Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Najma...
Happy Birthday to you
Everyone clapped and cheered as Najma blew the candles decorated on the top of her Birthday cake. She'd turned 18 today and Asad decided to throw a grand birthday party in the house. "After all, it's not like my sister is going to turn 18 every year. She is officially an adult now and eligible for voting, too. I'm gonna make it special for her." Asad had said while Dilshad felt the celebration should be a cozy little family affair. Finally she gave in and let Asad had it in his own way.
Another round of applause followed as Najma sliced a piece of the cake and held it out to her Bhai jaan. "Pehle ammi ko khila, pagli." Asad smiled affectionately.
"Sorry, Ammi", Najma cutely stuck her tongue out "Achcha baba, aap dono ko sath mein khilati hoon." She sliced another piece and fed both Dilshad and Asad from her hands. Dilshad hugged both her kids and silently thanked Allah for blessing her with such beautiful children.
"Ya Allah! Kisi ki nazar na lage aisi pyaar ko!" Zoya's eyes went moist as she watched the three of them together from a distance, her heart longing for a family she never had.
"I know right. They are too adorable...just...just perfect." Shaheen took Zoya's hands in hers and lightly stroked them. The past three months had brought them real close and she knew exactly what was going on in Zoya's mind.
Najma came towards them, with a tray full of chocolate cakes. "Zoya, jaldi se aapna muh kholiye." She picked the biggest piece of the cake and stuffed it in her mouth. Zoya's eyes widened as she tried to gobble the entire piece down at one go.
"Shaheen jiji, aap bhi..." Shaheen promptly picked up a small piece herself and thanked Najma.
Maddy, who was hovering around the 'Kabab stall', walked towards the girls' group, sniffing the air with a happy grin on his face. "Mmm, bahut achchi khusboo aa rahi hai chocolate cake ki." He looked expectantly at Najma, who smiled back at him. "Arre Maddy ji, aap bhi lijiye na", she offered a piece of cake to him. Maddy opened his mouth and was about to take a bite...
"Swusshhh" Suddenly another hand snatched it and before Maddy could realize anything, the cake was gone; instead Immy was standing in front of them, licking his fingers contently with a devilish smile on his face.
"Immy, tu! Teri toh..." Maddy's face turned red as he silently swore at Imtiaaz, who seemed to have the time of his life, enjoying the chocolate cake and smirking ominously at his anger at the same time.
"Hehehe zara chehra toh dekh aapna! Aisa lag raha hai jaise Bandar ki muh se kela cheen liya hai maine...koi baat nehi, tu mera ungliya chaat le...kuch chocolate laga hua hai abhi bhi..." Immy waved his fingers in front of Maddy's face, completely ignoring his deadly glare.
"Immy bhaiya, yeh toh galat baat hui...aap itna late kaise ho gaye...aapko pata tha na ke aap ke bina cake kat na mujhe bilkul achcha nehi lagta." Najma puckered her lips sadly, resembling a 'tamatar' more than ever.
"I know, I know my sister." Immy tugged at his ears apologetically "Yeh studio wale mujhse itna pyaar karte hai..itna pyaar karte hai ke mujhe chhod ne ko taiyar hi nahin the. Unko bahut patti padhane ke baad, tab jaa ke aaj jaldi chutti mili hai." He pulled out a parcel from inside his jacket and placed it on Najma's hands. "Yeh mere behen ke liye ek chota sa taufa."
"Kya hai...boliye na Immy Bhaiya." Najma couldn't wait to open it. "Tu packet khol ke toh dekh sahi!" Immy laughed as Najma tore the gift wrapper open impatiently.
"Ya Allah! Ek i-pod! Mere liye..." Najma squealed as soon as her eyes fell on the gift "Thanku thanku thanku thanku Bhaiya...Par Bhaiya, kya zaroorat thi itna keemati taufa lane ka...not fair, haan?" She coyly reproached him after her initial euphoria subsided.
"Kya zaroorat thi matlab? Arre meri behen ki saalgira hai...aur tera yeh bhai ab achcha khasa kaama bhi leta hai...Kisi company ka CEO na sahi, par lead guitarist hoon main 'Chaos' ka..." Immy rolled up his imaginary collar.
