Love at first sight.

THE DREAM DANCE

She was wearing her long earings. Hair, all straightened. Silky, soft, well shampooed. Ankles in foot. Along with her favorite black pencil heals. A long arabic styled jet black maxi with net sleeves. Winged eye liner, perfectly contoured and highlighted face. And some bright red lipstick on. Which was playing the role of cherry on top. She smiled. Teeth, perfectly brushed. Braces, nicely cleaned. She often have heard compliments on her braces. People told her, they suits her personality. But damn! She wanna get rid of them. Like, she wanted to smile. Her full bright smile. But she couldn't. Thanks to those brackets. Which were playing the role of security guards on every single tooth of her.
'When?? Just when I'm going to smile my best smiles?!!' She asked herself in frustration while looking into the mirror, setting her eyebrows up. Whenever she sees a mirror, she smiles automatically. At first, a little bit, then a big one, and then a bigger one. And then.. her biggest, evilest and ugliest smiles! Just to make sure that how ugly she can possibly look like. She always explores the limits of sweetness and ugliness. This was one of her wierdest acts. And if she caught by someone (which had happened multiple times with her) while doing this craziness infront of the mirrors, one would definitely consider her as a psychopath. But the stubborn crazy nature of her won't allow her to stop doing all these nonsense acts.
She turned around, took her duppatta on, turn off the loud music, and stood up to have a final head to toe glance of her in the mirror.
"Tumhe koi haq nhi pohonchta, k tum itni khubsurat lago! Not fair!"
She ended up saying her favorite k3g movies's dialogue, and with a fine hairflip, she turned off the lights and closed the doors of her room.
"Inaya!! We're getting late!" Her mom shouted from the living room, downstairs. You already took 30 minutes extra to get ready! I told you to start your preprations an hour earlier this time. But, as always! You didn't listen to me. Now come, hurryup. Or else we'll reach there after the dinner.
'Oh mann! Is it even possible to leave for any event without having these small dialogue fights in a desi household??' She thought while making an irritated face. She could feel her pouty lips, which she intentionally made with the tricks of her makeup.
She was in a great hurry. But she calmed herself down.
"No honey! You can't be over excited. Or else you'll have a sweaty face in the event!" She said to herself while making her speed slow. After all she loved to pamper herself. She stopped and looked one more time in the main lounge's mirror. Put one side of her hair back and the other side infront of her ear. Now, that's perfectl! She smiled. But not her ugliest smiles. This time just her prettiest one!
'Innaya!!!!' Mum shouted again.
'Just comming!!!!' Inaya replied.
She came downstairs, and asked her parents the same question she always used to ask..
'How I'm looking??' along with a bright smile on her face.
Her mum, with irritation and a little anger on her face;
'You look good Inaya but have you seen the time?! We're already too late. What if we caught heavy traffic? We won't be able to reach on time. What you're going to say to your friend then?'
'Amma! We'll be on time, InshaaAllah. Don't worry. Now let's go or else we'll be late actually!"
Mrs. Hamdaan and Inaya went into the car. Mr. Hamdaan was already waiting in the car for his wife and daughter.
'Abba! See! How I'm looking??'
Inaya asked the same question from her father. With all the excitement on her face. Mr.Hamdaan smiled. And before he could utter a single word, amma took Inaya's hand and asked her to sit in the car.
Inaya sat down with an angry face.
'Inaya beta? You want some juice? You didn't had lunch properly today..' amma asked after a while.. as she knew that Innaya's mood is a little off now.
'I don't want anything amma! You always do this to me!' Innaya replied.
'Oho.. beta. I've told you multiple times. You can ask all these questions after reaching the event area.. right?' Amma said politely.
'Okay! Moomoo'. Innaya chukkled a little.
'Huh! Please don't call me Moomoo. Specially not today. Atleast not infront of Mrs. Qaiser and Mrs. Farooq'.
Amma requested Innaya with a lot if innocence and a bit of angerness in her tone.
Inaya smiled. And started watching outside the window.
