Kahi Ankahi

Chapter 31

"I love your designs. You will get very successful as a fashion designer, insha Allah." Marium complimented, smiling.

"Thank you so much.. insha Allah." I replied, smiling back.

I then excused myself and Iqra for a while and walked over to the boys.

"Yaar jab maine kaha tha ke tum logon ne mere liye party organise ki hai, tumne aisa kyun react kiya tha as if I was wrong?" I asked Iqra, confused.

"Because you weren't entirely right." She simply said and before I could ask anything else, the music of Bolay started playing loudly. Hussain smiled, signalling me to turn around.

I turned around and my jaw dropped. In front of me stood one of my most favorite singers, Uzair Jaswal. I looked back at Hussain, Shehry and Iqra who stood there smiling. I hugged the three of them. They hugged me back. It was certainly Hussain who organised all this because Uzair and him used to be friends during college days but as far as I know, they weren't really in touch with each other after college ended.

Uzair started singing and I turned to face him. Hussain stood beside me.

Main akela tha,
Tu akeli thi,
Sooni si yeh duniya mein
Ghum thay hum tum kahin...

He continued to sing the song and we all cheered for him.

Bolay dil ke paas aaja,
Aise toh tu na jaa,
Akhiyon se door door kahin...

He ended the song and spoke.

"So my friend Hussain called me up yesterday and told me that he wanted to surprise someone special. I knew I had to come here and perform for that special person..." he paused and looked at me. "Qirat, Pakistan ki fashion industry ka mustaqbil.." he said, making me smile widely. "Umeed hai ke aapko yeh surprise pasand aaya ho." He flashed a smile before starting the next song.

The next song he sang was not an original. He covered Bilal Khan's Taarey. This was one of my favorite songs. Iqra and I sang along.

Hussain's p.o.v.

Taarey ended and Uzair started singing Jhootay Pal.

Mera aaj tu hi hai,
Mera kal tu hi hai,
Meri jaan tu hi hai,
Par tu hi nahi.

These lines instantly made me look at Qirat. I studied her face features for I don't even know how long. I'm glad she was so into the song that she didn't notice me staring at her like a complete idiot.

Haarey pyaar mein tere,
Jaane kitne darey thay,
Tujhko paane se pehle,
Tujhko kho hi diya...

It hit me. Kahin maine bhi iss dar mein Qirat ko kho diya toh? I asked myself. I looked at Qirat once again. Nahi, main aisa kabhi nahi hone doonga. Qirat meri hai...

I was brought back to my senses by everyone clapping and cheering, which obviously meant the performance had ended.

"I hope you guys, especially Qirat, had a great time!" Uzair spoke into the mic. He got off the little stage and walked towards us. "I'm probably very late but congratulations on the scholarship program." He chuckled, saying to Qirat. She smiled.

"Thank you so much, Uzair!" She replied and he grinned.

"Acha chalo, ab main chalta hoon... late night bahar raha toh mummy daantengi." He spoke like a child, making us laugh.

"Chal, I'll see you in a couple of days." I told him and hugged him. "Main isey bahar tak chhorke aata hoon." I added looking towards Shehry, Iqra and Qirat as we broke the hug. They nodded.