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The rays of sunlight broke into her room like rebel prisoners tickling the curtains of her eyelids. Rubbing her eye she sat up on her bed swinging in between conscious and unconsciousness.

Stretching out she smiled at the warm morning. Getting dressed in a blue dress she looked like the epitome of beauty, ears adorned with small silver jhumkas. Her cheeks tinged pink at the thought of the one who had gifted her these earrings. A silver chain glimmered around her neck with a small knot pendant resting on her collar bones.

With her favourite lip balm tinting her lips and mascara coating her lashes she was ready to face the world with a bright smile.

She braided her long hair and gave herself one last look in the mirror. She walked out of her room to bless her family with her presence, to say it was her morning but in reality the afternoon sun was glaring down at karachi. Staying up late and studying for her last exam were her excuses for the day but still she hardly remembered what she had learned last night.

Being the eldest and her parents favourite had it's perks. Skipping down the stairs she stopped just near the entrance of their drawing room. It seemed as though some guests were over but instead of peeking in to know who it was she decided to eat breakfast instead.

Not finding her mother and sister there in the room she sighed in defeat and made herself a sandwich. Just when she was about to put the kettle on the stove the voice of her sister greeted her.

"Rani sahiba uth gaye, ab aap chai bana hi rahi hain tu thori zayada bana len aap ke sasural wale aaye hain" her sister greeted her with a smirk on her face. A faint blush bloomed on her face which she hid behind a stoic expression.
(So her highness has woken up? Now that you are making some tea might as well make a more since your in laws are here)

Rolling her eyes to keep her giddiness at bay she contemplated whether she should be the one to serve the tea but decided otherwise. She sat down on her place eating her food and thinking of the possibility of he would've come along with them. Shaking her head she glared at her sister who snickerin at her.

"He didn't come along." The familiar voice of her mother's best friend filled her ears making her straighten up from her slouched position. Her eyes widened as she hurriedly gulped down the morsel.

"Aunty?" She said grinning awkwardly fidgeting with her hands.

Her aunty smirked at her who avoided eye contact with her, she patted her head lovingly and chuckled at her pink face.

"Come on now at least greet your uncle" the lady said making her pull her dupatta over her head and walk out with her. She hurriedly wiped the crumbs off her mouth and drank few sips of water over the taste of her tea.

She sat with them for a little while and then excused herself. She ran up in her room and heaved a long sigh. A bright smile mad sits way over her lips as she recalled all their young teenage adventures.

The whole day went by with her either helping her mother or studying for her exam. She couldn't stop the bubble of laughter that made her wheeze at random moments remembering his antics which made her receive her mother's infamous glares.

At night just when she was about to lay back and let herself rest her phone rang. With an annoyed she picked it up.

"Hello assalamualaikum?" She asked. Upon not receiving a reply she waited for a few seconds before asking one more time.

"Kon hai aur kis se bata karni hai?" She asked laying flat on her back.
(Who is it? Who do you want to talk to?)

When she only received silence as her reply she clenched her jaw.

"Kon ho bhai? Agar kuch bolna nahi hai tu phone kion kia hai. Kia mazak laga rakha hai faarig log jab dekho andha dhondh number dial kardete hain." She said loudly in a fierce tone. She hung up and threw her phone to the side and groaned in her pillow.
(Who is it? If you don't want to talk then why have you called me? Is it a joke for you to blindly dial a number?)

"Kal paper hai aur mujhe kuch nahi ata" she cried in her pillow trying to hold herself together.
(I have an exam tomorrow and I don't know anything)

Putting her phone on silent she pushed herself off her bed. She walked inside her bathroom to change for the night. Grabbing her book for a final revision she plopped down on her bed and opened it with an empty mind.

Her mind drifted away from what she was reading and went back to that one boy who she hasn't seen in over four years. He shifted to Islamabad after getting a promotion. She picked up her phone to search for a picture which she had buried deep in her gallery with tht sole purpose to not think of him that much.

The night was dark and soothing. Her side lamp lit up the area around her bed only, her book laid in her lap but her eyes stayed glued to a pair of brown ones that stared back right at her.

She sat there not reading a word that her book had written within it but was lost in her own thoughts so much that she didn't see a tall silhouette moving in her room.

Her eyes lifted up and she froze on her spot at the sight of someone standing just beside her bed. She kept staring at it like a statue not knowing if it was her mind playing tricks on her or was there really someone standing there.

With shaky hands she leaned sideways to turn on the room lights when a hand grabbed her wrist preventing her to move any further.

When the light from her side lamp hit the face of the culprit, heart skipped a beat. Her heart rate increased and her breathing slowed, his face was so close to her that she contemplated whether he was real or just her going crazy.

