Hello lovelies,
Look at me!!! busting out new stories left, right and centre.
You see, I had been in a little hell of my own last couple weeks, when god decided I needed some wisdom growing out of my jaw.
And the Asya section of my brain was like - MUST WRITE OS- so here we are.
Luckily, I was stubborn enough to live through the pain and avoid the craziness unlike our Zoya here.
So now, that you are well acquainted with my teeth situation, I hope you all enjoy this very random OS.
Happy reading đ
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"Pearls of wisdom - Asya OS"
Zoya looked at the freshly stamped visa on her passport and snickered a little.
Mr. Asad Ahmed Khan was a sly sly man.
'I don't break my own rules' she mimicked. She'd have scoffed at him if she wasn't so lovesick. And thankful. After all, he had made it possible for her to stay back in India. A farzi work visa had been issued to her at a lightning pace. All the i's were dotted and t's crossed in meticulously built Jahapanah fashion. He didn't let one detail slip.
Zoya picked up her freshly delivered pizza, ready to chomp down on the cheesy concoction. It was time to celebrate.
"Ow!"
Not again. She looked at her reflection in the mirror distastefully before bursting into some shayari.
"Arz kiya hai,
Kitni intelligent hun main,
It's impossible to keep it hidden.
Kitni intelligent hun main,
It's impossible to keep it hidden.
Aajkal toh har taraf se bahar a rahi hai wisdom"
Shukriya, shukriya" she finished sadly. Looks like a dentist appointment was in the making. Oh, how she hated them! Those monsters with their giant torment machines.
But she better do something quick because the pain was getting too much to bear. She'd already swallowed two pain killers on an empty stomach. Anymore and she'll be a drugged kite.
She hoped and prayed it wasn't the arrival of dreaded wisdom teeth. Last thing she needed right now was a damn extraction surgery.
"It's your wisdom tooth." the dentist announced.
"Do we hxfd tp toke it out?" Zoya garbled with his fingers still stuck in her mouth.
"Yes, we have to take it out" he said in his matter-of-fact voice putting the instruments down. She'd have made a face at him if she wasn't so terrified.
"It is a little more complicated because of the infection you seemed to have developed."
"But I floss every day!" she whined
Dr. Gill smiled at her before continuing "As you should. But the infection is because the erupted tooth seems to be hitting your cheek wall constantly. The wound has been infected because it wasn't treated on time and now it's spread to the back of your mouth."
"Great" Zoya said holding her affected cheek.
"Don't worry, the surgery will be done in no time, two hours maximum. So, should I put you down for tomorrow morning?"
"Wait what? Tomorrow morning?" her brain almost exploded. She. wasn't. ready.... mentally.
"The sooner the better"
"Don't we have to fix the infection first?" she desperately searched for a loophole.
"In your case, no. The impacted tooth is causing it. The sooner we treat it, the quicker your pain relief."
Zoya looked around the beige colored office that screamed torture cell and daunting machinery that amplified her pain.
"Can I talk to my phuphi first?" she whispered defeated
"Of course. But don't take too long to decide young lady."
"Phuphiiiiii" Zoya cried.
"It's okay beta. It's just wisdom teeth. Najma ke toh kabse nikal vaadiye humne. It's not that bad." Okay, it was. So what if she had to lie a little?
"Aur Mr. Khan?" she mumbled through teary eyes.
"Asad ko toh zarurat hi nai padi"
"Clearly" The man was a total dum-dum.
"Zoya" Dilshad smacked her laughingly "I meant they came out perfectly. Mere bete ko badi jaldi akal a gayi thi"
"If you say so phuphi. But you promise you won't leave me alone in there and rescue me if I decide to tap out"
"We will stick with you, no matter what" Najma hugged her smiling. And then shot her Ammi a knowing look. Sorry Zoya but there was no tapping out of this one.
"And make sure Mr. Khan isn't anywhere close in the vicinity."
