"I still forget, we're not even friends,
I still wake up, with things to tell you!"
Now, it was 12:30 O'clock in afternoon.
Zohaib, Mifa's younger brother was back from college. He entered 'Dream Home', sniffing the sweet fragrance in the air and tried to recognise it.
"Umm.... Rose Meringue!
After such a Long time, Aapi!"
He successfully recognised it a and licked his lips as the smell increased his appetite.
"Yes! You will get to try it soon. Go and freshen up first.... You've to go to deliver it to Lily Aunty in evening, can't trust Bhai with these."
Mifa smiled at her younger brother, who poked his tongue out at his elder brother, Shoaib, who scrunched his nose in irritation.
1 minute was left for cookies to be baked completely as Mifa watched them circling inside the oven, with her body tensed, her forehead sweating, her fingers fisted and her mind anxious. Her mind circled around him, just like the cookies in the hot oven.
She didn't even know how he looked now. Last time when she saw him, he had grown beard, and he looked so tall. She remembered, she was unable to recognise his voice even, that much it was changed, thanks to puberty.
She didn't know what was the exact reason, being older than him by few months or because of geans, she was taller than him all through out their childhood and she had teased him enough for that same reason. She knew well, she was taller than most of the normal girls and even taller than many men as well but, last time when she saw him, he was approximately 3-4 inches taller than her, which had given her shock.
Once, when she got her hands on her aunt's phone, she had checked her phone's gallery for his photos. She found barely, four or five pictures and those were old as well. Still, she sent those on her WhatsApp secretly and then deleted the proof like a professional thief. Though, in her mind she was scared, what if he found out.
She even saved his number secretly but it was of no use, she knew. Because, neither she had guts to call or text him nor he would have her number saved which would have given her opportunity to see his profile picture at least.
Though, she desperately wished, Afham also had stolen her number from his mother's phone.
Once when Mifa's mother, Afeera called her sister, she picked it up late and told that the phone was with Afham. Thus, Mifa knew, he uses her phone sometimes, which made her obviously thrilled and nervous at the same time.
Did he ever check her profile picture? Did he ever check her status? Did he also save her photos in his phone, how she did? Did he also had her number saved, with a symbol of heart, like she had done? Mifa used to wonder many times since then.
Alas!...She would never get to know about these details.
Such undistinguished and anonymous was her Love!
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The oven beeped three times as it stopped circulating and told her that the cookies were ready.
She pulled a pair of purple oven mittens which had white roses printed on them, on her soft creamy palms and took out the Baking Tray containing the cookies, from oven.
The sweet aroma of freshly baked Rose Meringue Cookies spread in whole house and all the members gathered around Mifa, including her father too, who came back from work just then. They always did this whenever she bakes something.
"Hands up!" Mifa said, like a police inspector of old hindi movie and swatted Shoaib's hands away before he could touch the cookies.
"Cookies are hot and your hands aren't clean. Go wash them first." Shoaib made faces once again at his little sister who mostly behaves like his elder sister or a strict teacher.