"Najma sahi keh rahi hai, Immy." Dilshad's voice from behind startled everyone. Immy could see the familiar frown on her face, the same look that had managed to keep his histrionics under check and to keep him somewhat grounded despite being raised without a mother. His 'Badi ammi' had given him the love of a mother, and he always felt answerable to this one person in the whole world.
Immy squirmed in front of her gaze, as usually. He tried to make a feeble protest "but, badi ammi..."
"Chup kar, Badi ammi ke bachche. Bahut bada aadmi ban gaya hai na tu? Itna bada, ke apni badi ammi se zubaan ladata hai..." Dilshad pulled his ear "Kya tere abbu ko pata hai ke tu apna mehnat ki kamaai ko kaise hawa mein uda raha hai?"
"Ouch, uff that hurts. Please badi ammi, party mein itni khubsurat ladkiya aayi hai, aur aap unke saamne mera kaan mat kheenchiyen na! " Immy tried to wriggle out, "Abbu se yaad aya, kal Dr.Rehmaan sahab ka phone aaya tha, he wanted to talk to Najma on her birthday. Aur yeh gift ka idea bhi unhi ka hai...toh kyon na aap directly unn se baat kar le, aur apna saara gussa unn hi pe utar de?" Immy fidgeted in his pocket and took out his mobile phone. Dilshad let go of his ear as he dialed his father's number.
"Hello, abbu. Haan main badi ammi ke yahan se bol raha hoon. Lijiye baat kijiye." He handed the phone over to Dilshad, rubbing his ear gingerly.
'Hello, Dr.Rehmaan. Kaise hai aap?" Dilshad was back to her sweet and polite self again.
"Never been better." The familiar baritone of Dr.Ahsan Rehmaan echoed on the other side "Beti ki saalgira bahut Mubarak ho aapko, Dilshad ji."
"Lijiye aap beti se hi baat kar lijiye. Najma beta, idhaar aao." Dilshad called out to Najma.
Meanwhile, Maddy was fiddling with a pack of 'dairy milk silk' chocolate in his hand. "Najma, mujhe pata hai ke you're on a diet, but I know how much you love chocolate, so this is for you..." he held it out for Najma, his hand trembling slightly with anticipation.
"Ek minute, main abhi aayi. Ammi mujhe bula rahi hain." Najma left in a hurry hearing Dilshad's voice.
"Arre, Maddy, tu phir se Najma ke liye chocolate le aaya...honestly usse aur mat khila. Bachpan se tune hi bigad ke rakhkha hai usse." Asad shook his head disapprovingly.
"Woh...woh...kya hain ke shopkeeper ke paas 'chiller' nehi tha, toh uss ne chiller ke badle mein chocolate de di." Maddy didn't even sound convinced with his own logic.
"Haainnn! Kaun se dukaan mein 50 rupees ka 'chiller' ke badle mein chocolate de raha hain, Maddy?" Immy was trying hard to keep a straight face "Mujhe bhi toh bata mere bhai, main bhi chaloon uss mahaan shopkeeper ke paas!" he scoffed.
Time: 8 pm at night, Place: Terrace in Khan Mansion
Immy and Maddy tip toed to the terrace, careful not to make any kind of noise. When they peeped through the door, Najma was already waiting for them near the water tank. Immy showed a thumbs-up to Maddy and signaled him to go and talk to Najma.
"Dekh mere bhai, koi gadbad mat karna, please. Mera life ab tere hath mein hain." Maddy pleaded with a low voice.
"Arre ghabrane ki koi baat nehi..main hoon na! Main sab samhal loonga. Tu jaa, who tera intezaar kar rahi hai."
"Tu hai, Issi baat ka toh darr hai mere bhai..." Maddy grumbled and moved forward. He was looking terrified, flinching and wincing even at the tiniest sound.
Najma heard footsteps behind her and looked up anxiously. Her face lightened up to see Maddy. The dazzling smile on her gorgeous face accelerated Maddy's heartbeat abruptly. He couldn't wait to take her in his arms. The fake act of 'ignorance' they had to put up in front of others was becoming unbearable for them.
"Sukr Allah ki, aap aaye toh sahi...mujhe laga ke aaj bhi hum mil nahin payenge." Najma clutched his hands tightly. She had tears in her eyes, "Agar aap nahin aate, toh sab kuch adhura reh jata." She couldn't finish her sentence as her emotions threatened to take over her. She rested her forehead on his chest and closed her eyes.
