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Back to the present time
His bare chest was visible given his shirt's absence from his torso. He laid on the bed only in a manner he could at least smoke his hookah without any difficulty. Wazeer coughed too badly that didn't spare attention of the one who was seeking it stealthily.
Sitara was keeping her watch on Wazeer's actions that was ,since long time, a usual course of her daily routine.
I really don't understand the reason behind this level of devastation that he seems to have planned for himself, she shivered at her thought.
She kept peeping through the gaps between the doors with all her carefulness when there fell a vase outside Wazeer's room. As soon as Sitara stood straight to leave the site Wazeer laughed out loud that was followed by a pitiable cough and he laughed again.
"No need to run away now. I won't go there to identify you," he was short in summing up things.
Sitara hit her head lightly in embarrassment and began think what to do next. She dusted her hands slowly and landed her palms over the doors only give some mysterious knocks.
"It's open. But don't come in." Wazeer inhaled the last portion of his smoking dose and threw it at the gate.
"If you don't want anyone to come in then why have you left them opened?" questioned the woman in annoyance.
"That's because people don't have to break the doors to take my body out when I'm no more, " he finished his words smiling at her a little with shadow of drowsiness blinding in his eyes.
"Ya Khuda! Wazeer, shut your mouth up! You've no idea of those vague things you're blabbering." Sitara was horrified but not to the core of her heart hearing him speak like this. She was to her delight satisfied at least that even though there was difficulty in reaching to the heart of Wazeer she at least had no rival of herself that time. The door flung open and she walked like a queen into his room seeing whom the depressed man looked away.
"Look here, dear..." She sat on the couch.
To her dismay the man who had already looked away even closed his eyes.
"Wazeer you know... this life is not about our sole desires. Sometimes we've to adjust with the losses that were destined to hit us." She began but to her disgust she found Wazeer thrusting his fingers into his ears to ignore her in the most abrupt manner.
Although it was amusing to have a look of the annoyed expression on her face but had a wide smile on lips that uttered, " no word can sooth my ears save her name- Mawa"
Mawa! Mawa! Mawa! My foot! No one would believe it but it really happens that some people have tendency to take care of your frustration even during their absence. Since four years that pauper is doing this. Sitara spoke it but inside her treacherous mind.
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"I want to have a few words with my son."
Wazeer looked at his father coldly sitting on the opposite of him with a barbecue container parting them both. He gladly got up from the floor as if would come amiably to accompany Aazam by sitting next to him. For a moment a change of expression was visible on the face of the old man but it withered as Wazeer made his way into the mansion leaving his father alone in the lawn.
There were other family members and even visitors in the mansion but everything around him was unable to affect him in any way.
"Is it like that your son has lost his interest in living after the mysterious vanish of his lady love?" asked a formal friend of Aazam, Waqaar, who happened to pay visit to his home that evening.
"What made you say this?" asked the old man in
"Ah no, don't mind it my friend. People say these things about him since long."
Aazam sighed silently.
"Well, if I can suggest you something in this regard..." said the friend with no harmful intention.
"Pray you continue."
"Why don't you marry him off?"
"Marrying him?"
"I guess it'd bring some change. May be some positive changes." The friend sipped his coffee fixing his eyes on the face of Aazam.
"As if we'd never tried this huh."
Wazeer left his seat only to be joined by his teenager daughters while the friend, Rashid, asked the attendants for another cup of beverage.
~•~•~•~
7 years ago
In the park near Mansion
The 23-year old Wazeer-e-Aazam Ali Ubaidi had a bouquet of fresh roses and tulip in his hands that he artfully hid behind his back making the young lady go curious about it.
"What are you hiding Wazeer?" Jannat-ul-Mawa's tried all hard to have a glance of what was awaiting for her but given Wazeer's fun she lost the chance of grabbing the gift all the time.
"One more attempt and you get it," Wazeer was almost laughing that made the excited lady go silent and she sat on the stoned bench quietly looking away from Wazeer.
"What happen Mawa? Trust me I'll let you see it this time." He persuaded her to jump on him to get the roses but Mawa went calm seeing which his curiosity become relentless.
"Why would I waste my breath on something you're trying to hide when I'm already aware of it." She, with a serene smile on her lips, retorted.
"Oh, what's that you tell me if you know," Wazeer bit his lips appearing to be funny.
"They're the same Rohri Garden roses plucking which can make you taste the food of jail." She laughed covering her mouth with her fluffy palms.
