Apple of your eye- Part 18

There was tension between them. He had loads to say but didn't know how to begin. Why was it so challenging to speak out those special world? It was all there .. Alas!!  His voice didn't support him. She was there and he was there too. Situation was perfect. No one was there ...except her little sister.

Wait! What was she doing here? She was supposed to go to school based on his sources. Ah!!  How could he forget? Sometimes sources could also go wrong. He smiled nervously. “ Hhhh..helllooo!! “, he stammered , feeling every inch of his pulse beating. He tried his best to look confident in front of her. Whenever he looked at her eyes, he would forget everything.

She wanted to shut the door. But the fear of banging the door at a Jawan left her standing next to the door. “ Who is it, khor?”, her sister asked with genuine curiosity. “ Noone..”, she said but her sister was already by her side. “ Hello! I am Safina ! I am Aafreen’s sister.”, Safina greeted him politely. He simply nodded while his eyes were focused on Aafreen.


                           
Aafreen nudged her sister’s hand for greeting him. She mustered all the courage and said furiously, “ Why are you here?” Her sister was shocked at seeing her rage. Aafreen had never lost her calm. She was always the calm and composed one...the person who would go to any extent to bring peace. She was always against the violence.

He was stunned by sudden rage and this resulted into him blurting out the words that he had hidden in his heart, " I love you and I know you are scared to disclose the same feeling for me. I wiill promise to stay with you always. Your dreams will be mine. I will do anything for your happiness. I have to told you before and wiill tell you again - your welfare will always be mine."

She was angry and confused at him. She did love him and she loved her parents too. And her family was more important than anything else to her. " I ... I am marrying someone. I am sorry.", she cried, breaking his heart into pieces. He gave a wry smile. He wanted to leave but not without one last try. Everyone gets a second chance. Why not him?

( To be continued

Apple of your eye- Part 17

“ I love you and I know you do.You don’t have to be scared about your feelings. What happened yesterday was not anyone’s mistake. It was only an expression of love.”, he said “ Oh my darling! I was waiting to hear those words.”. Nanda gave a female voice over, sounding obnoxious. Abhinav turned and gave him weird stare. “ Don’t be so serious! I was just make the atmosphere around you lighter. You have been practicing this for long time and I bet it will go good. Just relax!”, Nanda said.

That was right! Abhinav had been practicing his words for quite long time. It was hundredth time he had looked at his reflection, imagining that to be her and speaking his heart out. It was easy hundred times but will it be easy for him to express the same to her actual self? That was a question he had no answer. Love can make a person weak and strong at the same time. However many people tend to be timid in front of their loved ones during the confession time.

“ So when are you going to do the final act, Lieutenant saab”,  Nanda said , diverting Abhinav from the cluster of thoughts. Abhinav didn’t answer. He wasn’t sure whether he was ready. Everytime he thought about it made him feel that he wasn’t ready yet. “ Did you think about the day when you will tell her?” Nanda continued with his irritating habit of interfering into people’s matters.

Abhinav continued to ignore him. Though he couldn’t stop himself thinking about it. Day… none of the days were perfect enough to express one’s feeling. He knew what he would tell her. But he didn’t know how she would take it or her reactions to him. He was still not good in her eyes. He wanted to change that perception in her.

Aafreen was doing her chores as usual. She was still in delusion about her feelings. What did she do was shock to her. She didn’t expect that she .. the one who avoided all these drama fall for it. No ! It was a mistake! She was never into him. Or did she fall in love just like the other girls of her age. She always thought she was different and she would never commit such mistake. She had to control her emotions. She was good at it.

Her parents weren’t there. But they made sure she wasn’t alone. Her sister was at home as there was leave at school. The doorbell rang. Aafreen was surprised. Her parent said it would be long . Fifteen minutes had passed since they left. “ Who could it be ?”, she thought and walked towards the door to calm herself down. Unfortunately opening the door was a mistake which she regretted afterwards. It was him - Abhinav standing, nervously staring at her.

( To be continued)

Apple of your eye- Part 16a

Their bodies were too close for each of them to feel the movement. A mixed bag full of emotions flowed between them. Was it lust or love or something more deeper than any of such emotions? It was difficult for them to understand what they felt for each other. She stared into those thin almond shaped eyes. They were deep and filled with misery and longingness. She studied his features with great interest.

She had never studied someone’s movement with great vigour. He looked much better. She hadn’t noticed that there was a light scar near his forehead. His face was toned and rough. But there was a pinch of humanity in them. He was a typical jawan with aggressive looks. However when he smiled or looked at her with intensity, he looked more like an innocent boy.

The unexpected freezing weather didn’t bother them. They were so engrossed by each other’s presence. Suddenly he pressed his lip unto her lips. It sent shivers into her body. She never had a man touch her like that. Ironically she was enjoying it when she really wanted to leave before things went out of control. She kissed him back.

