Mehr-o-Mah (مہر و ماہ) -
The sun and the moon
A collection of short stories filled with love, spice, drama and a roller coaster of emotions and of course, a huge part of my imagination.
(The second generation of Ahd-e-Vafa)...
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Zamurad looked at the dining table that was being swarmed with delicacies. His wide eyes looked at his mother who was still looking deep in thought about whether something was missing or not. Azra smiled with mirth to herself as she saw her brother gulping down the horrified lump that had formed in his throat, knowing very well what was about to come.
Chuckling nervously, Zamurad rubbed the back of his neck, looking at his father who sat at the head of the table looking at his wife with an adoration filled smile. Zamurad instantly scrunched his nose and looked away as to not gag at his father who was lost in his own world and narrowed his eyes at Azra who was having a hard time controlling herself from bursting into peels of laughter.
"Mama, isn't this all a little...too much?"
Aashna gave her son a look as she sat down on the left side of her husband who was now thankfully back from his marital dreams.
"Too much? Dekh rahe ho khudko? Did you even sit and have a meal in peace for the past 5 months ya phir do-do din bhuke hi reh rahe the?"
"Mama, yaar, you're exaggerating."
"I agree!"
Azra mumbled as she munched on the butter chicken and tandoori naan. Zamurad rolled his eyes at his younger sister while his mother didn't look even the least bit pleased.
"No I'm not. Ab jaldi se sab finish karo. We have something important to discuss with you."
Sensing the seriousness in his mother's tone, Zamurad sighed dejectedly and bit by bit took a little from everything to his liking. The Radwans' ate in silence while Zamurad's head just tried thinking of what they had to discuss with him.
20 minutes later, Zamurad found himself seated in the living room, his parents in front of him and Azra being busy trying to look for the right movie to watch. Smacking his younger sister's head just to annoy her, he smiled in triumph when she glared back at him before dismissing her to-be-the-bali-ka-bakra brother and putting on jumanji at a not so loud volume.
"Zamurad?"
Looking away from his frustrating sister, Zamurad gave his full attention to what his mother had to say. Aashna Radwan had a wide 400 volt smile on her face while his father just seemed out of place and a little doubtful.
Those were two completely different reactions and Zamurad now felt a little alarmed. Which one was trustworthy?
"Baat ko gol gol nahi ghumana mujhe, so let's get to the point. You are 28 years old and I am getting no younger- wait, that was a typical sentence but ignoring that fact, just like every woman even I want to see my son getting married. And seeing that you already have an official affair with your uniform, there is no point in asking whether you like someone or not, hence, your baba and I have looked for the right girl for you whom you'll be meeting tomorrow for a 20-questions game."
