Dedicated to @_winged_dreamer for loving me infinitely and for making my heart sore to no limits.
Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem.
He left the first two buttons open because if he put those on, he feels hard to breathe. His brown shirt covered his body and hugged him tight while his black undershirt peeked a view through the opening.
He ran a hand through his hair, curious as to why his wife had asked him to wear this colored shirt particularly. That day when she accepted him to be her future husband she had put forth this condition. To see him on this particular colored shirt which was brown.
He bent down and folded his ripped jeans above his ankles, following the traditions of the Sunnah of the Prophet.
Reaching for his favorite cologne, he sprayed himself and whisked in the glory of the musky smell.
They were going on their small honeymoon today which he had planned at the last moment. Taking leave from work, he only had a week to spend with his newlywed wife. He wanted to make this moment the best for her, and also forever etched in her memories.
He wanted Saad so badly to accompany them but on the other hand, everyone was right, for they needed couples of time alone, a period of solitude in each other's embrace.
He was checking the long list of passengers to make sure their names were written on the white sheet stuck near the train's door.
All of a sudden he heard his name roll over his wife's mouth. A small smile irked through his beard and he turned to face her.
She was jumbling with her sling bag, perhaps, a trait of nervousness, he thought to himself.
When she didn't utter a word, he walked forward and reached out, holding both of her hands in his.
"Habibti! Do you need anything?" He asked and when she was addressed with such an endearing name, she met his eye and she shook her head in a no.
He couldn't control the twitch of his lips now, for she looked just like a kid.
" Then?" He pressed her palms gently to let him know whatever was bothering her.
Maybe she was anxious about what has to come.
"I want to tell you something." Her voice barely a whisper.
" I am all ears," he gently cooed.
"Actually," she paused licking her lips and the process rang bells in his head, for she looked breathtaking like ever but before he could do anything inappropriate, he remembered where they were standing. Literally in the middle of a railway station. People were giving strange looks to the couple in hand and he was surprised that she was alright with that. She didn't even give them her notice.
He then glanced back at her to know what she was going to tell him, turning his full attention to her alone.
"Actually! We have met before." Her statement made him go on a mock shock.
"Uh! What? Really?"
" Yes." She parted her lips speaking the truth, let him know what he hasn't known from the beginning.
"When? Where? How come I don't remember seeing you before?" He blasted questions after questions taking a step back, leaving her hands hanging to her sides.
"Here." She stretched her upper limbs showing the vanity of the station and his eyes laced with confusion.
"In this Railway station, I have seen you Maahi." Now her voice became a jumbled mess of wrecking nerves and she was shaking a tad bit but still, she continued, "Actually," she said the word thrice in a row, "Three years back, on the 9th of April twenty sixteen, I was traveling with my Mom in a train from Bangalore to Chennai. My cousin brother asked me to do dua for the dua made on traveling gets answered. I was making dua of marrying someone righteous and my gaze flickered towards the train's door and I prayed for the man standing there to be my future husband. Guess what? It was you who was standing there."
She heaved to steady her breaths, "It was you Maahi who was standing near the door wearing this same colored shirt. Maahi! You are my answered dua," she said that out loud blinking tears, tears of sheer joy.
"And the unfortunate me didn't see you?" He questioned being taken aback.
"No." She shook her head, "We locked our gaze in the mirror near the door. The time froze the minute we locked eyes and your eyes Maahi! They are the most beautiful pair I have seen. I was wondering what was even Allah thinking when he made you. How come you are so perfect and so radiant and so beautiful and so handsome and so and so and so…” She blabbered eyeing his face, which she adored so dear to her heart. She was squealing with excitement.
"Don't tell me you are the niqabi?" He finally remembered, making her freeze from jumping.
" You remember?" She asked. He just curiously went through each detail of her face and kept quiet. "Yes! I am the niqabi. I used to wear a niqab back then and Armaan, that Idiot forced me to remove and not use it when I am with him. I can't say no to him that time and eventually, I was ridden of the habit which I liked the most," she added seeing him quietly listen.
But Maahi didn't pay much attention to her rant because he was too stunned at the moment.
Then it registered to him. The scattered blocks of the jigsaw puzzle placing themselves back in form.
No wonder, why her eyes seemed familiar. To double-check, he stepped forward and made his two hands cover her face. One blocked the view of her mouth and nose and the other blocked the view of her small forehead visible through her hijab, both hands facing different directions and leaving only her eyes only the one thing he could see and then he confirmed.
"Shabna!" Her name sounded like the most wonderful of all the names in the world because it was called by him, "Ya Allah! You are here."
"You remember?" she questioned again stifling her grin.
