Oneshots on AsfiYa

Baarish Vaali Raat - Part 2

ASFANDYAR'S POV

"Ek baat kahoon aap se? Apne bachchon ko iss tarah naa daantan karein. Mere kapdon se jyaada inke ehsaasaat keemti hai"

she said in a slightly authoritative tone, almost like someone had accused her of a crime she hadn't committed, like the man scolding his daughter had reopened an old wound in her that was still fresh. The man immediately apologised to her and went inside to check on the tea.

I was just a silent spectator in this whole conversation and honestly, I was dumb-founded. That one line that she had said a few minutes ago had really struck a chord with me. It suddenly occurred to me that she was so compassionate , empathetic and down to earth. She was a beautiful soul.

When I look back now, I think something changed for me in that moment, I don't know what, though.

I sat there holding my cup of tea, which I hadnt sipped on yet and she sat in front of me, waiting for her cup to arrive. I looked at her attentively and realised that she must be tired and cold too, so she was the one who needed a cup of tea way more than I did right now. After a lot of contemplation, I decided to give her my cup.

A: Yeh lo, yeh pee lo.. (handing her the cup)

Z : Nahi.. Aap piye

A: Pee lo. (Assertively, with a reassuring expression)

She took the cup from my hands and started to sip the tea. While I watched her, A tiny smile crept up on my face unknowingly. Within seconds, I realised and managed to conceal it immediately, with my usual stoic expression.

I didn't understand what was happening. I am someone who LOVES tea and I usually wouldn't give my tea to anyone. Was I genuinely happy and willing to give my tea to this lady doctor in front of me?! Why?

I was someone who managed my emotions very well. Even if I was going through a storm on the inside, I could easily manage to look like someone who had it all in control on the outside. It was a skill I had learnt after Daniyal Bhai's death. I couldn't afford to break down every single time, I had to hold myself together for the sake of my family. I wondered what was wrong today though? Why was it suddenly getting harder for me to maintain a stoic, no-nonsense expression?

By the time I had finished having a conversation with myself in my head, my tea had arrived and I quickly drank it. Dr. Zubia and I bid adieu to the man and his family and got into the car. It was still raining, but thankfully the intensity had reduced. I started the car and had my eyes on the road. Just then, I noticed Dr.Zubia's gaze on me from the corner of my eye. I turned to look at her but she had turned her face away by then. I stared at her for a couple of seconds and couldn't help but notice how the moonlight illuminated her face perfectly and enhanced her sharp features. I quickly turned my gaze towards the road again. There was pin-drop silence in the car and it was making me uncomfortable, so I decided to engage Dr. Zubia in some small talk and later expressed to her that she had done a great job with the delivery and that I genuinely appreciated how hard she had been working lately. I also told her that we would be taking a longer but safer route to the hospital today because the usual road was closed because of a land-slide. 

Just as we were talking, I noticed the car slow down, though I was pressing the accelerator. Eventually, it came to a stop without me pressing the break. I took the key out and tried to switch on the ignition again, but in-vain. Zubia gave me a questioning look and I told her that there was probably an issue with the car and that I'd go check.

I had stepped out in the rain, opened the bonnet and was trying out what was wrong with the car, with a torch in my hands. A couple of minutes later, I noticed that the raindrops had suddenly stopped falling on my head. I looked up and saw an umbrella above my head. It was Dr. Zubia and she asked me what had gone wrong. Instead of answering her question, I asked her why she had stepped out of the car, with a sense of authority and asked her to go back inside, with the same authority.