'Is age really just a number?'
Established author, Rehan Tariq, a thirty-five-years-old single man, is constantly questioned about his marital status. And he always has the same answer for them: "Not now."
"If not now, then when?"
Even he does not...
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Anabia
My lips parted slightly, and I felt my breath escape slowly. My eyes seemed to be unblinking, frozen in disbelief.
When we were kids, we used to listen to fairy tale stories about a girl meeting a prince at a ball. As we grew up, we watched films and read books about unexpected first meetings. It was all written by someone, dreamt by someone. Yet, we loved to step into that world willingly to escape reality. The idea of a glass slipper somehow uniting a couple that was meant to be; the idea of internal beauty triumphing external appearances; the idea good intentions lead to good results- all these factors increased my love for fiction, my love for writing. But I never expected a fictional situation to arise in my average reality.
But there he was.
Rehan Tariq, my favourite author, standing right in front of me, as I stood in the courtyard that felt like the perfect setting for a gothic romance. Dressed in dark blue jeans and a black button-down shirt, he was starting at me, his chest rapidly rising up and down. "Ana B?" He repeated.
A part of me wanted to act ignorant, as if I had no idea who he was. But then I remembered that he had seen me reading his book at the airport, followed by my reaction at seeing him there.
Breathe, Anabia. Breathe.
I opened my mouth again, but no words came out. I had no idea what to say or how to react. My mind was stunned, and my body was in deep shock. Maybe I was imagining this? Mama always said that I had very powerful imagination.
"Anabia!"
I jumped and turned towards the lobby and saw my mother coming towards me. I turned back to Rehan, my eyes still widened. "I'm a huge fan!"
A corner of his mouth lifted up in amusement. "Are you Ana_B, the one who writes fanfiction on my work?"
"H-How did you know?" My mouth felt too dry.
"Maybe a member of staff made me aware of the fanfictions. Maybe I read them and even comment on them." He spoke softly, but his voice was so deep and...s*xy. Exactly how I had imagined the detective's voice.
But then I focused on what he had just said. Those words were very familiar!
"Anabia, let's go, beta. We have a lot to do!" Mama glanced at Rehan curiously, before grabbing my arm.
I was too much in shock to even protest as my mother dragged me away. It wasn't every day that you came face-to-face with your favourite author, and I had not been able to even speak to him properly! I glanced over my shoulder, as I realised why his words sounded so familiar. "Ray_1234?!"
