Kahi Ankahi

Chapter 4

I opened my eyes and picked up my mobile phone. I blinked a few times to clear my blurry vision and brought my phone in front of my eyes to see the time. It was 7 am. Why am I up so early? I closed my eyes and tried to sleep again but failed. Ya Allah! I looked over at Iqra and found her sleeping peacefully. Obviously, she'd be sleeping. I grabbed my phone and quietly got out of bed. I went to the bathroom to freshen up and change my clothes. I came back to the room, grabbed my dupatta and walked out. No one would be up right now. I stepped down the staircase and went to the kitchen. Hungry. I walked towards the fridge and took out milk. I searched for oats and saw it kept in the upper portion of the cabinet. It was out of my reach so I used kitchen stool to reach out for it.

"Arey, dekh ke. Gir jaogi." I heard a very familiar voice say.

Hussain's p.o.v.

I unexpectedly woke up early today. Shehry was still sleeping. I quietly got out of bed and went to freshen up. I came back from the bathroom and walked out of the room. I walked down the staircase and saw Qirat in the kitchen on a stool reaching out for something in the cabinet. She stumbled a bit but regained her balance.

"Arey, dekh ke. Gir jaogi." I said, making my way towards her.

She looked at me, smiling.

"Tum aaj kal kuch zyada hi Bollywood movies nahi dekh rahe?" She asked, giggling. "Kyun ke aise clumsy log sirf movies mein hi hote hain." She added.

I shook my head, smiling. She carefully stepped down the stool and faced the stove.

"Breakfast karoge?" She asked, pouring milk in the pot.

"Haan." I replied. "Need any help?" I asked.

"Haan, upar se cocoa powder nikal do." She said, pointing towards the cabinet. "I just decided to make Hot Chocolate Porridge." She said.

"Arrey wah!" I told, smiling and took out the required ingredient from the cabinet and gave it to her.

She prepared the porridge and dished it out in two bowls. She topped it with chopped nuts and a drizzle of condensed milk. Hamesha se hi, she loved cooking. It's her passion. No doubt, she's perfect at it. She placed the bowls on the kitchen's dining table.

"Breakfast's ready!" She cheered.

We sat down and I took out my phone to take a picture of the beauty she had just cooked. "This looks so beautiful and delicious." I complimented.

"I know, man!" She replied, feeling proud of herself.

I clicked a photo and posted it on my Instagram with the caption "Breakfast with my masterchef. She cooks beauty" and tagged her.

We started our breakfast and talked about various things. It had been a while since we spent quality time with each other.

"Qirat... ek baat poochoon?" I asked out of the blue. "I dont know ke mujhe tumse yeh share karna chahiye ya nahi but mujhe lagta hai like you understand me the most." I added.

"Haan, poocho, Hussain. You don't need to hesitate to ask me anything.' She smiled.

"Um, tumhe kabhi koi pasand aaya hai? Like koi aisa jis ke saath tum apni poori zindagi guzaarna chahti ho?" I asked.

"Haan, aaya hai." She replied after a small pause.

"Kon?" I asked.

Qirat's p.o.v.

"Kon?" He asked.

Why is he asking me all this?

"Hai koi. Sahi waqt aane par milwa doongi tumhe usse." I replied, trying to sound as normal as I could. "Tumhe?" I asked.

"Ha-" his sentence was cut short by Shehryaar entering the kitchen.

"Kya halla ho raha hai?" He asked, mimicking a character from one of our favourite comedy movies.

We all burst into laughter.

"Hi Shehry." I waved at him. "Aur Hussain, tum kya keh rahe thay?" I asked Hussain.

"Um pata nahi yaar. Iss Shehryaar ki wajah se dimagh se nikal gaya." He clearly lied. He doesn't want to talk in front of Shehryaar?

"Tum log kab se uthe hue ho?" Shehryaar asked, looking at his watch-less wrist which made me giggle.

"Well I woke up at 7." I replied.

"I woke up at 7 baj ke 4 minutes." Hussain said.

It was 9 am right now. We'd been talking for almost 2 hours.

"Itni jaldi kaise uth gaye?" Shehryaar asked, shocked.

"Pata nahi." Hussain and I said at the same time.

"Naashte mein kya hai?" He asked, walking towards the stove. "Porridge!" He cheered. He put the porridge in a bowl and began eating. "Yaar, kaisi banati hai tu itne mazedaar khaanay?" He asked. "Main apni biwi ko tujh se classes dilwaoonga bas!" He added. I laughed.

"Biwi, haan?" I questioned, sitting beside him and signalled Hussain to join me.

"Aye haye, yeh biwi kahan se aagayi?" He asked, sitting next to him.

"Yaar kasam se tum log bhi na." He said, shaking his head.

We all laughed. We talked for a quite some time and soon everyone else woke up so we all prepared for the walima.

The groom's family had booked a ball room in one of the most luxurious hotels of Islamabad for the ceremony to be held.

It was almost 5 and Tai jaan told Iqra and me to get ready. We went to the room and changed to our walima outfits. We'd been waiting to wear these dresses since the day we bought them. They were so pretty! Once we were done changing, we walked out of the and went downstairs.

"Arey, meri pariyan." Ammi said, walking towards us. "Kitne khoobsurat lagrahe ho tum dono." We both smiled.

"Chachi, aap se zyada nahi." Iqra winked at her.

"Maska lagana toh koi tumse seekhe." She said, lightly pulling her ears.

We laughed. "Nahi, on a very serious note, my Chachi is the world's most beautiful Chachi." Iqra said, hugging Ammi. "And she loves me more than she loves Qirat." She added, laughing.

"Hain? hain?" I frowned. She just laughed.

"Main apni dono bacchiyon se bohaat pyaar karti hoon." She said, hugging us both. "Acha, chalo ab. Der horahi hai." She added.

We all walked out of the house. We got seated in the cars in the same order as we did yesterday. The only thing different was that Shehryaar and Iqra both insisted on sitting in the backseat which was quite weird because they both don't usually like the backseat.

We reached the hotel and was greeted and welcomed by the ladke wale, aka Ayesha Baji's new family. We met Ayesha Baji and she looked so pretty. We all talked for some time and then the photo session started. I took some pictures from my camera too.

"Guys. Idhar aao. Maine ek group picture leni hai." I called Iqra, Shehryaar and Hussain. I searched for Sara and she was busy playing with some kids of her age so I thought to not disturb her. The three of them came and I took a selfie. Just moments after that, Hussain got a phone call and he excused himself. He came back a few minutes later and his mood didn't seem so good. He was mostly quiet for the rest of the function.

What is it that's bothering him? I decided to talk to him later.