Things to remember

Don't cry! Not at the time of Ruksati, like you did at Nikkah!

Don't talk to Irtaza!

Don't look at him.

Definitely not in the eyes.

AND DON'T BLUSH AS IF YOU ARE IN LOVE WITH HIM

"Zoya!" Kainat said pulling Zoya out of her world.

"Kahan kho jati ho? Chalo jaldi hum log he reh gaen hain bus (Where are you lost. Hurry up, only we are left.)", she told Zoya. Zoya was late because she had been with Alizey, in the parlor and Kainat was late because it was "FASHIONABLE"!

Zoya was wearing a light ferozi kalidar with a crushed dupatta.

"Ammi bhi chalain ge? (Ammi has left?)" Zoya asked. Her mother had arrived in the morning for the day wedding.

"Haan, fazeela k sath. Mainay tu Aunty ko bola tha k thora rest kar lain par unhon nay kaha k wapis akay kar lain ge. (Yes, with Fazeela. I asked Aunty to rest a little, but she said she'd do it when she comes back)" Kainat replied slouching her shoulders.

Ammi bhi na. She will not care about her health. Sub ko sehat k khayal pay lecture dain ge par khud amal nai karain ge. (She lectures everyone on taking care of their health but wouldn't follow that herself.)

Zoya recited her things to remember during the ride to the wedding Hall. But the moment Azeem bhai stopped the car at the entrance of marquee and she looked out, she forgot all that.

Mainly, because standing right in front of the 'Alishim' board was the person, she was trying to ignore. As usual, Irtaza was busy on his phone. Making a face at him, she got down. With all the grace she could muster, she closed the door of the car.

Back straight! Like a queen you want to be!

Head held up high!

Yes, honey you got it.

Move straight!

Walk past him without looking in his direction.

Not that fast! Ahista chalo (walk slowly)

Yes, that's it!

Par Salam tu Musalman ka farz... (Its obligatory on every Muslim to say Salam...)

Don't bring religion in this Zoya! WALK PAST HIM!

Cross him! Don't look at his side.

Yes! QUEEN !!!!

We stan.

Ab usay pata chalay ga! (Now he'll know)

She had walked past him, without looking at him. She was about to do the mental happy dance and praise herself for that hard work, when a voice rang in her ears.

"Zoya!"

Don't turn! Don't turn! The sanity in her begged. But Zoya wasn't listening to the sanity. She never did! So, without any ado, she turned in the direction. Looked straight into his eyes and smiled with a "Jee! Kuch keh rahay thay app?" (Yes? Were you saying something?)

"Dupatta neechay lag raha hai apka! Utha lain!"

(Your Duppata is mopping the floor. Pick that up please)

He suggests with a smile. And she heard her alter ego snicker with laughter!

Aur na, mano meri baat! (You never listen to me.)

"Shukriya, Ammi! (Thanks Ammi)" she said haughtily and turned back.

Ugh Ugh ugh !!!

Kara le bezati? (Are you done embarrassing yourself?)

Aaram hai ab? Chalo andar! (Now if you are done, lets go inside.)

Mahira watched Zoya glid inside the marquee with a look of annoyance. She followed her and found her son smiling smugly. The match maker inside her was doing somersaults. She just needed to execute her plan successfully.

Irtaza noticed his mother signaling and strode down towards her.

"Jee bolain Ammi kya kaam hai? (Yes Ammi. Do you need something?)" He asked even though by her smile and the sparkle in her eyes, he could tell what it was all about. His mother was going to ask him if he liked any of the girls who were attending. His reply was going to be "no".

"Koi larki pasand nai aye tumhain (Do you like any of the girls attending?)" She asked finally. She had to be discreet in this process.

"Apko agai hai?"(Do you?) He found himself asking.

"Haan par tumahre liye nai."(Yes, but not for you) She replied. And Irtaza grunted. He knew where the conversation was headed.

"Did you meet Zoya, Alizey ki dost (Alizey's friend)?" His mother finally asked.

And Irtaza considered grunting again. Out of all the girls his mother had to ask him about her.

He nodded.