But the kiss was quick one. She didn’t let him speak and ran as fast as she could. When she reached home, she found her parents waiting for her. They looked very furious. “ Where did you go? We were looking out for you.”, her mother asked. “ Sorry muoj ( mother)! I had gone out to pluck vegetables in garden. Do you know there are better grown vegetable in this area which is few distance away from home? I was there.”, she lied. Her parents were relieved to see her safe. “ Don’t you ever do this? We are worried about your safety,dear!”, her father said.

She walked towards the bedroom with thoughts about the jawan. She was stunned, guilty and bit excited about what had happened. Why? Was she falling into love? Was it just a distraction from harsh realities? She wished it was just a distraction. She knew it wasn’t love. How can anyone fall in love in few meetings. But it didn’t end there. She was surprised that she had kissed him back. Why ? Why did she do that? She had no answer for that.

He was convinced that she loved him back. The only thing bothered him that she wasn’t aware of the fact - she was in love with him. He smiled though it wasn’t happy one. He smiled because he understood the truth at last. He wanted to jump in triumph. However he couldn’t do that because she still had to express it through words. Love wasn’t complete when the person in the other end expressed their feelings with help of this three words- I Love You.

( To be continued)

Apple of your eye- Part 16

She had gone out for a walk. It had become a secret pastime.. a pastime which she couldn’t do freely. But there was no way she could stay at home and sulk all day. So she had observed the hours when her parents would go out for some work. When she would find herself alone, she would take the opportunity to walk out for sometime. Fortunately she was never caught for his misendeavor

Every day she would finish her walk for an hour and reach home on time to greet her parents. But the news of her marriage had her consumed that she didn’t see either time or the route she had taken. When problems consume your life , you sort of shut yourself from the whole world. However people like her couldn’t do that because of her traditional mindset family. As she walked with mind full of thoughts, she didn’t notice a person arriving from opposite direction.

She almost hit the person. She looked at him to apologize. And there he was.. the cause of her losing her freedom. Fumes of fury raised her blood pressure. If she had any sharp object, she would hurt him without even thinking. She didn’t feel remorse for thinking evil about a person she didn’t know. Instead of expressing her anger,she chose to move on from the place.

However that didn’t happen. Abhinav spoke before she could think of leaving, “ Hey! It been long time since I met you. I didn’t have any contact with you so I am really sorry that I couldn’t reach you. Since you had already made it clear not to come around the house because of your family, I respected that. Can you.. forgive me?” Her temper was uncontrollable. Before it could erupt, she walked away.

He was surprised by her sudden action. Instead of waiting there, he followed her.  She noticed him following her and stopped suddenly. “ Stop following me ! I don’t need your apology and I don’t care about you not making it up. It’s fine! I knew that from the beginning … you are not good to be trusted.”, she spoke dryly. His heart had become vulnerable to her indifferent behavior.

“ Sorry for whatever you think I have done. I really didn’t mean that! But you are also not being clear about what wrong I have done to you. Why are you so furious at me?”, he asked politely. She was quiet. How could he ever say that he doesn’t know the reason for making her life miserable?  “I had made it clear then! Don’t you dare act innocent? What more should I say? Anyway, I am leaving! It’s no use speaking to you.”, she growled. He grabbed her hand and pushed her closer towards him until she felt his body heat. She could almost feel the his heart beat. Or was it her heart pounding due to fear? Why was she trembling against him? What was he going to do to her?

( To be continued)

Apple of your eye - Part 15

The light shades of blue and green coloured wall became blurry. Everything suddenly turned dark in front of her eyes. Within few seconds, everyone around her realised that she had fainted. Her father firmly held her in his arms and put her on the bed. Her mother sprinkled water over her face. She didn’t respond for few minutes. After constant sprinkling of water on her face and rubbing her palms, she woke up to the hard reality.

She wanted to forget this as some bad nightmare. But it wasn’t. She couldn’t believe her uncle could ever come up with marriage for her. Wasn’t preventing her from going to school more than enough as a punishment? What she did was not a big sin? It was just a curious expedition to the wilderness. She didn’t expect her uncle to be like everyone else at her family.

“ Are you fine, child? I know the news might have had some influence over you. Look at you! You are still shivering. But you don’t have to be scared. Marriage is something that you cannot avoid. And you should be lucky that you are marrying a powerful personality.”, he said. She looked stunned at the words of her uncle… the same person in her life who always wanted her to strive and carve a niche for herself.  Her heart ached with disappointment and grief. She wanted to run away from everything for the first time.

Her eyes swelled up with continuous flow of tears. “ Why do you cry? Your uncle is right. How long will you remain with us? We cannot depend on your uncle always? Be grateful to your uncle who has bought good marriage proposal for you.”, her father supported uncle. Her temper was rising and she wanted to scream. But that was not expected from perfect daughter. A perfect daughter never raises voice even if some decision made was against her well being.

“ I .. need… time…!!”, she stammered. Her uncle was quick to respond, “ Take your time, child! I know you will choose what your family has chosen for you. You know that your family only thinks about your welfare.”  Her father looked at her sternly. “ Why do you need time? It is decided that you are going to marry.”, her father said. Her mother didn’t speak any word and in her family, only men had a say in all family decisions.

