Kahi Ankahi

Chapter 36

Qirat's p.o.v.

It was finally the weekend! I started university a week ago and I love it!

"Allah hafiz!" Aayla said, smiling. "See you on Monday." She added and I smiled back.

"In Sha Allah..." I said, smiling. "Allah hafiz." I added. She then walked towards her car and I walked towards the footpath, waiting for Zaid to come. Zaid has been acting extremely weird since the past few days. He grins like a complete idiot looking at me and sings or plays cheesy Bollywood romantic songs almost every time he's around me.

I saw his car nearing me and I stepped down the footpath. He stopped his car right in front of me and I got in. I looked at him and ah! The same grin.

"Zaid, will you tell me what is up with you and this grin which makes you look like a complete idiot?" I asked him. He just laughed. He turned the music player on.

Bahara bahara, hua dil pehli baar ve
Bahara bahara, ke chayn toh hua faraar ve

I rolled my eyes and heard him laugh before changing the song.

Mujhko kya hua hai
Kyun main kho gaya hoon
Paagal tha main pehle
Ya ab ho gaya hoon

I looked at him, annoyed and he laughed, yet again.

"Yehi hoga uska haal wese..." he stated.

"ab toh main tumse 'kiska' bhi nahi poochoongi.." I smiled, annoyingly.

"Don't worry, babe. Woh tumhe khud hi pata chal jaega kuch maheeno mein." He confidently said, and I gave him a confused look.

"Achhhaa, mom ko keh diya tha na ke aaj late hojaogi?" He asked, changing the topic and I nodded, tryina to get Zaid's paagal baatein out of my mind. Its Khaala's birthday today and we'd decided to surprise her. So according to our plan, I had told her that I'm gonna be having some extra classes today and so I'd come home till 6 in the evening.

"Tumhari wajah se mujhe jhoot bolna parha." I stated, narrowing my eyes at him. He smiled 'innocently' which made me chuckle.

We stopped at the bakery on our way back home to get pick the cake Zaid had ordered. We entered the bakery and walked towards the counter.

"I had ordered for Chocolate Raspberry Cake with Happy Birthday written on it." Zaid said to the man at the counter.

"Your cake is ready, sir. Wait for a moment, please." He said with a smile before walking away.

We were waiting for him when I heard a feminine voice say 'heyy!' from behind us which made us turn around.

"Alishba!" Zaid spoke with a wide smile on his face and hugged the girl. They broke the hug and Zaid introduced me.

"This is Qirat." He said, and she looked at me as if she already knew about me.

"Hey, Qirat!" She smiled.

"Hi, Alishba." I returned the smile.

"Here's your order, sir." We heard the guy at the counter say. Zaid picked up the cake box and again turned to Alishba.

"I'd have loved to have a chat over a cup of coffee but I'm running late for work." She said in a single breath. "..and looks like you guys are celebrating Zaid's mum's birthday, so you too might be in a hurry." She added with a smile. We smiled back.

"We'll meet up tomorrow if both the ladies are not busy in work or studies." Zaid said looking at Alishba as he said 'work' and me as he said 'study'. We chuckled.

"I'm free." We said at almost the same time.

After saying our goodbyes, we left the bakery and got into Zaid's car. He ignited the engine and drove the vehicle. This whole time Zaid had a huge smile on his face.

"We're talking about this soon, Zaid." I told him, kinda getting the reason behind his smile. His smile widened in agreement while his eyes were still fixed on the road.

We reached home and Zaid unlocked the door as quietly as possible. We walked inside and quietly shut the door.

Hussain's p.o.v. (11 pm)

"Beta, hum sab ne milke decide kiya hai ke Qirat ke aane ke do hafte baad hum Shehry aur Lubna ki mangni kardenge, in sha Allah." Ammi said. Both abbu and ammi had gone to bade maamu's place where all the elders sat, discussed this and came to this decision.

"That's great, Ammi!" I exclaimed, enthusiastically. She smiled at me. I looked at Shehry and found him smiling wide.

"Bhai sharmaega nahi?" I asked him playfully and he laughed out loud.

"Isshh!" He looked down, playing with the hem of his kurta which made me break into laughter. Ammi shook her head, chuckling at the two of us and walked out of the room.

I looked at him with a genuine smile once we were done laughing.

"Tujhe andaaza bhi nahi hai ke tujhe khush dekh ke mujhe kitni khushi horahi hai..." I honestly told him. He smiled. "Love you, bhai." I added and pulled him in for a hug. He hugged me back saying "love you too."

We decided to watch a film before sleeping.

---

I woke up to the sound of Shehry's mobile alarm. I groaned, digging my face deeper in the pillow. It must be 7 am. Pata nahi yeh gadha weekends pe alarm band kyun nahi kardeta.

"Shehry band kar na.." I told him in my morning voice. Moments later, the annoying sound stopped. I turned to side, so now I faced Shehry. He seemed like he fell asleep after turning the alarm off. Since we had stayed up late last night, I too decided to sleep for some more time.

Qirat's p.o.v.

It was almost 11 pm and we had just returned from dinner and shopping. Khaala loved our surprise and blessed us with many duas. I quickly changed into a comfortable shalwar kameez and heard a knock while I was tying my hair in a bun. Draping the dupatta, I opened the door and found Zaid standing outside with two mugs in his hand.

"Filmy kahaani sunne ke liye chai ki toh zaroorat hoti hi hai." He said, making me chuckle. I gestured him to walk inside and he did. He sat on the sofa that was placed in front of the bed while I sat cross-legged on the bed.

"So.. Alishba aur main.." He told me everything. From their first meeting and how they used to fight in the beginning to present when they love each other endlessly. I smiled listening to his pyaar ki kahaani, laughing occasionally when he mentioned their fights or conversations.

"bas ek problem hai..." He paused and my brows furrowed in confusion.

"Woh kya?" I asked.

"Mom." He replied. "She doesn't like Alishba." He said with a sad expression on his face.

"Par kyun?" I asked. "Alishba seems like a really nice person." I added.

"Woh unke 'type' ki nahi hai." He said, emphasising 'type', which made me chuckle lightly. He looked at me with a beta-ab-teri-hasi-rokta-hoon wali smile. "Besides, I think mom likes someone else for me." He added.

"Really? Who?" I asked.

"You." He replied and I almost spilled the sip in my mouth but then gulped it down and yelled,

"WHAT?"

"I think so." He said, emphasising 'think'. "I mean jab bhi main unse Alishba ki baat karta hoon, woh tumhari misaal dena shuru kar deti hain... iska yehi matlab nikaala maine." He added and I kept the empty tea mug on the side table. He stood up from the sofa and sat beside me.

"Fikar mat karo." He said. "Yeh jo bhi mom soch rahi hain na, main isey tumhare aur uske beech mein nahi aane doonga." He added with a genuine smile, emphasising 'uske'. For the first time, I felt like he really knew who I loved.

"But uske liye, mujhe tumhari thodi si help ki zaroorat hai." He said and I gave him a questioning look. "Actually thodi si nahi, bohat zyaada help." He added before telling me everything he had in mind.