"Meerab jaldi karo, chaand ne intezaar nahi karna hai tumhara", Murtasim chided her as Meerab gulped down another glass of water. They just broke their 29th fast of the Ramadan, and Murtasim really wanted to go and check if the moon is there but Meerab was busy gulping down water as if it wasn't 13 hours but 13 years she hasn't had water.
"Chalo chalo, ho gaya mera", she finished the glass and suddenly got up, took his hand in hers and ran towards the terrace.
"Arey, stop", he yelped, taken aback by the sudden move of hers, but Meerab being Meerab, didn't stop running until they were up the stairs and onto the terrace.
"Chalo dhoondo", she said to him and folds her hands as if she completed a mission for him.
He gave her a long disappointed stare cause he stubbed his toe while on their little run to the terrace and she had paid no heed.
"Tumhe hi der ho rahi thi", she hid her sheepish expression as she glanced at his toe. "Dard ho raha hai?"
"Nahi, bohot maza aa raha hai", he strikes at her and now she was annoyed. She turned away from him and tried to look for the moon.
"Bhai, Meerab, chaand dikha kya?", Maryam asked as she came up the stairs and Murtasim answered her in negative as his eyes scanned the sky.
"Murtasim, look, chaand dikh gaya", suddenly Meerab grabbed his hand and pointed towards the sky. Murtasim instead looked at her and kept looking for a minute there, she is the real moon of his life. She was showing the exact place of the moon to Maryam now and her laugh was everything as Maryam struggled to locate it. The after sunset shade put an orangish hue around on her face and she was looking heavenly. He sighed, interlocking their fingers, as he looked up at the moon in the sky.
She turned towards him at his act of interlocking their fingers and saw him with his eyes closed, reading the dua. He looked beautiful. She had this sudden urge to kiss him in the cheek which she had to keep in check cause of Maryam. She then turned towards the sky again, and closed her eyes to make the dua herself.
"Ya Allah, meri Meerab ko humesha aise hi hasta hua rakhna", after he had read the moon sighting dua, he made this small dua for his jaan.
"Ya Allah, Murtasim ko har dukh, taqleef se bacha ke rakhein", after she had read the moon sighting dua, she made this small dua, feeling pained at him getting hurt earlier cause of her.
"Meerab, Chaand Raat Mubarak ho", Maryam came forward to hug Meerab and Meerab slipped her hand from Murtasim's with a gentle squeeze. He sighed at the loss of her warmth as he opened his eyes.
"Maryam, mehendi manga liya tha na?", Meerab asked Maryam excitedly and they both all but forgot Murtasim's existence as they descended down the stairs, chatting.
____________
"Meerab!! Meerab!!", Murtasim called for his wife as he walked towards Maryam's room. It had been 4 hours since he last saw her. Outrageous. And she hadn't even wished him Eid. Didn't give him his mubarak hug like she gave Maryam. Oh he was so mad at her.
He entered Maryam's room and there she was, sitting in the middle of the bed with Maryam, who was putting henna on her. They both hadn't noticed him yet. He took her in as he went closer, she was a sight to behold even in this haphazard look of hers. Her hair was all over her innocent face. And she had this small excited smile on her lips as she looked at the henna design in awe. She looked like a fairy in the baby pink suit she was wearing and he felt this need to have her close to him in that moment.
Suddenly she looked up, having felt his gaze and they looked at each other for a while. Taking each other in after 4 hours of not seeing each other.
"Haan Maryam, bas yahi par Khan Murtasim Khan likh do", she said as her intense eyes never left his and he felt goosebumps rising on every part of his body. Gosh! He was overwhelmed with a sudden rush of feelings for his Meerab and he wished so bad the situation wasn't what it was right now. He wanted to hug her and he wanted to kiss her and tell her that yes, she got that right, she was his.
Meerab couldn't take his eyes anymore, he looked like he would devour her if he had the chance and she literally had Maryam next to her. "Murtasim tum, kya hua?" so she asked him, acting surprised as if she just saw him.
"Arey, bhai, aaye baithe, dekhe aapka naam likhne hi jaa rahi thi main Meerab ke haath pe", Maryam turned to look at Murtasim, and told him with excitement.