“ Give her some time, brother! I will come later to know her decision. She will never let us down.”, he said, walking out. ‘ Never let us down’  echoed in her ears. Yes! That was expected from her by her family. She was expected to accept the fate of her life blindly. She was expected to forget the dreams she had grown up dreaming. But the big question was - Will she let her family down?

( To be continued)

Apple of your eyes- Part 14

Mohi- ud-deen and Anish Khan were discussing their so called plan in soft voices. “ Ok! Isn’t my profit margin too small? Sir, what will I get out of this arrangement?” Mohi-ud-deen whispered. Anish smirked and said in cold voice,” Well! Don’t underestimate the  output of this deal. I will marry your niece and in return you will get a part of my wealth.”

Mohi-ud-deen was astonished at the offer. He knew Anish Khan had many wives and was too old to get one. But the revenue he would get out of this alliance was going to double the money he was getting now. He thought about the power , status and numerous projects he would get if he would marry his beloved niece to Anish.

Would his family accept this marriage proposal? Why not? They had no choice in front of him. He was the head of the family. He made all the decisions. “ What is there to think so much? You have wealth that could fulfill your family’s necessities for decades. And I heard that you wanted to leave this petty activities and try something big. I would like to advise you that even to do big things in life, you need money. And I can be your source to all activities you dreamt of.”, Anish said, tempting Mohi-ud-deen to do unspeakable… sacrifice his beloved niece to the devil.

As expected, Mohi-ud-deen sold his niece for the greed of power. “ I accept your offer!”, he said with smile and shook Anish’s hand. Mohi-ud-deen bid Anish with promises and hopes of bright prospect of future ahead of him. After few minutes, he was all alone in blue room, planning to share this news to the family. He was aware of the hidden revolt that would take place behind him. But he knew how to bring down the voices against him.

Aafreen was helping her sister with her homework. This had become a routine. After household chores, she would help her sister with homework for an hour. This hour was blissful for her. The books … the abdunace of knowledge in them gave her peace for sometime. As she was indulging herself into the moments of peace, the presence of her uncle at her home disrupted her moments of peace.

She couldn’t meet her eyes with her uncle. She simply left the room and hid herself.  Her uncle was discussing something serious with her parents. What was it now? What did she do again? Did he get to know about her meeting the jawan ?  She saw her father coming towards her and bought her to her uncle. Her eyes were still bent. Her uncle lifted her face with both his hands and said, “ You are the apple of my eye. I know you will not say no. There is a man who wants to marry you. He will keep you happy…”. Her ears became deaf to his words after she heard the word ‘ marry’. Her life came to standstill.

( To be continued)

Apple of your eyes - Part 14

There was deep silence between both of them. They were seated at small coffee shop with her books on the table. The books were heavy and thick. There were some notes folded inside the book which was handwritten by her. Both were hesitant to speak first. She stared at him eagerly , waiting impatiently for him to start. He only wanted to look at her wide eyes. He searched for words to say something with no luck over controlling his fear to disclose his true emotions.

They displayed momentarily smiles at each other. “Hmmm…”, he said but before he could say something, Nanda appeared from nowhere. He rolled his eyes in anger and disappointment. “ He had to come to spoil everything”, Abhinav thought. Nanda smiled sheepishly at Aafreen. When he turned to Abhinav, he was tensed. “ I am sorry but could you spare few minutes.”, he said nervously.

Nanda took him to the corner where Aafreen couldn’t hear their voices. “ This is ridiculous! Why are you here? Don’t you understand that I was trying to make the situation better between her and me. You spoiled it!!”, Abhinav said angrily. “ Don’t accuse me!  Your so called girlfriend’s uncle has struck it again. Sources have quoted him discussing about some deal with Anish Khan ( fanatic leader).”, Nanda whispered trying to control himself from raising his voice. He knew very well that there were spies everywhere.

“ Ok! If you want me leave you with the nation’s wanted man’s niece. I will make some excuse to Major who needs you badly.”, Nanda added. “ Stop blackmailing me ! You know what nation’s security is to me. I wouldn’t let anything come in front of my country. So chill! Let’s go!”, Abhinav said. He bid goodbye with apologising at the same time. She simply smiled and asked him to carry on. There was pinch of disappointment which she had hidden it with smile. But when you are in love, you can make out the slight disappointment or happiness on your beloved’s face. And indeed Abhinav saw that clearly on her face.

During the whole journey, he thought about her and Mohi-ud-deen. He wondered about how could two persons belonging to same family and bloodline be so different. He also thought about whether Aafreen knew about her uncle’s double face. Mohi-ud-deen was master of manipulation.  He was manipulating not only the society in general but his favorite niece too. He had heard from secret sources that she looked upon her uncle with pride and respect.

She knew that she shouldn’t have believed him too soon. She walked to her house with gloomy face. She did expect that her dreams would become reality now. But she was wrong. She felt guilty for accepting his offer. Sometimes risk taking never worked for her. She decided that when he would call her next day, she would say no- a word that she had never known existed in her life.

(To be continued)