Meanwhile, in his room Ayaan was walking here and there in his room, his heart racing with anticipation. last night he was too busy revising all his notes and trying to clam himself for the presentation, but today he finally got time to think about how Aziza had shared her number with him. But, he did not want just call her right away, so he waited for the sun to set and the moon to appear. He had already bought another sim, but he had spent the last 2 hours just thinking about what he is going to do and now it was almost 2 am. He was hesitant at first, but his heart forced him to call her. He dialed her number totally expecting that she won't pick up a random call at 2 am in the night.
Aziza was still lost in her turmoil, the blade in her hand too close to her arm, thinking of her mother's face—the one she couldn't forget no matter how hard she tried—was etched into her mind, replaying over and over again. The letter. The words that had torn her apart.
"I had to leave, my love. I hope you understand. I was broken, and I didn't know how to be strong for you."
Aziza closed her eyes, trying to block the words, but they echoed in her thoughts, haunting her
A tear slipped from the corner of her eye. She wiped it away angrily, as if anger could erase the ache inside her chest.
The guilt was too much. She had seen it—her mother's lifeless form, the crumpled note beside her, the unspoken words she had never been able to ask. When, her phone started ringing, pulling her out of her thoughts. Tough, she never picks up any unknown calls, today was different. Even if the call was spam asking her to buy loans or tell her a stupid OTP it would make her feel a little better, but to her surprise it was nothing like that. As soon as she picked up the call , no noise came from behind, between her sobs she said "hello" in a weak, small voice but no answer came. A blank call? And then few seconds later music started spilling from the phone.
Tujhse naaraz nahiin zindagi
Hairaan hoon main
O hairaan huun main
Tere masum sawaalon se
pareshaan hoon main
O pareshaan hoon main
Music rang out, and somehow whosoever it was just knew exactly what was going on in Aziza's mind. For once she thought it might be Rohan but, he just sleeps next door and she could not here any music from there, it was someone else. As music continued her tears broke freely and muffled sobs escaped her lips.
Jeene ke liye sochaa hi nahi
Dard sambhaalane honge
Jeene ke liye sochaa hi nahi
Dard sambhalane honge
Muskuraaye to muskuraane ke
Karz utarne honge
Each line touched her heart, exactly reflecting her feelings, with each chorus her sobs grew louder and tears started flowing endlessly.
Ho muskurauun kabhii to lagataa hai
Jaise honthon pe karz rakha hai
Tujhse naaraaz nahiin zindagi
Hairaan hoon main
O hairaan huun main....
The music stopped and the call was cut, but now Aziza's mind was distracted, distracted by the thought of who was this person, making blank calls to her at 2 am?
While, Ayaan's heart clenched as he had just heard Aziza cry for some reason, she was awake upset about something, so he decided to play a song. But as the song proceeded, hearing her muffled cries made it hard for him to not say anything. But, instead he decided to cut the call.
Ayaan sat on his bed, staring at his phone. His thumb hovered over the screen, unsure whether he should text her or not. He had wanted to help, wanted to ease her pain even if just for a moment, but hearing her sobs had left him unsettled. He wasn't sure if what he did was right—calling her in the middle of the night, playing that song... But something inside him had told him to do it.
Was it too much? He wondered. What if I made things worse?
He leaned back, running a hand through his hair. He couldn't get the image of her broken voice out of his mind. It wasn't just the sadness...it was the rawness, the vulnerability.
***
"Aziza tere haath me kya hua?" Naina asked curious to the small yet sharp, fresh cut on Aziza's arm.
It was a simple question but hearing it, made Aziza's heartbeat quicken. The flashbacks of last night replayed in her mind, sending her to another dimension.
"Aziza?"
Aziza stared at the cut on her arm, her thoughts scattered. The memory of last night, the weight of the blade, and the phone call with the song still lingered in her mind. She hadn't realized when the tears had started again. She quickly wiped them away, not wanting Naina to see the cracks in her facade.
"Aziza, tell me honestly. What's going on?" Naina's voice was soft, but there was an urgency to it. She wasn't convinced.
Aziza forced a small smile. "I'm fine. Just a little... accident. You know me."
But Naina wasn't buying it. There was a knowing look in her eyes, and Aziza could feel the weight of her friend's concern. She sighed, looking away, not knowing how to answer. How could she explain that she was haunted by the past, trapped in her own grief, while a stranger somehow reached out to her in the most unexpected way?
"ummm... acha voh sab chhod tujhe pta hai kal raat ko kya hua??"
"haan pta haina mai tere saath hi toh thi" Naina said, her voice dripping with sarcasm
"haan phir toh tujhe pta hi hoga chhodo"
" bta naaa !! kya hua???"
"haan so... kal mereko raat ke 2 bje ek call ayi..!"
"whattt?? kiski? koi Romeo hai kya es juliet ke pyar me? ya phir vhi "maam I accidently transferred you 10000 rupess please give beck, go to your bank account and tell me the OTP mem"
"mujhe bhi laga tha tabhi call nhi utha rhi thi but... phir maine uth li pta ni kyu"
"and?????"
"usne ek gana play kra and ekdum ese laga that they know me personally, mai jo feel kri hu us gaane ne ekdum vhi portray kra."
"konsa gana tha?"
Aziza hesitated at first thinking, that the song might reveal that she was upset last night but Naina's curious eyes urged her to tell.
"Tujhse naraz nhi zindagi" she finally replied
"Konn ho sakta haii??"
"Well, jo bhi h, I hope they're not a stalker," Aziza said, her voice weakly attempting to sound light-hearted.
Naina chuckled and patted Aziza's hand. "Don't worry. If it was a stalker, you would've already heard a creepy voice breathing into your ear by now. This is way more... romantic."
" Tu toh rehne tujhe stalking bhi romantic lagane lage kisi din"
"HATT" Naina replied smacking Aziza's head.
Just then Ayaan and Rohan entered,
"Kya baatein kri h tu meri bholi bhen ke saath chuhiyaa"
" Bakwas na kr, tum jaise bacchi log se nhi ladte h hum ek aurat ke upar. Aziza meri dost hai, mera jo man ayega voh bolugi usse "
While, they continued their banter Ayaan smiled sheepishly knowing exactly what Aziza was telling Naina.
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