AsYa(KaBhi)SS 'Ice-Cream Makes Everything Better' Last Parts, Pg 24

"Life is like an ice-cream...Enjoy it before it melts..."

Bold Italic creamy colored letters engraved on the Royal Blue cover glittered as she closed her diary... What a boring day...Aapi ne toh aaj house arrest kar ke rakha hai...' She sulked placing her diary aside...

Her eyes landed on the wall clock and a smile lifted on her face as she got out of the bed... A scoop of chocolate Marshmallow for toady' she giggled but her smile vanished in the next moment and her eyes squeezed shut... "Aahh!!...it has become worse today..." She murmured as she held her head in her palms feeling the pain...

"Urgh!! My routine is not going to affect because of this stupid headache" Taking out a tablet from the bottle she swallowed it down with the glass of water...

Getting ready she came out of the room cautiously... "Let's go now!!" Scanning the hall and finding it empty she tiptoed towards the door and grabbing the keys and helmet unlocked the door carefully... Once out of the house she sighed in relief but again she made a face and turning back peeped inside, "Aapi...I'll be back soon and don't worry I am fine..." She informed loudly before shutting the door...

ZOYA!!! Allah...yeh ladki!!!' A sound reached her ears as she started her scooty, "I am sorry Aapi" She shouted as the scooty zoomed out of the gate...

******

"You are lucky that you are marrying to your childhood friend...your best friend is going to be your life partner, what could be better than that..." Words spun around him and his jaw clinched...the vein on his forehead throbbed... His grip on the steering wheel tightened as he recalled one of his friend's words who called him to congratulate for his engagement... He slammed on the brakes and car came to an abrupt halt...

Coming out of the car and leaning against the hood Asad looked ahead...

How could she!!!' Anger surged through him... Anger for the betrayal by his childhood friend... He dreamed a future with her and she broke his trust...

Tannu... His childhood friend... She was like a family and they shared a very good bond from the beginning... She was also the one out of three women he respected, he could trust in his life... After the terrible incident he witnessed at the age of ten, he always remained distant from the girls... His family had gone through a lot humiliation when a woman who was his father's assistant accused his father for harassment...those horrified days until his father proved innocent...he never ever wanted to remember again!!! And hence his mother, his sister and the girl who always claimed herself as his best friend... these three women only matters in his life... It wasn't like he didn't respect women...he did... And also believes his mothers words that because of one bad experience, it's not right to judge everyone but still he wasn't able to make his mind to trust any girl wholeheartedly...

He was very happy when Tannu returned back after Seven years but little did he know what the girl who used to be his best friend has turned into... He thought she is the same girl who understands him well...the girl whom he could trust...and that was the reason he didn't think much when his parents came with the idea of him getting married to her...

How could he be such a stupid?' He growled and walked away from his car... Walking down a bit further around the trees...he sat on the bench which was hidden by two huge trees...

******

Parking her scooty she walked towards the ice-cream shop... It's a great reason to smile' She read the letters on the glass door before entering inside the shop, true indeed...' A dimpled smile appeared on her face and taking a cone of Chocolate Marshmallow she walked out...

"Hmm...what can I do without you?" She pouted cutely looking at her ice-cream before taking a frosty bite and all the dullness she was feeling the whole day was vanished in the air...

First the headache that started from the early morning and then followed that unknown fear...the emptiness... It was unbearable for her... She didn't know what was it but it was the second time in the last two months she experienced this worst fear... She didn't inform anyone about it... already there were so many restrictions for her from past few days and house arrest was the worst ever!!!

Deep down she was aware of this sudden emptiness...but she wasn't the one who will allow any fear to win over her zeal...zeal for life...Life which was never steady for her... But then she has learned to let go and seek for something new... But this time she was feeling a little down... But hey, there was something that always cheered her up...And that is her Ice-cream...

Enjoying her ice-cream she crossed the road making her way towards her place...

******

Arms crossed...leaning back a little on the bench he stared ahead over the tranquil water...that looks like a mirror reflecting the cloudy sky... seems imitating his own gloomy state... He sighed closing his eyes...

So still there is no one in your life...' He had laughed when she asked him about his relationship status...

You know, how I am...and then I don't have time for this all' that was his answer because he never gave himself time to think about it... His family and his work that was his world... He reached to the top with his hard work and dedication but for him it won't be possible without his parents support... His family's happiness always matters the most for him and if they were happy with the alliance then what more he wished...