"I find her delightful. Bohat achi bachi hai. Awaz tu itni achi hai uski. She recited naat on Alizey ka milad. MashAllah bohat surli awaz hai. Bus dil chahta hai who parhti rahi rahey aur main sunte raho." (She is a very good girl. And her voice is so beautiful. She recited naat at Alizey's milad. MashAllah, she was reciting, and I wanted to listen to her forever.) She continued.

"Umm hmm! Record kar Lejay ga agli dafa. (Record it next time)" He drawled, and his mother shot him a haughty look.

"Acha zyda nakhra dikhany ki zaroorat nai hai. (I wouldn't take this attitude from you) I just pointed out the truth. Tumharay jesay kharoos k sath uski shadi kara k mainay uski zindagi kharab nai karni. Main tu Moiez k liye soch rahi the. (I wouldn't destroy her life by making her marry a snob like you. I was thinking about Moiez for her.)" His mother pointed out. Instead of twisting with envy, that his mother was talking her side by calling him snob, he smiled.

Moiez and her? Ammi bhi na pata nai kya sochti rehti hai! (Ammi and her match making!)

"App nay mujhe uskay manqabat sunay k liye hall say bahr bulaya hai Ammi?" (Did you call here so that you could sing her praises?)

"Khotay, zyda bakwas na kar!(Jackass , stop talking rubbish)"

He clucked her gently under his chin. "Khota? Dekhain meri Ammi nay mujhe shehzada samaj kar pala hai. Ahsita bolain woh sun le ge tu dil toot jae ga unka.(Jackass? My mother thinks I am a prince. Don't speak loudly. It will break her heart if she overhears you)"

" Bari azeem khaton hain apki Ammi jo itna mushkil kaam sar anjam diya." She muttered. (Your mother is a great woman if she completed this difficult task.)

He leaned forward and dropped a kiss on her head.

"Best of luck, finding a suitable guy for Zoya. Waqt mile tu Meena aur mera bhi soch lejay ga."(If you got extra time on hands then remember about Meena and me too) She scowled at him, but he knew her heart wasn't at it.

"Bohaty bakwas nai karo. Jao gari main saman rakha hai nikal k lao.(Don't be ridiculous. Go get the stuff from the car.)" His mother ordered.

"Jo hukam. (Yes Sir!)" He said and she beamed at him watching him disappear through the marquee.

He couldn't see it, but she could. Her son's interest in Alizey's best friend was intriguing. Funny how she was the girl he was supposed to meet in Karachi but didn't due to his headstrongness. Fate, Mahira Awan thought worked in the weirdest, twisted ways.

Irtaza was strolling back with the baskets through the well-kept garden, enjoying the cool breeze when he heard the light sound of someone. It piqued his curiosity. All the guests were inside, enjoying the wedding feast then who was it? He turned towards the direction of the voice, moving silently until he reached the bench. And then he saw....

Her!

Why, he wondered, was he surprised?

Zoya Hussain in her cute karlidar frock, was blending in charmingly with the weather. The breezy blues. He watched her for a moment as she sniffed and then looked at her phone which was vibrating.

"Ajeeb Kainat ko maut pari hoe hai. Dekh bhi rahi the k mujhe rona araha hai. Phone pay phone karay jae ge. Ab main royon ya iska phone suno." (What is wrong with Kainat. Can't she see that I am crying. What am I supposed to do now? Cry or attend her call?)

Dono(both), he whispered to himself.

Why was he bothered by her? He didn't know. What he did know, was that he found her company oddly satisfying. He loved having those conversations with her, where she would say something that would begin a thought process.

If he knew better, he'd think that he was infatuated with the babble mouth Zoya who was enthusiastic like a kid and an apologetic spitfire when it came to him. Over the last few days, he had realized that she wasn't that bad. It was mainly the waiter episode that made him, respect her.

Irtaza watched her as she sat in the middle of bench with a gloomy face. After few minutes of seeing her talk to herself and sniff into the tissue, he realized what was troubling her.

She was being ignored by her people who were busy with their spouses getting their pictures clicked. To make matters worse, she was preyed on by the group of aunties, who if he guessed right were expressing their disappointment after discovering that she wasn't married.

From the part of her conversation he had heard, no one actually waited for her input or allowed her to speak. All of them exchanged disapproving looks and passed their judgements. She didn't mind that. What she did mind was her mother's low-spirited face.

