"Chalo tumhe chudiya dilwa deta hoon," he said as he held my hand and led me towards his car. Opening the car door, I sat in, unable to take my eyes off him.
He wasn't just an ordinary person; he was special, someone who knew every little thing I liked. Closing my eyes, I silently thanked the higher power for bringing me to this person.
As he drove, he occasionally glanced at me, but I couldn't tear my gaze away from him. I didn't want to look anywhere else than him. My eyes only want to see him and my heart yearned to be with him.
I could never confess to him that I had finally fallen in love with him.
Woh mere saath hai, wahi kaafi hai,
Woh mere pass hai, wahi kaafi hai, aur kuch nahi chahiye.
(Just having him beside me was enough; having him close was all I needed, nothing else mattered).
When we stopped the car, before I could open the door, he signaled me to wait and opened it for me instead. Stepping out, I was greeted by the sight of a beautiful market bustling with people shopping and spending time with their families and numerous shops.
While walking, I noticed a shop displaying men's traditional robes (jubbas) and realized Aziz hadn't gotten one yet.
"Let's go and buy a jubba for you, Nader," I said, pointing towards the shop.
"I've already bought a suit," he replied.
"But won't you wear a jubba for Eid prayers?" I asked, exasperated with his absent-mindedness.
"I don't need one, let's just buy bangles for you," he insisted, but I stopped him, holding his hands.
" We are buying it and your wearing it," I asserted firmly, dragging him towards the shop.
"What about this one?" I asked, showing him a blue design.
"It's nothing special," he remarked, glancing around. I showed him another design, but he seemed uninterested in any color.
At this point, I was extremely frustrated with him but I calmed myself, then showed him a beautiful maroon design, convinced that he would like it.
"I will wear the same color as you for Eid," he said, looking at me.
" Bahut hein jyade nakhre hai tumhare, Nader. Now, quietly accept what I'm buying for you," I said, without letting him choose. I selected a white jubba for him, confident it would look great on him.
"Why did you choose white? Are you wearing white?" he asked, seeing the shopkeeper pack his outfit.
"No," I replied.
"Then why white?" he inquired.
"I told you, I will wear the same color as you," He said, completely serious now.
"And I also said you will wear the color I choose," I retorted.
He wasn't shocked by my response, as he was used to my cold demeanor, but I felt satisfied seeing him speechless in front of me.
As he looked at me, a slight blush formed on his cheeks, then he turned away. What? He blushed? Seeing him blush was unexpectedly cute.
"The handsome Nader is blushing right now?" I teased him, unable to resist the opportunity.
"Stop it, Uns," he said, avoiding eye contact.
"Why are you blushing, Nader?" I asked, controlling my laughter.
"I... I'm not," he stammered, seeming nervous. Unbelievably, I was witnessing him being flustered for the first time.
"Let's go and buy your bangles now," he said, walking away.
I followed him, and amidst the bustling crowd, he held my hand so I wouldn't get lost. His hands where holding in mine, and my heart is pounding inexplicably hard.
Aisa kya hai is shqshs main, joh uski har adaah mujhe uski dewaani bana deti hai?
Is this what they call love, where we feel safe with that person even in unfamiliar places? He walked ahead, I followed, holding his hand, feeling like he was leading me away from all my worries.
Woh mamuli nahi tah, kyunki woh Aziz tah, Mera Aziz, joh mujhe bahad azeez hai.
What color are your Eid clothes?" he asked, scanning the entire bangle shop. I can't tell him the color.
"I don't know," I replied.
"If you don't tell me the color now, how will I buy them Uns?" he asked, looking at me.
"Well... I don't want bangles, let's go-" I started to say, but he interrupted me.
"Aap yeh size li jea aur har rang ke, ek ek dajan chudiya de dijea," he instructed the shopkeeper, handing him my old bangle from his pocket.
Why on earth he is carrying my old bangles in his pocket? And he still have the bangle which sahara gave him?
"What?" I asked him, bewildered.
"How is this design?" he asked, showing me the bangles, completely ignoring my questions.
"I don't need all this, Nader," I told him.
"But now you have to take them, Uns," he said, looking at my hands where I was wearing the bangles he had gifted me.
"Why?" I asked.
"Kyunki Mujhe pasand hai jab tum chudiya pehenti hoon."
(Because I like it when you wear bangles), he said, still looking at my hands.
I didn't have anything to say in response; his sincere words left me speechless, as they often did.
Woh ajeeb tah, uske baate ajeeb tih, lekin gheri tih, kyunki woh aziz tah.
"Did you buy these bangles from here too?" I asked, glancing at the bangles he had gifted me.
"No, I had them made for you," he said, touching the bangles now.
"Why?" I asked again.
"I wanted to," he said simply.
Now that the shopkeeper had packed the two bags filled with bangles, he took them, and we began to stroll around the market.
"This is Allah's mercy," I said, observing the people walking around with smiles, laughter, and peace on their faces.
"How is this Allah's mercy?" he asked.
