Umeed entered her room and threw herself on the bed. It had been a long night, but she had never felt this happy and contented before. Her legs hurt from dancing and jumping around to the point where she couldn't even bring herself to stand up. But her heart? It never felt lighter and more at peace. Her cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing, but she couldn't stop. Her mind kept replaying the events of the night.
Pasha sahab aka the same father who had never even cracked a joke with her, dancing around with her all night, out of his own will. Somewhere, the 12 year old Umeed made a comeback today. The one who had the perfect family - a loving father, a doting mother and just normalcy in her life. Something that had gone missing ever since that fateful night. In the eight years that followed, Umeed never felt at home with her own father. It felt like a liability that they both just had to stick to.
But tonight? Tonight was everything she had ever wished for growing up. All she wanted was for her family - her father especially - to support her in her dreams and actions. She wanted the people closest to her to be happy in her happiness. She was tired of hiding her happiness from her own family. She wanted to be able to take a breath and laugh out loud without the fear of being caged. Today, she got that liberty. In what were already the happiest days of her life, as she prepared to spend the rest of her life with the man she loved more than life itself, she also found her entire family being genuinely happy with her. Life really couldn't get more perfect for Umeed Pasha.
She lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling with a smile etched on to her face, as her fingers traced the messy mehndi Sameer had applied on her hand. Brides always wanted everything to be perfect. The mehndi design has to be applied with utmost precision. But as Umeed looked at the unruly circles - which didn't even look like circles - she could never imagine better mehndi.
Haya entered the room in a hurry, yanking Umeed out of her thoughts. She looked distraught, as if she had ran here to save her life. What was with her? And where had she been all this time?
"Haya, tumhein kya hua hai? Koi bhoot dekh liya hai kya?"
Umeed finally sat up straight, looking at the girl in front of her with concern.
"Nahiiii, mujhe kya hona hai? Mein to bas, aisay hi"
Umeed knew this girl inside out. She knew very well when she was hiding something. Raising an eyebrow at her, she got off bed.
"Beta, kuch to kar ke aayi ho tum. Aur ye tum itni dair se kahan ghayab thi, hmm?"
Getting closer, Umeed looked her in the eye, but saw Haya avoid looking at her.
Aha! She was right! Haya was definitely on to something.
"Mene kahan ghayab hona hai? Ammi ke saath cheezein samait rahi thi, aur kya?"
"Haya, tum ne mujhe pagal samjha hua hai? Shakal se bewaqoof lagti hoon mein?"
Haya shook her head vehemently.
"Ab seedhi tarah bata rahi ho, warna phir mujhe buhaat tareeqay aatay hein. Sameer ke saath thi na?"
Umeed said in a teasing voice, poking her arm.
"Aray nahi, ye Sameer kahan se aa gaya? Ussay to apni us nayi mehmaan se hi fursat nahi hai."
"Phirrr, oye, tum mere bhai ko koi dhoka woka to nahi de rahi? Dekho mujhe pata hai thora khiska hua hai magar - "
"Taubah Umeed, kya bolay chali ja rahi ho? Aisa kuch nahi hai. Acha chalo na, chatt pe chaltay hein!"
Umeed raised her eyebrow, giving her a quizzical look.
"Chatt pe? Raat ke dhairh bajay? Kis khushi mein?"
"Dekho na, do din mein tum wese bhi chali jao gi, itnay din ho gaye hum ne sahi se baatein bhi nahi kein. Acha mausam hai, chatt pe chaltay hein, chai peeyein gay, gappein maarein gay."
"Haan to terrace pe chaltay hein na, hum wese bhi to waheen jatay hein."
"Nahiiii, wo uhh terrace pe nahi....."
"Kyun?"
"Wahan baar baar koi beech mein aata rehta hai."
"Acha haan, ye to theek keh rahi ho. Acha mein jaldi se change kar loon, phir -"
"NAHI!"
Umeed stopped dead in her tracks, getting more confused by the second. Seriously, WHAT was up with her?
"Mera matlab hai, uhh kapray thori dair pehnay rakho na, itnay achay lag rahay hein."
"Haan magar mein thak gayi hoon, comfortable hona chahti hoon"
"Ab dulhan pyjama pehnay achi lagti hai? Parson tumhari shadi hai, zara to lagay ke dulhan ho. Acha naa, chalo ab!"
Without giving Umeed the chance to say anything more, Haya grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the roof. All the while Umeed kept raising questions over her unnatural behaviour and how nothing made sense. Haya kept repeating "Umeed shor nahi machao" throughout.
They were still in the middle of their banter when they felt the chilly wind hit them, making their hair flow around in all directions. As soon as they entered the roof, Umeed stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes landed on a man in a navy blue kurta standing at some distance, his back facing her. He was currently chatting away with Sameer, but none of that mattered to her.
