.:.Manzil.:. MOVED (Read 19) - Page 4

^ Rehan? He's not new...he is the main guy so far. Niyathi, I found the pic on glamourhunt.com...its a model named Ishan.

Just on a random note, I graduated from university this morning! Sooo excited to be going home. Now that I have time, I will try to update more often. Chapter 3 should be posted by Monday.

thanx 4 da pics.
waiting 4 da next part

Chapter 3 is finally ready! It has a lot of talk about school...but don't worry, they won't all be like that. Let me know what you think.

Chapter 3

It was Thursday afternoon. Imraan took his calculus book out of his locker, shoved it into his backpack, and rushed out the green double doors at the front of the school. He had promised Anne that he would reach her house at 4 PM to help her with algebra. Anne was a very studious eighth grader whom Imraan had been tutoring in math and science for the past year. She was his sister Maryam's classmate, and they were taking most of the same classes. Usually Imraan tutored both of them together, but Maryam had basketball tryouts, so she would be staying at school until later in the evening.

When Imraan started his car, it was ten minutes to four, which meant he would probably be a few minutes late. He had been talking to Sabah after their Physics class and completely lost track of time. That is what seemed to happen every time he spent time with Sabah. He would forget everything else and lose himself in her beautiful eyes. This was the first time Imraan felt this way about any girl. He didn't think he would ever be able to tell her, but he was pretty sure she already knew. Imraan had never been good at hiding his feelings about anything.

By the time he left Anne's house, Imraan was confident that she would ace the Algebra test the next day. As he got out of his car after reaching home, he saw Amaan walking towards his house. Amaan was a freshman at Kennedy High, but he had missed the first week of school due to an eye infection. For the past four days, he was back in school, but Imraan rarely saw him, because he spent lunchtime in classrooms catching up on work. He did ride in Imraan's car to school every day with Samira, Sabah and Rehan, but even then, Imraan didn't get a chance to talk to him much. Amaan was very quiet and mostly kept to himself.

Imraan noticed that Amaan looked stressed and decided to ask him what was wrong.

Imraan: Hi Amaan.

Amaan: Hi.

Imraan: Kya baat hai. Tum pareshaan lag rahe ho. What's wrong? You look a little worried.

Amaan seemed to hesitate for a second, but ultimately decided to disclose his problem.

Amaan: Kal mera geometry ka exam hai. Maine kayi class miss kar diye, so I feel a little behind. Abhi mein library mein ek dost ke saath study kar raha tha, lekin abhi bhi bahut kaam karna hai. Tomorrow I have a test in geometry. I missed four classes, so I feel a little behind. I was just studying in the library with a friend, but I still have a lot to do.

Imraan: Main tumhaari madad kar sakta hoon agar Rehan aur Sabah ke paas waqt na ho. Middle school mein geometry mera favorite subject tha. I can help you if Rehan and Sabah don't have time. Geometry was my favorite subject in middle school.

Amaan: Thanks. Abhi to mujhe book mein do chapters padhne hain, lekin uske baad main aapko phone karoonga. Thanks. I still have to read two chapters in the book, but after that I will call you.

Imraan: Theek hai. Good luck Amaan. Sounds good. Good luck Amaan.

As he entered his house, Imraan was greeted by Shamyl, who was reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factoryin the living room. He had finished Harry Potter two days earlier, and wasted no time in starting on his next book.

Imraan went to the kitchen where his mom was cooking dinner. He began to set the table.

Najma: Arre, Imraan , tum aa gaye? Anne ke ghar ho aaye. Oh, Imraan, you're back? Did you go to Anne's place?

Imraan: Ji, mummy. Aaj phir Papa der se aayenge? Yes mummy. Is Papa going to be late again?

Najma: Lagta to aisa hi hai. Unko aaj phir operation karna hai. I believe so. He has another surgery to perform today.

Imraan: Mummy, aap ko pata hai na ke papa ne dus din se humaare saath dinner nahin khaaya hai. Mummy, you know that Papa has not eaten dinner with us for ten days now.

Najma (with some resentment): Jaanti hoon. Lekin hum kar bhi kya sakte hain? Unko apne patients ki jaanein bachaani hain to family ke liye time kaise nikaal paayenge? I know. But what can we do? When he has to save his patient's lives, how will he have time for family?

Imraan didn't want to upset his mother so he stayed quiet. He couldn't help wondering how different things would be if his father were not a neurosurgeon. But he knew it wasn't his father's fault. And whenever he had time, he did spend it at home.

After dinner, Imraan went to his room to start his homework. Fortunately, he only had calculus that night, which took him about half an hour to complete. Math was definitely his strong point. If it hadn't been for his unfortunate car accident the night before his Algebra II final exam in freshman year, he would have been done with calculus last year. But everything happens for a reason, and Imraan enjoyed taking his subsequent math classes with Samira.

