𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓

ch-44 Hannan's secret

Hannan's pov

Hamza- you sure you are ok? You've been staring at me ever since we sat here. He said and i sighed. Well he was right, I was actually staring at him contemplating in my mind if I should say that to him or not.

Hannan- I have to tell you something. I said seriously and he frowned at me.

Hamza- itna serious toh tu exams mey nahi lagta jitna ab lag raha hai. Kya baat hai? ( You don't look this serious even during exams-What is it?)

Hannan- look, there's a thing which i haven't told anyone ever. It's a top secret which only I know and also ali uncle.

Hamza- ali uncle? You mean your driver who has been working in your house from a long time? He asked and I nodded.

Hannan- at first I didn't think about this much. I thought it's not a big deal but then I am not able to forget that thing. It roams in my mind ever since it happened.

Hamza- can you stop beating around the bush!? Just tell me what is it. He said impatiently and I started speaking.

Hannan- when I was young, something happened. An incident which didn't happen with me but a girl who I helped at that time. I was going home from school, ali uncle took a short route as there was a lot of traffic. The lane he took was very silent and kind of scary. So obviously you would expect that on one will be seen there, but.... I stopped remembering it clearly.

Hamza- but...? He asked hearing me attentively.

Hannan- but there was a girl, maybe she was 9 years old, that's what I thought. She was sitting there alone in the darkness of the road, crying and scared. Her sobs were the only thing which was heard there, that's how much silent the lane was. So I told uncle to stop the car. We stepped down and I approached her slowly to not scare her further. But still she flinched when I spoke softly. She looked up to see me and that was the first time I saw someone so innocent and soft. Her face looked calm even through her sobs. It somehow clenched my heart, so I tried to comfort her and asked her why she was here and offered to drop her home. At first she was scared to trust me as I was a stranger but I assured her. She didn't know the way back to her house but she knew where she lived, and it was the khan mansion. I didn't pay much attention to that thing as I guessed she was a maid's daughter or something, or why else would she remember it so nicely right? And so I dropped her off, we didn't say anything to each other, didn't exchange names, and I regret that till now. Because she never left my mind even if it was for some time though I was younger....

I got lost in the memories of that incident as I narrated everything to hamza. I looked at him and what shocked me was the tears in his eyes. Why was he suddenly crying? Did he find it overwhelming and felt bad for the girl?

Hannan- bro you ok? I asked keeping my hand on his shoulder while he sat still. I wanted to tell you this from the time we became friends, because after knowing that you were a khan, I thought you would know something about that girl. I know you must be finding it amusing or stupid of me to still think about her, but something about her face made me feel peace and always a smile came on my face whenever she consumed my mind. Her innocence and soft features just doesn't leave my mind.

I said and he wiped the few tears that fell from his eyes. I never saw him crying unless it came to his brothers and parents, now aafiya too maybe. But was this really that shocking or amusing that my not-so-cold best friend was in tears.