"Can you please turn the music on abba? Or are we going to sit like this during the whole ride??"
"Sure beta, just a second." Abba turned the music on..
Inaya sat back.. closed her eyes and started enjoying the music.
Everything was super perfect. Everyone was enjoying. It was the same song which Inaya was listening in the car. A bit louder this time, in the party. Inaya was standing in the corner.. desperately waiting for someone to ask her for dance. But everyone was just so busy. She looked at her bestfriend who was sitting on the stage with her fiance. Smiling and blushing. She saw Inaya and through eye contact she asked Inaya to join the dance floor. Inaya smiled back and and gave a gesture of helplessness, as no one was here to be a good pair with her. The bride shrugged and smiled and again, started listening to whatever her fiance was saying to her. Inaya, started looking elsewhere, noticing people and there dressing senses.
'How the fuck people carry high heals on the dance floors?!' She thought. And suddenly she felt a little uncomfortable. As if someone was watching her. She turned around but no one was there. She turned back to her previous position. Right then, a deep voice strike her ears..
"Ahm ahm?"
She tilted a little this time, and saw a guy..standing tall infront of her now. Inaya took a quick glance of his personality. He was wearing a black blazzer. One hand in the pocket. Super shiny shoes. Perfectly combed hair. They were blow dried she guessed or may be some gel was there too. She saw his face. The big brown eyes were looking directly into her own eyes. The eyelashes. Damn! They were perfectly curled. Inaya thought if he would have used the eyelash curler maybe? Like, how on earth is it possible to have such perfectly curled eyelashes without the support of a lash curler or even mascara?! His nose was very symmetrical. The tip of the nose was sharp. His lips. Damn they were pinkish! 'Maybe he used the zero makeup palette?' Inaya thought and chuckled a little.. His lips were curled into a curved shape. Showcasing the most beautiful smile ever! But it was his eyes, which were distracting Inaya's attention. Inaya wanted to look into them forever. But she was too shy to even give them a second glance.
'Umm madam?' The guy said. Lips still smiling.
Those teeth. Mann! They were like pearls. How someone can have those perfect set of teeth?? Inaya thought of her braces and got a little disappointed.
'Yes?' Inaya responded.
With confidence in her eyes and roughness in her voice. She was always perfect in hiding her emotions and feelings.
'You're too filmy!' The guy told her.
He was having a bright smile on her face. A smile that wasn't showcasing his pearl teeth. He looked like a gentleman, Inaya thought. But why he was saying this? Did Inaya did something stupid?
'Excuse me?' Inaya raised her right side eyebrow and asked in a polite way.
'You're too filmy!' The guy repeated his sentence. Still smiling.
'Filmy?' Inaya was looking into his eyes directly. As if she was looking for some excuse to look into his deep dark brown eyes again and again.
'Umm.. yes'. He was a bit more into the conversation now.
He was super polite. As if he was Inaya's childhood friend.
'How?' Inaya asked.
Still looking into his eyes. But she was expressionless. She didn't want to be rude. But that's how she was. She never gets frank with anyone on the first meetup.
This time, he didn't said anything. But moved his hand infront of her. His fingures and thumb were curled in the shape of a punch and he was wearing a watch. It was Rolex. Original.
'Such a showoff!' Inaya thought and raised her eyebrows towards him. As if she didn't get what he wants to say.
'Every girl of your age wants her duppatta to get stuck in some handsome guy's watch. And I think I am handsome enough?' He said and waved his hand again. This time his smile was showcasing his super perfect pair of teeth.
'Oh damn! The duppatta was stuck in his watch!' Inaya just noticed.
Nervously she tried to untie the duppatta. But nothing was happening.
'Relax, madam!' The guy said.
'Let me do this'.
He, softly, picked up a corner of her duppatta and untangled it from his watch.
She was looking at his face. 'Damnn. I'm so jealous of his eyelashes! And look at those eyebrows too!!!!!' She thought.
He looked up all of a sudden. She didn't see it coming. And got more nervous.
