Ishq Kinara[Love Ashore] Complete

1. Abay Saalo'n!

Year 2014

The thing about living in Karachi is the concept of sleep and wakefulness is kind of blurred. The day and night are so submerged into each other that you can't tell when one ended and the other started. It was one of those nights, perfectly ordinary and nothing was out of the norm. The traffic was going the same way, forming a labyrinth of never ending vehicles, the restaurants and eat out places were as crowded as they get and to the far corner the big center of clear water and bleak tales stood the same way.

The marquee set over the garden was illuminated with several lights the glow of which was making a halo on the makeshift stage. The wreaths of flowers were placed at random spots making it look like large confetti had been showered upon the center. The couple of the hour was gazing around at the people watching them, hand in hand and with identical grins. There were many sighs from the crowd a little away from the stage. Everyone was looking at the bride and groom with smiles on their faces, real or forced, no one could tell. In a perfect setting, this would be the starting point of our story. But this wasn't any perfect setting so neither the bride with stars in her eyes nor the hundred people looking at her was our focus point. It'd be that lone figure sitting in the far corner of the last row with a scowl set on her face and her third glass of juice in her hand.

She leaned into her seat and settled her hair on her shoulder. It had been just an hour and she was bored out of her wits. Weddings were overrated. The whole circus this intimate and private affair had been made was overdone and the whole shimmer of it as well. So far the only thing she found worth attending this bore fest was the juice they were serving. Three glasses down and she still wanted more. The dinner was a long way to be opened and if she kept on going at this rate she'd be far full of juice to have a healthy amount of dinner and that'd be the purpose failure of coming here tonight. Wedding food was the highlight. It'd always be.

"Make sure Sehrish auntie doesn't see you rolling eyes at her beloved daughter and son in law. She'll cause a racket."

Areeba smoothed out her dress while taking her seat back. Desi weddings means meeting a lot of people with mock smiles you'd walk right past in other circumstances. She was happily chatting with her favourite cousin and once best friend when her mother gestured her to come there and being an obedient daughter Areeba followed her instruction without any objection no matter how dreaded the concept of meeting so many people was.

"Bold of her to assume everyone here is genuinely interested to attend this calendar shoot. Half of these people are just to see after years of struggle whom did Maryam Darling ended up with. Other half are just here to showcase their designer clothes and then come people like me and you. Our sole purpose."

"Good food. Loads of it."

"That's my pal."

Areeba laughed. Elaf Daud and her uninhibited ways of putting her point across.

"Okay, so where we were before Ammi called me?

"You were telling me about your trip to northern areas. How it was like a mini heaven."

"It was! You should've been there, Elaf! It feels like you've been transported to some other realm, you know..."

But Elaf wasn't listening. Her eyes shifted towards a figure walking away from the stage after congratulating the couple.