It has been a week since Aziz met the girl with the scarf, and for the past week, he has been skipping his lectures.
His mother is aware of it, and she asked him politely, "Aziz, tell me what's the issue? Why aren't you attending the lectures?" She asked while bringing him tea and sitting beside him.
Aziz took a sip and then said in a lazy yet disinterested voice, "Nothing much, Ammi. The lectures are boring. I will attend them very soon."
His mother noticed his lack of interest and got up to leave. How could he explain to her that he was captivated by her eyes? Those eyes wouldn't let him focus on anything else.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear the knock or notice the person approaching him.
It was Aziz's father, Khalid Nader, known as the richest man in the business industry. He was a very calm person who had tried his best to balance both his professional and personal life.
He was a man of his word. He was very happy when Aziz, his first son, was born.
Khalid Nader and Zaina Nader had two more children, Tamir and Rasha. Their younger son, Tamir Nader, is in Paris to complete his studies, while their daughter Rasha is in a hostel.
Their eldest, Aziz Nader, lives with them. Although Aziz is the eldest, he was their most cherished. Aziz's every wish seemed like a command to Khalid Nader; they had raised Aziz with a lot of love and affection. However, Aziz's behavior had changed over the years.
Initially, he used to talk with him for hours, but in recent years, Aziz would come home from college, greet him, and then retreat to his room or spend hours outside.
Khalid Nader couldn't understand it at first, But one evening, when Khalid Nader saw Aziz smoking on the terrace, instead of getting angry, he felt deep sorrow. He saw himself as a failure as a father.
Aziz had never been like this before. In his helplessness, he approached Aziz and called out to him. Upon hearing his father's voice, Aziz felt as though he had been struck by a sudden force, his legs felt like they were giving way beneath him.
Aziz turned around, looking at his father Khalid with a deeply remorseful expression. He didn't want his father to find out about this.
Khalid Nader was feeling very angry, but he managed to control his anger and asked Aziz with great gentleness, "Agar cigarette pite hoon toh Nasha bhi karte honge?
" Aziz couldn't respond; his questions seemed to have rendered him speechless. Due to the lack of an answer, Khalid Nader asked his next question, " How long have you been smoking cigarettes?"
Aziz, lowering his gaze and speaking very softly, replied, "For 5 years." Khalid Nader couldn't believe it; he felt like he had made a mistake in hearing. He asked again, and the same answer came back, "5 years."
Khalid Nader then spoke to Aziz in a firm yet loud voice, "Agar paanch saal se cigarette pine ki himmat rakhte hoon toh nazre jhuka ke nahi, nazre mila ke bolne ki bhi himmat rakho Aziz."
("If you have the courage to smoke cigarettes for 5 years, then have the courage to look me in the eye and speak as well, Aziz.")
Before Khalid Nader could say anything else to Aziz, he heard his wife Zaina's voice. Khalid Nader responded to Zaina and then looked at Aziz, saying, "For now, your uncle and his family are here. We'll talk about this matter calmly after they leave.
"And today, Khalid Nader entered his room to find Aziz lost in thoughts. Being Concerned, he asked "Aziz, what have you been up to lately", while sitting opposite to him. Aziz, seemingly replied while sipping his tea, "Apni Mehbooba ko yaad kar raha hoon."
Hearing this, Khalid Nader felt as if he had been struck once again. He couldn't understand what was suddenly happening to his beloved child. Then he asked Aziz,
"Yeh Mehbooba ka naam kya hai?" Aziz replied with great gentleness again, "I don't know." Khalid Nader fell silent; his son had fallen in love with someone whose name he didn't even know.
"Bina naam jaane kaise mohabbat kar sakte hoon Aziz ?" Khalid Nader asked, deeply concerned. Aziz replied with great care, "Mohabbat mein naam ka lena dena nahi hota hai abbu."
