Unexpectedly

2 | Story of a Love Story

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COMMENT CHALLENGE: 200! Come on guys, you can do it!

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Syra

"Soooo...?" Ifra Emaad asked me over the video call that night. Two years younger than me, Hareem Khalla's daughter was the cousin I was closest to. "How is the trip to the wilderness going?" 

"It's not a wilderness, If. It's a village." I rolled my eyes. "And it's amazing. I love it here. I'm getting so much material for my project." 

"Just be careful, Syra." Farhaan Bhai's voice came from the background. He was one of our older cousins and always acted like a big brother to us all.

"You know me. Safety's always first." I shrugged. "But how come you all are gathered together? Are you having a party without me?" 

"Obviously." Ifra grinned teasingly.

"Enjoy." I glanced towards my laptop. "Now, if you excuse me, I have work to do."

"See you, Syra!" A chorus of voice wished me goodbye and I smiled as I ended the call.

My mother had four sisters and a brother who was the eldest. This meant that I had a lot of cousins, Ma Sha Allah, and I adored them all. We were all close, like siblings. I missed them, in fact. It would have been fun to visit Khwabpur with them...although the villagers would have been in for a shock.

My phone started ringing as I resumed work. I glanced down at it and saw it was Jannah who was calling me. "Hey, Jannah, all good?" 

"Hey, Syra. Unfortunately, I won't be able to drive you to Khwabpur tomorrow. I have to take a day off for family. I'm so sorry." 

"It's okay, Jannah. You're already giving me your whole day every day." I replied, even as I felt disappointed. "I might ask the hotel to provide a driver to take me there." 

"To be honest, I wouldn't recommend that. For safety's sake, just wait a day. I'll be there the day after tomorrow, In Sha Allah." 

"I'll be fine, Jannah. I'm not here on an unlimited amount of time and I can't waste a day. If I have to keep this job, I need to work on this project with no slacking off." 

"But..."

"Don't worry about me. You take care of yourself and your family." I reassured her. "I'll go and be back before Maghrib." 

My mother was probably going to kill me. But I was determined to give my best project yet. I knew that Jill Hawkes, the assistant editor, was determined to bring me down, but no damn way was I going to let her. I had to prove myself.

I was going through the photos on a camera and came across some Jannah had taken- after asking me, of course. It was taken at the café where we'd had lassi. And I saw a photo of the man who had pointed out my lassi moustache. He was leaning against the counter, grinning as he spoke to the cashier. He wore an olive coloured open button-down shirt over a white t-shirt, along with dark blue jeans and scruffy trainers. He was clearly not from around Khwabpur. I zoomed into his photo, my mind having lost all control over the actions of my hands. He's definitely aesthetically pleasing. I couldn't deny that. The locks of hair that fell forward onto his forehead, the grin that held a strong sense of warmth and friendliness and that expressive eyes that seemed to have a lot of depth, even obvious in this photo.

I shook my head, bringing myself back to Planet Reality. What was I doing? I was here on a business trip! If I allowed my mind (or heart) to wander, I would be harming myself- morally and professionally speaking.