“ mujh ko tum 'mahtab' na samjho

shayad main us ka saaya hoon ”

...

Her eyes getting bigger and bigger with the turn of every page and when she read the last line her heartbroke and she felt a dagger piercing through her heart. Her eyes were ready to shed tears, when she saw a figure looming in her balcony. Her whole body stiffened and she got alert. Maybe its some burglar or a killer.....or a jinn. On the thought of jinn her eyes grew bigger and she opened her windows only to see, Rayyan Khan, trying to come in her window. She quickly look around the street no one's Their. Seeing the open gates of the windows Rayyan jumped in, Afeerah who was ready to shout at the sudden invasion of his in her room. Rayyan knowing that placed his palm on her mouth and looked at her, he was amused seeing her black orbs shinning under the moonlight, a moment passed between them, soon breaking into pieces when Afeerah bite his palm with her sharp teeths.

"You're so barbaric." He quickly left her way and sat on the far end of the bed.

"What are you doing here?" Afeerah said taking her 30 cm wooden scale in her hands, ready to beat Rayyan.

"I just came here to give you this."

Rayyan took out a friendship band from his jeans pocket and taking her wrist in his hands, he quickly wrapped it around her tiny wrist.

"Now we're friends." Afeerah's mouth opened in a big Ö.

"Ohh hello Mister! What do you think? Huh...." She pinched his arms, her next action was to punch him on his face. But her mother's voice startled her.

"Afeerah.....Afeerah....Afeerah.... We're late....lets go...." Afeerah understand her mother is sleeping walking again.

"You stay here. I'm coming back. Then will continue this from here. Okay." Afeerah ran towards her door not before pinching on Rayyan's arm again.

"Ammi." She started walking side by side her mother until, she reached her room and then made her lay on the bed. She quickly got out of her mother's room, locking the door from outside. Her father has gone Out of town for the confidential work of MLA Zubair Khan.

Rayyan was waiting for her, he was getting bored so he started looking around her room, when his something caught his attention. A novel, horror novel, he started reading it and soon he understood that Miss Afeerah Loves horror novels especially if they're about Jinns.

A smile passed across his lips thinking about a mischievous plan. He quickly jumped out of her window, and, disappeared in the darkness.

"Listen." Afeerah came in her room thinking Rayyan will be their, but he wasn't their. She looked outside her window but there's no one in the Street. She sighed heavily and looked at the friendship band, tracing her fingers on the its Middle where, 'A and R' were written in Capital letters. She smiled looking at the initials of their names and kissed it.

The seed of love that he planted in her heart has finally grown a tiny leaf.

...

Afeerah was sitting in the backyard pavement of Khan Mansion when she saw Rania coming towards her with a smile, she smiled too. They both study in the same school, until last year, Rania got married to the driver of Khan Mansion, who's fifteen year her senior. And Rania started working as a maid in Khan Mansion, on the order of her husband.

"Salam Afeerah The topper."

Rania sat beside her on the pavement, Afeerah just shooked her head. She doesn't know how to embrace praises. She has topped in her board exams in the whole State, Making her Afeerah the topper.

"Rani." She hugged her friend and looked at her swollen stomach. Rania is pregnant with her second child. And Afeerah looked at her with empathy, she was just sixteen and mother of two children, on the other hand Afeerah is studying and working onto achieve her dreams.

Its true she was lucky that even living in a village with a backward thinking, her parents supported her in every path of life.

She smiled brightly thinking about her beloved parents. She made a promise in her heart that she'll never let her parents down. But she didn't knew promises are meant to be broken.

Afeerah and Rania both chatted for a while, when Rania suddenly gave her a paper, it was a cutting of a newspaper.

“Haunted Bridge of Nawabgarh”

"I was eating samosas, when my eyes fell on this article. I've never gone to the bridge, but then your thought crossed my mind. I know you're hopelessly in love with jinns and ghosts. So i thought to give you this. Okay I'm going now. Bye." Rania gave her the article and disappeared from their like a ghost.

