Part 5 - The Ice Charm Bracelet!
After Najma had selected the earrings she wanted, she had decided to do some shopping now that she was in the mall, leaving Asad all alone. Asad of course had groaned and made a face, he didn't really get this weird obsession called 'shopping' that all the girls had. He even tried to talk Najma out of it but his sister can be pretty persuasive when she wants to, and he couldn't deny her when she pulls out that perfectly mastered puppy dog face, plus she had to exchange a dress. He decided he would grab a coffee and roam around a bit since he had nothing else to do and he certainly didn't want to join Najma on her shopping spree, he decided he would wait for her to finish. While walking around with his hot black and bitter coffee in his hand he glanced at the various shops. He stopped midway as he remembered something and turned to go back to the jewellery store from where Najma had bought her earrings.
oOo
Zoya went inside the store that sold various types of bridal wear and even salwar suits. She dug in her bag for the receipt and handed it over to the saleslady. Rehaan's mother had specially selected a very beautiful peacock coloured lehenga for Amrin. She wanted Amrin to wear it for her Mehendi. The lehenga was so beautiful that both Amrin and Rehaan's mother had fallen in love with it and didn't bother looking at any other options. Sara aunty had insisted that Amrin would wear no other lehenga other than the one she selected for her daughter-in-law. I waited for the lady to bring the lehenga which Amrin had given for alteration.
Zoya looked around her and saw several women shopping, some shopping for their wedding. She loved weddings, the happiness, the joy and the celebration that accompanied with it. The look of pure love and adoration in the eyes of the bride and the groom, the glee and exhilaration among the family, she loved it all. This was one of the reason why she chose this profession; not for money, not for fame, only to see the elation and the joy when two people, deeply in love exchange vows to never leave each other, to be there for each other till eternity, to love and cherish one another and to be tied to each other in this holy band of matrimony.
While she was lost in her thoughts she saw the woman, girl to be precise, arguing with the lady on the counter. A deep frown adorned her cute face. Zoya walked towards her.
"Hello can I help you?" Zoya smiled. The girl was a little hesitant and looked at Zoya then the saleslady and back to Zoya.
"Don't worry I don't bite." Zoya giggled. The girl fairly comfortable in her presence told her, her problem.
"Actually I had bought this salwar suit from this shop but before I could wear it the sequence kept coming off so I want to exchange it but they are not ready and they are blaming it on me." The girl said in a meek voice. Zoya kept a reassuring hand on her shoulder then turned to talk to the lady.
"Hello Ayesha, why aren't you exchanging her dress?"
"Ms Farooqui, she should've checked the dress before buying, it's against our."
"I don't want to talk to you, get me your manager." Zoya stopped her midway.
"M-Manager?"
"Yes! And if this is the type of dresses you sell and I would like to return all the clothes I bought."
The saleslady gulped and went to talk to the manager. The girl turned to look at Zoya and thanked her.
"Oh c'mon you don't need to thank me."
"No really it was very nice of you. I'm Najma." She raised her hand for a handshake. Zoya shook her hands and introduced herself,
"I'm Zoya."
Najma's eyes widened at the name and she immediately thought about the Zoya who was to come to their house. Could she be the same girl? She shook her head and giggled at her thoughts. Zoya raised her eyebrow at her.
"Sorry, it's just that my bhaijaan's best friend is coming to stay with us and coincidently her name is Zoya as well so I was just weighing the options of that girl being you." She chuckled again and slapped her hand on her forehead. Zoya however found the story kind of familiar to hers.
"Um, what is your bhaijaan's name?" she asked curiously.
"Oh my bhaijaan? His name is." Before she could complete her sentence the saleslady came back.
"Ma'am we'll exchange this dress for you and Ms Farooqui here is your dress, it's ready." She said handing over the bag to her. Zoya thanked her and made her way towards the exit after saying goodbye to Najma.
oOo
Asad stood outside the door of the jewellery store, contemplating his decision of going inside. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and walked inside the door. The lady behind the counter came to help him but he simply waved her off wanting to search himself. He walked along the aisle, looking at the counters searching for that one thing that he had in mind. He could've ordered it online or could've asked his assistant to search for him but he personally wanted to buy it, he wanted to select only the best. He walked around for a while but couldn't find the thing he wanted. He turned around to go back and that's when he spotted the bracelet that he was searching for. He went toward the counter and asked the person to show the bracelet to him. It was an exquisite Austrian Ice Charm bracelet. It was a beautiful white gold bracelet embellished with an array of micro-crystals and finished with four large crystal gems as charms. Asad took the bracelet in his hands and caressed the crystals on it. It was simple yet perfect, perfect for her, this was exactly what she wanted. He looked at the bracelet again and he remembered the time when he had promised her to get her the exact same bracelet.
"Zoya, it was a simple band, nothing to cry buckets about."
"It was not just a simple band Asad, it's an ice charm. You know I loved it so much and I never took it off, ever, and now it's gone." Zoya cried.
"Fine! It was just a charm, you'll get more in the market. Ask your abbu and he'll buy it for you." Zoya remained silent at this. She wiped her cheeks and started walking away from him. Asad was puzzled at her behavior and her obsession for a jewellery. He knew it was her favorite and probably the only piece of ornament she liked wearing but he couldn't understand what was so special about it. It looked pretty simple and plain to him. He followed her and stopped her to ask her what was so important in that mere bracelet. She turned to face him with red puffy eyes and said,
"I don't want any other charm, I want the exact same one."
"Fine, I'll get it for you. The exact same one! I don't care how much time it takes me I'll get it for you." His promise brought back the dimpled smile on her face and he made a silent promise to himself to get that bracelet anyhow.
The salesman's voice brought him back to present. He held the bracelet above and saw it dazzle under the light.
"Pack it for me please." He said the salesman.
"Of course! Would you like to give a message sir?"
"No! I'll write that myself." He answered immediately. As the salesman handed him the bag, he clutched it tightly in his hands and walked out of the store. He saw his coffee had gone cold, he didn't feel like drinking it anyway. He smiled thinking about Zoya's reaction at seeing his surprise and went in search for Najma.
XXX
A/N did this chapter make any sense? Please do give your feedback. To those who want to see how the bracelet looks like then here's the image.
I have a similar one and it's my favorite bracelet so I thought about using it here. Which one should be my next update?
My ghostie best friend or Reliving Mangalpur? Tell me in your comments! The vote of the first 20 comments will be taken into consideration, res'd comments will be out of the process. Only first 20 comments! (:
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