.

𝘗𝘺𝘢𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘡𝘢𝘪𝘥,

𝘒𝘢𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘩𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪 𝘯𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘪 𝘮𝘶𝘫𝘩𝘦... 𝘬𝘢𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘶𝘮 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘪 𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘢𝘺𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘫𝘩𝘴𝘦. 𝘏𝘶𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘬𝘺𝘶𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘩𝘪 𝘩𝘶𝘦 𝘡𝘢𝘪𝘥? 𝘒𝘺𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪 𝘮𝘰𝘩𝘰𝘣𝘣𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘬𝘰𝘪 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘪? 𝘔𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘪 𝘬𝘺𝘢? 𝘛𝘶𝘮 𝘬𝘺𝘶𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘺𝘦 𝘡𝘢𝘪𝘥... 𝘛𝘶𝘮𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘺𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘬𝘪 𝘵𝘶𝘮 𝘢𝘢𝘰𝘨𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘢𝘴, 𝘮𝘶𝘫𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦 𝘫𝘢𝘰𝘨𝘦... 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘶𝘮 𝘯𝘢𝘩𝘪 𝘢𝘢𝘺𝘦. 𝘈𝘣 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘯 𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘢...?

-Noor

—

I clutched the letter with trembling hands as I read the words. My vision blurred, tears falling before I could stop them. The heaviness in my chest turned into aching sobs that echoed in the silence of my room. I sank into the chair, helpless, defeated. Every word she wrote carried the weight of a thousand moments we once shared.

My mind started spiraling into the past, each memory unfolding like a reel on rewind.

—

𝙋𝘼𝙎𝙏

University life had been silent for me. I had stayed under the radar, unnoticed and unbothered. It had been a year since I enrolled, and anonymity suited me. I didn’t crave attention, in fact, I detested the spotlight. That morning had started like any other. The same lectures, the same quiet hallways.

Until she came.

"Ayesha," I muttered under my breath. My cousin. A familiar face in the crowd.

Ayesha: "Zaid, meri class mein ek ladki hai... tumhein pasand karti hai."

Me: "Mujhe is sab mein koi dilchaspi nahi hai."

I turned to walk away, but she caught my wrist firmly.

Ayesha: "Bas ek baar mil lo... sirf ek baar. Agar pasand na aaye toh dobara kabhi usse mat milna. Please, Zaid..."

Her pleading eyes softened me. With a reluctant nod, I agreed to meet the girl the next day at the cafeteria.

—

Next Day

I stood in front of the mirror for longer than usual. I chose my black kurta, simple yet elegant. It was the only one that felt like me. After making sure everything looked in place, I grabbed my bag and walked downstairs.

In the dining room, Ammi was serving breakfast to Abu and Salim.

I joined them quietly until Salim broke the silence.

Salim: "Bhaijaan, aaj kuch zyada tayar toh nahi lag rahe?"

Me: "Apna khana khaya karo aur school jao. Waqt zaya mat karo faltu baaton mein."

I got up, picked up my keys, and walked out.

—

The university felt different that day. The usual noise seemed distant as my thoughts kept drifting back to her. Why would someone like me? What did she see in me? My curiosity grew stronger with every passing hour.

When lunch finally arrived, my friends caught wind of my plan and couldn’t resist teasing me. Soon, I was left alone at the designated table, awkwardly adjusting my sleeves, trying not to seem nervous.

Ten minutes passed.

And then I heard it, Ayesha calling my name.

She walked towards me with a few of her friends. At the center of their small circle was her.

A girl in white.

—

Time stopped.

There was something ethereal about her. It felt like every love song ever written was meant for that one moment, for her. The way her dupatta swayed in the soft breeze, how her eyes remained on the floor, a shy smile teasing her lips as her friends whispered and laughed around her.

And then-

She looked up.

For a second, our eyes met. Hazel eyes. Deep, gentle, unsure. A flicker of emotion danced across her face before she looked away. But that one moment... it was enough.

Enough to shake my heart from its slumber.

Mashallah, I whispered under my breath.

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