"Yes. Yes. I remember crystal clear. I was returning after visiting Sameer's parents during my final year on a train to Chennai and I was listening to some nasheeds through my earpiece. I kind of turned on the shuffle mode and all of a sudden, Zawjati by Ahmed Bukhatir started playing and I was smiling thinking about making my own family in the future and having someone to love for myself when I had the realization of someone's gaze on me. I didn't want to turn straight to them and make the situation awkward and so I turned towards the adjacent mirror and then Subhanallah! We locked gaze. That juncture made my heart completely stop. I didn't know why?" He ran a hand through his hair. "and I saw you again out of the train but before making a move, the vehicle speeded away."
"Yes. You saw me again but do you know what? Circumstances made me stand near your seat for a good five minutes and I was got swooned by your looks."
"What? Really?"
She just shook her head again in a yes.
"I was sleeping then right?"
She nodded her head in a reply and the tips of his ears turned pink.
"You were and that time made me memorize each of your features to embed in the file of my memories and got saved itself on the CPU of my brain so that no matter what happened in my life, it won't get deleted because even though if we weren't meant to be, your face is something I cherish and it's something which shows the world how beautiful can the Creator design His Creation."
He cupped her face and looked inside the pools of her brown iris, "You are exaggerating, aren't you?"
"Maahi! I never exaggerate. And the most beautiful part is, after knowing your soul, I can't even stop myself from imagining how handsome you would be in Jannah."
The loud noise from the speaker broke them from their romantic conversation and he instantly dropped his hands from her face and entwined it with her palms instead.
He couldn't for the life of his reply to that. The irony of the situation was, he hadn't had the slightest clue of what she thought of his facial features. But knowing she marveled at them, made his heart soar to no bounds.
"Maahi!" She called him out.
"Yes?"
"You wouldn't leave me for the gorgeous hours you would get in Jannah right?" She asked with worry.
"Shab! Like I always say, I am not going to abandon you for anything. Not even for the gorgeous hours in Jannah." He kissed her forehead before stepping inside the train.
....
Shabna made herself comfortable in her seat and opened the window while Maahi dropped the luggage on the side and closed the door to their small aisle.
They had safely boarded the train and she couldn't be more thankful to her husband for booking a compartment for the whole of the duo.
The train whistled once again before taking a steady pace across the pavement, and the view of the trees lined the window blurring when the vehicle took speed.
Maahi chiseled his wallet and looked up at Shabna and she glanced back at him quizzically.
"What happened?" She asked out the question.
"I think I might have left the ticket back home."
"Maahi." She stood up, "Are you serious?"
"Serious with all my senses." He rechecked his wallet.
"OMG! We can't even get down now as the train has started."
"What do we do?"
" Hey! The ticket collector would be on his way already."
"Shabna! You are scaring me."
"Maahi! You are the one scaring the shit out of me."
"I didn't know you cussed."
"I cuss in do or die situations like this." She rubbed her palms.
"And I didn't think you would cuss me this soon. I for one know that wives fidget their husband's necks if they don't obey them."
"Maahi! You previously imagined I would behead you for not listening to me. Ya Allah! You thought so cheaply of me?"
"Hey! Not like that. It was Sameer who put that nonsense in my head."
"But still you thought so low of me." She pouted her lips.
He got up and wound a hand around her shoulder and made her sit beside him. "Chill! I was just joking," he chimed.
"You were joking about the missing tickets?" She asked, peeking at his face through her large eyelashes.
"No! About the beheading part of course."
"Maahi.." and he hummed in reply," How are we going to escape from the TT?"
"I am sorry Shabna! I don't know." He ran a hand through his hair.
She clutched his arms around her tight and buried her face deep inside his chest and neck, sniffing his smell, and sighed in relief.
A smile appeared on his face and he said out loud, "Couples in movies always act like hugging each other or kissing, perhaps they indulge in romance when they forget to buy tickets while traveling and the Ticket Collector in order not to disturb them, he lets them be."
"Maahi! I am not gonna kiss you for him to see."
"But you can hug me."
"That sounds doable." She laced her hands through his limbs and pushed herself deep in through the side of the neck and laid her face in the crook of his shoulder, hir soft hair falling over her face. He, on the other hand, pulled her to himself snaking his hand through the small of her waist, and for the life of him, he didn't wish for anything more.
All he wanted was her, close to him.
"When will the Ticket Collector come?" She asked, comfortably lying on his shoulder.
"We can wait five more minutes."
"Okay." She again sniffed his hair and her heartfelt at ease with his musky smell.
A slight knock on the door made the couple jump in their seat and Shabna instantly hugged Maahi once again.
"Shabna!" She nodded her head to let him know she was listening, "If you don't leave me, how am I supposed to open the door for him?"
She instantly unwrapped her arms and her cheeks reddened and she turned her face towards the window, blushing prettily.
His lips twitched upwards as he stood straight and straightened his shirt from the wrinkles due to the encounter a when before and ran a hand through his hair before opening the door to the Ticket Collector.
"I can read the sign of 'newlyweds' in front of the door but I didn't think you would take this much time to open the door." The TT commented once in, making both of them blush awkwardly.
