//Waqt ki qaid mein zindagi hai magar
Chand ghadiyaan yahi hain jo aazaad hain//
The soft breezes of late December morning, the trees moving slowly with as the birds swing along with her melodies, she continues to hums.
Clad in her white long shirt, paired with blue faded jeans, masala chai in her left hand, holding the cup firmly, the ring sparkles as the sun rays reflect.
Her hairs still drenched, drops of water covering her deep neckline, as Zain's amber eyes trailed the beads. Her sweet voice, masala chai, and him leaning towards her from her back, what more can be a definition of perfect for him? Nothing, but this.
He smiles and kisses her neck. She smiles and shakes her head.
"I love it when you sing."
"I have a rather bad voice for that, Zain."
"Not for me, love. Your soft voice reminds me of something." He speaks as he sighs.
"Of what? Your mother?" He nods.
Zeenat Amir was a pure soul, a loving mother and a beautiful person. Her portrait in the living room makes her believe that.
"You know she was way too pure for this world. For..." He gulps.
He amber orbs retrospective thousand of emotions, for her, Zain Amir, is an open book. A book she can easily read, whereas she is not, never will be. Amaya Kareem masked all the emotions well for years, from anyone, everyone, Zain included.
Once she led someone to read her, that cause her losses, pain and a broken heart. And now she can't afford that.
"You were close to her."
She smiled. He nodded.
"When Tayi Amma left, I was scared, I thought I won't meet Api again. But that never happened. A year later, I lost Amma, and Tayi Amma became the mother figure."
"You know Amu, I always thought why she didn't leave my father. I still wonder that maybe if she had, she would have been here."
"Zain, don't carry a pain unnecessarily. Life is hard already, don't make it harder."
He smiled at that.
"You know what she said when I asked her that?"
"What?"
"Because she loved my father. And at that time, I had no idea what love is. I think I still don't but"
"But?"
"But you remind me of her, somehow I don't why though,"
"Maybe because I know what love looks like, and maybe you do too just can't picture it."
"Tell me what love looks like?"
"It varies, you know. For me love is complicated. But for you, love is simple."
"Yeah, it is, for me you are my love."
"One day you will learn about the complexes of love, that day love will look differently, and everything you heard about love will make sense."
She looks forward, closing her eyes, letting the wind play with her hairs. The rays fall on the face, she looks serene, the epitome of beauty. He clicks a photo and captures the moment.
"Rubina Aunty wants to meet you."
"I'm going there today. Can you pick me up on your way back?"
"I will."
Smiles, happiness in them. A life together full of happiness. They deserve, Amaya does, Zain does.
◆●◆●◆
12/ 24 Hyatt residency, a place new to her, but it doesn't feel like that. This place is not home to her, but it still carries the warmth. A memory came to her.
The warmth of a home, London. She sighs.
Another pain, another grief.
"Amy?"
Rubina's sweet voice makes her come back to the moment. She smiles as Rubina engulfs her in a hug.
"I missed you."
"I know," she mumbled.
"I need to show you something, that's why I called you."
"I need to show you something too."
"Come to my room,"
The room is quite similar to the room back in London, the only missing thing is the fireplace, the red carpet. Amaya sits near the bed, creasing her white dress, tightening the hold of her red shawl.
Rubina comes with a box, a known box. She gulps.
"First you tell me, Amy. What it is?"
She nodded and brings the Rhodium charm bracelet. Rubina smiled, a charming smile. She can see the glister of tear, and a sad smile.
A long-gone memory she will cherish always.
"Ahmed made it customized for you." she smiled.
"I know," Amaya said in a haze of the memory curtains as they slowly open up.
"I am glad you kept this with you." she gulps. She can't spill the truth here, so silence is the answer.
"Do you want it back, Aunty?"
"Have you lost your mind, Amy? Why would I? This belongs to you, my daughter, and before you start anything else, let me remind you, Ahad is not the only one in this family, whatever happened between you two I didn't interfere. Did I? No right. After years I have found you back my love, let me cherish you for a while."
Tears come to the surface as Rubina said those words.
Amaya was the daughter Ahmed and Rubina wanted, and they loved her from the moment they hold minutes old Amy in their hands.
Now everything has changed, but Rubina's love hasn't.
"Arhaan Bhai didn't talk to me."
"He is just."
"Angry at me for leaving his brother. I know."
"He is angry because none of you told him anything, Neither you nor Ahad, he is just hurt."
"I know. He didn't even recognise me when I came to Hadiya's wedding, you know." He didn't.
That was years ago, seven years nearly.
"How would he now? He last saw you as an eleven-year-old kid." They laughed, like old days. Good old days.
