Muhafiz-E-Khan (Tere Bin MeeraSim FF)

5 - Hunar

When everyone had settled, and the darkness of the night surpassed the light of the day, Meerab heard a knock on her door, and then a creak- Shaano peaked through with wide sleepless eyes.

''Kya,'' Meerab said, shuffling her textbook closed. The heavy curtains were drawn, and the standing lamp cast harsh light upon her desk, illuminating hands and splayed books. Her hair was barely contained in a bun that didn't put up a fight, and she blinked as if the noise had disturbed her brief nap on top of the book. (What?)

''Nahi aa sakti?'' Shaano asked rhetorically, an obvious cheekiness carried in her voice. She bit her lips to hold the excitement, her years of listening to her waffle had finally forced the actual Murtasin Shah Nawaz to materialise infront of her very eyes. (Can't I come in?)

''Main busy hun,'' Meerab lied, not wanting to be picked apart by her too. She had barely recovered from the 'shaq' question, feeling as though the mask would drop any second. (I am busy.)

''Nahi, jhooti. Din mein busy thi. Ab yehi kitaab ko tum apna takiya banake istemaal kr rhi ho,'' she corrected, nearing her. Shaano perched on the edge of her bed, and Meerab's chair twisted to eye her suspiciously. The girl knew too much to let her sit in peace. (No, you liar. You were busy in the day. Now your textbook has become your pillow.)

''Sleeping is an important task. One that you shouldn't disturb a person in,'' Meerab informed drowsily, as if it would work in discouraging her- it did not.

''Chup. I know why you're hiding up here,'' she scolded. (Quiet!)

''Acha. Woh kyun,'' Meerab scoffed. (Really? Why then?)

''Mujhey itni bachpan ki kahaniyaan suna ke, aise kamre mei baith rahi ho jaise darti ho,'' Shaano scolded in an obviously displeased tone. It seemed like an opportunity, like a game that had unfolded before her. (You told me so many stories from childhood, and now you're hiding in your bedroom as if you're scared of him.)

Meerab's features tightened, sitting up tall. She was Meerab Khan, the sole daughter to the illustrious Anwar Khan. She was not scared, and certainly not intimidated from anyone as soft as Murtasim. ''Kabhi usse nahi dari. He's rude to me, so why should I give him space in my mind,'' she replied defensively. (I've never been scared of him.)

''You say that as if he doesn't occupy all the space in your mind,'' Shaano quipped as if she was very knowledgeable on the issue.

''Shaano, bas kardo. Bachpan ki baatein maazi mei reh chuki hain,'' Meerab pleaded, her mind heating through from the probing. (Shaano, stop it now. Childhood stories have been left in the past.)

''Nahi rahi bachpan mei. Otherwise you wouldn't be hiding here and he wouldn't talk rudely to you after all these years,'' Shaano explained sympathetically. (Their not stuck in childhood.)

''I don't want to talk about it,'' Meerab shrugged, twisting on her chair.

''Acha, kisi aur cheez ke baare mein baat karte hain. Like how handsome he is,'' Shaano suggested, her eyebrows wiggling. (Okay, and what else shall we talk about?)

Meerab blushed, exaggeratedly dropping her face into her book, as if annoyed at the tease. ''Mujhey nahi pata, kabhi dhyaan nahi kiya,'' she fibbed but the alchemy infused glint in her eye betrayed her. She has seen the soft coco brown of his eyes up close, the handsome bump in his chin, the quaint dimples in the corner of his grin when they chuckled over something mundane, once upon a time. (I don't know. I have never focused on that.)

''He drove you from Hyderabad, all the way to Karachi, and he was with you throughout your lecture,'' Shaano reminded, pitch rising in excitement.

''Yes, like a shadow,'' she retorted- Close, but untouchable.