Mashal was a nervous wreck.
Not because she's going to meet up with her possible future husband but because of the interview she gave yesterday. They said they'd call her back today if she was chosen.
She was already way disappointed with her previous six interviews, for there was no callback. At first, it hurt. The rejection was something which she was not very used to it, at all. But during the second time, she has learned to accept it gracefully. So was the third, fourth, fifth and sixth time. It was rejection after rejection. She couldn't believe the real world was so hard and competitive to survive. Her confidence level was decreasing with every passing day. But she tried to be optimistic.
Her no working experience was her biggest drawback after all.
She was so frustrated and on top of that, her mother has asked her to dress up nicely to entertain some guests, who will be deciding if she was good enough to be their son's wife. She felt like banging her head somewhere. The past two weeks were that stressful.
"Aapi, why are you looking at the phone like that? Are mama and papa forcing you into this?" Meher asked her worriedly, as she kept staring at the phone continuously. The company said they'd call before eight-thirty in the night. It was eight right now and she still didn't receive any well, which was so disappointing considering, she was very optimistic about this one. Her mood was beginning to get worse with each passing second.
"Oh no, of course not. I'm worried about something else entirely. And you know our parents, they'd never do something like that. I gave my full consent before going ahead with this proposal. Chill."
Even if this proposal news came out as a shock, she did give her whole consent. She wanted to move on from her crush and be in a halal relationship. Which is why she agreed with her mother without many tantrums.
Mashal smiled at her sister, but Meher just huffed, fighting away her tears.
"What happened? Are those tears?" She held her sister's chin and stared at her quizzically. Her sister shook her head and pouted sadly.
"What is it?" Mashal asked again.
"You're going to leave me," Meher whispered sadly, whilst gazing at her hands, unable to meet her sister's eyes, lest she'd start weeping.
"Come here," Mashal felt tears brimming her eyes automatically as she pulled her sister close to her, hugging her tightly.
I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon. Okay? This is just the first step. Even if everything goes well and I do get married to this guy, I'll always be around to annoy you. Don't worry." She chuckled whilst placing a soft kiss on her sister's forehead, who was still very sad but she nodded her head anyway.
"I'm not gone yet. Don't make such faces." She smacked her hands but Meher huffed before hugging her tightly again, Mashal became speechless at this point. Meher wasn't always vocal about her affection. This reaction coming from her meant how deeply she was affected by the news of her marriage. But they've always been close, so this reaction was very much expected.
She fought away those damn tears, which was threatening to ruin her makeup.
"Stop being so emotional now. I'm not married yet." Mashal broke the hug and cupped her sister's face, who was already weeping sadly.
"Look at you." She wiped her tears and sighed.
"I'm not going anywhere. If you cry like this, I'll always be coming around here. To annoy you. Every single day. And you'll regret crying like this I'm telling you." They both chuckled at the end and Meher nodded happily.
"I don't care, but if you do get married. Visit us every single day, okay?" Meher placed her hands against hers and asked hopefully. She smiled at the innocent request.
"I'll try to visit you all, every single day. Don't worry," she squeezed her sister's hands and her heart skipped a beat as she pictured herself with that handsome neighbour.Which was so ridiculous.
Gosh! Stop thinking about him already. She scolded herself.
Hypothetically thinking, if she'd have gotten married to him, she could visit her family any time of the day or night without any restrictions. It was hypothetical anyway. She was over him now. Which was why she gave her mother permission to go ahead with this marriage thing.
It took her five days to forget the mess that happened with Amina in the supermarket that day, thanks to all the interviews she attended, she was able to get over it and concentrate on something else. And thanks to her super handsome neighbour, who disappeared for two weeks straight, she was able to keep him off her mind and move on with her life.
Crushes are just temporary anyway.
But Mashal had no idea how her hypothetical wish was going to turn out into reality very soon.
"I'll miss you, aapi," Meher admitted sadly and the sisters hugged each other again, feeling very emotional.
Malaika and Arsalaan stood near the threshold of their elder daughter's bedroom door. Feeling overwhelmed and emotional. She leaned on her husband's arms, holding onto him tightly. This night wasn't easy for any of them. When Hania called a week ago, regarding this proposal she was speechless for a whole hour. Unable to comprehend how did her little daughter grow up so damn fast.
When she broke the news to Arsalaan, he literally cried in her arms. He loved his daughter too much and to even think about sending her off with someone else was hurting him suddenly. It had to happen one day anyway. Malaika was his biggest support, as she gave him all the strength and courage.
"Why did they grow up so soon?" She asked her husband emotionally, who smiled sadly at the sight of his daughters, who are yet to notice them.
"Mama, papa. When did you guys come?" Mashal was the first one to notice him, her sister turned her head in their direction. She smiled at them both as they walked towards her bed.