Amaan called later that evening and Imraan helped him with a couple problems. When he returned to his desk, he noticed that Sabah had sent him an instant message.

zindagi2011: hi imraan. hows it going?

imraan89: hi sabah. i'm good…what r u up to?

zindagi2011: not much. just wanted to ask if u would like to study together this weekend for the history test

imraan89: sure, when and where?

zindagi2011: i can come over to your place on saturday morning…it shouldn't take us more than a few hours

imraan89: ya, probably not. when we're done, u want to go to the cheesecake factory for lunch?

As soon as he sent the message, Imraan's heart began to race and he wished he hadn't hit enter. Was Sabah going to think that he was asking her out? Would she get mad at him? Or was it possible that she might say yes?

zindagi2011: sounds good, haven't tried that place yet.

Imraan was relieved, but still wondered what Sabah was thinking. She was probably expecting a casual lunch with a friend, which is what Imraan wanted it to be. Or was it? In all honesty, Imraan wanted to know what Sabah really thought of him, but he couldn't figure out how to find that out without revealing his own feelings. He decided to cross that bridge when he came to it. After talking to her for a few more minutes, he signed off and got ready for bed.

Before sleeping, Imraan went to his sisters' rooms to check up on them. Both of them had exams the next morning. Samira had finished studying and was getting ready for bed, but Maryam was planning to be up for another few hours. Imraan tried to talk her out of it.

Imraan: Maryam, tum bahut padhayi kar chuki ho. Ab so jao. Maryam, you have been studying for a long time. Now just go to sleep.

Maryam: Nahin Bhaiya, mujhe is test mein perfect score chaahiye. Aur is ke liye mujhe bahut padna hai kyoon ke main itni intelligent nahin hoon jitne aap aur Samira apa hain. No Bhaiya, I have to get a perfect score. And for that I will need to study a lot, because I'm not as intelligent as you and Samira apa.

Imraan could not understand why Maryam always said this. She seemed to have an inferiority complex that she just couldn't let go of, no matter how much Imraan told her that it wasn't true. Samira and Imraan had always been great at memorization and problem solving, so math and science were a breeze for them. Those subjects didn't come as easily for Maryam, but she was a brilliant writer. Imraan believed that she would make an amazing journalist, but somehow, she had decided that she had to excel at the same things as her siblings were good at.

Imraan: Maryam, yeh sach nahin hai, aur tum yeh jaanti ho. Tum kisi baat mein hum se kam nahin ho. Maryam, that's not true and you know it. You are capable of just as much as us.

He walked over to Maryam's desk and kissed her on the forehead.

Imraan: Don't worry. You'll do great.

Maryam smiled a little.

Maryam: Thanks.

Imraan: Zyaada der tak nahin jaagna. Don't stay up too late.

Maryam: Okay, good night.

Imraan: Good night Maryam.

Imraan returned to his room and got into bed. His excitement about spending time with Sabah that weekend was slightly marred by concern for Maryam and the fact that his father had still not returned from the hospital. He knew that there were some issues that his family needed to talk about and resolve, but he still felt fortunate that they all cared about each other so much. Confident that it would all work out in the end, Imraan cleared his mind and went to sleep.

the chapter we were all waiting for! 😉

i just love ur writing style! and its great how ur story involves all the aspects
of a normal life... there school, friends, family and love life...

the lengths of ur chapters are pretty good too... no complains from me!

so its rehan and samira and now there's imraan and sabah! that's really
cute!!

over all, i enjoyed the chapter!

continue soon! 😃

Wow another great chapter writen by the Great .:.Suhana.:.!! ur such a cool writer.i bet ur gonna be a great writer one day.

BTW can i telll this story 2 my friends, they love love storys.
Thnx and keep writing.

PS when will the next chapter be posted

Thanks for the feedback guys! I'm glad you're enjoying it. Chapter 4 will be posted in a couple days.

Monika, feel free to tell the story to anyone. Hope your friends like it!

very well written
waiting 4 da next part 😊

A couple more pictures of friends:

Anne, Faisal(to be introduced)

This chapter isn't as happy as the last three, but I guess things can't always be perfect. I know you all are looking forward to more romantic stuff. Don't worry. Chapter 5 will make up for everything!

Chapter 4

Saturday did not start off well for Maryam. She had woken up with a sore throat, so she sounded awful in her singing class, her whole body was aching from Friday's basketball practice, and her mother had yelled at her for forgetting to wash the dishes the night before. On top of all this, her father had received a call from the hospital and once again would be spending most of the day there. Why couldn't he get weekends off?

