Dilbar (دلبر) -
Lover
*****
Samaira Baksh has sworn off love. The emotion in itself brought memories that were synonymous with a weak nightmare. For her, love was a forgotten feeling and farthest away from what could be considered...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
*****
A day turned into two, a week into another and as Samaira blinked, a month had gone by.
The construction of the hotel had started and so had her meeting Zaigham almost every other day. His face was the first thing she saw when she reached the site since he never missed a single second, making sure everything was on point. At times, she was genuinely worried whether he focused on his health or not.
"Kaha khoi hui ho?"
(Where are you lost?)
Mahrukh Baksh gently moved a hand through Samaira's hair. It was Thursday night and as the ritual goes by, it was time for a nice and long head massage from a mother to her daughter.
Thursday nights were the time for heart-to-heart conversations to greet the coming Friday with a calm mind and happy soul.
"Kuch nahi."
(Nothing much.)
The reply was given absent-mindedly.
After Samaira had come back from her meeting the day her mother had set up with Ijaz, not knowing the past she had with him, things got a little complicated. Every chance Mahrukh got, she'd question about the meeting from a month back, concerned as to why Samaira never shared the details.
Her father went as far as making sure to assure Samaira that if he had done something inappropriate, he wouldn't let him get away with it.
If only Zanish Baksh knew what all was said and done.
Be it a month back or a talk from 5 years ago.
"Sami, bacha kuch toh bolo. Itni gum kyu lag rahi ho?"
(Sami, child say something. Why do you look so lost?)
It was her father who questioned her this time. His eyes were fixated on her face, searching for a clue to get an inkling of what had been bothering his daughter for so many days.
"Baba, I-"
(Dad, I-)
The truth was, Samaira herself had no idea as to what had been bugging her for the past few days. It was just another morning but this time, she woke up feeling much more tired and drained than the rest. Days passed but the feeling remained, pulling away all of her energy to put up a cheerful front.
"I think you need some time off work, Sami. Look at yourself! You look like someone has sucked the life out of you."
Samaira winced at her mother's tone and her voice. Saying a 'geez' as a form of thank you for the unclassified insult, she pulled her knees to her chest, staring at the news headlines.
Well, the news was boring, until she spotted the next line.
'Noman Abbasi has scheduled a conference dating 29-1-2023 to announce the candidate for the position of Chief Minister. As of now, the party rules the majority of states in the country-'
