Here's another one of my babble on paper..read it n I'll cya at the end...with my version and reason behind this story...
Here you go peeps...
Looking Closely
When I was a little girl my mother told me fairytales about a princess and her prince charming,how he came to her rescue and swept her off her feet, giving her all the love she could ask of, making her feel like a queen.As I grew up that stories became a dream I wished would become true, I would stare at the ceiling for hours, dreaming about my own prince charming,blushing at the thought, yet pining to see him, wanting him to be exactly like all the actors I had crushes on.I wanted him to woo me, to romance me, to take me by surprise...Ahh I had so many dreams...and then I finally fell in love...and it was beautiful...Mr Asad Ahmed Khan was the man of my dreams.He was no boy, he was all man...rugged, well built, strong, powerful and deviously handsome. I met him when I came to India, I was living in his house, and after an eternity of fighting and arguing and lots of ups and downs together, I fell in love with him, when he barged through the airport gates and put a ring on my finger, taking me back with him,not as miss musibat, but as his fianc.I was elated beyond compare...I was living the dream, it was the most romantic thing I had ever experienced and it had happened to me, I couldn't believe my luck...I was just so so so very happy I cant tell you..it was truly a dream come true and from that moment onwards, I never looked back, falling deeper and deeper into the abyss of love. He was a man of few words, but when he said those 3 magical words, I was just awed by the magnitude of emotions they stirred within me..We were both immensely in love, finally surrendering our hearts to each other.I held his hand from that day onwards wishing and hoping and believing like any other girl that this was my happily ever after, my personal romance novel, my prince charming from my childhood fairytales.But boy was I wrong, and boy was I too late to see thorugh the hoax. Now after two years of my life being married to that unromantic, over practical, prosaic of a man, here I am all be myself, crying away in this lonely park,writing in my diary, the tragedy that is my life.I feel so dumb, so stupid I cant tell you, I mean come on he told me that I was being childish,I just asked or rather requested him to do something romantic for me to prove his love for me...and he..Arrgh..I cant even..and he said he doenst need to prove his love?? I mean come on...he says he married me...wasn't that proof enough..And he completely disregarded my outburst,as one of my tantrums, caring not even a little bit about my needs...I just asked for a little romance..I mean why cant he be like one of those guys from the movies and just make me feel special, why doesn't he buy me lavish gifts, take me out for candle light dinner..whats wrong with him...
~~
Asad-Whats wrong with her ammi...I mean did you see the way she pounced on me with all those accusations, telling me that I needed to prove my love to her.Its been 2 years to our marriage and another year when we were engaged, and I have done everything in my power to keep her safe, keep her healthy and happy, and still she accuses me that I don't love her, that I don't do anything for her what rubbish is that, and instead of facing the reality she stormed out...I mean when will she grow up, when will she start looking at the world without her idealistic illusions of what love should be.When will she stop comparing love to a movie, to a romance novel.Ammi aap hi bataaiye..what should I do...
~~
You know what now I know he doesn't care for me anymore, he hasn't even bothered to call me to ask me if I am ok, or ask me where I am ..Its been 2 hours...and now I know he doesn't love me anymore...
~~
Asad-Ammi I know where she is...she is without any questions sitting by the pond in the park,cursing me in every word she writes in her diary, cursing me that I haven't called her to ask her if she was ok and to know where she is..and the fact that she knows now that I don't love her anymore and such other bullshit...Allah..I swear this woman is going to be the end of me...I don't know what to do with her..I don't know what she is doing...
~~
What are your doing beti??? Why are you crying??? Asked an old lady that had just taken her seat on the bench besides Zoya who was furiously writing in her diary...her eyes filled with angry tears..She instantly shut her diary and looked up to the voice only to find an old 70 something year old lady seated besides her with a bag of bread crumbs to feed the ducks in the pond..
The warmth in that old ladies eyes, made Zoya aware of her tears, making her take her handkerchief and wiping off her tears, trying to compose herself...
Zoya-I uh I ummm..Nothing Aunty IUh I am aaalright...she looked away, but the old lady gently caressed her forehead, making her look back at her...
The old lady smiled...bringing about a lil smile on Zoya's face...She took her hand off and took some bread crumbs and threw it in the pond... The group of ducks slowly making their way to the food.
Old Lady- Arent they beautiful..she asked Zoya..to which she nodded, confused by the turn of events and why the lady was talking to her, but she decided to stay finding it rude to walk out.
Old lady- They look so graceful, so relaxed on the surface, swimming through the waters so effortlessly, or so we think.No one really gets to see the amount of work their feet are doing underneath the surface,allowing them to float about.We just see what is visible to our eyes, avoiding, consciously neglecting the knowledge of the effort it takes. Zoya just stared at the lady not knowing what to say,how to react...she just sat there and listened.
