Again a tiring day, mild headache and burning eyes. Sweat drops reflecting against the olive skin tone. A gust of hot wind kicked the dry dirt that hit her nostrils, she coughed while covering her mouth and nose with the corner of her dupatta.

"Arey arey Urooj ji, kuch lengi aap... pani wani?" The Chairwarmer asked and Urooj shook her head before having a big sip of water from her water bottle and looked at the other members in the staff room. "Sorry, it's because of a dust allergy. Sometimes it triggers." She muttered in between the small sessions of tiny coughing and sniffle.

"Try tulsi leaves for this kind of allergy." A member of staff said, Urooj passed a dead smile while picking up her belongings so as the other teachers were doing.

"Does it really work?" She asked and the old lady nodded while narrating how it helped her son and niece and it works well for her father-in-law too.

Hiding the huge amount of doubt behind her smile Urooj promised to take this home remedy but life already taught her that some promises are meant to be broken.

She was walking towards the main road a few students and staff members were here and there. The friendly old lady was telling Urooj how science is supporting the home remedies that we are forgetting with time and Urooj was showing interest in her lecture, only showing, in reality her mind was occupied with thousands of thoughts regarding the debt, rebuilding of her home, Hiba's health and the promise she made to herself, her present, future and unforgettable past.

"It's so hot." She muttered while covering her head with dupatta and pulled it a little down on the face but it was unable to protect her with the striking rays of sun. "Yeah, all because of global warming, have you heard... Recently NASA d..." They were standing to cross the road but the dysfunctional traffic signal again didn't help them to get a chance, before Urooj could listen to a lecture on global warming and her head became warm a black SUV stopped just a few inches away from her.

The window glass rolled down and the handsome figure demanded. "Baat karni hai tumse." Urooj looked here and there. The teacher who was speaking about science suddenly started looking interested in current affairs. Students who never understood maths suddenly started putting two and two together.

(Need to talk to you.)

"Baat karne ke liye ab koi baat nhi bachi hai hum dono ke beech." She said rudely and walked a step away but stopped by the loud voice.

(There's nothing left to talk about between us now.)

"Shadi ke liye mana kyu kra tha, Urooj? Mujhe jawab chahiye." His head was peeping out from the car window to taste the difference between the environment inside and outside the car.

(Why did you refuse to marry me, Urooj? I want an answer.)

Urooj looked at the spectators, she was providing free entertainment on the road.

"4 saal ho chuke hain us baat ko, ab kuch nhi bacha hum dono ke beech." She glared at him and he smirked while hopping back in the car, for a moment Urooj felt he would be gone any moment but she was wrong.

(It's been 4 years since that incident, now there is nothing left between us.)

"Sachchai jaan'ni hai mujhe." He picked the book from the front passenger seat and displayed it publicly. Urooj's face turned pale. The title of the booked Untitled.

(I wanna know the truth.)

"Please khizr... Go away." She muttered.

"No." He opened the door for her. She glanced at a group of students and a handful of colleagues, all eyes set on her. She sighed while taking the front passenger seat and everyone left behind within a few seconds.

<><><><>

"What was the reason behind your refusal?" He asked. Urooj looked at the table full of different dishes ordered by khizr, surprisingly all of her choices. He still remembers her choice!

"I don't want to get married to you, just it." She picked up the only thing from that table, a tissue paper, pushed it against her forehead to clean the sweat drops and tried to hide the shine of tears present in her eyes.

"It's your book. Right? You're Talia Zia. Aren't you?" He asked while the book displayed its front page on the table top. She saw him for a very long minute. Four years changed his appearance to a good extent. His cheeks were not flat like before, little mass filled his face to give him a better muscular build. The oval face turned into a round one, the bright eyes turned to a pair of tired ones. His messy hair was set with hair gel like a gentleman. Yeah, He converted into a man from a never growing up mischievous boy.

"No it's not mine." She lied and Khizr rolled his eyes while looking for the ring in her finger but found nothing.

"Stop lying, no one knew about our first meeting, and it's mentioned in this book." He whispered.

"Maybe the author imagined something similar."

"And what about that night? Has the author also imagined the same night?" Urooj looked up suddenly. Her hands shivered with the thought of that night but she didn't show anything.

"Why do you want to open the closed chapters?"

"I just want to know the reason, Urooj. There were only 10 days in our wedding. Why did you call it off?" He asked and Urooj looked at the lips of him. Not pink anymore but brown. Did he start smoking or is there any other reason?

"Jawab do Urooj."

(Answer me.)

"Jab har sawal ka jawal is kitaab se mil gya hai to is ka bhi dhundh lo." She said and drew out the water bottle from her bag, the hot water hurt her throat but she didn't dare to pick the glass of water ordered by the rich man.

(When you have found the answer to every question in this book, then find the answer to this one too.)

"You also know the novel after that night is fiction. Pure fiction." He asserted, his hand banged against the hardcover book and Urooj's eyes fell on a figure who just stepped in the restaurant.

Amaan.

He looked at Urooj, a smile crawled to his lips but then he noticed a man sitting opposite her. Only his back was visible to Amaan. Urooj noticed his face losing smile and gaining shock. For a few moments he was only seeing the back of the guy sitting opposite to his love.

He couldn't tolerate any man opposite to Urooj, neither in a love story nor on a restaurant table. He took a step ahead, his heart throbbed against his chest. This guy should not sit with Urooj, or maybe Urooj should not sit with any guy, that's it. Before he could lose his temper he controlled himself and turned back. "I can't rule her life. I don't have authority." Saying in his heart he left the restaurant.

