Aashiqui - Winner's Anthology

Fool me into love

This one is the winning entry for our April prompt - Fool For You - in our monthly contest series "Mohabbatein". Have a look at the entry that captured our attention the most :)

Here's "Fool me into love" by Hello_Cupid

Zara caressed her fingers on the leather. Her chair was placed near the window as she reminisced about the old times. The time when she wasn't a fashion designer running her own brand but a school girl suffering from autism. There is a major difference between the two people. One was dictated by the world and the other ruled the world. Although there were many bad experiences, they were clouded by the nostalgia of the picture on the first page of her journal.

A short guy with braces smiling brightly at the camera with a girl standing behind him with an annoyed expression. It was him. Her first crush, Zain. He was the only guy who took her seriously, who actually listened to her. The only friend she had. But the thing was she wanted more than friendship. And then one day she took a step forward. It made all the difference.

****

"Zain" She called him softly to prevent her hoarse voice from messing up her plan. But she realised her voice was too soft when even after a minute he didn't turn around. Taking a deep breath she poked his back with her pen. He turned around and smiled at her.

"Hey Zain umm can we talk?" She stuttered, losing the confidence she built up in front of her mirror.

"Sure," He said. They walked towards the garden walking a mile apart. It was a habit she built so as to prevent people from thinking that the sweet guy was talking to the school freak. He never noticed it though and she liked it this way. They stopped in front of the broken slide in the ground.

"I ...um wanna tell you something" Zara said, her hands fidgeting, not making eye contact with him.

"Yes I am all ears" He said smiling brightly. Her eyes shined as she saw his smile then returned her gaze to the ground so she couldn't look at the disgust in his eyes after she muttered the three words.

"I ... like you" She confessed her big brown eyes subconsciously making contact with his phoenix shaped black eyes. He blinked looking at the girl in front of him. Her brown eyes had the sense of maturity in them as she stared at him with hope. He knew she liked him, but never thought she would confess.

"I don't see you that w-" She cut him off with a smile.

"April fool" She shouted, smiling pleasantly at him. But her eyes told a different story. She was lying and he knew it. But he chose to ignore it. Petting her hair he gave her a side hug and then they went back to their own class.

***

She withdrew herself from the world completely and dropped out of school before graduation. It was a shock to him. She never said goodbye to him. He felt hurt and guilty. Time passed and their feelings died. But a tiny part in his heart still missed the girl who fooled him.

They met again after seven years. The first thing he realised about her was her speech. Her voice was no longer harsh but bold and confident. She wasn't the stuttering girl with bangs. But a cold beauty who kept apart from the world. She treated him like she used to.

He saw her determination and her love for designing. This made his heart stir. The details she added to the wedding dresses and the smile on her face when the design was complete. She was a newly recognised designer but her dresses were all handmade which increased its demand. He would see her embroidering frocks and once she gifted him a handkerchief with his name written on it. He was overjoyed.

***

It was the first of April. The day she proposed to him seven years ago. He felt his hands sweating as he patted it on his lap. He saw her in her office cutting the thread of the cloth with her incisors. He smiled and approached her.

"Zara" He called her name. She turned around and smiled at him.

"Can we talk?" He asked her, looking around at the designers in the room.

"Sure," She replied. They silently walked out and they stopped near his car.

"I wanna take you somewhere" He said, playing with his hair nervously. She smirked but said nothing and got in. They drove into a familiar ground. The broken slide still stood there and the grass around them had turned into a bush. She liked it though.

"Zara, I have feelings for you" He said to her. But he felt his heart shift when her expression remained the same. She looked around the school and then walked towards the old banyan tree where they used to sit seven years ago. He followed her. He saw her digging the ground with a twig. And then she threw the twig away. He saw a school uniform buried inside. It was his. The one he asked her to keep in his locker for him. But she lost it. He saw her removing the plastic and then touching the material as if reminiscing something. He went closer and saw something embroidered on the collar.

Zara♡Zain

"I don't like you" She said to him casually. Her hand professionally straightening the collar.

"I understand," He said, smiling bitterly. This is how it feels he realised. The taste of rejection was too bitter for him and he felt awful. Her eyes suddenly looked up and she walked determinedly towards him. He felt like a cornered child as she went up on her tippy toes and hugged him. Then he felt her hot breath on his cheeks, she whispered in his ear.

"April fools"

THE END