Banner credit - Me!
Part 11 - How Do The Stars Shine?
Zoya moved around the hall, talking to friends, family, checking if things are going smoothly or if there is any problem in the function which requires her presence and while doing so she was also constantly looking at her palm, and the one thing she stared at so lovingly was the name tattooed on her palm with henna. She didn't know why it felt so right; she didn't know why her face pulled up in a smile by just that one name. It just felt like it was meant to be.
She turned to look at her best friends Amrin and Rehaan. Rehaan was feeding her even though her mehendi was washed, he could be such a romantic at times and Amrin was lucky to have him. They both, in fact, were lucky to have each other, to have the person who loved them unconditionally, to have a person who knew their faults and still never judged them, to have a person with whom they never had to pretend. They were lucky to be best friends first who eventually fell in love. Looking at them she felt marrying your best friend is probably the right thing to do, he knows you, inside and out, he knows the baggage you accompany, he knows the allergies you have, he can understand your mood just by listening to your voice, he knows the trauma you've been through...
Zoya sighed and tried to push back the tears that threatened to spill. She looked at her palm once again, took a deep breath and moved towards the terrace. She needed some fresh air, she needed to calm her nerves and try to keep her tears at bay.
Asad's eyes followed Zoya everywhere and he didn't miss the look of anguish in her eyes, he saw her climbing the stairs and walking towards the terrace, he didn't know what made him follow her but he did. He just felt like he didn't want to leave her alone when she was upset, he had also noticed she looked quiet despondent ever since she came back from Amrin's place in the evening. Taking two steps at a time he climbed and went towards the terrace where he saw her going. There she stood near the railing, looking at the sky above but at what particularly he didn't know. Was it the moon that shined so glowingly with the borrowed light of the sun that was hidden from this side of the world? Or was it the stars that dazzled like diamonds in the sheer clear night sky? Or did she simply stare at nothing but the sky luminous with stars?
These questions were of no importance whatsoever, he didn't care what she stared at, the only thing that bothered him was her silence, the reticence from her side so mute and quiet he wondered if she really was Zoya, Zoya the chatterbox who couldn't remain silent even to save her life. He stood beside her, looked at her face once and then stared at the sky just like her. Zoya had known it was him as soon as he entered but she didn't acknowledge him, she thought if she remained silent long enough he will get bored and go away eventually, but when a few minutes passed and he stood there leaning against the railing and staring at the blissful cotton swaying to the beat of the wind in immensity and freedom.
"You should be downstairs, it's your best friend's Mehendi." He whispered, his voice a little hoarse due to remaining silent for so long and so he cleared his throat, which brought her out of her bubble.
"You remember once when we were kids and there was a meteor shower in Bhopal, we all were standing on our terrace and Ayaan asked this question where do stars get their light from." He smiled a secretive smile. Zoya looked up at him and remembered her answer to that silly question. She felt her cheeks turn a darker hue and replied softly,
"I don't know what you are saying." She tried to hide her flushed face, but Asad was in no mood of letting go.
"Oh of course you do, you know exactly what I'm saying. In fact if I recall correctly your exact words were, - There are light bulbs hanging behind them." Asad looked at her seriously first and then burst out laughing. Zoya hid her face in her palms and muttered,
"I was only five ok."
But that didn't stop Asad's laughter. Soon Zoya joined him too in the laughter fest, some things that she did in childhood were way too hilarious.
"Oh Asad I was so funny, wait I still am." She said proudly.
"Narcissist." He rolled his eyes.
"Boring." She stuck her tongue out like a little kid
"Immature." He narrowed his eyes.
"Oldie." She retorted back.
"Foo- forget it, it's pointless." He huffed and they both broke out into fits of laughter once again. It was so long since he laughed so freely and it felt good. Once their laughter subsided Asad looked at her and asked,
"Do you wanna talk?"
Zoya stopped and looked away. Did she want to talk? She didn't think she wanted to talk to anyone but now that her best friend stood beside her, asking so sincerely, she wanted to talk. But the little part inside her stopped her. As much as she wanted to talk about things she had kept hidden she knew this was not the correct place and time for that.
"You know you were right, I should be downstairs, Amrin might need my help." She replied hastily and walked away. This was the second time she walked away from Asad. He sighed sadly and looked back at the moon, hiding behind the veils of gossamer clouds. The stars continued shining brightly probably due to the light bulbs hanging behind them. Asad chuckled once again and turned to go back down.
XXX
A/N - I know it's really very short and probably not that good but I was having kind of a writer's block for this particular update! The next update might be a little late too since I promised Ankie once this thread is over I'll post the long pending sequel of Reliving Mangalpur. I hope you guys like that as well. Leave me some love guys after simply staring at my laptop screen for a good 20 minutes I managed to write this.
Silent readers who only hit the like button, I will not bite if you guys leave a comment too.
Love,
Sadie! 😃
Anupamaa
Hindi TV Shows
Cricket
46