"Just now, jaani." Arsalaan ran his hands through her hair gently, while Meher hugged her mother's stomach.
"Mama, you'll not force aapi into marrying this guy just because he's your school friend's son, isn't it?"
Arsalaan and Malaika chuckled at the question and she nodded in the negative, "of course not, jaani. You should know better."
"I think she wants me to say no already." Mashal laughed and Meher even shamelessly admitted that, "yes. I don't want her to leave us, papa."
The three of them laughed at her silly words now, she huffed whilst folding her hands, "yeah, laugh at me, everyone."
"I think they're here. I'll go and check," Meher ran downstairs as soon as she heard the car honk and didn't listen to any of them, who asked her to just sit back in the room.
"I'll go and check them as well," Malaika wanted to move but Mashal held her mother's hands, suddenly very scared. Long forgotten was her interview. She was anxious suddenly.
"Mama, please don't go." Arsalaan sat beside her, holding her hands tightly. Malaika joined them both feeling very emotional.
"We are both here, jaani. Don't be scared. If you don't like the guy, we are not going to force you, okay?" He spoke with her gently. She nodded with a smile.
Mashal felt so damn lucky to be blessed with the best parents in the world.
"This is just the first step anyway, we will let you both talk for some time and only if you are satisfied, we will go ahead with the next step. Don't worry, okay. We love you and we will only do the best for you," Arsalaan kissed her forehead and she smiled with teary eyes before hugging her father.
"Okay, enough now. Don't make me cry both of you." Malaika sniffed, "they're here I guess. We should receive them first, Arsalaan." She got up frantically, trying to calm herself.
"Relax, sweetheart. They're our friends anyway." Arsalaan broke the hug and held his wife's hands, who gave him an overwhelmed look.
"I'll be fine, you guys." Mashal chuckled at her parents, who were more nervous than her.
"Yes, look at her. She's cool as a cucumber. Let's go. It wouldn't look nice to keep our guests waiting." Arsalaan held her hands and walked her downstairs. Meher gave an excited smile to her parents as she ran towards them.
"They're here," she ran upstairs at the same speed.
Mashal was about to grab a glass of water when suddenly her sister barged into her bedroom, startling her completely. She gave her sister an are-you-crazy look.
"You should definitely say yes to this guy." Meher grinned ear to ear.
"What? Are you okay?" She came forward to check her temperature, to see if everything was okay. Minutes ago, she was crying to let her go and now, she's saying her to get married. Her sister was so crazy sometimes.
"You'll know. I'm waiting to see your own reaction." Meher bumped her shoulders and clapped her hands excitedly.
"I'm honestly not even worried at this point. You're so weird." Mashal shook her head as she walked out of her room curiously and stood near the staircase from upstairs, trying to eavesdrop on the conversation. She couldn't hear anything properly though.
Meher pulled her arms and took her back into the room again.
"Mama will have your head, come here. You'll get your chance to talk with him. Patience is the key, darling." She for once was being the sensible one and advised her elder sister.
Mashal huffed at her, feeling restless. She couldn't wait to see this person, with whom she could possibly be married.
The thought itself made her feel chills. It was so unexpected.
"Assalamualaikum," a sweet voice interrupted them twenty-something minutes later as she knocked at Mashal's door. Both the sisters turned around and found a tall lady, with a cheerful smile on her face. She grinned at them both.
"Walaikum Assalam," Meher was the first one to greet her.
Mashal smiled at her before replying to the salaam, while her heartbeats rose frantically. This was all so new for her.
"My brother here wants to talk with you if that's okay with you, and I'm Syra Riyaz, by the way." His sister grinned at her.
"O-okay," Mashal replied almost in a whisper as she stared at the floor, whilst fidgeting with her fingers but stopped because she didn't want to come out as a nervous one. She also composed herself and stood confidently.
"Can we go to the backyard? I heard there's a beautiful garden there." Mashal nodded slowly as they walked together. She held her phone tightly in her hands.
Her heart was pounding hard with every step she took.
"Don't worry. My brother is very caring and kind. He's my twin actually, I'm very protective of him. And he'll make a great husband." Syra chuckled softly.
"That's good to hear," Mashal replied meekly, feeling curious to know more about this person.
Meher was going to follow them but was stopped by Malaika with just her scary eyes.
Mothers are so terrifying sometimes. Especially when they use their eyes to communicate things. Meher knew better not to follow the duo anymore.
Mashal looked at her parents a little tensely and they nodded in approval. She stopped to greet the parents of the guy first, "one second. I want to greet your mom and dad."
Syra gave her an impressed smile. She nodded back and walked towards the living area to find a beautiful couple in their mid-forties, seated on the sofa.
"Assalamualaikum, uncle and auntie." They beamed at her whilst replying salaam her cheerfully.
