PART 2
Asad woke up in the middle of the night to find Zoya dozing off on the sofa with the laptop on her lap. Sighing, he carried her back to bed, cursing the stupid show under his breath for taking his wife away from him.
He decided to have a drink of water and made his way downstairs. As he was passing Najma's room, something stopped him. A sob. Coming from his sister's room.
Worriedly, he stepped inside her room to see her hidden under her covers. She only pulled the covers over her head when she was sad. It was her childhood habit.
"Tamatar? Is everything alright?" He asked tentatively but only got silence in response.
"Tamatar, I know you're crying in there! Will you just tell me what's wrong?" He tried again.
A small sniff was all he got back in reply.
"You're worrying me now, Tamatar! What happened? Did you fail in any of your tests? If thats the case, then I'm not mad at you. Just stop crying. Please." He almost begged. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was her baby sister's tears.
In reply, all he got were a couple of sobs making him even more frantic.
"Tamatar? Please! What is it that has made you so sad but still you're not willing to sharing it with me? You tell me everything right? Just tell me what's bothering you! I'll make it alright, I promise!" His voice broke a little on hearing his sister's continuous sobs. He wanted to yank off her covers, hug her and ask her the matter but he knew how much she hated it when someone tried to make her forcefully face them, so he let her be.
"I can't think of any scenario that has you so upset... Wait a minute! You haven't fallen for a guy, have you?" He asked her, scandalized.
Her sudden loud sobs at that moment confirmed his doubt.
"What? I'm right, ain't I? How can you do this, Tamatar? How can you fall in love with a guy without taking my permission first? I'm extremely disappointed in you!" Asad gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he was suddenly overcome by a sudden desire to punch the wall.
But as his sister's sobs increased in frequency and intensity, his heart mellowed a bit.
"OK, I know you probably didn't do it intentionally. And what's done cannot be undone. I'll meet the guy but only for your sake. Now stop crying. Please!" He gently patted her arm.
"AHHH!" With a scream, Najma sat bolt upright in her bed, her back facing him.
"Who... Who is it?" She shrieked and looked around frantically, visibly calming down when she spotted her brother.
"Bhaijan? What are you playing at? Coming to my room in the middle of the night and patting my arm? I thought it was a ghost or something! You scared the hell out of me!" She gushed, pulling out her ear pieces.
"What?" She asked confused, looking at Asad's bewildered expression. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
"I heard... I heard you crying!" Asad let out finally.
"Umm... You did?" Najma asked sheepishly. "I was actually watching the Mangalpur Episode and that ALWAYS makes me cry."
On Asad's confused look, she waved her iphone in front of his face saying, "Qubool Hai? The drama we all watch?"
"OH, FOR GOD'S SAKE! You were crying in the middle of the night watching Qubool Hai?! You didn't hear me talking to you?? And why the hell were you buried underneath your covers?"
"You were talking to me?! About?? I had my earphones on, didn't hear you! By the way, have you ever seen the Mangalpur Episode? The Jaane Nahi Song Segment? Its AH-MAZING!! Karan's acting always makes me cry buckets! I'm telling you, he's the best actor to walk on this planet! And the hottest, of course!"
Asad pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to reign his anger in. His sister was crying over that idiotic drama and he thought she had fallen in love?! He felt so stupid!
"Go to sleep, Tamatar. Now!" He ordered in clipped tones as he left her room, feeling amused and frustrated at the same time.
***
Asad entered the dining room next afternoon to find the table laden with all sorts of delicious dishes. His mouth watered spotting his favourites and he gave his Ammi a huge smile.
"Wow! Are we celebrating something?" He asked.
"Well... Sort of. I checked the TRP chart this morning and Qubool Hai is getting such nice TRPs! So I made all this to celebrate my good mood." She replied, smiling while Najma and Zoya gave ecstatic smiles.
"Oh how pleasant! Are you all free this weekend?" Asad asked, between gritted teeth.
"Umm weekend? Yeah, sure. You know Asad, there's no Qubool Hai on weekends. Only we know how we survive them. Its a TORTURE!" Zoya said dramatically while Najma and Dilshad nodded vigorously. "Why are you asking though? Taking us out somewhere?"
"Yep! I'm thinking of taking a collective appointment with a psychiatrist for you all. How about that?" Asad asked them sarcastically as he dug into his plate, knowing sooner or later, he'll actually have to take this step considering how fast his family's mental state was deteriorating.
NOTE BELOW 😛
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