"Kaisi baatein kar rahin hain aap? Aap ki saalgiira mein main na aaon, aisa kabhi ho sakta hai kya?" Maddy ran his fingers through her silky hair fondly. "Ab aap royiega mat, please. Najma, meri taraf dekhiye...Najma." He held her chin up and made her to look at him.
"Mujhe bahut darr lagta hai, Madhav. Kab tak hum aise chup chup ke milte rahenge. Agaar bhai jaan ko pata chal gaya toh...Kahin Bhai jaan ne aapko terrace pe aate hue to nahin dekh liya?" Najma's lips quivered as she spoke through her tears.
"Darr ne ki koi zaroorat nahin hai, Najma. Buss ab kuch dinon ke hi toh baat hai...tumhari graduation khatam hone ke baad main khud Asad se baat karunga. Aur thoda sa intezaar kar lo, jaan, mere khatir, I promise sab kuch thik ho jayega." Maddy planted a soft kiss on Najma's forehead. "Aur tumhara Immy bhaiya bhi bahar khada hai, Asad ke aane se pehle hi woh humein alert kar dega..."
"Woh kaise?" Najma looked perplexed.
"He said he will sing 'Tayyab Ali pyar ka dushaman' loudly if he spots Asad anywhere near." Maddy smiled. "Chalo ab apni ankhein bandh karo, mere paas kuch hai tumhe dene ke liye." He leaned towards her and looked into her eyes.
The intense look in his eyes melted her heart. Her face turned pink and she dropped her gaze to the floor. Maddy's face inched closer to her. They were standing almost nose to nose, his breath lightly fanning her cheeks. Najma closed her eyes reflexively and waited with bated breath.
"Tayyab Ali pyar ka dushaman haay.. haay..
Meri yaar ka dushaman/ Pyaar ka dushman haay.. haay"
Immy was screaming outside at the top of his lungs. Both of them jumped in unison, momentarily scared out of their wits. Maddy panicked and ran to hide behind the water tank. Najma stood transfixed, storming her brain to come up with a valid reason to explain her bhai jaan exactly what she was doing in the terrace at night.
A few tense moments passed, but nothing happened. After what seemed like an eternity to Maddy, he finally came out of his hiding. Both of them looked at each other, confused.
"Hey guys! Tum log thik toh ho na?" Immy popped his head inside and winked at them..."Actually, I was just checking ke tum log alert ho ya nahin...dobara nahin hoga, okay? Sorry to disturbed you, Maddy. Lagey raho, beta" Maddy's face had turned a nasty shade of puce as he mentally hurled a truckload of cuss words at Immy.
"Aap itna naraaz mat hona, please." Najma couldn't help feeling sorry as she stole a quick glance at his face "Woh toh buss mazaak kar rahe the...aap dil chota mat kijiye." She rubbed his shoulder soothingly. "Sach kahun, aap gusse mein bilkul achche nahin lagte...bahut darawna lagte hain." She made a funny face, mimicking Maddy's angry glare.
"Achcha, toh aap mujhse darrti bhi hain! " Maddy raised his eyebrows. "Abhi aap ko mujhse darr lag raha hai kya? Right now?" His eyes twinkled with a naughty smile.
"Pata nahin. Jaiyen..." Najma bit her lips to stop herself from smiling and lightly pushed him away.
"Soch lo, agar main chala gaya, toh ho sakta hai ke kal wapas na aaoon." Maddy shrugged and turned round to leave. He knew at heart that he would't have to go much further, and just as he took a few steps forward, a pair of tender arms wrapped around him and stopped him from leaving.
"Tayyab Ali pyar ka dushaman haay.. haay..
Meri yaar ka dushaman/ Pyaar ka dushman haay.. haay"
"Iss Immy ke bachche ki toh main.." Maddy clattered his teeth in frustration "Chillane do kam*ne ko...main tumhara hath nehi chhod ne wala." He locked his fingers with Najma's and gripped them tightly.
"Tayyab Ali pyar ka dushaman haay.. haay..
Meri yaar ka dushaman..."
Immy's voice hit the highest pitch, and it suddenly went dead. Before Maddy and Najma could realize anything, the door to the terrace opened with a thud, and there stood Asad with a bewildered expression on his face.
(to be continued)
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