"Kuch nahi, main bas tumhe dhoond raha raha raha tha", Murtasim replied to Meerab's question, coming to sit next to her. "Kaafi der ho gayi hai, tumne sona nahi hai?", he asked.
"Actually, main aaj Maryam ke saath sone waali hoon, we need to discuss a lot of things about tomorrow's preparations", Meerab said hesitantly, knowing very well her husband didn't like being away from her.
"What? You can just come after discussing Meerab", he said, already feeling annoyed with the idea. He liked holding her close as they slept.
"It'll be too late Murtasim, I don't want to disturb your sleep, kal waise bhi subah subah hi eid ki namaaz mein jaana hai tumne", she reasoned.
"Okay", he huffed and got up to leave. "Chaand mubarak, tum dono ko", he turned to look at her one last time as he reached the door and then left. And that's when she realised she didn't even wish him. Shit, she got so engrossed in the excitement of chatting about preparations with Maryam that she forgot to wish him.
She sighed. A lot of pampering to do tomorrow. She'll have to make all his favourite food.
________
He entered the land of consciousness to the feeling of something soft touching his forehead. Groggily opening his eyes, he saw her face very close to his and he couldn't help but smile at having seen his world first thing in the morning.
He was breathtaking, she thought, as she took in his smile upon seeing her.
"Eid Mubarak, Murtasim Khan", and he shivered at that, the way she took his name always sounded so sensuous and he was literally only half-awake at that time, the morning situation not helping, neither her being basically half on top of him.
"Eid Mubarak, Mrs. Murtasim Khan", he pulled her down, enveloping her smaller frame in his big arms. She smiled and reached out to run her fingers in his hair, as they hugged for a while. He sighed at the sensation of her delicate fingers in his hair. It felt good.
"Yaad aa gaya aapko? Hmm", he then mumbled in her hair, taking in the scent of the heavenly lavender shampoo she used.
"Sorry", she apologized sheepishly, "dhyaan nahi tha mujhe" and hugged him a little tighter.
"Accha bas ho gaya", Meerab broke free of the hug suddenly, and he whined, "aapne namaz ke liye jaana hai nahi?", she reminded him and sat up, pulling him up too.
"Hmm", he remembered, and got up. "Aapka kya plan hai aaj ka?", he pulled her closer to his chest again and she went along willingly, not wanting to leave him just yet knowing they'll have to spend the next few hours apart.
"Well, I'll be in the kitchen mostly", she smiled as she thought of all the food she was gonna surprise him with.
"Aapne kyun rehna hai kitchen mein? Mulazim kis liye hai?", he asked, looking down at her questioningly.
"Its our first Eid together Murtasim, I want to cook myself today. For you", she mumbled the last part. And he looked surprised. His sophisticated Meerab planning to spend the day in the kitchen. For him at that. His heart warmed at the thought and he leaned down and kissed her forehead.
She smiled contentedly and then got away from him, "Okay, freshen up, you'll be late". And that's when he noticed she had already showered looking like a flower that had just bloomed in her simple white suit. How does she manage to look so ethereal in the simplest of attire, he wondered, looking at her moving around the room.
"Murtasim, staring no, showering yes", Meerab chided him as she picked up the comb from the dresser.
"Okay ma'am", he laughed and got up to get ready to go to the mosque.
___________
She was very much a mess. The kitchen work was not it. Like she signed up for it but oh my god it can be so stressful. She took out the bowl of sewaiyan from the fridge, suddenly remembered the rice and water she had put on stove for the Biryani and scurried over to check if it had boiled and sighed when it hadn't. Too much patience required.
Feena and Hajira were equally a mess cause handling bibiji while she was in kitchen making food for Khan baba was a difficult task.
"Feena, pyaaz do mujhe", Meerab asked for she needed tempered onions for the biryani.
"Bibiji, main kaat deti hoon", Feena offered, knowing Meerab will cry badly while dicing them.
"Nahi, main karti hoon", Meerab told her as she finished the garnishing of the sewaiyan and went to check the rice and water on stove again and found out that it had reached boiling temperature. "Tum aur hajira ji ye paani pasao, and biryani ko dum pe lagao".
"Ji ye le", Feena passed her the onions and knife and Meerab took them and went outside to the dining table. It had been too long of her standing in the kitchen and she wanted to do the onions while sitting down now.
