teamed with the jewellery, she felt like she was weighed down by thousands of bricks.
Don't worry! It's only for the wedding! For the reception you can wear a lighter one!
Her mother's tender words, with her cheeky voice floated into her ears, as her thoughts drifted from one way to the other.
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"Ayaan beta! Ayaan!!", called out Shireen, as she looked around for her son. Spotting her son brooding somewhere in a corner of the hall, and not at all in his best moods, she walked up to him worriedly and kneeled, only to see him oblivious to her presence. "Ayaan?" she shook him by his shoulder.
Ayaan shocked turned to see his mother looking down at him with concern. "Ammi? What happened? Do you want anything? Does Nikhat want anything? Do Imran's family want anything right now, at the last minute?", ending his questionaire, brutally, remembering how Imran's mother Haseena had taunted the whole family for tiny things, and had threatened to break the engagement.
"Haaye Allah! Stop saying that, my child! They are our Nikhat's to-be-family, Beta! And what are you doing here? Is there any problem Beta?", caressing her son's head, only to get no reaction from him. "Haaye Allah! Haven't you eaten anything for the last 24 hours?"
Ayaan turned to his mother in confusion. "What?"
"Beta, I saw you working the whole day, and not sitting anywhere freely. I don't even know if you have eaten something or not! And I cannot---"
"Ammi!" Ayaan shook his mother by her shoulders and cut in. "It's nothing like that! I just am... Leave it!", before turning and sitting in his initial position.
"What Beta? Tell me! Tell me anything you want!"
Ayaan turned to her, to see her nodding in positive, and was about to open his mouth to convey his inner turmoil, when he stopped himself, as he could see how this was all related to her and Nikhat and the wedding. Deciding to keep his mouth shut, he got up without another word and walked off to elsewhere away from all of them.
Leaving Shireen stare at his retreating back in confusion and sadness.
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Zoya was totally perplexed as no one in the car answered her queries. What is up with them? I mean, Allah Miyah! Who can go to a wedding or any party without even knowing who is hosting it? They know the hosts, but why aren't they telling me?
Even Najma had keept her mouth shut on this, so sulking she looked out the window, to be greeted by a beautiful sight of a supposed white palace like bungalow, covered in drapes, fairy-lights, with people coming and going from all sides of the huge piece of land. I guess this is the place! Wow!, she thought blinking like the fairy-lights did out there. Hey! But wait where we going?, as she turned to see Asad's poker face staring ahead of the car in the rearview mirror. She saw themselves steering away from the crowd and proceeding into a dimly lit road, and suddenly stopping.
"Zoya?"
Zoya turned to see Najma looking at her in apprehension. "Just do as we say, and please don't ask anything. Just don't ask or say anything, please!"
Zoya could feel the anticipation and reluctance in Najma's words. They were so palpable, as if they were covering something desperately needed to be hid from everything... Rather everyone.
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Annie
Edited by PhoenixRadar - 12 years ago
Ishaani