'Umm. So. Wanna dance?' He asked in his soft yet heavy voice.
There was some sharp ends in his voice too. Which she loved to listen. 'He must be a good singer' she thought.
'Yes, Ofcourse!!!! Why not????' Her heart says..
But, she managed to calm down her emotions. 'Umm. No. I'm not good at dancing..' she said instead.
He took her hand into his own. His hands were super soft. 'I wonder what moisturizing product he must have used? Are my hands softer than his?' Inaya had those mixed feelings.
Lights off. He shouted.
And every light of the hall was off now. Inaya was afaraid of the darkness. She, unconsciously, gripped his hand a little strongly.
'Relax! Everything will be alright! Trust me'.
He assured her. In his deep magical voice.
Inaya looked into his eyes. She can still feel the shine of his deep dark brown eyes even in the darkness.
'Trust him? Why? He's just a stranger!' Inaya's trust issues came forward in her mind.
'You trust me?' He asked again. Looking directly into her eyes.
'Yes!' She found herself saying this. She had no idea why she simply did what her heart said.
He smiled.
She smiled back.
A spot light, all of a sudden, was on them.
Inaya didn't understand anything. And in the very next moment. She was dancing with him in that spotlight. They were covering the whole stage while dancing freely and the spotlight was following them, wherever they were moving. The song was loud and people were cheering them up. She felt like a princess. In the arms of her Prince Charming!
Somebody was shouting his name from the back. "Atif?? Atiff?"
He turned his head a little from where the voice was coming. And ignored it. As if he doesn't want to distract his gaze from Inaya.
'You enjoying?' He asked softly to her while dancing. Looking straight into her eyes. In a romantic way.
'Yes! I am.' She replied happily.
'Now you should wake up Inaya' he said politely.
'Inaya? How he knows my name?' She thought.
'Inaya?? Wake up' he said again.
'Wakeup? Why is he saying this??'
'Wake up Inaya!' But this time, it wasn't his voice. It was someone else's voice. Some familiar voice. Who was it? Inaya thought.
'Inaya beta??' This voicee. Ahh. Abba. It was abba! Inaya opened her eyes. She almost was about to rub her eyes. But thankfully got her senses back on time. Otherwise she would have ruined her winged eyeliner. Which took almost 15 minutes to get perfectly done.
"Okay beta.. we've reached the hall. Get up!" Abba's voice distracted Innaya's dream.
She wokeup. Prepared herself to step out of the car.
'Come'on Inaya! Come out of the car!' Amma was almost shouting.
'Amma! Relax!' Inaya told amma with some irritation in her voice.
'Why? Why would I shutup??' Amma was in mood to scold. Inaya understood it.
'Amma please. Not now. Otherwise I'll call you Moomoo infront of Mrs. Qaiser abd Mrs. Farooq.' Inaya gave an alrming polite warning to amma.
Amma didn't said a word and rolled her eyes.
Inaya sometimes found her amma too cute, all her acts. She gave a big hug to her amma. Whereas amma was pretending to be strict and was looking at the otherside and not hugging back.
If Inaya didn't have that makeup on, she would definitely give a big kiss on amma's cheek. But she didn't want to ruin her own lipstick and her amma's makeup too. So she controlled her over flowing emotions of love for her amma.
All three of them, amma, abba and Inaya closed the doors of the car. Abba rechecked if the car is locked or not. And they went inside the hall.
It was an open hall. Though in times of banquet halls, it was quite wierd to enter into an old fashioned open hall. But, kuddos to Eshaal's taste. She managed everything so perfectly. Eshaal was Inaya's childhood bestfriend and now she was getting engaged with her cousin. Altaf was 2 years elder than Eshaal and he proposed Eshaal 3 months back. And now they were getting engaged. Inaya was super excited to attend her bestfriend's engagement ceremony.
There were fairylights everywhere. The theme of yellow and white was followed for the event. It was almost looking like a mayun/mehendi event but well.. it was looking super pretty.