"Zoya, bhaijaan is driving us there, you know"
"Well then he can go home right after"
"Asad ke hone se kya problem hai beta. I promise who tumhara mazaak bilkul nahi udayega, okay"
Mazaak? Was that the lame excuse she'd told her phuphi. That was the least of her concerns. Knowing her wretched luck, she was sure to blurt something inappropriate under sedation. What...what if she started talking about how glorious his abs were? In front of her phuphi! And poor tamatar, she'd be scarred for the rest of her life. Aur jahapanah toh deewar main hi chinwa denge
And what if ... what if she told them how hopelessly in love she was? Allah Miyan, so much could go wrong.
To top it all off, there was also his precious Tannu. Properly dressed and made up to the nines. While she would be strapped to a chair looking like a swollen chipmunk. What if he thought she was ugly?
"Zoya...Zoya are you okay" Dilshad asked. She looked as white as paper.
"Just make sure Mr. Khan stays away" she mumbled.
"Will she be okay?"
"Yes, Mr. Khan. The surgery went perfectly. The anaesthesia would wear off in a couple hours. We had to overdose her a bit because of the infection. And not to mention, her body is really susceptible to these drugs, so even if takes longer, please do not worry. The antibiotics prescribed shou..." Dr. Gill continued explaining the medicine chart to Asad as Zoya slowly opened her eyes to two quiet voices.
Antibiotics, she heard. Sounded like robotics. Must be tamatar talking about that new show.
It wasn't until later she realized, both voices were male. She abruptly opened her eyes as wide as possible to take in the surroundings. The walls moved slightly as her head throbbed and mouth felt numb. She made a noise in the back of her throat.
Her vision was blurred by the ginormous bright light above her until it was blocked by Asad's face.
"Ms. Faaroqui, are you okay? How do you feel? Does it hurt?"
"I know you" she murmured only to close her eyes the next moment.
"Just the sedatives" the doctor explained before Asad could ask.
Dilshad entered then with Najma close in tow, carrying an army of popsicles in both hands.
"Is she okay, doctor? Did she wake up, Asad?"
As the doctor got busy answering for both of them, Asad took the time to focus his attention on the girl in dentist's chair. Why was she so adamant about him leaving today? Did she really believe he would make fun of her pain and discomfort?
"Asad, stay here with Zoya, we'll be right back. And here keep this" Dilshad said handing him the collection of ice cream.
After putting them away into the tiny room fridge, he sat beside her holding her hand ever so slightly. Amazingly enough, her pulse on the monitor jumped a little.
He wouldn't lie Ââ she wasn't entirely wrong. Her swollen cheeks did resemble those of a chipmunk. A very cute chipmunk! One that was going to be in much pain after drugs wear off. He didn't like that feeling one bit. He had read up on infected extractions in the past days and knew how excruciating the pain could be. He wished they could somehow switch places.
At least, she would be taken good care of once they were home.
Moments of worry and concern were far and few as the family discovered a new version of Zoya Faaroqui. If Zoya without drugs was funny, Zoya on drugs was hilarious.
As soon as her mind had regained some of its alertness, she decided that it was imperative she thanked the doctor for not killing her. She then proceeded to cry about the lack of pizza in her puffy mouthâ a total of four times in their ride homeâ and called Asad 'obnoxiously handsome' at least seven.
They all thought she'd calmed down a bit as Najma unlocked the main door, when Zoya let out a huge wail in Asad's arms.
"She's not here!" she cried with gauze in her mouth, tears streaming down full force. The words were slurred but her phuphi understood.
"Who's not here, beta?" Dilshad asked.
"Aapi...my aaaapiiii"
As Asad laid her down on the sofa in the living room, Dilshad signalled Najma to make a call
"Zoya" Aapi's loving voice chimed on the phone.
"Aapi? Aapiiii...they took my tongue away" Zeenat managed not to laugh.
"Why do you think that baby?"
"And it was my good tongue too" she sobbed incoherent.
"It's okay we'll get it back baby"
"And now we have to go back tomorrow to get it. How will I put it back?" she exclaimed disturbed.