All that mattered was him, here, at this part of the night. Two days before their wedding.
What was he doing here?
The men became aware of the girls entering as they both turned around. Haya dragged Umeed a little further, before Umeed refused to walk anymore. There was still a distance of a couple of feet between them.
"Sameer, chalein?"
"Yeah, let's go!"
And then, it was just them. It was always just them.
Umeed kept staring at him, blinking repeatedly to ensure she wasn't making this up. She said nothing. She was unable to form words. She was also waiting for him to provide her with some sort of an explanation.
Farjaad had his hands crossed behind his back, as he took small steps towards her, now standing right in front of her. His figure towered over Umeed, who kept staring at him blankly.
Was he really not going to say anything?
"Aap kya kar rahay hein yahan?"
"Bas aisay hi ghar mein betha bore ho raha tha to socha kyun na ghenta drive kar ke yahan aa ke Sameer se kuch gappein laga loon?"
Umeed rolled her eyes. Yes, this was the perfect time for jokes.
"Farjaad mein mazaaq ke mood mein nahi hoon"
"Acha? That sucks, kyun ke mein to is waqt buhat shadeed mazaaq karnay ke mood mein hoon."
She drew in a sharp breath, closing her eyes.
"Aap aadhi raat ko yahan ye sasti comedy karnay aaye hein?"
"Sasti to nah hai yaar, aisay to nahi bolo."
"Farjaad!"
"Acha okay, sorry, ab nahi karoon ga promise"
"Kyun aaye hein yahan is waqt?"
"Wo kya hai ke, meri biwi - I mean bilkul honay wali biwi - ne subah mujhe call ki. Us ne mujh se kaha ke mujhe batayein mein konsa dress pehnoon."
He paused as he took another step towards her, his eyes fixated on her face.
"Mene us ko buhat mukhlisana maswahara diya. Sara din phir mene intezaar kiya ke ab picture aaye gi, ab dekhnay ko milay ga ke wo suit kesa lag raha hai."
Umeed bit her cheeks to stop her grin. She had purposely been teasing him all day.
"Par nahi, nothing. Phir mene janaab ko message kiya, mene kaha ke dikha bhi do ab suit. Aur pata hai aagay se mujhe kya mila?"
Umeed was finding it harder to stop herself from breaking into a laugh at this point. Farjaad was still looking into her eyes.
"Aagay se, madam ne mujhe apnay hath ki aik tasveer bhej di, jis mein peeche suit nazar aa raha tha thora sa. Ab batao, ye koi sahi harkat hai karnay wali?"
Umeed shook her head innocently.
"Nahi, harkat to waqaye buhat ghalat hai."
"Haina? Mene bhi yehi kaha ussay. Mene kaha ke agar yehi karna tha jo mujh se suit pick karwanay ki kya zarorat thi. Phir apni marzi ka pehan lena tha na."
He was standing merely inches away now. Their eyes bore into each other's.
"Bilkul theek, phir, us ne kya kaha aagay se?"
Farjaad drew in a sharp, overdramatic breath.
"Bas na poochein, us zaalima ne jawaab hi nahi diya aagay se!"
Umeed gasped, playing along with his drama.
"Na karein!"
"Sach mein! Ab us baat ko puray 10 ghentay honay walay hein. Abhi tak mera message seen kar ke chora hua hai."
Umeed stifled the giggle that escaped her lips.
"Ye to waqaye buhat bura hua aap ke saath."
"Aisa hi hai. Phir mujhe yahan aana para dekhnay ke liye ke aakhir aisa bhi kitna hi haseen lag raha hai jora pehna hua ke achanak mohtarma ke mizaaj aasman mein puhanch gaye."
He finally moved his eyes from her face to the rest of her body - trailing all the way down to her feet, where he saw the red khussas he had specifically asked her to wear. Umeed followed every movement of his eyes as they scanned her. Her breath got caught when she saw his lips turn into a little smirk.
Moments passed before either of them said anything. Farjaad's eyes had landed back to her face after moving all over her body. They both kept staring at each other.
"Phir? Dekh ke kis nateejay pe puhanchay hein aap?"
Farjaad's smirk got deeper.
"Mizaaj aasman pe puhanchna waqaye jaiz tha."
One of Umeed's favourite thing about receiving compliments from Farjaad were how distinct they were. He had this unique ability of moulding the most generic and cheesiest of compliments into his own form, which were so personalised, adding an element of his essence into them. They were mostly very direct and to the point, yet there was always something that made them stand out from generic compliments men gave their lovers.
They just spoke Farjaad.
"Kya aadhi raat yahan tak aana worth it tha?"
