Holding on and Letting go [Complete]

11) A jigsaw puzzle.

The change in his demeanor wasn't hidden from anyone. It was lucid like a snow etched on the ground. One moment he'd be cracking numerous jokes about something and then the next moment, on catching her sight, he'd be quiet as if his tongue had been cut off.

Why he was acting like this, no one knew. Why hadn't he deleted that project, neither Neha nor Rameez knew but him. Only he knew that. It was guilt. And only he was the one suffering from it. All alone. But what kind of guilt? Only he knew.

All this had started to irk Ayat. Not because she was craving his attention but because it had started to vex her.

You see; once she was comfortably perched on the chair behind his as it was the only spare one left, leaving the one at the back which practically required hawk's vision to catch and interpret the words scribbled on the board. As soon as Ahid walked in and caught her sight, he scurried to the back relinquishing the chair he had once created a havoc for.

Then this other time he was talking gibberish and laughing it off with their classmates in the class room but as soon as he saw Ayat walking in, he turned taciturn, sealing the lips and muffling every syllable inside as if a heavy brick had plunged down in the pit of his stomach.

Apart from this, there were ample amount of other times, too, when he would either stop talking catching her somewhere near himself, or simply just leave.

The jittery in his stance around her was lucid, hinting at the ocean of nothingness. It was unusual. Like a sea without commotion. A pressure cooker without a jiggling weighted gauge. A silence without an uproar.

Sometimes she could feel his smoldering eyes surreptitiously stealing glances at her but as soon as she would spin her head towards him to check, his gaze would always be somewhere else, mostly cast downwards.

All this was propelling her to ruminate over the consequences of her unbridled actions which by the way, she still didn't feel guilty about. Since he hadn't done anything about that slap and insult, the reprieved period had started to conjure up different scenarios in her mind, contemplating as if he was waiting for the perfect opportunity to execute his plan which would commensurate with the gravity of her tantrums.

Maybe he is planning to kill me in a car crash. She had thought.

Urghh! Stop being so juvenile, you idiot. He wouldn't do that and call for the clout. Maybe just besot my coffee with poison or something.

As for Ahid and Neha, the tension between them had set tongues wagging. Everyone knew there was something going on between the two of them but once Ayat was passing by the study room when Ahid's voice coming from inside stopped her in her track.

"I love you with all my soul, all my life, and I will keep loving you till my last breath," he had said.

Not that she wanted to spy but who declines to enjoy a free show?

"I love you too," Neha's voice had hit her ears.

She rolled her eyes as she splintered forward, muttering something between "Perfect for each other" and "Bellatrix and the beast".

From that day onward, the awkwardness between them had been released. Well obviously it had to.

Her relationship with Umer was also making gradual progress. She had started to know him better and vice versa. Everything was serene and slow and she liked it this way better.

Her exams had ended and like everyone else she was also over excited as if being released from the longest incarceration. Today her excursion to Murree with Irha's family was to kick off. Sabeen had granted her the permission as she knew Ayat desperately needed a time out of that confinement and even though everyone had insisted her to tag along too, her hectic schedule suggested otherwise.