This is your chance, Asad. No more stalling. She basically told you her feelings. Now it's your turn.
"Zoya... I can't see you in pain. Don't you know that by now? I know I'm the reason for that pain most of that time," he started ruefully, "but I, I love you. Mein mohabbat karta hoon tumse. Mein itne dino se tumse yeh baat batane ki koshish kar raha tha. But I'm actually glad I waited. When you opened up to me yesterday, I felt like the happiest man on the planet. And I realized all the reasons why I love you." As he said those last words, he felt lighter. He looked her in the eye, looking for a reaction to his words. Seeing her stunned, he continued. "You put others before you, just as you did today. You spread happiness everywhere you go. All those things that used to irritate me about you, are now the very reason I love you. I love your non-sensical shayari. I love your constant chattering. I love your signature line, 'Allah miya,'" Zoya smiled a little, "I love your concern for Ammi and Najma. I love your strength. I love that you can still be so happy despite all the grief life has thrown your way. And most of all, I love that you came waltzing into my life, like a tornado," he finished.
"Hawww! Mr. Khan, I'm not a tornado!" retorted Zoya, slightly annoyed at his association of her with such hazardous weather.
He smirked. He had just poured his heart out and this girl was offended by his comparison. "Yes, Zoya. You are tornado. Because tornado's uproot everything in their way and turn it upside down. And that's what you've done. You've turned me upside down. Before you came I was judgmental, I was rude, I was quiet, I was an angry young man." At this Zoya smiled again. She couldn't believe she was hearing so much from him, and that it was all for her. "But, I'm trying. I'm trying to change, because I want to be like you. And I want to change... for you," he concluded, quietly.
Zoya took a minute to digest what he'd just said. He loved her. He loves her. She felt her eyes brim with tears of joy. She never thought he'd be able to say those three words, let alone all of this.
"Mr. Khan, I-" she started, but was cut off by him.
"Asad. Ab jab haath pe Asad likha hai, to Mr. Khan nahin bula sakhti ho," he said lovingly, longing to hear his name from her lips.
Zoya blushed. She looked down at her burning hands and smiled, despite the pain, as she traced his initials with her eyes.
"Mr. Khan, I-"
"Asad," he repeated.
She looked at him, unable to grasp the reality of what was happening. As she met his eyes, she looked back down, her blush deepening. Jahapana had confessed. He loved her. He was trying to change for her. She bit her lip, suppressing the smile forming on her lips.
"Asad," she started, looking into his eyes. He smiled. Zoya was dumbfounded. She'd never seen him smile like that. His corner to corner smile was so big, that she could easily hide the tip of her finger in one of his dimples. She beamed back at him, over the moon that that smile was gracing his chiseled features because of her. Because she said his name.
"I, I love you, too." She smiled even bigger at him. And Asad returned it with an even bigger smile than hers. They both looked at each other, lost in each others' eyes, not wanting to move an inch, lest they wake up from this dream.
"If you love me, then you'll take off this mendhi. I can't see you in pain. Please," he begged her, with puppy eyes. Saying this, he reached for her hands.
Zoya noticed this, and instinctively withdrew her hands.
"No, Mr. Khan. It doesn't hurt that much anymore. It's ok. I want to see. Aapke pyaar ka rang kitna ghera hai." As she said this she looked at him, her cheeks burning red, and a tears making its way down her cheek.
Hearing her words, Asad's eyes brimmed with tears. She loved him so much, that she was willing to go through all that pain.
"Zoya..." he started. But he knew there was no point in arguing with her. Once she set her mind to something, nothing and no one could stop her. He promised himself that after today, he wouldn't let her go through anymore pain. Not from him, not for him.
But he had to understand what kind of pain she was going through. After taking her in her room, he went back to the mendhi area. He asked the mendhi lady which cones were used to apply mendhi to Zoya. She pointed at a couple half empty cones, and he reached over to grab one. He slowly squeezed some of the mendhi onto his other hand. At first it felt tingly. This isn't so bad, he thought. But literally a second later, he sighed in agony. He looked around and grabbed the nearest cloth rag to wipe it off. Even after it was off, he could feel the lingering pain on his palm. The acid spread like sharp needles through the flesh on his hand. Ya Allah, this was only with it being on my skin for five seconds. What must Zoya have gone through this entire time! And she still hasn't taken it off. Who would do this?
After a few hours, the guests had left, and Zoya was alone in her room. Her eyes were slightly red, from crying from the pain of the acid. But she was smiling. It was finally time for her to take off the mendhi. She wanted to see how deep the color came out, how deep Mr. K-. Asad's love was, she thought, smiling even bigger at her use of his name.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her bedroom door.
There he was, the man that ruled her thoughts, and now her heart. Asad pushed the door a little more, and leaned against the frame, his arms crossed over his chest. He was looking down at his shoes. He lifted his gaze, just high enough to see her hands. He looked higher, into her eyes.
"Hi," he said with a smile.
She smiled back at him. "Hi," she replied shyly, looking down. She bit her lip, amazed at how shy she had become in front of him after his long winded confession.
"How are your hands? Have you taken the mendhi off yet?" he asked in a small voice.
"No Mr. K-." She mentally smacked herself. "Nahin Asad. I wanted to let the color run."
Asad felt his hands ball into fists. Why Zoya? You know I love you. You don't need a color on your hands to tell you that. He hated thinking that she was still in pain after all these hours. Especially after experiencing just an inkling of it himself.