"Is husn ka dedaar karnay to mein aadhi raat chaand pe bhi chala jaaon"
Umeed burst into laughter at his overdramatic response. This man was clearly high on shaadi festivities. She lightly pushed him on his chest, making him laugh out too.
His laughter again made Umeed stop midway as she got taken away by the beauty and purity of it all over again. Farjaad had been laughing wholeheartedly much more frequently, yet every time he did, it felt like Umeed was witnessing something so beautiful for the very first time. She always fell mesmerised.
"Oh baaton mein mere zehan se hi nikal gaya, kuch laaya tha mein"
Farjaad held her by the hand and began walking towards the edge which looked over to the backyard, which was still lit with all the fairy lights, all the decor from the dholki were still in place.
Farjaad handed her a takeaway beverage cup. Umeed raised her eyebrow.
"Wo raastay se chai le ke aaya tha, mera khyaal tha tumhein zarorat ho gi, thak gayi ho gi"
Umeed's lips broke into a grin. She loved how the man always made sure he kept feeding her with chai no matter what part of the day it was.
"Thank you, zarorat to waqaye mein buhat shadeed thi mujhe."
"Haan, magar ab tak to thandi ho gayi ho gi, tum ne itnaaa time laga diya aanay mein."
"Jee, meri ghalti hai, mujhe to pata hona chahiye tha na ke dulhay mian shadi se do raatein pehle ye adventure karnay aa rahay hon gay."
Farjaad chuckled at her sarcasm.
"Wese, aaye kesay hein aap andar? Jahan tak mujhe pata hai, security to abhi tak active hai?"
Farjaad smiled sheepishly as he narrated the events of the past hour.
Farjaad parked his car at a distance from Pasha house. The lights decorating the place were visible from miles away. He felt a warmth in his heart knowing that all of this celebration was for them - their love. Not letting his thoughts distract him, he pulled out his phone and scrolled down to 'S', before stopping. Was Sameer the right person? No he wasn't. He would get stressed and probably end up exposing him.
He scrolled back up to the contacts under'H'. Dialing Haya's number, he prepared himself for a bombardment of questions.
"Assalam o Alaikum Farjaad bhai, sab khairiyat?"
"Haya, kya haal hai?"
"Mein to theek hoon, aap theek hein? Is waqt kyun call kar rahay hein? Niggo auntie theek hein?"
"Haan haan, sab theek hein. Mujhe batao, tum logon ka function khatam ho gaya?"
"Jee, bas abhi abhi hi sab uthay hein yahan se, abhi cheezein hi samait rahay thay."
"Achaa, umm, Pasha uncle kahan hein? So gaye?"
"Nahi, soya to koi nahi hai abhi tak. Khana kha rahay thay mera khyaal hai."
'Shit' he muttered under his breath.
"Farjaad bhai, ab batayein bhi, kya hua hai?"
"Haya, you have to help me."
The line went silent momentarily.
"Kis cheez mein?"
"Mein tum logon ke ghar ke baahir khara hoon"
"WHAT?!" she screamed, before Farjaad heard some shifting on the other end, "kya keh rahay hein ye aap? Hamaray ghar ke baahir kharay hein? Is time?!"
"Haannn..."
Gosh, is this what love does to you? A few months back, he would've slapped himself if he saw this state he was in.
"Okayyyy, aur ab?"
"Aur ab tum ne aur Sameer ne kisi tarah mujhe Umeed se milwana hai"
The line went silent again, making Farjaad very anxious.
"Acha theek hai, sochnay dein kuch. Rukein mein call back karti hoon aap ko."
Haya called back after exactly 11 minutes, but they felt like centuries to Farjaad. He kept checking his phone to see whether he missed the call.
He had already snuck out of his own house. There was no way he could've told his mother he was going to meet Umeed at this part of the night. She was already after Umeed all the time.
His heartbeat got faster when the phone rang.
"Farjaad bhai, deewar phalang saktay hein?"
"Kya?!"
"Dekhein, darwaza is time kholna buhat risky hai. Aap serhiyon ke paas se deewar phalang ke aayein, aur seedha chatt pe chalay jayein, mein Umeed ko waheen le aaon gi."
Farjaad pondered over the idea for a while. He had jumped from the stairs to the wall, how was he going to climb the wall on its own?
"Is ke ilawa doosra kya option hai?"
"Aap bell baja ke aa jayein, Pasha sahab ko keh dijiye ga Umeed ko dekhnay aaye hein."
Moments later he found himself standing in front of the wall. He had already placed the two cups on the wall top, he just had to figure out a way to climb this thing, without injuring himself two days before the wedding. He stepped on the flowerbed to lift himself up, carefully placing his foot on a branch of a tree - one he was convinced wasn't strong enough to hold the weight of a grown man.
A few scratches and a lot of prayers later, he found himself standing on the staircase of Pasha house with Sameer dragging him to the roof and Haya instructing them to hurry up.