Old Lady- I am 73 years old and have experienced so much in life, I have been privileged to have a beautiful life, from loving parents and siblings, to a wonderful husband and inlaws, beautiful kids and now grandkids.I have seen it all, and now when I sit back and look at my life I realize that we are so blinded by the tangible that in our everyday's we forget to take the time and see, to actually look at the things that are not visible to our eyes.We just start building on that illusion of what will give us happiness, comparing our lives our achievements our expectations with others...crying over things that actually don't matter...she slowly looked at Zoya,smiling as she handed her some crumbs to throw..Zoya obediently following her cue...
Old lady- Life has always given us choices,and we have somehow always managed to pick the illusion over the reality. Even I used to live in my dreams, comparing my life with what I thought it should be rather than enjoying the reality of my today..I don't know why, but you reminded me of my daughter when she was your age.She is a dreamer, always have been, she used to have these grand plans of what her life would be like, but as she grew up, she started to get disheartened with what life threw at her.She would come back home, only to complain to me of what her life had become,she felt cheated, she felt unloved by her husband only because she was comparing her reality to an illusion she had built up in her head, not wanting to face the reality, to make the effort to acknowledge that, underneath the unaffected, unmoving demenaour of the duck, there is a lot going on that's providing movement. She was ignoring the small details of her life, of her relationship, that was making her move forward, giving her so much more than she could as of. But I guess time teaches us all..
~~
Dilshad-Asad you both are right in your own places, but Asad life asks of balance. You cant live all your life not doing anything out of the ordinary, living by the notion that since you are married to her and still with her, you don't need to do anything. Love evolves and it needs nurturing to evolve. Granting each other's wishes once in a while is that very fuel, you need so step out of your own beliefs and accommodate her wishes too.Asad I have seen you when you were engaged, you were so attentive, so demonstrative of your love, I could see it in Zoya's eyes how happy and in love she was. But after marriage your priorities shifted, and that's quiet ok, but Zoya still expected the same out of you. The problem is not love, its expectations.While you expect Zoya to get past her teenage fantasies and act mature, she expected you to maintain the romance in your marriage and help her with her notions of a fairytale romance.So rather than blaming each other why don't you both meet the other half way.
~~
The old lady stood up, and smiled at Zoya..walking away, leaving behind her words, words that were seeping through Zoya's thoughts.
She sat there staring at the ducks, the lady's words and why she said what she said confusing her.Not knowing what to do next Zoya finally stood up and made her way to the car.
As she sat in her car, her phone rang, it was an unknown number
Zoya-Hello
Caller-Good morning maam, I am calling from XYZ mechanics.Maam Just wanted to remind you ki jo aanpe 2 din pehle aapke car ki appointment book karvaayi thi hai kal subah 9 baje ke liye who confirmed hai.So we'll pick ur car up tomorrow.
Zoya-Thank you..She had completely forgotten about booking an appointment then how..she thought. She quickly called Asad's assistant just to make sure if he had booked the appointment.
Assistant-"Good morning maam..Ya Mr Khan reminded me to book your cars appointment 2 days ago. O and also maam, since you called, just wanted to let you know that your best friend will be arriving from Delhi by the 6 o clock flight
Zoya- OMG I completely forgot. Thanks for reminding me...and then she paused...Btw how do you know that...
He hesitated...I umm Maam...Actually..sir has a calendar where he notes down..umm...all your appointments and things to do..And...Ummm...he shares that calendar with me just in case he gets busy with something and needs to be reminded but usually I never have to tell him..
Zoya was shocked hearing this..she didn't know what to make out of it...she wanted to know more...
Zoya-Like what??? She demended...
Assistant..-Maam I uh I don't think so..he would like it if I shared his calendar with u..
Zoya-Just please...tell me...infact can you please forward me a snap of that calendar..I promise I wont tell him anything...
Assistant-Maam...he hesitated...
Zoya-Please...Umm k maam...I'll text u a screen shot of the calendar and please don't tell sir...please...Promise replied Zoya as she put the phone down and waited for the text...
Beep...and she jumped quickly opening the attachment. Her eyes getting wide in surprise as she read the contents of the calendar..
It was a full month with Zoya written on every day...
Zoya's salon appointment,
Get Zoya her favorite Pizza,
Call Zoya's aapi and Jeeju,
Zoya's phone bill due date,
Zoya's shopping day
Dinner date with Zoya
Zoya's movie night
Zoya's car appointment
Zoya's friends arrival
Zoya's friends birthday
Zoya' Aapi's birthday..
Zoya's mood swings..2 days before...
And the list went on
Zoya couldn't believe her eyes...she just stared at the phone screen her eyes shedding fresh set of tears...unable to react..
Asad loved her..Asad loved her a lot...kept ringing in her ears...He loved her so much that he had kept every small detail of her crazy life, well organized in his own way, from her everyday appointments, to mundane things like ordering her pizza, keeping the house stocked with Pepsi and chips...and even noting down her days..that thought just made her burst out laughing...he had noted the days when she was cranky...so that he could...she just shook her head cursing herself for blasting at Asad, the old lady's words finally making sense...
