Talab-e-Ishq

Talab-e-Ishq (16)

She sighed holding the door knob and took a deep breath before opening it. The first thing her eyes fell on were white walls and large windows where she could see an opening of what seemed like a terrace garden. 

A clearance of throat brought her back to reality as her eyes went to the person sitting behind the desk and glaring at her. Deep brown eyes which people probably assume to be black were matching the colour of his hair. He wore a sky colored shirt which seemed to be stitched perfectly for his psyche. 

"Mr. Mohtashim?" He just nodded his head at her question, continuing the glaring session he one sided started while picking up his computer glasses and putting them on.

She stood there like a deer in a spotlight. Zunera Jahangir was herself a psychiatrist. But standing under his gaze, he could read her like an open book. Adorning the blood red kurti with black hijab wrapped around her head neatly she wanted to be anywhere but near him. That's what impression he made of himself. But he was surprised at the shake of her head as she hid her nervous self behind her confident one. His glaring eyes probably deteriorated a slight amount of intensity before he composed himself.

"Zunera. Zunera Jahangir." He liked the way she introduced herself before taking the seat before him. 

"I mailed you something last night." He gritted out each word.

"Yes. And I remembered I replied to it as well. Shall we begin now?" Her tone held finality. 

"What if I say no?"

"Then let me rephrase my words. We shall begin now!" Her words reminded him of his best friend and if he was the one who had spoken those words, he would have laughed out loud.

"Tell me about yourself." 

"Is this the interview Miss. Jahangir? He smirked.

"Trust the process Mr. Mohtashim." Why was she calling him that? Everyone calls him Anwar, so what was the exception for her? But not wanting to prolong the conversation, he didn't restrict her.

"If I was habitual of trusting, you wouldn't be sitting in front of me."

"That's why I am here. But we have to begin somewhere right? And from the records I can see you have done it many times before, so it won't be a problem for you." It was her time to smirk at his shocked face. 

That was a moment of a new beginning. A moment of trusting each other. A moment of believing. A moment of a new feeling. A moment where for a second he actually hoped for the first time to see the better version of himself in the future.

××××××××××

Out of all things running through his mind, Alam not at all remembered that she would be joining back the classes. Literally to his luck, it had to be today. Today when he was looking as worst as possible in his entire life. And all he could do was ignore her like a plague when all he wanted to do was totally opposite, irrational and very absurd in his sense. Wrapping up the lecture sooner than the time required, he was about to leave when she called him. 

"Prof. Alam?" He bit his lips under his teeth to avoid cursing his fate. Without uttering a word he nodded his head asking her to go further looking everywhere but her.

"I wanted to know the books you have used in the past week, I have already penned down the topics to cover. It would really help." She bit her lower lip anticipating him to look at her once. To look in those orbs after missing them for what seemed like an eternity. But he was too cruel to let her grant her wish, to let her live her moments. He fisted his hands tightly refraining himself from looking at her, when that was all he wanted to do.