Khizaan

Chapter 22

"Mujhe darr lag raha hai." 

(I am scared.)

"Darrne wali konsi baat hai. Achha khasa ujala hai kamre mein."

(What's there to be scared of? The room is well-lit.)

"Par anjan kamra hai. Bohot ajeeb lag raha hai."

(But it's an unfamiliar room. It feels very strange.)

"Kamra anjan hai, main toh hoon na."

(The room is unfamiliar, but I'm here.)

"Aap toh the hi nahi. Aap toh bahar the."

(You weren't here before. You were outside.)

"Waiting room mein bhi toh akeli thi na."

(You were alone in the waiting room too, right?)

"Tab din tha."

(That was during the day.)

"Ab ro mat. Achha ab toh mat daro ab toh agaya hoon na." He hold her hand to console her, he didn't realise why or when our of nowhere she hugged him.

(Don't cry now. Okay, don't be scared anymore. I'm here now.)

It was the first time his heart had raced so forcefully; for a moment, he was unsure how to react. Slowly, he called out her name, "Hyra."

Hyra seemed to jolt, distancing herself. Fear and astonishment filled her eyes.

"Andar jao aram karo," Hayder told her, reining in his emotions. She got up and left immediately, yet a faint trace of her fragrance lingered in the air. Then he shook his head.

(Go inside and rest.)

Before he could think of it, his phone rang.

•••

That moment, when her trust had briefly been his to hold, had stayed with him despite his best efforts to suppress it. Age difference and societal expectations had dictated that such emotions were inconceivable, and he had buried his feelings beneath layers of rationality.

As fate would have it, circumstances had conspired to bind them together in marriage. Baba's will had become a relentless force, pulling him towards a union he hadn't dared to acknowledge. When Hanif Mirza brought up the idea of their marriage. Hayder was at a loss, unsure of what to do or say. The age difference between them bothered him. Would Hyra ever be comfortable with it? Maybe she saw Hayder just like Dawar. And then, he overheard Asim and Dawar's conversation.

"Papa, ek baar mil toh lein Rehaan se," Dawar's voice echoed.

(Papa, just meet Rehaan once,)

"Dawar, dimagh theek hai tumhara? Hyra ki engagement Hayder se ho chuki hai aur tum uske liye rishte dekh rahe ho?" This was Asim Mirza's voice.

(Dawar, are you in your right mind? Hyra is already engaged to Hayder, and you're suggesting matches for her?)

"Usne sirf aur sirf chachi ki wajah se haan kaha hai, warna aap bhi jante hain Hyra kabhi na kehti haan. Rehaan achha larka hai, mere dost ka bhai hai, abhi usne masters kiya—"

(She agreed because of Aunt's insistence. You know Hyra never says yes easily. Rehaan is a good guy, my friend's brother. He just finished his master's—)

"Dawar, Hyra ki engagement ho chuki hai."

(Dawar, Hyra's engagement is done.)

"Woh kabhi khush nahi rahegi Hayder ke sath. Aur Hayder ne bhi sirf baba ki wajah se haan kaha hai." Dawar tried to explain.