ishq lost & found

31; Frozen

Christmas, ironically, was Ranyas favourite time of the year. No, neither her nor Saads family celebrated, but there was something about the air that was different. Maybe it was the holly jolly spirit of others, the weather, or the fact that Ranya, Dua, and Saad all had 3 weeks off of school.

During those three weeks, both of their families would often go on outings, like skiing, something Ranya loved but sucked at. Or, tobogganing, which is pretty hard to be bad at. Her most beloved of all though, was skating. Too bad for her, she was an awful skater and couldn't stay on the ice even with the help of others.

Saad on the other hand was very athletic, and talented at anything that required athleticism it seemed. He was on the school soccer team, which was somehow more popular than the football team. He was also on the basketball team, and played hockey recreationally, so thanks to that, he was a more than proficient ice skater.

"Come on Ranya, what are you? Scared?" Saad teased, giving her a look of pity as she sat on the benches by the outdoor rink, clutching her jacket in the chilly weather.

The sun had begun to set, even though it was terribly early, resulting in people starting to file out, leaving a lot more space on the rink. By 6pm, almost everybody was gone.

"No..." Ranya shot back, looking around the rink realising what the absence of people soon meant. It wasn't like this was an isolated incident and it hadn't happened before.

"Then what is it scaredy cat?" Saad glided over, leaning over the railing with a smug smirk across his face, relishing every bit of this traditional teasing.

"It's just- it's so cold. And we have school coming up." Ranya fibbed, wrapping her arms around herself and pretending she was cold, trying to a sell a shiver.

Laughing at her, he shook his head before reminding her, "We don't have school for another 16 days. I'm sure you'll be fine." he began stepping over the railing, grabbing her by the hand and leading her towards the rink. Nearly stumbling over, she almost toppled the both of them head first into the rink, but luckily Saad had enough balance for the both of them.

"Careful..." he laughed, holding her up by her sides as he peered down, admiring her rosy cheeks and pink nose.

"Pleaseee, I really would rather just watch the three of you skate!" Ranya pleaded, begging Saad to let her sit this one out. Every year it was the same thing. From the moment the snow melted and the ice was water, Ranya would talk about how much she missed skating and how badly she wanted to ice skate. Saad would mention indoor rinks, but she'd always shoot the idea down with an excuse. Then, when outdoor rinks were available and ready, she'd try to find excuses to sit out.

"You do this every year, come on I can teach you! Next year I'll be busy with university and your schedule probably won't match up with mine." he reminded her, the realisation of his absence suddenly changing her mind.

"Fine...." she gave in, huffing as Saad beamed ear to ear, holding both her hands as he guided her onto the ice carefully, away from the hand railing while Ranya kept losing balance every couple of seconds somehow remaining upward thanks to him.

Salman, on the other side of the rink watch in horror and jealousy. At this point he hadn't come clean to Saad about his feelings, nor had he lied about Ranyas. He didn't know what she thought, sometimes he had the smallest glint of hope that maybe she seems him as something more. Other times, times like this, he knew she didn't. Either way, he didn't want Saad to have her if he couldn't.