After the singing class, Maryam called up Anne and asked her if she wanted to hang out at the mall for a while. Anne agreed and they decided to meet there. Maryam let her parents know where she was going, grabbed her bike and headed towards downtown.

Maryam and Anne spent an hour shopping and trying on clothes and then went to the food court for lunch. None of the fast food appealed to them so they decided to leave the mall and walk to The Cheesecake Factory, which was across the street. Just as they arrived at the restaurant and were seated by the waiters, Maryam noticed Imraan and Sabah sitting at a table nearby.

Sabah seemed to be telling Imraan a story, and he was hanging on to every word. The way he looked at her was as if he had never seen anyone so beautiful before. Maryam couldn't believe how obvious he was. Yes, Sabah was gorgeous, but come on! Imraan was definitely in love.

They were so involved in their conversation that Maryam decided not to disturb them. Instead, she and Anne placed their order and began talking about the latest middle school gossip. It wasn't until Imraan and Sabah stood up to leave that Imraan noticed them. He gave Maryam a nervous smile. Before either of them could say anything, Sabah saw Maryam as well.

Sabah: Hi Maryam! I didn't know you were here.

Sabah and Imraan walked over to their table.

Maryam: I didn't want to disturb your conversation. By the way, I thought you two were going to be studying all day.

Sabah and Imraan looked at each other.

Imraan: We were just…um…

Imraan looked around nervously.

Sabah: …taking a break and decided to have lunch.

Maryam looked down to keep from laughing. Why did her brother seem so tense? There was nothing unnatural about a couple of friends having lunch together. But he was making it clear that for him, it was more than just lunch with a friend. If Sabah didn't know about his feelings by now, she had to be completely clueless.

Imraan finally pulled himself together and introduced Sabah to Anne. They all talked for a few minutes, then Maryam and Anne's lunch arrived, and Imraan and Sabah left to get back to their books.

After lunch, Maryam stayed at the mall with Anne for another hour, and then returned home. While putting her bike in the garage, Maryam heard a car pull up in the driveway next door. She looked up and saw Rehan getting out of the car with a large white box in his hands.

Maryam: Hi Rehan bhai.

Rehan: Hi Maryam. Just the person I wanted to see.

Maryam: Main? Kyoon? Me? Why?

Rehan: Ek cheez dikhaani hai. Pehle Samira ko yahaan le aao please. I wanted to show you something. First could you please bring Samira here?

Maryam: Theek hai, ek second. Okay, one second.

She went into her house and ran up to Samira's room. Samira was practicing her singing, but as soon as Maryam mentioned Rehan's name, she quickly turned off the music and they both went outside. Samira noticed the white box in Rehan's hands.

Samira: Woh is dibbe mein hai? It's in the box?

Rehan: Haan, zara andar chalo phir tumhen dikhaata hoon. Yeah, just come inside and I will show it to you.

Puzzled, Maryam followed the two of them into Rehan's living room. After they closed the front door, she heard Amaan's voice from the kitchen.

Amaan: Bhaiya, aap usko le aaye? Bhaiya, you brought it?

Rehan: Haan, abhi nikaalta hoon. Jaldi aao. Yes, I'm going to take it out. Come quickly.

Amaan ran into the living room, but seeing Samira and Maryam there, he slowed down.

Amaan: Oh, hi.

Samira and Maryam returned the greeting. Rehan put the box on the ground and crouched down next to it. He slowly opened the flaps and pulled out something small and white. Maryam moved to the front to get a closer look and realized that it was a kitten, completely white, except for green eyes and pink nose.

Rehan: Here is the newest member of the Akhtar family. Maryam, Samira ne bataaya ke tum dono ko kittens pasand hain, to maine socha tumhen dikha doon. Here is the newest member of the Akhtar family. Maryam, Samira told me that you both love kittens, so I thought you might want to see her.

Maryam: Bahut pyaari hai. Kahaan se mili? She's adorable! Where did you get her?

Rehan gave the kitten to Amaan.

Rehan: Koyi bech raha tha. Unke paas abhi bhi do hain, agar tumhen chaahiye. Someone was selling them. They still have two more if you want one.

Samira: Hum nahin le sakte. Papa ko allergy hai. We can't have one. Papa is allergic to cats.

Just then, Rehan's parents came down the stairs. After greeting Maryam and Samira, they all sat down on the sofa, and Amaan passed the kitten on to his mother, who eagerly took her and began playing with her. Rehan's father was also thrilled about the new addition in the family.

Zaheer (Rehan's Dad): Iske aane se ghar mein thodi aur ronaq aa jaayegi. Lekin jab hum apne family trips par jaayenge, to iska kya karenge? She'll make our home a little more pleasant. But what will we do with her when we go on our trips?

