It's Not Finished Yet

Chapter 17

"Mohabbat vo hai, ki tum agar kahi par baithe hue ho, or kisi ke bare me soch rahe ho, to tum use feel karpao ki haa vo mere saath hai. Ye mohabbat hoti hai," he said in his calm and soothing, yet deep voice.
(When you're somewhere, lost in that person's thoughts, you'll feel them close to you, as if they are present around you, that's love.)

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Tum ye soch paao, ki haa vo kisi pareshani me hai mera dil keh rha hai, ye mohabbat hoti hai."
(You'll feel it in your heart, that yeah, that person is tensed, or facing some problem. That's what love is.)

"Hmmm," I looked down at my lap.

Does that mean, I'm irrevocably and irresistibly in love with you?

Oh shit.

His voice brought me back to the world, "That's not love when the person starts complaining, you don't give me time, why aren't you talking, where are you busy, etc. First, tell me one thing you asshole-"

His cursing got me cracked up again.

"-if you can't understand the feelings and struggles of a person who is beating his ass up for his career, then how will that be considered as love?"

"Yeah, that's right. They start violating personal space and that's unhealthy for a relationship."

Then he gave a few real-life examples, where the girl was supporting his man to go abroad for career purposes, and diligently waited once a week to talk with him, and have a catch up about life. Whereas if another typical clingy girl comes here, she'll say 'what if he forgot me after going abroad?', and doesn't trust his commitment towards her.

"She is insecure," I replied in an instant. "And insecurity doesn't come with a gender."

"Look, all I know is, a boy needs time to set-up everything."

"Yeah and girls don't cooperate because they are stupid, now what should I do?"

He was releasing all his frustration by ranting to me I guess. So I just let him talk and talk.

I'm a good listener afterall.

"Now if the person comes to my father, facing a financial situation and urgently needs some money, whom will the father talk about it in his kids?" he asked.

"The one who is financially independent?" I raised my eyebrow.

In brown families, generally, girls go for the housewife role and not a career. It depends on the mindset of the girl if she wants to do it or not. And sometimes her family doesn't allow her, having a patriarchal mindset.

So he was talking in general.
But I tried to answer in a feminist way as much as possible.
Because I want a career too.

But then again.
He was having some campaign against girls.
So yeah.

"If the father will discuss it with the girl she will just keep on crying. Crying is not a solution to anything. She'll be ranting to her...., what do we call boyfriend in Urdu?" his voice fades in the last sentence as if asking a person beside him.

"Khasam?" a different voice answered in the background.

"Mehboob?" I chuckled while suggesting the word but he didn't listen to me.