Wabasta | Complete ✔

Chapter 14

The drive back home was mostly quiet except for when Aman occasionally spoke about random things. The weather, Lahore's traffic and the kids they spotted playing on the roads. Firdaus stayed silent, and if he asked anything to her directly should would either just nod her head or say yes and no.

But she finally broke the silence and asked him a question.

"Tum Lahore main kya kar rahe ho?" She was still looking out the window when she asked in low voice.

Aman slowed down the speed of the car and glanced at her once, then turned his focus back on the road.

"Usman yaad hai tumhe? Uski shaadi thi. Usi ke liya aya tha. Zubair, Kabir aur Jannat bhi aye huye hai."

He looked at her from the corner of her eyes. The color on her face began to fade.

"Don't worry, maine unhe kuch nahi bataya, aur batane ka koi irada bhi nahi rakhta. Atleast not until you want me to."

Firdaus looked at him for a second and then stole her gaze away. She nodded her head gently in response, and went back to looking outside the window again.

A while later Aman pulled over the car beside a row of shops on a street. He killed the enfine and turned to her.

"Mujhe kuch medical journals khareedne hai. Mere saath chalo, zyada deir nahi lagegi. We'll be done in a few minutes."

"Mujhe nahi jaana hai. Tum jao, main yehi theek hoon."

Aman sighed. "Deikho, mein engine band karke jaa raha hoon. Ab tum hi decide karo tumhe itni garmi mein ek band gari mein baithe rehna hain ya mere saath dukan ke andar jana hai."

She hesitated for a moment but got out of the car eventually without saying anything else. Inside the store, there were rows and rows of books. Classic literature, modern day stories, poetry books, urdu novels. Everywhere she looked there were books and books. An unsurmountable amount of grief overtook her for sometime. These very books used to be her life once upon a time.

Aman had left her to herself in between the aisles of books while he stood at the counter and asked for some journals. He was done eith purchasing them in a bit, but even after that he didn't leave or ask her to come with him. Instead he stood there, leaning against the counter and just watched her.

For the first few minutes she had resisted picking up any, but finally she had to give in to the temptation to pick out and open a book. He saw the flash of emotions that came and went on her face. The smile that came without realization, the moistness in her eyes, the way her fingers brushed over the pages of the book. He saw a glimpse, a glimpse of the Firduas he knew. The girl who would jump in excitement when she got a new book, and who would finish the same book in one night. His Firdaus. It wasn't much, only a flicker of hope. But hope it was indeed.

*****

He had kept visiting their house throughout that week. Firdaus rarely came out of her room when he was around but Aman had made up his mind. He was not going to give up.

"Main Zubin ke saath lunch pe jaa rahi- I mean, kya main jaa sakti hoon?" She hesitated.

Shagufta, Zaitoon and Aman were all sitting in the living room, where Aman was showing them pictures of Jannat's engagement and other wedding festivities when Firdaus came in. All of them looked at her. She wore a plain off white churidaar-kameez with no accessories and had her hair tied in a loose braid. That was the most she had dressed up in months. Shagufta smiled.

"Achhi lag rahi ho. Jao, lekin jaldi wapis aa jana."

"Erm, if you don't mind, main chal sakta hoon tum logon ke saath?" Aman interrupted.