Obscured Affection {ON HOLD}

13

Sara was in a deep sleep when her phone started ringing. She picked it up without fully waking up.

"Assalamualaikum," greeted a voice on the other end.

"Walaikum…assalam," she mumbled sleepily.

"Were you sleeping?" the person asked.

"No, I was dancing. Tell me, who is this and what do you want?" she replied in an annoyed, drowsy tone.

"You go back to sleep. I’ll call you later," he said and hung up.

Sara muttered something angrily in her sleep and went back to bed.

***

With the wedding celebrations in full swing, the house was bustling with guests, and everyone was busy with preparations. For the evening banquet, everyone was making sure the arrangements were in order.

As evening fell, they all set out for the wedding hall, looking resplendent. Jameel wore a golden sherwani, and Ishaq had on a sky-blue sherwani, handpicked by Safoora. Rahila and Sabeena donned red sarees, while Ishtiyaq and Kareem wore black sherwanis. Mahnoor looked stunning in a deep blue gown with her hair tied up in a bun, wearing minimal makeup as usual. Safoora wore a white gown with red thread embroidery, her hair partially tied and left to cascade over one shoulder. She preferred bold makeup, accentuating her lips with red lipstick. She wore only simple pearl earrings and a matching bracelet, as she wasn't fond of heavy jewelry.

After taking enough photos with Jameel’s bride Nazia on stage, Safoora stepped outside for some fresh air. Just adjacent to the hall was a garden, and she sat on a bench by a tree, watching the children play with a smile. But suddenly, all the lights went out, and the garden plunged into darkness. The children, frightened, ran to their mothers. Safoora, taken aback, wondered how the lights could have suddenly gone out. She was about to head back inside when a voice made her stop.

"You look beautiful, MaShaAllah! I missed you so much!" he whispered close to her ear.

"Don’t run away from me… I just came to see you once; I’ll leave afterward." As she recognized his voice and tried to walk away, he spoke again, and she halted.

"I know you’re afraid of me, but I don’t intend to scare you. I just want you to love me. I’ve loved you for years. A love so deep, words could never convey it. Just give me a chance to show you my Obscured Affection. I want to win your heart, but you always run away from me." He moved closer, but there was still a little distance between them, and then he spoke with a touch of sadness.

"Please, keep your distance when talking to me!" was all Safoora could manage to say.

"I love you, Safoora! I've loved you for so many years… if you don’t believe me, test me. I would go to any lengths to win your love, but I don’t want to lose you!" He took a step back and spoke again.

"I’m not interested in you, nor do I wish to believe anything you say. It would be a favor if you stayed away from me!" She was trembling inside, but she spoke with a strong tone.

"I know my approach is wrong. I shouldn’t have tried to meet you in private like this and scare you, but… my past is such that I…" he trailed off.

"Even if you had expressed your love to my face, I would never accept it because I love someone else!" Safoora said firmly.

"Who do you love?" He clenched his fist, suppressing his anger, and calmly asked.

"My senior!" Safoora said with a smile. Just thinking of him brought a unique sparkle to her eyes, which shone even brighter as the faint moonlight fell on her face.