"Zoya..."
Normally the sound of her name from his lips would send her heart into an erratic beat. But the way he said it this time was, painful. Her name was coated with the same self-loathing she'd seen in his eyes a few hours back. It ached her to hear his pained voice.
"Aap itne pareshan kyun hai, Mr. K-, Asad?" she asked looking at him.
Asad's eyes shot up to meet hers. She knew him so well. One word and she could feel his pain. He walked towards her, and careful not to touch the mendhi, guided her to sit on the bed with him. He looked into her eyes, and gently wiped the tear stains on her face. Seeing her reddened eyes sent another stab to his heart.
"Aapne itna daard saha, woh bhi mere liye. Kyun Zoya? Pata hai, I put a bit of the mendhi on my hand to understand what kind of pain you were experiencing. But I couldn't even take it for a second. And you... you've had it on for hours, and still you refuse to take it off. Why... you know I love you... why do you need the mendhi's color to tell you that?" he said, with a pained voice. How strong is this girl? Allah miya, how did I get so lucky to have someone like her come into my dark life? Wait a minute... He smiled a little, realizing just how much his Zoya was changing him.
Zoya didn't say anything. What could she say? She just looked down at her hands, and smiled a little. She laughed at Allah's sense of humor. Hearing her chuckle, Asad's eyes shot up. She's laughing? At what?
"Kitni ajeeb baat hai na, Mr. Khan? A few months ago, you got a scar with the letter Z on your hand. And today, I will have a scar with your initials. Allah kept giving us signs, and we kept ignoring them." She chuckled again, remembering the whole Mangalpur fiasco, and his first sign of true care for her.
Asad couldn't help but smile at this. Despite the painful history, she was right. Allah kept giving them signs. His Ammi was right. "Yeh to upar wale ke isharein hai, ke tum dono ek dusre ke liye bane ho..."
"You're right," he agreed with her. They shared an eye-lock, smiling at each other, with their lips and their eyes. But as he thought of this, Asad's mind wandered back to Zoya's hands and remembered something. Ya Allah, Zoya still has the mendhi on! He looked down at her hands, and noticed they we're still twitching in pain. He gritted his teeth.
"Ab rasam puri ho chuki hai. And no one is here to check your hands. So please, take off the mendhi..." he pleaded. "You must be in pain," he said in a low voice. "And please, don't lie to me. I can tell you are." He took a few steps and held her hands in his. He guided to the bed, trying not to put any pressure on her hands. Once she was seated, he kissed her hands, looked her in the eyes, and made his way to her bathroom. When he came back, he brought a big bowl full of water, two towels and first aid kit with him.
Zoya panicked seeing the water. Ya Allah, it's going to sting more..., she thought, unsure she could bear anymore pain. Seeing her face, Asad knew what was going on in her mind.
"I know you're scared, but I'll be gentle," he assured her. "Do you trust me?"
At this, she smiled, as if it was a reflex. "More than myself," she answered. Asad smiled back at her. Thank you, Zoya...
Getting the green light from her, he got to work. He set the bowl on the bed and sat down in the same spot as before, right across from her. He set down the first aid kit and one towel, and brought the bowl onto his lap, with the other towel below it. Carefully, he guided both of her hands to the water. He saw her wince in anticipation, and smiled ruefully, feeling bad for causing her more pain. But he knew it was necessary to cure the burns. He gently dipped the first hand in the warm water, and cringed a little as he saw her close her eyes, another tear streaming down.
Zoya opened her eyes, and gave him the same teary smile she had earlier. Asad's heart broke even more. She had tried to tell him with her eyes, but he didn't fully comprehend it back then. He started rubbing the pieces of mendhi off her hands, as softly as possible. When he was done with one hand, he brought it to his lips, and lightly kissed every inch of her burns.
Zoya didn't know if it was the relief from the mendhi being off, or his lips on her skin, but she suddenly felt much better. And the electric current from his touch was not lost on her either. She looked on as he kissed her hand, thanking Allah over and over again for sending Asad into her life.
Looking up at her, he placed her now mendhi-free hand on the towel spread out on the bed, and repeated the same procedure on her other hand. From the dipping to the rubbing and even kissing away her burns.
Once he was done with both hands, he placed the bowl on the floor, far enough to avoid any accidental spilling. He took her hands into his again, and placed them on the towel that was on his lap. He blew on her hands, hoping the cool sensation would minimize the burning. Zoya closed her eyes as he did this, feeling her wounds slowly healing already.
He carefully dried her hands, looking at her face for any hint of pain. Fortunately, he only saw her wince a couple times, and was able to dry her hands effortlessly. He then opened the first aid kit and bandaged her hands. Once he'd done that, he again proceeded to kiss her hands lightly. He looked up at her, with tears brimming in his once again.
They shared an eye-lock for what seemed like an eternity. Zoya took his right hand, and opened it, palm up. Her fingers traced the Z-shaped scar. She brought his hand up to her lips, and placed a soft peck on the scar. Asad smiled. She looked back at his eyes as she lay her hand flat on his. The same hand, that was now engraved with his initials.
This was Allah's biggest sign for them. Their names were forever carved into each other's palms. And now, nothing could separate them. Forever.
THE END
Phew! This was 13 pages haha. Anyhowww comment, like please 😃 Would love to know what you guys think! And thank you all for your lovely comments
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