"What do you mean, all this is happening for Allah, Nader. After a month of worship, Allah has granted us Eid as a reward, a time for celebration and gratitude," I explained, watching the people around us.
"Are you very close to Allah?" he asked.
"Why, aren't you?" I asked him in return.
He smiled but didn't answer.
"Would your heart not ache if Allah take away your loved ones from you?" he asked as we walked, but his voice sounded different.
"My heart would ache, but He is Allah; how could I be angry with Him? Hum usi ki amaanat hai; if He is calling His servants to Him, who are we to get angry on him, Nader?" I replied.
He remained silent, not saying anything, just smiling.
"Have you ever been angry with Allah?" he asked after a moment of silence.
"Many times, and even now, I get angry sometimes," I said, giving him a small smile.
"Yet you still have so much faith in Him?" he asked.
"Yes, because only he listens; when my loved ones left me, He was there, he was listening to me. Woh mujhe sunta hai, aur mai use sunaati hoon," I said.
"Why are you crying?" he asked.
Then I felt tears welling up in my eyes.
"I don't know," I said.
Silence enveloped us once more; we walked without speaking, only the sounds of people around us filling the air.
"You should try the sheikhs here; you'll find some really good ones," he said, leading me to one of the food stalls.
I nodded in agreement.
The sky was dark now, with white smoke from cooking wafting through the air. We sat in chairs at one of the stalls.
Indeed, the sheikhs were delicious. After finishing them, we stood up to leave.
"Would you like some juice?" Aziz asked, leading me to another side now.
He bought two glasses of cold sugarcane juice, the cold drink refreshing me with its icy taste. One glass wasn't enough for me; I wanted another.
"Will I get another glass?" I asked him.
"Sure, let me get it," Aziz said with a smile, bringing two more glasses.
We both drank them in one go, then took a deep breath, feeling refreshed by the cold juice.
"Thank you," I murmured to him.
He just smiled, and we started walking again, one of his hands holding our shopping bags, the other holding mine.
His cold hand touched my warm hand, bringing me peace with its comforting touch.
"Would you like something else?" Aziz asked me.
"My stomach is completely full, Nader," I said to him.
"Okay, he laughed."
"Is there no room for coffee too?" he asked me.
"Oh is it, then there's a little space left; coffee will fit in there," I said, now ready for coffee.
"Uns, tum bhi na," He took my name while laughing at my acts.
"What?" I exclaimed.
He clutched his stomach to control his laughter. This was the first time I had seen him laugh so freely; usually, he would just smile or laugh slightly, but today I was seeing a completely different Nader. Cute, caring and smiling like a child.
His eyes shine when he smiles, and they close when he laughs, his cheeks turn pink when he blush.
He looked ethereal when he laughed.
I was completely lost in him when he flicked his fingers at me.
"Coffee?" he reminded me.
"Yes, let's drink," I nodded, and this time, I held his hand and walked towards the coffee shop.
We took our cups and came back to his car. We stood in front of his car; I took a sip and looked at the sky. He also took a sip and looked at me.
I looked at him too. We didn't say anything, both lost in each other.
Mer dua qubool ho rahi hai, I murmed to myself seeing the person standing beside me.
"Let's drop you now," he said after finishing the bitter coffee he hated but eventually started drinking.
We reached the mansion, he came out and took all the shopping bags, holding them in his hands. Our servant came; I handed him the bags and asked him to keep them in my room. Aziz was still standing beside me.
I didn't want to look at him; if I see his ocean-like, devilish eyes, I wouldn't be able to tear myself away from him.
"Thank you," I said and started walking.
He didn't reply. I went through the gate and saw him still standing in the same place.
"Go, Nader!" I called from afar.
He nodded, then waved goodbye while smiling like a kid. I waved back and gestured for him to leave. He laughed again at my actions, then left.
"He's a good person," I thought to myself.
I went inside to see Ammi and Sahara sitting on the couch with my shopping bags on the table.
"Didn't Iqbal keep them in my room?" I asked Ammi.
"I told him to keep them here; after all, I also want to see what my daughter has bought," Ammi said while taking the shopping bags to look inside.
I took a seat and drank some water while watching them.
Ammi opened all the things to see, while I opened all of Sahara's things. She had left with only four bags with Samir, but now all I could see was more than ten bags on the table. Did she buy so many things?
"So many bangles, mashallah?" Ammi asked, seeing the bags of bangles.
"Yes, Aziz got them for me," I said, picking them up.
"Aziz is a very good person; he seems like a son to me," Ammi said.
"Toh kya kehte hoon, bhai banalu use?" I asked.
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𝐄𝐢𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐫
𝐇𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐔𝐧𝐬.
"𝐀𝐛 𝐲𝐞𝐡 𝐤𝐲𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐢?" 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐫.
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Thank you for reading❤
Chapter aesthetics :
Aziz holding Uns hand.
Cold juice
There is still some space left for coffee!
Market
"Aap yeh size li jea aur har rang ke, ek ek dajan chudiya de dijea".