“ i hadn't told them about you

but they saw you bathing in my eyes ”

...

She was looking at her reflection in the mirror, little grey strands covering her black hair, her once blooming wheatish skin is now covered with little thin lines. She slowly traced every feature of her face, trying to find out the last remains of her youth. She knew its the beginning of her old age. Yet she was trying hard to see that youthful appearance, it wasn't of use. Mirror Mirror on the wall......Amarah is getting old. She shooked her useless thinking away. She wanted to look youthful again, afterall, she has sacrificed so many years for her responsibilities and now when its her time to enjoy her life she's nothing but an old lady.

She controlled herself from crying and turned her back to the mirror, she couldn't see her bitter reality.

Amarah Fatima, a graceful lady, working as the principal in a government school. But she wasn't like this before, back then, she was a girl with full of life and dreams so high.

She sat on her bed thinking about the lost years of her youth and happiness. She was only eighteen years old when her father died of tuberculosis and being the eldest amongst her six siblings, she take on the responsibility of being the man of the house. Since then she never looked back and worked like a machine for thirty years. All of her siblings are now living luxurious and Happy family life. They will meet her once in a year, but, doesn't care about her loneliness. Her younger brother even suggested her to go to a good old age home, selling her home.

For them she sacrificed her youth, its not like she's complaining, but, at this age, she got to know she would have became selfish and chose herself above her family. But being an obedient daughter and loving sister, she sacrificed everything, her youth, her happiness, her love.

She was lost in her thoughts, when she heard someone knocking at her door. Her heart trembled with fear, it was almost midnight and many robbery have happened in a while.

She tried to calm her breath and the door was knocked again. Don't open it. Her mind ordered her, but, she ignored the whispers of her mind and walked slowly towards the door. And then she opened it, the man she saw standing infront of her, she almost felt as if someone has thrown her back in the cold and chilling December of 1992.

Mere mehboob Qayamat hogi

Aaj ruswa teri gaaliyo mai phir mohabbat hogi.....

A seventeen year timid girl was listening to her favourite song on the radio and smiling sheepishly.

"Amarah o ri amarah kahan mar gayi badbakht." Hearing the voice of her jallad ammi, she quickly turned off the radio and hide it underneath her bed, quickly wrapping the duppatta around herself and started reading her textbooks.

"Amarah...haaye... kambakht in ghutno ka dard." Her mother entered in her room and saw her studying, she smiled.

"Ammi aap? Koi kaam tha tou mujhe bula leti."

"Nahi meri jaan aap parhai kaarein."

Her mother affectionately smiled, she was very strict about her children's education. Asiya Begüm, Amarah Fatima's mother, she's an illiterate woman and knows the importance of education, even in financial crises, she never compromises with her children's education. And Amarah, her brilliant daughter, who topped in board examination and got a full scholarship for her bachelor's degree.

"Ammi aap baataye koi kaam tha?"

"Haan meri jaan woh pados wali samina chachi haina unka beta Khurram usse tum tuitions de dena iss hafte se uske supply ke parche hai."

Amarah who thought she might have been caught listening to radio, was now relieved. But laughed when her mother once again break the leg of English.

"Ammi woh supplimentary exam hota hai, supply nahi."

"Accha haan wohi. Kambakht. Ab apni ammi ko sikhayengi. Huh."

Her mother left from her room and she was still laughing thinking about 'supply.'

...

Amarah was sitting in the veranda and chilling under the sun, when her mother came and informed her that Khurram has came. She sat up straight and fixed her posture.

"Assalamualaikum." She heard a very deep and masculine voice. She looked up and saw a boy her age, his hair ruffled and his clear skin getting redder in the sunlight.

"Walaikum assalam, Khurram?"

Amarah asked him in confusion and he just nodded his head.

"Ohhh." Amarah tried to compose herself, Khurram was literally looking like the Indian version of her crush Leonardo DiCaprio. She tried not to look at him too much.

"Khurram please seat."

"Ohh yes."

They both were looking at their surroundings dumbfoundedly and didn't tried to break the silence, just the Asiya Begum entered and she gave a glass of water to Khurram.

"Ammi?" When she saw her mother sitting in the veranda too, Amarah got confused.

"Aree tum log parhai shuru karo...mai tou dhoop sekh rahi hun."

Amarah didn't said anything to her after that, she knew she's sitting their to spy on her, typical Desi mothers.