Murtasim heard before he saw Meerab crying like hell and got very worried. He had just come back from meeting up with few gao people who had come to the city specifically for him. He quickly came upto her and stopped in his tracks when he saw she was dicing the onion. He chuckled as he felt this insane affection for his Meerab, she was literally a baby sometimes.
"Dare you laugh", Meerab cried at him, having heard his chuckle. "If you had to do this, you wouldn't be laughing", she got up cause she had finished.
"Accha baba, nahi hasta, I am sorry, I know how much it hurts", he said, as he put his hands on her shoulders, also feeling the prickling sensation in his eyes. Damn you onions.
"Yeah whatever", she said, exasperated, "okay, now move", and got up, as she had finished.
As she tried to move past him, he held her hand and pulled her lightly, taking in consideration that she was holding plates full of onion.
"Thank you", he caressed her cheek, wiping some remnants of tears, confusing her with his sudden gratitude.
"What for?", she asked.
"Itne der se mehnat kar rahi ho meri favorite dishes banane ke liye, aur pyaaz bhi kaate, royi bhi, isliye", he said quiet earnestly, though a glint of mischief forming in his eyes at the last words.
Meerab blushed at his compliment. His eyes were so full of affection, she forgot to be mad at the teasing.
"Bohot kaam bacha hai abhi", she muttered, got her hand out of his hand, and moved towards the kitchen.
"Chalo I'll help you do the rest of the work", he followed her steps.
"Murtasim, kadam mat rakhna tum kitchen mein", she warned, knowing he'll distract her more than help.
___________
"Meerab, kaha ho, the guests are calling for you ya-", Murtasim called for his wife as he entered their room but one look at her and he forgot to breathe for a while.
"Haan, bas ho gaya", Meerab replied while putting on her bangles. Murtasim's sudden silence made her look back at him and his gaze at her made her blush.
"Kya hua? Acchi nahi lag rahi?", she asked, feeling conscious of his unblinking gaze.
He moved forward and took her hands in his, "are you kidding? Beintehaa khoobsurat lag rahi ho", he said in a low voice. Then put a stray hair that came out of the loose braid she had sported as the hairstyle, behind her ear, "I am so lucky to have you as mine", his thumb lingered on his cheek for a while as he whispered. She shivered, more at his words, than his touch.
"The guests are waiting, Murtasim", she reminded him, not wanting to get lost in his ever intense eyes, as the time wasn't in favor of it.
"I know", he said, still whispering and caressing her face, looking at her.
Meerab not knowing any other way to break his trance, moved forward and kissed his cheek, "chalte hai", and got out of his hold, blushing and smiling.
"Meerab-", Murtasim touched his cheek, butterflies erupting in his stomach at her cheeky move, but she was long gone. He chuckled and went after her.
_____________
"Masha'Allah, kitni khoobsurat jodi hai Salma tumhare bete-bahu ki, Allah jaldi se inki god bhare", Mrs. Nizam blessed them with dua and Meerab turned pink. While Murtasim smiled unabashedly at that. It hadn't been too long since Meerab confessed her love for Murtasim, and they hadn't consummated their marriage yet.
"Ji Insha'Allah", Murtasim replied and Meerab looked at him, shocked and flustered. Murtasim smiled at her, though it was innocent to others but she saw the mischievous glint in his eyes. She felt like hiding somewhere.
The topic changed and Meerab excused herself to her bedroom after a while to calm her nerves. Murtasim followed her close behind.
Her heartbeat was fast as he approached her, "Kids huh? What do you think?", he put his arms around her stomach from behind.
She released a breath as she turned in his arms, with him securing his hold on her back now. Maybe it was time, she let him know. "I am not ready", she said looking up at him. His face fell and she realised he misunderstood. "I mean, I am not ready for kids, only, I am scared of being pregnant as of yet", she tried, hoping he'd understand.
"Hm, actually I came to tell you that I have to leave for gao", and he hadn't understood. She sighed. She didn't want him to go, it was their first eid for heaven's sake.
"Why?", she said in a small voice. Hoping he'd notice her plea of not wanting him to go.
"Eid ke mauke par baba ki qabr visit karne jaata hoon har saal, iss baar bhi jaana hai, kal ya parson tak aa jaunga", he told her.
