âªâ« Teri muskurahatein hai taaqat meri,
Mujhko inhi se ummeed mili
Chahe kare koi sitam ye jahan,
Inme hi hai sada hifazat meri
Zindagani badi khubsurat hui,
Jannat ab aur kya hogi kahin
Jo tu mera humdard hai,
Jo tu mera humdard hai...âªâ«
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ahana was in the small library, half-sitting half-lying on the couch with yet another book in her hand.
She had always loved books because she loves the feelingâwhen she completely forgets who and where she is while reading. Reading a book just makes her feel better.
A year ago, Neela Ma took her to stay in the Jaisingh mansion, so, when she got to know that Ahana loves to read and collect books, she converted the room beside the terrace into a library.
Over the year, this library has become her safe haven.
She had come early from work so, she thought reading was the best option for her to pass her time. After a few hours of reading, she heard the door as someone stepped inside and shut it behind them.
"Why do you love books so much?" she heard Kabir's voice as he made his way toward her.
He stopped in front of the couch. He was wearing a forest green button-up shirt which was tucked into a pair of cream pants with the shirt sleeves folded neatly to his elbowsâshe assumed that he has just come from work.
She was still half-lying and consuming almost all the space on the couch so, he took a hold of her legs, lifted them sat on the couch while placing her legs on his thighs.
"I love books because they have happy endings."
He leaned back and draped his arm on the back of the couch while lazily smiling at her. "What about the books which don't have happy endings?"
"I don't read them. I already had a lot of tragedies in my life to last me a lifetime. Why would I want to read about tragic love stories?"
"Wait! Love stories?" he looked surprised. "You are reading a love story."
"I am! Do you have any problem with that?" she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Nope!" He shook his head and then some. "No problem at all!"
She resumed reading but felt his eyes on her from time to time. Almost half an hour passed, and she read the same paragraph over and over again as nothing was registering in her mind because Kabir wasn't saying anything but he was still looking at her which was very distracting.
She put her book down on her chest and looked at him only for him to suddenly look elsewhere as if he hasn't been staring at her for the past half an hour.
Ahana rolled her eyes at him. "What is it?"
"Wha..." he cleared his throat. "What?"
She gave him a deadpan look. "I might be reading Kabir, but I can still sense your gaze on me. I want to know why?"
He sighed. "I umm... I need to tell... no ask... no I mean-."
She smiled to see him nervous and stuttering. Putting the book aside she sat up, put her feet on the floor, and turned toward him. "Kabir, take a deep breath!" When he did and seemed a little calm she added, "Now, tell me! What is it? Is there something wrong?"
He shook his head. "No, everything is fine."
He bent down on his knee, sat in front of her, and took her hands in his. "I need to tell you something first and then I need to ask you something and I want you to not interrupt me in between."
She nodded feeling the tension in his shoulder.
"Ahana I don't know when this happened but I... I've always liked you and I've just realized a few days ago that my feelings are getting more intense. All these years I thought that you hated me but now that I know you don't, I just didn't want to waste any more time than I already had."
"Is this pity, Kabir? Do you pity me?"
"What? Where is this even coming from?" he asked but took a deep breath. "No, I'm not pitying you, Ahana. I can never pity you. Besides, I know you would punch me in the face if I did."
"I would!" she agreed.
"I know!"
"Now, what is it that you wanted to ask me?"
"I would ask you but before that, you need to promise me that you won't give me a punch." He thought for a second and added, "or a slap or kick or downright anything violent."
She had to stop the smile that was trying to make its way to her face. "Fine. I won't do anything to hurt you in any way."
She quietly saw him as he looked at her face then at the floor and back to her faceâhe repeated the process a few times as she slowly lost her patience. "Any time now, Kabir!"
"Don't scare me! I'm trying here."
"Then try harder! If it goes like this, you won't ask the question till next year."
"Fine. Go out with me." his eyes went wide, maybe because it sounded like a command.
She folded her arms in front of her chest. "That wasn't a question!" she stated.
"I know, I know! I'm sorry." he sighed and tried again. "Will you go on a date with me?"
She didn't answer and looked at him for dramatic effect but he took it the wrong way.
"Forget it, I already knew it was a bad idea. It was stupid of me." he stood up with his head hanging low, he stood up and turned to leave when she held his hand to stop him.
When he didn't turn back to look at her, she moved to stand in front of him. He still didn't look at her, so she put her hand on his cheek to make him look at her. "Hey! It wasn't a bad idea, I promise. And I'm sorry that I made you feel otherwise, that wasn't the intention."
He finally looked at her so she continued, "I would love to go out with you, Kabir. And my friend is not stupid! Don't ever call him that or I will punch you."
Kabir finally grinned. "I won't."
She stepped closer, wrapped her arms around his waist, and hugged him while listening to his heartbeat as he hugged her back.
"Kabir?" when he hummed she continued, "Can I ask you for something?"
"Yes."
She closed her eyes, listening to his heart's rhythm. "I have seen my friends going out on dates. Their dates would always get them some chocolates or flowers. I don't want you to-"
"-to bring chocolates and flowers for you because you don't like them."
She pulled back a little. "How do you even know that?"
He tried to deepen his voice to sound scary and failed miserably. "I'm a stalker, that's how."
She snickered while rolling her eyes. "Shut up!"
He grinned at her. "Can I ask you a question?"
She leaned on him, placing her chin on his chest to look at him. "Are you going to take another eternity while asking?"
"Not funny, Ahana!"
She snickered again. "It is to me." he pouted a little so she added, "Sure. Ask anything!"
"Why don't you like flowers?"
Her smile faltered a little. "It's not like I don't like them. I just don't like to give or take them."
He frowned. "Why is that?"
She again pulled a little back to look at him properly. "It's just..." she sighed. "They die, and I don't like to see anything die even if it's just flowers."
"You have a deep thinking process."
She chuckled and shook her head. "No, I just like to live in little things."
"Even now, when you are a billionaire?"
"Especially now, when I'm a billionaire." She smiled.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his chest while her hand went to his shoulders. "Have I ever told you how beautiful your smile is?"
"Nooo." she dragged it in the end.
"It's absolutely breathtaking. You should smile and laugh more often. It lights up your face and it can brighten up anyone's mood."
"You are being ridiculous." She shook her head.
"No, I'm being honest."