Sitting on the bench like a child whose parents forgot to pick her up from school on the first day and had to sit with guard and Ayas of the school, Zoya ranted her heart out.

She looked cute, he felt like smiling seeing her long face as she tilted her head and stared into nothingness. He knew she was off to her lalala land. He should have minded his own business and let her be. Because she wasn't his friend. Nor she was a cousin who needed rescuing. But the shimmer in her brown eyes compelled him to intervene.

She is about to break down! Not at my watch. Never at my watch.

"Shortie?" he called out, slowly making his way toward her.

She straightened at once, her entire body reacting before she'd turned to see him. He could tell she'd recognized his voice, which left him feeling rather oddly satisfied. As he approached her side, he motioned to the brilliant red bloom and then to her empty wrists and said, " Didn't you get any gajray?"

She waited longer to reply than he would have expected, then she said, "Nai. Saray baratiyon ko day diye. Last bacha tha fazeela nay lay lia" (No, distributed them to baratis. The last piece was taken by Fazeela.)

Something about that made him smile. "You aren't crying because of that are you?"

" Can you stop being funny?" she requested as her nose got redder. "The funny you don't go with the image and aura. And I am not shortie. Khair, what are you carrying?" She asked as she eyed the basket. She smiled curiously.

"Meethai and chocolates for the guest." He said.

"I am guest." Zoya replied eagerly as she eyed the basket.

"I see," he murmured. "I suppose one of the chocolates could miraculously disappear and no one would know about it."

Zoya's eyes widened in surprise at his enigmatic statement. Today he was playing nice. Why? She wondered. But all she said was, "Thank you" as she reached for the bounty. She loved Bounty! Haters can hate but Bounty was so much better than Mars!

She looked at him and gave him one of the warmest smiles as she unwrapped the chocolate. It made his heart halt for milliseconds. Her smile, the relief that followed, it made his heart swell with something funny.

She was looking at him as if he had just lit her world up. Her smile was so genuine that he found himself smiling in response. But before his lips could curve into a smile, he stopped himself. What is wrong with me? Why am I smiling? You rescued her and now get going Irtaza!

Irtaza quirked a brow. " I am shocked. That was the shortest sentence you have ever said to me. I had donned all my armor, was about to take out my phone to take notes on 'Mannerism' expecting "Stealing is bad." And I shouldn't be encouraging you to steal..."

Zoya tried not to make a face at his imitation of her voice. But her expression gave her away. Smiling she said, "I have a new resolution. Speak less, watch more!"

Irtaza let out a loud hoot of laughter. "Strangely everyone has been laughing at that. Not the encouragement I was looking for." She muttered.

He casually leaned against the bench so that his face was right in front of her. "I find myself insanely curious as to what constitutes of watching."

She shrugged and fiddled with the watch in her hand. "Watching people. Noticing the body language. Eyes, I guess" She answered as she stared at his lips. Why was she staring at his lips!

" Ummhmm"

"Also it wasn't stealing. You gifted me that chocolate."

"I did?"

"Yes......"

Zoya shot him an arch look. "It brings me to a question. Why are you acting nice?"

"You think this is nice?" He asked.

"Yes," she muttered, "You offered me chocolate. This is nicest."

He grinned. "This is not sitting well with your over thinking mind. Is it? "

"You, being nice?"

He nodded.

"I am a nice person. I guess, I deserve it. " She lied. Not about being nice but about not overthinking his niceness.

His expression changed slightly, as if he might be done teasing her. As if he might have something entirely different on his mind. "But I am not a nice person. Why am I suddenly nice to you?" he murmured.

"Because your mother asked you too" she blurted out.

"No," he said with an amused smile. "She didn't not."

Zoya started to feel very strange. Her throat suddenly felt a bit tight, and her palms grew very warm. And her insides—well, there was really nothing to describe the tense, prickly feeling that tightened through her abdomen. Instinctively, and perhaps out of self-preservation, she stood up.

He looked amused, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Whatever you say! Thank you for", Zoya whispered.

"What for?", He asked staring ahead in a hushed voice.

For being the distraction, you were to get the bad words out of my memory. I am never attending a shadi ever! Not until I am married. She swore.

" Back to your lala land, are you?"

What the hell is his problem. Can't he just accept my sincere heart sent gratitude with a 'no problem'. Why is he so problematic? She wondered as she gave a haughty 'not funny' smile to him.

