What if Mustafa and Sharjeena had met before Adeel and her engagement?

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"Yumna! Ruko", she called after her sister in the crowd, it was the seasonal fare. As her younger sister ran for the ferris wheel, "Saarey jhulon par baithna zaroori hai kya?" Sharjeena asked, as Yumna frowned, "Yaha dekho maine saari rides ke paise bharey hai, isliye agle do ghantey tak maine saarey jhuley jhulne hai."

Today was the last day of the fair, and Yumna had forced Sharjeena to accompany her.

"Yaar college se thaki hui aayi hu, thoda toh reham karo," Sharjeena pleaded her sister who shook her head, "No, you have to loosen up a little. Mere saath jhula jhulogi ya ghar par baithkar rishta rishta khelogi?"

Sharjeena smiled her dimples peeking, "Konsi ride par jaye?"

"Ye hui na meri behen jaisi baat."

"Iftekhar uncle ke bete ka kya socha hai?" Yumna asked. Sharjeena shrugged, "Dekhte hai..."

"Usse bhi reject na kardena", Sharjeena sighed, "Yumna tumhe pata haina... mujhe kaise ladke pasand hai."

"Haan haan, ek zimmedar, padha likha, mature shakhs jo tumhari kahi saarein baatein maaney?"

"Mazak udarahi ho?"

Yumna shook her head, as they headed to the line, "Nahi sach batao... I admire this about you. Aur tumhe aisa hi ladka suit karta hai, aur agar tum un laparwah, gairzimmedar ladkon agar tum reject karti ho, toh theek karti ho"

As they were about to go in the line, Sharjeena's eyes went to the stuffed teddy bears, Yumna noticed her lingering eyes, "Sharjeena tumhe soft toy chahiye?"

Sharjeena smiled, "Kitna cute haina dekho woh kappa, Yumna ek baar khelte haina please please."

Yumna sighed, "Ek kaam karo tum jao mai ek round lekar aati."

"Pakka?"

"Haana."

Sharjeena rushed towards the carnival games, this was her favourite part of the fair. It was a simple a baloon and dart game. She paid the money to employee and got ready on her stance.

"There are chits inside the baloons, and has the name of the gifts displayed back there, you have got three chances to win a prize."

Sharjeena eyed the wall, and the baloons stuck there, she could hit atleast one of them in three chances.

Sharjeena steadied her breath, focusing on the vibrant balloons that swayed gently in the evening breeze. The sounds of laughter, the clinking of games, and the distant music from the merry-go-round surrounded her, but she tuned them out, narrowing her world to the balloon directly in front of her. Her fingers tightened around the dart as she raised her arm.

"Come on, Sharjeena," she muttered to herself, "you've got this."With a swift motion, she threw the first dart. It sailed through the air, but landed just shy of the balloon she aimed for, bouncing harmlessly off the wall. She bit her lip, determined not to miss again.

"Khelna nhi aata kya?"

She heard a laugh behind her, there a man leaned on the stall with a mobile phone in his hand, he was playing video game, as their eyes met, Mustafa who was playing the game saw a girl in Mehendi shalwar kameez, her eyes lined with kajal as she had the dart in her right hand pointing towards the baloon.

"Aapko nahi kaha..." he said apologetically but Sharjeena took it personally, because he said it the exact moment.

Sharjeena scanned him, he seemed typically like the type of guys she disliked, he reminded her of boys who played carom on the street corners instead of studying for their exams.

He was casual, almost disinterested, his attention divided between the game on his phone and the booth. Her cheeks flushed slightly, both from the embarrassment of his comment and from the challenge of the game. Maybe it hit a nerve, she wasn't really good at games, because she was always focused on her goals. She would judge people on their grades and now it seemed the roles were reversed and someone was judging her for the way she played.

His curious rabbit like eyes were on her, the nerves got better of her, and she closed her eyes praying for the dart to struck the balloon with kappa, there was a sound, not of baloon popping but of a man groaning.

Her eyes opened and she realized somehow she struck the employee, "Sorry..."

The man had a small scratch on his hand, and he grimaced but held in his words, "Koi nahi."

"Wah kya aim hai,", she heard a sarcastic voice and now Sharjeena got pissed off by his sarcastic remark, she glared at Mustafa, "Are you making fun of me?"

Mustafa who had his headphones on, removed them and glanced at her, "Ji?"

"Aap mera mazaak uda rahey hai?"

Mustafa's eyes widened in surprise as he realized the misunderstanding. "Oh no, I wasn't making fun of you," he quickly said, his tone apologetic. "I was talking to my friend. I didn't mean to offend you at all."

She nodded her head, as she aimed for the green balloon and before she could hit she heard Mustafa say, "Iss baar aankhey kholkar maarna."

Sharjeena's mouth tightened as she glared at the man, she whirled around and walked towards him just to realize he was tall.

Looking at her he removed his headphone, "Ab kya hua?"

"Tumhe lagta hai tum mujhse accha khel sakte ho?"

He blinked, and then glanced at the game board, "Ofcourse! If you want, I can teach you how to play"

"Alright, show me then," she said, trying to mask her curiosity with a touch of challenge. Mustafa grinned and stepped up to the booth. With a quick, practiced motion, he threw a dart, hitting a balloon with pinpoint accuracy.

She flushed red like the balloon he struck.

"Um... how did you do that?"

Mustafa smiled, "Should I teach you?"

Sharjeena watched as Mustafa expertly popped another balloon. She crossed her arms, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Fine, teach me," she said, her tone begrudgingly respectful.Mustafa gestured to the booth, "First, you need to focus on the balloon you want to hit. Don't just aim at the whole wall."

He demonstrated, his movements fluid and confident. Sharjeena watched intently, her irritation slowly melting into interest.

He made a circle with his hand to focus, "And to aim, try keeping the dart at the centre, see".

Sharjeena held it in a certain way, Mustafa shook his head, "May I?"

He asked to stand behind her, she agreed, he placed his hands gently over hers, guiding her movements. "Relax your grip a bit," he said, adjusting her posture slightly. "It's all about control, not force."

She took a deep breath and threw the dart, hitting a balloon with a satisfying pop. Her face lit up with a genuine smile.

Mustafa saw her dimpled smile and stepped back, a small grin playing on his lips. "See? It's all about practice," he said.

Her eyes shone with admiration as the employee handed her two soft toys, "It's yours".

She handed the panda to Mustafa who shook his head, "Give it to your younger sister".

"Magar-" Before she could ask him how he knew she had a younger sister, he ran off.

She felt the initial warmth wear off as he rushed off, "Sharjeena?"

She turned around, to find Yumna, "Chalein?"

Sharjeena turned back to her sister, a mixture of confusion and delight in her eyes. "Haan, chalte hain," she replied, still holding the panda Mustafa had suggested she give to Yumna.

Yumna looked at the stuffed toy with curiosity. "Kahaan se mili yeh teddy bear?"

"I won it", she said with a smile.