"So in which subject you got supplimentary?" Amarah asked in a very stern tone. Khurram looked up, their eyes met and in that moment, they both lost their hearts to eachother. Sometimes one moment gets heavy on the entire span of life.

"Mathematics." Khurram said sheepishly.

"Ohh Mathematics? Hush! Maths is so easy yaar." Amarah said casually and then she felt her mother's furious eyes on herself. 'yaar' the word which is forbidden to say and unfortunately she said it infront of her jallad ammi.

And then it became a usual for Amarah to teach mathematics to Khurram in the chilly afternoons of december.

"Khurram..you will ace in your exam. Best of luck." Amarah said encouragingly who was going for his examination.

"I hope so." Khurram said sheepishly.

Amarah turned away smiling, when Khurram caught her wrist unintentionally. Amarah looked back and furrowed her eyebrows questioningly.

"Aate hue aapke liye kuch lao?" Khurram hadn't left her wrist.

Amarah just looked at him stunned and then with jer other hand she freed her wrist from his grip. Khurram realised he shouldn't have caught her wrist, like that, he turned around without saying anything.

"Accha suno." Khurram stopped walking,but didn't turned around to look at her.

"Gajrey lete aana." Amarah walked back inside her home closing the gates with a loud thud.

Khurram was smiling ears to ears, feeling happy that he wasn't alone on this path.

But only if he knew that mere hours will crush his dreams.

Khurram returned with gajrey in his hands only to hear the loud sobings of Amarah, she was crying badly holding the janaza of her father Abdurrahman.

Amarah's fell on Khurram who was holding Gajrey in his hands and a plea in his eyes, on the other side her Ammi and little siblings were weeping. Amarah didn't looked back at Khurram again. She chose her family over her love that doomed before blooming.

"Khurram?"

Amarah Fatima was stunned to see him after thirty years. She heard from people in her old neighborhood that he went to England for higher education and now he came back like a ghost from her past, that too at the moment when she's counting her losses.

"Ohh please come inside." Amarah invited him in her beautiful two storey home, smilingly.

He looked at her and saw the greys in hair, shooking his head.

"You haven't changed a bit Khurram!" When the silence between them grew too much, she finally gathered up the courage to break it.

She was admiring him, he was still looking like Indian version of Leonardo DiCaprio, but this time an older version.

"How did you—

"Why didn't you called me for once after all this years?" Khurram's voice is laced with pain and hurt.

Amarah didn't understood him and looked at him with puzzled expression.

"You forgot me, Amarah." He shooked his head and took a deep Breath.

"Yes, i did forgot you." Amarah's answer was truthful. Yes, she did forgot about Khurram in her busy hustling life....and when she wanted to focus on herself, he was the first person who crossed her mind.

"But i didn't forgot you, Amarah. Not even for a second. I'm still standing where you left me, waiting for you....to look at me." His voice was low and deep, Amarah pretend that she didn't hear the plea in his voice.

"Why did you came here?"

"You didn't know but your brothers sell this house to me and i didn't thought that i would find you here."

"What are you saying?" Amarah shouted at him and looked at him in disbelief, when Khurram show her the legal paperwork, she couldn't believe it.

Her own siblings did this to her, took the last shelter from her. For them she lost herself and what they did? Throw her out of their lives like a tissue paper.

She sat down on the floor crying and sobbing.

Khurram looked at her and all he can see a fragile Amarah crying near her father's janaza. Back then he didn't had the guts to wipe her tears but now he can. And that's what he did, he sat beside her and consoled her.

Amarah cried for all the pain and sufferings, one last time. She wiped her tears and her eyes fell on the clock, its almost 3:30 am and she suddenly realised that Khurram's presence at this time will create a problem for her.

She looked at him, who was hiding his tears.

"I think you should go now. I will leave this place in three days. Just give me three days."

"Amarah."

"You should go now!"

Khurram who thought that he had got her back after thirty years of wait and patience, all goes in vain. When she ordered him to go back agaun.

He stood up and walked towards the door defeatingly.

"Accha suno?" Khurram stopped walking and this time he turned around to look at Amarah's smiling face.

"Kal aao tou Gajrey lete aana." Amarah was crying and smiling at the same time.

Amarah has finally opened the gates of happiness and love in her life again. Khurram walked out of the house smiling and feeling at peace after so many years.

The midnight darkness reunited two lovers with a promise of a beautiful morning.

The End.

•••••

Note~hows it?