"And that is my daughter, Shazia. I think she likes you. She has never smiled at any stranger before." Syra added with amusement as her daughter smiled at Mashal from her grandfather's arms.
"She's beautiful, Masha Allah." Came her meek response. Mashal was suddenly feeling shy under all these scrutinizing eyes. Hania got up from the sofa and walked towards her with a wide smile.
"You are so pretty as well, Masha Allah." Mashal was surprised to find that the mother of the groom was as short as her. She felt so happy about that fact unknowingly. It was so rare that she finds someone of her height these days. And it took her off guard as the lady threw her arms around her and hugged her briefly. She stilled for a second before hugging her back.
She loved hugs. Hugs are so warm and comfortable. This lady, who can be her possible mother in law seemed so kind and sweet. Her heart was at peace to notice this point. All those drama serials had always pictured the mother-in-laws as evil and cunning humans. And she was very nervous regarding the same.
"My son wanted to talk with you actually. He's in the backyard. You can go ahead. We all are around, after you both are done talking we all can talk." Hania explained softly. She nodded her head and glanced at her parents again, who nodded at her, giving her the sign to go ahead.
Taking a deep breath, she walked ahead.
Her heart stopped beating for a second as she twisted the doorknob and pulled open it, she took a last glance at herself to make sure she looked good.
Draped in her favourite red colour Anarkali salwar suit, she looked prettier than usual. Her hair was tied in a french braid leaving a few strands on the front. Her long, silver loop hearing was the cherry on the top. Once she was satisfied, Mashal walked ahead and noticed a tall guy standing in front of her. She could only see his back.
With a clearing of her throat, she greeted the person with her salaam in her meek voice.
"Assalamualaikum," Murat was busy admiring the flowers and plants in his neighbour's garden when he heard that soft and hesitant voice, he snapped his head towards her almost immediately.
His breath hitched as he took a look at her, she was so ethereal. So gorgeous. Her honey brown eyes twinkled in the dark, but she looked pretty taken aback by the way she gazed at him with astonishment and confusion.
Mashal stood rooted to her spot. Her heartbeats raised frantically. Was she hallucinating? Or is this some kind of sick joke? If this is a joke, it wasn't funny at all. Or was she really seeing things?
"What are you doing here?" She couldn't keep that shock out of her voice. She gawked at him in utter disbelief.
She looked like she'd pass out any moment.
"I had the exact same reaction when my parents drove me to this place tonight," Murat chuckled nervously at her astonished expression.
A few days ago, whenever he looked at her, she'd always remind him of someone else. But today, all he could see was her. Mashal Baig. Just her. And gosh! She was so pretty.
Why did he never see this before? He knew the answer but God she was gorgeous.
"You're not my imagination, are you?" She asked him cutely with her eyes so wide. He was real after all. As real as a fantasy can be.
"Definitely, not. Mashal. I hope I can call you that," he asked and she nodded in a daze, unable to grasp what the hell was happening.
"I'll call you Murat as well then," she muttered whilst gazing at his face, to make sure he was actually real. Her name sounded so good as he uttered it. Gosh! What the hell was happening?
"That's my name, so of course." He replied in amusement.
"Okay, Murat. Why are you here actually? Is this some kind of joke?" She questioned him in all seriousness. She was sure Amina auntie had a huge role to play in this. Her stomach did a summersault at the thought. Was this really happening?
She liked how his name rolled on her tongue though. His name was so beautiful.
Ugh! Get a grip on yourself, Mashal.
"Definitely not a joke. My parents thought you'd be a good match for me. They wanted me to get married someday." He replied calmly.
"Oh. Of course. So what did you want to talk about?" She stammered, still in scepticism. Her neck pained slightly as she had to look up at him. Why was he so tall?
"I didn't know it was you who they were talking about. I'm still in shock myself. Look, I know we had a rocky start." He trailed off as she raised her brows, asking him to go ahead.
"It was my fault yes. I shouldn't have slammed the door on your face." He sighed inwardly and folded his arms.
"And?" She was petty to hold a grudge on him for this thing, but he did hurt her ego pretty badly. And she didn't even get her deserved apology yet.
"And I'm sorry about that," he finally apologized.
"Took you long enough," she scoffed.
"I had some other issues at that time. I'm not justifying myself, but anyways. Do you want to ask me anything?"
"Okay, first of all...You said you had had no idea it was me you're going to see tonight, but now that you know, are you still willing to go ahead with this marriage thing." She questioned him with a straight face.
"Wow. You're very straightforward and I like it," he chuckled nervously.
"That's not the answer I needed though," she held her phone tightly and looked at him expectantly for his answer.
"I think I'm okay with the idea of marrying you," there was an honesty in his voice and her heart stopped beating for a second. It took her a moment to compose herself. She couldn't breathe.