Urooj shoved the empty water bottle into the bag and stood up. "Where are you going? Have lunch. And answer me."

"First of all, I'm not answerable to you, and secondly I heard you're getting married. Congratulations." She hung the tote bag on her shoulder and glanced at the wrist watch. She was already late to go home. Hiba must be hungry and waiting for her to cook something, nowadays she wasn't working just taking rest and Urooj was looking after her.

"Urooj I still love you." She was stopped by a voice, goosebumps covered her body. Her heart begged to turn back and hug him, tell him that she also loved him from the deepest core of heart but she only turned to see him, didn't follow the remaining wishes. "I want you in my life, just you. Marry me. Please. I'll call off this wedding, please don't destroy our lives, I know you also love me." He requested.

"Makhmal mein taat ka paiwand nhi lagaya jata." She didn't waste a single second and walked away leaving Khizr disheartened, she knew another second in front of him would break her down emotionally and she would end up in his arms crying on his chest.

(A blot on the landscape never looks good.)

<><><><>

Where are those lucky people who get love in return of love? He was only getting heartbreaking pain in return of true love. His roses of love were always returned by Urooj with the thorns of ignorance and insult.

Today he felt the meaning of the couple he never understood.

Ishq par zor nahin hai ye wo aatish 'Ghaalib'
ki lagae na lage aur bujhae na bane

(One has no power over Love, it is that flame, to wit,
Which neither can be set alight, nor extinguished once lit)

Today he wanted to put off the fire of love he didn't ignite. Today it was the second time when he felt helpless after seeing Urooj with that man. Once he died a thousand deaths when she was about to get married to khizr and today he again witnessed her with a man. It mean she wasn't making a story about getting married!

He didn't want to break himself one more time because of Urooj's love. Everyday he woven up a beautiful dreamland with the threads of hopes, wrapped himself in it and at the end of the day he noticed the nail of reality tearing it up into bits and pieces.

One can survive with broken heart but not with broken hopes. Hope is like a high window in a completely packed suffocating room, one won't give up until that small window is open, there is always a chance to get out of this suffocation but what if the window of hope is also closed?

Amaan couldn't tolerate all these things any longer. He didn't know when his childish innocent friendship with Urooj converted into liking and when that converted into love. He just knew that he could not imagine Urooj with anyone else. He wanted his love to be returned by Urooj in the same way, however she never saw him anything more or less than a friend. A common friend.

Picking up the brush he dipped it in deep red. His hand moved with mechanical vigorous brushstrokes to paint a tree... A red tree with yellowish brown thorns, all the green leaves lying on the ground. The tree of his love was represented by red, all the green leaves were his hope and the remaining yellowish brown thorns were the pain he was left with.

<><><><>

"Where were you Urooj?"

"Sorry bhabi, there was an urgent meeting." She didn't lie just alter the truth while stepping in the home and noticed a delicious fragrance roaming in the air.

"You already cooked for lunch?" She asked and Hiba nodded.

"I'm sorry bhabi, I didn't want to be late but..."

"It's okay." Hiba smiled. Urooj showed the paper bag she was holding.

"I brought some noodles and Manchurian for lunch."

"Great, we will have this for dinner. Yasir likes it too." Hiba smiled and grabbed the food parcel, Urooj walked towards her room but stopped by a call. "What happened? Were you crying?" She asked after noticing redness in Urooj's eyes.

"No, I just have a severe headache, and I want to sleep. You serve yourself, please." And she walked away.

Placing her bag on the study table she sat down on a the bed and closed her eyes while burying her face in her palms.

She couldn't forget that night. The night when she realised how much she loved khizr, the night when he confessed his love, the night when they were extremely close, when she felt his warmth against her cold frame and his breath on her face. She couldn't forget anything. She couldn't unlove him.

Dropping her body on the bed like a dead body she balled up. Knees stuck to the chest, hands clutched under the head and tears rolling down from the eyes.

She could still hear the sound of dholki in the background, gifts and clothes were getting packed in a beautiful manner. Girls chatting and laughing. Someone was preparing Ubtan for the function to be held at night. Yasir walked in the room followed by many men and boys carrying well packed clothes, jewellery, a nice collection of footwear and bags, baskets of dry fruits and sweets. The flock of middle class ladies sitting here and there gasped out of amazement. No one of them had ever witnessed this number of expensive gifts from the in-laws side. Urooj looked up at her brother whose face was flat and dull with no trace of happiness. Then she tried to find a few faces in between the people carrying uncountable gifts, but failed.

"Bhai, wo log nhi aaye?" She asked after going to her brother who just shook his head without looking at her, he was also seeing the quality and quantity of gifts, deep down trying to gulp the reality that he could never return the same amount of gifts. Urooj's eyes filled with tears but Yasir smiled and shook his head.

(Bhai, did they not come?)

"It's your wedding, stay happy. You're lucky that Khizr loves you." Urooj felt his hand on her head.

"Why are they doing this bhai?" She asked. All her smile left and sadness conquered her face.

"Makhmal mein taat ka paiwand nhi lagaya jata, beta." He whispered while taking his baby sister in a side embrace and kissed her head.

(A blot on the landscape never looks good.)

<><><><>

Hello...
How's this chapter...
Now tell me... Should I write their past story or just present one?