Taabindagi (Sequel Of Sharar)

Six

"Eifa, idhar ana," Shyra called out as Eifa was hurriedly heading outside. Quickly, Eifa came over.

(Eifa, come here,)

"Kya hua, Maama?" she asked, standing behind the sofa and resting her hand on its headrest.

(What’s up, Maama?)

"Baith jao," Shyra said before starting the conversation.

(Sit down,)

"Nahi, woh mujhe Bade papa ke ghar jana hai, pata hai Momo badi dadi se Kulsoom ke naam ke liye baat karne ja rahi hai," Eifa explained quickly, casting a glance at the door, as everyone else had already left.

(No, I need to go to bade papa's house. You know, Momo’s going to talk to dadi about changing Kulsoom’s name,)

"What?" Shyra, who had intended to discuss something else, was taken aback. "Tum log kar kya rahe ho?"

(What are you guys up to now?)

"Hum log kuch nahi kar rahe, Momo ne khud kaha woh baat karegi." Eifa defended herself quickly.

(We’re not doing anything. Momo said she’d handle it herself,).

"And where did Kulsoom get this idea?"

"Kulsoom’s not as innocent, it was her idea... achha apko kya baat karni thi?" Eifa tried to bring her mother’s attention back to the original conversation, but Shyra was now worried about her younger daughter.

(But anyway, what did you need to talk about?)

"Nothing, tum jao, baad mein baat karenge." Shyra gestured for her to leave and went to her room to call Kabir. Earlier that morning, she had assured him that Kulsoom was just temporarily upset, but now, hearing that she was actually going to discuss it with Rukhsar, it didn't seem so temporary.

(You can go. We’ll talk later.)

•••

When Eifa arrived at Kaif's house, she immediately spotted the gang-Ehan, Kian, Shahnan, and Nomi-all huddled just outside the lounge, their faces a mix of amusement and worry.

"Kya hua?" she whispered as she joined them.

(What happened?)

"Dadi Kulsoom ko daat rahi hain, zahir hai." Kian muttered, shaking his head. "Yeh idea kiska tha? Aur momo ko kyu involve kiya tum log ne?" He directed the question to both Ehan and Eifa, who exchanged a quick look but didn't respond. Eifa, realizing she'd missed a lot, now listened intently. Meanwhile, Ehan simply pretended not to hear Kian's complaints.

(Dadi's scolding Kulsoom, obviously,)

(Whose idea was this? And why’d you guys drag Momo into it?)

"Kuch dino ke liye toh ayi hai woh, achha thori lagega dadi ussey date," Kian continued, his voice softening as he glanced toward the lounge door. His comment made Eifa pause, feeling a twinge of guilt.

(She’s only here for a few days; it won’t look good if dadi scolds her.)

"Momo ko koi force nahi kar sakta," Shahnan defended his sister, shrugging.

(No one can force Momo to do anything.)

"Kian waise galat nahi keh raha." Eifa admitted, feeling a bit uneasy. "Dadi ne Momo ko kuch keh diya toh?" she asked Ehan worriedly.

(Kian isn’t completely wrong.)

(What if dadi says something to Momo?)

"Woh Momo hai, jaisi uski harkat hai din mein 100 baar daat khati hogi." Ehan said, unfazed. Shahnan nodded-Momo's little pranks had Ayat on edge daily.