Rehan: Mahine main do din ke liye hi jaate hain. Is ko saath le jaayenge, ya phir Samira ke paas chhod denge. We only go for one weekend a month. We'll take her with us, or just leave her with Samira.

Samira: I would love to have her. But I'll have to keep her away from Papa.

Maryam suddenly couldn't stand being there. This family was so perfect that she was almost angry at them. She knew she was being unreasonable, but seriously, family trips every month?! Her family hadn't taken a trip together for at least two years. Maryam got up from the sofa.

Maryam: Sorry, mujhe ghar jaana chaahiye. Mujhe kuch kaam karna hai. Sorry, I should go home. I have some work to do.

Samira gave her a suspicious look.

Fatima (Rehan's Mom): Alright, beta. It was nice seeing you.

Samira: Main bhi chalti hoon. Thanks for inviting us, Rehan. I should go too. Thanks for inviting us, Rehan.

Rehan: Of course.

Zaheer: Sabah se please keh dena ke woh dinner se pehle ghar aa jaaye. Please tell Sabah to return home before dinner.

Samira: Keh doongi, Uncle. Bye. I'll tell her, Uncle. Bye.

Maryam was afraid that Samira would ask her why she was in such a hurry to leave, but fortunately for her, she didn't mention it. Back in her room, Maryam wondered what made her react that way. Was she angry at her father for being away from home so much? She didn't want to be. He was out there saving lives and working hard so his family could live in luxury.

Maryam needed to talk to someone about this. Her mind immediately went to her oldest sister Aisha. Would Aisha understand Maryam's feelings, or would she think that she is overreacting? With some hesitation, Maryam dialed Aisha's cell phone number.

Aisha: Hello?

Maryam: Hi Apa. Maryam bol rahi hoon. Hi Apa. It's Maryam.

Aisha: Oh, hi Maryam. Kaisi ho? Oh, hi Maryam. How are you?

Maryam replied that she was fine, and then asked Aisha about how her classes were going. Aisha answered her but seemed very disinterested in the conversation, almost as if she would rather be somewhere else. Maryam had almost forgotten that Aisha was no longer the same person she used to be, but in just a few seconds, it all came back to her. She remembered the entire summer she had spent trying to get Aisha to come out of the room and enjoy her time with the family. Despite all her efforts, Aisha remained unresponsive and secluded.

Why was Aisha acting this way? Maryam decided to get to the bottom of it.

Maryam: Apa, main jaanti hoon ke koyi baat hai jo aap ko pareshaan kar rahi hai. Aap humein bata kyoon nahin deti? Apa, I know that something is bothering you. Why don't you tell me what's wrong?

Aisha: Aisi koyi baat nahin hai. Main bilkul theek hoon. There's nothing wrong. I'm perfectly fine.

Maryam: To phir aap itni badal kyoon gayi hain? Pehle har din mujhe phone kiya karti theen. Aur jab bhi chhutiyon mein ghar aati theen, to humaare saath waqt guzaarti theen. Kahaan gaya woh sab kuch? Then why have you changed so much? Before, you used to call me every day. And whenever you would come home during vacations, you would spend time with us. What happened to all of that?

Aisha: I've gotten older. Waqt ke saath logon ki aadatein badal jaati hain. I've gotten older. People's habits change with time.

Maryam: Nahin, yeh baat nahin hai. Aap mujhse kuch chhupa rahi hain. No, that's not it. You're hiding something from me.

Aisha (angrily): Theek hai, chhupa rahi hoon! Agar main tumhen nahin bataana chaahti, to mujhe pareshaan kyoon kar rahi ho? Just leave me alone! Fine, I'm hiding something! If I don't want to tell you, why are you bothering me? Just leave me alone.

Maryam was shocked. Aisha had never spoken to her that way before.

Maryam: I'm sorry, Apa. Main aapse phir kabhi is baare mein kuch nahin poochhoongi. I'm sorry, Apa. I'll never ask you about it again.

Aisha (calming down a little): Good. Maryam, main tumse phir baat karoongi. Meri roommate khaane pe bula rahi hai. Good. Maryam, I will talk to you later. My roommate is calling me to have dinner.

Maryam: Okay, bye.

Aisha: Bye.

Maryam's day had just gone from bad to worse. She wished she had never picked up the phone. She didn't want her sister to be angry with her, but she was still worried about her. No one's personality changes that much unless something is seriously wrong.

im the first to review!! yey!!

i love your story more and more everytime i read it... hehe...

great chapter! i feel so bad for maryam tho 😭 and you've really got me
wondering as to what happened to aisha that made her change so much...
please please please tell us soon!! the suspense is killing me...

update! update! update! 😃