Farjaad turned back once, calling Haya out in a whisper.
"Please daihan rakhna, wo change na kar le aanay se pehle"
Haya smirked knowingly at him, before motioning him to continue.
Umeed doubled over in laughter at his story, he couldn't help but smile seeing her laugh without a care for the world.
"Aap baahir se deewar phalang ke aaye hein?"
"Hasso to mat, appreciate karo meri efforts ko!"
"Waqaye, appreciation to banti hai. Farjaad Khan Bahadur, deewarein phalang ke aa rahay hein, impressive!"
"Dekho, mein kabhi kisi ke liye na karoon ye, khasoosi TUMHARAY liye hein ye walay action."
"Aur kisi ke liye kar ke dikhayein aap ye sab"
"Ye dekho mere bandhay haath, meri taubah ke mein dobara kabhi in chakkron mein paroon"
Umeed laughed even louder as he brought together his hands.
"Wese aap ko nahi aana chahiye tha."
Farjaad stopped in the middle of taking a sip from his very cold tea.
"Hein?"
"Aap ko yahan is waqt nahi aana chahiye tha"
"Umeed, mein apni jaan pe khel ke, itna sab kuch kar ke aaya hoon, aur tum ye bol rahi ho?"
"Haan"
"Par kyun?"
"Maayun mein bethi dulhan ko us ka dulha nahi dekhta. Ab shadi ke din roop nahi aaye ga mujh pe, aur sab aap ki ghalti ho gi!"
Farjaad tilted his head and stared at her face intently, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Is se zyada roop aa bhi sakta hai? I don't think so!"
Umeed felt a blush creep up and Farjaad's unwavering gaze made it worse. She turned around to look at the backyard screaming of wedding preparations.
"Sab kuch kitna khoobsurat lag raha hai na?"
"Hmm, sab kuch waqaye buhat khoobsurat lag raha hai. Kisi fairytale ki kahani ki tarah khoobsurat, bilkul jesa tum chahti thi."
Umeed's grin grew wider. It really felt like a fairytale. She couldn't believe she got to live this.
"Aap kab se fairytales pe yaqeen rakhnay lagay? Aap ko to zehar nahi lagti thein?"
He turned his entire body towards her, she still kept looking at the backyard, avoiding meeting his gaze.
"Jab se meri zindagi ne ye morr liya hai. Bilkul fairytale hi to hai, aik shehzadi, aik us ka unimportant sa shehzada, un ka pyaar aur -"
"AUR ZAALIM SAMAAJ! NEECHE HOYEIN!"
Umeed pulled him with her as she ducked behind the roof wall.
"Umeed, ye kya - "
"Shh, Pasha sahab!"
"Kya?!"
Farjaad sat up slightly to peep over the wall, and for sure, there he was. Pasha sahab was walking in the backyard with some papers in his hand. Farjaad quickly ducked back, his breathing getting heavier.
"Ab kya ho ga?"
"Ye to pehle soch ke aana tha na!"
They were now communicating in hushed voices.
"Unhon ne mujhe is waqt yahan dekh liya to buhat bura ho ga"
"Buhat bura nahi, kaam tamaam ho ga phir bas!"
"Shit!"
"Acha ab bethay rahein yahan thori dair chup kar ke, shor na machaiye ga bas, chalay jayein gay abhi"
As they both went quiet, they noticed the position they were in for the first time. Umeed's hands, that she used to drag him, were still tightly wrapped around his arm. She was ducking behind it, looking up at him with those round, doey eyes. Farjaad's face had lowered while he was getting back down, now only a few inches away from hers.
They both spent the next few moments shifting their gazes between the other's eyes and parted lips. The setting, the proximity, the dim lights, the wind - everything made for the perfect romantic moment. The adrenaline of hiding away from the families right before the wedding added a layer of intensity in the moment.
A sudden gush of wind send Umeed's hair flowing in all directions. Farjaad had finally learnt the key romantic gesture, making him bring his other hand to tuck the hair behind her ear, and then letting it stay at her face.
They both knew what this was leading up to. They both knew how badly they wanted this. They also knew they shouldn't.
"Bas do din"
Umeed whispered. Was she reassuring herself or was she reminding him? Who could tell?
"Bas, do din"
Farjaad repeated her words, sighing as he did so. They both broke out into a fit of laughter after this. Umeed placed her head on his arm, as she went back to sipping the tea - if it could even be called that at this point.
They sat there till sunrise, seated next to the wall of the roof, Umeed's head on Farjaad's arm as they chatted away. Umeed narrated how Pasha sahab danced with her and how happy it made her. They talked about the upcoming events, and how excited they were. They discussed life after marriage, and everything in the middle.
At the end, it really was a fairytale - their fairytale.
-