A House Beyond Horizon

Chapter 5

~Hasrat e deedar bhi kya cheez hai,
Wo saamne ho to masalsal dekha bhi nahin jaata.~

The glass of the magnificent architecture reflected the frail sun that was trying hard to light the world from behind the gray clouds. The air around held the promise of the coming rain with the heat of the gone summers.

July was not many days away. The malls, shops and market were full of monsoon sales. So when they both reached the Centrestage mall, Idris' first instinct was to hold Raaya's hand so as not to miss her sight even for a moment. Her hand was sweaty, and maybe he imagined her low gasp.

They both were shopping for their Walima. He had to buy suitable attire for himself and Raaya had to do the same.

"Where should we go first?" Idris pulled her a little so she was walking beside, not behind him. Raaya's eyes were smiling, those blue orbs reflecting the same spark of the fairy lights around them, as she looked at everything with awe. He squeezed her hand to grab her attention.

"I don't know." She gave a shy smile, "It's my first time here. You decide."

"Let's start with your dress." Idris walked towards a wedding boutique, where he could see mannequins wearing decent dresses. "Do you have something specific in your mind? What do you want?"

She shook her head, "Just don't want anything in red."

He nodded, "Why?" The last time he checked, girls loved wearing red especially in their wedding or any other function.

Raaya looked at him for a second and he waited for her answer when she just went inside the boutique, ignoring him altogether.

The salesperson asked about their specifications for the dress and he gestured to Raaya to go ahead. She was hesitant at first but slowly began to answer his questions. They were sent to a huge room, the dresses stacked in an organized way.

"This is trending." The salesperson put three hanged dresses in front of them.

Raaya's hand grazed over the fabric as Idris noted her expressions. Mostly they were showing her dresses with golden, pink or green undertones as she had specified.

"Do you like it?"

Raaya was now standing in front of him, putting the hanged pink dress on her body. Her nose ring glimmered reminding him of the night before. Idris coughed to pull his mind together and nodded.

***

Once more she rubbed her hand to wipe that sweat away. Her gut was filled with nervous bubbles as she tried to stay calm. She straightened as Idris nodded for the pink dress. Raaya had told them to show ghararas specifically.

The fabrics and designs were good but the prices were too high. She couldn't imagine buying something this expensive in her entire life.

"That's costly. I can't afford it." She put the green dress on the sofa and came beside her husband.

Idris, who was busy going through his phone, looked up, "What's costly?"

"Every dress. I earn, but not this much."

His smile was small but bright as if he was looking at a kid in amusement, "Who's telling you to spend? It'll be from my side."

A boulder dropped in her gut, "I can't let you. This is too much. Too expensive even when you're buying it."

They both were again going into an argument. Idris had to call his mother and she decided that Raaya had to buy a dress, any dress she liked.

The three dresses she selected, Raaya went for the pink one as it was decent and less costly among them. Now she was in the trial room. The fitting was good, keeping the dupatta over her head, she came out. She kept her head low, not making eye contact with anyone.