In the illusion of her notions of what love was like she had forgotten to see the reality, forgotten to acknowledge the depths of Asad's love. His love was not defined by the size of a diamond ring, by how much money he spent on her, or how many romantic dates he took her on...His love was way beyond the fickleness of the tangible...it seemed he didn't care but underneath his unaffected demeanor he worked with all his heart lving and protecting his love. .Zoya felt euphoric she felt reformed, her illusions finally shattering, opening her eyes to her realtiy and it was a damn beautiful reality.She was in love with a man that loved her and took care of her and made sure that her life was as smooth as can be, taking care of every minute details, the ones she so easily forgot...If this was not true romance than nothing else was.It was the romance of everyday's ,something that was exclusive to the 2, and no amount of roses and chocolates would surpass this.
She literally flew her car home, unable to curb her excitement to see her husband to run into his arms to apologize to him and say sorry, to say how much she loves him and most importantly...to say thank you for looking out for me ..In every small details of her life..
She was home...barging into their room, Asad slouched on his chair, his hand on his forehead...
Zoya could just look at him for hours her love overflowing, unable to stay put.
Not knowing how to rock him out of his frown...she yelled..
Zoya-Why didn't you call me...were you even worried about me...and how I was and where I was...she faked her anger...Asad standing up in an instant hearing her yell..groaning as he looked at her..
Asad- Well I was just doing what you told me to...to not bother to call you or follow you...and then why should I worry when I knew, you would be sitting by the pond in the park, cursing me in you diary...he said..sinceriely...earning him a smile..and lots of tears..and before he could understand anything..he was attacked by the sheer force of his petite wife, pouncing on him...pushing him down on the bed...
Oww..he yelped..but it didn't matter, as he was assaulted by millions of kisses all over him...by a very frantic Zoya..
Zoya -I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU SO SO SO VERY MUCH...I can just eat you up...you are the best best best husband a girl could ever ask...O god...I just love you so much..her kisses were exhausting Asad confusing him...attacking him..he didn't know what was going on...He finally grabbed Zoya off of him and pulled them out of the bed..
Asad_'whats going on...tum theek to ho na..he checked her forehead trying to understand her state of mind...
Zoya- I am 100% alright infact I am fantastic...I just realized what a fool I've been to not have realized the amount of love you give me every moment of my day...Asad I am so sorry for getting mad at you but I am not sorry for fighting with you..I just want to thank you for everything...and I love you I love you I love you...she kissed him again..on his lips...Asad struggling to maintain his balance..
Finally she calmed..and Asad looked into her eyes..leaning in to kiss he forehead...
Asad- I am sorry too Zoya, I guess I need to become less boring huh..he asked..
She nodded..
Zoya-Yes but I still love you..and thank you for everything you do for me..
Asad-And thank you for bringing so much joy in my life...you don't even know how much you mean to me...I love you Zoya..and even though I don't say it often...my love for you never falters...
She smiled and hugged him tight...so happy to have opened her eyes to reality, to have been blessed with so much love..
Asad-By the way...what happened- to I don't give a damn Asad I am done with you...I should have known better, I should have known that you would never change, that you would never walk past your own inhibitions and do something extraordinary for your own wife. I am done...and now I know for sure...that you are the most unromantic man I know.. he asked...
Zoya- Well lets just say that you owe it to the ducks...she winked...Asad leaning in to kiss her.
It was truly a fairytale...Zoya's personal romance novel...where the story never ended and the romance was more than just what met the eyes...
So I wrote this story just cos sometimes I feel that I get too carried away by the notion of what love and romance need to be...N I dunno with u all..but don't we sometime undermine our reality and compare it with our personal or fictional fantasies??? No matter what..all of us in our everyday's have our very own personal romance and love...its just not magnified..its the undercurrents of love that move us thorugh our lives...so that being said..now u guys tell me if u liked it n if u got ur own version of romantic expectations or how u see it in ur lives.😃.Maybe if u don't,then take the time; for all those who have a special someone..try and look closer..and find ur romance..n for those yet to find their love...revisit your romantic expectations..and maybe seeing things different mite open an opportunity..who knows...😉
Lastly I dunno how well I wrote this part..cos honestly I went bout this concept a few time chucking para's and rewriting it..over and over again..and still it didn't come out 100% the way I wanted it..I feel I wasn't able to better express my sentiments...but I guess I'll let u readers be the judge...so please if u think it was worth ur time...leave ur much appreciated comments...and likes...I'll cya guys sat morning(India time) with an update on Turnaround 😊
Until then...
Have a happy everyday...and find the true romance in ur lives!!!
Here are the links for my other works..
Turnaround
From Desire-With Love!!
Chk it out if u havent already!!!
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