chapter 1
"salaam ammi!" nazma's cirpy voice echoed in the hall. Dilshad turns her head over her shoulder greeting her, " walekum asalam" in her sweet voice.
Nazma smiles to dilshad and sits next to her over the couch. "Ammi!" she says softly narrowing her eyes in plead.
"hmm..." dilshad nods her head concentrating on the stitching asad's shirt.
Nazma keeps a hand on dilshad's lap to get her attention. Dilshad glances at her and hums again asking her to speak.
"Ammi, actually our college is organising a trip to Manali and all my friends are going to join this trip." She stops fidgeting with her small digits. Her lips quiver pushing herself to say what she was thinking for so long.
"hmm, so?" dilshad looked pulled her eyes from the cloth she is sewing and glared at nazma in a friendly way yet with a cautious smile.
"ammi, i...i was thinking that. Can i? Can i also join my friends in this trip." She stops just to take a long breathe before blabbering a lot of precautions she is going to take in this trip, " ammi please, jane de mujhein. I promise you i will take good care of myself and i won't do anything that calls for any problem. Ammi please. Please?" nazma finally stops talking, eyeing dilshad with her puppy eyes.
Dilshad sigh tiredly before keeping the cloth back on rack, she pinches nazma's chin affectionately, giving her a understandable smile. " Nazma, main apko kahi bhi jane se kabhi roka hai? You know i trust you enough to let you go anywhere you want. But for that you need asad's permission as well dear." Dilshad smiles again affirmative while nazma almost jumps on dilshad in happiness. " to pyari ammi, dila dijiye na bhaijaan se permission ap. Please" she says rocking dilshad to and fro while hugging her tight.
"hmm, i can get you permission dear, asad wont question me if i tell him, but this would be wrong na, he is your elder brother and this house responsibilities is on his shoulder. I don't want to manipulate his decision. Nazma bache, let him decide whether he want you to go or not. He will always take any decision of our good only. Hmm.." dilshad cups one hand on her side face and rocks herself to and from with nazma.
"ok nazma?" she asks patting her cheek lightly.
Nazma eyes grow in understanding and she squeezes her hand around her little tightly. "ok ammi!" she says chirpily hugging her for last time, before she leaves dilshad from her tight grips.
"ammi, main change krke ai" she points outs at her dress and dilshad chuckles nodding her head in yes.
Nazma leaves for her room and dilshad again getback to her stitching.
Dilshad eyes the clock before gasping in Oh!' she immediately leaves her work aside and gets up to start her preparation for dinner, " Asad must be on his way" she quietly mutters as she places containers over cooking gas, she turns to the shelf and picks out few grains bottle. She is about to pour the grains in container when nazma comes to kitchen after changing in to home wear.
"ammi, what are we cooking today?" nazma says tying apron on her.
" tur dal ka halwa and sukha mutton with chapattis" dilshad lists her all the meal names she is going to cook.
"ammi, is something special today?" nazma asks turning behind and getting mutton out of freezer.
"hmm, yes it is. Your uncle is coming home with his wife and sister in law." Dilshad says happily as she lights the lighter and gets onions to cut on granite.
"ya allah, anwar uncle is coming? Or apne bataya tak nahi" she shouts excitingly running to dilshad , then crosses her hand and pouts.
"beta, even I just got their message a while before your arrival." Dilshad keeps a hand over her shoulder and flash her beautiful smile. Immediately melting nazma's heart and she beams back to her.
Soon, mother daughter finished with her chores and sat on couch waiting for the guest to come. Just then the door bell rings. Nazma excitedly gets up and runs to the door to open it.
"khushamadin uncle" she shows her hands directing her way to enter the house with out looking up.
"*ahem* Nazma?" she hears throat clearing voice and soon after it she hears her bhaijaan's voice. Her face changes in to a boomed expression and she quickly straightens herself , setting her duppata on her shoulder.
"bhai...bhaijaan. asalam walekum" she says instantly getting out of his way. Letting him come in.
"main pani lati hu." Nazma says running to the kitchen with a funny expression.
"hmm." Asad nods entering the hall. He keeps his back on the centre table carefully and sets himself comfortably leaning his back on soft cushions. He picks up the remote and switch on the TV. He scrolls the channel stopping at one business news.
"ammi." He calls dilshad ,slightly turning his head toward kitchen.
"haan asad." Dilshad walks to him and he greets her with salaam " salaam walekum ammi"
"walekum asalam asad. Kaho kya kehna hai" dilshad sits next to him while nazma to gets there with a saucer and a glass of water in her hand.
Asad picks up the glass and gulps the water, " shukriya" he says and nazma flashes her cute innocent smile at him.
"ammi, I am not ready yet." He blurts out from no where, playing with his collar and tie for air.
"i think we have talked about this already asad." Dilshad eyes him narrowly.
"but ammi, she is too small for my age" he protest , moving on the place nervously.
"asad, she has completed 20." Dilshad smiles widely and keeps a hand on his shivering fingers. HerDilshad glances at nazma and ask her to leave them alone with eye movement. Nazma too obliges and picking up the empty glass she walks back to kitchen , heating up the food for dinner.
"ammi, please. I am not ready for this marriage" he finally says what he was debating himself.
"asad, she is a nice girl. You don't have to worry. She is correct for you" dilshad assure him, patting her hand over his locks web.
"ammi but-" asad's argument is cut off in between on door bell ring.
"I'll just come" dilshad excuses herself and gets up to open the door. She takes her duppata over her head and turns the knob and finds anwar standing with his family on other side.