Was this actually real? Mashal couldn't believe any of this for it felt like a crazy dream.
"So what are your hobbies?" He questioned her randomly as silence prevailed over them. It was awkward as hell. She just kept on staring at him in surprise and shock. But his question changed her expression and she relaxed a bit.
He was here for real. They might as well get to know eachother. But only she knows how difficult it was to not jump in happiness. Mashal couldn't believe her luck. She could be marrying her crush for all she knows and the thought itself was super crazy. She pinched herself without his notice and damn, it pained. Nothing about this night was her imagination.
"Hey?" He waved in amusement, snapping her back to reality.
"Sorry, I zoned out. What did you ask? Hobby right?"
"I like to write. Writing is something I enjoy truly. It helps me escape this real world." She replied with a fond smile on her face. She loved writing and not everyone appreciated her skills, for they find it very time consuming and boring.
"That's brilliant. I'd love to read something of yours someday." He smiled impressively taking her by surprise. She shook her head, "nothing is confirmed yet. We are just talking currently. I could say no to this proposal for all you know." There was mischief in her voice.
"Oh," He looked pretty taken aback by those words, not knowing what else to say.
"Anyways, how old are you?" She chuckled at his confused face. It was true anyway. Just because they are talking currently, doesn't mean they'd be married. She still needs a lot of time to wrap her head around the idea of marrying her crush. Gosh, it was so unbelievable that she wanted to pinch herself.
"I'm twenty-seven, turning twenty-eight next month."
"I'm twenty-two," she replied even if he didn't ask.
"I know, I mean it was mentioned in your CV," he replied nonchalantly. She became tensed at the mention of the interview. That was another bitter memory they've shared. She couldn't get herself to forget this even if she tried.
"I'm sorry for that night as well. I just don't like it when someone uses their power to get things their way. I shouldn't have behaved rudely with you though." Mashal nodded in understanding.
"What happened to that accident guy? I couldn't get a chance to ask you," she was suddenly very nervous.
"Alhamdulillah, he's safe. But was jailed under the drunk and drive case. Like he deserved to be,"
She sighed in relief.
"You don't smoke or drink right?" Mashal questioned him cautiously.
"No, I don't. I have friends who do that, but I never did. You can trust me," he replied calmly. Not feeling bad or offended by her question, which was another shock.
"The most important question, do you pray five times a day?"
"I don't, actually. And I'm ashamed of that, I'm trying to change myself though. I just pray Isha every day." she gave him a disappointed nod, not wanting to judge him. It was a sad reality but none of the Muslims is perfect these days.
"I pray five times every day."
"Masha Allah, that's good to hear."
"Do you know how to cook?" She wanted to change the subject, and he relaxed with this question.
"I live alone, so yes. I know. I'm a good cook."
"Well, I am an okay cook." She chuckled softly and thought of the next question, "what do you do to pass your time?"
"I like exploring, swimming and visiting new places."
"That's cool, I'm not an introvert but I like staying at the home mostly. Exploring is not my thing."
This interrogation was turning more and more awkward with each passing moment.
"So, can I ask you something personal?" Murat became tensed now, he nodded in agreement, asking her to go ahead.
"If my father didn't get involved in the interview, were you going to give me the job?" Her question took him off guard.
"Honestly, no. There was another excellent candidate with more experience. I only want the best for my company." He replied honestly and her face fell in dejection.
"Oh, I get it." She gave him a tight-lipped smile.
"I gave lots of interviews after that. It's so tough," she sighed with slight annoyance. No one has warned her that the real world was going to be so competitive.
"You do have potential, I'm sure someone else will hire you." He gave her an encouraging smile.
"Yeah, sure." There was sarcasm in her voice.
Suddenly her phone began to ring, startling them both. She excused herself and answered the call.
Murat observed how she was very jittery and nervous one second and how she was beaming in the next moment. He felt confused.
"Thank you, I'll mail you back soon." With that, she hung up the call and grinned ear to ear.
"Guess what?" She was so cheerful and content all of a sudden.
"What?"
"I got a job. A real freaking job." She muttered excitedly, unable to hide her happiness and joy. Her smile was so beautiful. And she couldn't stop smiling ever since the phone call.
"Wow. Congratulations. That's so good." He felt genuinely happy for her.
"Which company? Just asking,"
"Kaif's advertising and marketing agency. They're the new emerging business in the advertisement industry. I'm so glad they chose me, Alhamdulillah." She sounded so happy and excited while he took a step back hearing the company's name.
"Did you say Kaifs? As in Kaif Mir's company?"
"Yes. That's my boss's name. Do you know him?" She asked innocently, while he was still in shock.
Of course, he knew this Kaif. How can he not know that person with whom his ex-girlfriend has cheated on him?