Khalid Nader was already very worried, and now with this love stuff, he felt even more distressed. Changing the subject, he asked Aziz,
"When are you going to quit smoking?" Aziz remained silent, not saying anything. After a few minutes of silence, Khalid Nader said,
"Aziz, I don't know what I lacked in my upbringing, I don't even know if it was my mistake to give you so much freedom that my son forgot the difference between right and wrong, or..."
He couldn't continue and left without saying anything further. Aziz jaise beparwaah hokar chai pine lagah, uske zehen mein kuch bhi nahi gaya, jo uske waalid neh usse kaha.
For the past week, Aziz had been skipping lectures every day, instead sitting in the cafeteria. He would go to a corner of the cafeteria, pick up a book from the library, and sit there.
Next to him was an open window from where the scent of flowers would bright his mood, and he could see the clear road outside. He wouldn't drink coffee; he would just sit there with a book, waiting for the girl with the red scarf to come, hoping she would arrive.
This routine continued for days, and perhaps it would continue further. Around 5 o'clock in the evening, he would leave from there with some of his friends to roam around, smoking cigarettes, and sometimes even indulging in drugs.
He would speak foul language with his friends, returning home late at night. Sometimes he would arrive home at around two or three, in the midnight. His mother Zaina would wait for him anxiously, but upon Khalid's instructions, she would retire to her room.
On the other hand, Uns was busy with her college. Early in the morning, after offering her Fajr prayers, she would leave home, open her coffee shop, and arrange all the flowers.
In her shop, you would find all kinds of flowers except daisies, as she was allergic to them. Just one daisy was enough to make her nose red.
Despite belonging to a modern family, she still adhered to wearing the hijab, as she held her religion in high regard. She never missed a single prayer, even if she couldn't offer her prayer due to college commitments, she would make sure to perform her missed prayers.
It had been a month since she arrived in India, but even in this one month, she hadn't found time to sit and talk with her father.
Her mother, Amira, always told her that her father missed her a lot, but when she came to India from America, she found out that her mother had been giving her false reassurance.
Hasan Reza was a well-known and respected surgeon, often getting so engrossed in his work that he would sometimes sleep in the hospital instead of going home. He cared deeply about his profession, but in his pursuit of success, he was drifting away from his family.
Uns didn't have any complaints against Hasan Reza; she just wanted one thing from him, and that was a little bit of his time and nothing more. Uns had recently visited Ezzeh's house.
There, Ezzeh's parents, Fatima Ahmadi and ILYAS Ahmadi, warmly welcomed her. Uns feels ilyas as a father, and talks to him very happily. He was very close to her; she would confide in him about everything.
She even shared her story about the cafeteria with him, which brought great joy to Ilyas. Ilyas treated Uns like his own daughter; whenever he returned from his business trips, he would bring many things for Ezzeh and also for Uns and Sahara as a gesture of love and support.
Ilyas and Fatima Ahmadi were very close friends with Hasan and Amira Reza; they often visited each other's homes. Zaki Ahmadi, Ilyas Ahmadi's eldest son, was a source of pride for him.
He admired him greatly for his manners, but he had no idea about his true nature. Uns had a wonderful time at Ezzeh's House.
After Zaki cooked a delicious meal, Uns, Ezzeh, Sahara, and Zaki sat together chatting and drinking coffee for a long time after the dinner. During this time, Uns noticed some changes in Zaki's behavior.
He seemed different, not like before. Previously, he used to talk to Uns very politely and would maintain some distance while conversing. But now, it seemed like he was looking for an opportunity to get closer to her.
Uns pushed aside these thoughts from her mind because she considered Zaki as an elder brother figure, and she believed that she shouldn't entertain such thoughts. As far as she knew Zaki, she had always seen goodness in him.
Now Uns was cleaning the books, her gaze fell upon a book that was placed upside down. She approached the book and was in the process of turning it right side up when she noticed something falling out of it.
It was a dried daisy flower and a small piece of paper. She picked up the paper and read what was written on it. After reading it, a smile spread across her face, and she gently set the paper aside.
Then, she straightened the book and began cleaning the rest of the books.
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