Relationship, Life partner, married life... He never thought about these stuffs before but as their alliance had fixed he gave it a thought, he decided to try his best to prove himself as a good life partner... he has started to think about the future with her... But what he received in return... A betrayal... It was the day before their engagement he got to know about her real face... She cheated on him...she was having an affair with one of their friend... And after breaking his trust she had the guts to confess that she agreed for marriage just for his money, his status...

His fingers curled in a tight fist and his eyes snapped open as again anger rose inside him... Their friendship, the pure bond they share once has no value for her...she didn't even think once about his Ammi who always treated her as own daughter... Why he couldn't see it before...why??'

******

"Allah Miya...who is here...this is my place..."

She narrowed her eyes making her way towards the bench while licking her ice cream... It was the place she had discovered...away from all the noise around...the other end of the lake where she could spend some peaceful time with herself...

"Hello...who are you? And what are you doing here? No one is allowed here as this is exclusively Zo..." She stopped and her eyes popped out as he looked up towards her...

"YOU...!!! Not again...!!!" She shook her head in disbelief...and in reflex her hand moved behind...hiding her ice cream from his view...

He was shocked too but then he just shook his head and looked ahead ignoring her... This stupid girl who may be was suffering from some Mental Development Disorder (That was his opinion) and talking or you can say arguing with her was the last thing he wished to do at moment...

"You better stay away from me and my ice cream Mister..." she warned as she sat on the bench as away from him as possible...

He didn't bother to reply back and she looked towards his side after some moments of silence... Is he the same...or I mistaken...?' She watched him as he stared ahead... Yes...he is the same person...The enemy of my ice-cream...but he seemed disturb...'

Around four months before she had met him twice ... And both the times he had managed to do a big crime in the world that is ruining something that is very important in Zoya Farooqui's life...her greatest obsession...her love...her Ice-Cream...

******

She was in Massoorie when she had first met him... She was returning back after completing her documentary project on Cultural Heritage of India...

Despite the warnings by her team-mates she has gone to buy an ice-cream... When she finally returned with ice-cream the announcement of the train departure reached her ears and she ran to catch her train with ice cream in her hand... She sighed realizing it was impossible to catch the train when she noticed a man asking her to hold his hand and get inside...

Managing her shoulder bag and ice-cream in one hand she succeeded holding his hand and get inside finally... But as he pulled her inside she collided into him...

"What the Hell?" She looked up towards the man when he yelled pushing her off... Dammit!!!' He swore under his breath "Stupid girl, At least..."

Zoya's eyes widened and she moved a step ahead interrupting his outburst, "Hello...How can you call me a stupid?" "And why you are shouting...it's a running train and I couldn't balance myself when you pulled me...jaan boojh ke toh nahi giri main..." She yelled back at him, "Ajeeb insaan hai pehle toh khud se help ki aur ab..."

"Excuse me..." he interrupted her, "Look...it's because of your stupidity..." He pulled off his suit jacket and her eyes widened looking at his jacket smudged with ice-cream ...

She looked towards the cone in her hand and then towards him, "Do you have any idea...what the hell you just did?"

"What?" his anger rose hearing her tone, "If you remember, I helped you or else..."

"Or else what?" "And who told you to help me, haan? She snapped back

"Are you crazy or what?" "You should thank me for helping and instead you are shouting at me?" He asked in disbelief

"Thank you for what?" "You ruined my Raspberry Ripple?" She showed him the remaining cone in her hand

"Hello... You would have missed your train if I hadn't helped you and look at my coat..." He showed her his coat which stained with ice-cream all over... "You should say sorry first for..."

"Ohh hello Mister..." she cut his words, "I would have got another train...and you also would get your coat back as before after dry cleaning it but what about my ice-cream? How could I get it back now? Do you know how much I need it right now?"

"Are you sure...you are not running away from any mental asylum or your brain is still functioning like a three year old child?" He couldn't believe the girl who was looking like grown up but still talking like a immature kid

"How dare you talk to me like..." she was interrupted by the ticket checker and he took a sigh of relief as he walked towards his seat while she cursed him behind...

******

After getting back from the North India trip she has to stay in Mumbai for a launch event of Hues of Indian Heritage' the documentary series she was working on with one of the foundation...

One of the friends of Asad was the member of the same foundation and as Asad was in Mumbai his friend asked him to attend the event... But Asad had some other plans and didn't have much time to attend the event so he decided to meet his friend before heading back to Bhopal... He dialed his friend's number to inform his arrival while walking through the corridor... Disconnecting the call he turned to the left when he felt a sudden push and the next moment he landed on the ground with someone over him... He tried to get up but feeling something cold, sticky on his jacket he pushed the person off of him to take a look of his jacket and his forehead creased looking at his stained jacket...

