Part 5: Guzaarish
It turned out the siren belonged to an ambulance and not a police car. A worker at the cafe had seen the fight and had decided to call the ambulance first, thankfully. Humaira was holding Ayaan's left hand with both hands, rubbing them as she sat beside his bed in their hospital room. His body was so cold even in the warm room.
"Humaira?" Ayaan's voice croaked. Humaira's smiled reached her tearful eyes as she heard him.
"Finally! Gosh, I was so worried, Ayaan! You're safe now." Humaira brushed his long locks away from his face. He had gotten the slightest trim to his hair.
"Humaira begum, I'm going to have to be by your side every minute you leave the house," Ayaan reached for the water on the table beside him. Then I would never go back home, Humaira thought. She reached for the water and poured out a glass.
"Try to sit up." Humaira helped him up. She brushed his fingers through his unruly hair.
"You like my hair?" Ayaan winked at her. "Oww. Why does it hurt to smile?!"
"You barely even got a trim! And Nadeem's knife cut you right beside your mouth." Humaira fluffed his pillow and slowly pressed his chest towards it.
"Ohh, it's coming back to me now! I was being the sexy hero that I am, and I pushed you down and took the knife instead!"
Humaira giggled. "Shut up! You could have pushed me down a little more nicely, you know."
"Oh well sorry, couldn't think straight with a knife coming towards you. I'll try harder next time."
"There won't be a next time. I'm going to personally kill that Nadeem." Humaira clenched her teeth, forming a fist.
"Whoa, calm down there, Hulk. I'll take care of him. We got lucky because I was on campus dropping Nikhat off. But if I was at home, I wouldn't have made it in time, Humaira. Just please, next time when you go out, let me know?"
"I will." Humaira smiled at him. She saw goosebumps forming on Ayaan's arms. "Are you still cold? I have your sweater. Wait." Humaira got up briskly and she walked towards a cabinet, swaying her hips. Ayaan saw what she was wearing and gasped. Humaira had hips?!
"Humaira -" Ayaan gaped at her outfit. He remembered now why it had taken him so long to get to Nadeem's car. He couldn't believe the girl in blue jeans and a white shirt was Humaira. She looked completely different. Really good, in fact. Everything was so...body-hugging. Stop thinking about her like that, Ayaan told himself. This is Humaira. Your friend. Since childhood. She's just a little girl!
Humaira looked up at the tall cabinet. The paramedic must have put her bag up on top of it. She tried to get on her tip toes but still couldn't reach up with her arms extended out. I really am a midget, she sighed. Ayaan breathed in deeply as he saw her white shirt rise up to reveal a bit of her bare back. Oh God.
"Stop!" He looked away.
Humaira turned out. Ayaan had his eyes shut tight and he looked like he was in pain. "Ayaan? Are you okay? What's wrong?"
Ayaan still refused to make eye contact with her. "My face just hurts a little."
Humaira scoffed. "Well, no kidding. You have a huge cut on it."
She glanced outside her hospital door as she heard people arguing and saw young girls in big puffy outfits. Someone was lying on a hospital bed, seemed to be bleeding. "I think they just came from their prom." She chuckled as she saw the young girls in their dresses. "Prom was so bad." Humaira sighed.
"You didn't go to prom though. Your abu would never have allowed it." Ayaan wondered, still avoiding her gaze.
"Exactly why it was so bad." Humaira replied. Ayaan looked out of his room to see a few young boys ogling at Humaira. He was sure one of them was looking at her butt as she reached up to get her bag again. He got off his bed quickly and stood right behind Humaira, turning around slightly to shoot the boy a dirty look. Humaira turned around, shocked to find Ayaan inches away from her. She couldn't digest Ayaan being so close to her. "Ayaan, what-"
Ayaan moved his finger to her lips. "Shh."
Humaira tried to move away from the cabinet but Ayaan's hands grasped her waist, pulling her back towards him. Humaira felt his hand touching a part of her bare skin. She felt butterflies fly from her stomach where his finger grazed her all the way to her heart. It was the same place Nadeem had held her but she felt a different uneasiness now. She didn't dare look up at Ayaan.
"Humaira?" Ayaan kept his hand on her waist, unable to move it for some reason. He got her bag down from the cabinet with his free arm. Humaira could feel beads of sweat forming where Ayaan was holding her. Oh crap, he was going to ask her why she was dressed like this, she thought. And what would she say to him?
"Why are you dressed like this?" Ayaan whispered into her ear.
"Why?" Humaira replied softly. "You like girls in jeans."
Finally, Ayaan let go and used his index finger to position her face towards his'. "Humaira, don't ever change yourself for anyone." Ayaan took out her dupatta that she had stuffed in the bag earlier and draped it around her shoulders. "And definitely not me! I'm not worth it."
Such an idiot, Humaira thought. What would it take to get it through his thick head? She'd given him every possible hint she could. Now what? Propose with a diamond ring on a one knee?
She could hear noise from outside. It was the prom kids again. "Every prom has a fight, doesn't it?" She wondered aloud, trying to change the topic.
"It's really overrated, Humaira begum. Bunch of tacky dresses, big cars that nobody can really afford, and a bad photographer with a bad camera taking pictures of people that are - " Ayaan was cut off.
"-badly dressed?" Humaira smiled lightly.
"Aren't you a smart little cookie?" Ayaan gently tapped the tip of her nose with his index finger. Humaira loved it when he did that. It was something he did to cheer her up as a child but unfortunately, he'd grown out of it and only did it rarely now that they were older. Ayaan walked back, closing the door to their room firmly and sat down back on his bed with Humaira's bag.
"It's not all bad, Ayaan. There's that rare time that a girl gets to be with a special boy." She paused to let Ayaan crack a stupid joke but he was watching her intently. "And maybe even dance with him."
"Hmm." Ayaan simply stated. Hmm? Humaira wondered. That's it? That's all he can say? So much for that working, Humaira thought.
"Well, I dunno about a special boy, but we can have that dance right now?"
"What?" Humaira's heart raced. Had she heard him right? No, she couldn't have! Humaira looked around for something quickly. Was she scared of dancing with Ayaan? A boy she'd known and loved all her life? "There's no music here, Ayaan." She said softly, backing away from his bed.
Ayaan lifted himself up and smiled at her. He dug out his headphones from Humaira's bag. "I beg to differ." He put one headphone in his ear and walked closer to Humaira, who continued to move backwards putting one foot behind the other slowly as Ayaan approached her. Until she felt her back touch the door. She breathed in deeply and waited there, refusing to exhale.
"You need to come closer. It doesn't extend that long." Ayaan whispered as his hand touched the corner of her ear. Humaira shivered even though the room temperature was still warm. Parts of her felt hot yet another part was shivering as if she had entered a freezer. She heard the familiar humming and immediately recognized her favourite song Guzarish.
Subha ki kiran na jaane kuansa sandesh layaengi,
Rhimjhim si gun gunayegi,
Ya pyaas adhoori reh jayegi...
"Ayaan, -"
"Hush." Ayaan whispered in her free ear. He put his hands on her waist. Humaira always had to look up to Ayaan, literally because he was so tall. But right now her eyes were on her sandals and she didn't dare lift them. Ayaan intertwined his fingers with her's and pulled her closer to his body gently, swaying to the music while moving. This was beyond any dream of her's. She rested her head on Ayaan's chest and felt content when she heard his heart beats just as fast as her's.
The End
Arjun
Cricket
Indian Mythology
14