"asalam walekum" she greets anwar and his family with a beautiful smile and a kind voice.
"walekum asalam." Anwar greets back with a small smile tug on his lips while zeenat, Anwar's wife and zoya, his sister in law wishes a soft salaam, raising their hand in air in a descent gesture.
"please come in." Dilshad opens the door widely and let the three come in.
As soon as asad's eyes hears their voices he quickly straightens himself, picking up the briefcase and putting it next to the couch he is sitting on.
Anwar and zeenat holds zoya's hand softly from behind as they feel her nervous and awkwardly standing behind them. She is almost hiding herself from asad and family behind zeenat.
"are zoya, you here, salaam" nazma happily comes ahead while setting duppata on her head. She stands right in front of zoya ; "why are you so tense today. come lets talk like we always do. I have kept the chess move untouched, lets finished it today. its been a long time." Nazma said holding zoya from her wrist she pulls her to the room,whle zeenat and anwar both releases her hand letting her relax for some timebefore declaring the reason why they got her here.
Asad sat there awkwardly watching zoya's every move, and even today she was in her jeans and bouse. But this tomato red color suit her, he silently noted it. she was nervous he could feel it, but he was too sailing in same both. What help could he give her at this time? His eyes never left her face, it was clear she was scared with something. May be she too was not prepared for this like him, but these elders are just not listening. He sighed.
"dilshad bi." Anwar called happily and dilshad sat on the couch right opposite to the them. She placed the tray of water on the table formally.
"lijiye." She handed a glass to anwar and zeenat and they took the glass drinking from it.
"so what have you thought about proposal." Dilshad directed the conversation straight to the point, without beating around the bush, and why she would do that? Anwar is dilshad's cousing , she had seen him growing up. he was like a family to her and she knew his family completely. This is how she got this idea to extend the relation to other level and strengthens the bond they already are sharing with each other.
Anwars looks at zeenat once, and she nods her head in yes and gives him an approving smile, anwar then again looks at dilshad who is eagerly waiting for his reply, he smiles to her before nodding his head, " Humein zoya or asad ka rishta qubool hai. Yaha na krne ki gunjayish he nahi hai (gunjaish- reason) asad ko hum jante hai, wo ek bahot acha insaan hai. Or aise insaan se meri zoya ka nikah ho to isse achi baat ho he nahi sakti." Anwar said happily while zeenat noded in agreement with him.
"Sach? Ya allah shukar hai tera" dilshad blessed, and got up quickly to get sweet on the table."theek hai to fir, isi bat pe muh meetha karte hai" she smiles getting the sweet close to anwar's and then zeenat's mouth. They happily took the bite .then zeenat got up and took a sweet close to asad's lips ;"asad welcome to the family " her eyes beamed with tears . asad took a bite from the sweet as a small smile of satisfaction tugs on his lips. He had always liked zoya, she never failed to bring smile on his face. He loved her smile a lot its like when she is happy it makes him smiley and happy too.but being a little cactus in nature he was afraid for this relation. She is like a sweet fragile petal and with him he was afraid to hurt her. But now when everything is finalised and zoya's family have approved asad's proposal to marry . nothing failed to make him happy not even those little butterflies that were dancing in the pit of his stomach.
"Main zoya ko le ati hu" dilshad gave a wry smile which zeenat happily noded too.
"Nazma , get zoya here with you" dilshad says happily ,walking in her room.
It took only two minutes for nazma to get zoya to them. As soon as zeenat spots zoya she goes and hug her, leaving zoya dumbfounded on her happiness tears.
"Zoya."anwar calls and she readily goes to him. He gives him a hug while kissing her on her forehead.
"Jeeju?"" She asked confused looking at anwar and then at zeenat. She denies to look at asad even for once while poor him is having his eyes only fixed on her with a tiny smile to edge of lips.
Soon, dilshad came out with a plastic bag, she whispered something in nazma's ear and sat on the couch opposite to anwar.
"Come here beta!" She calls softly in a honey tone. And like innocent she is zoya quitely walks to dilshad .dilshad pats on the place next to her's and she sits without any question.
Her eyes are fixed on anwar and zeenat while her face gave an expression of fear. Her stomach jumped with butterfly in them and she got a feel about something is not right here behind all these smiles. She waited patiently letting elders speak, just when she was about to ask something, dilshad took out a dupata and a ring box from the bag and hand it over to nazma. Faster than she could think , dilshad had already placed duppata over her head and she got the ring out of the box, making zoya wear it.
"Yeh kya?" Zoya asked in shock and fear. She desperately looked back at anwar and zeenat begging them to say or stop this. But all she found was the smile on their faces.
"Mubarak hi zoya" dilshad hugged zoya while anwar hugged asad saying 'mubarak' to him. The little smile on his lips is now clearly visible to world like he got his long back dua in his life. His cheeks tainted with color of crimson red as nazma too came hugging his brother, "mubarak ho bhaijaan". He smiled back to her too.
Here zoya clutched her hand on her kurti tight as she tried to push back tears in them. Her eyes roamed here and there on floor desperately in suffocation. "Mubarak ho zoya bhabhi" she heard nazma saying and immediately felt her hands around her body. She didn't respond to nazma's hug but sat in fear and hurt.
"Allah miya please do something. I dont want to marry. Not so soon.please.Please do something"she silently prayed to allah as one tear rolled down from her cheeks.
May not the world around her have noticed it , but the man whose eyes were only on her didn't failed to see the worry and fear on her beautiful face.immediately the happiness in him faded with her tears. All he heard was dilshad's voice near his ear" mubarak ho asad. Zoya tumhari hui!"
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Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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