I am very much nervous right now..." Zoya mumbled to herself walking down the corridor with a tub of chocolate fudge brownie ice-cream in her hand... "How I am going to survive if you won't be there with me..." she said looking at the spoonful of ice-cream before it melted in her mouth... She closed her eyes in ecstasy as she tasted the frosty bite and turned to the right... Before she understands anything a yell came out of her mouth as she collided into someone knocking them both down...

"Aahhh..." she cried as the person pushed her off and her eyes grew wide looking at the person...

"YOU...AGAIN!!!" Asad yelled getting up and his anger rose as he looked at his coat smeared with ice-cream... "What the hell wrong with you?" He groaned removing his coat

"That's what I want to ask Mister...what's wrong with you?" "Aap toh jaise mere ice-cream ke dushman ban gaye hai... again you ruined whole tub of my chocolate fudge brownie ..."

"Ohh just shut up!!!" He was hell irritated but before he could say more he noticed his friend coming towards him asking him what the matter was...

"This stupid girl..." he growled looking towards Zoya, "You must be suffering from some kind of mental development disorder ..." He gritted his teeth while Zoya opened her mouth to retort back but Asad's friend intervened

"She is one of the members of our foundation...a contributor for the Hues of Indian Heritage'; the documentary of North India is done by her only..."

Asad studied her from top to bottom, "You know what...instead of Indian culture you should have do the documentary on Ice-cream..." "As per my opinion that is the only thing you could do perfectly..."

Zoya seethed in anger hearing his comment but before she could say a word someone called her... Looking helplessly towards the tub of ice-cream lay on the floor she turned to go cursing the man who ruined her ice-cream twice... I'll pray not to meet you again in my life...' She yelled looking back once before entering inside the elevator ...

******

"Strange..." Zoya scrunched her nose observing Asad as he just sat there not affecting by her presence...

"Waise...it's good that you didn't ruin my ice-cream today as you are not wearing your coat...it would be..."

Asad's one glare and she zipped her mouth...

"Hmm...looks like something is terribly wrong with him..." She thought while eating her ice-cream...

A moment of silence passed and she sighed glancing at him... Doing nothing and keep watching silently when someone is suffering was nowhere in Zoya Farooqui's book... Even though the person was stranger and also the enemy of her ice-cream she couldn't help...clearing her throat she tried to gain his attention but he remained unaffected... Moving a bit close to him she waved her hand in front of his face...

"Are you okay?"

Startled he moved his gaze towards her, for a moment he stared in her questioning eyes... She was looking like an innocent child with ice-cream in her hand... She raised her brows and he shook his head, She is a girl and all girls are same, innocent is not the word for them...' his mind concluded and his anger rose again...

"It's better if you mind your business..." He snapped

"See, I know we are strangers but you seem so much disturbed and sometimes talking with a stranger can help..."

Asad just couldn't take it any more...he doesn't want to talk and talking with any girl and that too some stranger is not going to happen...he just needed some peaceful time... "Who are you to interfere in my life...?" "I can handle the issues on my own...and girls can only create problems...look at you...the girl whose life is revolving around ice-cream... You think talking with you can help?"

"Hmm...so a girl is an issue here..." Zoya said ignoring his comments about her

"Actually girls are the big issue than anything else..." pushing his hairs back he leaned back...his eyes closed...

"So she broke your heart?" Zoya asked observing his disturbed face

"She broke my trust" He said with his eyes closed

"How much time of your life you spend in loving her?"

"What?" Asad's eyes snapped open and met with hers...her big almond shaped eyes...it's like those eyes captivated him in that moment... It's not any love story that you are assuming like...' he didn't know why he was sharing his story with a girl and that too a stranger stupid girl... "She was a friend... childhood friend...one of the most trusted person in my life and that was the reason I agreed to marry her...dreamed a future with her..." he didn't know what made him do that but next half an hour the thing he did was telling the stranger about the story of his life and the betrayal he received...

He sighed looking towards Zoya, "You won't understand how it feels when someone who is like a family, betrayed you...all your life you trusted someone but for that person just some money, those materialistic things are more important than you...than any relation...it's miserable..."

Zoya smiled sadly as he looked ahead... Life is full of those people who prioritize materialistic things...and nothing else...not even their family...' She thought looking at the ice-cream that now melted in her hands...

She shook her head, "Wait...I'll be back" saying she walked away before he said anything

"Huhhh..." He sighed and looked ahead over water...tranquility wasn't there like before...there are ripples... It was wind that touched the tranquil surface... He shook his head thinking about the girl, he shared his story with... Weird girl...what I can expect from a girl who didn't care about anything but her ice-cream...' he stood up to go when she again appeared in front of him

"Here..." he was taken aback when she offered an ice-cream

"What?" "I don't eat ice-cream"

"Take this..." She shoved the cone in his hand, "You know, Ice-cream makes everything better and you need it now..."