"I want you to have this now, Amy."
Rubina takes out the old antique box forward.
She smiled sadly, shooks her hear in denial.
Long lost the days Amy wanted to have that box. That summer had long passed followed by a lethal storm that ruined lives, hers, his, theirs.
Now there is way back, that lane she had wandered long ago, solely to never look back, ever again.
"I lost the right Auntie, long back."
"Some rights were never lost, some never given."
"You should give this to Seher Api, if not to Ahad."
"Seher is the daughter in law of the family, Amy. This belongs to the daughter of the family, this belongs to my daughter."
"She did a lot already, to be your daughter now, you are partial here."
"Maybe I am."
She looked up at that moment she knows, Rubina Ahmed can have made her choices clear awhile before.
"Auntie, I can't..."
"Ahad was Ahmed's half sister's son. I knew it always, these belong to the daughter of the family, and you are the one. And that's my husband wish too."
Ahad was not adopted one. He had always been a family.
A truth, a gulp.
Does he know?
"Does he"
"He knows. He came to know the very day of Arhaan's coronation."
Ahraan's coronation, she gulps,
That March crazed winds, that wild night.
That 2 am drunk call.
The fate smirked at her, they lost all the baits against destiny.
"Ahad and Arhaan both want you to have this. Ahad told me directly, Arhaan, well he said it belongs to its rightful owner and that's not Seher."
Seher Mirza is the daughter in law, Amaya Kareem is the daughter.
She gulps the pain away.
"I will have it one day perhaps, not today." With a last nod, she left the room, taking along a racing heart, a wave of pain, a ton of guilt.
Ahad Ahmed had lost it all to destiny, Maya lost it to her Ahad. Her mind filled with a single thought, he was a mess that night, a mess she paid for.
The cold wind hustled her waves, red shawl slipped from her hold, carelessly lying on her left shoulder. She gulps, masking all her emotions again.
No need to dig the past.
A sane decision.
The familiar tone of her phone brings her back to the present.
Zain calling, it shows.
Zain Amir, her home.
She sighs.
I will never let you fall.
He always keeps his promises. She answered the call as she made the way out through the door, "Hey."
"Missed me, Baby." He teased, the typical Zain Amir.
"Honestly, I did."
"I'm flatted by this, baby."
"Shut up and tell me where are you? I need to go back home."
Home, she smiled.
"I am just a minute away..."
All his words resembled to sink apart in the background, the phone glid out of her hand as the scene unfolds in front of her eyes.
Breaths choked, mind blank, all she witnesses is a truck swerving around the corner with each passing second wildly and he standing in the middle of the road with a phone glued to his ear.
And the next thing that happened was surreal. She screamed and ran. pushed him, and got hit by the truck.
The moment stilled there, the wind stopped, the universe witnessed yet another love story crumbling down.
●●●●
Maya is an illusion, a mirage Ahad fall for.
Maya, his Maya.
He blinks once, twice, as he keeps his charcoal eyes fixed on the bloody figure that pushed him away again not even a minute ago, he stands there on his knees, again.
He breathes, mumbled on a single word, "Why Maya?"
And the next second he regrets, he shouldn't have, she shouldn't have, but she did. She smiled, painful, and if not for the closeness, he could've missed it, he should've but he didn't. She whispers her voice achingly slow, vulnerable, "For...you.. a thousand..times o..over."
Lines. The book they read together, years ago.
●●●
Zain stumbled upon the stone as he witnesses her hit by the truck. His world comes breaking down.
Amaya Kareem is the home he doesn't afford to lose.
"Amu.." He screamed as he stooped down holding her. Blood. So much blood.
"Baby, please don't." Tears filled eyes, pain and fear evident in those.
"Zain.." she smiled again.
"Baby..:"
"Love..."
"Listen I will get you to the hospital, you will alright. We have to live together, we deserved to live a life together Baby." He gulps.
The paramedics will be here, he can hear Seher shouting in the background.
She will live, she has to.
"Sssh...Love.." She gulps.
"Love...Love looks.... like autumn ... Evening...The tainted sky.... blue purple orange.. "
she gulps "Tiny raindrops, petrichor... A soothing voice.... asking me... about loving someone... about loving ourself... "She gulps.
"Love ... looks like a...Blue... blue piece of cloth ... Love... looks like..... like... You, ..Zain."
// Inhi ka naam mohabbat
Inhi ka naam junoon
Meri nigaah ke dhoke
Teri nazar ke fareeb //
So...... How's it?
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Take care of yourself and be happy.
A note I am so going to miss my best reader, friend, sister, editor hudafathima_12back soon.
For a fact, maybe I will rewrite the chapter again, but for now I want it out.