Miscellany Of Desi Tadka

Chapter 7🖤

"Renowned real estate developer, Safdar Khan has been arrested in various rape and molestation charges. The FIR was filed against him yesterday by one of his employees. After this news, many people are coming forward to give their verdict against him."

Adeel turned off the tv, not having enough power to see what was ahead. His ears lost their hearing ability as those headlines echoed around him.

"Now you will believe?"

It was Dadi who held his shoulder and caressed his head.

"I know, Adi. You're protective of us and that's alright. But it's not good to judge someone so quickly and also give your verdict on them."

Adeel nodded. What a grave mistake he had made in the past few days! One month had passed to that night when he humiliated Danah, the night when she left his house with tears in her eyes.

Her aunt had come to meet them and Dadi told her every truth. Danah's innocence and her uncle's every filth. He had seen the shades of disbelief on her face till she left their house and it was okay. They were not related to Danah in any way and hearing something new from a stranger always felt like a pill hard to swallow.

Adeel got up and picked the keys of his bike, he knew where he had to go now.

***

"The afternoon when you ran away from the house, our maid, Sakina, saw you. She knew what happened but Safdar silenced her with money. Many times I used to feel that she was trying to tell me something but she would stop or would move away seeing me with Safdar."

Danah was listening to her with fear of the unknown.

"But after I came from Adeel's house, Sakina told me everything. The thing Adeel's grandmother told me, I was listening to that same thing from Sakina." Phupho stopped to take a breath, "I'm sorry Danah. I'm so bad that I didn't believe you, I have come after hearing the whole story. I should have trusted you."

"I'm glad that you came." Danah wanted to know about her uncle, what happened to him, "what happened to Safdar phupha?"

"The night when I confronted him, he became aggressive and physically abused me and if it was not the police officers, maybe he should have killed me."

Danah's heart beat like an autumn leaf. A man could go that much low in his fake honor?

"Some women working in his office filed an FIR against him for rape and molestation. Sakina too came forward to file an FIR because she went through the same thing with him." Phupho sniffed, "How can I not see that he was this bad and filthy? I was living with him for twenty years, Danah. He was making so many lives hell, including yours. And I was not able to see the bad in him."

"Phupho...it was your past. It happened and it's now gone. Let's just forget about it, you're now here with me and that's what I wanted." Danah cupped her face and her brows furrowed with a question, "By the way, with whom you came here?"

"Adeel." She smiled looking at someone at the door and as Danah turned, she saw Adeel at the threshold.

***

Adeel looked at the girl who was constantly twisting her fingers or rubbing her eye and then looking inside where her aunt was sitting. He wanted to have a moment alone with her, to apologize for his mistake and Danah seemed to be too angry to even look at him.

"Just say what you want to say."

"You're not sneezing today?"

"I'm not scared of you anymore."

"I'm sorry, Danah."

Her green orbs clashed with his black orbs for the first time and Adeel knew his heart had forgotten to beat for some seconds.

"For what?"

"I judged you. I humiliated you. I behaved badly with you, I should have respected you."

"This one month gave you some deep insight about yourself." Adeel looked down as a smile grazed his lips on her rude statement. "I forgive you. You're too flawed but a man accepting his mistake and apologizing for them is a good man." Danah replied with a smile as they both began to look at the sunset, their hands a few centimeters away on the railing.

"There's one more thing, Danah." Danah hummed for him to continue, "I...I like you, a lot or more than a lot."

From the corner of his eyes, Adeel knew Danah was looking at him, but he had no guts to see her. He had no experience in this field whatsoever. Maybe he was not stating his feelings properly. Maybe it was not at all like, it was all alone love.

"I am not a man of poems and essays but these are my feelings that I have put in front of you." The sun was hiding behind thin clouds as birds moved back to their nests, "I never understood my feelings for you. The time when you came into our lives, I have never stopped thinking about you. It was hate at first then it changed into curiosity and then it changed into love."

Her sneeze brought forth his chuckle as he gave his handkerchief, her green eyes observing him as Adeel noticed her flustered cheeks.

"You're a good man, Mr.Adeel." Danah sniffed into his handkerchief, "But my past has really tampered my trust in marriage, love and relationships."

"And that's totally okay with me. I have feelings for you, I just wanted you to know that. I don't want any answers from you. But Danah, remember one thing, whenever you need me, I'll be here. Our house will always be open for you."

"I am grateful for that. Maybe before working on us, we have to work on I." She moved a finger between them, "This needs a little time, I guess."

Adeel smiled at her understanding, as they both again began to gaze at sunset, their hands grazing each other and none of them moved them away.

Sometimes the story does not have an instant happy ending but it has a promise, a promise of something better. That promise was working as a sanctuary, as an invisible circle of protection, that pushed their hearts somewhat at ease. Both of their hearts worked as protective cocoons for each other and for each other's feelings.

~Zeba

 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚊𝚊𝚊𝚊𝚊..!𝙰𝚂𝚂𝙰𝙻𝙰𝙼𝚄𝙰𝙻𝙰𝙸𝙺𝚄𝙼 𝙱𝙴𝙷𝙽𝙾 𝙰𝚄𝚁 𝚄𝙽𝙺𝙴 𝙱𝙷𝙰𝙸𝚈𝙾....;)

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𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚂𝙴 𝙰𝚄𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚁𝚂 𝙰𝚁𝙴 𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙺𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙳 𝚃𝙾 𝙱𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙹𝙾𝚈 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙴𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚃𝙰𝙸𝙽𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝚃𝙾 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙶𝚄𝚈𝚂.𝚂𝙾 𝙼𝙰𝙺𝙴 𝚂𝚄𝚁𝙴 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝚂𝙿𝙰𝙼 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙽𝙾𝚃𝙸𝙵𝙸𝙲𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂 𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷 𝚅𝙾𝚃𝙴𝚂 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙼𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚂. ~𝙽𝚄𝙶𝙶𝙴𝚃