The Girl Next Door

Chapter one- The day he left

June 10 2015, the day Ashar left for Australia. That day they hardly talked, oh but they did for sure. They both couldn't live without talking to each other. However, there was often some resistance from her side probably because she always thought she might just become intolerant and annoying and most importantly unwanted. Oops, you have no idea who I am talking about. Let me first introduce myself, I am Arela and this is my story..

Arela, a young and beautiful 19 years old girl just got free from her A Level examinations this June. Arela is the third and the last child of Mr. and Mrs. Siddiq. Mr. and Mrs. Siddiq have two more daughters, Mawra and Halla. The couple, after 24 years of their married life, still fail to sort out their differences. They faced not only some financial issues because they belonged to a middle class family, but also issues arising from a situation where there is a tired hardworking husband disappointed from every aspect of his life due to a rough childhood and the compromises he made since forever, and then a wife, who always feels she is not good looking enough to be the first and last love of her husband and thus she turns out to be spying on him. Mr. Siddiq, aware of this fact that his wife doesn't trust him, keeps himself busy in his office matters. Always regretting the mistakes he made in his life, Mr. Siddiq many at times thinks of leaving his job, but then again, he couldn't ignore the fact that he has the responsibilities of three daughters on his shoulders, and so he continues to work day and night.

Mawra, is also a disturbed one. At the age of 24, with no proposals and only rejections, one would definitely hate her life. For being compared since childhood and rejected for having a dark complexion, Mawra's personality and self confidence burned in ashes. She could no more stand in a public confidently, but always with the thought that she must be looking too fat or too dark among all these beautiful girls. Halla, on the other hand, is a chill girl. Not caring about anyone, nor giving a shit about them, all what matters to Halla is a GPA of 4.0 and always being blessed with food. Yeah, food! She never wants it to end. She has always been Mommy Daddy's favorite one because what she has, the other two of us doesn't and that is Straight A*s, always getting the first position and now a GPA of 4.0. On one hand, Halla gets the scholarship, on the other hand, Mawra fails her ACCA exam and Arela ends up with B's. That's a summary of these sisters.

Last born has always been famous for being the most beloved one, however, Arela has always doubted this fact. She is a much disturbed kind of girl though no one can ever tell this because of the bright smiling face of hers which always reflects what she wants. On the inside, she dies every minute. Arela dies when she gets compared with her bright sister Halla, Arela dies when she fails to express her emotions to others, Arela dies when she gets being laughed upon by her own family for sharing what she is feeling, Arela dies for not getting loyal friends, Arela dies for giving too much and getting so less in return, Arela dies for not being loved, Arela dies every minute and yet is still alive saying good bye to Ashar.

That day ashar was busy in the last moment packing and Arela was lost in the thought that how would she live without talking to him that one to two days. She had been worried sick, but didnt show it to anyone, not even Ashar. Ashar promised that he'd call once he get to the airport and since that time till his next text from the airport, every second had been torture for Arela. She tried to make herself busy by watching a film 'The Gone Girl', which was also suggested by Ashar, but she couldnt stop thinking about him.

At last, Ashar texted that he was finally in the lounge and so Arela immediately called him. There was a sparkle of relief in Arela's eyes and her face turned red in happiness. Ashar talked in a really polite manner but he ended the conversation in just 2-3 minutes which she wasnt expecting as they both used to talk hours on call. Arela started to over-think and wonder why Ashar didnt prolonged the conversation.
She was busy in the thought when she received a text from Ashar. He said, "Dear Asra, you have been an amazing friend. Please dont ever leave me. With you i feel myself, i feel good and feel comfortable. You bring out the best in me. I can somehow be just Ashar with you. I am so sorry for whatever i did but i promise i wont ever lie again and will never break your trust. You are my to-be best friend. I dont want to lose you. Thanks for being there whenever i needed. And come real soon to Australia. :) "

Arela started to blush and her eyes filled with tears. She will miss him and she knows this very well. That moment Arela discovered one thing about Ashar and that is he gets quite shy when he is on call. Whatever he texted, he could never said it to her face nor on call and thus he ended the call. Though, Arela herself could never say anything like this either, but Ashar doing this, being a guy, was weird. She also remembered the time they went to the consultants together. The first time they met! Sitting beside eachother, Arela looking down to him, talking, discussing and not being shy at all and then there he was looking down, here and there, not making eye contact with her. Yes, thats what made Arela fall for him as he later cleared it out that he doesnt know why but he just couldnt look into her eyes, which happened for the first time in his life. According to him, he can make a girl cut the eye contact just by one glance and within few seconds the girl would look away. But this did not happen between these two mates. Ashar acted in a real gentleman manner. He pulled the chair for Arela, hold on to the doors and did not check her out like some loser street guy would. Arela did fall for him. His shyness, his manners, and his gentlemen like acts made Arela melt.

All these thoughts made Arela realise that Ashar was finally being himself and not lying and maybe thats why he gets quite shy because when a person starts becoming honest with someone they care about, they start respecting them.

She never said it to him that she would miss him but after this text, she did.
'Ashar, i will miss you so much. Dont go man, thats what happens in typical bollywood films eh? :/ i feel so sad. I will always be here for you and .. ' Ashar replied, 'Dont you cry okay! I feel sad too but we will definitely be in contact, dont you worry.'

He tried to console her in every possible way. But, he had to go and Arela couldnt stop him. Thats just life, Arela's life, where people always leave.