Kismat

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Zafar Mirza weds Rukhsaar Siddiqui

I stood there, shocked. My hands dropped down to my sides and suddenly, no air was entering my lungs. My appetite vanished and all the heartbreak I was slowly learning to bury deep in my heart came to the surface all at once.

My jaw slacked as I walked out of the kitchen, placing one heavy step in front of the other. I ignored Aapi's pleading call behind me, desparately needing to be alone right now.

I went and sat on the bench outside, looking up at the sky. The stars seemed to glint off the moonlight, placed in a disarray in the black night.

I remained there for quite a while, remembering how much Rukhsaar loved looking at the stars.

"Kya kar rahi ho?" I came and sat next to her. She merely smiled, not removing her gaze from overhead.

"Taare dekh rahi hoon." Rukhsaar answered. I laughed, looking up with her. The sky was full of stars, enough that a thousand nights would not have been enough to count them all. In the midst of them all, the moon seemed to shine brighter.

"Kya dhoond rahi ho?" Her eyes seemed to dart from one part of the open sky to another, in pursuit of something.

"Ek khwaab." She replied simply, crossing her arms over herself for warmth, a soft smile on her face. My eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

"Kaisa khwaab?"

She finally removed her eyes from the sky in favour of looking at me. The diamond in her nose was twinkling just as merrily as those stars and the moonlight reflected on the hollows of her face and in that moment, I don't think I've ever loved anyone more.

I looked back up, towards the stars, before I professed my love to her and scared her off.

"Sitaaron se aage jahaan aur bhi hain." She quoted Allama Iqbal's famous poem. "Abhi ishq ke imtehaan aur bhi hain."

It was silent between us for a few moments. "Tehi zindagi ke nahi yeh fazaayein, yahaan sainkadon kaaravaan aur bhi hain." I felt Rukhsaar's surprised eyes on me as I continued the poem.

"Qana'at na kar aalam-e-rang-o-bu par, chaman aur bhi, aashiyaan aur bhi hain." Rukhsaar quoted. A challenge hid in her amused voice.

"Agar kho gaya ek nasheeman toh kya gham, maqaamat-e-aah-o-faghaan aur bhi hain." She laughed at my countering couplet before picking up the poem where I left off.

"Tu shaaheen hai, parvaaz hai kaam tera, tere saamne aasmaan aur bhi hain." A wide smile stretched across her face while reciting the couplet. Instantly, I knew that these were her favourite lines of the famous poem.

"Issi roz-o-shab mein ulajh kar na reh jaa, ke tere zamaan-o-makaan aur bhi hain." I let out a soft chuckle, looking down at my hands before turning my head towards her. "Taajub hua?"

"Haan." She confessed. "I didn't think you'd recognize the poem, much less continue it."

"Mohtarma, yeh Allama Iqbal ke mashoor ash'aar mein se ek hai. Kyun nahi pehchaan paonga?" I teased, removing my coat and placing it over her shoulders.

Rukhsaar laughed quietly, turning her attention back to the sky but my gaze stayed on her, eyes roaming over her delicate features. My coat drawfed her and I could see her pulling the lapels of the coat closer to her. I gave no notice to the slightly chilled wind. She spoke the last couplet of the poem quietly. "Gaye din ke tanha tha main anjuman mein, yahaan ab mere raazdaan aur bhi hain."

Finally, she turned to lock eyes with me. Her soft smile gave me courage to lift my hand and place it over hers. I grinned at my larger hand nearly covering hers completely.