The careful barrier ceased and people in the living room finally broke into a fit of laughter. It rolled over the walls rest of the day as the gibberish continued...
... "Don't let them charge us phuphi, they never took the teeth out" ... "Maybe I should color my hair purple" ... "Too handsome...he's too handsome" ... "Fishies...there are fishies on the floor"
Asad had no idea when was the last time he had smiled so much. He tried not to dwell too much on the 'too handsome' thing.
It was later in the evening when his Ammi had playfully asked the most handsome man of the house to go check on Zoya. His cheeks burned with embarrassment, but he got up making his way to her door, nonetheless.
Dilshad looked at his back in amazement that he actually listened to her, but then she wasn't really surprised.
Her workaholic son never cancelled meetings, but he did for her surgery. He never broke rules, but he did for her visa.
She had seen him searching articles about tooth extractions and making grocery lists of his own. You'd think she stabbed him when he was told to go home after dropping them off.
Well, watching his nerves tick for a girl was a new fun of its own. He stood solid as rock and refused to budge an inch away from dentist's door.
His hands crossed and uncrossed. Jaw clenched and unclenched.
There was more to what met the eye. And his concern told her that. She couldn't wait to tell Zeenat and Anwar of her plans.
"Ms. Faaroqui?"
"Hiiii Jahapanahs'. How you doing?" It was only when Zoya looked up and said "Hi to you too Mr.Khan" did Asad realize the first time she had been talking to his abs.
"We are all doing good Ms. Faaroqui." he smiled "How do you feel?"
"Better now that I found my tongue" He couldn't keep the chuckle in him any longer. "Ammi sent some juice for you. Sip it nice and slow" He handed her the glass carefully.
"Will you stay with me if I do that?"
Asad froze in surprise "Jee?"
Her words were still slurred but he was sure he understood them correctly. "Will you stay with me if I do that?" she repeated.
"You want me to stay with you?" He had to ask.
"Of course" Zoya smiled goofily.
He wasn't sure what brought the unexpected onset of tears â the pain or pleasure.
Some seconds ticked away before he answered.
"You...you don't know what you speak of Miss Faaroqui" he said serious, intense.
"You don't know me Mr. Khan" she giggled "I know exactly"
"Hey, do I look pretty?" she started abruptly "I worked really hard on my hair today. Tell me, do you think I'm pretty"
"Do I think you're pretty?" he whispered, more to himself
"And don't you lie to me" She didn't let the happy smile slip from her face for one second. But it was when Asad said "I think you're beautiful" did it reach her eyes.
Zoya laughed delighted earning a teary smile from the man in front of her. "You're good" He directed the straw back in her mouth when she kept missing it "You're a good man, Jahapanah. I love..."
His heartbeat seized; breath vanished. "Mr. Khan?"
"Yes"
"Are we home yet?"
He closed his eyes letting out the breath he was holding. "Yes, we are ... home" He meant every word of it.
"You're handsome"
"I know, you already told me that" Asad smiled lovingly
"Are you done with that?" he asked. She nodded and handed him the glass back. "Get some sleep Ms. Faaroqui"
"You'll be here when I wake up?"
It took him a couple seconds to answer her, for he realized the decisions weren't his to make anymore.
"Yes, I'll be here."
She flashed a dimple before her head crashed onto the pillow mumbling something that sounded like "maybe we should adopt a puppy, that'll make you more mellow"
He stood there lost in the moment looking at her swollen face, chapped lips, unruly hair. There wasn't a sight he found more beautiful and there wasn't a place in the world he'd rather be.
The wisdom finally made its place; truth coiled its arms around him to be acknowledged.
He wanted to be there when she woke up. Not because he wished. Because she did. It was one thing wanting to hold her. Another, her wanting to be held.
If she lov...god if she loved him as much as he did...
"Mr. Khan?" a soft voice broke through "It's so great...to have you"
...then his tattered soul would forever wed every piece of her to him.
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I really wanted to keep it light and fluffy but I think that ship sailed in the last para XD
Anyway, hope y'all liked it. Till next time â¤ď¸
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