Tera Mera Pyaar

| Pehli Mulaqaat |

Dekha tainu pehli pehli baar ve

Hone laga dil bekaraar ve

Rabba mainu ki ho gaya

The wind felt nice and cool as it hit Murtasim's face. His horse ran through the open fields towards the forest, taking him far away from the palace and its responsibilities. The smell of damp soil from the early morning dew still lingered among the trees as the prince and his horse raced through them, skilfully dodging fallen branches and overgrown roots.

Birds chirped in the trees and soon the forest ended, the trees parting to give way to a scenic meadow adorned with wild grass and exquisite flowers. The warm season meant the flowers were in full bloom, standing tall and proud in all their colourful glory among the green fields and a soothing summer breeze blew through the field. The horse came to stop just at the border of the field and the forest as Murtasim tugged on his rein.

The quiet breeze seemed to carry with it a sense of peace and calm, a sensation Murtasim so desperately needed in that moment as he took a deep breath and inhaled, closing his eyes he let the fresh air fill his lungs, allowing it to carry away the weight of all the expectations that burdened his young shoulders.

But despite countless attempts at forgetting the conversation he had just had with his father, Murtasim couldn't help but think about it over and over again.

Marriage was a relationship he never considered. He had already lost the one woman he loved the most, his mother, at a very young age, and he did not want to allow himself to be vulnerable in front of another woman ever again. Everyone said destiny took her from him, that it was fate's cruel plan that she fell prey to cancer. But what if fate played its cruel game again? What if, he allowed himself to bare his heart to another woman, destiny took her from him too?

He carried the weight of profound emotional scars, hesitant to open his heart to another woman due to the lingering pain from losing his mother. Fear intertwined with his desire for connection, creating a complex emotional landscape. The prospect of love evoked both longing and trepidation, as he grappled with the vulnerability of forming deep emotional bonds while haunted by the specter of past loss.

To overcome this very fear, he had found comfort in art. Filling blank canvases with colours served as a soothing refuge for his soul, a visual or expressive sanctuary that brought solace, inspired tranquility, and offered a sense of emotional respite. Art became a source of calm, an unspoken language of beauty that communicated understanding and provided a comforting embrace in its aesthetic expressions.

So when his father proposed the idea of marriage, Murtasim felt like the world had slipped from beneath his feet in the worst way possible. A childhood  trauma he never overcame was now back to haunt him with this proposal.

But this wasn't his only fear.

Murtasim Khan experienced a tumultuous mix of longing and apprehension, craving genuine love while grappling with the fear that, if he ever does move on in life, the girl he desires might not reciprocate his love, or that she might just be drawn to his wealth and status rather than his true self. Amidst the desire for a sincere connection, there was an undercurrent of vulnerability, as he navigated the delicate balance between his external circumstances and the authenticity of the emotions he search for.

Murtasim rarely stepped out of the palace, but when he did, he hid behind the disguise of a common man. Instead of the endless custom sherwanis, kurtas and all other formal clothes collecting dust in his wardrobe, Murtasim strode out in unassuming attires that mirrored the simplicity of commoners. His decision reflected his desire to connect with the world beyond royal trappings, showcasing a humility that transcended regal boundaries. In those unpretentious garments, he embraced a genuine expression of self, momentarily discarding the weight of his title to engage with life in a more unfiltered, relatable manner.