FEAR OF FONDNESS

Chapter 5 THE HUNT

As I arrived home, the familiar sight of Taya Abu, Tai Ami greeted me at the table. I greeted them with a warm salaam, and they returned the gesture.

"Gentleman, you're up early," Taya Abu remarked in a voice filled with warmth. "Come, sit with us."

I smiled back and moved towards the table. Taya and Tai Ami offered their blessings, their hands patting my shoulder gently as they gave me dua.

"Going somewhere?" my father inquired, his tone tinged with arrogance.

"Yes, on a hunt " I replied steadily, despite the tension in the air.

"Of course, you don't need to tell anyone. You can go anywhere anytime you want," Aunty interjected in her tone dripping with disdain as always.

"Yeah, because I don't need permission, especially from you," I retorted, reaching for an apple from the nearby basket.

"See, he's forgetting all his manners," Aunty complained to Baba as if it were a daily ritual.

I was well aware of that family drama, but they never failed to irk me. 

"Wassal!" Baba warned as always but it had no effect, it never did.

As I received a call from Mustafa, I bid goodbye to everyone and made my way towards the gate, the morning's tension was lingering in the air like an unwelcome guest.

"I don't understand why the hell she interferes in my affairs," I muttered in frustration.

I spotted Mustafa waiting for me in his Range Rover, "What happened?" he asked, studying my face.

"Nothing, just the usual morning shit with your step-aunt," I replied. 

We left for Balochistan on our family jet. The rugged landscape of the region stretched out before us, promising thrilling encounters with the wild.

As the hunt progressed, each shot fired adding to the adrenaline rush coursing through our veins, I found myself immersed in the thrill of the chase. hunting was in our blood, all the Kadars are specialized in it. With each successful hit, laughter and jests echoed through the air, punctuating the quietude of the wilderness.

It was during one such moment, as I aimed for my seventh target, that Zaram's playful remark broke through "O bhai, unki nasal khatam nahi karni," he quipped.

I chuckled in response. Yet, amidst the laughter and thrill, a fleeting image invaded my thoughts—a memory of her smile. There was a soothing beauty in it, uniquely hers, unlike any other I had encountered before. And her eyes, those mesmerizing golden brown eyes, were like a world in which I always felt lost.

"O brother, it will burn up," he exclaimed, swiftly rescuing a piece of meat from the fire.

I shook my head, trying to dispel the distraction, but Mustafa's words cutted my thoughts. "Why don't you just confess it that you're in love," he stated bluntly.

"I'm not," I replied firmly.

"Oh, please, not once again," Ahtasham rolled his eyes. "How many times will you deny and then accept it? Is this some kind of game?" Zaram chimed in.

"I did? When did I say I'm in love with her? I don't remember something like this," I replied, attempting to brush off their comments.

Mustafa, however, was relentless. "Bro, you're just deceiving yourself. You need to accept it. You need to make a decision, yar. Enough with the lies. you love her since childhood."

 "If you don't love her, then admit it to yourself. But if you do, then stop running away from that truth. Why are you avoiding facing your own feelings?" he pressed, his words cutting through the air like a knife.

"I'm not running away," I protested, my voice tinged with frustration. 

"You are running away," Mustafa repeated, his tone firm and unwavering. "You know when you'll confess it? When someone will take her away," he added, his words landing like a thunderbolt, shaking me to my core.

"No one! no one can take her away from me," I declared, my voice laced with determination as I ground my teeth in frustration. "She is mine, only mine. And whoever wants to meet death can have a try."

The intensity of my words echoed in the stillness of the moment, a vow forged in the fire of my unwavering devotion.

Taking a deep breath, I struggled to articulate the turmoil within me. "You don't understand what's actually wrong," I finally managed to say.

"You need to learn how to trust!" Mustafa added.

"It's not about the chance," I replied, shaking my head. "Once I'm completely into her...I'll not let her get away with it," I said, my determination unwavering.

"But for this, first, you have to make a decision about what you really want," Zaram urged. I nodded my head in acknowledgment, silently acknowledging the truth in his words.