Yakeen Ka Safar

Special memories with a special one

"Zubiyaaa. Tum nai bahir nahi ana? Theek hai mein araha hoon andar." said Asfandyar as he looked at the wall clock for the eighth time in four minutes. In his black jeans and blue collar shirt he looked nonchalant but in his mind he observed that Zubiya wasn't ready till yet.

It was their second day in Islamabad. The day before, things were messed up so bad that he couldn't make Zubiya enjoy. So this night, he planned to take Zubiya for an outing.

"Asfi. Aap se wait nahi hota? App hamesha yahi kartay hain. Khud tiyar ho jatein hain phir mujh se jaldi karwatay hain. Mujhay hazar kaam hotay hain. Makeup karna hota hai, yeh jou itnay lambay baal hain na meray, jou ke aap katwaney nahin detay mujhe woh set karnay hotay hain, aur--" she was beautifully composed as she filed her complains in a flow but equally itchy and irritable. Even that she was infuriated a bit but Asfandyar just couldn't help fall in love and put up with it.

"Asfi mein aap se baat kar rahi hoon. App meri baat sunein---" she jolted him up as he was lost examining the lustrous figure in front.

Zubiya was suddenly broken out from the duration of her lodging complains when Asfandyar pulled her in his embrace.

"Mager mein tou kuch nahi sun raha, mein tou bus apko dekh raha hoon aur dekhay hi jaa raha hoon." he replied as his fragrant breath fanned her face.

Sudden blush crept across her body but in a sudden desire Zubiya wished she could extend the night just so she could stay close to him for longer, safe in his embrace.

"Asfi---" Zubiya felt her head becoming faint but his strong grip made her stand upright.

"Jee?" he whispered slowly.

"Hum late hou rahay hain shayad." she replied with nervousness trailing in her tone.

"Tou?" he continued playing on with her.

"Tou yeh ke mujhe chorein aur chalein." she replied.

"Itni jaldi chor doon? Abhi tou ---" he replied as a devilish smile blended into his expressions. Zubiya's eyes widened. A sudden laugh escaped her mouth as she stepped out of his control.

***

Asfandyar drove. At night Islamabad was beautiful in it's own way, so many lights. Lights glittered everywhere just liked stars dropping to the earth, huge and small buildings colliding in a mixture of shadow and geometry. By the day Zubiya just relied on the sky and the landscape of the hills but at night the city was a indeed a rich metropolis.

After parking the jeep at his meant-to-be destination, both stepped out. He held Zubiya's hand and started walking though the path with old lamps hung at the both sides. The stone path was punctuated with weeds after every stone. After a little walk, what Zubiya saw, kept her enraptured for a long time.

It was a luxuriant garden. There were four white iron pillars with hollow carvings in them. The stems of jasmine flowers had grown with the length of those pillars. There were growing flower tendrils in every direction. Fairy lights were draped from the top and left loose till the end. Clusters of daffodils reared their golden and maroon heads amidst the gloom and there were smatters of jasmines along side the hued primroses.

In the center there was a table with two chairs. The beautiful china, crystal and silver gleamed on the antique lace cloth on the table. Fresh white roses arranged in a silver bowl sat in the corner of the table between silver candlesticks with white candles. The candlelight was an epitome of brilliant gold in the blackness. In the candlelight, Zubiya felt as if it was nothing more than an archway to somewhere beautiful. She imagined shrinking down and stepping into the light, golden and warm. In that moment she was mesmerized.

He pulled out a chair for her. The place soaked in the beautiful smell of Roses and Jasmine. That heaven under the open sky was so extraordinary for Zubiya to endure. That beautiful night with Asfandyar, the clichéd romantic sight and the garden's natural allure all was too much for Zubiya.

"Zubiya. Kya soch rahi hou?" he asked as he discovered amazement in her eyes.

"Mein yeh soch rahi hoon ke app itna sab kuch sirf meray liay kartay hain. Mai kitni lucky hoon."

"Well not really mai ziada lucky hoon jo tum meray sath ho Zubiya. Aur yeh sab mein isilay karta hoon kyun ke mein tum se bohat pyaar karta hoon. Itna ziada ke shayad yeh chotay chotay gestures bata bhi nahi saktay." He held her hands and caressed her delicate skin.

His words trundled through her ears, echoed through her brain, with no intention of stopping. As she looked at him, amidst all the golden tail lights winking in the distance, all traces of her insecurities and self-doubt started leaving her neurons, slipping away slowly slowly. For the umpteenth time she wondered if maybe, maybe the way he cherishes the lady of his life and feel entirely grateful for having her, is the reasons that have made her his, in millions. Everyday she woke up and thought, what exactly has she done that someone like Asfandyar was chosen her partner, to her surprise, she never found an answer.

"Zubiya? Kahan kho gayi hou?" his voice pulled her out of her reverie.

"Nahi bus aik baat yaad agayi thi. By the way aap ko iss jaga ka pata kesay chala? I mean itnay baray city mai sirf yahan par-" she asked.

"Yaar mera aik dost event planner hai. Uss nai bataya tha. Phir aik dafa meray aik friend ki engagement thi, tab aaya tha. Likin mai nai socha hua tha iss jaga par tumhain zaroor laon ga kyun ke mujhe tou yeh jagah tou sirf tabhi khubsurat lagay gi jab tum sath hogi." Asfandyar replied, his voice soaked with love.

"Abb aesi bhi koi baat nahi hai."

"Meray liye tou bilkul aesi hi baat hai." 

Just then his phone started ringing. To Zubiya's surprise instead of receiving he declined the call which was very very rare. He hardly declined calls as most of them were really important for him to attend.

"Utha lein. Why did you even decline?" she asked out of curiousity.

He looked at her face, in the flickering candlelight, the golden light, Zubiya's skin seemed mellow like a peach. In the dimness her eyes depicted the soft brown colour. Her gold cascading hair guarding her shoulders. She looked so different, so enchanting.

"Kyun ke iss waqt mein apni haseen biwi ke sath hoon. Aur meray liay yeh time, call se ziada important hai." he answered softly with a reassuring smile and looked straight through her eyes. His words have always changed, as their eyes would meet everytime. Since it's true when they say, Words change, when eyes meet!

***

The rest of the night was spent between these lovebirds. In the darkness of the night Zubiya had always hidden her flaws, her imperfections, the scars of her past and the stabs of knives left behind. With Asfandyar she was more comfortable than she could ever be. His calming presence made her slowly close her eyes and she felt as if, her body was quietly switching off. He always had ran her soul free.

Zubiya knew, the eerie darkness of that night would never escape her memory. It was so special and even special with her love.

***

A/N: Hello everyone. Here's to another chapter, so sorry for the cheeziness of dialogues but it was mandatory. No?!
Heartfelt thanks to those who voted for me in the last oneshots. Stay blessed. It feels really really good. Bohat shukriya.
Also, vote this oneshot too guys. Just click '⭐' and tadaa! Vote will be casted xD.
Signing off for the next time, will return soon.
Huge love to you all.