Not a Fairy Tale

6.

The kitchen was a chaotic scene, reminiscent of a culinary storm that had just passed through. Utensils were scattered across the countertops, coated in splatters of various ingredients. Piles of unwashed dishes towered precariously in the sink, and crumbs from forgotten meals adorned the floor like miniature confetti. The aroma of half-prepared dishes mingled with the stale scent of a fully cooked lunch. She was trying hard to bring everything in order but how to do that? She was clueless!

"Bhabiiii," leaving everything she walked out of the kitchen to collect the groceries she asked Saad to bring.

"Dahi kaha hai?" She muttered while checking the items present in the bag, Saad smacked his forehead and realised that he forgot to buy it. Danish who was half sitting half lying on the sofa of the living room looked at him with a fake rudeness and he immediately turned back.

(Where is curd?)

"Just a minute bhabi, I'm bringing curd in a minute." he said in a hurry and rushed downstairs to buy curd. "Saad... Saad wait." Madiha called out to him, but he had already disappeared from sight.

"Ab kya hua?" Danish asked and Madiha sighed 

(Now what's wrong?)

"Maida mangaya tha besan le aaya." Mahida was still checking the groceries and Danish rolled his eyes, it was only a minute when Saad came back, his breath was faster than normal which was clearly showing that he had run to the dairy and back.

(I asked for all-purpose flour but he brought gram flour.)

"Tujhe kuch yaad bhi rehta hai? Mangao kuch le kar kuch aur aata hai! Tujhse maida mangaya tha besan nhi." Danish reprimanded Saad, he didn't take those words to heart but Madiha felt pity on the orphan boy.

(Do you even remember anything? Whenever We ask for something, you bring something else! She asked for all-purpose flour, not gram flour.)

Many years ago, when Saad was about 3-4 months old his parents left their village and moved to the city. Saad's father was taken in by Danish's father to work in his workshop, while his mother took care of household chores. Impressed by their honesty, Danish's father provided them a small part of his home to live in. After a few years Saad's mother passed away, but the father-son duo continued to live there, and a few years later, Saad's father also passed away. Over time, Saad became an integral part of this family. From changing bulbs to repairing taps, from bringing groceries to put clothes for laundry and from collecting rent from tenants to paying bills, he used to do all those small works to get the meal twice a day, a shelter and a small amount of pocket money in return.

Madiha developed a soft corner for Saad as soon as she got to know about his life story from Humaira.

"Bhabi aur kuchh lana hai ya sirf maida?" Asked Saad after taking a deep breath to control his huffing and Madiha noticed his condition, he was already in sweat.

(Do you want anything else, bhabi, or just all-purpose flour?)

"Kuchh nhi lana, baith jao, bahar kitni garmi ho rhi hai." She walked back to the kitchen and came out with a bottle of cold water for him.

(No need to bring anything, relax for a while. It's so hot outside.)

Saad gulped down the water in one go and looked at Danish who was reclining on the sofa, busy with his mobile.

"Bhai aapke payr daba du..." He sat down on the floor and started pressing Danish's foot, Mahida was confused by that act but she also sat down on the other sofa and resumed cutting the dry fruits as she was doing before half an hour ago.