Pratap's Story
The moment Pratap reached the car at the Indira International Airport with a banner with his name on it, he removed the backpack from his shoulder and handed it over to the driver, who bowed. Although the weight was lifted off his back, something still felt heavy on his chest. He was heading straight to the wedding and was supposed to meet everyone after a long time. Everyone. Including her. He knew that the parents were waiting for his return to officially hand the company over to the next generation, and it meant seeing more of her than he intended to. He was not sure if he was prepared for it. A part of him was happy to be back home. There was something in the air, the smell, the noise, the feel and even the uncomfortable pollution that still felt like home. He was eager to see his brother and meet his parents and Jalal. The two people apart from Ranima who were constantly in touch with him were Heer and Jalal. Yet somehow, he could never bring up the courage to ask about Ajabdeh. What would he ask? She seemed to be doing fine with her charities and public appearances; her parents must have hired a grooming PR for her to work with, for her controversial statements in the media had stopped. It would almost sound like stalking that he had an alert on her name in his mail every time it cropped up in the media. All her appearances were alone, and there were barely any dating rumours. Was that reassuring? No, Pratap, it wasn’t, you hurt her.
The morning sun hit his face as soon as the car navigated the highway. It was a five-hour drive, alone. The driver put on some music on the radio, and Pratap put on his sunglasses as he stared out of the glass window at the vast fields, houses, occasional clusters of trees, and people around him. The radio was playing one of his favourite love songs when a sudden memory made him smile.
For almost three weeks after his breakup, he had avoided Ajabdeh, not being able to figure out what he could say or how he should react. It was like she understood his mind as she kept her distance even during the summer before the holidays started, when she and Shakti hung out by the pool in the late afternoons. Pratap was in his room, going through his chores, when he started playing some music to distract himself while he worked. He had been overthinking a lot lately; things he couldn’t share with anyone. The ifs, buts, and maybes of every scenario played in his head, and he had never felt so vulnerable. His practical side took the better of him as he decided that avoiding Ajabdeh was the best way. In a matter of a few years, she would be his boss, and the last thing he wanted was to be the cause of a split in the company. Sometimes he questioned his certainty of failing in relationships as though he knew something was wrong with him. The music stopped as his phone had a low battery, and as he looked for the charger among his piles of books, the last song still playing in his head, he suddenly heard someone humming the same tune. Pratap froze in his spot at the sudden, eerie coincidence and walked up to the balcony. He knew the voice and wanted to see where she was. He looked down below at the pool, where Shakti was swimming. Ajabdeh sat on the deck chair, in her blue swimsuit, sunglasses and an oversized hat, with a book in hand, humming the tune to herself. Her toned legs were shining in the sunlight, perhaps because she applied lotion, and her cleavage was peeking out of the neckline. For the first time, Pratap noticed the curves of her femininity as he had never before. He gulped, almost noisily, fixed to his spot, unable to remove his eyes from her. Her curls fell to her waist, and her locks swayed in the breeze gently over her bosom, and Pratap found a strange urge to sweep her hair away from his view. He couldn’t stop his imagination from running a scenario in his head, almost like a story where he walked down to the pool for a swim, and she would unrobe her wrap and join him.
Ajabdeh stopped humming at the sudden feeling of being watched. Almost in a reflex, she looked up at his balcony and saw him there. Pratap immediately snapped out of his trance and daydreaming and stepped back into his room, shutting the door noisily behind him. Ajabdeh sat up, narrowing her brows a little, her eyes still on the empty balcony. It had been days since she caught a glimpse of him, and he looked better than before. Pratap sat down on his bed, trying to erase the image of her from his head before his heart gave way to feelings and imaginations beyond his control. He needed to stop liking her.
Pratap smiled at the sudden memory hitting him, and he sighed. He was so naive. He was sure a lot had changed since he left. She had changed. Perhaps for the better, because he was still in love with the idea of her in his head from years back. He regretted it. He had imagined that going away would create distances. Out of sight, out of mind was a lie. He could never get her out of his mind. He had tried dating, and he had tried flirting in random pubs. Every time the girl talked, to his annoyance, his mind compared them in similarities and differences with her. He had always been haunted by Samaira’s last conversation with him, which had opened his eyes to reality; anyone else would always be second best. Now he was gearing up to return to her cousin’s wedding, meet everyone, and finally join the business like he was supposed to. Soon she would be his boss. Soon, the parents would pressure them to find alliances that would benefit the company and its expansion. Could he ever see her with someone else? What if he reacted irrationally? He dreaded that.
The cousins gathered around Pratap as he greeted everyone individually, and Shakti waited patiently for his turn at a hug. Heer exchanged some pleasantries as Pratap’s eyes fell on Jalal, and he immediately stepped forward to hug him. “What are you doing here? Come see me?” Jalal tried to make sure his body language wasn’t much of a giveaway as he smiled. He observed how Pratap’s eyes scanned the crowd as his throat suddenly felt dry.
“Someone show him to his room.” It was the bride’s mother who spoke, as Jalal spoke almost in a reflex, “I will.” He exchanged a glance with an unsure Shakti and patted Pratap’s back, murmuring, “Let’s go, we need to talk.” The seriousness in his tone made Pratap frown a little as he excused himself and walked alongside Jalal down the corridor.
“Umm… is Uncle Aunty okay?” He asked as Jalal smiled with an affirmative nod.
“Rukaiya?” Jalal didn’t expect him to ask about Rukaiya. He barely knew her. “She is doing well, joining Baba’s business and…” Jalal stopped as Pratap’s face looked confused.
“So, what did you want to talk about? Is it a girl?” He asked as Jalal swiped the card to the room and opened the door where Pratap’s luggage was already neatly kept. Jalal smiled faintly, moving aside, allowing him to get in before closing the door behind him.
“Are you okay?” Pratap asked again as he nodded. “What is it about?”
“Ajabdeh.” Jalal’s words made Pratap’s heart skip a beat. A sudden fear of what Jalal might say gripped him, and he wished with all his heart that he was reading the room wrong.
“What about…” Pratap struggled a little to utter her name after so long. “Ajabdeh?”
“I wanted to tell you this before anyone else did. We have been seeing each other for a while.”
“Oh…” Pratap found himself at a loss for words. A sudden feeling of uneasiness gripped him. “How long…” He had to be careful to show the right amount of interest.
“Since you left… actually.” Jalal found himself feeling more comfortable now that Pratap didn’t react much to it. A thousand questions of when, where, why and how ran through Pratap’s mind as he filtered them out.
“That’s umm… good… I am happy for you…” Pratap managed as he shook Jalal’s hand. He wondered where she was because if Jalal was here, she ought to be…
“So, are you seeing anyone?” Jalal made him smile. There was something in his smile beyond the answer that made Jalal wonder.
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