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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*****
Zoya took in small breaths. Her fist clenched the lehenga she wore, trying to calm down the havoc of thoughts in her mind. Not minutes after Samra had left, the door was turned open once again and came in her now husband.
The thought still felt like a surreal whisper at the back of her mind.
She heard him cough a few times, presumably as confused with what to do as she was. Zoya felt the bed space ahead of her dip and Haider cleared his throat once again- completely at a loss of words and highly clueless.
"Assalamu alaikum."
The start of the first conversation they might have. The first word spoken to each other.
Zoya inhaled anxiously and replied to him with a clipped tone. The slightly transparent dupatta showed the hesitant raise of his hands, probably wanting to lift the veil she had draped over her face- typical, but she wanted it to be that way.
"May I?"
A small smile tugged at her lips as she gave him a nod. Haider slowly lifted the dupatta up, clearly feeling out of place but as soon as her face came into view, he could blink and let his hands rest atop the edges of the flimsy material, beside her cheeks.
The weight of his stare made Zoya look up. The awkwardness in the air seemed to have dulled when their eyes met. His were wide, clearly swirling with disbelief and that simple emotion made Zoya doubt her attire and makeup.
Was it too bland?
Too bright?
Or simply-
"Masha'Allah."
She heard him whisper into the silence and the doubt drowned in the mirage of her erratic heartbeats. Her cheeks flushed a beautiful pink as she averted her gaze to her hands that were now clutching to each other, hoping to hide the tremors.
"I, ahm, this is for you."
Haider broke out of his reverie. The tip of his ears had been tinged with pink as he quickly retrieved a small box from his pocket. Trying to hide the nervousness in his stance, Haider offered the box to Zoya who took it with mild curiosity.
Glancing once at him, she slowly opened the box only to be left astounded at what waited for her inside it.
It was a rose-gold Swarovski watch with small diamonds encrusted around the frame. The band of it added more beauty to the material and Zoya had to stop herself from squealing.
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