"You know that being nice costs just about 0 dollars."

"Really? I didn't. Thank you for such enlightenment."

"If frowning costed money, you would be broke."

"Concerned are we, about my financial status now? Are you sure you aren't into me?"

" I am so into you, I can barely breath... " She sang giving him the rueful smile with a "you bet" expression planted on her face. And he thought his mother was right. She did have a pretty voice. Pretty voice that reminded him of the jhumka girl. And then suddenly it dawned on him that she was the jhumka girl. Her earrings were missing on the nikkah. And who else could it be except her.

"Zyda nai ho raha?(Aren't you over the board?)" He asked.

"Zyda? Thora sa pyar hua hai ... Thora hai baqi!"

(Over, no? Cause if you want to keep me

You gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta

Got to love me harder)

She sang noticing his visible discomfort. God, she was enjoying it really really enjoying it.

"You started it this time" He complained. And gosh he looked so cute. Zoya wanted to boop his button nose.

"What? I didn't! You did it. You said la la land. You should have said "my pleasure." No problem. Or just anything. "

"Touch touch Princess, I just said anything."

"You ........................ I am so sorry. I just. I don't know. Why I do this. I am sorry. I over reacted. I am not feeling like myself right now. But I feel.... that you think the worst of me. And I have just left the hall to avoid people who think like that."

Why are you confessing! Sorry pay baat khatam nai kar sakti theen! (You could have ended it at the sorry!)

"Well don't think so high of yourself. There are bigger and better problematic people than you."

"That is the nicest thing you have ever said to me. Thank you, Irtaza."

"You said similar thing, earlier too." He responded. She wagged her brain for it. But couldn't remember it. Taking his word for it, she said,"2nd nicest! Ab Kush ho?(Are you happy now)"

"Bohat!(Very)"

Bus ase he kush raha karo,(Stay happy like this) her heart whispered, and she looked away to avoid his eyes.

Just the way she asked had 'kush ho', made his heart pump faster. Why was he feeling like a hormonal teenager right now? What was wrong with him. HE didn't do this boy thing.

"You can be actually nice, if you want to be!" She said as she walked beside him. He wasn't walking ahead of her. He was trying to match her pace and she couldn't help but notice that. Usually when people walked beside her, they ended up walking ahead of her, courtesy to her short legs.

Am I thinking way too much about the situation? She wondered.

Stop thinking too much into it.

Falak tak chal sath mere falak tak chal sath chal....

"I don't know. I feel like you are intentionally snarky. I don't know why? But it's just, that whenever you are being nice, you do a complete 360 to wipe that niceness out of my memory." She asked genuinely curious.

"Do I succeed?"

"In wiping the niceness. No! I am quite forgiving."

"What a pity."

"You are doing it again."

"I am sorry. Because this seems like a moment of truth. I accept that I do that all intentionally. I find it oddly entertaining. The fact that only I am capable of doing that, makes it more exciting. You, miss goody two shoes, say mean things to me."

"Which I regret and apologize for."

"Are you saying you love arguing with me?"

"No!"

"Liar!"

" Okay a little bit." She replied. She hated how truthful she was sometimes.

"Likewise!"

"I don't know if it's the color of the kurta rubbing off on you or the company. But you seem in a pleasant mood today." She commented pointing at herself.

"Definitely the kurta" he said brushing his light blueish green kurta. He smiled devilishly.

She couldn't help but smile. "I wouldn't think less of you if you would have said the truth" she said.

"You won't?"

She shook her head. "But then again, it's not as if you care about my opinion."

He shook a finger at her. "Wasn't it last night you were giving the "You don't know me".

Zoya looked around. "It doesn't count in your case. I know you don't care about other people's opinions"

"Other people yes. But, yours certainly do count."

His head dipped a little closer in her direction. "I say yours is the only one whose does."

Zoya said nothing, not wanting even to meet his eyes. Whenever she allowed herself one glimpse into those velvety depths, her stomach started flipping anew.

Did he just flirted with me? Did he just....

Why is he flirting with me.

Why uff!!!

Yeh kya ho raha hai?(What is happening)

Is this a bad dream?

No, it can't be. I God damn ate the chocolate am still holding its wrapper.

This is not a dream!