Another Forever

2 4 | s a r e e

• f a a r i s •

How do you politely give someone their kid back without sounding too eager to get rid of it? I love Isha, I really do, but holding a kid scares the crap out of me. What if I drop her and she gets injured? Or what if she vomits on me? There were so many ways it could go wrong.

"You look like you are going to piss yourself." Ali said as he entered the lounge and took the seat beside his wife. "Get used to it. You are going to have your own soon."

"Not soon enough." I whispered under my breath but he heard it anyway.

"Bhabhi is beautiful. You are a lucky man." He said and Hina cleared her throat. "Not luckier than me though." He added and wrapped his arms around Hina's shoulder.

"Yeah." I fought back my smile. It was true; Noor really looked stunning today. The black colour contrasted perfectly against her pale skin and the saree hugged her figure, accentuating her delicate curves. Too bad, it was extremely hard to stare at her without looking like a creep.

I was busy keeping Isha at a distance when my phone started ringing. I handed her over to Ali and answered the call, which was weirdly Noor's.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Come here. I need your help." She said and cut the call. I stared at the mobile screen in confusion, not knowing what to do with it.

"Um... Noor needs my help." I told them and they both exchanged a knowing smirk. Rolling my eyes at whatever they were assuming, I made my way to the guest bedroom.

The minute I walked into the room, I gasped at the sight in front of me. Noor was standing in front of me, disheveled and sweaty, desperately trying to hold onto her loosened saree.

"How did that happen?" I asked.

"I don't know." She said, hyperventilating.

"Did you drape it properly?" I asked.

"Yeah. I mean, I wrapped it around and secured it with pins." She said.

"Did you put pleats?" I asked.

"What's a pleat?" She asked.

"Um... You have never worn a saree before?" I asked and she shook her head in no.

"What do I do now?" She asked.

I shook my head and walked over to her. "May I?" I asked, extending my hand towards her.

"You know how to do it?" She asked.

"I work in textiles, remember?" I said.

"Oh." She said and handed over the bunched up end of saree to me.

I revolved around her, wrapping the cloth around her waist, leaving some spare for pleats. Extending my hands, I reached her waist to tuck the saree properly inside the underskirt. But as soon as my fingers touched the barely visible skin of her waist, she gasped.

I was amused on seeing her reaction so the next time my fingers went to her waist, I kept my eyes on her face, which came pretty close to exploding. She tried everything in her power not to meet my eyes and it was funny seeing her turning into a tomato.

After setting one end of saree on her shoulder and securing it with pins, I collected the cloth that I had spared for pleats. "Look closely. This is how you do it." I said and showed her how to do it properly. After doing so, I stepped closer to her and tucked the pleats inside her underskirt.

My eyes lingered on her blushing face while my fingers grazed the smooth skin of her waist. She gently bit her soft red lips and her teeth left a small indentation on them. My throat dried at the beautiful sight and I gulped the ball of nerves down my throat.