She didn't know what she should do. Was it her imagination? Or was it reality? It couldn't be reality since there was no way that he could've come here. With wide eyes and warm cheeks she shook her head to grab some hints of sense.

"Aap?" She voiced after a long silence.
(You?)

The man hummed nodding his head as he twirled a lock of brown silk around his forefinger.

"Aap yahan kia karrahe hain" after alot of effort she asked. She felt like an idiot talking to her hallucination but she couldn't help but wonder if it was her reading too many romance novels or her academic books making her go crazy.
(What are you doing here?)

"Ab Iss betaabi se yaad Karen gi aap, tu yeh khaadim kaisa naa khidmat me hazir hoga" he said with a hint of a smile on his face making her blink several times. Her mouth gaping like that of fishs.
(Now if you'll miss this servant of yours with this intensity how can I not come at your command)

"Aap yahan aa kaise— yeh ho hi nahi sakta. Yeh saara ek khayal hai bus"  she concluded getting out of the clutched of his gaze. A throaty chuckle made her look up front to freeze on spot finding him so near she could feel his breath on her skin.
(How can you even come here? This is not possible. It's all just my imagination)

He leaned towards her ear making her close her eyes tightly. The hair on her nape stood at high alert she felt his warmth enveloping her against her headboard.

"Itni raat gaye yeh kia tamasha laga rakha hai? Parhna likhna hai nahi mobile chalwa lo inse. Sojao kal exam hai tumhara" the welcoming warmth was gone and was replaced by cold wind and her mother's yelling.

She sighed at the sight of her empty room. Maybe it was all just her imagination after all other wise how can someone just disappear into thin air. She shook her head and cowled at her mother who even at one in the morning was as loud as she was during the day. 

For a moment she had thought that maybe he was really here. He was here in her room, near her but then tht rational part of her told her that he couldn't be here nor could he be in her room.

"Yaar..." whining she cupped her face and patted her cheeks to make herself go back to normal and not burn red like a newly wed bride. She slid down on her bed and pushed the book away, sleep was far away from her eyes as she stayed awake on her spot. Her phone lit up beside her making her  squint her eyes at it, she picked it up and opened the notification.

"Ainda apni is ghulam ko itni betaabi se yaad mat kijiye ga bola lijiye ga banda haazir hojaye ga"
(From now on don't miss me intensely simply just make a quick call and I'll be there at your service)

"Shit it was him. The wrong number was him. I fucked up. Crap" she panicked.

"Should I apologise? I should excuse myself for my rude behavior. But mujhe pata bhi tu nahi tha ke woh woh hain" she whined holding her head in sheer disbelief at what she has just done.
(But I didn't know also that he was him)

After pacing around in her room she came to an abrupt halt. Her eye wide and mouth ajar.

"Ya Allah woh wapis agaye. How come I just realize this. Allah!!! Me itni stupid kion ho. Sahi embarrass kia hai khud ko mene" she screeched in horror cupping her mouth.
(Ya Allah he's here. Allah why am I so stupid. I've embarrassed myself)

Just when she was about to drown in her misery a thought struck her mind.

"Wait a damn minute. If he's here then why am I concerned? What's the point he's here so what? I have an exam to stress about and I have to stress about the fact that I'm not stressing about my exams. Oh God I should shut up. I should go to sleep. That seems about right. God I'm too exhausting for my own self." Saying that to herself  she laid down to sleep but her eye kept rewinding that moment in her memory.

After a long fight between her emotions and sleep she finally succumbed to her precious slumber since she had her whole life to stress over things related to him.

"Heer late horahi hai ajao" she jolted you from her deep slumber by her mother screaming at the top of her lungs.
(Her you're getting late come on)

"Ek tu is ghar me meri koi izzat hi nahi hai. Jab dekho daanti rehti hain." She grumbled under her breath and got up in a sour mood.
(No one respects me in this house. She's always yelling at me for no reason)

After eating her breakfast hastily she kissed her parents goodbye and left for her university. She was walking to the gates of her institute lost in her book when she bumped into someone. She stumbled back but someone held her arms and steadied. Annoyed and flushed she looked up to give that person a piece of her mind but her breath hitched at the sight of his charming face.  

"Yeh mere saath kia horaha hai" she wondered. The man in her sight smiled at her and let her go while walking away from her. Her eye followed him till he was out of her gaze.
(What's happening to me?)

"All the best" the same number from last night and she cringed even more remembering the tone she spoke in. She must've sounded like a drunken person. A smile made its way to her lips at the message and

"Pagal tu nahi hogaye akele akele muskuraye jaarhi ho?" She jumped at the touch on her shoulder. She glared at her friend Ramsha who wiggled her eyebrows at her.
(Have you gone nuts you're smiling here all alone)

Shrugging her friends questions away they both walked in their classroom mentally preparing themselves for they would be witnessing inside.

