Haseen Ittefaaq

Chapter One

Siddharth sank into his seat and closed his eyes, as soon he had unbuckled the seat-belt. The relative silence of the flight was a welcome change from the chaotic week that he had had prior to that. He was about to doze off when he heard the soft, almost fearfully soft voice only centimeters away from him and somehow, against the very best of his judgment Siddharth opened his eyes to gaze directly into the most beautiful pools of molten chocolate in all of creation. Siddharth almost gasped at how utterly bewitching, how completely mesmerizing those eyes were. For a few seconds, Siddharth stared, speechless. 

"Excuse me?" The girl shook him hesitantly, causing Siddharth to literally snap out of the reverie he was pulled into. 

"Yes. How.. how can I help you?" Siddharth asked, slightly flustered, but completely mesmerized.

The girl smiled awkwardly, "Actually.. uh-- I have to.. that's my-- seat." She pointed to the seat next to his. "Do you mind?"

Siddharth shook his head, shifting slightly to let the girl pass. "Of course not." 

"Sorry I woke you up."

Siddharth smiled. "Don't worry about it. I was not actually sleeping." He said softly.

The girl smiled, adjusting her seat comfortably. "My name's Shehnaaz."

Siddharth nodded. "Siddharth." 

Shehnaaz nodded back at him. "You're going to India?"

Siddharth sighed. "Yes. Unfortunately. My family is hell bent on having me there for some ungodly amount of time and.. I'm venting to a stranger." He squeezed his eyes shut, cursing himself. "You don't need to hear this."

Shehnaaz chuckled. "I really don't mind. You can vent. I won't judge you." She assured him.

Siddharth smiled. "Thank you for the offer."

***

"You have family back in India?" Siddharth asked Shehnaaz, "Like.. parents, brother-- boyfriend?"

Shehnaaz looked up from her book. "I'm single. My brother lives in Canada and I'm not going to India to meet my family. I'm there to meet my best-friend and her family. It's her wedding. I'm kind of the bridesmaid."

Siddharth nodded. "My cousin is getting married next week too. He's younger than me."

"Are you close with him? Your cousin?" Shehnaaz asked eagerly.

Siddharth shrugged. "We talk. I don't hate him, so that's saying something I guess."

"You have the bar set too low." Shehnaaz mock-grimaced. "You're going for his wedding, I presume?"

Siddharth nodded. "Mom won't let me out of it. I don't have a say in the matter."

"You don't want to go?" Shehnaaz asked surprised. "Why not?"

Siddharth scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. 

Shehnaaz looked at him expectantly.

"Its not a big deal. He's the youngest of the generation and he's getting married. I'm the only guy in the family who's single and with no plans of marriage anytime soon. It's kind of awkward. I don't want to have to face my family and have them coax me into marriage." Siddharth explained to her.

Shehnaaz hmm-ed. "You are a handsome guy. Why on earth would someone like you be single?"

Siddharth shrugged. "You're not so bad yourself. Why are you single?"

Shehnaaz chuckled. "I'm not willingly single. I'll leave it at that." She said quietly. "Although, thank you for the compliment."

Siddharth smiled.