Inaya felt herself so out of theme, wearing that black plain maxi. But she was enjoying it at the same time. She likes to be different. She saw Eshaal on the stage. Went there. And met her. Altaaf was also there. Inaya greeted both of them. All three were happy until Altaf's next words coming out of his mouth.
Altaf was greeting someone with full excitement. But the name he took in the beginning of this greeting shook Inaya's mind.
"Atif? You came? How're you? How is uncle and aunty??"
Inaya dared to look a little without moving her heard, she moved her eyes a little downwards. She saw a hand, soft hand, the sleeve was of a jet black blazer.
Inaya stood still in her place.
When she heard someone was saying;
"Ahm ahm". The soft, heavy voice, with some sharpness in it.
Her mind was blown! Inaya's head was rolling now.
"What now? Is he going to say that I'm filmy?? And then he'll ask me for a dance? And then.... am I dreaming again? Oh God. What's just happening??" Inaya thought.
The voice came again.
"Excuse me?"
Inaya turned. But didn't dare to look up. Although she wanted to experience the gaze of those deep dark brown eyes which she saw in her dream. But she was looking down. She noticed that her duppatta wasn't stuck in any watch.
'Yes?' Inaya replied..
'Umm.. I just need some space to get myself in, into this picture?' He said politely.
She looked up and caught his gaze. He was looking at her. Waiting to get some place to stand on the stage and get himself included in the group picture of friends. She turned around and looked. All of their friends were standing there. Facing the cameras. She turned too. She got a place right next to the bride. She had no idea..who was standing in her left. But who ever it was, she could smell the perfect scent of his perfume. She took the picture and the very next moment, she heard the left person said.. 'Hey Altaf? What about a group selfie??' Damn! He was him. Inaya's dreamy prince charming. Inaya, with some hesitation left the stage in hurry. The very next moment the waiters started serving the dinner. She came downstairs. Took a glass of water from the nearby dispenser. And took a few sips.
After a few seconds, she turned her face to the stage and tried to look at the face of that guy named Atif.
Perfectly blow dried, a little gel on hair. Jet black plain blazer. Pearl teeth. Symmetrical nose. Tall. And unbelievably handsome!
"Oh My God! Did I saw a true dream?"
Inaya thought.
She was looking at him so unconsciously that she didn't notice exactly when he started staring back at her.
'If eyecontacts were enough to built a healthy relationship than Altaf wouldn't make his first move to confess his feelings to me 3 months back' Eshaal's soft teasing distracted Inaya's attention.
"Eshaal? I guess you should be on stage with Altaf bhai, right?" Inaya with a bit nervous tone said to Eshaal.
'Yea yea.. I should be on stage. So you can maintain your eyecontact with this handsome?' Eshaal smiled. 'He is indeed looking very graceful!! Right?'.
Inaya had no answers for Eshaal's teasement. She asked instead.
'Who is he?'
'Hmmmm. Interogations??' Eshaal laughed a little this time.
'Oh wtf!!??' Inaya regreted the moment she thought to ask about Atif from Eshaal.
'Nevermind. Forget it' Inaya said.
'Okay okay no need to be disappointed!! He is Atif. Altaf's bestfriend. He lives in Germany. He came here just to attend the wedding.' Eshaal hurriedly gave the basic information to her bestfriend.
'Right...' Inaya nodded.
'Now may I ask you, why are you so much concerned about him??' Eshaal, with glitter in her eyes asked Inaya.
'Ahh naah. Its not like that. Just casually..' Inaya pretended as if she's not madly interested in him. Although she actually was!
'Hmm alright then. Bytheway.. good choice!' Eshaal whispered in Inaya's ear and went towards the stage. Turned around and smiled at Inaya. Inaya smiled back. And her breathe stuck! She was smelling the same scent again. This time, from very near. Very close to her. She could hear Atif's voice from her back.. he was saying something to the people who were standing around him. It was some kind of poetry....

-End of part 1.❤
-A story by AmnaAlvi.🕊