He looked at the ice-cream in his hand and then at her, "What rubbish...I am not a kid who need ice-cream..."

"I know you may think it as childishness but trust me ice-cream is the solution for everything" She declared like it was some universal truth and he massaged his temple...

"Okay..." She pressed her lips looking at his annoying expressions, "No need to believe me but there isn't any harm if you experience it once" "And besides it's proven by some research too that ice-cream helps when you feel upset...so don't give me the looks that I am some immature kid or suffering from any disorder..."

"Try it..." she insisted and he sat back on the bench looking at the ice-cream

"Allah Miya!!! What's wrong with you Mister, you are looking at it like it is some most horrible thing in the world..."

"Will you just shut your mouth for sometime...?" He gritted his teeth and she shook her head moving her attention to her own ice-cream...

Turning towards her he watched her; she was eating like ice-cream is the most blissful thing in the world... Looking at her elated face a smile lifted on his face... He wondered how innocent she looks; her life must be as cool as ice-cream...' Shaking his head he moved his attention towards the cone in his hand...

Taking a frosty bite he chuckled, thinking about what he was doing...first he shared his story with the stranger and now he was eating an ice-cream, that stranger stupid girl offered to him... definitely not Asad like thing...

"I told you na... it works...isn't it?" She asked excitedly but he didn't bother to reply, instead he focused on his ice-cream that made her smile

He breathed feeling relaxed, "I wondered, if really Ice-cream chases the blue away..." Pushing his hairs back he looked over the water...

"It has been seventeen years now, he left us..." She spoke suddenly and he looked at her... Her gaze was stilled ahead and her face was bare... without any emotions... It was like someone had squeezed all the colors from a rainbow that was shining showing all its colors a moment ago... Now it looks all gray...

"I was eight then..." She continued, "The memory is still clear...she begged, she cried...but he didn't listen to her pleas... We were just a medium for him...a ladder to reach on the top...and once he get what he desired he just pushed us away..."

He was confused, suddenly that look on her face disturbed him, "Who...?" he managed to ask

She smiled... A sarcastic one, "My Abbu..." She paused and his eyes widened in shock, "He fooled my Ammi... He married to her when he was already a married man with two children..." "You know why he married to my Ammi?" she asked looking towards him, "Just to get her property..."

A silence prevailed as she stared ahead and he kept looking at her not understanding what to say... "Umm...I..."

"Hey...don't feel sorry for me..." She interrupted and smiled, "I am okay with the reality..." "It took a long time to understand...I used to keep asking my Ammi about him for days but as the time passed I understand..." She sighed looking ahead, "He was not the man who deserves our tears...Why I would cry for someone who didn't care a damn about us..." "He didn't care for his wife who loved him till her last breath... He didn't care about his daughter who craved for father's love all her life..." She breathed deeply trying to control her emotions and he could witness the little girl that longed-for father's presence in her life...

"Sorry..." she pressed her lips and smiled looking at him; "I guess I need one more ice-cream" Just in moments she managed to hide that little girl behind the mask...and he looked at her amazed...

"Isn't it peaceful here..." she changed the topic looking around, "How strange na...? We didn't even realize when new things become a routine..." "Few days ago I discovered this place and now it has become a routine to me...every Saturday I come here to enjoy the harmony in the silence that I never know exist till I came here..." She kept talking and he stared at her...the same person he thought as an immature stupid girl seemed entirely different...

Her phone beeped interrupting her talk and she checked the notification, "Ohh...I totally forgot..." She hurriedly stood up, "I have to go..." she said and paused narrowing her eyes, "And I could see the magic of my ice-cream...isn't it?" She asked as he gets up... He didn't reply and she shook her head, "You never gonna accept...fine...and it's nice to meet you this time..."

"Hmm..." He smiled looking at her, "I think your ice-cream is not actually a bad idea...and yeah...nice to meet you too this time as you didn't follow the custom..." He crossed his arms and she looked at him confused, "You spared my shirt this time..."

"Ohhh" she giggled, "That goes for you too then..." Saying she turned and he stood there looking at her retreating back...

"Hmmm..." shoving his hands in pant pockets he walked towards his car feeling relaxed, "Ice-cream makes everything better..." he repeated her words, "Crazy girl..." He drove off thinking about the stranger who actually helped him indeed...

Hurt feeling was still there but it significantly reduced than it was before... like ice-cream did soothe its intensity...!!!