It's Not Finished Yet

Chapter 48

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Wo meri mann pasand kitab ka, mann pasand kissa hai.
Woh meri naa pasand zindagi ka mann pasand hissa hai.
- Gulzar

MURAT'S POV

I was walking with Haamid while cracking jokes about that one cringey wedding we both regretted attending and almost reached at my doorstep, when my phone rang. My forehead wrinkled in surprise as I saw the caller ID.  

Hayat. 

I picked up casually, "Hello," but received silence. I glanced at the screen to make sure the call was still active. "Hello?" I said again, thinking maybe the signal was bad.

Then came a slow, playful "Hello~" in a voice that sounded half-fake, half-trying-not-to-laugh.

What the...?

"Ji? Assalamualaikum," I replied cautiously, suddenly unsure who I was speaking to.

"Walaikum assalam~"

"Ji?" My eyebrows knitted together. The voice was odd. Not Hayat's.
As I received more silence, I repeated, "Ji?", now suspicious.

What was going on? 

I heard soft giggles in the background, followed by a voice I sort of recognized saying, "If you didn't wanna talk, why'd you even take the call?" Then the voice switched—louder now. "Yeah, hello." 
Hayat, she was.
Clear.
Direct.

A smile tugged at my lips. "Haan."

"You didn't recognize the voice?" she asked. Half amused. Half challenging.

"I did recognize it," I replied confidently.

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

"What was I supposed to say to her?" I asked, leaning back against the wall.

"You could've said—" she began.

But I cut her off as Haamid waved at me, signalling bye. "Yeah, let's meet later at taraweeh prayer," I told him. Then back to Hayat, "Yeah, so what exactly was I supposed to say?"

"You could've said, 'Give the phone to Hayat.'"

"And why would I say that?" I stretched out my legs. "If she wanted to talk, she could've talked."

Silence.
I could feel her narrowing her eyes through the phone.

"Oh really," she said. Flat. Dry.

"Ji," I replied, softer this time. Her tone had changed. Maybe that one didn't land well.

Then I heard her asking someone, probably her cousin, if she wanted to talk again. A quick "NO" came back, followed by Hayat's laugh.
"She was just messing with you," she said.

"Hmm. Let her. If she's having fun, let her enjoy."

"She was checking what you'd say."

"Main kya bolta, batao?" I said, my tone dropping, a little softer now. (What would I even say?)