Wazeer's hands ultimately came in front and handed those roses to her in courtesy. She, very gladly, extended her hands to take with Wazeer kept the bouquet aside and held her hands.
"There's one more step to go to these precious flowers," he pulled her with a jerk.
Jannat's eyes widened and before she could enquire what was it his elation made his reply in warm whispers.
"A kiss."
.
.
.
.
.
Evening had passed with the two lovers resting on each other's arms and the rays of sun bid them farewell for the day. The parrot-green young grasses with less trodden fate was laid over by two bodies affectionately looking into each other's faces.
Jannat looked away citing, "okay, I lost it."
"Why do you always lose it Mawa?" He raised his torso resting on his elbow on the ground and traced on her face with his finger.
"Can you feel it what I try to do. I allow you to win," she said looking straight into his eyes again.
"Don't give me this much freedom of winning, at least not with the cost of you losing it."
Jannat closed her eyes and immediately got up to sit on the ground. She again turned to him to say, "the sum of all is, I want you to win me."
Wazeer read the flush of love rushing inside her cheeks and touched her locks on the verge of going vehement in endearment. But all of sudden there was visible on her face the shades of paleness, the paleness of fear.
"But Wazeer," she spoke under her breath.
"But what Mawa," he heard it all.
"But I've to lose it to make you win." She cracked her fingers.
Wazeer couldn't help looking into her upset eyes as he had no answer to this dilemma of her.
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Back to the present- Inside the mansion, Wazeer was engrossed in his thoughts from his sweet past.
"Rania! Sania! Tania!" His jovial eyes shone gleefully. "My beautiful gems, come here sweethearts." He swifted on the sofa inside the hall with a box of imported European chocolates in his hands.
At the same moment, three young girls like princesses' dolls came running toward Wazeer from three different directions and hugged him with no mercy.
"Ah! I'm dead." They made all their delicate efforts to squeeze their one and only brother who acted overly to delight them while the girls started biting him on his arms.
"Bhai, all chocolates are mine," claimed one while the other two started pulling her hair.
"Ouch! Bhai see them," she went into sobbing.
"Hey, hey! No fighting my angels. You all are going to share them, okay?" He softened his voice with the cream of care and concern in it and the girls pacified themselves thereafter.
Jannat-ul-Mawa was watching them as she carried a few handmade blouses along with her instructor to the van waiting outside for the dresses to get delivered to the designer's boutique. She, while crossing the hall, was passionately noticed by her lover. He was overjoyed inside to her and slowly-slowly managed to entangle the girls among themselves and got up to follow Jannat.
She swayed her way gracefully and exited the indoors of mansion. Wazeer stood at the gate, keeping his eyes fixed at Jannat who after exchanging few words with the instructor bid her farewell for that day.
A muscular hand caught Jannat's wrist and pulled her behind the huge pillar. She was astonished for a moment but given the abnormal frequency of this act she was satisfied at her heart only to pinch him on his waist, "you'll never grow up, Wazeer, I see."
He gave her the widest smile of his life to which her lips broke into a contagious laughter. Both of them had just started laughing when they heard a voice with bold sound.
"I'd love to meet your assistant Naaz."
"Sure sir. She was here only. Let me look for her inside," said the instructor who had to stop her van seeing her client Dilawar Malik approaching her on his horse.
Wazeer looked half-hearted into Jannat's face. He dropped his lips saying, "look Mawa, some client has come to your instructor seeking you."
"Now what is happening?" she said making her way inside the mansion from the backsides.
Wazeer didn't stop her. He only crossed his hands and took small steps after in a way she was far away from him and he changed his route later.
The storm that was destined for that night was about to come. And its arrival broke the chain of thoughts he was reliving from the past. A few thunder bolt in the sky turned the whole weather into a complete horror as Wazeer couldn't see his way due to sudden power cut in the mansion.
Visitors who were a part of the evening gathering in the mansion were gone and here was a complete silence around except for the strom. All the members of his family had gone to attend a late-night religious function to their relatives' place except for Sitara and Wazeer. Sitara complained of tiredness while the family had no expectation from Wazeer to accompany.
The man was walking over the stairs very calmly when he stopped at a place where there stood a wooden clock that was appearing to be present receiving the lights from the violent clouds' thunders. He smiled unknowingly at it, may be he had another beautiful piece of past connected with it. Bit his smile vanished and his eyes widened when he saw a human figure standing in front of him, in a beautifully dolled up attire.
He froze at his place and uttered with his trembling lips, "Mawa."
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