Bride of Nawabgarh that was constructed by a British lord, is now a homeland of jinns. Many people have feel supernatural power their, some may even have seen Jinns with big blue eyes and bloodied teeths....

"Jinn in Nawabgarh. So I'm finally meeting a jinnnn." Afeerah's mouth was opened in a big Ö. Her biggest dream is coming true finally.

She had knew that nobody goes near the bridge of Nawabgarh because the forest was near, and many wild animals roam around their freely. But now she knows the real reason that why Bridge of Nawabgarh is abandoned.

Rayyan was watching her reading the article with an open mouth, he knew his plan is going to be successful now. A victorious smile passed his lips.

...

She was walking without making any noise, a lantern in her hand and hiding her face in her shawl. With every step she was getting closer to the bridge, her heart was beating faster and faster.

"Ohhhhhooo uhooooooo."

She heard a whistle, but she ignored it and kept on walking, until—

"Ohhhhhooo uhooooooo hunnnnn."

She stopped and turned around on her heels, whe she heard the sound of same whistling. She felt terrified. Her heart was racing so fast with fear and anticipation. With some ounce of inner courage, she decided to take the leap and with a very low tone said, "whose their?"

"I guess i should be the one asking you this!"

A shadow growing Big, bigger with every step it takes and the man came infront of her... he looked familiar.

"Rayyan?"

Rayyan stand high, intimidating her with his gaze. She tried to not come out as the weaker one, but her racing heart isn't in her control.

"You shouldn't have cross the bridge! You know that its haunted....right Afeerah?"

"I-i-juuust wanted to....i just wanted to see the ghost."

She stuttered. Her heart is still beating faster upon the fear of unknown.

"Then why are you stuttering? Looking like a scared kitten? Huh?" Rayyan placed his arms on her sides, she was caged, and her back is aching with pain.

"You surely haven't invaded my hideaway space!" He shooked his head disappointingly.

"Your hideaway space?" Her tone was questioning and feared.

"Yeppp and now you're going to be my hideaway partner."

He smiled brightly. Withdrawing his hands around her and taking out a bubble gum from his jeans pocket.

Afeerah silently Started chewing it and started observing him. 'He's not that bad. I don't think he killed his classmate.' she thought but her bubble burst when she saw Rayyan cutting his own finger with a pocket knife.

Rayyan was looking at her smiling devishly.

Afeerah was getting terrified again, Rayyan was moving in her Direction with the bloodied knife.......

"Don't kill me." Afeerah said in a terrified voice and then she heard the melodious laugh of Rayyan.

"I'm not going to kill you duffer. It's just a prank." Rayyan was still laughing and Afeerah felt her heart falling in love with that laugh of his.

"I thought you're going to kill me....like you killed your classmate." Afeerah controlled her emotions and finally muttered the thoughts which were making her uneasy since they've met.

"I didn't killed Sai." Rayyan said with a serious tone, long gone the frankness.

"I didn't meant that..." Afeerah tried to say something but he cut her off in the middle of her argument.

"My only fault is, I was the first one to see Sai's dead body and when they didn't find the culprit...they framed me as Sai's murder." Rayyan said with a sad expression.

It was the first time he was confessing about his innocence, infront of someone.

"I'm sorry." Afeerah's head was bowed down in embarrassment and shame.

Rayyan lifted up her chin with his thumb and looked into her eyes, her black orbs shinning under the moonlight, he felt amused again. They both were looking in eachother's eyes.

Feeling this new feels of irrational heartbeats, the need to be around eachother, to touch eachother.

They're just teenagers who are Falling in love for the first time.

"I think i should go now." Afeerah ran from Their as fast as she can, but her ears still heard Rayyan's last words...."please come tomorrow, in our secret hideaway."

....

And it did become their hideaway, from the world. Both of them wait for the night to come, so they would meet and just talk with eachother. About food, places, songs, movies everything.

Their love was growing day by day in secret.

Nobody knew about it, they both didn't cared about anything at that moment for them only their Little hideaway and secret meetings mattered.

A love blossomed under the moonlight, will it flourish in the broad daylight?

•••••••••••••