"How did your test go?" Her friends asked making her sigh in dejection.

"It was fine I guess. I don't even know what I did and what I didn't. It's done now don't talk to me about that." She said. Bidding her friends bye she sat in her car and closed her eyes feeling drained from the two hour long paper.

Walking inside the house she found it awfully quiet. Her eyebrows scrunched and her senses heightened.

"Ammi? Shireen? Where are you all?" She yelled but tht only response she got was the echo of her own voice.

Grumbling her way to the kitchen she searched all around for something she could stuff her depression away but found nothing. She threw her arms around like a toddler throwing a tantrum and mimicried at her hunger.

She whispered out her phone from her bag and dialled her mother's number in anger. The phone rang and after a good amount of time her mother answered.

"Where are you all?" She asked right away making her mother click her tongue from the other side. 

"Heer beta buhat achi tameez hai aapki salam na dua Aap Sab kahan hain? Very good beta" her mother taunted making her clench her fist in frustration.
(Heer my child such well manners you have no greetings nothing right?)

"Assalamualikum Ammi jaaaan aap Sab kahan hain?" She exaggerated making her mother roll her eyes on the other side.
(Assalamualaikum. Mother dearest where are you and everyone else?)

"Waalaikumsalam hum Sab tumhare taya ke ghar per hain raat tak der se aayen ge. Apna khayal rakhna aur haan kisi ajnabi ko ghar me naa ghusa Lena. Allah Hafiz" after that her mother hung up on her while she kept staring at her phone like a confused soul.
(Waalaikumsalam we're all at your uncle's house we'll be here till late at night so take care of yourself and yes don't let any stranger in the house.)

"Bhooki tu Marne se rahi. Kuch banane ka mood nahi hai order kardeti hon kuch" she thought and checked her wallet for the money.
(Well I'm not going to starve myself to death neither am I in the mood to cook so I'll just order something instead.)

"Hum garebon ke pass bhi kuch paise hain bhai wah." She mumbled while ordering her food on foodpanda.
(Wow my poor ass also has some money.)

"Till the time the order is arriving i should change" she said to herself before running up tht stairs and hastily changing just in time for the door bell to ring. Wrapping her mother's bug shawl around herself she opened the door to the delivery guy. She couldn't see his face since he was wearing a mask.

"Shit!. Um don't mind me but please wait here for a while I'll go grab the money quickly. She said taking off for the living room to grab her purse.

"I thought after so many years your habit must've changed but I guess not. Since you exam didn't go well here's a treat from me" hearing his voice she froze mid way. She slowly turned around to find him gone but her order was placed at the stool near their door along with another bag. She picked it up and brought everything inside. She took the rose out of the card and smile before opening it only to have it washed away in a scowl. 

"Zayada soocho mat. Properly bhi mulaqat hojaye gi. Aur fikar mat karo fail hogaye tu me judge nahi karon ga" she fumed at his note and stomped her foot at the ground.
(Don't think much we'll meet again properly this time. And yeah don't work even if you fail your exam I still won't judge you)

"Wait order ke paise?" She groaned after realising it. Her phone pinged with a notification.
(Wait the money?)

"Don't worry about the money I've paid for it" the message said. She nodded but then fumed at herself.

"If I had known he would pay I would've ordered a pizza also" she stomped her foot like child.

"Waise thora kam khaya karo moti na hojana but don't worry I'll love you just as much." she gaped at the message and frowned.
(By the way cut down your portion alittle you'll get fat)

"Yeh Sahi hai pehle mazak bana do phir pyaar jatao. Ek baar hath lag jao mere Mustafa phir bataongi tumhe Heer kia cheez hai. " she said shockingly.
(This is nice first you make fun of someone then you shower then with love. Let me get my hands on you Mustafa I'll tell you what Heer is"

She decided to let it all slide at tht moment and turned on her tv to enjoy her food with a good show on netflix. She spent the whole day laying around and not doing anything since her ammi wasn't there to remind her that she was a servant she brought along in her jahaiz. That's what she felt. The woman owned her and everyone.

When at night the darkness fell on this earth she prepared herself for yet another much deserved sleep but her phone rang with different intentions. 

"Uthaon nahi uthaon?" She panicked holding tht ringing phone in her hand.
(Should I pick it up or not?)

"Should I do it or not?" She questioned biting her nails when someone spoke from behind her.

"Ab utha bhi lo"
(Pick it up already)

Assalamualaikum guys how are you all?

So here the start. It's just the beginning.

Um... Yeah so I expect a nice feedback so that I stay motivated to translate and update as frequently as naturally possible.

Okay now enjoy.

Allah Hafiz.

Love
Hafsa_tahir