The Storm We Started

05|An evening in books

"We need to buy some books, for a start." Shoaib said looking through his phone with his pinched eyebrows.

Gulnaz noticed it, "what's wrong? You good?"

He looked up and saw her kind of worried face, "Yes yes...just my friends messing up something."

Gulnaz was intrigued, she wanted to ask more in detail but she didn't. After all she's still just a stranger. She nodded at him, "Okay."

"You can go back to your house or wherever you're needed. It's fine, really." She spoke again.

He just flashed his bright smile at her and went ahead with her. "We need to go to daryaganj."

"Why?" She asked but then realised you get all kinds of book there at a good price, "wait. No no why do we need to buy books? I'm not going to read them!"

Gulnaz whined.

He chuckled. "Cmon. You have to get them if you want to write."

Gulnaz huffed. Even if shoaib and gulnaz both had their scooty and bike with them, they still went to the metro station for daryaganj.

The seats were all full, they didn't had any place to sit. They stood in a crowded compartment, standing too close to each other. Shoaib chest was touching her shoulder and upper arm. Gulnaz noticed that he was really tall. Even with her 5'7 height, he still stood so tall.

Gulnaz tried to ignore the beating for heart and focused on the conversation. But god, it was so hard.

Whenever he was speaking gulnaz had to look up, and their faces were so close. If it a little more close, their noses would be touching but gulnaz tried to distance herself a little as much as she enjoyed the view of his perfect god built face.

And when their stop has came, shoaib grabbed her hand and let through the crowd to exit the metro. Gulnaz hand was getting sweaty. Her nervousness was spreading through her body.

It was too intense for her.

She suddenly left his hand, didn't want to feel anything.
Shoaib looked back at her, raising his eyebrows. He didn't ask her. He just took her hand back and didn't leave it until they were out of the station.

Once they reached their destination, gulnaz asked, "so what are we gonna buy?"

Shoaib just said, "Cmon,"

He let her to one of shopkeeper.

"One copy of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, ghalib, jaun elia,Faraz Ahmed and also one of Amir khusrov."

The seller gave each copy of whole their work to them. Shoaib took out his wallet but gulnaz beat him to it.

"It's my books. I'll pay for it." She said giving the money to the vendor.

The weather was changed, since it was evening there was cool breeze and no sun to burn them.
They sat on some bench in a market which they walked to nearby.

Gulnaz turned the pages of her new books, tried to read to headings of poems.

"What should I do with them?" She asked

"You read."

She rolled her eyes at his reply. "Oh really? Why didn't I know?"

He smiled, "because you're so dumb."

"Shut up."

There was a moment of silence before gulnaz spoke again, "I don't know how I'll write after reading this. It seems useless."

She chewed on her nails, "I mean I don't know how to explain this, these are so old. It written so many decades ago. I guess poetry has changed a lot since then."