"Okay! I won't waste any more of your precious time now, just show me the receipts, and I would just go."
Shabna glanced at Maahi, her heart thundering in her chest because, on the brink of the hugging duration, she had completely forgotten the missing tickets.
But to her surprise, Maahi fished two white cards from his back pocket and handed it to the old man and after he had ticked their names in his notepad, the TT left the room closing the door.
She crossed her hands when the latter turned towards her, cocking an eyebrow.
"What was that Maahi? I didn't know you lie?"
"Hey! I didn't lie. I told you the tickets were missing in my wallet but just now I remembered placing them inside my pocket." He scratched the crook of his neck as he took a seat beside his humble aka now scary spouse.
"All for what?"
"To get close to you." He turned around to face what was to come.
"Say it out clearly. To get a hug?" And he nodded.
"Maahi! You could have asked me directly rather than causing me a heart attack."
"It was a small prank but don't tell me you didn't enjoy it."
"I didn't know you are a prankster?"
"Well! It's a trait Asad has acquired from me. Don't you see the resemblance?"
"No wonder." She shook her head remembering the little prankster and she has now seated with his Master the instance.
"You wonder whatever." He pulled her closer to him and she happily obliged.
.....
Shabna sat on the crook of the small bench which was dangling due to the rhythmic moments of the boat. The Moon obediently seated in the middle of the night sky, casting the light borrowed from the sun through the river and along the side, the shadows of coconut trees lurked the pathway and the boathouse streamed through it.
The sight was to marvel for. Well! All of her honeymoon destinations were exotic.
She couldn't blink back the moment when she tripped her toe on the tea plantation and Maahi had offered her a piggyback ride back to the car and she had captured all of it on her phone's camera holding a selfie stick.
That term when he had jumped on the water of the falls where both of them visited in the back of their hotel. It was a small one and it was not crowded. There was no one except the two of them. She couldn't forget when he suddenly pulled her inside and when the ice-cold water-drenched her whole. And afterward how they had had a small water fight sprinkling each other with as much water as possible. She had laughed out so loud with joy that the period was etched in her memory for an eternity. They had stayed in the water till dusk so that no one would have to peek a view of her dress sticking to her body when she walked back to her room.
Then she couldn't for her life forget how they went on a small walk through the mountain filled with nothing but the smell of tea leaves and the buzzing of insects. They had talked about everything and nothing. She would always cherish that extent because she got to know all about him.
How he was a chocolate lover and how much he loved bikes, and how he liked the color green because of his love for the Prophet ﷺ and how he would not wear a t-shirt to sleep and how he would get to laugh when Fathima and Asad bickered and fought and how he would find Samad the cutest of all but won't tell it out loud and how he would enjoy himself when he makes Sameer red in embarrassment and the list went on and on but she saved every last of it in her brain file.
"Shabna! You didn't try the dessert?" Maahi walked the aisle of the boat's corner and his white thobe made him look the most adorable being in the world.
Shabna bought the thobe on their shopping spree and it looked even better when he wore it.
Her loosely worn hijab flickered through the cool breeze and only four people were traveling through the boat. Shabna, Maahi, The Chef, and the Captain. So she didn't find it necessary to wear it stiff.
"I am already full," she commented showcasing her hand through her belly. Indeed she was full, the traditional Kerala food the chef had prepared was amazing and she had devoured her every bite.
"But I have taken one for you. It's vanilla ice cream with Gulab jamun. Trust me! The combo is despicable."
"Oh! I have heard they both taste mouth-watering."
"They really do, you just have to try," he cajoled as he took a seat along with her on the wooden bench, gazing at the boat marching towards the Moon.
"Then I would have a bite for sure," she took the small cup from his palms and sliced a small amount of Gulab jamun and pierced it through the ice cream and straightaway put it in her mouth. It delicately started melting in her tongue fulfilling her tastebuds with its deliciousness.
She took another scoop and then another until the little cup was emptied.
"Thanks for saving my dessert. It was really good." She beamed, licking her lips at him, and glanced in his direction, only to find him already staring at her posture.
Her heart started to beat erratically when his hand grabbed her small waist, pulling her towards him and she placed her hand over his chest to steady herself but his own thudding heart beneath her hot palm made her brain go numb.
"There's a mustache of ice cream above your lips," his voice so low and husky.
"Can I ?" He asked permission like always the gentleman he was, his face lethally near hers and her breathing hitched. Slowly she pulled his face towards her, raking a hand through his silky smooth hair, and the gap between the two boundaries was taken away, making the poles meet.
They kissed each other, holding one another so tight that they feared if they moved even an inch away the other would vanish.
With the Moon as a witness, the two lovers commenced the start of the consummation of their union while the wind blew the violins of shrill music and the stars danced in the night sky.
There started a drizzle and maybe, perhaps, the sky cried tears of joy for the two people who went through hell in their life found their heaven in each other's embrace.
......