She held herself back from asking to go with him. He was clearly upset about their prior conversation and wouldn't want him with her.
"Okay", she looked down as she said, hiding her tears.
He released his hold from her back and kissed her hands. "I'll miss you", and a tear escaped her eye, but he didn't notice, having already moved away.
___________
Eid is not the day you feel sad, but she couldn't help it. Her husband wasn't home and she missed him like hell. He had gone 5 hours since the afternoon, and even though the guests kept coming which she attended to, the day just didn't felt like the day of the festival anymore. She needed him beside her today.
Also, he didn't give her the Eidi as well. Was he really that upset at their conversation that he even forgot to give her Eidi before going? It's not like she didn't want him, she did, she desired him, as much as he did her, but she couldn't take the burden of being pregnant and having a kid as of yet. So with proper conversation about birth control, she was ready to be with him, in every sense. Kids was a sensitive topic as well, she was sure he wanted them, and she had to be careful while talking about not wanting them as of yet. But now she didn't know how to start that conversation. With Ramadan, they couldn't even think of all that, and it was literally the first day of Eid, gosh, why does everything happen so fast, she sighed.
__________
He returned home, the very night, it was not right of him to stay away from home, from her when the gao ride was just two hours and the visit to Baba's grave only took half an hour at most. He got pretty upset at her indication, feeling she still didn't want him, like he did her and told that he'll return in two days but then thought rationally and understood he just needed to give her time. She loved him, she told him often, and that was enough, for now.
He entered their bedroom and found her lying down on his side of the bed, scrolling through the phone. Upon sensing him, she sat up, shocked.
"Murtasim, tum aa gaye?", she almost shouted.
"Raha nahi gaya", he smiled at her from afar, opening his arms a bit. And she ran upto him, getting the invitation, and hugged his midriff, his arms holding her tight around her shoulders as he buried face in her neck.
"Ugh, I missed you", she sighed in his chest, taking the scent of his cologne in. Though he was worn out, he felt finally at peace in hours, having his home in his arms.
"I missed you too", he told her. She pulled away from him at that, "to bol ke kyun gaye the parso aaunga? Eid ke din aisa kaun karta hai?" she complained.
"I am sorry", he pulled her in again and kissed her head lightly, "I just thought you didn't want me".
She looked upto him at that, "I do want you, in every sense, I am yours Khan Murtasim Khan", she put up her hand to make him see the name she had got written of his on her hand with henna, "how could I not want you to be mine?", she affirmed him. He took her hand and slightly kissed the palm, right at the place where his name was.
"Mine, hmm?", he whispered.
"Yes", she said confidently, "I just don't want to get pregnant as of yet, Murtasim", she told him clearly, "I am not ready for this change in my life", he nodded, understanding what she was trying to say, "so after I go visit a doctor, we can...", and she couldn't continue anymore. The implication of the sentence made them both feel hot. The proximity with which they were standing in suddenly felt too intense.
"Okay", he whispered. And they awkwardly broke the hold they had on each other.
"By the way, I am angry at you and I have decided you'll sleep on the sofa because of what you've done", she remembered him not giving her eidi and decided it was the best topic to dissipate the tension between them.
"What why?", he whined, shuddering at the thought of having to sleep on the sofa again.
"My eidi, where's it?", she put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows, demanding answers.
"You really think I would forget that?", he smiled at his dramatic wife who looked surprised at his comment. He reached into his pocket and brought out a box. Then he took her hands and made her sit on the bed. He sat down on floor, took her leg and put it on his eyes and opened the box to reveal the most gorgeous pair of anklets Meerab had ever laid her eyes on. She looked at her husband in awe as he tied it around her leg, and then did the same process with the other leg.
"Perfect", he whispered, then kissed her right foot, right near the ankle and wished her Eid Mubarak. Meerab was literally awestruck all this while, kind of overwhelmed at his gesture. Tears formed in her eyes as she up and sat down next to him on the floor, threw her hand around his neck and kissed him with everything she had. Murtasim stumbled and fell on his butt, but saved them from falling by holding on to the bed and kissed back with the same ferocity.
"I love you, so much" she told him with teary eyes when they broke apart. "This is the most beautiful gift I have ever gotten in my whole life". she confessed to him. And he smiled. Eid finally felt right.
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